Child protection crisis: the hidden truth of forced begging in Chatsworth

A 41-YEAR-OLD Chatsworth woman faces charges after allegedly brutally assaulting her 15-year-old daughter and forcing her to beg on the streets.

- YOSHINI PERUMAL

Child protection experts warn that using children for begging constitutes abuse and exploitation, and is a criminal offence that deprives children of education, and exposes them to multiple dangers.

The Westcliff woman was arrested and charged after she allegedly brutally assaulted her daughter in December. The teenager was found by authorities to be neglected.

Several sources from the community told the POST the teenager was not at school and had been seen begging on the streets.

“This woman has been begging on the streets with the girl from the time she was little. Now that she is older, we believe she has been forcing the child to beg,” the source claimed.

Adeshini Naicker, director of Childline KZN, said using children for begging was a serious and ongoing problem, particularly in communities affected by poverty, unemployment and substance abuse.

“While not all street-begging involves children being forced by parents, we regularly have cases where children are deliberately sent out to beg or are used to evoke sympathy from the public. This places children at high risk of neglect, abuse and exploitation.

“There are several contributing factors. These include extreme poverty, unemployment, substance dependency, mental health challenges and a lack of access to social support services. In some cases, parents normalise the behaviour because it becomes a source of income,” said Naicker.