The child's right against exploitation in the form of pornography on the Internet : a South African perspective

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:With the arrival of the Internet, the availability of pornography, and especiallychild pornography, has increased tremendously. This rapidly developingtechnological wonderworld has brought the dark syndicate of sexual exploitationof 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 isenshrined in section 28 of the Constitution, 108 of 1996, as well as in severalinternational documents. This thesis analyses the legislative framework in thisregard and comes to the conclusion that South African legislation concernedshows much room for improvement. Legislation concerning sexual offencesagainst children makes use of archaic terms that are outdated in the presentcontext. It is also vague, inconsistent and provides insufficient protection tochildren in this regard. The sexual exploitation of children does not, despitepromises made by the South African government in ratifying several internationaldocuments, receive high priority in the South African community.This finding is made in view of the examination of certain key concepts to thesubject, international documents such as the United Nations Convention to theRights of the Child, 1989, and the activities of international organisationscombating the sexual exploitation of the child. An analysis of the manner in whichcountries such as the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom,Germany and Japan has implemented protection measures against this form ofabuse, is also made. Proposals to increase the protection of children in SouthAfrica are submitted in conclusion.Although this new domain needs urgent measures of regulation, it is not animpossible task to govern the Internet. Formulating comprehensive, consistentand effective legislation is a fundamental part in the battle against the sexualexploitation of children. The co-operation of all relevant sectors, including the government, the Internet industry and members of the community, however,remains essential.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University