Prevention of and  responses to
                violence against children 
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children 
is an independent global advocate in favour  of the prevention and elimination 
of all forms of violence against children, mobilizing action and political support within the juvenile justice system
to achieve progress the world over The mandate of SRSG is anchored in the 
Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international human rights 
instruments and framed by the  Study on Violence against Children 
wwwviolenceagainstchildrenunorg
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      Prevention of and responses  
      to violence against children 
      within the juvenile justice system
      Publication produced by the Office of the SRSG on Violence against Children in 2012
        The present publication is based on the Joint report of the Office of the High Commissioner for 
        Human Rights, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Special Representative of 
        the Secretary-General on Violence against Children on prevention of and responses to violence 
        against children within the juvenile justice system (A/HRC/21/25) presented to the 21th Session 
        of the Human Rights Council, in Geneva. 
        Cover photo: © UNICEF/BENA2004-00174/Pirozzi
        2004 In a town named Abomey in Benin: in a jail. A young prisoner is behind bars.
        © 2015 United Nations
        All rights reserved worldwide
        Requests to reproduce excerpts or to photocopy should be addressed to the Copyright Clear-
        ance Center at copyright.com.
        All other queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to: United 
        Nations Publications, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017, United States of America.
        Email:  publications@un.org; website: un.org/publications
        e-ISBN: 978-92-1-058287-2
        Printing: UNON, Publishing Services Section/Nairobi, ISO 14001:2004-Certifie
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                 Contents
                                                                                                                               page
                 1. Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
                 2. Background. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
                 3.   Current situation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
                      3.1.   Perceptions of children in the juvenile justice system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
                      3.2.  The urgent need to reduce the number of children in detention   . . . . . . . .  6
                 4.  Identification of risks of violence within the juvenile justice system. . . . . . . . . . 9
                      4.1.   Law enforcement activities  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
                      4.2.  Apprehension and arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
                      4.3.  Police interrogation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
                      4.4.  Searches and the taking of samples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
                      4.5.  The right to appear before a court or tribunal to challenge detention. . .  10
                      4.6.  Risks at court and during trial  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
                      4.7.   Risks associated with pretrial detention. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
                      4.8.  Risks in administrative detention. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
                      4.9.  Risk of violence in detention facilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
                 5.  Systemic factors that contribute to violence against children  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
                      5.1.   Low priority and lack of a strong child protection system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
                      5.2.  Inadequate staffing  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
                      5.3.  Lack of monitoring, oversight and complaints mechanisms  . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
                      5.4.  Mixing different levels of vulnerability  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
                      5.5.  Violence as a sentence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
                      5.6.  Other systemic issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
                 6.  Recommended strategies to prevent and respond to violence against 
                      children in the juvenile justice system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
                      6.1.   Preventing children from becoming involved with the juvenile justice 
                             system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
                      6.2.  Protecting children from all forms of violence within the juvenile justice 
                             system and integrating this dimension into the national agenda. . . . . . . .  17
                      6.3.  Ensuring the use of diversion and alternative non-custodial measures as 
                             priorities within the juvenile justice system  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
                      6.4.  Ensuring that the deprivation of liberty is a measure of last resort. . . . . .  18
                      6.5.  Ensuring that, when deprivation of liberty is absolutely necessary, 
                             conditions of detention and the treatment of children respect the dignity  
                             and special needs of the child, and minimize the risk of violence. . . . . . . .  18
                      6.6.  Establishing safe and effective child-sensitive complaints and 
                             counselling mechanisms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
                      6.7.   Establishing child and gender-sensitive institutions and procedures. . . .  19
                      6.8.  Safeguarding the right of all children within the juvenile justice system to 
                             have access to legal assistance throughout the process  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19