Background Literature on Violence Against Children in South Africa: Foundation for a Phased Communications for Development (C4D) Strategy
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Milken Institute School of Public Health 950 New Hampshire Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20052 t (202) 994-0857 www.cswd-gw.org | @cswdgw September 21, 2015 Background Literature on Violence against Children in South Africa: Foundation for a Phased Communications for Development (C4D) Strategy Authors: Mark Edberg, Hina Shaikh, Shaneka Thurman, Rajiv Rimal Note: This is a working draft that is a preliminary form of a possible future final document. Table of Contents Page I. Introduction 1 A. Objectives 1 B. Methodology 1 II. Brief Description of Violence against Children in South Africa with Implications for a C4D Strategy 2 A. Social-ecological approach 2 B. Recent statistics 3 C. Violence in multiple forms and settings 4 D. Characterization of the issue 7 III. Causal Factors Contributing to Violence against Children 8 A. Key issues and causes 8 B. Broader/distal contributing factors 11 1. Legacy and effect of apartheid 11 2. Economic factors of poverty, inequality and unemployment 13 3. Socio-cultural factors – gender norms 15 C. Targeted/proximal contributing factors 17 1. Substance abuse 17 2. Community violence exposure and victimization 19 3. Family violence and family environments 20 4. Violent school environments 22 5. Infanticide 24 6. HIV/AIDS, orphanhood, and child-headed households 24 Page 7. Xenophobia and resentment against immigrants 26 8. Traditional practices 27 IV. Legal Frameworks, Policies, Protections and Services Pertinent to Violence against Children 28 A. Summary of rights and obligations 29 B. Issue of corporal punishment 31 V. Gaps in the Legal, Service and Program Environments 32 A. Historical context 32 B. Corporal punishment 33 C. Policy and program emphasis/integration 35 D. Police performance/capacity/resources/corruption 35 E. Domestic Violence Act 36 F. Inadequate funding for mandated programs and related human resources 38 G. Lack of trained social service professionals 38 H. Lack of or limited evidence for successful programs; lack of guidance 39 I. Access to justice; weaknesses of the criminal justice system 41 VI. Existing C4D Efforts and Best Practices 42 A. Major campaigns 42 B. NGO-implemented C4D efforts 44 C. Best practices 48 VII. Recommendations for a Staged C4D Strategy and Evaluation Plan 50 A. Cost parameters and categories of C4D interventions 50 B. What does a C4D strategy include? 51 C. A typology of VAC and implications for a C4D strategy 52 1. Cross-cutting VAC forms and contributing factors 53 2. Specific or localized VAC forms and contributing factors 53 D. Effective channels of communication 53 E. Informing effective messaging strategies 55 F. Segmentation and key target audiences 57 G. Campaign staging and segmenting 58 H. Proposed sample campaigns (sequenced) 59 I. Monitoring and evaluation 61 ii Appendices Appendix A: List of References and Key Informant Interviews Appendix B: C4D Strategies Addressing Violence against Children Continuum from Causal Factors to Communication Appendix C: Transcripts of In-Country Focus Group Sessions with Practitioners, Youth, Parents, and Teachers iii I. Introduction A. Objectives In conducting this review, the Center for Social Well-Being and Development’s objectives are to: (1) Gather and review the available literature for core drivers (e.g., psychosocial, economic, cultural) of violence against children (VAC) in South Africa, highest risk population groups, any regional or urban/rural differences, existing legal frameworks, protections and services, existing communications for development (C4D) efforts and their effectiveness, key audiences, themes and communications channels, and best practices if any are identified; (2) Identify key informants for interviews based on gaps determined in the review; and (3) Prepare an initial draft report as a basis for additional research and the preparation of a comprehensive C4D strategy. This review is not intended as a comprehensive review of VAC in South Africa, but as a review oriented to the information necessary to develop and support the deliverable of an integrated, phased communications strategy for child protection and development. The strategy will support UNICEF to deliver on its current Country Programme of Cooperation commitment to the government of South Africa to achieve behavior and social change outcomes in strengthening the programs on VAC within the government’s Department of Social Development (DSD). Another goal is to help strengthen DSD’s institutional capacity, including the capacity of its relevant partners, to effectively deliver components of a staged communications strategy. B. Methodology This review has been conducted using the following: (1) Examination of key documents identified by UNICEF, local key informants, or references from available literature; (2) Online literature review using general search tools and specific databases as needed (e.g., LexisNexis, Google Scholar, PsychINFO, JSTOR, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, AnthroSource); (3) Supplemental interviews with identified local key informants (referred to in this report as expert respondents) to obtain information that helps to identify and address key knowledge gaps in the literature and prioritize those on the basis of relevance to the project as a whole; and (4) Conduct of four in-country focus group sessions with selected groups of parents, youth, teachers, and practitioners, respectively, to gain information about general attitudes and 1 beliefs about the issue of VAC in South Africa, and feedback on the proposed draft C4D strategy. This review is conducted from a social-ecological perspective, that is, seeking to identify factors contributing to and facilitating VAC in multiple domains of an enabling environment – including the significance of the historical background of apartheid, existing social and cultural norms/practices, community factors, economic factors, social groups and structures (e.g., families, gangs), individual factors, enactment of legal and policy frameworks, programs, implementation effectiveness, and allocation of resources. II. Brief Description of Violence Against Children in South Africa with Implications for a C4D Strategy “Due to the normalization of violence in South Africa’s past, there is now a widespread tolerance of it. So we need to work very hard to break this cycle. This requires an attitude that preventing violence is everyone’s business: government, civil society, religious and traditional leaders, communities, caregivers, children, the media…all have a positive role to play in saying no to violence against children.” (Mastoera Sadan, Manager of the Program to Support Pro-Poor Policy development in The Presidency, Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town, quoted in a press release dated November 18, 2014) A. Social-ecological approach In keeping with the social-ecological orientation of the Center for Social Well-Being and Development at the George Washington University, we understand VAC as a phenomenon integrated with multiple social, economic, political and cultural factors that cut across geographical boundaries. As defined in a seminal UN report, VAC includes the most egregious forms of sexual exploitation, labor exploitation, sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect, trafficking, and involvement in armed conflict, but also the more everyday forms of violence and discipline in homes, schools, institutions, and the community (Pinheiro, 2006). While it is not the exclusive focus of this review, VAC subsumes aspects of violence against women (VAW), with respect to girls and young women age 18 and under. For example, the University of Cape Town’s Children’s Institute South Africa Child Gauge 2014 cited 102 cases of rape homicide in connection with child murders in South Africa in 2009, most of which almost exclusively involved girls (Mathews, Jamieson, Lake, & Smith, 2014, pp. 27-28). 2 B. Recent statistics In 2013, the government’s Financial and Fiscal Commission reported that 1.8 million children live in South Africa (Financial and Fiscal Commission [FFC], 2013). Importantly, 900,000 of these are orphans; the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and Gauteng house the most children and orphans in the country (FFC, 2013). Youth, as defined by the National Youth Commission Act 19 of 1996 as persons between the ages of 14 and 35, comprised 37% of the population in 2012 (Statistics South Africa, 2012). As noted in a recent UNICEF report, data on VAC is “complicated by the fact that violence can take many forms (physical, sexual and emotional), occur in any setting (including the home, school, workplace and over the internet) and be perpetrated by individuals (parents and other caregivers, peers, intimate partners, authority figures and strangers) or groups” (UNICEF, 2014). Moreover, as we review the literature and data, there are subcategories of VAC that are unique, though related phenomena. For example, violence against older children (adolescents) is more connected to community violence and crime, whereas violence against younger children (age 5 and under) most typically occurs in the context of family or relatives (University of Cape Town [UCT], n.d.). A full understanding of the extent of such violence is hampered by vastly inadequate data, with some forms of violence documented better than others. Recently, South Africa was named the eighth most violent country in the world, with a murder rate of 31 per 100,000 people (“South Africa is the second worst country,” 2015). In addition, multiple sources rank South Africa very high in overall interpersonal