We are once again coming to the end of another Child Protection Week. The aim of the week is primarily to raise awareness of the rights of children to be protected from violence and abuse, as enshrined in the constitution.

 This week there has been a call for a whole-society response — for us all to come together and support the call to stop the cycle of neglect, abuse, violence and exploitation of children. We have to ask ourselves whether drawing the country’s attention once a year to the need to stop violence against children is enough when we are acutely aware of the ongoing high levels of violence against children, and this is a shame we as a nation have to account for. Child protection must be prioritised at the highest level of government if we are to see significant improvements in the wellbeing of children in SA...