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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 2:29 am
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Results for child victims
8 results foundAuthor: Dottridge, Mike Title: Children, Adolescents and Human Trafficking: Making Sense of a Complex Problem Summary: This Issue Paper presents current knowledge about the scope and meaning of child trafficking. Although it might seem to be a simple subject to describe, it is not. First, there is the question of what a ‘child’ is. The international definition in the Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a ‘child’ as a person under the age of 18 but, at the same time, it recognizes the evolving capacity of adolescents to engage in certain activities and make certain decisions (UN Child Rights Convention, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 2003). Additionally, there is confusion about how to distinguish between child employment, which is permissible, and child labor, which is not. Also, there is a conflict between international law and local practices because, in many countries, children routinely start to work before reaching the minimum legal age for employment set by international law. Details: Washington, DC: Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law, Washington College of Law, American University, 2012. 21p. Source: Issue Paper 5: Internet Resource: Accessed August 14, 2012 at http://rightswork.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Issue-Paper-5.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://rightswork.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Issue-Paper-5.pdf Shelf Number: 126025 Keywords: AdolescentsChild LaborChild TraffickingChild VictimsHuman Trafficking |
Author: Steven, David Title: If Not Now, When? Ending Violence Against the World's Children Summary: Key Messages -- A target to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence, and torture against children has been proposed as part of the post-2015 development agenda. Support for this target is based on the recognition that no violence against children is justifiable and all violence against children is preventable. It forms part of a broader commitment to the role peaceful and inclusive societies play in sustainable development. At present, an epidemic of violence undermines child survival and development, while causing broader economic damage and trapping children into cycles of violence they may not escape as adults. Ambitious post- 2015 commitments on children's education, health, and wellbeing cannot be met as long as so many children live in fear. While the challenge of protecting all children is a substantial one, strategies exist for tackling violence and other forms of abuse. With the right policies and sufficient resources, substantial improvements in child safety can be achieved in less than a decade. Proposed targets to protect, prevent and address violence against children must be included in the final version of the new development agenda, with governments persuaded this is a signature issue that will resonate with the public around the world. But as Nelson Mandela wrote a decade ago, safety and security don't just happen: they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We must now begin preparing for implementation of new targets, moving beyond aspirations to credible plans. We now have an historic opportunity to unite the world behind a global, national, and local movement to protect children from violence, based on increased political will, a global partnership that will protect children, and the identification of pathfinder countries that will be ready to deliver the new agenda from January 2016. The next twelve months are critical. We must: 1. Secure an unequivocal global commitment to ending violence against children. Governments must be convinced that tackling violence is an essential and resonant priority that will significantly improve the lives of children. A target to end violence against children must be retained in the post-2015 development agenda. 2. Develop foundations that will allow implementation to begin in January 2016. An aspiration to end violence must be turned into something more concrete. Priorities include forming the partnership to scale up action to prevent violence and protect children and the coalition of pathfinder countries prepared to act first. 3. Create opportunities for world leaders to pledge support for urgent action to protect children. Champions are needed to advocate for implementation of targets to end all forms of violence against children. The Financing for Development conference in July and Heads of State and Government Summit in September 2015 should be used to announce ambitious commitments. Details: New York: New York University, Center on International Cooperation, 2014. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 18, 2014 at: http://www.globaldashboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/If_Not_Now_When_Final_201014.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://www.globaldashboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/If_Not_Now_When_Final_201014.pdf Shelf Number: 134138 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ExploitationChild MaltreatmentChild TraffickingChild VictimsViolence Against Children |
Author: Reimer, J.K. Title: A System Just for Children: Voices of child victims and witnesses about their experiences Summary: Over the past two decades, Cambodia's justice system has improved markedly. More people are being processed through the system, with greater fairness and speed than ever before. More complaints are being investigated and perpetrators are more likely to be convicted and serve at least part of their sentence. Solid protocols and procedural documents governing the rights of children are firmly in place and frequently cited by high-ranking officials. However, implementation of "child-friendly justice" remains limited. This research is one of the first conducted in Cambodia to look in detail at the experience of child witnesses and victims who go through the Cambodian criminal justice system. It particularly aims to give voice to children's views in order to contribute to the development of criminal court procedures that more fully reflect the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), especially Article 12. Details: Hagar, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, UNICEF, 2015. 164p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 10, 2016 at: http://www.unicef.org/cambodia/A-System-Just-for-Children_FINAL_Jan-2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Cambodia URL: http://www.unicef.org/cambodia/A-System-Just-for-Children_FINAL_Jan-2015.pdf Shelf Number: 137839 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild VictimsChild WitnessesCriminal Justice SystemsJuvenile CourtJuvenile Justice Systems |
Author: Beckett, Helen Title: Making Justice Work: Experiences of criminal justice for children and young people affected by sexual exploitation as victims and witnesses Summary: 1. Making Justice Work is a one year participatory pilot research project, carried out by The International Centre: Researching Child Sexual Exploitation, Violence and Trafficking at The University of Bedfordshire. The research explored young people's experiences of the criminal justice system in child sexual exploitation (CSE) cases, and the ways in which these could be improved. 2. The work consisted of: a policy and literature review; in-depth participatory research with nine young 'experts by experience'; interviews with two peer supporters; and interviews and focus groups with 38 professionals. 3. The primary emphasis was on the in-depth participatory research with the young experts by experience, given the limited nature of young people's perspectives within the existing body of evidence. The other three strands of work served to contextualise and triangulate this learning. A high degree of convergence emerged across all elements of the primary research. The findings also strongly resonate with themes identified in other research, inquiries and reviews. 4. Although often critical in their commentary, participants recognised the existence of pockets of good practice and were keen to see these implemented on a wider scale. The findings of the research are presented in a similar spirit; in the hope that they will provide helpful insights for the wide range of current initiatives for change within this field. Details: Luton, UK: University of Bedfordshire, 2015. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 14, 2017 at: http://uobrep.openrepository.com/uobrep/handle/10547/347011 Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://uobrep.openrepository.com/uobrep/handle/10547/347011 Shelf Number: 146092 Keywords: Child Sexual abuseChild Sexual ExploitationChild VictimsChild WitnessVictim Services |
Author: Plotnikoff, Joyce Title: Falling short? A snapshot of young witness policy and practice in England and Wales Summary: Children who are witnesses in court may have lived through trauma and abuse and their involvement in the criminal justice system can have a big impact on their recovery. Positive experiences can help them move forward but negative experiences can be damaging. Receiving tailored support at every step of the witness process is a crucial part of helping children who have been abused get back on track. In 2009, we published a report examining how well government policy and practice guidance met the needs of young witnesses in England and Wales (Plotnikoff and Woolfson, 2009). Ten years later, the researchers gathered views from 272 criminal justice policymakers and practitioners to find out what has improved and what work still needs to be done. Key findings The policy and practice framework for young witnesses in England and Wales has improved since 2009, but provision of support is inconsistent. This means some children are still at risk of having negative experiences and being retraumatised. Other key findings include: Safeguarding -- Children who are witnesses may have experienced trauma and their wellbeing should be paramount. However, there is no single overarching approach to safeguarding across the criminal justice system. Children aren’t always given the opportunity to feed back about what they found helpful or difficult at court, so that the process can be improved for the future. Children are not being told about their right to seek pre-trial therapy, and some professionals reported a lack of clarity about the rules about what is allowed. Support -- Support for child witnesses varied depending on location. For example, some courts' waiting areas were described as very good or excellent, while others were seen as being inadequate for children. Children who had more positive experiences of the witness process received specialised support. This included having a communication assessment; visiting court before the trial; and being able to choose how and where they gave evidence. Reasons why children didn't receive specialised support included: agencies didn't communicate with each other effectively; children weren't referred to services that could help them. Delays -- Having to wait a long time for a trial can cause children anxiety and stress, and affect their ability to give a clear account of what has happened to them. Child sexual abuse cases take longer to get to court than other types of crime, and the time between the initial report and the trial is getting longer. Questioning To help children to give their best evidence in court, they are entitled to specialist communication support from a registered intermediary. They should also be questioned and cross-examined in a way that's appropriate for their level of development. Most of the judges, lawyers and registered intermediaries we spoke to thought the way questions and cross-examinations are tailored to the needs of young witnesses had improved in the last year. However, not all children were given access to registered intermediaries, and respondents felt the questioning of children still varied significantly. Accountability There is a lack of leadership, ownership and accountability for policy and practice to support child witnesses in England and Wales. There are no official statistics about the number of children giving evidence in court, and unofficial statistics are difficult to compare and understand. The government has not delivered on its commitment to make training on working with vulnerable witnesses mandatory for advocates. Details: National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 2019. 154p.; 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 11, 2019 at: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-resources/2019/falling-short-young-witness-policy-practice/ Year: 2019 Country: United States URL: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-resources/2019/falling-short-young-witness-policy-practice/ Shelf Number: 155358 Keywords: Child VictimsChild Witnesses Criminal Courts Juvenile Witnesses |
Author: Thimanna, Sanchia Title: ECPAT Country Overview: Czechia Summary: Czechia is a central European country with a population of 10.7 million of which 1.8 million are children. Although a high-income country ranking 27th on the Human Development Index, poverty driven by socioeconomic inequality and ethnic discrimination continues to persist in Czechia. Children belonging to marginalized groups often live in excluded localities with substandard housing and drop out of school early to escape from discrimination entrenched in the education system. These factors contribute to making children highly vulnerable to sexual exploitation. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of reported cases of exploitation of children in prostitution in Czechia, including those of very young children. High rates of Internet and mobile phone use among children in the country have facilitated online child sexual exploitation, by making it easier for perpetrators to establish contact with them. The sharing of self-generated sexual content among children is also a matter of growing concern. Czechia continues to be a source, transit and destination country for human trafficking, with children comprising more than half of the identified victims of sale and trafficking for sexual purposes. The risk of sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism is of grave importance, particularly in light of the exponential increase in the number travellers and tourists in the country. An emerging trend of cross-border trafficking for the purpose of fraudulent marriages has also put children in Czechia at risk. The country has ratified the main legal instruments to combat the sexual exploitation of children (SEC), including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, as well as the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Protocol). Czechia is also part of a number of international and regional commitments addressing SEC, such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the WePROTECT Global Alliance to End Child Sexual Exploitation Online. However, amendments to the national legislation are yet to be made for the definitions of all SEC-related offences to align with the ratified instruments and commitments. Further, loopholes in the legal framework need to be fixed in order to protect children above 15 years of age. Czechia does not have a national strategy or coordination body specifically addressing SEC. Some aspects of SEC are addressed within broader national strategies by different government bodies, mainly the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The trafficking of children has been prioritized in the National Strategy to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings 2016-2019. Efforts have been made by the government to implement prevention measures through raising awareness, with much focus on safer Internet use by children. In terms of children's access to justice, Czechia does not have an Ombudsperson for Children to receive and resolve complaints made by children. Nevertheless, several child-sensitive measures have been put in place, including trainings for law enforcement personnel on how to communicate with child victims in specially designed hearing rooms. Czechia does not have specific recovery and reintegration services for victims of SEC, and could benefit from having clearer avenues for child victims to seek compensation. Although there has been progress in children's participation in matters of governance, efforts must be made to involve child victims and survivors in order to take their needs and interests into consideration while designing policies. Details: Bangkok: ECPAT International, 2019. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 20, 2019 at: https://www.ecpat.org/news/czechia-child-sexual-exploitation-through-prostitution-reaches-new-high/ecpat-country-overview-czechia-czech-republic-2019/ Year: 2019 Country: Czech Republic URL: https://www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ECPAT-Country-Overview-Czechia-Czech-Republic-2019.pdf Shelf Number: 155932 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child Prostitution Child Sexual Abuse Child Sexual Exploitation Child Victims CzechiaForced Marriage Sexual Exploitation of Children Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tour |
Author: Newman, Nick Title: A Tangled Web: Rethinking the Approach to Online CSEA Summary: Child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) is a deeply emotive and troubling issue, and in recent years we've witnessed the worrying emergence of a much more insidious version of the threat. Online CSEA is changing the scope and scale of offending - with the internet increasing the exposure of victims and offering a safe haven for offenders to access imagery and stream live abuse on demand. Details: London, UK: PA Consulting, 2018. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 6, 2019 at: https://www.paconsulting.com/insights/2019/protecting-our-children/ Year: 2018 Country: International URL: http://www2.paconsulting.com/TheTangledWeb.html?_ga=2.254335816.1953190354.1559851398-1800249135.1559851398 Shelf Number: 156203 Keywords: Child PornographyChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual Exploitation and AbuseChild VictimsOn-lineSex Offenders |
Author: International Justice Mission Title: Guatemalan Criminal Justice System Performance Study, 2008-2012: Indicators of Practice, Process and Resolution within Cases of Child Sexual Assault Summary: This study analyzes the performance of Guatemala's criminal justice system (CJS) in cases of sexual assault. The main goal of this study is to contribute to the efforts of the CJS in improving the response of the system to cases of child sexual assault (CSA). This study uses database reports from the Public Ministry's (MP) Information Control System (SICOMP) from 2008 to 2012. These reports included information about complaints filed, accusations, sentences, pre-trial testimonies, victims, and the status of cases at the national level. Moreover, reports from the Judicial System's National Center of Analysis and Documentation (CENADOJ) of terminated processes during the years 2008-2010 were also used. The CENADOJ reports consisted of data pertaining to child sexual abuse crimes in the departments of Quezaltenango, Guatemala, and Alta Verapaz. These departments have the highest rates of child sexual abuse complaints in all of Guatemala. From this data, 182 records were selected and this information provided first-hand accounts of judicial practices. In addition to the quantitative data provided by SICOMP, such as the data collected from the judicial records with a final sentence between 2008 and 2010, 75 officials from the CJS who intervene in CSA cases and 22 officials from social agencies were interviewed. These interviews captured their perspective on the development of the Guatemalan CJS. 60 prosecutors and assistant prosecutors from the MP were also interviewed to capture their experience with procedural outcomes in the cases of sexual crimes committed against children. The methodology also was validated before a panel of experts and criminal law scholars. The majority of their contributions are included in this study's analysis. The data was discussed with MP officials from SICOMP, with whom the numbers and interpretation of data were clarified. Lastly, the report was presented to high-level officials from the MP and the Judicial Branch (OJ). All these activities allowed for a wide validation of, and transparency in this study. One of the main findings of the study was that Guatemala has adapted the internal regulations to international standards (2009), but the main problem lies in the effective implementation of the regulatory framework. However, the system has made significant progress as new best practices for the protection and holistic attention of children begin to be applied in cases of CSA. Despite changes in the law and the introduction of Decree 9-2009, the Law Against Sexual Violence, Exploitation, and Trafficking of Persons, Guatemala continues to have high numbers of complaints of sexual assault. In the last five years, 36,166 cases were reported, making it the seventh mostreported crime within the Public Ministry in 20144. Of these complaints, 44% of victims were minors and the majority, female. Based on the analysis of the sample, nearly 90% of the perpetrators were individuals known to the child. Nationally, the Public Prosecutor's Office reported 9.4% complaints of assault between 2008 and 2012. Of these complaints, only 5.86% ended in a verdict. Of these verdicts (182 cases), 80% resulted in a conviction and 20% ended in an acquittal. The study also found that child victims were required to recount their story to approximately eight different professionals, each from a different criminal justice system institution. The sample showed that the mechanisms to avoid the re-traumatization of minors in the criminal process are under-utilized. Only 1.52% of CSA cases between 2008 and 2012 applied pre-trial testimony procedures. In very few instances were adequate locations used to hear the testimonies of child victims, or screens used at trial to protect the victim from the view of the perpetrator. During the years of this study, training for CJS officials was insufficient and sporadic. Official training procedures lacked both consistency and the capacity to monitor the implementation of training content. The study makes it possible to examine the situation of child victims in cases of sexual assault and to establish a baseline of indicators in the attention, processing and resolution of these cases. The main recommendations of this study are: -Public policy should be designed to strengthen deterrence, in order to prevent minors from becoming victims of sexual crimes. -Policies that adopt mechanisms to provide proper treatment for minors who have been victims of sexual assault crimes should be implemented within the different institutions of the CJS, such as the Public Ministry's Model for Holistic Attention. -CJS institutions should develop reliable systems that permit the interconnection and exchange of information for strategic decision making, in order to avoid sub-records or inconsistent records. -There is an urgent need for the implementation of coordination mechanisms between the Public Ministry - as the directing unit of the investigation- and the National Civil Police, to conduct key investigations in the least amount of time possible. -The CJS should not support the application of alternative conclusions to the criminal process in cases of rape or other crimes of sexual assault against minors. -Inter-institutional coordination should be promoted within the CJS to avoid an excess of testimonies from the child. -Judges, prosecutors and other officials from the CJS should be aware of the traumatic effects of the criminal process and what methods they can use to reduce them. This includes the use of the pre-trial testimony in the case of minor victims of sexual crimes. Proper locations should be sought out to create better conditions for children to give their testimonies, and the recording of these testimonies should consistently apply the attention/care protocols. -The training units from the different institutions of the legal sector should develop and implement a training process on the issues of protection, investigation, sanction and restitution of damages for minors who have been victims of sexual assault crimes. This process should include methodology to evaluate the incorporation of the acquired knowledge when delivering services. Details: Guatemala City, Guatemala: International Justice Mission, 2013. 149p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 19, 2019 at: https://www.ijm.org/documents/studies/Guatemala-Public-Justice-System-Performance-Study.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Guatemala URL: https://www.ijm.org/studies/guatemalan-criminal-justice-system-performance-study-2008-2012 Shelf Number: 156546 Keywords: Child Sexual AssaultChild VictimsGuatemalaSentencesSexual AbuseSexual AssaultSexual CrimesTrafficking of PersonsViolence Against Girls |