ChildWatch SA Accountability Tracker™
South Africa has extensive legislation intended to protect children. The existence of a legal duty, however, does not establish that the duty is being carried out.
This tracker examines key child-protection obligations, identifies the institutions responsible for implementing them, and asks what evidence should exist to demonstrate compliance.
From Law to Accountability
The question Childwatch SA is asking
South Africa does not lack child-protection legislation.
The more difficult question is whether the institutions entrusted with implementing that legislation can demonstrate that they are doing so.
For every statutory duty, there should be an identifiable:
If any part of that chain is missing, accountability becomes extremely difficult.
This is a developing Childwatch SA research project. The tracker will be expanded as new judgments, parliamentary material, legislation, research, official statistics and documented system-level developments become available.
Wherever possible, entries link directly to the original legislation, judgment, government document, parliamentary record or research source.
Updates are evidence-led. Inclusion of a development does not in itself imply institutional wrongdoing.
© 2026 ChildWatch SA NPC. The ChildWatch SA Accountability Tracker™, including its original text, structure, classifications, presentation and compilation, is protected by copyright. Except where permitted by law, no part may be copied, reproduced, republished, scraped or incorporated into another website, database or publication without prior written permission. Linking with clear attribution is permitted. Read the full Terms of Use
