All Care, No Responsibility

Abstract

This article examines the duties imposed by international law and domestic legislation to facilitate the reporting of child abuse. With a focus on mandatory reporting legislation in four countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, the article fills a gap in existing literature which largely focuses on the “Global North”. The article elaborates on the complexities of introducing mandatory reporting in countries where the formal capacity to respond to child abuse is constrained and where child protection legislation may not align with the socio-cultural reality. The article posits that mandatory reporting legislation is useful in that it contributes towards an enabling environment to end violence against children. However, such legislation may be tokenistic and potentially undermine the rule of law if it is not accompanied by strengthening of systems of protection and addressing any conflict between formal and informal systems.