The study provided a general orientation of crimes against children in South Africa to buttress the rationale of the research. A concise definition of crime, child, child abuse, sexual child abuse, physical child abuse, victims and perpetrators of sexual crimes against children. The research described the various forms of crimes against children in Guateng, the causes and explanations. An interpretation of the empirical study was provided in this research. It focussed on the perpetrators and victims of child sex crimes. The types of offenders, the motives and theoretical explanations of their behaviour. The modus operandi of the perpetrators found in the empirical study. The various characteristics of victims and perpetrators, the legal processes in the adjudication of child sexual offenders. The research examined some of the prevention strategies of child sexual crimes. Findings of the empirical research are provided. / Criminology and Security Science / M.A. (Criminology)

M.A. / This study is an attempt to investigate the way in which female survivors of childhood sexual abuse made sense of their experiences. Three participants were interviewed and the relevant themes that emerged from those interviews were coded and reported. The study was conducted from a qualitative perspective that was grounded in social construction methodology. The survivors' individual constructions of meaning at the time of their sexual abuse, their introduction to the social constructions of meaning about child sexual abuse and the double bind between these constructions are reported. The survivors' narratives are representations of the positive way they constructed meaning about their experiences as a way of coping. Their stories are also reflections of the confusion they experienced when introduced to the social constructions of child sexual abuse that differed from the meaning they attributed to their experiences. The study is a representation of the double bind that the difference between the individual and social constructions of their child sexual abuse created for them.

The purpose of this study was to identify factors that contribute to the recurrence of child maltreatment within a variety of families. The following discussion addresses the safety and security of children, child protective services, cultural sensitivity, and perception of poverty.

The purpose of this study is to tell the story of female victims of human trafficking from Ethiopia. It pertains to the cause of trafficking and how it affects their social and emotional wellbeing. The study is conducted in light of constructivist framework and involves in-depth interviews with five returnees whose experiences as victims are explored. This is done to get insight into the challenges faced by the wider population. Themes evident in the stories are discussed in line with relevant literature. The study shows lack of job opportunities, limited income and false promises made by brokers as the major factors drawing women into human trafficking. The findings also show that even after return, the victims experience further difficulties due to post-traumatic psychological factors. Looking at the significance of the research outcome, the gleaned information could be of value for organizations working on migration and countering human trafficking. / Investigation into the experiences of female victims of trafficking in Ethiopia / Experiences of female victims of trafficking in Ethiopia / Female victims of trafficking in Ethiopia / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

The present study explored factors affecting vulnerability to depression among gay men and lesbian women in metropolitan Gauteng, South Africa. Risk factors consistently cited in the literature on depression among gay men and lesbian women, namely self-esteem, social integration, hate speech, physical victimisation, fear of victimisation and alcohol and drug abuse, were examined to determine their ability to predict vulnerability to depression. Data was collected from 385 participants who self-identified as lesbian or gay, using a purposive quota sampling technique to ensure representation across age, gender, race and socio-economic status lines. Participants were selected through gay and lesbian organisations, support groups, counselling centres, the gay and lesbian Pride Parade, an online questionnaire, and via snowballing techniques. Multiple regression analysis indicated that self-esteem and hate speech were the only significant predictors of vulnerability to depression. The regression model accounted for 21.7% of the variance in vulnerability to depression scores. / Psychology / M. Sc. (Psychology)

Power imbalances and gender-based violence (GBV) have increasingly been cited as important determinants putting women at risk of HIV infections. Studies have shown that globally one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. The study explored working women’s perceptions of power, gender-based violence and HIV-infection risks. A qualitative, explorative study was conducted among female employees in an airline business in Namibia. Five women participated in in-depth, face-to-face interviews. The findings show that all of the participants experienced power imbalances and GBV in their intimate relationships. All of the women reported emotional or psychological abuse, whilst the majority were subjected to economic abuse, followed by physical abuse, and two alleged having been sexually abused. The study concludes with specific recommendations for the development and successful implementation of workplace policy and programmes to protect and promote women’s rights. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

During the 1990s Yugoslavia and Rwanda were swept by wars accompanied by serious violations of international humanitarian law. Grave and severe crimes wiped away lives and destroyed properties. The United Nations Security Council determined that the violations committed constituted threats to international peace and security, declaring itself empowered to take action. It established international ad hoc criminal tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda with the mandate of prosecuting individuals responsible for those crimes as an enforcement measure under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. Investigating the tribunals’ effectiveness enables one to assess whether they achieved the anticipated outcomes based on the tribunals’ mission, goals, and objectives without creating other problems. The research relies on naturalism and positivism to put the tribunals in a moral and ethical perspective. By examining how the tribunals were established, their objectives, the investigation and prosecution processes, the reliance on guilty plea and judicial notice and the imputation of criminal responsibility by applying joint criminal enterprise and command responsibility doctrines; the study argues that prosecution has not been an effective tool as contemplated by the Security Council. An analytical and comparative review of various domestic and international legal resources helped to provide an insightful approach for an effective prosecution of international crimes. Credible, legitimate and legal judicial institutions in which professional judges and prosecutors discharge their function independently, impartially and are accountable may achieve justice for the victims of international crimes. Ad hoc tribunals failed to thoroughly investigate and assume the dual role of prosecution. They conveniently used legal procedural tools that fit petty domestic crimes; unfortunately demeaning the magnitude of international crimes of concern. Criminal responsibility was mostly imputed without properly scrutinising the legality, extent, actual participation and guilty mind of the alleged perpetrators. Effectiveness should be a value assessment. Imposed and overburdened ad hoc tribunals are inappropriate and should be abandoned. / Public, Constitutional, & International / LLD

This research investigates the communication abilities of children who are exposed to criminal investigations because a crime was committed against them or they have witnessed a crime happening to another person. The study also determines how crime detectives can maximise their efforts in obtaining evidence from such children with the help of an interview as a technique to elicit information. The aim of the research was to understand the behaviour of children, so that more effective investigative interviews can be undertaken with child victims. The researcher wanted to identify the communication challenges associated with obtaining information from child victims and possible ways to overcome such challenges. It was found that the developmental stages of children, the manner in which interviewers/investigators conduct themselves during child interviews and the amount of knowledge possessed by interviewers to elicit information in a legally defensible manner are central to child victim interviews. / Criminology and Security Science / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

Thesis (MA (Political Science. International Studies))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / Sudan is a country that has been affected by a history of multiple destructive civil wars. Conflicts that, in a global perspective, have proven to be as devastating as interstate wars, or on occasion even more destructive, in terms of the numbers of casualties, refugee figures and the effects on a country’s society. The conflict in Darfur, in the western region of Sudan, is a civil war that illustrates one of the direst scenarios. In around five years of warfare, more than 200,000 people have died in the conflict, and around two million Darfurians were displaced, creating what the UN calls the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis.” The civil war was initiated by the attacks of two rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality Movement, against government installations. Although presenting insurgency characteristics, the civil war in Darfur has been commonly labelled as a “tribal” conflict of “Africans” versus “Arabs”. An explanation that seems to fail to clarify the complex circumstances belying the situation. As seen in this study, although identity factors played their role as a cause of the conflict, the ‘ethnic hatred’ justification of war doesn’t seem to be sufficient to explain the present situation. Darfur appears to be a clear example that there is no single factor that can explain such a war. In the case of Darfur, various factors seem to have interplayed in creating the necessary conditions for the eruption of violence. This study focused on two of these factors – the environmental hazards that have been affecting the region, and the government’s use of the Janjaweed militia in its counterinsurgency movement. Both, and in different ways, seem to have contributed to dividing the Darfurian society between two poles, thus worsening the circumstances in the region and helping generate the high levels of violence that characterise the Darfur conflict. Most important, in analysing the conflict of Darfur with a point of view that goes beyond the “ethnic hatred” explanation, it seems possible to identify issues, such as land ownership, that are in vital need of being addressed in order to achieve peace in 4 the region. As seen in this thesis, it seems that it is only through a broad understanding of the complex causes of the conflict that peace negotiations might have any hope of success. While those continue to be ignored, any peace agreements or prospects of finding a solution to the conflict will be unrealistic.

Thesis (MA (Political Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The climate of the Great Lakes Region fostered desperate sources of insecurity which fed each other in a conflict-system which was also largely fuelled by the surrounding war economy. Consequently, the focus of this study was narrowed to providing only a descriptive analysis of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s peace processes of 1998-2002. Subsequently, the surrounding climate served to aggravate the DRC’s ethnic cleavages and the conflict grew so complex that the issues could no longer be clearly divided. The motivation for conducting a study of this nature was that amidst the twenty-three failed attempts for peace, the conflict persisted with no signs of abating, which suggests that a historical and discourse analysis of the peace processes is justified. This study found that during these peace processes, far greater prominence was given to Track I diplomacy than to the unofficial Track II diplomacy. This was due to various limitations that existed. This distinction is fundamental because even though unofficial diplomacy has a different function to official diplomacy, their values are equal and more effective in a peace process when there is a collaborative effort between the two. This is called a Multi-Track approach (Diamond and McDonald, 1996). Thus this study proposes that by giving Track II diplomacy a greater prominence in a peace process, the Multi-Track approach would be fully utilized. It suggests that governmental, informal, and unofficial contact in civil society is fundamental in trust-building between parties in negotiation. Overall, there is value in providing a critical descriptive analysis of both Track I and Track II diplomatic initiatives that were undertaken during the 1998-2002 peace process, in order to expose the shortcomings. In doing so, this study presents the Multi-Track approach in order to emphasize its potential efficacy in addressing similar future cases of intractable conflict. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die omstandighede in die Groot Merestreek het onsekerheid gekweek, wat mekaar versterk het in die konteks van ’n konflik-sisteem wat ook deur die omliggende oorlog-ekonomie aangevuur was. Gevolglik is hierdie studie se fokus beperk tot ‘n beskrywende analise van die vredesprosesse wat tydens 1998-2002 op die tweede rebellie in die Demokratiese Republiek van die Kongo gevolg het. Die omstandighede in die omliggende omgewing het die DRK se etniese splitsings vererger, en die konflik het so kompleks geword dat daar nie meer duidelik tussen die verskillende geskilpunte onderskei kon word nie. Die motivering vir hierdie studie is dat daar te midde van die drie-en-twintig mislukte vredespogings geen teken was dat die konflik aan die afneem was nie, wat suggereer dat ’n historiese diskoers analise van die vredesproses geregverdig is. Hierdie studie het gevind dat daar gedurende hierdie vredesprosesse ’n veel meer prominente rol aan die amptelike Track I-diplomasie as aan die nie-amptelike Track II-diplomasie toegeken was, as gevolg van verskeie beperkinge wat bestaan het. Hierdie onderskeid is van kardinale belang; ten spyte van die feit dat nie-amptelike diplomasie ’n ander funksie as amptelike diplomasie vervul, dra dit ewe veel waarde en behoort vredesprosesse waar daar samewerking tussen die twee inisiatiewe plaasvind dus meer effektief te wees. Hierdie redenasie word ’n Multi-Track benadering genoem. Hierdie studie stel voor dat die Multi- Track benadering meer effektief geïmplementeer kan word deurdat daar aan Track IIdiplomasie ’n meer prominente rol in die vredesproses toegeken word; dit stel dus ook voor dat regeringskontak, informele en nie-amptelike kontak tussen gewone burgers van kardinale belang in die bou van vetroue tussen bemiddelingspartye is. Daar lê dus waarde daarin om ’n krities-beskrywende analise van beide Track I- en Track II inisiatiewe wat tydens die 1998-2002 vredesprosesse onderneem is weer te gee, ten einde die tekortkominge daarvan uit te wys. Op hierdie manier hou hierdie studie die Multi-Track benadering voor om uiteindelik die potensiële bruikbaarheid van hierdie benadering in soortgelyke toekomstige gevalle van konflik te beklemtoon.