Seen but not heard? Engaging the mechanisms of faith to end violence against children
Date
2020
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Sun Media
Abstract
In South Africa today, many children face high levels of physical,
sexual, verbal and emotional abuse, as well as sustained neglect and
exploitation. Families and homes, despite their protective possibilities,
often remain the most vulnerable place for young children. Violence
against children, either silenced or hidden from public sight, can
become a normalised pattern for both adults and children with
concerning long-term consequences. In the last few decades, this issue
has received more sustained attention. Increasingly, evidence shows
that it is imperative that both children and adults understand that
children have full rights to bodily integrity and to grow, survive, thrive,
participate and make their voices heard.
This chapter will explore the role of Christian faith communities1
in ending violence against children in South Africa today, in the light
of recent strategies identified by experts as effective in preventing
violence. It will draw on key insights from global child protection
experts in a 2018 scoping study (Palm 2019a) carried out by academic
experts from South Africa who interrogated both positive and negative
aspects of the relationships between faith and violence against children
to offer recommendations for faith communities’ unique theological
role in ending violence against children, including tackling harmful
social norms and underlying beliefs (Palm & Eyber 2019).
Children have not always been served well by religious precepts.
The expression ‘children should be seen and not heard’ is an old
English proverb dating from the 15th century2 which was recommended
by religious leaders of the day and transported elsewhere on colonial
ships. This harmful legacy of quiet obedience by children who were
expected to know their place, was often accompanied by religiously
infused dictates that ‘to spare the rod would spoil the child’. These are just two ways that religious values can entangle with existing cultural norms in ways that reinforce harmful attitudes to children. In a context of violence against children, these religious legitimations, still used today by some, endanger their safety and protection.
Christian faith communities in South Africa are, therefore, faced with an ethical challenge which requires them to reshape inherited harmful interpretations of theologies still used to legitimise certain forms of violence against children. Only if this takes place, can they effectively collaborate with the wider children’s sector at many levels within the child protection system to help re-orientate how children are treated. This chapter will point to the promise within child liberation theologies that can help to underpin this ethical task. This can assist local churches to place children at the centre of their faith as full citizens of the beloved community of God whose suffering needs to be seen and whose voices must be heard.
Description
CITATION: Palm, S. 2020. Seen but not heard? Engaging the mechanisms of faith to end violence against children, in Grobbelaar, J. & Jones, C. (eds) 2020. Childhood vulnerabilities in South Africa : some ethical perspectives. Stellenbosch: SUN PReSS, doi:10.18820/9781928480952/02.
The original publication is available at https://africansunmedia.store.it.si/za
The original publication is available at https://africansunmedia.store.it.si/za
Keywords
Children -- South Africa, Children -- Crimes against
Citation
Palm, S. 2020. Seen but not heard? Engaging the mechanisms of faith to end violence against children, in Grobbelaar, J. & Jones, C. (eds) 2020. Childhood vulnerabilities in South Africa : some ethical perspectives. Stellenbosch: SUN PReSS, doi:10.18820/9781928480952/02.