As Child Protection Week draws to a close, SECTION27 has launched a new report, Protecting the Future Today: The Need for an Efficient National Child Protection Register to Curb Violence Against Children. The report reveals serious shortcomings in the implementation of the National Child Protection Register (NCPR), undermining its ability to protect children from violence, particularly in schools.
Violence against children remains one of South Africa’s most pervasive human rights violations. Between 2021 and 2022, 45% of South African households with children reported some form of violence against children. The report highlights the scale of violence facing children in South Africa. One in five children has experienced sexual abuse, one in three children has experienced physical abuse, and one in six children has experienced emotional abuse. Moreover, one in eight children has been a victim of violence, while one in six has witnessed violence.
Sexual violence remains particularly prevalent. In 2022, Statistics South Africa reported that child rape cases increased by 6.3% between 2015/16 and 2019/20, while child sexual assault cases increased by 1.4% over the same period.
A significant proportion of the violence against children, including rape, sexual assault and corporal punishment, happens in the school environment and is perpetrated by teachers or other school staff. Recent data from the South African Council for Educators (SACE) raises concern. In its 2024/25 annual report, SACE recorded increases in cases involving assault, corporal punishment, and sexual abuse of learners. SECTION27’s report notes that the rise in corporal punishment and sexual abuse is consistent with trends observed over several years, raising questions about the effectiveness of existing child protection measures.
Violence threatens children’s safety and infringes their constitutional rights to education, equality, dignity, and freedom and security. The State has constitutional, legislative and policy obligation to ensure that children are safe from all forms of violence. One of the measures adopted by South Africa is the NCPR in terms of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005. Amongst others, the purpose of the NCPR is to keep a record of all persons who have been deemed unsuitable to work with children. All employers must vet their employees against the NCPR to ensure that they do not place children at risk by exposing them to unsuitable persons. SECTION27’s report examines the NCPR as a critical tool for protecting children from violence in schools. The report notes that the effectiveness of the NCPR is dependent on the ability to maintain and update the NCPR. This requires coordination between various government departments including the Department of Social Development the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and the Department of Basic Education (DBE), including at provincial level. In relation to vetting of teachers and other staff, both the provincial departments of education and school governing bodies have a responsibility to vet current and prospective employees.
SECTION27’s report finds that more than 15 years after its adoption, the NCPR is severely underutilised. Notably, in March 2025, only 49 000 educators, that is 12% of all educators, had been vetted against the NCPR. Whilst the Minister of Basic Education has made several public undertakings to vet educators against the National Register for Sex Offenders, similar commitments in relation to the NCPR have not been made.
Schools should be safe spaces for children to learn, grow, and develop into our future leaders. However, due to poor implementation of the NCPR, abusers and sexual predators are present in schools and continue to have access to vulnerable children. Any further delays in the proper implementation of the NCPR mean that we fail children every day. Against this backdrop, SECTION27 calls on government to urgently strengthen the implementation of the NCPR by:
- Ensuring that the DBE and provincial education departments, school governing bodies, and other relevant institutions urgently vet all current employees, and consistently vet prospective employees against the NCPR, and take measures against those who are found on the Register.
- Ensuring that the DBE and provincial education departments, school governing bodies, and other relevant institutions that, during disciplinary proceedings, make findings that a person is unsuitable to work with children, must report such findings to the DSD for inclusion in the NCPR.
- Increasing capacity, training, and public awareness of the NCPR so that all stakeholders understand and fulfil their legal obligations.
The full report is available here.
For media enquiries contact:
Pearl Nicodemus | nicodemus@section27.org.za | 082 298 2636
The European Union funding supports SECTION27 and the Centre for Child Law’s work in enhancing accountability in health and education in South Africa.
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