Children are among the most vulnerable members of society and need special protection. It's our shared responsibility as parents, families, communities and government to ensure that all of our children are safe from harm and grow up in nurturing environments. To ensure this, children have special legal rights which are enforced by the state.  

What are children’s rights?

Children’s rights are entrenched in Section 28 in the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of South Africa. These rights are in the best interest of all children under the age of 18 years old. The drafters of our Constitution have made children's rights a priority. When it comes to any matter affecting a child’s well-being, the Constitution states that the best interests of a child are of paramount importance.

Understanding children’s rights

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Gaborone/Nairobi, 23 November 2023 – The prevalence of sexual, physical and emotional violence in several Southern African countries is among the highest in the world, according to a new report by UNICEF and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Across the region, an average of 17 per cent of girls and women experience forced sex in their lifetime and 80 per cent of children experience violent discipline at home in Southern Africa.   

This report compiles a statistical profile of the prevalence of violence against children and women in Southern Africa and found this violence to be pervasive and persistent, affecting millions of lives.  

The mortality rate from homicide among children, adolescents, girls and women in the SADC region was nearly double the average for the rest of the world. Child marriage is also prevalent in Southern Africa, with 30 per cent of young women married before the age of 18. Among these young brides, nearly a third (31 per cent) have experienced some form of intimate partner violence in the past year and across the region.

This violence takes many forms, including physical, sexual and emotional violence along with neglect and exploitation. Violence is often hidden, under-reported and perpetuated by harmful social norms, gender inequality, poverty, conflict and other structural factors, destroying not only individual lives but also threatening national economies, mental health and educational outcomes.  

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Children and young people from Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe identify priority bold solutions to issues deeply affecting them

Walvis Bay, Namibia, 16 November 2023 – Children from Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe have voiced the priority issues affecting them and that they want to address to their leaders for action.

This call to action emerged from a virtual gathering facilitated by UNICEF in which children and young people discussed topics that have the greatest impact on their lives. The discussions resulted in a series of calls to action that they will present to the Presidents of their countries at a regional summit taking place in Walvis Bay, Namibia, on 18-19 November, to mark World Children’s Day on 20th November, the day commemorating the signing of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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On November 2, 2023, UNESCO will celebrate the International Day against Violence and Bullying at School with a virtual debate on "Promoting Mental Health: Building Safe Environments."

JOIN in the fight against School Violence and Bullying! Take the "Pledge against School Violence and Bullying (including Cyberbullying)." This Pledge represents our shared commitment to empathy, respect, and mental well-being in our schools and communities. Let your voice be heard! Sign the pledge here today: https://tally.so/r/mKxAok 

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Exciting news for the FutureLife-Now! community and all those with a stake in gender equality in the education sector! At their annual meeting held this year in June in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Ministers of Education adopted the SADC Boys’ and Young Men’s Vulnerability Framework as an addendum to the Care and Support for Teaching and Learning Policy Framework (CSTL PF).

The Boys’ and Young Men’s Vulnerability Framework  is a comprehensive planning framework that supports the Member States of SADC to implement interventions to achieve gender equality through the provision of prevention, protection and support services for boys and young men. Its development was informed by a regional study on boys’ vulnerability that was commissioned in 2019. The study found that there is an urgent need to strengthen the engagement of boys and young men to support gender equality and female empowerment, as well as to address their own specific social, emotional and development needs.

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Autone Mululuma, a young man growing up in a peri-urban area in the Chimbombo District in the Central Province in Zambia, faced a problem. In the community where he lives, many of the young people, both males and females, are disaffected and have little opportunity for passing their free time productively. As a result, many indulge in illicit activities and destructive behaviour. But Autone wanted more for himself. He sought for a skill that could empower him, while delivering him from the temptations his peers were falling prey to. But his aspirations seemed farfetched and likely to fail: at the time, there seemed to be no programmes in schools aimed at empowering young people with entrepreneurial skills.

Fortunately for Autone, he was a learner at Moomba Boarding Secondary School, where he encountered the FutureLife-Now! Programme. The programme provided Moomba with a hundred chicks and Autone expressed an interest in working with them. He watched and learnt as the chicks matured to fully-grown chickens. Autone was “hooked”, and having gained experience working with the chicks, he decided to replicate the rearing of poultry in his community. Autone describes what happened next.

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The head of Fort Rixon School, Lawrence Sibanda, welcoming guests to the fare

Fort Rixon Secondary School in Zimbabwe provides just one example of how FutureLife-Now! has impacted a school and its community. Through the programme, much has changed for the better at the school. In the words of the school head, Lawrence Sibanda:

The implementation of the FutureLife-Now! programme has helped the school to work harmoniously with partners in improving the health of learners and community members through the services being offered by different partners.

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Participants at the training

MIET AFRICA’s partnership with UNESCO is resulting in fruitful collaborations, including the participation of FutureLife-Now! in the capacity training UNESCO provided in Lesotho on its Connect with Respect initiative. UNESCO conducted the training for Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) officials in Maseru from 10 to 14 July, with the FutureLife-Now! in-country teams from Lesotho and Malawi also attending (as did the youth development manager and the regional technical assistant). South Africa’s Department of Basic Education, which has recently joined Phase 2 of the FutureLife-Now! Programme, also sent two officials to participate.

UNESCO believes that schools, and the learning processes they provide, afford an ideal and unique opportunity to deliver interventions that prevent violence, in particular gender-based violence (GBV), which is all too common in schools and societies across the world. Its Connect with Respect: preventing gender-based violence in schools, which is a “classroom programme for learners in upper primary and early secondary school (ages 12-15)”, is one such intervention. The MoET sees the programme’s classroom approach as the perfect tool for addressing school-related GBV.

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CSE Workshop participants sharing their reflections on CSE

Young Africans must have the facts and confidence to stay safe and healthy, live a dignified life and contribute positively to their community and countries. Prof Mbulelo Dyasi (Bishop, and Vice Chair, Board of Directors, INERELA)

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