Our Constitution says a ‘child’ is a person who is eighteen years or younger. Up to that age you are usually still a dependant, and you need the love and care of a family plus support from government to help you reach your full potential. You cannot take on all adult responsibilities. Because children are vulnerable, they need extra protection from the law.

Therefore, Section 28 of our Constitution is devoted just to rights for children. In fact, most governments around the world, including ours, agree that children need special rights. They have signed a United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). African children are also protected by The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1999). This Charter was drawn up because many children on our continent face particular problems. Examples are high levels of child labour, forced marriage of young girls, being forced to fight in civil wars, and the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). (This mainly north-African tradition has to be stopped because it causes deaths, many health problems, and stops women enjoying sex.)

In South Africa we also have a Children’s Act. It stresses children’s (and parent’s) rights. It guides what is to happen when children are orphaned or need to be removed from their home due to abuse, or what should happen if their parents get divorced. It sets out what the rules are for the safety of children in crèches and after-cares and youth centres.

Section 28 contains a very important statement. It says that whatever is best for the child decides what happens in any problem situation. However, families and the child must be part of decisions made. Families must be helped to look after their children if necessary.

Other examples of child rights in Section 28 are that every child needs proper shelter and care. If needed a child must receive social services such as health care and a grant, and a place in school, even if the parents cannot pay. An under-18 who commits a crime must be imprisoned only if there is no other punishment suitable, and cannot be jailed with adults.

It is best for a child to be brought up in a family, but many people are very poor, and looking after children can be difficult. In South Africa divorce is common and we have a high rate of unplanned teen pregnancies. Many single mothers struggle to get the fathers to pay maintenance. We have millions of HIV and Aids orphans in child-headed households or brought up by relatives. To help overcome all these problems, the government has laws explained in the Children’s Act. It has support services, such as the Department of Social Development that employs social workers, as you saw in I Can Be Someone . There are also many organisations that can help children. (See Contacts)

Note that our Basic Conditions of Employment Act says that it is only illegal to employ someone under fifteen. However that work must be suitable and safe and may not, “risk the child’s well-being, education, physical or mental health, or spiritual, moral or social development”.

I Can Be Someone relates to several important, linked parts of Section 28. Children have the right to be children, free to play and grow. Along with this right, it is accepted that children may have some responsibilities, such as doing household chores. In rural areas especially, children may spend many hours a week fetching water or firewood. That is very different to being forced to do unpaid work, or paid work, or too much work. This is ‘exploitation’. Section 28, parts d-f, says each child has the right:

d. to be protected from maltreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation;

e. to be protected from exploitative labour practices;

f. not to be required or permitted to perform work or services that are

i. inappropriate for a person of that child’s age; or

ii. place at risk the child’s well-being, education, physical or mental health or spiritual, moral or social development.

Mr Sibiya, the landlord, was clearly acting illegally. He forced Cebo and Amahle to do unpaid work, saying it was in return for their ‘low’ rent and threatening them with eviction. He made Cebo miss school, and do dangerous work amongst poisons and germs.

The situation in the story is not unusual. In 2012 the then Labour Minister, Mildred Oliphant, said that a shocking new study revealed that 121 000 children were being used illegally in ‘market economic activities’ in South Africa.