Tesis sobre el tema "Child abuse – Law and legislation – Congresses"

This study was conducted in an effort to explore the attitudes and knowledge held by law enforcement officers regarding child maltreatment. This study was completely exploratory in nature, with no hypothesis about the outcome.

This thesis explored whether Australian family law adequately protects emotionally abused children in parenting matters. It explored the nature of child emotional abuse, and analysed two regimes of the Family Law Act 1975 and their political underpinnings. It analysed case law to understand judicial interpretation and application of the law. Applying social science understandings of child emotional abuse, this thesis found Australian family law – as embodied in legislation, case law, and policy - has not adequately dealt with this form of child maltreatment. Findings indicate the need to develop more robust approaches to child emotional abuse in family law matters.

Child sex tourism is tourism organised with the primary purpose of facilitating a commercial sexual relationship with a child. It involves a segment of the local child sex industry that is directly connected to both an international and domestic tourist market. The increase of tourism has brought with it complications in that tourism is being used as a means for sex tourists to initiate contact with children. Aside from child sex tourists who are paedophiles, there are those who engage in the opportunistic exploitation of children while travelling on business or for other reasons. There are a number of social and economic factors leading to child sex tourism and the effect is that child victims are exposed to immediate harm, irreversible damage and even death. As South Africa's tourism industry expands into one of the country’s top earners of foreign currency, it is unfortunate to note that its child sex tourist trade is also on the increase. Reports show that sex tours are as easily organised as wine route tours in Cape Town. Commercial sexual exploitation of children is prevalent in South Africa and has become more organised in recent years. A comprehensive response to the problem is essential to ensure that South Africa does not become a “safe haven” for child sex tourists. Effective laws at home and the extraterritorial application of these laws to prosecute South African nationals for crimes committed abroad are imperative. Significant steps are being taken both nationally and internationally to target child sex tourism. South Africa has ratified several international instruments on children’s rights, trafficking in persons, child labour, and discrimination against women and young girls, all of which relate to child sex tourism. In doing so, South Africa has made an international commitment to uphold the provisions of these instruments and give effect to them. South Africa is therefore under an international obligation to create the necessary structures and apply mechanisms and resources to combat child sex tourism.

This thesis investigates current sentencing practices relating to the diverse, complex and emotionally laden phenomenon of child sexual abuse. It focuses on relevant legislative provisions, on case law and on an empirical study conducted amongst regional court magistrates. Trends, developments and problems are analysed and possible solutions to the main problems identified are investigated. The thesis concludes with proposed guidelines regarding the sentencing process in child sexual abuse cases. Such guidelines address general and specific principles, the use of victim impact statements, the increased recognition and use of behavioural science in the sentencing phase with regard to both the victim and the offender, and relevant aggravating and mitigating factors. The guidelines are an attempt to give some structure to the current haphazard approach adopted by the courts with regard to harm experienced by the victim. They are also aimed at assisting experts to provide more effective and reliable pre-sentence reports. Further, the thesis attempts to provide clarity concerning the factors that are considered to be aggravating or mitigating in the offence category, child sexual abuse, as well as with regard to the weight that should be attached to them. In addition, recommendations are made for the purpose of possible law reform and further research in relation to the regulation of judicial discretion through the introduction of formal sentencing guidelines, victim impact statements and the accommodation of behavioural science in the sentencing process pertaining to sexual offenders. This proposal is based on current South African sentencing practices as reflected in the consolidation of local judgments scattered over many years in different law reports and, to some extent, on English, Canadian, Australian and American sentencing practices as researched in this study.

With over twenty thousand complaints reported annually to police of child sexual abuse in South Africa, specialist police nvestigators are practised at taking statements from child complainants. This thesis analyses the fit between actualpolice practice and that recommended by international best practice. Children are a special class of witness because of their inherent social, emotional, and cognitive immaturity, and they are universally acknowledged to be very difficult witnesses to interview without the interviewer lending a bias to the process and thereby contaminating the outcome. The first half of the thesis therefore provides a detailed account of the research basis of current international best practice and of the hallmarks of that best practice which result in reliable interview outcomes. The second half of the thesis presents a descriptive analysis of 100 police statements taken from children in the Eastern Cape who had been raped in the period between 2010 and 2012. The findings of the analysis are presented in detail and then compared to the best practice summarised from the international research.

Thesis (LL.M.) -- University of Stellenbosch, 2001.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: With the arrival of the Internet, the availability of pornography, and especially child pornography, has increased tremendously. This rapidly developing technological wonderworld has brought the dark syndicate of sexual exploitation of children to the living room of each home equipped with a computer. In South Africa the right of the child to not be sexually exploited or abused is enshrined in section 28 of the Constitution, 108 of 1996, as well as in several international documents. This thesis analyses the legislative framework in this regard and comes to the conclusion that South African legislation concerned shows much room for improvement. Legislation concerning sexual offences against children makes use of archaic terms that are outdated in the present context. It is also vague, inconsistent and provides insufficient protection to children in this regard. The sexual exploitation of children does not, despite promises made by the South African government in ratifying several international documents, receive high priority in the South African community. This finding is made in view of the examination of certain key concepts to the subject, international documents such as the United Nations Convention to the Rights of the Child, 1989, and the activities of international organisations combating the sexual exploitation of the child. An analysis of the manner in which countries such as the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan has implemented protection measures against this form of abuse, is also made. Proposals to increase the protection of children in South Africa are submitted in conclusion. Although this new domain needs urgent measures of regulation, it is not an impossible task to govern the Internet. Formulating comprehensive, consistent and effective legislation is a fundamental part in the battle against the sexual exploitation of children. The co-operation of all relevant sectors, including the government, the Internet industry and members of the community, however, remains essential.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die beskikbaarheid van pornografie, en veral kinderpornografie, het met die koms van die Internet onrusbarend toegeneem. Hierdie vinnig ontwikkelende tegnologiese wonderwereld het die seksuele eksploitasie van kinders vanuit die donker onderwereld na die voorkamer van elke huis met 'n rekenaar gebring. In Suid-Afrika word die reg van die kind om teen seksuele uitbuiting en mishandeling beskerm te word in artikel 28 van die Grondwet, 108 van 1996, asook verskeie internasionale dokumente verskans. Hierdie tesis ondersoek die wetgewende raamwerk rakende die groeiende probleem van seksuele eksploitasie op die Internet en vind dat Suid-Afrikaanse wetgewing in hierdie verband nog ver te kort skiet. Wetgewing met betrekking tot seksuele misdade teen kinders maak tans gebruik van arqaise terme wat glad nie meer in vandag se konteks relevant is nie. Dit is voorts ook onsamehangend, onduidelik en verskaf onvoeldoende beskerming aan kinders in hierdie verband. Ten spyte van beloftes deur die Suid-Afrikaanse regering, gemaak tydens die ratifisering van verskeie internasionale dokumente, geniet die aangeleentheid van beskerming van die kind teen seksuele uitbuiting op die Internet nog nie prioriteit in die Suid- Afrikaanse samelewing nie. Hierdie bevinding word gemaak in die lig van die bestudering van definisies van sekere kernbegrippe, internasionale dokumente soos die Verenigde Nasies se Konvensie van die Regte van die Kind, 1989, en die werksaamhede van internasionale organisasies bemoeid met die bekamping van seksuele eksploitasie van die kind. Daar word ook veral aandag gegee aan die wyse waarop lande soos die Verenigde State van Amerika, Kanada, die Verenigde Koninkryk, Duitsland en Japan te werk gegaan het om kinders in die onderskeie lande te beskerm. Voorstelle ten einde die beskerming van Suid-Afrikaanse kinders teen seksuele eksploitasie op die Internet te verbreed, word ter konklusie gegee. Alhoewel die nuwe terrein dringend regulering benodig, is dit nie In totaal onmoontlike taak om die Internet te kontroleer nie. Die formulering van omvattende, eenvormige en effektiewe wetgewing in die verband is In fundamentele proses in die stryd om kinders te beskerm. Die samewerking van relevante rolspelers en veral die regering, die Internet sektor en lede van die gemeenskap is egter van uiterste belang.

The study focus on child pornography on the Internet as a manifestation of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children. The debate centres around the exacerbated effect of child pornography on victims and subsequent effects on the society. Ultimately, the study aims to highlight the various legal and non-legal responses specific to child pornography on the Internet with a view to proffer solutions to African states on how to deal with the problem. The study also lend an African voice to the ongoing debate on how to deal with the problem of child pornography on the Internet

The South African Constitution is considered as supreme law. This piece of legislation overrides all others and states in section 28(2): “A child’s best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child”. This emphasises the significance of the right of the child in South African law, by stating that children are to be protected at all cost. This section of the constitution forms the basis of this thesis with regards to the child and the protections that are to be afforded to them in instances of sexual abuse by educators. In the last several years there has been an increase in the number of cases reported on the sexual abuse, rape, violence and harassment of learners by members of the schooling community. The statistics prove that sexual violence in the schooling system in South Africa is rampant and furthermore indicate that young girls and boys are not as safe as they deserve to be. A teacher or educator is a professional, who is to act in a professional manner at all times – in the course and scope of their employment as educators. When a parent leaves its child at school for the day the educators are acting in loco parentis – in place of parent – thus these children are to be protected, nurtured and cared for in the correct manner. Sexual abuse of a learner by an educator is a gross contravention of South African legislation, the South African Council of Educators (SACE) code of conduct as well as international codes by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United Nations (UN) and other conventions. It is therefore fitting that any perpetrator of such violence, disrespect and transgression is to be punished quickly and harshly. Educators who abuse children are to immediately be removed from the school system through dismissal and also be tried criminally. These offenders should also be added to the SACE sexual offenders’ database which needs to be open to the Department of Education (DOE) and more importantly the general public – allowing parents to make the best possible decisions when putting their children in schools, thus ensuring their safety. However, throughout this process the rights of the child are to be protected and regarded with prevailing sensitivity, and their innocence is to be sheltered from any further psychological and emotional harm caused due to the abuse. The South African Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (SAPSAC) argues that a constitutional injunction is powerless to protect a child from being victimised and traumatised by criminal activity.1 All the more should it be incumbent upon the criminal law and criminal procedure and upon the courts, their functionaries and practitioners who regulate its procedure and apply its principles to “protect children from abuse and (to) maximise opportunities for them to lead productive and happy lives … (and to) … create positive conditions for repair to take place”. The thesis that follows, using the principles summarised here, aims to: define sexual abuse of the child, the legal position in South Africa in relation to the sexual abuse of children and case law. Recommendations will then be made and a code of good practice will be established on how to deal with educators who sexually abuse their learners promptly, effectively – without causing any further harm to the child in question.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how South African and Swedish legislation as wellas case law regarding domestic violence and punishment against children is presented in bothlegal systems. Two methods are used as help to answer the two core questions in this thesis.The result of the study showed that the definitions of physical, psychological and sexual abusein both countries are listed as the same assaults and each country has an obligation to relocatechildren that have been exposed to those forms of violence. Many children in both countrieshave experienced some type of domestic violence during their childhood which makes theinstitutions whom work and have qualifications in questions regarding abused children toprotect them from all forms of violence and have to strive more in order to make a better livingfor the next generations forward. When it comes to decision making courts and authorities inboth countries have an obligation to always act in the child’s best interest which clearly appearsin both constitutions.

The parenting style, level of acculturation and incidence of stress, were explored in order to identify the likelihood of intervention by child protective services to prevent child abuse. Additionally, concerns of whether reports of child abuse were related more to the lack of information about American parenting rules, rather than intentionally abusive behavior.

Thesis (M Social Work)--Stellenbosch University, 2002.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study is concerned with children and youths in conflict with the law, who are additionally at risk of becoming or being in need of care. The study eventuated from concern for neglected children and youths from poor, disadvantaged and violent communities in the Western Cape Province, who inevitably lapsed into crime. Child and youth care, including juvenile justice, in South Africa is presently in a process of transformation, managed by the inter-ministerial committee on young people at risk. As an outcome of the transformation of the juvenile justice system, assessment centres were established at juvenile courts. Probation officers were appointed in terms of the Probation Services Act (Act 116 of 1991) to assess arrested children and youths before their first court appearance in view of a suitable awaiting trial placement and possible diversion of the criminal case. The researcher investigated how arrested children and youths, being in need of care, are managed within the criminal justice system. The research study showed that in spite of the implementation of policies and legislation to protect children and youths from detention in prison, the number of children and youths in prisons awaiting trial have steadily increased. A continuous shortage of vacancies in awaiting trial places of safety exists. It has further been established that professionals such as magistrates, prosecutors and probation officers recognize the needs of arrested children and youths who are additionally at risk of being or becoming in need of care. Factors such as the existing lack of vacancies in awaiting trial places of safety however result in children and youths not being protected in terms of care in all instances. The research study also indicated that arrested children and youths who are current subjects of the Child Care Act (Act 74 of 1983) as amended are often not effectively managed within the criminal justice system. A lack of sufficient knowledge of the said Child Care Act by especially prosecutors appears to be a contributing factor. A comprehensive criminal justice system for children and youths in South Africa is being envisaged, as contained in the draft Bill (Bill B), which will enable individualized but holistic services in respect of children and youths in conflict with the law. The role and tasks of probation officers carrying out assessments have as such become a key element in the management of arrested children and youths, as contained in the draft Bill (Bill B). Probation officers therefore playa significant role in advising the court regarding the appropriate management of arrested children and youths who are at risk of becoming or being in need of care.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie het betrekking op kinders en jeudiges in botsing met die gereg, wat bykomend in gevaar is om sorgbehoewend te raak of sorgbehoewend is. Die studie het voortgevloei uit besorgdheid oor verwaarloosde kinders en jeugdiges van arm, agtergeblewe en geweldadige gemeenskappe in die Wes-Kaap Provinsie, wie noodwendig in misdaad verval het. Kinder- en jeugsorg, insluitend jeugreg in Suid-Afrika is tans in 'n proses van transformasie, wat deur die inter-ministeriële komitee vir jong persone in gevaar, bestuur word. As 'n uitkoms van die transformasie van die jeugregsisteem, is asseseringsentrums by jeughowe tot stand gebring. Proefbeamptes is in terme van die Wet op Proefdienste (Wet 116 van 1991) aangestel om gearresteerde kinders en jeugdiges te asseseer voor hulle eerste hofverskyning in die lig van 'n geskikte aanhouding terwyl verhoofafwagtend en moontlike afwending van die kriminele saak. Die navorser het ondersoek ingestel na die wyse waarop gearresteerde kinders en jeugdiges wat sorgbehoewend is, binne die kriminele jeugregstelsel hanteer word. Die navorsingstudie het getoon dat ten spyte van die implementering van beleid en wetgewing om kinders en jeugdiges van aanhouding in gevangenisse te beskerm, die hoeveelheid kinders en jeugdiges verhoorafwagtend in gevangenisse voortdurend toegeneem het. 'n Deurlopende tekort aan vakatures in plekke van veiligheid kom voor. Dit is verder vasgestel dat die behoeftes van gearresteerde kinders en jeugdiges wat bykomend in gevaar is om sorgbehoewend te raak of sorgbehoewend is, deur professionele persone soos landdroste, aanklaers en proefbeamptes erken word. Faktore soos die bestaande tekort aan vakatures in plekke van veiligheid veroorsaak egter dat kinders en jeugdiges nie ten alle tye beskerm word nie. Die navorsingstudie het ook aangedui dat gearresteerde kinders en jeugdiges wat steeds onderhewig is aan die Wet op Kindersorg (Wet 74 van 1983) soos gewysig dikwels nie doeltreffend binne die kriminele jeugregsisteem hanteer word nie. Gebrek aan voldoende kennis van die genoemde Wet op Kindersog deur veral aanklaers, blyk 'n bydraende faktor te wees. 'n Omvattende kriminele jeugregsisteem vir kinders en jeugdiges in Suid-Afrika word beoog, soos vervat in die konsep Wetsontwerp (Wetsontwerp B), wat die geleentheid vir individuele maar holistiese dienste ten opsigte van kinders en jeugdiges in botsing met die gereg sal bied. Die rol en take van proefbeamptes wat assesserings uitvoer het as sulks 'n sleutel element geword in die hantering van gearresteerde kinders en jeugdiges, soos vervat in die konsep Wetsontwerp (Wetsontwerp B). Proefbeamptes speel gevolglik 'n belangwekkende rol ten einde die hof te adviseer oor die gepaste hantering van gearresteerde kinders en jeudiges wat in gevaar is om sorgbehoewend te raak of sorgbehoewend is.

What are child protection court documents like? What are they made of and how are they made? What do these documents do to people? These are some questions explored in this thesis. The Children’s Court runs on documents and yet these important parts of the industry have hardly been studied. They are a stadium with stories competing and bullying to be the one taken most seriously. The main story of this thesis is what we find when we look at one set of court documents through the lens of narrative and hear what it’s like to be an author and a reader of those documents. At its heart, though, the thesis is about the consequences of documents and the ethics of authorship. The research found that the conditions for writing court documents are complex; that it is possible to identify the features of narrative in these documents and that parents often have strong reactions to the documents written about them. Additionally, the research found those who have more power in the system can and do take small actions to lessen the effects of documents. At the same time, the difference that these actions made is limited and writing documents in a way that reduces their consequences was not identified in the research – it remains an area to be developed. The data for this research was drawn from one care and protection matter in the Children’s Court in NSW, Australia; the court file was read and five people involved in that case were interviewed. The father of the subject child, the magistrate, a solicitor, a caseworker from the statutory child protection agency and her manager all participated in conversations with the researcher. Their knowledge of the documents and insights about the effects that documents can have provides a rich, new view that holds important lessons for professions in which writing is an integral part of its power.

"Protecting Argentina" explores how the definitions of sexual crimes (rape, seduction, abduction and the corruption of minors) changed in Argentine penal law during the process of congressional codification between 1853 and 1921. It contextualizes an in-depth analysis of legal definitions within the legislative process and the shifting ideologies of criminology that influenced it. It argues that, as nineteenth century positivist criminology replaced Enlightenment-inspired "Classical" criminology, the meaning and foundational presupposition of these crimes shifted from those of their colonial predecessors. Where in colonial times "Acts of lechery" were criminal when committed against chaste women, in the republican era, the law punished "Crimes against honesty" when the victims were children. Liberal lawmakers defined these sexual acts primarily by the age of the victim and secondarily by the violence used in their perpetration. The year 1903 was a watershed in this process, as it marked Positivism's displacement of "Classical" criminology as the guiding ideology of criminal law. These conclusions suggest there were substantive correlations between elite campaigns to ensure the future of the nation by saving children and the codification of national criminal law undertaken by Congress. As argentine elites began to witness what they perceived to be the negative effects of modernization, rapid population growth, industrialization and the accompanying increase in crime, they sought to ensure the future of the nation through "child saving" campaigns. The increasingly age-based definitions of sexual crimes, which aimed to protect young victims, fit within the broader state-led campaign to protect future citizens. "Protecting Argentina" therefore suggests that historians should consider legislative processes of state building as forming an integral part of turn-of-the-century nationalist projects in Latin America. Tying together positivist penology, nationalist discourse, and congressional codification, this report places children at the center of Argentine elites' attempts to ensure the future of the nation through the protection of children.
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This investigation attempts to analyse the applicability of child protection policy and legislation to black families and children in South Africa. The literature study focuses on the nature, scope and implications of child protection and child protection legislation, perspectives on children's and parents' rights, and more specifically on child-care policy and legislation in South Africa. A limited exploratory empirical investigation within the confines of the Child and Family Care Society was undertaken. The researcher had, by way of a case analysis, studied factors influencing the application of child-care legislation ~l:'ld described how legislation is being applied in practice. The application of philosophies and principles inherent in child-care policies, and the evolvement of certain patterns and trends have also been analysed. Specific deficiencies have been identified and recommendations regarding more effective social work practice are highlighted.
Social Work
M.A. (Mental Health)

The crime of incest is rendered invisible in the 1990's under the all-embracing label of "child abuse", where the public eye is alerted to grave cases of physical abuse, by a media hungry for sensationalism. Likewise, incest is effaced amid the current outrage over the deviant outsider - typically perceived as the paedophile. It is the very nature of the sphere in which incest is committed, which makes the crime 'hermetic'. The view that the patriarchal family is somehow sacrosanct, and the debate over the public/private dichotomy relating to child protection, adjoin to further obscure this iniquity. In addition to this, the perpetrators of incest frequently deny, minimise or rationalise their crime, hence making the legal sphere the only legitimate area of redress for victims. However, the law attempts to deal with these private moral perplexities in the objective and constrained manner representative of the court system. This may not be reconcilable with just outcomes. Social policy's footing in this arena appears to be equivocal, due to the inherent confines of the legal system. But the legal system, and in particular the court arena, can be made more equitable, by being flexible and amenable to innovation, through the embodiment of other areas of expertise. Instead of being self-referential, the legal system should be more accommodating of other esteemed knowledges, in the name of justice.

Subject: Abused children in Czech republic - law aspects of abused children, phenomenon. In my master thesis I focused my mind on the CAN syndrome. The work has two parts: theory and research. In the theoretical part I describe the CAN syndrome, its possible impact on child's general development and last but not least what legislation offers for solving this problem. In the research part I used interviews with 200 people to find out public knowledge about his phenomenon, what is their attitude to this problem and what solutions they can think of. The results of the research are described and supplanted by graphs.