South Africa has a broad and complex history that has greatly influenced the unique, diverse and democratic country that we know today. One of the many challenges South Africa faces is crime, with those crimes committed by youthful offenders being the most distressing – it is sadly not unusual to hear of youths who have been involved in murder, rape or robbery. In addition, sexual offences among children are occurring more frequently, and the number of child victims of abuse and domestic violence is also on the rise. An added and escalating danger for children is falling prey to ruthless traffickers and being used as sex workers or slaves. Despite specific laws having been promulgated to protect them, many children are still growing up in unforgiving environments that never allow them the opportunity to develop morally according to the prescriptions of a democratic society.

Child and youth misbehaviour in South Africa addresses the complex and poorly understood phenomenon of youth misbehaviour. It discusses and analyses various theories on the nature and causes of deviant behaviour, and assesses them critically with regard to their applicability to South Africa. The book presents the relevant legal processes pertaining to young people, and reinforces theoretical explanations with research and real-world examples. The female youth offender is also discussed in depth in this edition.

Contents include the following:

• The difficulty in demarcating the position of children in South Africa
• The complex diversity in the various ethnic and racial groupings in South Africa
• The local risk factors and international influences associated with youth misbehaviour
• The effective processing and treatment of youthful offenders by the South African criminal justice system
• Preventive measures based on constitutional guidelines

Child and youth misbehaviour in South Africa is aimed at enabling both practitioners and students to address the plight of the South African youth in a constructive way so they can become part of creating a safer South Africa for all its people.

Professor Christiaan Bezuidenhout holds a BA (Criminology), BA Honours (Criminology), MA (Criminology), DPhil (Criminology), as well as an MSc (Criminology and Criminal Justice) from the University of Oxford. He is currently attached to the Department of Social Work and Criminology, University of Pretoria, where he teaches psychocriminology, criminal justice and contemporary criminology at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.