Patrick Burton

Evidence is absent in the legal, policy and programmatic landscape of online child sexual exploitation in countries in the Global South. Our work begins to contribute to filling this literature gap, drawing evidence from Tunisia, one of the least studied countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). We reviewed legal and policy documents di...

Background: Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become a fundamental part of children’s lives and development. However, children need to acquire the skills and knowledge to manage the risks that technology presents. Objectives: This child-centric research on children’s online experiences aims to understand the benefits Tunisian c...

For too long, child rights advocates knew little about the internet while internet governance experts knew little about children’s rights. In March 2021, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) adopted General Comment 25 (GC25) on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment. A General Comment is an authoritative document whic...

In understanding and promoting positive outcomes for children’s internet use, media and information literacies play a crucial mediating role, by enabling opportunities to learn, create, express oneself and participate, and by facilitating coping and building resilience. This chapter explains the approach taken by Global Kids Online (GKO), a multina...

Background: We aimed to complete a nationally representative study of sexual violence against children in South Africa, and its correlates, since we could identify no other such study. Methods: For this nationally representative, cross-sectional study in South Africa, households were selected by use of a multistage sampling frame, stratified by...

Collaboration between government, non-governmental organisations, international organisations, donors and researchers is critical to ending the pandemic of violence, particularly violence against children. This policy brief presents a framework for bringing the sectors together to take evidence-based violence prevention programmes to scale in South...

As more and more researchers from all over the world are becoming interested in how children use the Internet and mobile technologies, global evidence of both the opportunities that the Internet brings, and their associated risks, is increasing. A new research initiative, Global Kids Online, contributes to this through provision of tools and guidel...

That children have a right to protection when they go online is an internationally well-established principle, upheld in laws that seek to safeguard children from online abuse and exploitation. However, children’s own transgressive behaviour can test the boundaries of this protection regime, creating new dilemmas for lawmakers the world over. This...

This report addresses the current state of protection against online child sexual exploitation in the region of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)—focusing on the four target countries of Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco. This research is a synthesis of a broad international literature review with data collected through in-country visits; i...

Meadowlands is one of the only suburbs in Soweto that does not include any informal or squatter areas in its boundaries, and in terms of length of tenure, has a relatively stable population. Yet crime in the area is on the increase, and rates of burglary, robbery and assault are high. Contrary to popular perception, crime here is not committed by f...

Recent media reports have highlighted incidents of violence and crimes against children and young people in South Africa. Yet, up till now, there has been little exploration of the extent and nature of criminal victimisation against youth. The recent National Youth Victimisation Study reveals that young people are almost twice as likely to be victi...

Violence in South African schools impacts on children, their families, and society more generally. Much of what occurs in schools is learnt through exposure to violence at home and outside the school, necessitating an integrated approach to addressing school violence that moves beyond a limited focus on the school itself. The Centre for Justice and...

The Meadowlands police are faced with a disproportionate lack of resources and staff. In the meantime the people of Meadowlands experience high levels of crime that fuel a lack of faith in the police and perceptions of poor police performance. The police are seen as lazy, corrupt, and unwilling to venture into certain areas. The SAPS needs to deter...

Effective partnerships in community crime and violence prevention interventions are challenging to foster. Though challenging, their merits cannot be denied; thus it is necessary to involve diverse stakeholders in processes that aim to address violence and crime prevention in order to better approach the causes of crime. However, practical experien...

Life-course persistent offending contributes greatly to violent offending in any country. South Africa has high rates of violence; this study investigated what proportion of young South African offenders might be identified as life-course persistent, and what risk factors identified this group. Offenders aged 12 to 25 years (N = 395) were selected...

Reflecting on the 25th anniversaries of the invention of the World Wide Web by Sir Tim Berners-Lee and the adoption of the Convention on Rights of the Child by the US General Assembly, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and UNICEF co-hosted in April 2014 — in collaboration with PEW Internet, EU Kids Online, the Internet...

Internet, cellular and cyber technologies have opened up a wealth of opportunities for learning, exploration, and social and public engagement by children and young people. However, such benefits are not without their dangers, and much has been made of the extant and potential hazards of such technologies.Most commonly relating to young people, the...

These crimes include assault, sexual assault/rape, theft, robbery, housebreaking and car hijacking. The crimes of assault, sexual assault/rape, theft and robbery are all crimes committed against the individual. Crimes such as housebreaking and car hijacking, while generally not committed against an individual, are important in assessing the levels...