Creating Non-violent Juvenile Justice Systems: Call for information

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The International NGO Council on Violence against Children is preparing a report on violence and the juvenile justice system and needs your help. The report will aim to compare the current violent reality children face when they come into contact with the justice system, to a non-violent alternative; analysing outcomes of both, including recidivism, risks to public safety, monetary costs, etc.

We are calling on organisations to share information on the following:

1. Examples of positive models of a non-violent system;

2. Studies and data on outcomes of both positive and negative existing systems, in terms of costs, recidivism, future violence, risks to public safety, psychological impact, etc.;

3. Relevant jurisprudence including on legal frameworks and successful litigation against violence; and data on

4. Forms and incidence of violence in the existing system; specifically in the three following areas:

     a. Violent sentencing:

• death penalty
• life sentences with/without parole; indeterminate sentences; lengthy sentences
• corporal punishment, including whipping, flogging, amputations, etc., and other cruel, inhuman or degrading sentences
• violence resulting from legislation (e.g. risks to children detained for status or non-violent offences)

   b.Violence in detention

• solitary confinement
• use of restraints
• suicide, self-harm
• peer violence
• violence by staff
• rape/sexual violence and harassment
• lack of adequate health care, sanitation, and education
• conditions in detention leading to violence, e.g. overcrowding, violation of privacy, lack of family contact, lack of recreational activities

    c. Violence throughout the judicial process

• violence during apprehension/transport
• violence during interrogation
• violence in remand and during trial
• denial of due process

We would also welcome information regarding children subject to specific vulnerabilities, including with regards to health, mental health, learning disabilities, etc.

Please send materials, references and comments – whenever possible in English, if English is not available, please send us materials in the original language with a short summary in English - to [email protected], by April 20 2013 at the latest. Please inform us clearly if any of the material you send, or the source of it, is confidential.

We will keep you informed of the work and ensure you receive an electronic copy of the final report.