Thesis (DPhil (Social Work))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / It is generally accepted that pre-teen sexual offences are becoming a widespread problem in South
Africa and social workers are ill-equipped to render a competent service to prevent these youth
offenders from re-offending. To date, the social, judicial and legislative systems do not provide any
definite guidelines to prevent pre-teen sexual offenders from re-offending.
The purpose of this study was to present guidelines which could serve as a framework when
designing prevention programmes for pre-teen sex offenders. With the results of the study an attempt
will be made to augment the knowledge and skills in this area in the social service delivery system, in
order to render a professional and effective service to prevent pre-teen sexual offenders from reoffending.
The objectives of the study were: first, to explain policy under the South African criminal
justice system regarding crime according to the Sexual Offences Act, no 23 of 1957, and the Child
Care Act, no 74 of 1983, as well as government and non-government services available to children
under the age of 13 who sexually offend; second, to describe the social and personal circumstances of
pre-teen sexual offenders in order to illustrate the nature of the deviant sexual behaviour of these
children and to determine the need for prevention programmes; third, to reflect on the nature and
function of prevention programmes for pre-teen sexual offenders and to investigate the need for social
workers to utilize these programmes in welfare agencies in South Africa; fourth, to determine the
nature of social work programmes which social workers in welfare agencies are using to address the
needs and/or problems of pre-teen sexual offenders; and finally, to describe the knowledge and
practice skills needed by social workers to design prevention programmes for pre-teen sexual
offenders.
The literature review was focused on research findings relating to issues examined in this study. An
exploratory research design for the study was confined to a purposive sample of 79 respondents who
were identified from a universe of 130 social workers to assess their need to develop prevention
programmes in order to render a competent service to pre-teen sex offenders and their families. The
results were analysed mainly quantitatively.
The empirical study enabled the researcher to draw certain conclusions. The main finding was that
pre-teen sex offences were on the increase, and that social workers therefore required ever greater
knowledge and skills to empower them to use existing prevention of re-offending programmes for preteen
sexual offenders, or alternatively, needed to develop their own such programmes.
A number of recommendations flowed from the findings. The main recommendation was that welfare
organisations rendering child care service should ensure that social workers have at their disposal a
diverse knowledge and skills base consisting of the most significant prevention models and
approaches to enable them to design their own prevention programmes for pre-teen sexual offenders.
The welfare organisations should further supply social workers with training opportunities to enable
them to design prevention programmes, thereby empowering them to render a professional service to
pre-teen sexual offenders and their families. Finally, preventing pre-teen sex offenders from reoffending
should be a state-driven initiative and national and provincial governments should provide
adequate policies and facilities for the implementation of prevention programmes for pre-teen sexual
offenders.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/1341 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Campbell, Joan |
| Contributors | Green, S., University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Social Work. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Stellenbosch |
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