Premier Zille and NGOs agree to university-led research project on child murders
21 September 2017
Yesterday Premier Helen Zille met with child protection NGOs to discuss the possible way forward regarding child murders in the province. The meeting comes after an undertaking by Premier Zille to gather the organisations in search of lasting solutions.
In addition to child protection NGOs, the meeting also attended by the Chief Magistrate for the Cape Town District, Mr Daniel Thulare, representatives from University research units, and Human Rights Commissioner Chris Nissen.
At the heart of the discussion was whether establishing a commission of inquiry into child killings would be the most effective way to address the problem.
There was consensus that extensive research had already been conducted by various bodies into violence against children. Much of the existing research points to perpetrators in child murder cases being known to the victims or trusted by the families. In some cases, harm was inflicted by parents and relatives. In the case of older child victims, gang violence was a common factor in murder cases.