New Children Protection Act to be implemented

MARANYANE NGWANAAMOTHO
Staff Writer | Friday January 22, 2010 00:00

Head of Child Protection Unit, Ookame Mokabathebe said in Gaborone yesterday that the old Children's Act of 1981 mainly addresses custody, care, juvenile justice, and aspects of child protection whereas the new one advocates for respect, protection, promotion, and provision of the realisation of a children's rights to maximise their survival, development, participation, and protection.

She says that the country has also encountered new socio-political challenges that have increased vulnerability of children as a result.

'These challenges, trends, and aspirations have increasingly made the Children's Act 1981 narrow in scope, restrictive, and not child rights-based, hence the decision to review it in order to better provide more holistically for children,' she said.

Mokabathebe says that the aim of the new Act is to promote the physical, emotional, intellectual and social development and general wellbeing of children.  Another aim is to establish structures to provide for the care, support, protection and rehabilitation of children.Mokabathebe says that they discovered that the old Act emphasised too much on the welfare of children but little on the rights of the child.  'The Act is more court-based and takes a lot of responsibility away from parents and guardians leaving them confused about what their role is in the raising of a child,' she said.

Mokabathebe says that the Act places the primary duty of care and maintenance of a child on the biological parents, irrespective of their marital status. New children's courts will also be established to deal with matters of protection orders in circumstances in which the safety and security of children are compromised or endangered. She says that the Act seeks to ensure that children are not traumatised in cases where they are victims or perpetrators of crime. 

'The Act also provides for the placement of children in alternative care where the circumstances in their homes make it either difficult or impossible for children to be cared for or protected from harm. The Act ensures that children are cared for in places of safety, such as foster homes and licensed institutions of child welfare, while the situations in their homes are being improved or normalised,' she said.

Mokabathebe says that a National Child Council has also been established to facilitate, at the national level, better planning and coordination of children's welfare programmes. 

The Act also establishes child protection committees at the community level.  She believes that this council will bring coordination between stakeholders like teachers, social workers, courts and the community at large.

Mokabathebe has warned that any person found guilty of an offence that is stipulated in the Act shall be liable to a fine of not less than P5,000 but not more than P10,000, or to imprisonment for a term of not less than six months but not more than 12 months, or both. She also indicated that there will be a Permanent record on the register of child abusers, which she says will be available to anyone who wants it at the Director of Social Services office.  She however said that the information will be available at a cost. 

Mokabathebe has said that the government has a responsibility to provide policies that are responsive to the current needs of the children. She said it should be recognised that there are new challenges that did not exist at the time that the old act was enforced.