By Johnathan Paoli
Hundreds of children marched through the streets of Johannesburg to mark International Children’s Day, demanding safer communities and a more responsive justice system.
The march, organised by the Gauteng Social Development Department in partnership with the Teddy Bear Foundation, Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital and Childline South Africa, culminated in a memorandum handover at the Constitutional Court.
“Instead of celebrating today, we are calling for urgent intervention. Many children live in abusive environments and face secondary trauma through repeated court postponements and lack of protection mechanisms,” social development MEC Faith Mazibuko said.
Held under the theme “Social Injustice Against Children Must Stop!!! Let us Make Gauteng Safe for Our Children”, the event formed part of South Africa’s broader Child Protection Week campaign.
Children gathered at Pieter Roos Park in Parktown before proceeding to the Constitutional Court to voice their concerns directly to Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi and Gauteng social development MEC Faith Mazibuko.
The memorandum highlighted the long delays in justice for abused children, unsafe living conditions, and insufficient mental health support for young survivors.
Mazibuko emphasised the need for coordinated efforts between police, forensic labs and the judiciary to fast-track justice for children.
She urged Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi to expedite DNA testing, support child-friendly courtrooms and release the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO) to prevent pedophiles from working in childcare facilities.
“Without access to the register, we risk hiring predators unknowingly in centres for young childcare and schools,” she said.
Minister Kubayi, meanwhile, addressing a parallel Child Protection Week event in Mabopane, reaffirmed her department’s commitment to child safety.
“We are reviewing laws to enable public access to the NRSO as a deterrent to would-be offenders. No convicted offender should be near a child again,” she said.
The Justice and Constitutional Development Department held a session with Sunday School children at the Zion Christian Church branch, teaching them about their rights and encouraging them to report abuse.
The 2025 Child Protection Week is commemorated under the national theme: “Working Together to End Violence Against Children”.
The department is running ongoing education programmes targeting learners, teachers and guardians to raise awareness of children’s rights and responsibilities.
The issue of child protection sparked a spectrum of political and civil responses.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) released a strong statement urging decisive action to end violence against children.
Citing Statistics South Africa, the EFF revealed that children under 15 make up nearly half of shelter populations and that every five hours a child goes missing in South Africa.
“In the past six years alone, over 100,000 children have been raped. No child must live or die in fear,” the party maintained.
Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng social development MEC Refiloe Nt’sekhe expressed cautious support for the march.
While she welcomed general awareness efforts, she raised ethical concerns about exposing child victims to the media.
“If children are just marching to raise awareness without being named or portrayed as victims, I support it,” she said. “But parading individual victims infringes on their rights and dignity.”
Nt’sekhe previously criticised the Social Development Department for funding failures.
She revealed that funding for NPOs providing essential services to vulnerable children had sharply declined, from 2,856 funded in 2021/22 to just 1,328 in 2024/25.
She accused the department of returning over R650 million to the Treasury over two years, despite growing need.
“The department returned R554 million in 2023/24, and another R102 million is expected to be returned this year. This, while shelters and feeding schemes face closure,” Nt’sekhe said.
She condemned the department’s “double standards,” revealing that 171 Gauteng NPOs were defunded for municipal non-compliance, yet state-run facilities operating without the same requirements continued to receive support.
“We don’t oppose compliance, but if NPOs must meet strict standards, so should state facilities,” she said.
Despite the political back-and-forth, the children’s message was simple and clear: they want to live in a safer, more just country.
Organisers stressed the importance of preserving children’s privacy, with media being strictly prohibited from photographing or distributing images of children’s faces, in line with child protection protocols.
The march ended with hope and urgency.
“Children have spoken, now it’s our turn to act, not tomorrow, but today,” Mazibuko said.
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