Jan D. Hembree PhD Clinical Psychologist

Children's Rights in South Africa

By Jan D. Hembree, PhD, October 2009

               Children have more rights in South Africa than they do here in America.  Surprising?  Yes, definitely an eye opener.  Because of their new Constitution of 1996, children and women have rights which protect their humanity more than any other country I know. 

            The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, as the supreme law of the Republic, was adopted to establish a society based on democratic values, social

and economic justice, equality and fundamental human rights and to improve the quality of life of all its people and to free the potential of every person by all means possible.

            The Constitution emphasizes the best interests of children, and singles them out for special protection.

            To start off with the punch line, children are allowed to simply walk into a court house and get a judge to listen to them.  If the child is in need of legal representation, the government pays for it.  In actuality, the minor is usually accompanied by a teacher, relative, friend, or social worker.  This is true of children of all ages, and if it were so here in the USA, probably a few willful teenagers might drive themselves to the court house if they had this privilege.  This right rises to a standard higher than the right to have the “best interest of the child” taken into account in a family hearing because it gives the minor a chance to have his/her voice heard directly and completely.  South Africa decided that parental authority may not actually be in the best interest of the child.  The presiding judge has the final say in his/her determination, and he/she will weigh information about the best interest of the child with the information about the child’s wishes.  Interestingly, in Australia, the presiding judge has a psychologist sitting at his right hand side in the family court room to offer advice and consultation on every domestic case.