Question NW3394 to the Minister of Social Development
24 November 2023 - NW3394
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Social Development
(1)Whether, in light of the fact that the pressing issue of unsafe abandonment of infants and the need for baby savers that are also known as haven boxes, which is intended to save lives and prevent babies from being abandoned in drains, open fields and/or rubbish bins, her department has (a) declared the haven boxes as illegal and (b) called on all non-governmental organisations (NGOs) offering the service to cease immediately; if not, what is the position in each case; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) whether the discussion around baby savers is no longer on the table; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (3) whether her department will ensure that the Gauteng Department of Social Development withdraws its decision to declare the haven boxes as illegal to ensure that babies are not abandoned in unsafe spaces but are allowed to be safely handed over through the life-saving interventions; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
1. (a) Yes, baby savers are illegal as they constitute a criminal offence in terms of the Children’s Act (Act No. 38 of 2005). Baby savers are regarded as an act of child abandonment and neglect as per the provision of Section 110 of the Children’s Act.
(b) Organisations that promote the use of the so-called baby savers contravenes the Children’s Act, which is the principal law in terms of the promotion and protection of children’s rights.
2. The issue of baby savers should not be seen in isolation from all other important issues aimed at strengthening child protection measures that were considered during the public hearings on the Children’s Amendment Bill. The Act makes provision for alternative care for children in need of care and support, and baby savers are currently one of those.
3. The Gauteng Provincial Department of Social Development bound by the same Act—the Children’s Act, according to which baby savers are a form of child abandonment and neglect.