STREET CHILDREN‟S STORIES OF ESCAPING TO, AND SURVIVING ON, THE STREET – “SLUMDOG” LIFE AND “MILLIONAIRE” ENDING?

Most movie enthusiasts were intrigued by the film Slumdog Millionaire. This story reflects, amongst other issues, the survival strategies of kids living on the streets in towns in India and the happy ending for one of them. The findings of the research on which this article was based could likewise have been dramatised into a script with similar story lines. It would reflect stories of kids trying to escape deprivation and violence and getting caught up in drugs and criminal activities. The authors of such a script could, however, argue that the researchers‟ interpretation of the findings would not substantiate any story with a “millionaire” ending. Nevertheless, according to the perspectives of research participants, street life could indeed be likened to a “millionaire‟s life”, compared to their home circumstances.The discussion that follows clarifies and substantiates this introductory statement. The rationale for, and the goal of the study, are presented, followed by a summary of the research methodology. The article then reports core findings in an inductive, narrative style and concludes with a summary and certain recommendations. Relevant literature is compared to the findings of the study

PERCEPTIONS OF RELATIONSHIP VIOLENCE: A YOUTH PERSPECTIVE

Youths constitute a significant and growing sector of the population living in South Africa.Dickson-Tetteh and Ladha (2000:2) state that there are currently about 18 million people underthe age of 20 years, who constitute 44% of the total population. McWhirter, McWhirter,McWhirter and McWhirter (2004:4) suggest that the well-being and stability of society dependon our ability to prepare well-adjusted and responsible young people to step forward to take uptheir roles as the older generation passes. In contemporary society the youth face a host ofchallenges that can impact either positively or negatively on their ability to negotiate thetransition from childhood to adulthood. During adolescence youths complete crucial life-tasksand as such are especially vulnerable to the effects of violence as both perpetrators andvictims

FAMILY MEDIATION: THE PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF UNMARRIED PARENTS AND MEDIATORS

While there have been significant developments regarding mediation, parental responsibilities and the rights of unmarried fathers, fathers remain challenged in acquiring their parental rights through mediation in terms of Section 21 of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005.   The aim of this qualitative study was to understand the experiences of parents and mediators regarding mediation since the inception of the Children’s Act in 2007.  Semi-structured interviews were conducted with unmarried fathers, unmarried mothers and mediators. Data were analysed using within-case analysis. The findings highlighted the positive experiences of mediation, challenges in mediation and strategies to enhance the quality of mediation.

Risk factors associated with the intervention of perpetrators of domestic violence

INTRODUCTION: South Africa has the highest incidence of violence against women and a woman is killed every six hours by an intimate partner. Furthermore, women in South Africa are more likely to be killed by an intimate partner than a stranger. It seems apparent that not much is known about the men who will continue to use violence in an intimate relationship or those who would kill their partners. International trends have indicated that intervention with either the survivor or the batterer in isolation is futile and greater recognition has been given to the development of comprehensive and co-ordinated responses. These co-ordinated responses must include community, social as well as criminal justice interventions. Yet, intervention programmes for batterers are in their infancy in Africa, with a special interest developing really only over the last five years. The initial development of any intervention for batterers emerged from the observation that the beatings or killings did not stop simply because the survivor received an intervention. Yet the batterer programmes that developed were not always in the best interest or safety of the women. METHODS: This study used the methodological framework of intervention research and design to develop a technology for intervening with the batterer himself. The different phases of this methodological framework was used to analyse the problem, gather and synthesize information through a literature review, study functional elements of successful batterer intervention programmes and then to design a risk-based assessment and intervention guidelines. The writer implemented an existing risk assessment guide, called the Spousal Assault Risk Assessment guide (SARA) to this end and the outcomes informed the design of the framework. The writer used purposive sampling to include the 53 male respondents and 47 female respondents in this study. RESULTS: The main findings of this study concur with the overall trends reflected in literature on domestic violence and the management of batterers. The implementation of the SARA guidelines further confirmed that treatment providers must assess batterers very thoroughly prior to the commencement of batterer intervention programmes. The identification of risk markers must clearly be taken into consideration when programmes are developed to manage the batterer as a means to stop ongoing domestic violence. Specific findings that emerged from the different phases of the research methodology are presented in greater detail in this final research report. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study concur with the main trends detected in the literature regarding the risk markers for continued violence. Batterers who have a history of violence, were exposed to violence during childhood, are impulsive and present with poor anger management skills appear to continue using intimate violence. Those men who tend to ignore or violate protection orders and restraining orders also appear to be more committed to using continued intimate violence

Children in conflict with the law - constructions of their family environment

The studies reviewed for this project indicate that there is an interplay of family and social factors that affect the development of the child. Furthermore, some studies postulate that there is a relationship between children’s engagement in criminal behaviour and their family environment. The present study aimed to explore, describe and interpret how children who have been in conflict with the law construct their family environment. A qualitative research approach that was embedded in an explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was employed in order to achieve the objectives of the study. The research population was constituted of children from a Child and Youth Care Centre. A non-probability purposive sampling technique was employed to select children aged 14 to 17 years who have been in conflict with the law. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with the selected children and this data was analyzed using Tesch’s thematic analysis. Ethical considerations that were applicable for the involvement of children and vulnerable groups in research were adhered to. The trustworthiness of the research process, and the findings of the study, were enhanced by employing a variety of data verification strategies. Data was verified using: member checking, peer debriefing, clarifying bias by the researcher, and dense description of the application of the selected methods used in research suggested by Creswell. The major findings of this study include: positive and negative experiences of children prior to involvement to crime in their internal family environment. The external family environment was dominated by gangsterism and crime in the community, police corruption and their interaction with drugs. Furthermore, the study findings revealed positive and negative school experiences and posited several reasons why children break the law. It is hoped that the research will contribute to the knowledge base of Social Work and Practice interventions in the field of child protection services in general and, more specifically, on the criminal justice system

Injury-related behaviour among South African high-school students at six sites

Objectives. To document and compare prevalence rates of adolescent injury-related risk behaviours at six sites in South Africa. Design. The identical self-administered instrument was used at all sites. Prevalence rates (with 95% confidence intervals) were calculated taking the multistage cluster sampling strategy into account. Setting and subjects. In Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Mankweng participants were drawn from either grades 8 or 9, and grade 11, while in Queenstown and Umtata they were drawn from grade 11 only. We selected 39 schools in Cape Town and Durban, 33 in Port Elizabeth and 20 in each of the rural areas. Outcome measures. Road-related risk behaviour, violence, and suicide attempts. Results. Across the sites there were high rates of risk behaviour in all domains. For example, in the 12 months preceding the survey an estimated 52.8% of grade 11 males in Cape Town had travelled in the front seat of a motor vehicle without a seatbelt, 33.0% of grade 8 males in Mankweng had bullied others, while 44.5% of the same group had been bullied, and 18.6% of females in Port Elizabeth had attempted suicide. Rates were lower in rural areas for behaviour involving motor vehicles, but there were no consistent urban-rural findings for violence-related behaviour. Females were at higher risk of suicidal behaviour and males were at higher risk of other injury-related behaviour. Conclusions. There is a need for effective interventions to reduce the extent of injury-related risk behaviour in adolescents in urban and rural settings

Social factors affecting seasonal variation in bovine trypanosomiasis on the Jos Plateau, Nigeria

BACKGROUND: African Animal Trypanosomiasis (AAT) is a widespread disease of livestock in Nigeria and presents a major constraint to rural economic development. The Jos Plateau was considered free from tsetse flies and the trypanosomes they transmit due to its high altitude and this trypanosomiasis free status attracted large numbers of cattle-keeping pastoralists to the area. The Jos Plateau now plays a major role in the national cattle industry in Nigeria, accommodating approximately 7% of the national herd, supporting 300,000 pastoralists and over one million cattle. During the past two decades tsetse flies have invaded the Jos Plateau and animal trypanosomiasis has become a significant problem for livestock keepers. Here we investigate the epidemiology of trypanosomiasis as a re-emerging disease on the Plateau, examining the social factors that influence prevalence and seasonal variation of bovine trypanosomiasis. METHODS: In 2008 a longitudinal two-stage cluster survey was undertaken on the Jos Plateau. Cattle were sampled in the dry, early wet and late wet seasons. Parasite identification was undertaken using species-specific polymerase chain reactions to determine the prevalence and distribution of bovine trypanosomiasis. Participatory rural appraisal was also conducted to determine knowledge, attitudes and practices concerning animal husbandry and disease control. RESULTS: Significant seasonal variation between the dry season and late wet season was recorded across the Jos Plateau, consistent with expected variation in tsetse populations. However, marked seasonal variations were also observed at village level to create 3 distinct groups: Group 1 in which 50% of villages followed the general pattern of low prevalence in the dry season and high prevalence in the wet season; Group 2 in which 16.7% of villages showed no seasonal variation and Group 3 in which 33.3% of villages showed greater disease prevalence in the dry season than in the wet season. CONCLUSIONS: There was high seasonal variation at the village level determined by management as well as climatic factors. The growing influence of management factors on the epidemiology of trypanosomiasis highlights the impact of recent changes in land use and natural resource competition on animal husbandry decisions in the extensive pastoral production system