Court support workers speak out: Upholding children's rights in the criminal justice system

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dc.contributor.authorWaterhouse, Samantha
dc.contributor.authorTownsend, Loraine
dc.contributor.authorNomdo, Christina
dc.date.accessioned2016-05-15T18:54:28Z
dc.date.available2016-05-15T18:54:28Z
dc.date.issued2014
dc.description.abstractThe prevalence of sexual offences against children in South Africa continues to be among the highest in the world. The quality and accuracy of a child's testimony is often pivotal to whether cases are prosecuted, and whether justice is done. Child witness programmes assist child victims of sexual abuse to prepare to give consistent, coherent and accurate testimony, and also attempt to ensure that the rights of the child are upheld as enshrined in the various laws, legislative frameworks, directives and instructions that have been introduced since 1994. We draw on information from two studies that sought the perspectives of court support workers to explore whether a child rights-based approach is followed in the criminal justice system (CJS) for child victims of sexual abuse. Findings suggest varying degrees of protection, assistance and support for child victims of sexual abuse during participation in the CJS. The findings revealed that the rights of children to equality, dignity and not to be treated or punished in a cruel, inhuman or degrading way were undermined in many instances. Finally, recommendations are given on ways to mitigate the harsh effects that adversarial court systems have on children's rights.en_US
dc.description.accreditationDHETen_US
dc.identifier.citationWaterhouse, S. et al. (2014). Court support workers speak out: Upholding children's rights in the criminal justice system. South African Crime Quarterly, 48: 74 - 88en_US
dc.identifier.issn2413-3108
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10566/2197
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.privacy.showsubmitterFALSE
dc.publisherInstitute for Security Studies (ISS)en_US
dc.rightsThis journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.
dc.source.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2413-3108/2014/v0i48a798
dc.status.ispeerreviewedTRUE
dc.subjectChildren's rightsen_US
dc.subjectSexual abuseen_US
dc.subjectSexual offencesen_US
dc.subjectSouth Africaen_US
dc.subjectChild victimsen_US
dc.subjectCriminal justice systemen_US
dc.titleCourt support workers speak out: Upholding children's rights in the criminal justice systemen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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