Child Protection: Law and Ethics in South African Child Care Professions
Welcome to this course on the Law and Child Protection.
This course is divided into two parts:
Session 1: focused on the law around child protection, or what Luke Lamprecht calls “The Matrix”.
Session 2: takes on the form of a case study and you will have the opportunity to reflect on the case study and apply the information learnt in Session 1.
At the end of the course, you will be required to answer multiple-choice questions in order to receive your points.
By law, all professionals are required to report child abuse and abuse of children and adults with disabilities.
Keeping an ethical frame with outside/ additional intrusions on client confidentiality is a complex process and causes a great deal of anxiety in the practitioner, particularly in a system that is often very hard to navigate.
This course will equip the practitioner with the relevant legislation, protocol for investigation and the various ages of consent that come into play when having to report abuse.
HPCSA Awards 3 Ethics Points
This talk will be available 30 days from registration.User Guide:
To access each section, click on the heading. Then follow the sequence of activities.
About the Course
Section 54 of the Criminal Law Sexual Offences and Related Matters Amendment Act places a mandatory reporting responsibility on everyone to report sexual abuse of children and disabled adults to the South African Police Service (SAPS).
Section 110 of the Children’s Act requires medical professionals to report any form of abuse or neglect and harm to children to a Designated Child Protection Organisation or Department of Social Development, in keeping with the correct Regulations and Forms required.
The Child Justice Act determines how we deal with children who have come into conflict with the law by encouraging a restorative approach to interventions.
When these two areas come together, for example, when a child is sexually abused by another child, we enter what the presenter calls “The Matrix”.
Keeping an ethical frame with outside/ additional intrusions on client confidentiality is a complex process and causes a great deal of anxiety in the practitioner, particularly in a system that is often very hard to navigate.
- Understand the relevant legislation as is required by psychologists and allied professionals to deal with reports of child abuse.
- Understand the protocol for the investigation of the cases so that appropriate referrals can be made to the appropriate services, such as health, legal, care
- Understand how these pieces of legislation interact when a child discloses sexual abuse, especially by another child, where criminal capacity is a factor determining reporting processes.
- Have knowledge of the various ages of consent that come into play i.e. Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act, if a rape results in pregnancy, ages of consent for medical treatment, HIV tests after a sexual assault, etc.
- Apply this knowledge to a case study to apply theoretical knowledge as well as point out systemic challenges and ways to navigate these.
- Contact the correct resources to get the best intervention for the child and minimise secondary trauma to the child once exposed to the system.
About the Author:
“Working with children is walking on holy ground, be mindful of the footprints that you leave”
Luke Lamprecht is a Child Protection and Development Specialist, with 27 years of experience in the NPO and academic fields.
He has worked with organisations including Lefika La Phodiso, The Art Therapy Centre, The Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children, Johannesburg Child Welfare, Childline, BigShoes and the Johannesburg Parent and Child Counselling Centre.
He is also a director at Fight With Insight: a boxing gym based at the Children’s Memorial Institute in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, where he coaches inner-city children.
Luke wrote the Gauteng Child Protection Protocol under the University of Johannesburg and the Department of Social Development.
He is an honorary lecturer for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of the Witwatersrand and supervises honours students for the Department of Forensic Pathology.
He is also the placement supervisor for psycho-social support students from The South African College of Applied Psychology.
As a Child Protection and Development Specialist, Luke works with children in conflict with the law, children with autism, and children with behavioural challenges and psychiatric diagnoses.
As an expert and consultant, he convenes the Johannesburg Child Advocacy Forum, is part of the Women and Men Against Child Abuse’s Advocacy Team, consults to the founder of the South African Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse, and advises on child protection issues for the Shaken and Abused Baby Initiative.
Luke regularly conducts talks and training sessions on social cohesion, servitude leadership, BEING MAN, child protection and development, health, mental health, disability, cyber-development and sexuality under Brain Mechanics.
He has a BA Hons and has completed a Higher Certificate in Multi-Disciplinary Child Protection Team Management at the Midrand Graduate Institute. He holds a qualification in Health Management from the Foundation for Professional Development and Yale University.
Luke is currently completing an MSc in Neurodevelopment at Wits and has an Advanced Health Management qualification from FPD and Yale University.