Child abuse figures paint grim picture

Nearly 9 000 cases of child abuse and more than 3 200 cases of sexual abuse involving children were recorded during the first three quarters of the 2025/26 financial year, prompting the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund to call for urgent national action to protect vulnerable children.

The call comes as South Africa marks Child Protection Week from May 29 to June 5 under the theme, Working together in ending violence against children.

The warning echoes a call by Girls and Boys Town South Africa (GBTSA), which operates a campus in Kagiso/Randfontein, that Child Protection Week should be more than a date on the national calendar and serve as a daily reminder of society’s responsibility to protect children and ensure they grow up in safe, caring environments.

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The Fund warned that Child Protection Week cannot become another awareness campaign while children continue to experience violence, abuse and exploitation in homes, schools, communities and digital spaces.

Alarming statistics raise concern

According to the National Child Protection Register’s first to third quarter statistics for the 2025/26 financial year, 8 984 cases of child abuse and 3 258 cases of sexual abuse were recorded.

Further concerns emerge from the Department of Justice’s statistical records, which show an increase in statutory rape cases to 199 in the 2025/26 financial year, compared to 127 cases recorded in 2024/25.

Equally concerning is the rise in children themselves committing acts of sexual violence, with 22 children reported for statutory rape and 890 children committing rape. Of these rape cases, 129 involved victims under the age of 18.

The Fund said these figures represent more than statistics, reflecting the trauma, fear and vulnerability experienced by thousands of children across South Africa.

‘We are failing our children’

CEO of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, Dr Linda Ncube-Nkomo, said South Africa can no longer afford to normalise violence against children or treat child protection as the responsibility of government alone.

Our children are under extreme danger, and the reality is that we are failing them as a society. Violence against children has become deeply embedded in our communities, homes, schools and increasingly within digital spaces.

“Child Protection Week must be more than a symbolic campaign; it must become a national call to action. Protecting children is everyone’s responsibility, and we need urgent, coordinated action to create environments where children feel safe, valued, protected, and heard,” said Dr Ncube-Nkomo.

Child Protection Month is a national campaign aimed at promoting the rights, safety, dignity and well-being of children in South Africa.

This year’s campaign places particular emphasis on strengthening statutory rape case management, improving mandatory reporting mechanisms, increasing accountability, and ensuring that children who experience violence receive adequate psychosocial support.

Call for stronger protection systems

The Fund believes that while legislation and policy frameworks exist to protect children, implementation gaps, weak accountability systems, poverty, substance abuse, social fragmentation and silence within communities continue to place children at risk.

The organisation is calling for greater investment in community-based child protection systems, parenting and caregiver support programmes, mental health and psychosocial services for children, child-friendly justice systems, digital safety education and awareness, early intervention and prevention programmes, as well as stronger reporting and accountability mechanisms.

The Fund also emphasised the importance of listening to children and creating safe spaces for them to speak out about abuse without fear, shame or intimidation.

“Too often, children suffer in silence because adults fail to act, communities look away, or systems respond too slowly.

We need to restore a culture of collective responsibility where every child matters and where safeguarding children becomes embedded in the everyday actions of society,” added Dr Ncube-Nkomo.

The Fund further highlighted the growing risks children face online, including cyberbullying, grooming, exploitation and exposure to harmful content, noting that child protection efforts must evolve to address both physical and digital threats.

As South Africa marks Child Protection Week 2026, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund urged all South Africans to move beyond awareness and towards meaningful action by reporting abuse and neglect, supporting vulnerable children and families, challenging harmful social norms and violence, strengthening community vigilance, and prioritising child safety in homes, schools and public spaces.

“Our children deserve to grow up in environments that nurture their potential, dignity, and humanity. We owe it to them to act decisively, compassionately and collectively.

The future of our country depends on how we protect and care for our children today,” concluded Dr Ncube-Nkomo.