This is a Print from childvictims.se
Background
Child victims: special needs and secondary victimisation
It is a fact that too many children are exposed to abuse and violence. The position of these children has been recognised in the United Nations Secretary General’s Study on Violence Against Children and in reports and studies in many member states of the European Union.
It is also true that children have special needs by virtue of their age and dependency on adults and that they do not have the same access to the judicial system as adults.
In addition, by now it is well known that victims of crime may experience secondary victimisation in the judicial system. From this follows that child victims summoned to give evidence in court need special attention by professionals in the criminal justice system.
The vulnerable victims
The last few years it has been an increasing tendency to develop specialised polices for certain categories of victims. The legislation of most member states includes specific provisions for certain groups of vulnerable victims. As a result of this development, some groups of children, i e children subjected to sexual exploitation, pornography and trafficking have been the object of measures within the international community, including the European Union.
With the growing concern for vulnerable victims, standards and practices for children as crime victims are improving. A number of principles have been developed in the member states as a result of the increasing attention to child victims. But all in all, more knowledge is needed. With a backward glance, the concern for child victims is something that has not been acknowledged until quite recently and consequently it has not yet had an impact in many member states.
Children’s rights in the European Union
At the same time, the issue of children’s rights has become higher on the political agenda on a national as well as on an international level. This is proven by the efforts taken by the various bodies of the UN as well as by the Council of Europe. Children's rights have been identified as one of its main priorities of the European Commission. The EU position should also be considered in view of the relation of the European Convention of Human Rights and its provisions concerning children's right.
The landmark document from the Commission, the communication Towards an EU Strategy for the Rights of the Child, encompasses criminal justice policies and attention is directed towards violence against children in the document. A growing number of organisations now work towards the objective that children's rights should be taken into account in all EU legislation, policies and programmes which have an impact on children's rights.
Need for awareness
The CURE project was born, first of all out of the need to recognise the specific situation which children have as victims of crime in the criminal justice system. The idea should be seen from two perspectives related to the European Union: on the one hand the growing interest in promoting and safeguarding the rights of the child and on the other hand the objectives established in terms of crime victims’ rights.
Need for knowledge
Secondly, access to justice for victims of crime is a key matter in the objectives in the EU crime victim policy. Given the hypothesis that access to justice for the child is restricted as compared to adults, the initiative to run a project on child victims in the criminal justice systems of the EU member states was also based on the desire to gain knowledge on the legal position of the child victims in the member states. It is to be presumed that there are differences as regards the concern for the child victim in the member states. Beyond the mere concern, it is presumed that there is a diversity of approaches to how the child victim is addressed in the judicial systems.
UN Guidelines on Justice in Matters Involving Child Victims Witnesses
Thirdly, with the ambition to tie together the law of the books and the law in practice the objective was to promote good practices developed to child victims.
The international law forms the basis of the CURE project. Apart from the fundamental principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Guidelines on Justice in Matters Involving Child Victims Witnesses set out certain standards and principles. These guidelines are not however, exhaustive and they recognise that successful models at national level should be made known.
The CURE project could therefore be seen as an attempt to gather and present good practices related to child victims in the criminal justice system. The practices should be seen in view of the specific features and legal traditions of the judicial systems in the member states but the aspiration is that common problems and solutions should be discussed and that the CURE project may contribute to make good practices and established standards known.
The cross-border dimension on child victims in the EU
Children are also European citizens and as such guaranteed certain rights. The cross-border dimension of victimisation in the EU led to the objective that minimum standards should be drawn up on the protection of the victims of crimes and subsequently to the adoption of the Council Framework Decision of 15 March 2001 on the standing of victims in criminal proceedings.
Also in this document, special provisions accommodate for the needs of the particularly vulnerable. According to the transnational dimension of the EU victim policy, the objective is to afford victims of crime a high level of protection, irrespective of the Member State in which they are subjected to crime.
A key reference point for the CURE project is, that in line with the principle on respect and recognition in the Framework Decision, each Member State shall ensure that child victims, who are particularly vulnerable, can benefit from specific treatment best suited to their circumstances.
Childrens drawings
NEWS CURE
NEWS IN THE FIELD
The Council of Europe conference launched its new platform on children's rights on 2-3 June in Strasbourg.
CURE CONFERENCE
The conference was held in Stockholm December 3-4, 2009. Programme and material from the conference is now available.
Chronicles & Reflections
Texts and thoughts from renowned persons in the child area.
- Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority, Post address: Box 470, 901 09 UMEÅ, SWEDEN
Telephone: +46(0)90 70 82 00 - Fax: +46(0)90 17 83 53
- E-mail: registrator@brottsoffermyndigheten.se
- Street address: Storgatan 49 in Umeå