Open AccessYOUNG GUNS: Children in organised armed violence
Author(s) -
Cheryl Frank
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
sa crime quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2413-3108
pISSN - 1991-3877
DOI - 10.17159/2413-3108/2005/v0i14a1006
Subject(s) - poverty , unemployment , criminology , population , cape , phenomenon , political science , geography , sociology , demography , economic growth , law , economics , physics , quantum mechanics
The problem of gangs is not new to South Africa. This is one of the reasons that Cape Town has been included in an innovative international study that has identified the phenomenon of ‘children in organised armed violence’. Given the youthfulness of South Africa’s population, as well as levels of poverty and unemployment, the risk factors for children’s involvement in armed gangs as recorded by the international study should serve as an early warning to us.