Veranique "Benji" Williams
Veranique "Benji" Williams, founder of the Faith and Hope Missing Persons Unit, has issued a pointed call for greater parental accountability in the wake of the rape of a three-year-old Eerste River girl and says she wants to see the child's father formally investigated for neglect.
Williams, who along with the community of Eerste River led the search for the toddler after she went missing from her father's care, said the case highlights a broader problem of parents not being sufficiently involved in their children's day-to-day lives.
"Parents need to educate their children and parents must be more involved in their children's life. They must know where the child goes, know your child's phone number, know with who, where and in what environment your child is playing. It is so very important," she said.
"Go check by that people's house, go check if your child is in the park. And this is what is hurting me, because you know what, mothers of today, the new generation, they don't care about their children, they leave the child, let the child just play.
