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Personal experience drives PhD study on rights of children in conflict with the law

06 May 2025 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied

When Dr Tembisa Leeuw was in Grade 9, four of her classmates were convicted of serious offences, including assault with intent to cause harm and murder. This incident sparked a deep curiosity about the juvenile justice system and how it treats young offenders. She found herself asking difficult questions: Were her peers detained separately from adults? Were they placed in facilities designed specifically for children?

Despite the crimes her classmates committed, Dr Leeuw believed they still needed care and protection. The experience led her to reflect on society’s responsibilities towards young offenders, the difficulties they face in the justice system, and whether the laws meant to protect them are being properly applied. “This formative experience instilled in me a commitment to advocate for the rights of vulnerable children and to ensure that the juvenile justice system upholds principles of care, protection, and rehabilitation,” she says.

Now a human rights officer at the South African Human Rights Commission based in Mpumalanga, Dr Leeuw was recently awarded a Doctor of Philosophy degree at the University of the Free State’s (UFS) autumn graduation ceremony. Her dissertation is titled Protecting the rights of children in conflict with the law in South Africa: The law versus the practice.

Her supervisor, Prof John Mubangizi – Research Professor in the Free State Centre for Human Rights – said it was an absolute privilege to supervise such a brilliant, dedicated, and hard-working student. “Her intellectual curiosity, resolute determination, and unwavering commitment to excellence have been quite inspiring. I have no doubt that she will continue to make a profound impact wherever she goes and whatever she does henceforth.”

Safeguarding the rights and well-being of children

It is well known that a large share of crimes, particularly violent ones, are committed by young people. In South Africa, children are frequently charged with serious offences, such as robbery, rape, assault, and murder. These realities highlight the need for stronger systems that protect the rights and well-being of young people in conflict with the law.

In her research, Dr Leeuw looked at why children in child and youth care centres often face human rights violations, despite the Constitution guaranteeing every child the right to be safe from harm, neglect, and abuse.

Her findings revealed troubling gaps between what the law says and what happens in practice. According to Dr Leeuw, the Constitution states that children should only be detained as a last resort and for the shortest time possible. UNICEF also emphasises that children must be kept separate from adults in detention and treated in ways that reflect their age and developmental needs, including their right to education. “However, no country has yet built a fully separate juvenile justice system that ensures that children are treated differently from adults,” she says.

Dr Leeuw also found that children in these facilities are often denied access to education. As a result, when they return to their communities, they are often without the skills or qualifications needed to find work. “It is important that these children receive training that enables them to support themselves,” she explains.

Contributing to a humane and equitable society

Dr Leeuw believes that protecting the rights of children in conflict with the law is important to creating a more just and humane society. “Research shows worrying conditions in child and youth care centres (CYCCs) – overcrowding, poor health care, limited education. Many children report violence, intimidation, and neglect, all of which go against the idea of rehabilitation,” she says.

These environments can deepen trauma and increase the chances of reoffending. “The conditions inside detention centres have a serious impact on children's ability to rehabilitate and move forward in life.”

South Africa has made progress in drafting laws to protect children’s rights, but putting those laws into action is still a challenge. “With the right changes and a more caring approach, the justice system can better meet the needs of children,” Dr Leeuw says. She points to several areas where improvements could be made to help policy makers and human rights workers reform juvenile justice.

She notes that although international agreements promote rehabilitation and support, many CYCCs still focus on punishment. “Children often feel abandoned in these spaces. We need to move away from punitive systems and create pathways for healing and reintegration.”

Government departments, such as social development, education, and health, must work together to provide support that meets children's full range of needs. “Current laws must be updated to meet international standards, and programmes are needed to help guide children away from the justice system in the first place,” she adds.

Dr Leeuw also highlights the key role played by child and youth care workers (CYCWs). Their training and regular oversight are important in making sure children’s rights are respected. “Regular monitoring and open reporting are needed to hold facilities accountable,” she says.

She further stresses the need for greater access to mental health support, education, and skills development. This would help children return to school and integrate into society more easily. She also recommends maintaining strong family ties during rehabilitation, including virtual visits for families who live far away. Addressing overcrowding and offering different forms of intervention can also improve care and reduce reoffending.

“Teaching children about their rights and helping them develop a sense of responsibility is just as important. Programmes that promote personal growth and rehabilitation should be part of their daily lives,” she says.

Aligning with international human rights standards

Dr Leeuw’s study closely aligns with international human rights guidelines on juvenile justice. These include the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and other global frameworks that call for dignity, fairness, and restorative justice in how children are treated. Her work highlights the need to address the root causes of children's behaviour and calls for tailored responses, such as alternatives to incarceration, fair sentencing, and stronger legal protection.

The study also highlights the importance of prevention. Involving communities, improving access to education, and introducing early support systems can help reduce the number of children who come into contact with the justice system. She believes that juvenile justice systems must ultimately uphold the dignity and fair treatment of children, as outlined in both international frameworks and the South African Constitution.

News Archive

During 2011: Achievements at the UFS

2011-12-01

Sarah Shannon

Dr Alex Amtaika, Department of Political Science

During a conference at Khon Kaen University in Thailand, Dr Alexius Amtaika from our Department of Political Science was elected as Executive Director and Convener of the International Committee of Scholars of Local Government. This honour was bestowed upon Dr Alexius during the first International Conference on Local Government at Khon Kaen University.

Sarah Shannon

We all have heard stories about inspirational people, who defy the odds, fight circumstance every day and never give up. Sarah Shannon has cerebral palsy but has never stopped dreaming and achieving them.

Sarah is also a competitive swimmer, and is currently ranked seventh in the world in her class of disabilities.

She is currently completing her postgraduate certificate in Education, Foundation Phrase, through Unisa. She is also studying Sociology at our university.

DW Bester and Sannah Mokone, Rhodes Scholars

Of the four open Rhodes Scholarships available to students from all universities in Southern Africa, two of our students won these prestigious scholarships. DW Bester, B.Sc. Hons. Actuarial Science student, and Sannah Mokone, BPub-cum laude student, joined Oxford University in the United Kingdom in September 2011 to further their studies.

The Rhodes Scholarships, arguably one of the most prestigious scholarships in the world, were founded in 1903 in the will of Cecil John Rhodes and cover the full costs of study at Oxford University.

While academic excellence is a pre-condition for consideration for the Rhodes Scholarship, these scholarships are unique in that Rhodes Scholars are outstanding young students who excel academically, but very importantly, demonstrate leadership, are committed to making a difference in the world, and have the energy to fulfill their ambitions.

Dr Derik Coetzee, Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences

When you suddenly receive a call during a World Cup year and requested to come and assist in leading the Springboks, then you have to know, you have something to offer. This is what happened to Dr Derik Coetzee from our Department of Exercise and Sports Sciences. This year he once again became involved in the Springbok rugby team, after he had been die Bokke’s conditioning trainer from 2004 to 2007.

His primary task as conditioning head was to help in seeing to it that the Springboks reached their best level of play – psychologically, physically an emotionally. Amongst others, his duties included the optimisation of the players’ muscle and explosive power, speed, anaerobic ability and technical skills.

Jefferson J Dirks-Korkee en Mart Kotzé

Jefferson J Dirks-Korkee, from Willowmore in the Eastern Cape, and Mart Kotzé from Bloemfontein, recently made history by being the first students from our Department of Drama and Theatre Arts featuring in an Afrikaans South African film Skoonheid, the first ever to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival.

The movie won the Queer Palm Award at the 2011 Cannes International Film Festival, where Robert de Niro was the chairperson of the panel of judges.

Prof. Muriel Meiring, Department of Haematology and Cell Biology

Prof. Muriel Meiring, Specialist Scientist in our Department of Haematology and Cell Biology, is responsible for establishing the Specialised Haemostasis Laboratory at our university and the Universitas Hospital’s National Health Laboratory Service. She established this centre as a reference centre for Von Willebrand disease, a genetic bleeding disorder, in South Africa. This laboratory is internationally recognised for their research and as a reference laboratory.

Prof. Meiring develops and tests antithrombotic (anti-clotting) agents and her long list of publications, research awards and congress presentations has earned her a nomination for the Department of Science and Technology’s Distinguished Woman Scientist Award. She was one of two scientists of the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) to receive the award – Prof. Meiring being the only woman from our university.

Medical facilities from all over the country make use of her and her team’s expertise when testing for blood disorders and she hopes to expand the centre even further.

Melinda Jonker

Melinda Jonker, one of our third-year financial economic students, won the overall national competition of the prestigious Traders Trophy competition at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

The competition, sponsored by Nedbank Capital and Oxyor in Amsterdam, requires participants to trade actual JSE-listed shares against one another on a simulated platform. The winner is determined not only by the highest profit, but also by the technique used throughout the trading session.

Christopher Diab, also a student from our Department of Economics, won the regional UFS competition.

ASSAf members

Seven of our academic colleagues have been elected as members of the Academy for Science of South Africa (ASSAf). They are Proff. Hendrik Swart, Physics; André Roodt, Chemistry; Zakkie Pretorius, Plant Sciences; Max Finkelstein, Mathematics; James du Preez, Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology; Maryke Labuschagne, Plant Breeding; and Neil Roos from our Postgraduate School.

Due main objective of the Academy is to promote and apply scientific thought in the service of the society, in order to determine the quality and scope of the role that the Academy can plays in the country’s life and progress, and eventually apply it

Other colleagues who are currently members of ASSAf include Proff. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector; Johan Henning, Dean: Faculty of Law; and Frans Swanepoel, Senior Director: Research Development.

Samantha Renda-Dollman

Samantha Renda-Dollman, a BSc (Zoology) student on our Qwaqwa Campus, has obtained 19 distinctions out of the 22 modules she has written since 2009.

Her hard work earned Samantha the prestigious Dux Student award of our 2011 Annual Student Affairs Excellence Awards, held at our Qwaqwa Campus. This makes her the best overall academic performer of the entire student body on this campus.

Jaco Griessel

Jaco Griessel, an Honours student at our Odeion School for Music, received a prestigious Mandela Rhodes bursary for 2012 to study towards his Master’s degree next year.

Jaco, who is currently busy with his BMus Honours degree, is a performer par excellence, with many achievements to his name. In 2010, he received the Fanie Beetge Prize for the best undergraduate student in Systematic Music Studies. A year before, he received the same prize as best undergraduate student in Historic Music Studies. He shall continue his Master’s degree with Music Composition as field of specialisation at our university in 2012.

Prof. Helena van Zyl, UFS School of Management

Prof. Helena van Zyl, Director of the UFS Business School, was elected as President of the South African Association of Business Schools (SABSA). Since the beginning of 2010 she has been acting as president. Prof. Van Zyl is the first woman to occupy this position and also the first woman who is currently heading a business school in South Africa. She will serve SABSA as the president for the next two years.

Prof. Zakkie Pretorius, Department of Plant Sciences

Research by Prof. Zakkie Pretorius from our Department of Plant Sciences, has become part of Phase II of a mayor global project to combat deadly strains of a wheat pathogen that poses a threat to global food security.

Prof. Pretorius focuses on the identification of resistance in wheat to the stem rust disease and will assist breeders and geneticists in the accurate phenotyping of international breeding lines and mapping populations. In addition, Prof. Pretorius will support scientists from Africa with critical skills development through training programmes.

The Ug99 strain was discovered in Kenya in 1998, but are now also threatening major wheat-growing areas of Southern and Eastern Africa, the Central Asian Republics, the Caucasus, the Indian subcontinent, South America, Australia and North America.

Prof. Danie Strauss, research fellow in the Faculty of Humanities

Prof. Danie Strauss, a research fellow in our Faculty of the Humanities, won the Dooyeweerd Prize from the Board of the Association for Reformational Philosophies in Amsterdam. Prof. Strauss, former Dean of our Faculty of the Humanities and head of our Department of Philosophy, won the prize for his book Philosophy: Discipline of the Disciplines. The prize is awarded for work in the field of systematic philosophy.

Nida Jooste and Ryan Lamb, Abe Bailey Travel Bursary holders

Nida Jooste and Ryan Lamb are two of the proud recipients of Abe Bailey Travel Bursaries. Both students are academic achievers, but also excel in other fields. This is what set them apart from the rest of the applicants for the bursaries.

Ryan (23), a Medical Physics Honours student at our Faculty of Health Sciences, received the Senate’s Medal for the best Bachelor’s Degree student at the UFS. He was one of 100 students at the Brightest Young Minds Summit this year and was one of the 2008 delegates to the World Youth Forum, hosted by the International Association for Poetry and Solidarity in Italy.

Nida (21) is a very familiar face on our Bloemfontein Campus, as she served as the Deputy Chairperson of our Interim Student Council in 2011.

Loerie Award for Tarran Jacobs, Elizabeth Forson and Mafohlela Mahlatsi

The creativity of a group of students from our university was rewarded with a bronze Loerie Award after they won an internal competition. Tarran Jacobs, Elizabeth Forson and Mafohlela Mahlatsi, all third-year Marketing Communication students, won the award for an advertisement they designed for Cansa.

Each year, the third-year Marketing Communication students of our Department of Communication Science have the opportunity to flex their creative muscles in the Copy-writing class. The challenge is to design two advertisements for any charity organisation by applying the knowledge they gained from the subject in a practical way. The top three groups are then entered for the Loerie and Pendoring awards – two of the most prestigious awards in the South African advertising industry.

The top three groups designed advertisements for Cansa, the South African Blood Service and Crime Line.

Hendrik Kruger and Anke Malan walk away with awards at Pfizer UKZN Young Health Scientists Research Symposium

Two students in our Faculty of Health Sciences won awards at a Pfizer UKZN Young Health Scientists Research Symposium.

Hendrik Kruger, a medical student, represented his group, which won the clinical category with the paper “Injury patterns of occupants surviving motor vehicle accidents in the Free State”. This presentation was based on a study which is the first of its kind in South Africa.

The group with Anke Malan from our Department of Nutrition and Dietetics as presenter received the prize in the community-based category with the presentation ’Knowledge, practices and perceptions of undergraduate students at the UFS regarding the risk factors of osteoporoses’. Anke’s team was also nominated as the overall winner of the symposium. Presentations were delivered in three categories, namely clinical, community-based and laboratory research.

Prof. Louis Scott, Department of Plant Sciences

Prof. Louis Scott from our Department of Plant Sciences was formally rewarded the Fellowship of Royal Society of South Africa (RSSA).

Prof. Scott is an internationally recognised Palinologist at our university and a B-rated scientist.

Fellows of the RSSA are considered to be part of a very elite group of South African scientists who have achieved international acknowledgment.

Prof. Aldo Stroebel, International Academic Programmes in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor

Prof. Aldo Stroebel has been elected as a Founding Member of the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS).

He is Associate Professor in our Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Rural Development and Extension, as well as the Director of International Academic Programmes in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor.

The Young Academy has as its objectives to represent young scientists in advising the government on science and technology policy and human resource development. In addition, they will prepare the SAYAS to join the Global Young Academy (GYA) to engage with high-level international bodies, including the World Economic Forum.

Prof. Lodewyk Kock, Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology

Prof. Lodewyk Kock was a sought-after keynote speaker at various conferences and seminars around the globe on our nanotechnology breakthrough research.

He delivered keynote lectures at international conferences of repute in the USA, China and Greece. In the USA he delivered a the keynote address at the Conference & Exhibition on Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs (Pharma-2011), held in Baltimore, and was a keynote speaker at the 2nd World Congress on Biotechnology in Philadelphia. He was also invited to present various lectures abroad.

He posted two video lectures in e-conference format on his research on the web page of the journal Translational Biomedicine. He was also invited by the International Society of Translational Medicine (ISTM) to head their “Molecular Imaging” Division.

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