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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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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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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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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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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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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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Family Group Conference in Sri Lanka: A Manual for Trainers and Practitioners
In 2006-2008, The Family Group Conferencing (FGC) was introduced to the governmental childcare structure in Sri Lanka Tsunami response in the Southern Province. As stated in the manual, “the simplicity of the approach and the compatibility of the core con
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Atelier des experts sur la formation des agents des forces de sécurité aux droits de l'enfant en Afrique francophone
Report from a 5-day workshop held in Dakar, Senegal, 19-23 September 2011, organised by the International Bureau for Children's Rights (IBCR) in collaboration with UNICEF and Save the Children Sweden. The workshop brought together some forty international
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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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Introducing Child Protection and Child Friendly Justice in a Society with Complex Socioeconomic Challenges: Experiences and Lessons from Ethiopia
Save the Children Sweden (SCS) has been sturdily engaged in the promotion of the rights of children and has ardently supported child protection and child friendly justice (CFJ) endeavours in Ethiopia. This document identifies, organizes and presents best
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Developing integrated child protection mechanisms in China. Child Protection Programme Plan- PPP
A summary of the Child Protection Programme Plan (PPP) aimed at transforming child protection across China over five years (2006-2010). It is a nationally-owned plan, developed by Chinese staff and accepted by government partners. It builds on the China p