The Children’s Hospital Trust champions the Rights of Children: Shifting Focus from Abuse to Protection

By The Child Hospital Trust

In the first 22 months following the launch of the Children’s Hospital Trust’s Child Protection Project, 566 child protection cases were reported. Behind hospital doors live many stories that some people may never hear. These include the experiences of children and families who have witnessed or suffered abuse, whether sexual, physical, or psychological, neglect, malnutrition, or violence.

Children have no voice. They bear the brunt of crime, poverty, environmental degradation, gang violence, and domestic disputes. Their rights are being violated; society has failed them. In recognition of Child Protection Week (29 May – 5 June), the Children’s Hospital Trust is shining a spotlight on the urgent need to protect our children, not just from abuse, but from the failures that violate child rights.

Dr Fatima Khan, the Child Protection Improvement project coordinator at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, says, “We are seeing just the tip of the iceberg. We don’t see the children who are fatally injured or those grazed by a bullet or who have seen a family member killed and must live with the psychological impact of that.”

As the only specialist pediatric hospital in the Western Cape, the Red Cross War Memorial

Children’s Hospital sees many of the children who are worst affected. Each one enters the hospital for medical treatment, but for children who are victims of abuse, neglect, or violence, healing means dealing with far deeper internal wounds. The child who has no family to go back home to, the girl whose flashbacks leave her paralysed with fear, and the mom who still blames herself for not being able to keep her child safe.

“Treating the medical cases and healing the physical wounds is the easy part. It’s all about what happens after that,” Dr Khan says. The Child Protection Service Improvement Project, an initiative of the Trust based at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, is at the forefront of the mission to continue treatment after the physical wounds have healed.

Through this project, funded by the generosity of donors, The Children’s Hospital Trust plays a pivotal role in strengthening staffing capacity to identify vulnerable children and implement multidisciplinary care plans. By enhancing child protection services and equipping healthcare

professionals with the tools and training needed to identify and manage abuse and neglect, the Trust ensures that hundreds of children each year receive the support they need to heal and grow.

Every child receives a tailored plan that includes legal, social, psychological, and medical support. The multidisciplinary team works together to ensure that each child and their family are connected to the services they need. The child who lost their family has a safe place to grow, the little girl can face her fears, and the mom regains her confidence.

“Not a day goes by without another story of violent crime, but for thousands of children, this isn’t news, their lives are lived in fear, while countless others suEer in silence. This isn’t just a news story—it is a crisis. Children need us and you can make a tangible diEerence by joining our Child Protection Project as looking away is no longer an option,” says Chantel Cooper, Children’s Hospital Trust CEO.

Every child deserves a life free from fear. Every child deserves to be a child. Together, we can build a world where all our children can grow up safe and protected.