Citation

Siljeur N. Child Abuse Res. South Afr. 2017; 18(2): 30-39.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, South African Professional Society on the Abuse of Children)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The Catholic Church, Archdiocese of Cape Town, has recently released its policy to safeguard children and has trained lay members and clergy in terms of their responsibilities. In addition, the Catholic Church in Southern Africa has a Protocol for the Investigation of Complaints against Clerics and Religious [sic] regarding Sexual Abuse of Minors. This article contains a review of both the Child Safeguarding Policy and the Protocol for the Investigation of Complaints against Clerics and Religious [sic] Regarding Sexual Abuse of Minors in which the international, regional and national legal framework that relates to the protection of children against sexual abuse is examined in order to evaluate whether the substance of the Child Safeguarding Policy and procedures and the protocol are compliant with international, regional and national responsibilities. In addition, the lessons learnt from Catholic Church reports from other jurisdictions and a review undertaken of the Church of England Child Safeguarding Policy are highlighted in the article. The researcher attempts to provide recommendations on how the Archdiocese of Cape Town could improve the Child Safeguarding Policy and procedures and the Protocol for the Investigation of Complaints against Clerics and Religious [sic] Regarding Sexual Abuse of Minors within the Archdiocese.

Language: en