The aim of this essay is to examine several categories of violence in Roald Dahl’s children’s fiction, with the background of fairy tale theory. Roald Dahl’s children’s fiction has raised criticism, and the grounds of it are reconsidered in this essay. Violence is a declining feature of children’s literature, and the sometimes-excessive use of it in Dahl’s fiction is conspicuous, therefore. If Dahl’s children’s fiction is located in the genre of fairy tales, however, and the violence analysed as a device inherited from this tradition, its function and effect become clear, as shown in this essay. In a study of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964), The Witches (1985), and Matilda (1988), I find that violence in Dahl’s fiction has three main effects; cautionary, entertaining, and cathartic effects. I also find that the burlesque quality of violence in Dahl’s work makes the charges of criticism less meaningful.

Sweet Tooth is an exploration of childhood culture as it exists in an adult world. I am interested in the power dynamics resulting from the cohabitation of youth and adults, and the manner in which adults impose their knowledge, faith, and morals upon children. Through the watercolour paintings and textile sculptures in Sweet Tooth, I investigate nostalgia, childhood playthings and childrens literature, especially cautionary tales and religious texts for children. These morality tales are a product of Victorian-era theories of youth education and child rearing. While much has changed in the past 100 years, the impact of this era can still be felt, especially in conservative religious cultures such as that which informed my own youth. The childrens stories produced during this particular time use a mixture of scare-tactics and theological themes to convey their message. In Victorian times, there was an apprehension about failing the intellectual, physical, and spiritual needs of children. This was compensated for with well-intentioned, but peculiar, attempts to frighten youngsters into strict obedience. The painting style in my exhibition, and my use of the watercolour medium, recalls the colourful imagery found in Victorian-era books for children. The textiles in my sculptural works relate to treasured childhood toys. My paintings and sculptures reference the human bodies of both children and adults and employ dramatic shifts in scale. Conceptually, the artwork challenges didactic lessons, but, nevertheless, the children in the paintings appear to crave approval from authority figures. The illustrations of bodies in Sweet Tooth defiantly reveal their imperfections and limitations, but also display a playful humour and desire for worldly delights. The conceptual themes of my art stem from sentimental and romantic views of childhood and my desire is to dissect and expose the actual struggles children endured in past generations, and continue to experience today. These themes recall the Christian teachings during my formative years and relate to adult recollections of youthful guilt and punishment.

Sweet Tooth is an exploration of childhood culture as it exists in an adult world. I am interested in the power dynamics resulting from the cohabitation of youth and adults, and the manner in which adults impose their knowledge, faith, and morals upon children. Through the watercolour paintings and textile sculptures in Sweet Tooth, I investigate nostalgia, childhood playthings and childrens literature, especially cautionary tales and religious texts for children. These morality tales are a product of Victorian-era theories of youth education and child rearing. While much has changed in the past 100 years, the impact of this era can still be felt, especially in conservative religious cultures such as that which informed my own youth. The childrens stories produced during this particular time use a mixture of scare-tactics and theological themes to convey their message. In Victorian times, there was an apprehension about failing the intellectual, physical, and spiritual needs of children. This was compensated for with well-intentioned, but peculiar, attempts to frighten youngsters into strict obedience. The painting style in my exhibition, and my use of the watercolour medium, recalls the colourful imagery found in Victorian-era books for children. The textiles in my sculptural works relate to treasured childhood toys. My paintings and sculptures reference the human bodies of both children and adults and employ dramatic shifts in scale. Conceptually, the artwork challenges didactic lessons, but, nevertheless, the children in the paintings appear to crave approval from authority figures. The illustrations of bodies in Sweet Tooth defiantly reveal their imperfections and limitations, but also display a playful humour and desire for worldly delights. The conceptual themes of my art stem from sentimental and romantic views of childhood and my desire is to dissect and expose the actual struggles children endured in past generations, and continue to experience today. These themes recall the Christian teachings during my formative years and relate to adult recollections of youthful guilt and punishment.

Text in Afrikaans / In this dissertation the legal position with regard to children as victims of sexual crimes is examined in South Africa, England, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Sexual crimes with children are a serious and widespread international problem. The purpose of this study is to identify deficiencies / gaps in the South African law. Children are not only the victims of the sexual crimes, but they are exposed to further trauma whilst giving evidence. Their best interests are also often not taken into proper consideration during the sentencing phase. In is in the interest of justice that children=s interests must be taken into account the whole time. In terms of international conventions and charters State parties are required to protect children against all forms of discrimination, violence, abuse and exploitation. Children may not be exposed to any sexual crimes, because these activities violate their right to bodily (and psychological) integrity, human dignity and privacy. In order to acknowledge the importance of children=s best interest, priority must be given to all cases in which children are the victims and their unique characteristics, age and development must be taken into consideration. This will ensure that they are not further victimized during the trial. Deficiencies in the Criminal Law are addressed by proposing new definitions, for instance for rape and incest. Shortcomings in the Procedural Law are identified and recommendations are made especially with regard to the alternative measures by which children can testify. Guidelines are also suggested for admissible cross-examination. New sentencing options are recommended and possible aggravating circumstances which ought to play a role during the consideration of a suitable and just sentence for sexual crimes with children are suggested. / Criminal & Procedural Law / LL.D.

Text in Afrikaans / In this dissertation the legal position with regard to children as victims of sexual crimes is examined in South Africa, England, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Sexual crimes with children are a serious and widespread international problem. The purpose of this study is to identify deficiencies / gaps in the South African law. Children are not only the victims of the sexual crimes, but they are exposed to further trauma whilst giving evidence. Their best interests are also often not taken into proper consideration during the sentencing phase. In is in the interest of justice that children=s interests must be taken into account the whole time. In terms of international conventions and charters State parties are required to protect children against all forms of discrimination, violence, abuse and exploitation. Children may not be exposed to any sexual crimes, because these activities violate their right to bodily (and psychological) integrity, human dignity and privacy. In order to acknowledge the importance of children=s best interest, priority must be given to all cases in which children are the victims and their unique characteristics, age and development must be taken into consideration. This will ensure that they are not further victimized during the trial. Deficiencies in the Criminal Law are addressed by proposing new definitions, for instance for rape and incest. Shortcomings in the Procedural Law are identified and recommendations are made especially with regard to the alternative measures by which children can testify. Guidelines are also suggested for admissible cross-examination. New sentencing options are recommended and possible aggravating circumstances which ought to play a role during the consideration of a suitable and just sentence for sexual crimes with children are suggested. / Criminal and Procedural Law / LL.D.

From January 2016 until August 2021, at least 436 women or girls have been deliberately murdered in Spain by men. Non-intimate femicide (and, particularly, murder committed by complete strangers to the victim, to which this study refers as “stranger femicide”) has historically been, and still is, the most covered type of femicide in the media. This is also the case in the Spanish press, and more specifically, El País, the most read media outlet in the country. This thesis examines how El País framed Diana Quer’s case, the most high-profile, intensively covered femicide case in Spain in the past 5 years. It will also examine which ethical problems the reporting presented. From a feminist perspective and through a mixed-method approach of content analysis and frame analysis, this study examines 86 articles corresponding to the two informative peaks of Diana Quer’s case coverage. The periods go from August to October 2016, the first two months of her disappearance, and from December 2017 to January 2018, the 15 days following her killer’s arrest and crime confession. The findings reveal that the coverage in El País constructed a victimization iconography with DQ’s case that engendered cautionary tales and failed to address femicide as a social issue. The reporting also presented a series of critical ethical problems calling for a reformation of femicide reporting guidelines.