Childhood in crisis
A special Daily Maverick editorial project exposing the brutal realities of child abuse, neglect, and systemic failure – and what needs to change. Over the coming days, we’ll be publishing a series of in-depth articles, all of which will be featured on this page.
Check back regularly for new stories, insights, and updates.
Childhood in crisis
A special Daily Maverick editorial project exposing the brutal realities of child abuse, neglect, and systemic failure – and what needs to change. Over the coming days, we’ll be publishing a series of in-depth articles, all of which will be featured on this page.
Check back regularly for new stories, insights, and updates.
Latest news, insights, and updates
Kariega family shattered after murder of eight-year-old girl
The murder of Veronique ‘Koekoe’ May in Kariega is the latest in a spate of killings of children in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Calls for probe into KZN school nutrition contracts amid corruption claims
KZN’s National School Nutrition Programme, a critical source of daily meals for more than two million vulnerable learners, faces a deepening corruption scandal implicating Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka in alleged tender irregularities favouring politically connected companies.
Prosecutors fight to withhold images of children allegedly abused by Bloubergstrand couple
A Bloubergstrand couple accused of sexually abusing their children and creating child pornography, want full access to the State’s evidence during their bail application. Prosecutors seek to withhold the evidence to protect the children while they investigate.
Research tells us that three in every four children experience violence at the hands of caregivers or parents. It shows us that we have normalised… the administering of corporal punishment to children and as such, addressing violence becomes very challenging
These statistics are shocking, but they are only one part of the story.
The NGO Teddy Bear Foundation, which provides services for victims of child abuse, released statistics in March 2025 showing that of 5,385 cases handled by its court preparation programme between 2019 and 2024, just 4% had resulted in a conviction, according to a TimesLIVE report.
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