Introduction
We train and sensitise stakeholders in the legal system on how to work appropriately and sensitively with child witnesses.
We identify and address underlying patterns of abuse, violence and victimisation that lead to cases involving children. We engage youth and community groups, intervening where necessary, to educate, inform and help break pervasive cycles of violence, abuse and exploitation. We work across borders and nationalities to address ignorance, indifference and insensitivity and thereby create lasting, meaningful change.
We believe
- In justice and the rule of law.
- Children should be treated differently, because justice cannot be blind when a child is victimised or abused.
- We owe it to our children to change and reform legal systems from within, because unless we do so, the system is set to fail them.
Our plan is simple
- Know what’s wrong.
- Do what needs to be done.
- Don’t back down.
Our work
Child witnesses are required to participate in legal processes, yet our legal systems aren’t designed to take their needs into account.
Unless we reform the system from within, any child’s participation in the legal justice system can amount to further abuse and victimisation.
We train and sensitise stakeholders in the legal system – from police to prosecutors – about the specific needs of children, informing them of their legal obligations when dealing with such cases, and providing guidance on how to ensure that justice is served while preserving a sense of empathy, dignity and humanity.
Child witnesses are required to participate in legal processes, yet our legal systems aren’t designed to take their needs into account.
Unless we reform the system from within, any child’s participation in the legal justice system can amount to further abuse and victimisation.
Very few countries have monitoring systems that report on violence and abuse of children, and without studies that quantify the problem, it’s impossible to formulate appropriate and constructive remedies.
Our research programmes establish clear-eyed, objective understanding of the factors that lead to violence and abuse, and lead to proactive, coordinated and practical interventions.
Because children often feel complicit in (or responsible for) acts of abuse, they’re more likely to tell a peer about an incident than alert a parent, teacher or other authority figure.
We train the youth, providing them with the skills to recognise abuse, protect themselves, and create a more resilient culture in which abuse isn’t hidden.
We work in communities affected by abuse and violence to strengthen family units and increase awareness of the vulnerability of children.
We teach these communities to recognise the dynamics of abuse, and provide training on how to respond appropriately.
Recent achievements
Our work
Preparing children for court: a handbook for practitioners
This handbook for practitioners working with child witnesses provides the necessary skills to present court preparation programmes. It includes information about the topics that should be covered in a preparation programme as well as techniques that will help the practitioner understand children better.
Introducing the child witness
This is a handbook for all practitioners working with children who have to testify in court. It provides a comprehensive framework so that practitioners can understand the principles affecting child-witness testimony. The book also highlights the importance of an interdisciplinary focus when working with child witnesses.
Prosecuting the child sex offender
Prosecuting sexual-offence crimes against children is becoming a common practice in South African courts with the increase in reported disclosures of abuse and victimisation. This book is intended to provide sexual-offence prosecutors with the information needed to present these cases in court effectively.
The judicial officer and the child witness
This book is intended to provide judicial officers with the necessary information to assist them with the task of presiding over cases involving child-witness testimony. Reference to international and national law and research, and an emphasis on a multi-disciplinary approach, provide the judicial officer with a holistic view of sexual-offence cases.