The court for sexual offences: perceptions of the parties involved
| dc.contributor.advisor | Louw, D. A. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Walker, Stephen Peter | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2018-04-04T08:14:44Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2018-04-04T08:14:44Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2002-11 | |
| dc.description.abstract | English: This thesis evaluates the Court for Sexual Offences in Bloemfontein at the hand of the perceptions of the victims, their families, offenders and professionals involved with this court. The first article is a theoretical orientation to the relatively unique area of sex courts. The remaining four empirical articles discuss the perceptions of the parties involved with the Court. The findings indicate that the victims of sexual offences, their families and the professionals working in the Court and associated auxiliary services, are generally of the opinion that the establishment of specialist sex courts has gone a long way towards ensuring improved justice for victims and decreasing the incidents of secondary victimization during judicial proceedings. However, the Court still exhibits shortcomings in several areas. Furthermore, doubts are expressed with regard to the impartiality of such specialist courts, sentences for sexual offenders are perceived to be ineffectual and the after-care afforded to the victims and their families appears to be very poor. The perpetrators of sexual offences also perceive the Court for Sexual Offences to be slow and inefficient. They were of the opinion that this particular system of courts is inherently biased. The victim's rights are perceived to be overemphasized and the majority of the offenders questioned felt that it was not possible for an individual accused of a sex crime to receive a fair trial in a specialist sex court. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | Afrikaans: Die doel van hierdie proefskrif is om die Hof vir Seksuele Misdrywe in Bloemfontein te evalueer en wel aan die hand van die persepsies van die slagoffers, hul families, oortreders en professionele persone wat by die Hof betrokke is. Die eerste artikel is 'n teoretiese oriëntering ten opsigte van die relatief unieke terrein van howe vir seksuele misdrywe. Die oorblywende vier artikels is empiries van aard en fokus spesifiek op die genoemde persepsies. Die bevindings dui daarop dat die slagoffers van seksuele misdrywe, hul families en die professionele persone betrokke oor die algemeen van mening is dat die daarstelling van gespesialiseerde howe vir seksuele misdrywe baie bygedra het om geregtigheid vir slagoffers te verseker en die voorkoms van sekondêre viktimisering tydens die juridiese verrigtinge te verminder. Aan die anderkant gaan die Hof steeds mank aan sekere leemtes. Verder bestaan daar twyfel ten opsigte van die onpartydigheid van sodanige spesialishowe, terwyl strawwe vir seksuele oortreders as oneffektief beskou word en die nasorg van slagoffers en hul families veel te wense oorlaat. Die seksuele oortreders beskou ook die Hof vir Seksuele Misdrywe as stadig en ontoereikend. Hulle was van mening dat hierdie spesialishof inherent bevooroordeeld is. Hul persepsie is dat die slagoffers se regte oorbeklemtoon word en dat dit nie moontlik is vir 'n individu wat van 'n seksuele oortreding aangekla word, om 'n regverdige verhoor in 'n spesialishofvir seksuele misdrywe te kry nie. | af |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11660/8093 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.rights.holder | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Court for sexual offences | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Specialist sex courts | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Psycho-legal evaluation | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Victim's perceptions | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Offender's perceptions | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Perceptions of the families of sex crime victims | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Perceptions of the professionals | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Secondary victimization | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Improved justice for victims of sexual offences | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Sexual abuse victims | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Criminal justice, Administration of | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Sex crimes -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Thesis (Ph.D. (Psychology))--University of the Free State, 2002 | en_ZA |
| dc.title | The court for sexual offences: perceptions of the parties involved | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_ZA |