RESOURCES AIMED AT THE PREVENTION OF CHILD

RESOURCES AIMED AT THE
PREVENTION OF CHILD ABUSE
AND NEGLECT
It was the time of rap music
(and playing with words)
we can RAP, RAP we can
and thus RAPCAN was born
through music and harmony
Music and harmony
the end of the 1980s
sees the birth of RAPCAN
(confronting child abuse)
25 years of RAPCAN
from small beginnings
Big and radical thoughts
accompanied by action
A Trolley Full of Rights
(how many copies have I
acquired over the years
with the Listen to us
and the What is Child Abuse
posters adorning many walls)
25 years of RAPCAN
innovatively providing children
with the skills to protect themselves
From reaction to prevention
Nothing is unachievable!
DAVID KAPP
Vision
RAPCAN is widely recognised for its contribution towards creating a safe society where children are acknowledged
as rights-holders, and the rights of all are respected. We strive for a society where adults take responsibility for the
safety of children, where children participate in the realisation of their rights and are able to achieve their full potential.
Mission
RAPCAN is committed to ensuring that the protection (nurturance) and participation (autonomy) rights of children are
realised. We work within an advocacy framework towards the realisation of a prevention-oriented child protection
system, gender equality and children’s participation in all decisions affecting their lives. Our work is strengthened
by strategic partnerships and child participation. We respect diversity, dignity and the equality of all people, and
providing resources to support the testing of professional, high quality, evidence-informed programmes.
Contents
04
My recollection of how RAPCAN started
06
RAPCAN’s contribution to child rights and child health
07
Tracking child maltreatment in South Africa
08
RAPCAN’s early years
09
Flying by the seat of my pants
10
Contradictions in the child rights context
11
Surviving an economic downturn
12
Advocating for policy and law reform to realise children’s rights
14
Building models of good practice to realise children’s rights
16
Listening to and amplifying children’s voices
18
Building capacity with training and resources to act against child maltreatment
20
RAPCAN partners’ comments
RAPCAN 25 YEARS
My recollection of how
RAPCAN started
DR. PETER LACHMAN
RAPCAN CO-FOUNDER
Chris, Nettie and I were at a South African Society for Child Abuse and Neglect (SASPCAN) meeting
in Johannesburg in 1989 and had a long 17-hour drive back to Cape Town. The Western Cape
SASPCAN committee was fortunate to receive a donation of R5000 from Simonsig Dairies in
Stellenbosch to develop an education package to prevent child abuse. Over the course of the journey,
and by the time we had arrived home, we came up with a more radical solution. We believed that
prevention had been the neglected part of our work. Out of this lack of prevention work came the
idea to set up an organisation aimed at preventing Child Abuse and Neglect (CAN), rather than
treating children who had been abused. This concept, in an environment where services were failing
to manage those who had been abused, was radical and innovative.
A ndy Argent, David Bass and I had published an article
on children with child sexual abuse. We concluded that we
were just seeing a fraction of the cases and that we were
not managing the prevention and follow up as well as we
would have liked to. My future doctoral research was to
be on reported CAN in Cape Town, which would be the first
study on documenting who was abused and how we had
been responding to the abuse. Nettie was dealing with
homeless children at the Homestead and beyond, who were
repeatedly abused. Chris had a caseload of children at
Child Welfare, where prevention could have made a
difference. We were overwhelmed with cases of child abuse
and out of this the idea for RAPCAN emerged.
We came up with the concept of a centre that would be
different from what existed at the time. It would focus on
developing innovative ways to prevent abuse - from
education, to cultural change, to awareness building, to
providing children with the skills to protect themselves.
What if we developed
programmes for parents and
children and we would guide
them and help them to know
what abuse actually was and
to empower them to stop
abuse before it happened?
All of this was during a time when rap music was popular.
Chris started to play with the words RAP and came up with something like ‘We can RAP, RAP we can, why not call
the centre RAPCAN?’ The name was derived out of music and harmony! We then came up with the full title Resources
Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.
We appointed Shifra Jacobson, an adult educator, who became the founding operational director at RAPCAN, with
the task to develop the concept and profile and then raise the funds for her salary in the first three months. I approached
Maurice Kibel, professor of child health at the Univeristy of Cape Town and head of the Child Health Unit (CHU), as
well as Marian Jacobs, senior lecturer in child health at the time, and asked if we could ‘squat’ in the Child Health
Unit both physically and figuratively. The CHU was the breeding ground of many radical and innovative ideas, so we
were given the space as part of the CHU structure, and physical space in the form of offices. Both Maurice and Marian
became part of the steering group as we set up the governance arrangements for RAPCAN. The organisation was
designated to be a research project, so the governance and funding arrangements could be established.
04 RAPCAN 25 YEARS
LESSONS FOR INNOVATION
Think big but start small.
That is just what we did. We started
with a dream and ended with a
successful organisation.
Place the child at the centre of
everything you do and then you
will achieve the dream.
We wanted to be very child focused and
we wanted to make a difference.
Be radical and innovative - nothing
is unachievable!
The idea we had was out of the box and
did not fit the current paradigm - that is
why we were successful.
RAPCAN and Story Circle’s timeless children’s rights comic
The context of CAN in 1989
We all saw children’s rights as inherent in the struggle against Apartheid.
The UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child was due to be published in
1989 and we were working to improve the rights of all children in South
Africa at different levels. The context for SASPCAN and for all of us was
the need for change and the focus for us was children who were at the
risk of abuse, or who had been abused.
It was a violent time in South Africa and the idea of empowerment of
children and parents, often mothers, was key. The focus was on developing
programmes aimed at children, mothers, fathers and families to learn
what abuse was. We believed that the first step was to build up knowledge
on a series of ideas. We raised questions: What constituted abuse? When
was a touch abusive? How could one discipline in a positive way? How
early could you teach children the rights not to be abused?
As we developed a children’s rights campaign, with the emphasis on the
right “not to be physically abused, disciplined through hitting, sexually
abused, neglected or emotionally abused”, our innovative work came to
the attention of Save the Children in Sweden, which then became our
major donor for the next few years. RAPCAN could develop a series of
interventions, become a national player and be recognised at conferences
internationally. RAPCAN developed resources to promote the UN
Convention in the form of workshops, posters and in 1993, in collaboration
with Story Circle, RAPCAN published the innovative book A Trolley full
of Rights.
RAPCAN was a key member of the organising committee of the 2nd All
African ISPCAN Regional Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect held
in Cape Town in 1993. This groundbreaking conference brought together
representatives from over 30 African countries in Cape Town. Shifra
and I took RAPCAN workshops to Kenya, as well as to SASPCAN and
ISPCAN conferences.
DR PETER LACHMAN was the head
of child development at the Child
Health Unit at the Red Cross War
Memorial Children’s Hospital. He was
on the executive committee of the
Western Cape branch of the South
African Society for Child Abuse and
Neglect (SASPCAN), at the time of
initiating RAPCAN. He has worked in
the UK at Queens Medical Centre,
Nottingham University and NorthWest London Hospitals. He currently
leads on patient safety and quality
improvement at Great Ormond Street
Hospital for Children in London as
deputy medical director. He is
Chairperson of the Paediatric
International Patient Safety and
Quality Community (PIPSQC) and
National Clinical Lead for the RCPCH
SAFE programme aimed at
decreasing deterioration in acutely
unwell children.
CHRIS GILES was head of Child
Welfare, and an executive committee
of the Western Cape branch of the
South African Society for Child Abuse
and Neglect (SASPCAN), at the time
of initiating RAPCAN.
ANNETTE (NETTIE) COCKBURN
was director of Homestead and on
the executive committee of the
Western Cape branch of the South
African Society for Child Abuse and
Neglect (SASPCAN), at the time of
initiating RAPCAN.
RAPCAN 25 YEARS 05
RAPCAN’s contribution
to child rights and child
health
PROF SEBASTIAN VAN AS
RAPCAN EX-CHAIRPERSON
The very day I was asked to make a contribution to this report, one of our patients died in hospital
after a long-standing battle in our trauma unit, intensive care and burns unit at Red Cross Children’s
Hospital. She was a nine-year-old girl who was abducted, raped, doused with petrol and set alight
by the perpetrator. RAPCAN has assisted in the prevention, management and rehabilitation of those
affected by the scourge of child abuse. RAPCAN’s programmes have promoted the child’s right to
be protected from violence and injury and have so contributed to the wellbeing of children in
South Africa.
Child abuse in South Africa today
South Africa, with approximately 40% of its population under 18, has a
bad record of child abuse. The majority of its over 60,000 rape cases
reported annually are of children under 18. Perpetrators are, as evidence
demonstrates, not strangers and not AIDS patients looking for desperate
sexual gratification or cure. They are in the vast majority of cases family
friends, family members and neighbours. People who have a relation with
the child, often a trustworthy position, but they fail and damage the child
when they abuse, often beyond physical and psychological repair.
LESSONS ABOUT RAPCAN’S
RELEVANCE
There is no society known in
the world where there is no
child abuse.
Realities in South Africa substantiate
the real need for RAPCAN to exist, grow
and never give up.
Over the last quarter century,
RAPCAN has grown from a very
small organisation to a large and
It may now be the time to get
the other half of the population
on board, the (missing) fathers.
robust organisation, well-respected
locally, regionally and internationally.
The organisation’s growth has
been the result of the incredible
passion, hard work of all people
involved in its success. The vast
majority of those people carrying the
organisation forward have been women,
many of these mothers.
Exceptional leaders
SHIFRA JACOBSON understood how to develop a dream into a
viable proposition.
DIANA SCOTT was director for a short period but succumbed to cancer.
CAROL BOWER is a visionary for this organisation; with her passion and
great creative power, she put RAPCAN on the map.
CHERYL FRANK with her managerial experience changed RAPCAN into
a robust professional NGO with a strong and ethical framework.
CHRISTINA NOMDO with her capabilities has stabilised and consolidated
the organisation to its present standing.
06 RAPCAN 25 YEARS
DR SEBASTIAN VAN AS is a trauma
surgeon and head of the trauma
unit at the Children’s Red Cross
Hospital in Cape Town, the only
trauma center of its kind for children
in South Africa. Originally from the
Netherlands, Van As has documented
thousands of rape cases through the
Red Cross Hospital.
Tracking child
maltreatment in
South Africa
PROF ANDREW DAWES
RAPCAN CHAIRPERSON
In 1993, Peter Lachman, one of the RAPCAN founders, noted the lack of adequate data and a
system for generating reports on incidence of child maltreatment. As a result, he and his colleagues
introduced a child abuse report form in the Western Cape. The objective was to provide incidence
data that would enable service planning.
The Children’s Act (28 of 2005) introduced national and provincial child
protection registers to capture reports of abuse and neglect, and provide
a reliable way of measuring the scale of reported abuse and neglect. A
computerised database was designed on which reports could be uploaded
in real time by the national Department of Social Development’s (DSD)
district offices so authorities could obtain a picture of the numbers of
children affected at national, provincial and district levels.
Unfortunately, nine years on, and despite many efforts, we still do not
have a fully functioning child protection register or data capture process.
A child protection register has significant potential as a tool for monitoring
the incidence of abuse and neglect, for identifying vulnerable populations,
and for directing resources to where they are needed. But without the
necessary resourcing, it cannot perform the task for which it was designed.
We need reliable data from the child protection register, that can be used
to provide annual incidence reports and inform local level planning.
South Africa’s first national representative child abuse prevalence survey
is currently underway. The DSD is conducting a complimentary study of
abuse reported to child protection agencies. For the first time, we should
have reliable data on the extent and nature of abuse to assist in planning
and resourcing services for the prevention and management of child
maltreatment. We should ensure that DSD commissions prevalence and
incidence studies every ten years.
Key prevention interventions
In order to plan preventive interventions, we need to know the risk and
protective factors associated with each, who is most vulnerable and why.
If we are to significantly reduce the numbers affected, the most common
forms of abuse and the children most affected must be prioritised.
Legislation changes to recognise child abuse
Section 42 of the Child Care Act (74 of 1983) mandated reporting of
injuries to a child by certain professionals if they were suspicious that
these ‘might have been deliberate’. The Children’s Act (38 of 2005) widened
responsibility for mandated reporting.
LESSONS FOR
ORGANISATIONAL BOARD
CHAIRPERSONS
Ensure the board has a mix of skills
aligned to the nature of the
organisation, and have the best
treasurer you can get.
Non-profit organisational funding
is never guaranteed, so establish a
sustainability reserve fund.
Be available to guide and support
the executive director. While
keeping a close eye on governance,
finances and strategic direction, stay
out of the operational kitchen!
PROF ANDREW DAWES
is a clinical and developmental
psychologist. He is an Associate
Professor Emeritus in the Department
of Psychology at the University of
Cape Town where he lectured since
1975. He has publshed eight books
and produced in excess of 160 journal
articles, book chapters, and major
research reports. He serves on
several trusts and boards of South
African child NGOs.
Our system has the capability to generate reliable
data on child abuse. Government must make it work.
RAPCAN 25 YEARS 07
RAPCAN’s early years
SHIFRA JACOBSON
RAPCAN FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 1990 UNTIL 1997
RAPCAN was formed through the brazen and sheer determination of myself and other concerned
child rights advocates, activists and academics. I saw directly from working in disadvantaged and
advantaged areas that children were consistently being marginalised. Child abuse and neglect was
slowly emerging into the public and media’s consciousness.
All this propelled me into wanting to actively counter and pursue the
combating of child abuse and neglect through education, action
research, advocacy, and the coordination of resources, including treatment
and prevention.
We believed strongly that we
could make a difference in the
lives of children and I know
we did.
1990s: Global and local views on child abuse
Globally, accounts of the abuse perpetrated against women and children
were starting to make news headlines, highlighted predominantly by
social welfare workers, gender and child rights activists. With no status,
silenced opinions, and Victorian and Calvinistic attitudes towards them
as inferior beings, children’s rights as human beings in their own right,
were totally denied.
As South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement was rising through the defiance
campaign, a rights-based framework for constitutional democracy was
being promoted. In 1990 emerged the right moment to begin advocating
strongly on behalf of children generally, and particularly children suffering
from all forms of abuse and exploitation. Children were treated with little
respect for their thoughts and bodies and were often victim/survivors of
exploitation, intimate family violence, physical sexual and emotional abuse,
as well as generally seen as targets by adults for sexual gain, including
child trafficking.
08 RAPCAN 25 YEARS
LESSONS FROM A NEW
DEMOCRATIC CULTURE
We encouraged, facilitated and
tried to be in all ways democratic,
non-hierarchical and allow for
equal opportunity for all.
RAPCAN committed itself to
working within a non-racist, nonsexist, and egalitarian framework
promoting rights.
I was committed to training that
would include participatory and
experiential education.
SHIFRA JACOBSON is an adult and
popular educator with an advanced
diploma in adult education and a postgraduate diploma in women and
gender studies. She is a human and
civil rights activist, training and
facilitating programmes that focus on
diversity, gender and prevention of
discrimination in all its forms.
Flying by the seat
of my pants
CAROL BOWER
RAPCAN FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, APRIL 2000 UNTIL JULY 2006
There was a delay before I was appointed as executive director, with nearly two years passing from
the end of the tenure of the first director. Her successor, Diana Scott, was diagnosed with advanced
cancer within weeks of assuming her post. Tragically, she died in August 1999. As a result, the good
reputation and credibility the organisation had hitherto enjoyed was seriously compromised.
Building a credible institution
RAPCAN needed to find a niche in a sector dominated by concerns relating
to protecting children from physical assault by both teachers and parents
or care-givers. There was also an upsurge of interest in children’s rights
and their protection, especially since three pieces of legislation of significant
importance in the children’s sector were being developed: the Children’s
Act, the Child Justice Act, and the Sexual Offences Act. This period was
also shortly after the prohibition of corporal punishment in schools but the
environment existed where not many organisations were dealing with
corporal punishment issues, particularly at the national advocacy level.
Building RAPCAN’s training capacity was prioritised - a strategy that
enabled the organisation to raise funding relatively easily. Funding and
cordial relations with a fairly wide basket of donors was also given great
emphasis, and the organisation managed to stabilise and secure sustainable
funding by the end of 2002. Advocacy around the three pieces of
forthcoming legislation also commenced, in part to begin to raise RAPCAN’s
profile and credibility. There was a deliberate strategy to position RAPCAN
as a leading child rights organisation, within South Africa, in Africa and
globally. This strategy was facilitated by my position on the NGO advisory
panel to the United Nations global study on violence against children.
Departments were created within the organisation over the next few years:
Resource Centre; Training Unit; Child Witness Project; and Advocacy Unit.
Somehow, we managed
to survive. I’m still not
sure how.
LESSONS FOR LEADERSHIP
IN TIMES OF CRISIS
Lead from behind and give
those you’re leading support,
affirmation and encouragement,
while holding them to a high standard
of accountability.
Devolve authority appropriately
and be open to other people’s
ideas of how to do things; allow
and encourage the next layer in the
organisation to take responsibility
and initiative.
Listen before you judge or decide
about anything. Treat everyone the
same, and with respect, empathy and
honesty. Be firm, but know when to
be flexible.
CAROL BOWER obtained an honours
degree in psychology, and lectured
at the University of Cape Town for
several years. She has served as the
director of a number of successful
organisations. She now consultants
on issues relating to child protection.
RAPCAN 25 YEARS 09
Contradictions in the
child rights context
CHERYL FRANK
RAPCAN FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JULY 2006 UNTIL FEBRUARY 2009
Passing into law of the Children’s Act and its amendments was an important legislative development.
However, the restructuring of the SAPS Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences
Units, and continued lethargy in relation to the Child Justice Bill, was of concern.
Prevention and early intervention were introduced strongly into government
policy through the Children’s Amendment Act, yet in practice remain
enormously under-resourced in terms of government investment of the
conceptual and institutional capital that is necessary to impact on a larger
scale. A child protection system that has primarily invested in reacting to
victimisation - without equal investment in prevention.
Consolidating success
RAPCAN continued to adopt a comprehensive approach to its work,
providing direct services to children and families, undertaking training,
producing and disseminating resources, and undertaking research and
advocacy. By the end of the year, funding was stable and the staff capacity
was appropriate. This resulted in the organisation (reaching) higher
numbers of people through its direct services and training, and the
completion of key pieces of resource materials. Over this period, most
critically, RAPCAN cemented its position as a leading organisation in the
children’s sector in South Africa and southern Africa.
Positioning the organisation for the future
RAPCAN retained its strategic focus on the prevention of victimisation of
children. The specific focus on responding to the physical and sexual
abuse of children was strengthened during this period. This was
complemented in the second half of the year by an emerging focus on
children as the perpetrators of crime, particular crimes of a serious, violent
and sexual nature.
RAPCAN has confirmed the following approaches: child rights; evidencebased; innovation; leadership; good governance, sound management
and public accountability; capacity building as well as access and quality
of services.
LESSONS FOR IMPROVING
MANAGEMENT
RAPCAN’s work should be
informed by lessons from local and
international experience and
generate evidence through its own work,
through monitoring and evaluation.
Intervention strategies should seek
to introduce innovative responses,
balancing international evidence with
local conditions.
Good governance principles
pervade all organisational practice
- resulting from sound management and
leading to public accountability.
CHERYL FRANK has a Social Work
degree and MBA. She is currently
programme manager of the
International Crime in Africa
Programme. She is the former director
of the Pretoria office of the Institute
for Security Studies (ISS). She began
her career as a social worker with the
National Institute for Crime and the
Rehabilitation of Offenders (Nicro).
RAPCAN received the Stars Impact Award in 2007 for the
Child Witness Project.
RAPCAN cemented its position as a leading organisation
in the children’s sector in South Africa and southern Africa.
10 RAPCAN 25 YEARS
Surviving an economic
downturn
CHRISTINA NOMDO
RAPCAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JANUARY 2009 - PRESENT
My focus was to institutionalise policies and create a culture of generating evidence from practice
as well as building resilient systems that stand the test of time.
Challenges in the funding environment made it difficult to continue business
as usual. Donors were encouraging civil society to transfer the service
delivery mandate back to government; many donors also began to
reorganise their strategies to develop South Africa offices; and there was
just less resources to go around as everyone’s purse had been affected
by the economic crisis.
RAPCAN needed to re-strategise in order to develop a niche and continue
to be a cutting-edge practice, policy and law reform advocate in a changing
external environment. The new strategy included building a participatory
culture, institutionalising capacity building and shifting the programme
focus, to continue to pioneer new areas of work.
LESSONS TO WEATHER
CHANGE
Change is necessary at critical
times and leaders are called to be
courageous and build a wellness
culture to guide and support the
change process.
A commitment to individual
mentorship and capacity building is
needed for staff to have the requisite
skills to perform new roles.
Challenges in the funding
environment made it difficult
to continue business as usual.
Anchors in trying times, assets to weather
the storm
RAPCAN’s sustainability reserve, good governance policy framework,
strong model projects, and good custodianship of donor funds were the
key anchors for weathering economic storms.
Building a partnership rather than
an adversarial approach with
government is key for systemic change.
CHRISTINA NOMDO holds a
master’s degree in gender studies
from the University of Cape Town.
She has worked previously as a
trainer and researcher with the former
Institute for Democracy in South
Africa (Idasa) from 2002 until 2006.
Furthermore, RAPCAN focussed on creating systems and capacities for
financial management and accountability; building a planning, monitoring
and evaluation orientation; promoting a culture of inclusion and skills
development; in order to achieve effectiveness and efficiency.
RAPCAN 25 YEARS 11
Advocating for policy and law
reform to realise children’s rights
Children’s protection and participation rights
RAPCAN recognises that children are individual rights holders and that the state and adults
have an obligation to ensure child wellbeing. RAPCAN advocacy focuses specifically on:
Children’s rights to be free from all forms of violence to realise their right to protection; and
Children’s rights to citizenship and participation in all matters affecting them.
Evidence of RAPCAN’s impact can be found in many provisions within South African legislation, such as increased
access to protective measures for children in court; and an obligation on provinces to provide prevention programmes
including strengthening support to parents.
At a policy level, research and advocacy has resulted in a strategic shift in government towards specialised policing
services and co-ordinated action to prevent children’s involvement in gangs and violence. We also promote a child
rights focus in any policy or legislation that affects the lives of children.
RAPCAN seeks to shift policy and spending away from reaction alone, towards broad scale programmes that promote
protection and resilience in society.
Campaign: Moving from a culture
of corporal punishment to positive
discipline
The very first issue that RAPCAN tackled in 1989 was
the use of physical chastisement as a form of discipline.
We teamed up with the End Physical Punishment of
Children (EPOCH) campaign in the United Kingdom.
Stop hitting children was a RAPCAN campaign, using
EPOCH SA Handbook “Hitting people is wrong and
children are people too”.
SOURCE: DR. PETER LACHMAN, RAPCAN CO-FOUNDER
RAPCAN coordinated the South African Working Group
on Positive Discipline and the Southern African Regional
Group on Corporal Punishment through a partnership
with Save the Children Sweden. RAPCAN also developed
positive discipline learning materials for educators
and parents.
Evidence-informed prevention strategies include:
Focus on vulnerable caregivers and families.
Train staff in clinics to recognise caregiver
vulnerabilities that place children at risk.
Identify pregnant women living in vulnerable
circumstances.
Provide support to the mothers by educating on infant
and child development and conduct home visits.
Make caregiver/child relationship building
programmes available.
SOURCE: PROF ANDY DAWES, RAPCAN BOARD
CHAIRPERSON
12 RAPCAN 25 YEARS
Working collaboratively
RAPCAN participated in a variety of advocacy networks
that included the:
Children's Bill Working Group
South African Society for the Prevention of Child
Abuse and Neglect (SASPCAN)
African Network on the Prevention of and Protection
from Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Task team convened by the Sexual Offences and
Community Affairs (SOCA) unit in the National
Prosecuting Authority, examining standards and
levels of service delivery to sexual assault survivors
within the court system
Western Cape Network on Violence Against Women's
Intersect Coalition
ChildrenNow Network, writing of the Alternate Report
to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and
the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and
Welfare of the Child
NGO Advisory Panel to the United Nation's Secretary
General's Global Study on Violence Against Children
Gender Justice Forum
Shukhumisa Campaign
National and Provincial Child Protection Committees
Challenging laws to uphold the Constitution
RAPCAN continues to promote the realisation of children’s rights by
challenging laws that do not uphold the Constitutional mandate.
In 2013, RAPCAN and the Teddy Bear Clinic represented by the Centre
for Child Law, successfully challenged the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences
and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007.
This ‘Sexual Offences Act’ criminalised consensual sexual conduct between
adolescents aged 12 to 16 years and compelled adults (whom the
adolescents confided in) to report these crimes.
On 3 October 2013, the Constitutional Court ordered that Sections 15 and
16 of the 2007 ‘Sexual Offences Act’ are constitutionally inconsistent and
therefore invalid because they violate children’s rights to dignity and
privacy.
The Constitutional Court ordered Parliament to redraft the Criminal Law
(Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007.
LESSONS TO INCREASE
ADVOCACY EFFECTIVENESS
RAPCAN advocacy is largely
undertaken in alliances, coalitions
and networks to extend our impact.
We take a research-based approach
to ensure that we understand the
reality of children’s experiences and
that solutions recommended are
evidence-informed.
RAPCAN also aims to strengthen
the implementation of policy and
legislation.
SOURCE: CHRISTINA NOMDO, CURRENT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
INFLUENCING LAWS
Laws that RAPCAN have made submission on include:
The Children's Bill
The Firearms Control Bill
The Film and Publications Board
The Disciplining of Children
The Education Laws Amendment Bill
SAHRC on violence in schools
Sexual Offences Bill
Gun Control Submission
Sexual Offences Bill
On the Child Justice Bill
Parliamentary Hearing on Child Sexual Abuse
Selected RAPCAN research:
To what extent is a child rights based approach being implemented in
the Criminal Justice System
Implementation brief on the management of child sexual offences in
courts: Failing systems, broken promises
RAPCAN Process evaluation of the Child Witness Project handover
Quality Services Guaranteed? Victim Policy in South Africa
Hidden Violence - Preventing and responding to sexual exploitation
and sexual abuse of adolescent boys
Service responses to co-victimisation of mother and child:
Missed opportunities in the prevention of domestic violence: Experiences
from South Africa
Raising the Bar: A Review of the Restructuring of the SAPS Family
Violence,Child Protection and Sexual Offences Units
Children being used by Adults to Commit Crime (CUBAC)
Children's Involvement in Gangs
RAPCAN 25 YEARS 13
Building models of good practice
to realise children’s rights
Demonstrating direct service practice models
The Child Protection and Support Services Programme was configured from 2000 to
develop direct service delivery models intended to demonstrate good practice in the field of
child protection.
Diversion for young sex offenders (1999-2003)
SAYStOP was an innovative diversion programme for young sex offenders younger than 16. These offenders were
referred for diversion by the courts or by social workers. Acceptance on the programme was in part dependent on
an acknowledgement by the young sex offender of his culpability. SAYStOP materials were developed and workshops
were implemented by probation officers attached to courts. The programme was managed by a consortium comprised
of RAPCAN (as initiators); the National Institute for the Rehabilitation of Offenders (NICRO); the Community Law
Centre; the Institute for Criminology and the Western Cape Department of Justice.
SOURCE: CAROL BOWER, EXECUTIVE RAPCAN DIRECTOR FROM 2000 TO 2006
Supporting child witnesses of sexual offences from (2001-2013)
[support workers] showed us how they love their job and they assist us
with our children a lot... from the first day I saw a miracle that they
assisted us so much with our children and that means it was not only us
who were assisted in this manner, which means that every child that has
a problem is assisted kindly. (CAREGIVER 8, RAPCAN RESEARCH)
The delivery of direct services represented a new direction for RAPCAN, which had previously
focused only on capacity building and resource production.
The Western Cape Department of Justice and Constitutional Development agreed to the implementation of the Child
Witness Project (CWP) at the Wynberg Sexual Offences court in 2001. The project’s success peaked the interest
of the National Prosecuting Authority, requesting an extension of CWP to Khayelitsha, Paarl, Parow and Atlantis,
and later Cape Town. The overall aim of the project is to reduce the risk and experience of secondary trauma of
child witnesses.
It is located in a preventative framework, recognising that the risks of both future victimisation and offending are
reduced if victimised children receive therapeutic services to address the impact of that victimisation. The RAPCAN
model, founded on international and local good practice, hinged on sound policies, processes and methods. Efficient
management systems and engaging in inter-sectoral collaboration are also included.
Main project elements include: services for children and care-givers, a child-friendly environment, pre- and post-trial
support, legal knowledge, and emotional support to children.
By April 2013, with support from the Western Cape Department of Social Development, the CWP was transferred to
Western Cape Lifeline/Childline to continue services now considered an integral part of the sexual offences court
service delivery model.
SOURCE: FAIROUZ NAGIA-LUDDY AND SAMANTHA WATERHOUSE (2009) Oiling the wheels of justice? The RAPCAN Child Witness
Project, published in the South African Crime Quarterly of the Institute for Security Studies.
14 RAPCAN 25 YEARS
LESSONS FROM MODEL
BUILDING
Due to the dearth of services,
RAPCAN developed evidenceinformed practice models.
Models are intended to stimulate
innovation in child protection
service delivery.
To ensure systems reform, practice
models should be transferred to
government or civil society
partners to rollout or scale up.
Healing for sexual abuse (2007-2011)
Through its work with child witnesses in sexual offences courts, RAPCAN
observed that very few children gain access to therapeutic services.
The Healer’s Package was developed as an innovative response to this
therapeutic gap.
The Healer’s Package is a set of resource manuals and other practical
materials which is intended to be utilised by trained and licensed lay
counsellors, social workers and psychologists. The materials were
developed by Edith Kriel in cooperation with Joan Van Niekerk,
Childline National; Shaheda Omar, The Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused
Children; and Marita Rademeyer from Kinder Trauma Kliniek.
The Healer’s Package has undergone a stringent piloting process nationally
and has been closely monitored and evaluated.
The Healer’s Package
RAPCAN transferred the Healer’s Package implementation and rollout to
ChildlineSA due to their national reach, since 2011.
Preventing child maltreatment (2008-2014)
The Children Are Precious (CAP) community-based
model for child protection was implemented in
Lavender Hill from 2009 to 2012. The objectives of the
model were to:
To enable more efficient and effective responses to
child maltreatment
To identify and reduce the risk factors at child,
family school and community level that promotes
child maltreatment
To establish and strengthen community based
services that facilitate sustainable preventative and
responsive measures.
The Children’s Act (28 of 2005)
mandates the implementation
of prevention and early
intervention programmes.
Tested practice models
supports the reform of the
welfare system from a reactive
to preventative orientation.
CAP allowed RAPCAN the opportunity to concretise an
understanding of the three levels of child maltreatment
prevention. RAPCAN’s stance is that primary prevention
programming promotes social change to combat child
maltreatment; secondary prevention serves groups or
individuals that are identified as high-risk; and tertiary
prevention serves survivors of child maltreatment.
PREVENTION
PRIMARY
SECONDARY
TERTIARY
COMMUNITY
Communications
for social change
Afterschool
care
mentoring
Referral
systems
strengthening
SCHOOL
Positive discipline
training with
educators
School safety
plans
(Hlayiseka)
Child abuse
prevention and
management
systems
development
FAMILY &
INDIVIDUAL
Parenting
support
Community
mapping and
Heroes
workbook
Healers
workbook
RAPCAN 25 YEARS 15
Listening to and amplifying
children’s voices
“Listen, hear what we say.”
The first campaign RAPCAN initiated to profile the voices of children was a Children’s
Truth Commission held in the South African Parliament on 2 November 1996.
Children related stories of abuse:
My name is Max. I am 14 years old. On the
20th September I was arrested by a police
officer on a charge of theft of a bicycle. I was
taken to the Umtata police station where I
was held for three days. The police cell I was
in was full and there were both children and
adults in the cell. On the third day I was finally
taken to court in the police van. There were
six of us in the van, both children and adults.
This campaign led to the development of a new plan of action for RAPCAN. The immediate
focus would be on building a referral network to respond to cases of child abuse and neglect.
16 RAPCAN 25 YEARS
“I am a human being.”
The Children Are Precious (CAP) project implemented an array of
interventions including a communications for social change strategy in
Lavender Hill during 2011 and 2012. This strategy was adopted to create
a platform for community members to share their opinions, especially on
how they viewed childhood and the status of children in their community.
It was anticipated that this strategy would facilitate knowledge, attitude
and behaviour shifts.
Children and youth participated in this strategy via workshops and
developing social messages for change in a six-song album, Lavender
Hill for Life.
Their opinions shared experiences of marginalisation from decision-making
structures in their communities, which ignored their existence and the
value they could bring to create social change. The change they wanted
to see was clearly articulated in their messaging.
Experiences of violence were present in homes, schools, community
streets and used also by service providers to the community. This violent
means of relating to others was viewed by children and youth as both
normative and problematic at the same time.
LESSONS FROM CHILD
PARTICIPATION
There are many ethical
considerations when working and
conducting research with children;
primarily the principle of “do no
harm”.
Project implementers and researchers
require a particular skill set and aptitude
to work to build trust in order that the
best interest of the child is served.
Children are able to be change
agents and self-advocates, given
the correct support from adult
facilitators.
Children and youth expressed the hope that they would be acknowledged
as human beings, with inalienable rights, and that adults would pause to
reflect on the solutions being proposed to current societal problems. The
messages are being shared with parents, community leaders, officials in
government and politicians.
SOURCE: SHANE LENTOOR, CHILD PARTICIPATION MANAGER,
2011 UNTIL PRESENT
RAPCAN 25 YEARS 17
Building capacity with training and
resources to act on child
maltreatment
Promoting awareness on child abuse and neglect
In the early years, RAPCAN’s training workshops had an intentional bias. It was aimed predominantly at adults - often
adults who through the course of their work came in contact with children, such as teachers, nurses, doctors and
parents. This was reflected in the background of RAPCAN’s trainers, who were adult educators.
RAPCAN believed that children cannot ethically be expected to protect themselves to the extent that adults could,
and that it was the responsibility of adults and child protection systems to protect children.
The aims of the RAPCAN training programmes were to:
Enhance the understanding of types of abuse and neglect within communities.
Raise awareness of communities about the links between child abuse, gender inequality, and socialisation.
Provide professionals encountering abused children to recognise abuse, respond appropriately, and be aware
of their legal and ethical obligations.
Empower children and enhance their ability to recognise and possibly act in potentially abusive situations.
Increase the likelihood that young children will disclose abuse and seek appropriate assistance.
Inform and educate children and young people on their rights.
Child abuse prevention and management
training pilot project
RAPCAN’s training approaches included more intensive training to support
a community resource base for the prevention and management of child
abuse cases in that community. This was developed as a pilot project.
The training aimed to provide skills so that community members could
themselves take responsibility and initiative for developing relevant
community services.
The activities provided ongoing training for community groups on child
abuse prevention and management with an aim of setting up resource
bases in poor, under-resourced communities. Communities included in
this pilot training were Atlantis and Kraaifontein.
EUGENE PATIENTIA
RAPCAN RESOURCES SPECIALIST
AND RESEARCHER, 1994 - PRESENT
Eugene attended the University of
Cape Town where he completed a BA
in English/History and a HDE diploma
in Education and Information Science.
After periods of teaching and working
in a company library, he joined
RAPCAN as the Information Officer
responsible for RAPCAN's resource
centre and IT. His work activities have
changed more recently to involvement
in funding proposals, M&E and
research work.
18 RAPCAN 25 YEARS
Training included a child abuse prevention/management curriculum but
went further to include topics of developing the organisation, setting up
a resource base, assisting with fundraising and identifying committed
people in the community to take the process forward.
Outcomes of this training included the development of skilled community
resource people who could continue the training, counselling and resource
development, linking community-based organisations with potential funding
opportunities. Donor organisations were also made more aware of the
need to fund community-based organisations.
Some visible projects were developed during this intervention but a
problem of sustainability was identified. Often funders were reluctant to
fund such community based projects. Staff passion and commitment was
not enough to keep projects going for many years.
Supporting awareness with learning materials
RAPCAN was a repository of information on child abuse, at one time,
operating like a specialised public lending library. It was also a distributor
of resources throughout Southern Africa. Some of the learning materials
had even been licensed to be reproduced in local languages of other
countries.
LESSONS FROM TRAINING
ON CHILD ABUSE
Training should be directed at
adults to improve their skills.
Awareness raising with children has
potential pitfalls as children should
not be solely responsible for their
own safety.
Training needs to be supported by
learning materials for reinforcing the
knowledge gained.
Training is an important method to
stimulate practice reform.
Developing ‘A Trolley full of rights’
with children
September 1993 saw the launch of RAPCAN’s educational comic book ‘A
trolley full of rights’. It highlights child safety and protection through a
child’s knowledge of their rights.
This vibrant and exciting story involves a group of friends who embark on
a journey across South Africa, in a magic shopping trolley, to assist
children who have been abused, helping them identify abuse in its many
forms and advising on how to seek help.
‘A trolley full of rights’ was produced by Story Circle with members Jonathan
Shapiro (aka the political cartoonist Zapiro), Lizza Littlewort, Grant Shreiber
and Roger van Wyk, with wide consultation with RAPCAN staff and other
research advisors in the child protection field. Warner-Lambert SA and
Radda Barnen provided funding to realise the comic’s production.
RAPCAN and Story Circle co-ordinated workshops with Littlewood Primary
School and Thembani Pre-school Centre children to develop ideas, content
and artwork for the comic. Children’s artwork formed part of the
development of the comic’s story board.
We firmly believe this approach in using children’s participation in the
comic’s development, provided the book with an added relevance to
children.
The comic book has in an extraordinary way stood the test of time and
21 years later still has a strong appeal to children and parents. In 2004,
the book formed part of the South African government’s children literature
exhibition in London to commemorate a decade of democracy.
International partners such as Unicef Lesotho and Malawi saw the value
of the comic book to promote children’s rights and produced local language
editions for these countries. RAPCAN also expanded the comic book’s
potential readership by developing Afrikaans and Xhosa language editions.
LESSONS FROM PRODUCING
MATERIALS THAT STOOD
THE TEST OF TIME
Product development should
include children and subject
experts and should ideally form part
of a training intervention.
Materials should be prepared in
accessible and appealing formats
conveying simple messages.
Definitive works will be reproduced
by others after it is first produced.
RAPCAN is proud that its flagship book for children has enjoyed such
longevity, incorporating a child participation principle that was well ahead
of its time.
RAPCAN 25 YEARS 19
RAPCAN partners’ comments
The staff and learners of Lavender Hill Secondary salute and pay tribute
to RAPCAN for having worked tirelessly and selflessly to safeguard the
rights of our children.
Molo Songololo congratulates RAPCAN on its 25th anniversary. We
commend all past and present staff for the pioneering work done to
prevent child abuse and neglect; and for advancing the rights of the child
in South Africa.
RAPCAN has truly embraced Monitoring and Evaluation and is therefore
delivering evidence-based plans and implementation of their community
development model to improve childrenís participation and rights.
Rapcan’s commitment to the recognition and understanding of
children’s autonomy is an important feature within their broader work
on child protection.
RAPCAN has been at the forefront of advocating and championing for
the rights of children to be recognised and upheld.
Congratulations for reaching a quarter of a century as an organisation.
Making a change is not a once off event but a journey. As a captain of
this massive vessel, I salute you for keeping it floating above the water
during the times of storms and high tide. RAPCAN has made its mark in
the WC and beyond. Viva RAPCAN, viva!
RAPCAN is a brave organization which is very consistent in its rights
based approach and strong commitment to prevention while being
unusually self-reflective and open for change which is reflected in its
constant search for improved and refined methods to achieve the main
objective to prevent abuse and neglect of children.
Congratulations RAPCAN on your commitment to protecting the rights of
children in South Africa over the past 25 years. The High Commission of
Canada is proud to have had the opportunity to partner with you and
commends you on this wonderful milestone.
Over the last 25 years RAPCAN has played a crucial role in building a
constituency for progressive children’s rights in South Africa. This
anniversary is a milestone and indeed cause for celebration.
It is vital for the children of South Africa to have a voice through impactful
organisations like Rapcan. They really make a valuable contribution to
the greater good of society.
What an achievement! Well done! Long may RAPCAN and your excellent
work continue into the future.
We would like to congratulate RAPCAN on championing children’s rights.
They advocate on children’s behalf and have succeeded in making
children being heard. They are aligned to the principles of ‘Bana Pele’ Children First.
20 RAPCAN 25 YEARS
Congratulations to RAPCAN for 25 years of defending children’s rights.
Besides being a leader in the field child rights sector, RAPCAN has
also facilitated the growth and impact of other organisations working
towards maintaining the dignity, healthy development and safety of
children. In 1993 RAPCAN provided seed funding for the Parent
Centre’s Parent-Infant Intervention Home Visiting Programme for
at-risk pregnant women and infants. This programme is still operating
20 years later. Thank you, RAPCAN.
RAPCAN contributes towards changing the environment in which children
develop by maintaining keen interest in policies and legal processes
affecting children’s rights and being their ‘voice’ in promoting a normative
childhood for all.
RAPCAN was the first ever recipient of the Stars Impact Award for
Protection in 2007. Both before and since, RAPCAN has established
itself as a trusted advocate for child victims of sexual abuse. We
congratulate the entire organisation on 25 years of dedicated service
to the community; this milestone serves as a testament to the critical
ongoing work RAPCAN delivers in support of vulnerable children
across South Africa.
Wonderfully innovative IEC materials - thank you, RAPCAN!
RAPCAN fulfils a vital role in the realisation of rights for children, and as
a longstanding collaborative partner of Rape Crisis in many spaces.
Behind everyone’s success, there is effort and dedication. Keep up the
good work you are doing for you have shown for many years that you
will never forsake the children of South Africa. And with that we say never retire, never give up for you are the light at the end of a tunnel
for the children in our country, you give hope to the hopeless, guidance
to the stray.The kind of work you are doing has not benefitted the
people of Cape Town only but went beyond borders hence UCARC is
the brainchild of RAPCAN.
RAPCAN is doing great work in the lives of children and advocating for
their fundamental right to safety.
RAPCAN is a key champion of children’s rights in South Africa, and
the Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town, has greatly benefited
from drawing on RAPCAN’s expertise and deep engagement with
children at community level, and in working together to promote
children’s participation and the prevention violence against children
in the 2011 and 2014 issues of the South African Child Gauge.
Rapcan’s tireless efforts to improve the wellbeing of our country’s children
motivates others to believe that change for the better is achievable and
to take steps to make that change happen.
RAPCAN 25 YEARS 21
South African children need RAPCAN. Thanks for being our activist
partner that ensures children rights are protected and for appreciating
research and its value in your work.
We applaud RAPCAN for their innovative contribution to policy
development, programmes and practice for the protection of children and
youth in South Africa.
Capacity received by Oxfam and its partners from RAPCAN ensured a
country appropriate child protection strategies and responses.
RAPCAN is without question, the most passionate and fearless champion
of children’s rights in the province and beyond.
RAPCAN is a leader in the realisation of progressive child rights, and
does not back down in the face of criticism and and controversy.
Congratulations on your 25th anniversary.
It’s been a privilege watching RAPCAN’s resilience, adaptive intelligence
and will to thrive. Much like the children they serve. And so too, may they
continue to grow in their influence...
Sasol is a proud partner in the development and roll-out of the Healer
Package Programme, aimed at reducing secondary abuse by developing
the skills of care workers; medical - legal professionals; parents and the
community to enable the effective management of survivors of abuse.
RAPCAN has been a key role player in child protection advocacy and
work actively to promote the rights of all children.
For many years, the NPA has relied on and benefitted from the excellent
services from Rapcan through its Child Witness Project. Not only have
witnesses been supported through the demanding trial process, this
project has also had a direct impact on the quality and integrity of witness
evidence in court. The NPA thanks Rapcan for its involvement in making
the criminal justice system more accessible to victims of sexual offences.
Rupert Onderwysstigting
22 RAPCAN 25 YEARS
Staff Acknowledgement
RAPCAN acknowledges all the staff during our twenty-five year history for their contribution. Working together with
a shared committment to improving the lives of children, you have grown and capacitated the organisation.
Without you, it would not have been possible - we salute you.
23 BACK COVER INNER - silver paper
RAPCAN (Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect)
Physical Address
3rd Floor, Waterford House
Waterford Road
Diep River
Cape Town
Postal Address
Suite 87
Private Bag X12
Tokai 7966
South Africa
TEL
FAX
WEB
EMAIL
+27 21 712 2330
+27 21 712 2365
www.rapcan.org.za
[email protected]
RAPCAN REGISTRATION
Non-profit Company - NPC Registration: 97/216/87/08
Non-profit Organisation Registration: 010-744
SARS Public Benefit Organisation Registration: 18/11/13/2208