Fact Sheet on National Child Protection System in South Africa

A Save the Children Sweden Baseline Study on the existing national child protection structures and mechanisms in South Africa. The study, conducted in 2010, brings in a child rights perspective and assesses the strengths and gaps in the existing child protection systems in the country. It reveals that many South African children continue to face multiple protection problems and that due to fragmented child protection services and limited resources, some child protection procedures are inadequate for the specific situation in which children find themselves in. These laws also do not adequately protect children from the most hidden forms of violence, corporal punishment. The report looks at what a child protection system is – its components – and why child protection systems are needed. Each key section in the report is presented with clear accompanying recommendations.