JudEx+: Towards a child-friendly justice in cases of sexual violence against children
Main Objectives All children, adolescents and youth around the world, especially those who have been victims of sexual violence and abuse, should enjoy the rights conferred by the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). “Hope for Children” CRC Policy Center in partnership with other partners coordinates the JudEx+ project which aims at creating a plan of action to support a positive judicial experience for children victims of sexual violence. In particular, the project has the following specific objectives: Promote Article 12 of the UNCRC and the Council of Europe “Convention on the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse”; Improve the skills of professionals involved in representing children in judicial proceedings. Expected results: The main expected results of the project are as follows:
Critically reviewed country specific judicial procedures in cases of sexual violence against children in the light of international guidelines and recommendations;
Researched child’s perspective on judicial procedures in cases of sexual violence;
Focus Groups with Stakeholders are conducted to assess, at national level, their training needs;
Country reports are produced based on the outcomes emerged from desk-research, interviews, focus groups conducted in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia and Sweden;
Web-based Interactive Good Practices Map (GP Map) on child-friendly justice;
Development of the Transnational and Multidisciplinary Curriculum and Methodology (MCM) for legal practitioners, police officers, health workers, and social welfare staff;
Development of the Justice & Rights for Children (JRC) manual contemplating through a child-friendly approach information on judicial procedures and children’s rights.
The activities to reach the objectives are:
Researching, analysing and assessing partner countries’ specific judicial practices in cases of sexual violence against children with a particular emphasis on the children’s experience of the procedures;
Assessing existing gaps in relation to the training needs of professionals involved in the judicial procedures in cases of sexual violence against children;
Highlighting good practices on child-friendly judicial procedures through a comprehensive GP Map;
Developing, piloting and implementing a transnational and multidisciplinary training programme on child-friendly justice for legal practitioners, police officers and welfare services’ staff in countries where the Lanzarote Convention has been ratified;
Raising awareness and actively disseminating the results of the training MCM and the GP Map among legal practitioners and other relevant professionals;
Lobbying relevant authorities and professional associations/guilds for the implementation of widespread and regular training activities on child-friendly justice.
Partners: Frederick University (Cyprus); CESIE (Italy); Rinova Ltd (United Kingdom); Know & Can Association (Bulgaria); Folkuniversitetet (Sweden); University of Primorska (Slovenia). Funding Reference The project is funded by the Rights, Equality & Citizenship Programme of the European Commission (Ref. JUST/2014/RCHI/AG/PROF/7036).