![]() Mud schools to get millions rand revamp
It has taken all of 17 years, but the pupils and staff at Tembeni Senior Primary School have finally been guaranteed a proper school. On Friday afternoon the Eastern Cape department of education reached an R8-billion out-of-court settlement with seven schools, of which Tembeni is one. Read More...
Constitutional challenge to law criminalising consensual sexual acts between children
Teen, jailed on false drug charges, wins pay-out
A teenage boy who was detained overnight at the Florida police station on suspicion of being in possession of drugs, but later found not to be connected to the drugs, is set to receive R50 000 in damages from the Minister of Safety and Security. The boy, who was 16 at the time, was assisted in his court application by the Centre for Child Law at UP. Read More...
Rape call for better housing for kids - curator
The alleged rape of two young siblings at the Central Methodist Church in Joburg should be a catalyst for the city to step up plans to provide more suitable accommodation for the vulnerable, says Dr Ann Skelton of the Centre for Child at the University of Pretoria. Earlier this year the Johannesburg High Court appointed Skelton as curator to look into what was in the best interests of the children living at the church. Read More...
Facebook launches panic button for child safety
Social networking website Facebook has agreed to adopt a panic button aimed at improving the online safety of its younger users, a child protection group said on Monday. The launch of button, which follows a long campaign by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), will allow children and teenagers to report suspicious behaviour and get help, advice and support about staying safe online. Read More...
Court bid to help special needs boy failed by systems.
"While President Jacob Zuma last week promised to look into ways to solve problems besetting a special needs school during a visit, the sad tale of a boy with special needs will today be the subject of a Pretoria High Court application." Read More...
Advocate fights for ill teenager
The North Gauteng High Court appointed an advocate to investigate the placement of a 15-year-old boy. The child has been in and out of mental hospitals and spent a night in jail because no suitable place could be found for him. Dr Ann Skelton, Director of the Centre for Child Law from UP, said in an affidavit the boy and his brother were placed in a children’s home after their mother’s death in 2007, but he was admitted to Weskoppies on several occasions because of behavioural problems. Read More...
Reparation, not punishment
The new Children’s Act stipulates that children awaiting trial should not be held in prison but in secure child and youth care facilities if they can’t be released into their parents’ care. Dr Ann Skelton, Director of the Centre for Child Law from UP explains that the Child Justice Act aims to help minors avoid a criminal record, and encourages rehabilitation and reintegration informed by the principles of restorative rather than punitive justice.Read More...
Teenager's application for emancipation
The Western Cape High Court approved a teenager's application to be emancipated from her parents.
Experts at the Centre for Child Law at the University of Pretoria says such a case will be heard with viable reasons. Ronaldah Ngidi from the Centre for Child Law was interviewed during the programme.
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Carina du Toit, Attorney: Centre for Child Law, University of Pretoria - Mail & Guardian
Since 2005, attorney Carina du Toit has spent her time fighting for children’s rights at the Centre for Child Law based at the University of Pretoria. She was an attorney for the centre’s most important case to date, where they are seeking to declare sections of the Criminal Law (sentencing) Amendment Act 41 of 2007 unconstitutional. The sections under scrutiny allow the imposition of minimum sentences, including life imprisonment for children who are as young as 16 or 17 when they commit the offence. The matter was referred to the Constitutional Court and was heard on March 5 this year. Judgment was reserved. Jane Steinacker. Read More...
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Media release: Teddy Bear Clinic and RAPCAN
