Magister Public Health - MPH / Background: Child abuse is a global public health problem with serious consequences for the victims and society. Most studies on child maltreatment in South Africa have focused on the role of teachers as perpetrators and the prevalence of abuse within schools. Due to their strategic importance in breaking the cycle of abuse, it is important to document teachers‘ knowledge and attitudes towards identifying and reporting suspected cases of child abuse in relation to existing mandatory laws.Aim: To assess teachers‘ knowledge, attitudes and reporting practices of suspected child abuse in independent and public primary schools across all quintile categories in the Midlands education circuit in Pietermaritzburg.Methods: An observational, descriptive cross sectional quantitative study design was used. A self-administered questionnaire was completed by 237 teachers selected by multi-stage stratified proportional random sampling from a total of 2496 primary school teachers. The data were analysed using CDC Epi Info 7 (2012b). A descriptive analysis was done and groups were compared with chi square, ANOVA or Kruska-Wallis tests where appropriate. The level of significance was set as 95%.Results: The teachers were generally knowledgeable about possible indicators of child abuse. There were critical gaps in participants‘ knowledge of reporting procedures and most of the teachers (70.2%) have had no training on child abuse detection and reporting. Previous training on child abuse was associated with an increased likelihood to have detected abuse in the past (OR 4.86, 95%CI 2.64-8.96, p < 0.01). An overwhelming awareness of mandatory reporting law did not translate into knowledge of its provisions or substantial compliance. Hence, while most teachers agreed that all forms of child maltreatment should be reported, they still displayed differential reporting of suspected cases. The decision to report was often influenced by their perceived seriousness of the on-going abuse while uncertainty about on-going abuse was one of the most important barriers to lodging a report of suspected cases. Conclusions and Recommendations: Teachers recognised child abuse as a serious issue and are willing to learn and do more. Teachers, and ultimately the children in their care, would immensely benefit from training repertoire which addresses identified contextual issues shaping teachers‘ child abuse detection and reporting practices.

This paper analyses the child rights and juvenile justice system in the contemporary Russian Federation as one of the member countries, that adopted the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989. The choice of the researched country is based on the fact, that Russia is one of the few countries in the world, that has adopted a system of juvenile justice and particularly, the juvenile court as an executive juvenile legal authority, that is primarily addressed to the facilitation of child rights and its compliance to the Convention. The paper provides a qualitative content analysis on the juvenile justice and the child rights in Russia, formed in the sequential themes, in which the child rights are compiled and discussed. The results of this paper show how the juvenile justice system is developed in Russia and which advantages/disadvantages it has, as well as what are the new themes in the Russian legislation on the child rights. Therefore, these results are relevant to the field of criminology, in order to conduct future research on the child delinquency, juvenile victimology and other related areas. Thus, an important aspect of this research is to underline a need in the further research in child rights protection, specifically becoming not only as an international obligation, but a national one for all of the countries. The analysis of this paper can serve as the basis for subsequent scientific research and thereby, to contribute to the new solutions of problems associated with the realization of the child rights and their protection. / <p>Madsen, D. Juvenile Justice and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. A qualitative content analysis on the example of the Russian Federation. <em>Degree project in Criminology 15 Credits</em>. Malmö University: Faculty of Health and Society, Department of Criminology, 2020</p>

Three years ago (2020) the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) became law in Sweden. The social service in every municipality has a responsibility to take the children's best into consideration in cases that concern the child. When working with adults, children have to be considered as well. As a social service secretary, it is important to know how to interact with both adults as well as children. It is also important that the secretary implements a childperspective when making an assessment. The CRC is essential to allow the children to be heard as well as to be able to have an impact on decisions that affects them. The four basic principles in CRC are non- discrimination (article 2), the best interest of the child (article 3), the right to life and development (article 6) and having respect for the child's opinion (article 12). This paper is a qualitative study where the aim is to examine how the secretary in social services, on the addiction adult unit, works to achieve the CRCs basic principles in their daily undertakings. The four basic principles are analyzed through CRC and general systems theory to make an assumption as to how the addiction adult unit in Malmö implements the CRC. Five caseworkers on the addiction adult unit were interviewed whereof three is child rights representatives. The result shows that it is up to each secretary to take the CRC in consideration when their client has a child. The lack of knowledge of what all the different units in social service do, is one reason why the cooperation between the units is hard, and sometimes unmotivated. The child rights representatives on the addiction adult unit are working on educating their colleges on how they are supposed to manage a case where the client has a child. At present, the CRC is not perceived to be implemented in the daily work at the addiction adult unit in Malmö. Previous research points to this being the case in more areas within both laws and other operations.

Darbe analizuojami skirtumai tarp Lietuvos vaiko apsaugos teisės aktų ir Jungtinių Tautų vaiko teisių konvencijos nuostatų bei keliamas klausimas, ar Lietuvos teisinė vaiko apsauga nuo smurto užtikrina Jungtinių Tautų keliamus tikslus dėl fizinių bausmių draudimo. Išnagrinėtos fizinio smurto rūšys bei formos nacionaliniu ir tarptautiniu lygmeniu. Atlikta Jungtinių Tautų vaiko teisių konvencijos, Europos žmogaus teisių konvencijos, Jungtinių Tautų vaiko teisių komiteto rekomendacijų nuostatų analizės. Nustatytas fizinės bausmės ir fizinio smurto teisinis santykis. Magistro darbe taip pat atskleista, ar fizinių bausmių reglamentavimas nepažeidžia privataus šeimos gyvenimo teisės. Pateikiama teisinės vaiko apsaugos problematika Lietuvoje. Aptariamas baudžiamasis ir administracinis teisinis vertinimas. Problemos sprendimui pagrįsti išnagrinėta Lietuvos teismų praktika. Darbo pabaigoje pateikiamos rekomendacijos dėl fizinių bausmių draudimo reglamentavimo Lietuvoje. / Having analysed the differences between the child protection legislation in Lithuania and the United Nations Child Rights Convention, in the paper it has been revealed that Lithuania does not implement the objectives set by the United Nations on banning of corporal punishment. The study has revealed that in the national domestic law Lithuania has not banned corporal punishment by law. The concept of corporal punishment is not defined neither by a framework of child’s rights nor by domestic violence laws in Lithuania. Having examined all issues, it is concluded that the corporal punishment is violation of human dignity and the right to bodily integrity and the inviolability, because it contradicts the provisions of European Convention on Human Rights.

Enligt beslut i riksdagen ska FN:s konvention om barns rättigheter ges ställning som svensk lag 1 januari 2020. Tidigare forskning visar att det råder en oenighet om huruvida en inkorporering av barnkonventionen som lag är bra eller inte. Syftet med studien var att undersöka vad olika professioner som jobbar med barn och unga har för inställning till att barnkonventionen inkorporeras till svensk lag, synen på barnets roll samt vilka utmaningar de upplever finns när det gäller att följa barnkonventionen. Studien är kvalitativ och grundar sig på sex intervjuer med olika professioner som arbetar med barn och unga. Studiens teoretiska utgångspunkt är systemteori och socialkonstruktivism. Ur intervjuerna framkom tre teman: En förändringsprocess, rättighetsbärare i beroendeställning och tillämpningens komplexitet. Studien visar att en inkorporering av barnkonventionen är en förändringsprocess där professionerna har en positiv inställning till att stärka barns rättigheter men åsikterna kring om barnkonventionen som lag är det bästa tillvägagångssättet är tudelade. Barnet ses som en rättighetsbärare samtidigt som det befinner sig i en beroendeställning i ett vuxenorienterat samhälle. Att följa barnkonventionen är en komplex utmaning där samverkan mellan lagstiftning, myndigheter och samhället behöver förstärkas för att tillgodose barns rättigheter. Sammantaget visar studien att barnet har en central roll som rättighetsbärare där en förändringsprocess är nödvändig samtidigt som tillämpningen är komplex då barnet hamnar i en beroendeställning gentemot vuxna, myndigheter, lagstiftning och samhället. / The Swedish government decided to introduce the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) into Swedish law on January 1, 2020. Previous research shows different opinions about turning CRC into Swedish law. The purpose of the study was to investigate different professions’, who are working with children and adolescents, opinions of incorporating CRC into Swedish law, their view of the child’s role as well as challenges they see with complying with CRC. The study is qualitative and is based on six interviews with different professions working with children and adolescents. The theoretical basis of the study is system theory and social constructivism. The study's analysis resulted in three themes: Process of change, rights carrier in deprivation and complexity of application. The study shows that an incorporating of CRC is a process of change there professional´s have a positive attitude towards strengthening children's rights, but their views on whether CRC as a law is the best approach or not are unclear. The child is seen as a rights carrier while it is in a deprivation position in an adult-oriented society. Adhering to CRC is a complex challenge in where cooperation between law, government and society needs to be strengthened to accommodate children's rights. Overall, the study shows that the child has a central role as a rights carrier, where a change process is necessary while the application is complex when the child is in a state of dependence towards adults, authorities, legislation and society.

This thesis explores caregiving ideology and social interaction in Tanzanian families with a focus on guidance and control of young children. The study is set within a context of social change in terms of urbanization as well as the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The aim of the study was to explore how the conditions for children’s participation are shaped within local deology and situated practice. A qualitative study was undertaken inspired by the traditions of language socialization, sociocultural theory and discursive psychology. Data was collected in one urban and one rural district in the coastal region in Tanzania. The thesis contains four articles. Article one and two are based on data from focus group discussions with parents and grandparents exploring caregiving responsibilities. The first study explores caregivers’ discourses regarding the responsibility of guidance and control of children related to social change. The analysis constructed two interpretative repertoires: guidance and control as a community matter and guidance and control as a family matter. These repertoires are related to an ideological caregiving dilemma regarding parental authority and individual rights. The second study investigates caregivers’ discourses regarding early childhood discipline strategies. The analysis suggested a model illustrating various levels of power asymmetries related to corporal punishment, conceptualized in terms of to beat with care, to treat like an egg, as if beating a snake and the non-care of non-beating. Article three and four are based on video recorded data and present analyses of moment-to-moment, multimodal sequences of interaction. The third study explores how siblings in Tanzania actively engage in their own socialization concerning caregiving responsibilities through the negotiation of guidance and control between younger siblings, older siblings and adults. The forth article presents findings from analyses of naturally occurring literacy events. The analysis shows how participation is negotiated in terms of  symmetries and asymmetries between younger and older siblings. Norms and values belonging to the social order of the formal school are enacted parallel to the social order of participatory learning with roots in everyday interaction in the home. The four studies illustrate conditions of participation in terms of symmetries and asymmetries in early childhood relationships. The findings are also discussed in terms of a caregiving dilemma regarding individual rights versus parental authority. This dilemma is identified both in lived and theoretical ideology as presented in caregivers’ discourses and the ideology of children’s rights. / Avhandlingen behandlar omsorgsideologi och social interaktion i  tanzaniska familjer med fokus på vägledning och kontroll av yngre barn. Studien är situerad i en kontext som präglas av social förändring med avseende på urbanisering och implementeringen av konventionen om barns rättigheter. Syftet med studien var att utforska hur förutsättningar för yngre barns deltagande skapas inom ramen för lokala ideologier och som lokala praktiker. Data samlades in i en urban och en rural miljö utmed den Tanzaniska östkusten. Avhandlingen innehåller fyra delstudier. I analysen av data användes kvalitativa metoder som har sin teoretiska grund i språksocialisation, socio-kulturell teori och diskursiv psykologi. De första två artiklarna baseras på fokusgruppdiskussioner med föräldrar samt mor- och farföräldrar. Den första artikeln utforskar diskurser med avseende på ansvaret för vägledning och kontroll av barn relaterade till den aktuella sociala förändringen. Analysen konstruerade två tolkningsrepertoarer: samhällsansvar för vägledning och kontroll och familjeansvar för vägledning och kontroll. Dessa repertoarer är relaterade till ett ideologiskt omsorgsdilemma som rör föräldrars auktoritet och barns individuella rättigheter. Den andra studien utforskar diskurser rörande disciplinering och kroppslig bestraffning av små barn. Analysen presenterar en modell som illustrerar hur olika disciplineringsstrategier representerar olika former av  maktasymmetrier i form av a) att slå med omsorg, b) att behandla som ett ägg, c) som att slå en orm och d) icke-omsorgen i att inte slå. Studie tre och fyra är baserade på videoinspelat material och presenterar analyser av multimodala sekvenser av interaktion. Den tredje studien utforskar hur syskon under måltidssituationer bidrar till sin egen socialisation genom förhandlingar mellan yngre syskon, äldre syskon och vuxna. Den fjärde studien presenterar fynd från analyser av spontana läs- och skrivhändelser i barns vardag. Analysen visar hur förutsättningar för deltagande förhandlas i termer av symmetrier och asymmetrier mellan yngre och äldre syskon. Normer och värden som tillhör den tanzaniska skolans sociala ordning kan återfinnas i förhandlingar parallellt med informellt lärande med rötter i vardaglig interaktion i hemmiljö. De fyra studierna illustrerar förutsättningarna för deltagande i relationer genom att analysera symmetrier och asymmetrier i familjerelationer under de tidiga barndomsåren i Tanzania. Fynden tolkas också som omsorgsdilemman som rör individens rätt i motsats till auktoritet och anpassning till traditionella värden. Detta dilemma kan spåras både i praktisk och teoretisk ideologi i föräldrars och mor- och farföräldrars diskurser inom den kontext som barnrättsideologin skapar.

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Magister Legum - LLM / South Africa

Masters of Art / A child friendly city (CFC) is the embodiment of the rights of the child manifested in the policies, programs, and laws of a city. A critical aspect in the creation of a CFC is the consideration of the natural environment (NE). Premised upon a child participatory perspective, this study explored the manner in which adolescents perceive and attach meaning to the NE, as there is limited research concerning this. The primary aim of the study was to investigate children’s perceptions of the NE, and within this process to elucidate the meanings that children attach to environmental issues, and how these meanings contribute toward the creation of CFC’s. This study employed the broad epistemological position of social constructionism, and the theoretical framework of the Person-environment (P-E) fit theory. Methodologically, a qualitative research design was adopted, employing focus group interviews as the method of data collection. The study was conducted in an impoverished community on the Cape Flats in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Four focus group interviews were conducted with two groups of 8 children between the ages of 13 and 14 in grade 9. Thematic Analysis was utilised to analyse and interpret the findings. The findings indicate that the participants perceive the NE through the lens of safety as natural areas in the community are characterised by crime, violence, pollution, and a haven for gangsters. The participants’ worldviews appear to be permeated with this milieu of danger which is pervasive in their community. Although the participants express the need to engage in the NE, their mobility is greatly restricted due to their own, parental, or guardians fears of threat. There is evidently incongruence between the participants’ expectations for the NE, and the reality of the unsafe nature of the NE. The participants thus fall outside the prevailing categories of the social and cultural construction of childhood, as they undergo an immense burden of adversity and suffering which breaches what childhood is supposed to signify.Along with many children in South Africa, the participants are exposed to an escalating level of crime and community violence which has a negative impact upon their sense of wellbeing,their ability to negotiate their mobility and to freely explore NE’s, and engage in childled initiatives to counteract impending safety and security concerns within their communities.It was also found that the participants consider the natural world as crucial in the creation of a CFC. Ultimately, the participants revealed that their community is not child friendly, and thereby suggest the requirement for a child and environmentally friendly city. The participants therefore proposed that environmental education (EE) be incorporated into the school curriculum to instil a greater awareness of environmental issues among their peers.