South Africa

(21 September 2018, CRPD/C/ZAF/CO/1 Advance unedited version, Concluding observations on initial report, paras. 12, 13, 28, 29, 30 and 31)

“The Committee is concerned about:

(b) The high number of reported cases of corporal punishment, violence, abuse, neglect and inequality involving children with disabilities, especially autistic children and children with psychosocial and/or intellectual disabilities, by teachers and peers. The Committee is further concerned about reported cases of abuse of children with disabilities at schools and school hostels, with teachers allegedly being the perpetrators in most cases.

“The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) In line with target 16.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals, develop, adopt and implement  legislation and concrete measures to ensure that children with disabilities, including autistic children, those with albinism and children with psychosocial and/or intellectual disabilities, are adequately protected from violence, abuse, including corporal punishment, and that sanctions are imposed against perpetrators; and that the Children’s Act is amended without delay to explicitly prohibit all forms of corporal punishment in all settings;

(c) Adopt a time-bound plan of action to address the high levels of physical, sexual, verbal and emotional abuse in special education schools, including special education school hostels. This plan must include a monitoring framework and process with a comprehensive vetting procedure, including for criminal records, for all teachers and officials working with children before recruitment, and ensure that the National Sexual Offenders Register and National Child Protection Register be adequately maintained”

“The Committee notes with concern:

(c) The increasing incidence of corporal punishment of children with disabilities in the State party with insufficient awareness about complaint mechanisms and support services for children with disabilities exposed to these crimes, and lack of disaggregated data on investigation, prosecutions and disciplinary sanctions against perpetrators of torture and ill-treatment.

“The Committee recommends that the State Party:

(a) Adopt legal provisions and concrete administrative measures to protect persons with disabilities, in particular women and girls with disabilities, persons with psychosocial and/or intellectual disabilities, from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and adopt measures aimed at supporting victims, through providing legal advice, information in accessible formats, counselling, and redress, including compensation and rehabilitation;

(b) Ensure that perpetrators of these crimes are brought to justice and punished with sanctions commensurate with the gravity of these crimes and collect data on investigation, prosecutions and disciplinary sanctions against perpetrators of abuse and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, of persons with disabilities, including children in home, education and community settings”

“The Committee notes with concern:

(a) The lack of legislation, policies and programmes to protect all persons with disabilities, in particular women and girls with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities, and children with disabilities from all forms of violence and abuse, including corporal punishment, and the lack of accessible and age-friendly information on access to counselling, redress, including compensation and rehabilitation;

(b) The lack of dedicated mechanisms for identifying, investigating and prosecuting instances of exploitation, violence and abuse against persons with disabilities as well as lack of disaggregated data on related reports, investigations and prosecutions in line with article 16, paragraph 3.

“The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Adopt and implement legislation, policies and programmes to protect all persons with disabilities, in particular women and girls with psychosocial and/or intellectual disabilities, and children with disabilities from all forms of violence and abuse, including corporal punishment, as well as expedite the implementation of article 16, paragraph 3, and the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act (2013);

(b) Investigate promptly and effectively incidents of violence against persons with disabilities, prosecute suspects and duly sanction perpetrators and that victims are provided with effective redress, including compensation and rehabilitation, and ensure that child victims have access to child-friendly reporting channels, physical and psychological rehabilitation and health services, including mental health services;

(c) Raise awareness about the 24-hour Gender-Based Violence Command Centre (GBVC), aimed at providing support and counselling to persons with disabilities and their families exposed to gender-based violence, and ensure its accessibility and the provision of accessible information and victim support services in all parts of the State party, in particular for women and children with disabilities.”