Action needed against abuse
2002-10-25 21:56
Pretoria - Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi on Friday accepted "with gratitude and solemnity" the petitions of hundreds of South Africans who gathered in Pretoria to protest against the high
incidence of child abuse and child rape.
Buthelezi also promised the "protest meeting" organisers that he
would bring their petition to the attention of his colleagues in
government.
He said he agreed with the organisers of the meeting that
government could "do more" to combat the problem.
The meeting at the Menlyn Event Arena was organised by Finnesse
magazine, an Afrikaans magazine for Christian women and the
Afrikaans Taal en Kultuur Vereniging, an Afrikaans language and
culture organisation.
It was convened to petition the government, the media, the
medical profession, the business sector and the public to donate
more money to organisations dealing with the abuse of children.
Buthelezi said that while he agreed with the move to petition
government, he also wanted the protestors to "keep marching, keep
speaking, keep petitioning until mindsets change".
He also called for alliances to be built between all sectors of
society.
"Regardless of how much legislation government adopts ... unless
we change individual, collective and community attitudes, the
successful implementation of these provisions of law will remain
elusive," he said.
Community
According to Buthelezi, the causes of child abuse lie not only
in economic under-development, but in the breakdown of the moral
fibre of a community.
For this reason, he said, efforts to stop the abuse should run
"horizontally throughout all the building blocks of our society".
He also called for more resources to be poured into providing
better training for police and social workers.
"Theirs is an emotionally demanding job. We must look at our
justice system and ... ensure that this crime is hounded with
appropriate consequences for every perpetrator, every time."
Buthelezi said that having lived through the savagery of the
1980s and 1990s, he could bear testimony to the fact that an entire
generation could become accustomed to brutality as a way of life.
"We cannot allow that to happen," he said. "Together let us
right the wrongs on behalf of our children. Together, let us stop
the abuse."
- SAPA