'Protect us - we're just children'
By Babington Maravanyika
Fighting crime is everyone's responsibility, not just the police's.
That was the message of Tshwane children who got the chance to air their views about crime on Friday.
At a seminar hosted by Khulisa Crime Prevention Initiative in partnership with Unisa, children were given the opportunity to air their views before an influential audience that included policy makers, academics and representatives of NGOs.
Society had a responsibility to protect them from crime, because they were "just children", they said.
They said criminals lived among the people, and if all people co-operated with law enforcement agencies, the war against crime could be won.
One of the 25 children who attended the seminar as Khulisa ambassadors against crime said certain crimes, such as drug peddling, were being committed openly in some communities because people did not bother to report the dealers to the police.
The children also said one of the best ways of fighting crime was for parents to teach children good morals.
"Remember that you can't teach an old dog new tricks," said one of the children, raising laughter among the audience.
He said children should be taught to avoid taking drugs and alcohol, as consumption of the two often resulted in the commission of serious crimes such as murder, armed robbery and rape.
The children appealed to their peers to guard against peer pressure that might lead them to commit criminal acts. They also took a critical look at themselves, saying children should not expect to be taught everything, and that there had to come a stage when they were old enough to distinguish between good and bad on their own.
Unisa criminologist Dr Charmaine Badenhorst said it was extremely important that policy makers listened to children, not only because they were equally affected by crime, but also because it was their right to be heard.
"Unfortunately, we adults have not always honoured our obligation to afford our children the opportunity to express themselves as they are clearly entitled to," she said.
The education and criminal justice systems were heavily criticised for not doing enough to protect children.
Badenhorst said the Education, Justice, Social Development and Correctional Services departments, as well as the police, should each devise ways to teach children about crime, what caused crime and how it could be prevented.
- This article was originally published on page 2 of Pretoria News on April 12, 2008
The women were also treated to a hand therapy session by the Phoenix staff.
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