Displaying 1 - 10 of 18
Nearly 29 million children with disabilities live in Eastern and Southern Africa. Each of them – like every child in the world – has the right to be nurtured and supported through responsive care and education, to receive adequate nutrition and social protection, and to enjoy play and leisure time. Too often, however, such rights are denied. The reasons vary: They include stigma, lack of accessible services, institutionalization and physical barriers. But the consequences are sadly consistent. When marginalized from society, these children’s chances to survive and thrive are diminished, along…
This paper highlights the importance of placing support for children with disabilities and their families at the centre of care reform efforts, and provides examples from across the region of how this can be done.
This paper uses a social model of disability that defines persons with disabilities as those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. This way of understanding disability encourages policy makers and service…
People with disabilities have the right to live in the community, according to Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, more than a decade after the adoption of the CRPD by the UN and nearly global ratification, children with disabilities continue to be placed in institutions in every region of the world. Worse still, low-middle income countries that have never had systems of institutionalization have started to build them.
In 2017, the CRPD Committee adopted general comment No. 5 on Article 19 on living independently and being included in the…
Abstract
Caring for children with disabilities (CWD) is a challenging task for families and service providers alike. Even though previous research has explored experiences and perceptions of families who care for CWD, research focusing on service providers' perceptions of such families is limited. Through the lens of a care framework, the present study aims to explore service providers' perceptions of families caring for CWD in resource‐poor settings in South Africa. Key informant interviews were conducted with managers of 10 organizations supported by the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund.…
This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Committee's recommendations on the issues relevant to children's care are highlighted, as well as other care-related concluding observations, ratification dates, and links to the Universal Periodic Review and Hague Intercountry Adoption Country Profile.
This report from Kids Empowerment reviews the reception of children on the move in South Africa. The report provides an overview of the application of international law in domestic law in South Africa as regards migrant children, explains the current reception process of children on the move, reviews the role of the child protection system in receiving migrant children (including the appointment and responsibilities of guardians), describes family reunification processes such (including family tracing), and outlines placement types and options for migrant children (including temporary…
This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Committees' recommendations on the issues relevant to children's care are highlighted, as well as other care-related concluding observations, ratification dates, and links to the Universal Periodic Review and Hague Intercountry Adoption Country Profile.
Executive Summary
This report presents the findings from a study that aimed to explore the application in practice of the ‘necessity principle’ from the Guidelines on Alternative Care for Children (UN, 2009) by using three quantitative and three qualitative indicators that provide information about whether children and families have received support to the fullest extent possible before a child ends up outside of parental care arrangements in formal or informal care, or living alone.
The indicators assume that a child in the care of his or her own parents and family is more likely to be…
In 2010 Afrika Tikkun conducted a study in Orange Farm, Alexandra, and Diepsloot in Johannesburg as well as Mfuleni and Delft in Cape Town, South Africa to assess the needs of caregivers and families of children with disabilities. This report highlights the findings of that study, including the many complex problems and human rights violations they faced. In response, Afrika Tikkun began the Empowerment Programme. This report presents the results of the evaluation of that program.
This book focuses on, and reviews, a selection of laws related to the rights of children in South Africa. Each chapter is dedicated to a particular right. Chapter 9 reviews South Africa's laws related to the rights of children to appropriate alternative care.