Noting the Impact of Lockdown Co-Parenting Regulations on the Wellbeing of Children in South Africa

Abstract

The South African government introduced a strict lockdown and related legislation in reaction to the COVID-19 epidemic. During lockdown, the movement of children between co-holders of parental rights and responsibilities of a caregiver, as defined in section 1(1) of the Children's Act 38 of 2005, was prohibited. The movement of persons was only permitted in essential cases, leading to children being "stuck" with one co-holder or even a person with no parental responsibilities and rights. A court order was to be obtained for permission for a child to travel, proving that this was urgent and essential. The lockdown regulations on the movement of children covered only those in a formal arrangement and excluded co-parents without court orders and those in the process of divorce. The closure of schools for approximately three months resulted in a significant increase in inter-parental disputes. These conflicts primarily revolved around the regulations stipulating that children could only be relocated to households free from Covid-19.

The regulations completely ignored the child's emotional needs and were so out of line with other countries in similar circumstances. The regulations were also contrary to the Constitution and Children's Act, which underscore that the best interests of the child are paramount in all matters involving the child as it was not in the child's interests to be with a particular parent or without a particular parent during the lockdown period. This paper aims to identify the issues and effects of co-parenting during the lockdown and present a critique on the circumstances. It is argued that the one-size-fits-all approach introduced by the lockdown regulations was not the most appropriate, as the determining criteria should have been based on what would be best in the child's interest, which should, therefore, be assessed based on a case-by-case analysis.