"I felt like I was going to cause conflict. So, I kept quiet …" (Female child rape victim, 15 years).

Background: There is limited research in South Africa that has analysed the experiences of child and youth victims of crime and sexual victimisation who accessed formal response services through the victim empowerment programme.

Objective: The primary aim of this article is to explore children and youth's experiences of accessing the Victim Empowerment Programmatic services, through the criminal justice system in South Africa. The focus of the article is on childrens' disclosure, reporting and social support.

Ensuring an optimal environment for peer education in South African schools: Goals, systems, standards and policy options for effective learning.

Peer education has long been seen as a key health promotion strategy and an important tool in preventing HIV infection. In South African schools, it is currently one of the strategies employed to do so. Based on both a recent research study of peer education across 35 schools and drawing on multiple previous studies in South Africa, this paper examines the key elements of peer education that contribute to its effectiveness and asks how this aligns with current educational and health policies.

Addressing adolescents' risk and protective factors related to risky behaviours: Findings from a school-based peer-education evaluation in the Western Cape.

Background: Peer-education programmes aim to bring about attitudinal and behavioural changes in their target audience. In the South African educational context, peer education is a favoured approach in dealing with issues such as HIV and AIDS, sexual decision-making and substance misuse. Given the reliance on peer-education programmes in the educational system, it is important to establish how well they are working.