Bosch v Van Vuuren - LexisNexis South Africa

7perceived to be “illegitimate” are frequently stigmatised, andthat such children stand (if not invariably, then almost so) tosuffer emotional and psychological harm – this both on accountof the perception of having been rejected and abandoned and asresult of stigmatisation. That this is so is a matter of generalcommon experience and it has been recognised by our Courts tobe so for many years.9 Indeed, as the authors of Davel and Skelton: Commentary onthe Children’s Act, state in relation to the enactment of Section21 of the Children’s Act 1 (“ hereinafter simply the Act”):“Section 21 of the Act came into operation on 1 July 2007. Itcontains one of the major reforms of South Africa’s law of parentand child. The section is based on the premise that if a child’sunmarried father meets certain requirements, he acquiresexactly the same parental responsibilities and rights as thechild’s mother. ... The Act repealed the Natural Fathers ofChildren Born out of Wedlock Act 2 and replaced it with a new setof rules which, inter alia, automatically confers parentalresponsibilities and rights on certain unmarried fathers. ... Oneof the main reasons for the need for law reform was that the12Act 33 of 2005Act 86 of 1997