Why Are Our Children Disappearing?

With a growing number of children vanishing from home, often without warning, concerned South African parents are left grappling with difficult legal and emotional challenges.

The George Herald reports that while the instinct might be to panic or even blame the child, experts say there's a lot more going on beneath the surface-and a lot more parents can do to understand and respond to these incidents.

Under South African law, particularly the Children's Act, anyone under the age of 18 is considered a minor. This means parents and guardians have both the right and the responsibility to ensure their safety. When a child goes missing, whether its the first time or the fifth, the matter must be reported to the police.

Advocate Marilyn Scheepers Olifant, legal expert and head of Legally You, emphasises that 'each runaway incident needs to be taken seriously. Police have a duty to respond and investigate, even if the child has returned before.'

But repeated disappearances often hint at deeper pain-trauma, abuse, neglect, or even just emotional disconnect. In such cases, the Department of Social Development DSD steps in, offering counselling, family support, or even placing the child in temporary foster care.