Issued by Amirah Hassim on behalf of the FW de Klerk Foundation on 26/06/2025

The FW de Klerk Foundation notes with serious concern the recent release of data confirming over 26 000 cases of child abuse and neglect during the 2024-25 financial year. The figures, shared by Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe during Child Protection Week, include nearly 10 000 cases of sexual abuse, close to 4 000 cases of physical abuse and over 1 000 child killings, underscore a deepening crisis in our society.

These violations strike at the heart of section 28 of the Constitution, which guarantees every child the right to protection from abuse, neglect and degradation. Yet, as documented in our 2024 Human Rights Report Card, systemic weaknesses continue to undermine the realisation of these rights, particularly in under-resourced communities.

According to Amirah Hassim, the FW de Klerk Foundation’s Constitutional Advancement Programme Intern: “We cannot continue pretending that policy frameworks alone will protect children. We need trained social workers, functioning courts and credible early intervention systems. When a child is failed by every layer of the state, it is a breakdown in constitutional delivery and not just a gap in policy.”

Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has rightly called for urgent reforms to the Criminal Procedure Act of 1977 – particularly around evidentiary procedures, bail and sentencing in cases involving child victims. It is imperative that these reforms be fast-tracked alongside rigorous vetting against the National Register for Sex Offenders, where current compliance remains unacceptably low.

“Child protection is not optional,” said Ismail Joosub, Manager of Constitutional Advancement. “It is a constitutional responsibility. The current scale of abuse is inseparable from poverty, fractured family structures and weak institutional enforcement. We cannot claim to uphold the Constitution while so many children are left exposed.”

The Foundation calls on government and civil society to intensify joint efforts to build a society where every child’s right to dignity, safety and care is made real – not only in law, but in everyday life.