Suffer little children…
The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.
With this adaptation of the now famous Mohandas Gandhi quote in mind, it was shockingly revealed this week that nearly three years after the Child Care Protection Bill was passed in 2015, the gender ministry is still waiting on its justice counterpart to approve regulations contained in this critical piece of legislation.
Among others, the bill provides for the appointment of a child advocate, but due to funding woes, the position is now vacant and frozen.
At the time the bill was passed, there were masses of orphans in the country, and the legislation also proposes residential child care facilities where vulnerable children can be placed.
Violence, exploitation and abuse are often practiced by someone known to a child, including parents, family members, caretakers and teachers, which means that children need to enjoy the utmost protection government can provide. A study by the Legal Assistance Centre indicated that more than one out of five victims of domestic violence say that their children had been harmed or threatened by the abuser. Exposure of these children to violence is not only detrimental to their development, but is also likely to negatively impact their performance in school. As a party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Namibia is committed to basing all decisions concerning a child on the principle that the best interests of the child are paramount.
In May 2014 it was reported that at least 814 Namibian children had been abused, either physically or sexually, over the preceding 12 months, while 923 children had been left neglected, or abandoned.
There is no reason to believe that these statistics have not worsened since then, and that at the time, they represented the tip of the iceberg as many cases go unreported.
Namibia, which often claims to be a child of international solidarity, should urgently get its house in order.
Our children are the nation's future and if we do not protect them, then the nation stands on a precipice!
With this adaptation of the now famous Mohandas Gandhi quote in mind, it was shockingly revealed this week that nearly three years after the Child Care Protection Bill was passed in 2015, the gender ministry is still waiting on its justice counterpart to approve regulations contained in this critical piece of legislation.
Among others, the bill provides for the appointment of a child advocate, but due to funding woes, the position is now vacant and frozen.
At the time the bill was passed, there were masses of orphans in the country, and the legislation also proposes residential child care facilities where vulnerable children can be placed.
Violence, exploitation and abuse are often practiced by someone known to a child, including parents, family members, caretakers and teachers, which means that children need to enjoy the utmost protection government can provide. A study by the Legal Assistance Centre indicated that more than one out of five victims of domestic violence say that their children had been harmed or threatened by the abuser. Exposure of these children to violence is not only detrimental to their development, but is also likely to negatively impact their performance in school. As a party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Namibia is committed to basing all decisions concerning a child on the principle that the best interests of the child are paramount.
In May 2014 it was reported that at least 814 Namibian children had been abused, either physically or sexually, over the preceding 12 months, while 923 children had been left neglected, or abandoned.
There is no reason to believe that these statistics have not worsened since then, and that at the time, they represented the tip of the iceberg as many cases go unreported.
Namibia, which often claims to be a child of international solidarity, should urgently get its house in order.
Our children are the nation's future and if we do not protect them, then the nation stands on a precipice!
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Namibian Sun
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