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Children in conflict with the law
‘Children in conflict with the law’ is defined as anyone under 18 who comes into contact with the justice system as a result of being suspected or accused of committing an offence. In some cases, children who engage in criminal behaviour have been used or coerced by adults. Most children in conflict with the law have committed petty crimes, some of which are not considered criminal when committed by adults. Children are arrested and detained by police and sent to institutions, including prisons, under systems of justice which in many cases are set up for adults. Save the Children advocates for child-friendly juvenile justice measures that place children’s best interests at their core.
Very often when a child comes into conflict with the law it represents a fundamental failure to fulfil that child’s rights to adequate care and protection at an earlier point in their lives. Large numbers of children in conflict with the law are socio-economic victims, denied their rights to education, health, shelter, care and protection. Many of them have had little or no access to education. Many are working children and some have left their homes and taken to the streets to escape from violence and abuse at the hands of their families. Once having entered the justice system children are often held in detention for long periods awaiting trial.This makes them vulnerable to further violence and abuse.
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Guidelines Manual on Juvenile Justice Best Practices: An evidence-based approach to the justice reforms in Kenya
In Kenya – while official statistics are not available – children held in custody in statutory institutions may be around 3,000 in any given day. Though Juvenile Justice Actors have legal and ethical obligations towards them, policy makers and practitione
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Refugee Children in Conflict With the Law in Bethlehem
Through interviews, focus groups, a literature review, and questionnaires, this report strives to provide a detailed picture of the status of refugee children in conflict with the law in the Bethlehem Governorate. The research questions driving this study
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Juvenile Justice in the CEE/CIS Region: Progress, Challenges, Obstacles and Opportunities
The report 'Juvenile Justice in the CEE/CIS (Central and Eastern Europe/ Commonwealth of Independent States) region: Progress, Challenges, Obstacles and Opportunities', describes the most significant advances made in the development of juvenile justice sy
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Protecting children’s rights in criminal justice systems. A training manual and reference point for professionals and policymakers
Children in conflict or contact with criminal justice or welfare agencies either as children in need of protection, children at risk, on arrest, during trial, in detention or as victims and witnesses, are often in a vulnerable position, unaware of their r
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Speaking freely: Children and young people in Europe speak about ending violence against children in custody. Research report
Children in custody, like all children, have the right to be free from all forms of violence.This report sets out the findings of research conducted by young investigators in Austria, Cyprus, England, the Netherlands and Romania with children and young pe
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Justice for Children in Bangladesh: An analysis of recent cases
Over the last few decades, there has been an increased understanding worldwide of the vulnerability of children, and the consequent need for the protection of their rights and interests. The UN Conventions on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was drawn up as
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The impact of child detention: Occupied Palestinian Territory
Save the Children and East Jerusalem YMCA – Rehabilitation Program have launched their joint report "Impact of Child Detention: occupied Palestinian territory". The report describes the psychosocial repercussions on children, their families and their comm
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Moving Forward: Implementing the ‘Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children
The handbook 'Moving Forward: Implementing the ‘Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children,’ was developed by the Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland (CELSIS) together with a team of child protection experts, governments, UN A
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Child Protection and Child Friendly Justice: Lessons Learned from Programmes in Ethiopia. Executive Summary
This publication is a summary of a research study report entitled " Introducing Child Protection and Child Friendly Justice in a Society with Complex Socioeconomic Challenges: Experiences and Lessons Learnt from Ethiopia, 2011". It highlights the interven
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Creating a Non-Violent Juvenile Justice System. Report 2013
The International NGO Council on Violence Against Children is launching its latest report, "Creating a non-violent juvenile justice system", as a follow-up to the 2006 UN Study on Violence against Children. This report has been written to address the grow
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Protecting Children from Violence: A Synthesis of Evaluation Findings. Summary of Evaluation Report UNICEF
Summary of the UNICEF publication ' Protecting Children from Violence: A Synthesis of Evaluation Findings' This meta-synthesis provides an evidence-base for guiding effective advocacy and programming for protecting children against violence, as outlined i
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Stop making children criminals
Criminalising children causes persisting harm not only to the overall development of many children but also of human societies. It encourages a spiral downwards by children into further offending and increasingly violent offending which often extends into