Shocking child abuse figures - parliamentary statement
(19 May 2005)It was revealed that every year 1100 children aged 14 years and younger die due to violence and intentional assault. A seven-year review of deaths among children younger than 15 revealed that head injuries constituted 42%. A separate study conducted in Cape Town found that of 1809 child deaths, more than half were unnatural deaths; in this study the ages of the children ranged between one month and 11 years. These new findings confirm survey results previously published by the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.
What the research has also highlighted is that the victims often had a history of injuries supposedly sustained from falling accidentally.
The UDM urges the Ministers of Safety and Security, Social Development and Health to review the reporting and investigation mechanisms for suspicious injuries to children admitted to hospitals and clinics. It is obvious that there are parents and guardians in our society who do not accept their responsibility to care for their children. In such cases the state must intervene to protect them, because it is our moral and constitutional duty to care for those who cannot defend themselves.
