ACDP concerned but not surprised at renewed efforts to ban ‘reasonable chastisement’ which will make criminals of parents who spank their children

MEDIA RELEASE
Cheryllyn Dudley MP
30th July 2013

ACDP concerned but not surprised at renewed efforts to ban ‘reasonable chastisement’ which will make criminals of parents who spank their children

During deliberations on the Children’s Amendment Bill in 2007, the ACDP proposed the removal of section 139 to allow the Bill to proceed without delay.  The subsequent removal of section 139 (the clause banning spanking of children) was therefore welcomed by the ACDP in November that year.

Responding to reports indicating that the department of Social Development is preparing to place the matter before Parliament once again, ACDP MP Cheryllyn Dudley - a Member of the Social Development Portfolio Committee over the years that this and other amendments to the Children’s Act were being considered and voted on – said today that “the ACDP is concerned but not surprised at renewed efforts to ban ‘reasonable chastisement’.  Concerned because it will make criminals of parents who choose to spank their children – and not surprised because we know that lobby groups have been working in communities and on government to ensure this matter is placed before the National Assembly once again”.

 “The public will now have another opportunity to express themselves on this controversial issue and the degree to which they understand this to be - an intrusion into their homes and further undermining of their authority as parents.”

“The ACDP is acutely aware of the very real problem of abuse and violence against children in South Africa.  Abolishing the defense of reasonable chastisement and turning the majority of responsible parents into criminals is a very weak and misguided attempt to address this problem.  It is also a costly experiment which will drain budgets and man-power unnecessarily.  Attempts to equate abuse and violence with reasonable chastisement are not in any way rational and must be challenged so that children and families at risk can receive the attention and interventions necessary to help them specifically”.

The ACDP had pointed out that if clause 139 had not been removed this long awaited and extremely important piece of legislation in terms of protection of vulnerable children, would have been challenged in the Constitutional Court at great expense to Parliament and the Department and ultimately the people of South Africa – and any delay in implementation of the legislation would have significantly disadvantaged vulnerable children.

ACDP says proposed DA Bill amounts to an attack on multi-party democracy and is not best suited for South Africa

MEDIA RELEASE
Cheryllyn Dudley, MP and Whip
30th July 2013


ACDP MP and Whip, Cheryllyn Dudley today said that “The proposed DA Bill amounts to an attack on multi-party democracy and is not best suited to South Africa.”

“The ACDP supports initiatives to ensure greater accountability but we do not agree that the DA’s proposal will ensure MP’s are any more accountable to the electorate than they are now.  We also regard the proposal as a tool that will disadvantage minority groups and new parties on the political landscape.

The ACDP pointed out, at the time the proposal was submitted to Parliament, that it might also be in conflict with section 46 (1)(d) of the constitution which requires an electoral system that “results, in general, in proportional representation”.

“The changes suggested by the DA are not new and were in fact considered at the time of the Slabbert Commission.  At that time it was acknowledged that the multi-party aspect of South African politics has proved invaluable in ensuring relative peace, allowing a significant degree of goodwill and nation-building.”

“A ‘first-past-the-post’ system can leave as much as 49% of people feeling they have lost. Having no representation or voice causes frustration which often results in irrational behavior in an effort to be seen and heard.”

The Home Affairs Portfolio Committee have also concluded that the proposed changes to the electoral system might very well dilute the constitutional principle of multi-party democracy and that the proposed changes will be to the detriment of smaller parties, resulting in a two or three party system instead of the current multi-party system.

The introduction of a constituency-based proportional representation list system will result in a more complex electoral system. Whilst aimed at greater accountability, it is questionable to what extent a proportional representation list at constituency level will achieve this as the voter will still vote for a party, not a candidate.

The part of the Bill dealing with absent and special voters will be dealt with through the Electoral Amendment Bill [B22-2013], 2013, which has been submitted to the Speaker by the Minister of Home Affairs.

 “The ACDP appreciates the importance of these matters being debated with a view to improving on aspects of accountability, we have however voted against this proposal which, in our opinion does not find the right balance.”

ACDP welcomes Parliament and Cape Mental Health programme to provide knowledge about mental illness and access to help

MEDIA RELEASE
Cheryllyn Dudley MP and Whip
30th July 2013


ACDP welcomes Parliament and Cape Mental Health programme to provide knowledge about mental illness and access to help

·        Calls on MEC’s for Social Development and Health to strengthen partnerships to provide community access to programmes on mental illnesses and available support

·        WHO says SA is 6th highest in world for anxiety disorders

·        SA research shows one in five SA’s suffer from a mental condition   at some point in their life

According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) most recent Stress and Health Study, South Africa ranks as having the 6th highest prevalence for anxiety disorders compared to the rest of the World.

The ACDP welcomes Parliaments partnering with Cape Mental Health to provide employees with knowledge about mental illness and access to help by providing a comprehensive counselling service that assists Members of Parliament and Staff 24/7/365 with telephone counselling in a confidential manner and with all the official languages.

ACDP MP and Health Portfolio Committee Member, Cheryllyn Dudley said today that according to the first quarterly report (April 2013 to June 2013) of the Parliamentary Wellbeing Programme, most psychosocial cases were related to trauma, depression and grief.

"High stress and anxiety levels are linked to multiple societal and socio-economic risk factors - all major factors contributing to mental illness. Poverty, inequality, urbanisation, unemployment, trauma, violence and substance abuse being just some of these factors."

Research by South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) shows that one in five South Africans suffer from a mental condition at some point in their life.

The ACDP calls on the Ministers of Social Development and Health and all relevant MEC’s  to strengthen partnerships with provincial and local organisations to provide community access to programmes creating awareness and knowledge on how to identify these illnesses, how to deal with them and what support is available.

ACDP calls on countries to resist temptation to supply weapons to rebels

MEDIA RELEASE
Cheryllyn Dudley MP
24 July 2013

As the World debates whether or not 'to arm Rebels' ACDP Member of Parliament Cheryllyn Dudley is calling on countries like France, the UK the USA, Russia and others to resist the temptation to supply weapons to rebels and governments alike!

Dudley said: “Cutting off the supply of weapons on all sides will not immediately stop the fighting but it is a necessary step if peace is ever to be a reality - putting down arms was a major element in South Africa's turning point toward a real chance of Nation Building.”

Bluff Meeting

I had the opportunity to share with (about 50) Bluff residents about the aspects of my work, the vision of the ACDP, my perspective on issues facing South Africans today and respond to their questions!

Demi signing up new ACDP memberships

I would like to share my perspective on Parliament and the vision of the ACDP by meeting with people who want to get serious about weighing up their options in terms of Political Parties, explore the idea of Christian Democracy and get real about whether or not the ACDP truly has the potential to deliver a better future... 

Please contact me through mmabungane@parliament.gov.za or 021 403 2453 if you would like to arrange for me to come and speak.

The Truth at Last

MEDIA RELEASE
Cheryllyn Dudley MP
20th July 2013

ACDP MP and Member on the Basic Education Portfolio Committee, Cheryllyn Dudley - a loan voice of reason in defense of truth in the past few years - welcomed DA Leader Helen Zilles revelation but is disappointed that she so blatantly misled the public regarding the performance of the Education Minister.

After leading a vicious and unwarranted attack on Education Minister Angie Motshekga, DA Leader Helen Zille has at last 'come clean' - admitting that Angie Motshekga has in fact excelled in her difficult task. She has been blocked by Provinces and Unions and has faced the full impact of unwise policies of previous administrations. Yet She has achieved more in the last 4 years - than any of her predecessors.

It has been painful to witness the unrelenting and misguided pressure which has kept the Minister and her department tied up in Court - undermining service delivery and depleting budgets.

ACDP MP Cheryllyn Dudley said today: The disingenuous and opportunistic antics of the DA despite knowing differently has in my opinion cost South Africa and Education in particular.

ACDP 'Only Hope for SA'

ACDP notes renewed efforts to ban ‘reasonable chastisement’ making criminals of parents who choose to include spanking in discipline of their children

          MEDIA RELEASE
          Cheryllyn Dudley MP
          11 July 2013

On 21 May, the Department of Social Development conducted a Child Care and Protection Forum, where the topics of “Positive Discipline of Children” and “The Right of Parents to Discipline Their Children” were discussed. Many organisations have been working since 2007 to attempt once again to ban ‘reasonable chastisement’ – criminalising parents who choose to spank their children.

“I think many people never realised the fight of many years waged by the ACDP over this issue and the incredible victory we ALONE won on behalf of responsible parents in South Africa.

“The statements we put out at the time were purposely understated as I had to convince people that removing the contentious clause would, for a variety of reasons, be in their own best interests.  This was a huge work and attention to detail was critical - I personally worked past midnight with other members on many nights as we worked with this legislation.  The multi-faceted approach of the ACDP on this specific issue was a huge success - and we would be grateful if you could find a way to let people know how it really happened - bragging about our own successes has sadly been one of our weaknesses.  We need people like you to help us with this and even more so now that we are approaching the 2014 election.” – Cheryllyn Dudley MP
During deliberations on the Children’s Amendment Bill in 2007, the ACDP proposed the removal of section 139 to allow the Bill to proceed without delay.  The subsequent removal of section 139 (the clause banning parental physical discipline of children) was therefore enthusiastically welcomed by the ACDP in November that year.

While the offending clause is expected to be placed before the National Assembly in due course, ACDP Member of Parliament and Member (at the time) of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development, Cheryllyn Dudley said: “The public will have further opportunity to express their considerable concerns and hopefully common sense will once again prevail in the legislature!  Failing that another miracle?

“Abolishing the defense of reasonable chastisement and turning a majority of parents into criminals is no solution; it cannot possibly hope to address the very real problem of abuse and violence against children in South Africa.  Constant attempts to equate abuse and violence with reasonable chastisement or a spanking are misguided and frankly disingenuous”.

At the time, the African Christian Democratic Party, whole-heartedly supported the remainder of the Bill and thanked - not only the Department, law advisors and Portfolio Committee but also civil society for their dedication, time and effort in working on this much needed piece of legislation.

The ACDP is particularly pleased to have been instrumental in ensuring that Provinces are now obliged to provide and fund Prevention and Early Intervention Services for children at risk.  Lack of funding has until now, severely restricted Child Protection Organisations, to dealing with children in crisis rather than being able to intervene effectively at an earlier stage.

The prioritizing of funding for Early Childhood Development in needy communities and the fact that street children will now be acknowledged and given greater priority as children in need of care and protection are just some of the ACDP’s significant achievements during the drafting of this bill.

The ACDP had pointed out that if clause 139 had not been removed this long awaited and extremely important piece of legislation would be challenged in the Constitutional Court at great expense to Parliament and the Department and ultimately the people of South Africa – and any delay in implementation of this legislation would significantly disadvantage vulnerable children.

ACDP says judgement respects rights of School Governing Bodies and pregnant learners

MEDIA RELEASE

Cheryllyn Dudley MP

11 July 2013

The ACDP welcomes the Constitutional Court judgment handed down yesterday, regarding

the powers of a Head of a Provincial Department of Education (HOD) to instruct a principal of a public school to act in contravention of a learner pregnancy policy adopted by the governing body of that school.

ACDP Member of Parliament on the Basic Education Portfolio Committee, Cheryllyn Dudley said today:

“The ACDP recognises the wisdom of this judgement and we believe it brings clarity in the circumstances.  It is important that School Governing Bodies have the assurance that school policy will be respected by the department and that due process will be followed when policy is queried. 

“Society as we know it today has opted for inclusive rather than exclusive policies and education – our children and educators have had to come to terms with realities such as pregnant learners and as much as it is not the most ideal situation - excluding these learners from school would not help create a better reality – in fact it is just another excuse for people to terminate the pregnancy and pretend the developing child does not exist. In my opinion, the natural restrictions and consequences of pregnancy could help convince other girls and boys that waiting until they are ready to have a family is a far better option.

In 2008 and 2009 the governing bodies of Welkom High School and Harmony High

School respectively adopted pregnancy policies that provide for the exclusion of pregnant learners from school for certain time-periods. The HOD issued instructions to the principals of the schools to readmit two learners who had been excluded from school.  The schools sought to interdict the HOD from interfering with the implementation of their policies - the High Court granted the interdict, which was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The Constitutional Court, concluded that, because the HOD had purported to override school policies without following the relevant procedures set out in the Schools Act, he acted unlawfully.

The ConCourt did however acknowledge that the schools’ pregnancy policies at face-value infringe upon the constitutional rights of pregnant learners, including the rights to human dignity, to freedom from unfair discrimination and to receive a basic education. In order to address these concerns, the schools were ordered to review the policies and to meaningfully engage with the HOD in the process of reviewing their policies, in line with the principles of cooperative governance enshrined in the Schools Act.

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA - CCT 103/12

Date of Hearing: 5 November 2012

Date of Judgment: 10 July 2013