Children, Church and the Law

While the local church is well-positioned and capacitated to provide protection and advocacy for the well-being of children within their spaces and communities, this is not a given. It is key that churches are equipped to play this important role, and this is what our resource, Children, Church and the Law, seeks to do. The resource provides key information regarding policy and legislation around children in South Africa, assisting churches to incorporate this into their institutional practices and awareness. The following are just some of the questions that this manual seeks to answer:

• What is the main purpose of the Children’s Act?
• Why is the Children’s Act important for churches?
• How does a child’s right to participate affect church governance?
• How can you help children to participate?
• Who is suitable to work with children?
• Who is not suitable to work with children?
• What are parental responsibilities and rights?
• What authority does a person have who is not a parent or guardian?
• What is a partial-care facility?
• How do you know if the partial-care services are up to standard?
• How do I know if a child is being abused or neglected?
• What do I do if a child tells me that they are being abused?
• What do I do if a child is seriously injured while in the care of the church?
• What can I do if I see a child living on the streets?
• Which organisations and institutions help refugees?
• What does it mean to say a child is undocumented?
• What rights do child victims and witnesses have?
• What are the different types of social assistance available for children?
• What does the law say about housing and shelter for children?
• What rights must be protected when using images of children?
• Is consent necessary before using a child’s image or material?

For more information about this resource and how you can get hold of it, visit https://www.warehouse.org.za/2018/09/17/children-church-and-the-law/, and if you are interested in having The Warehouse run a workshop for your church, please email info@warehouse.org.za to find out more.