Archives
Child Gauge spotlights inequality and poverty
13 November 2012
Directors past and present: Assoc Prof Shanaaz Mathews (third from left) and previous CI directors at the launch of the 2012 Child Gauge, (from left) founding director Prof Marian Jacobs (Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences), recently retired director Prof Shirley Pendlebury, and founding deputy director Dr Maylene Shung-King. |
No less than 60% of South Africa's children live in poor households, where the income is less than R575 per person per month. These are some of the stark facts highlighted in the Child Gauge 2012, recently released by the Children's Institute (CI), in partnership with the United Nations Children's Fund and UCT's Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, or SALDRU.
This seventh issue of the annual review of the situation of South Africa's children focuses on poverty and inequality. As such, the focus is closely aligned with UCT's Poverty and Inequality Initiative, which recently hosted the Carnegie 3 conference, with poverty and inequality at its heart.
Tackling these challenges is the main objective of the government's new National Development Plan. Speaking at the launch, Trevor Manuel, Minister in the Presidency responsible for the National Planning Commission (NPC), said that the Child Gauge 2012 focus was thus closely aligned to the NPC's work.
"It provides a useful tool for understanding the complexities of the issues facing children and the challenges that we face as a nation in formulating our response," Manuel said. "It should be the conscience of the nation and serve as a constant reminder of the journey that still lies ahead.
"The question that the publication must help us answer is, now that we know, what are we going to do about it? What does it mean to fully appreciate the importance of the rights of our children? How do our actions demonstrate such an understanding?"
The search for knowledge, through research, to inform action for children is at the root of the CI's work, says new CI director, Associate Professor Shanaaz Mathews.
"In advocating for improved policies policymakers need to be given evidence. And research is an excellent tool to enable policymakers to listen to you. I see research as a fundamental tool for influencing policymakers."
Mathews brings a wealth of knowledge to the institute. This includes her work on violence and safety. For more than a decade, her own research has concentrated on violence against women and children, as well as on the basis of 'violent masculinities'.
Gender, says Mathews, is also critical to the work they do.
"To date, the institute hasn't looked at how gender influences outcomes. Work over the years has shown that girl children are disproportionately affected, and we have to be conscious that policies that are gender neutral aren't always the best for children." (by poverty and inequality?)
Mathews has two visions for the institute under her leadership. The first is to strengthen how children's voices are included in CI research. She believes it is one way of making children more visible, and will add to the quality and relevance of the CI's research.
The second is to broaden the CI's influence beyond South Africa's borders. As one of only a few child policy research units in South Africa, the institute holds a wealth of knowledge on how to work with government and how to straddle the research-to-policy-to-action process. She believes some of its lessons and best-practice models should be taken to the region to build capacity.
But the CI's continued contribution to bettering the lives of children is dependent on funding from donors, commissions, tenders, and individual giving. Mathews believes it's important to have a sustainable funding base to allow the CI to continue asking hard questions -and doing the work that it is known for.
"We need funding not just from donors but from others who are interested in the work we do, who are passionate about the implementation of children's rights. It is important that alumni reflect on what UCT has done for them, on the role that the university has played in shaping who they have become. I believe alumni have a responsibility to give back to the UCT community in different ways."
She added: "There are projects that alumni can invest in that are making a difference, where they can give of their time and expertise. To those who can't give in these ways my message is that contributing financially, no matter how small, can make a difference in shaping policy and practice for children."