Director of the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town Professor Shanaaz Mathews says in South Africa three children are murdered a day.
Speaking on AM Live, she says society needs to take a pause and reflect on why children are being murdered and why in such a brutal manner.
This comes in the wake of the rape and brutal murder of two toddlers at Diepsloot north of Johannesburg and the the deaths of two other toddlers near Zonkizizwe on Gauteng’s East Rand.
Four men will appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Friday in connection with the Diepsloot murders. The fifth suspect was apprehended this morning.
Post-mortem results in the deaths of the East Rand toddlers are expected to be released on Friday. Their mother has been charged with murder.
Mathews says drug and alcohol abuse usually play a role in these murders.
“We need to effectively deal with these problems, this would be a start in transforming our society.”
She says children are taken advantage of because of their vulnerability, they are seen as easy targets.
She says South Africa needs to urgently address children safety. “We need to increase the safety of our children to ensure that such killings do not occur.”
Matthews also touched on parenting and the difference between positive discipline and what constitutes abuse. This after a father in Cape Town admitted to bashing his toddler’s head three times because of a soiled nappy.
Click here for more on this interview
– By
