The rights and wrongs of children’s rights

Abstract

This article covers ethical and legal issues on children’s rights in South Africa, in which the constitution defines a child as a person below the age of 18 years. The rights of children are aimed at the provision of protection for children, because the voice of the child is often silent and, when so, the articulation of the right may come from others. Currently the ways in which the South African law decides what constitutes a child and what constitutes an adult is based on age distinction and has inherent inconsistencies. The authors argue that according rights to a child implies that a child is, in his- or herself, valuable. Yet, despite all safeguards, there is still extensive violence and abuse of children in South Africa.