Ending violence against

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End ing vio len ce againstchildren in cust od y

All -coun try m eet ing

Brussels, Friday 2 4 Feb ru ary 20 12

Int er na t iona l Juve nile Just ice Ob ser vat or y

& Childre n's Right s Allian ce fo r England


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Rue M ercelis n 50 , 105 0 Brussels


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Aim s of the m eet ing

The Internat ional Juveni le Just ice Observatory had several object ives in mind for the a l l -

count ry m eet ing about v io lence against ch i ldren in custo dy. Not only d id t he IJJO w ant t o recap

on the pro ject goals and i ts expected impact, but a lso wished to share the progress andchallenges to d ate in m eet ing pro ject object ives, w ith t he a im of f ind ing posit ive step s forw ard

concerning v io lence against ch i ldren in custo dy.

An agreement to specify a group schedule and to consider the eth ica l and pract ica l

issues and chal lenges ra ised by th is aspect of the pro ject, a sett lement for the evaluat ion

f ramew ork fo r the p ro jec t and f ina l amendm ents to st ruc tu re t he p ro ject w ebsi te be fo re it is

transferred onto a content management system were h ighly desirable. To d iscuss nat ional,

regional and in ternat ional opportunit ies to advance the pro ject s goal of ending v io lence

against ch i ldren w as one of t he m ain pr ior i t ies of t h is m eet ing. At last , fu t ure goals, object ives,

in i t ia l out l ines and dat es of th e next a l l-country m eet ing w ere f ixed.

Participants

Alexandra Bacescu-Davis, Save t he Childre n Rom ania Anda Ivan Euro pean Com m ission ( tbc) Carolyne W illow (Chair of m eet ing) Childr ens Right s All iance fo r England Cedric Fou ssard (Host of m eet ing) Int ernat ional Juven ile Justice Observat ory Chris t ina Hadj isavva Off ice of th e Com m issioner for Chi ldrens

Right s in Cypru s

Helmu t Sax Ludw ig Boltzmann Inst i t u t e of Hum anRights

Joyce Brum m elm an Defen ce for Childr en-ECPAT Lisa Payn Child ren s Right s Allian ce fo r Englan d M aartj e Berger Defen ce for Childr en-ECPAT M ary Robinson Independent evaluato r (UK)

Background docum ent s for th e Al l-count ry m ee t ing

Grant agreement Guide l ines on w ork ing w i th ch ild ren and young p eop le Revised activit y schedu le, January 2012 Progress report subm it t ed t o EC 06 January 2012 Focus group schedu le


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Table of cont ent s

W elcom ing w ords Inaugurat ion 5

Challenges faced by nat ional part ners 5

Evaluat ion of the f ram ew ork by M ary Robinson 8

Engaging children and young peo ple in the project: Review of the questions 10

Review of the w ebsi te 10

Conclusion 11

Annexes 11

Program 12

Proje ct De script ion 14

Progress Repo rt 21


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W elcom ing w ords Inaugurat ion

Carolyne W illow N ationa l Co-ordinat or of th e Children's Rights All iance for England

presented the overal l goal of the pro ject. According to the pro ject s out l ine, the f i rs t year wi l l

be dedicated to th e analysis of com pliance of nat ional law w ith in t ernat ional standards. Then,

in th e second stage of t he pro ject, i t w i l l be necessary t o ra ise young p eople s aw areness and

to p rov ide them wi th the appropr ia te suppor t , wh ich is p robab ly the most exc i t ing and the

most innovat ive par t o f the p ro jec t . At the moment , p ro jec t par tners a re ga ther ing da ta

keeping in m ind t he f ina l object ives as set up w hen t he pro ject w as launched.

Challenges faced by nat ional partn ers

Overv iew o f t he unexpected chal lenges faced by the pro ject s part ners.

Christina Hadjisavva - Office of the Commissioner for Childrens Rights in Cyprus po in ted ou t

the two main chal lenges the Commissioner for Chi ldrens Rights in Cyprus is fac ing at the

m om ent . First , they are having a hard t im e dealing w ith t he author i t ies. The lat t er do not seem

to be w i l l ing to coopera te and do no t he lp them f ind ing ch i ld ren wh o used to be de ta ined . The

auth or i t ies m ain excuse is th e lack of record of such chi ldren. There is apparent ly no cent ra l

database, which could be shared with other ent i t ies or the c iv i l soc iety. The only in formation

provided cam e from The Depart m ent o f Socia l Serv ices w hich d issem inated t he program leaf le t

to probat ioners and returned to the Off ice of the Commissioner for Chi ldrens Rights a l l the

comple ted lea f lets . On ly 4 o f t he comple ted lea f lets w ere f rom ch ild ren under 18 w ho have

been in to custody , the rest w ere com ple ted e i ther by peop le over 18 o r by peop le w ho w ere in

prob at ion bu t have not been int o custo dy. Besides, th ere is a degree of d i f f icu l ty because

ch ild ren do no t seem w i ll ing to comm it t o t he p ro ject . A lso ch i ld ren w ho are in custody a t the

present moment may be re luc tan t to ta lk f ree ly about the i r exper iences due to fear o f

re t r ibu t ion w i th in the custody se t t ing .

Helm ut Sax Ludw ig Bol tzm ann Inst i tute o f Hu m an Rights also faces tw o m ain chal lenges.

First , he f inds i t d i f f icu l t t o f ind chi ldren w ho can be involved in th e pro ject. In Austr ia , th ere is

only one pr ison dedicated to juveni les and i t s not the easiest p lace to access. Firs t , i t is

located in Gelastoff , near ly s ix ty k i lometres from Vienna, which is not the most convenient

place to regularly visit the children, either as an academic conducting surveys, researches,

etc. or as parent s v isi t ing t heir ch i ld . Despite i ts rem ot eness, th is part icu lar fac i l ity rem ains a

good inst i tu t ion, general ly speaking. Nevertheless, i t cannot welcome al l young Austr ian

conv ic ts; hence, som e o f them are de ta ined e lsew here w i th adu l ts . The la t te r led to m any


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abuses, overcrowding premises, and even suic ides. A solut ion would be to bui ld another

juven il e p r ison , in Vie nna t h is t im e, bu t as t he o n ly co u r t ded icat ed t o juven il e just ice w as

abol ished not so long ago, the creat ion o f anot her pr ison fo r juveni les rem ains a w ish. Hence,

i t w as d i f f icu l t t o f ind ch i ld ren who cou ld take par t in the p ro jec t because: most o f t hem are

deta ined outs ide of Vienna; others are deta ined with in regular fac i l i t ies and scattered

th rou ghout t he count ry . M oreover , in Ge lasto f f , on top o f t he rem oteness, it w as hard to t a lkto the chi ldren because of the author i t ies re luctance to le t them speak to academics. For a

long t im e, th e M in istr y of Just ice indeed denied Helm ut access to t he young offend ers

deta ined in Gelastoff . Nevertheless, thanks to h is perseverance, and notably thanks to a

let t er he sent t o t he M in ister o f Just ice asking h im t o reconsider h is decision, Helmut w as

able to v isi t t he chi ldren in Gelasto ff fo r t he f i rs t t im e in January. He a lso had t he opp ort unit y

to have a conversat ion with the pr ison staf f and the socia l workers in charge of the

a forement ioned ch i ld ren . In the end, f ive young peop le comply ing wi th the p ro jec t s

ob ject ives show ed up in t e rested in know ing more about the i r r igh ts ; they w ere in te rv iew ed

and exposed some o f t heir concerns but a lso ta lk about th eir past, which can be rough as only

chi ldren com m itt ing very ser ious offenses are send t o pr ison in Austr ia .

Alexandra Bacescu-Davis - Save the Children Romania is a lso having a hard t ime f ind ing

chi ldren. Save the Chi ldren Rom ania cont acted th e M in istr y of Just ice but h ad t o face their lack

o f suppor t and even the i r lack o f in te res t in the p ro jec t . Wi thou t the he lp o f the na t iona l

author i t ies, i t s hard to f ind chi ldren that could be involved in the pro ject. Hence, at the

moment, Save the Chi ldren Romania only found four ch i ldren in terested in tak ing part in the

pro ject ; t h ree o th ers have just been recomm ended and cou ld be invo lved as w e l l. M oreover ,

on top of the author i t ies re luctance, there are no stat is t ics deal ing with young offenders in

detent ion apart f rom the ones evaluat ing peer- to-peer v io lence. Hence, even the author i t ies data are useless for t he CRAE pro ject. N everth eless, i t could be usefu l to gain t he aut hor i t ies

in te rest and suppor t in o rder t o reassure the ch ild ren ; w i th the la t t e r , the ch i ld ren w i l l indeed

be m ore l ikely to take par t in t he p ro jec t , in the cam pa ign and w i l l no t be as a f raid as they

cer ta in ly a re at t he mom ent .

Caro lyne W illow - Children s Right s Allian ce for England expects everyone to use every

possib le way to f ind the chi ldren needed. I f twenty-f ive seems impossib le, ten to 15 chi ldren

need t o be involved t o t he very least. Consider ing th e d i f f icu l t ies everyone is facing, chal lenges

faced and overcame wi l l be inc luded in the f ina l reports in order to emphasize the hard workunder taken by the d i f fe ren t par tners .

M aart je Berger , Defe nce for Children-ECP used t w o m ethods to f ind ch i ld ren : Facebook and

Defence for Chi ldrens very own network. Due to past exper iences, Defence for Chi ldrens

team assum ed tha t t hey w ou ld no t have the suppor t o f th e na t iona l au tho r i t ies. Hence, they

im m ediate ly s tarted us ing a social m edia to ol, Facebook. Their t act ic w as to post m essages on

pages re lated to young people s detent ion fac i l i t ies. I t turned out to be a br i l l iant idea as i t

enab led th em to f ind ch i ld ren and ra ised the in te rest , and late r on suppor t , o f the au t hor i t ies.


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To f ind chi ldren corresponding t o t he pro ject s object ives, M aart je a lso called upon h er

organ isa t ion s ow n ne t w ork . In t he end, they w ere ab le to invo lve tw o boys so fa r , a th i rd on e

is in te rested . Am ong the t w o boys tha t have a lready been in te rv iew ed one w as in de ten t ion

for seven years and visite d no less t han eleven dif feren t f acil i t ies. As a result , he never r eceived

a proper and fo l lowed-up educat ion and lost contact with h is parents and re lat ives. Defence

for Chi ldren-ECP started to bui ld a programme designed for them and hope to f ind out aboutmany more in order to help them. So far , according to the in terv iews results , i t appears that

chi ldren face a lo t of abuse of power and a lso regular ly have to deal with peer- to-peer

v io lence . There a re a round th ree hundred young peop le in cus tody a t the moment , wh ich

und erlines a decrease in child convict s in the last f ive years.

Anda Ivan - European Commission ( tbc) emphas ized the impor tance o f the invo lvement o f

enough juveni les. To have a major impact and to draw important conclus ions, a s ignif icant

number of youth is needed (at least 10-15 chi ldren). She is convinced that a l l partners are

do ing the i r bes t and can ga ther t he requ i red num ber o f ch ild ren .

Helmut Sax Ludwig Bol tzmann Inst i tute of Human Rights exp la ined tha t ano ther so lu t ion

could a lso be taken into considerat ion. The partners could a lso inc lude and interv iew young

people aged from 18 t o 21. There is no n ecessity t o keep i t under 18 because of th e CRC. These

changes a lso need to be documented as a part o f the chal lenges and progress of the pro ject

process.

Ced ric Foussard -Inte rna tion al Juve nile Justice O bservat ory po in ted ou t tha t custody does no tonly m ean being held in pr ison. One could a lso take in to considerat ion chi ldren h eld in custo dy

with in pol ice stat ions, health care fac i l i t ies, etc . Chi ldren held in detent ion with in these

premises could a lso be reckoned with. This might enable partners to gather enough chi ldren

fo r t he i r survey .

Caro lyne W illow - Children s Right s Alliance for England reminded everyone tha t in fo rmat ion

can a lso be gathered t hanks to ot her legal w ays: resort to th e law; ask your local M P to gather

in fo rmat ion fo r you and to ask the r igh t ques t ions to the appropr ia te persons ; use the

author i t ies own report and researches, etc. For instance, the Chi ldrens Rights Al l iance forEng land recent ly took t he Br it ish government to cour t in o rder t o fo rce them t o go th rou gh a l l

the rest ra in ts they have im p lement ed in t he last f ew years and rea l ize how un law fu l m ost o f

them a re.

Lisa Payne - Childrens Rights Alliance for England used two methods to f ind ch i ld ren to

involve in the pro ject. Firs t , she contacted other NGOs work ing with former young offenders.

Unfor tuna te ly , none o f them answered, wh ich may be due to a l i t t le sense o f compet i t ion .

Second, the Chi ldrens Rights Al l iance for England contacted local youth offending teams.


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Nevertheless, the la t ter have to face severe cuts and the bulk of their s taf f , which may have

been so helpfu l , is gone. Event ual ly , Lisa w as able to f ind f ive young peop le in terested in t he

project but only three seems to be wi l l ing to commit. Concerning chi ldren in custody, seven

were in terv iewed and f ive seems wi l l ing to carry on; nevertheless, the chi ldren in custody at

the moment a re re luc tan t to work wi th the ch i ld ren f rom the ou ts ide . Another cha l lenge

faced by the Chi ldrens Rights Al l iance for Chi ldren is the gather ing of parenta l consents.Paren ts are o f t en suppor t ive o f t he p r o ject bu t re fuse to sign any o f f ic ial document .

Evaluat ion fram ew ork for the pro ject by M ary Robinson

M ary Robinson - independent eva luator (UK) is a freelance consultant who benef i ts f rom an

extensive know ledge in evaluat ing pro jects as a form er Deput y Secretary General of Am nesty

Internat ional, and a consultant for renowned NGOs such as PLAN, Terre des Hommes, etc.

M ary made a Pow erPo in t p resenta t ion about the p lans fo r the p ro jec t eva lua t ion (see a t tachedat annexe x). The aim s of the evaluat ion are as fo l low s:

To eva lua te the impact o f t he End v io lence against chi ldren in custo dy p ro ject on law ,pol icy and pract ice in the part ner count r ies

To evaluate the benef i ts the pro ject b r ings to t he chi ldren and young peoplepart ic ipat ing in i t you ng invest igato rs, young cam paigners and fo cus group

part ic ipants

To learn f rom the p ro jec t to in fo rm fu tu re app l icab le w ork To enable CRAE and part ners to pro m ot e the achievement s of t he pro ject.

To evaluate a programme, one should ask themselves three quest ions: has the pro ject done

w hat i t w as supposed to do? W hat d i f fe rences has the p ro jec t m ade? Has the p ro jec t done ther ight th ings? Hence, the evaluat ion wi l l assess the impact of the CRAE pro ject on law, pol icy

and pract ice; on the part ic ipants, especia l ly on the chi ldren and young people co- leading the

w ork ; and on t he fu t u re changes tha t m igh t a r ise in each par tner count ry fo l low ing the CRAE

project. In the end, the evaluat ion wi l l de l iver four outputs: tools for engaging chi ldren and

young people in devis ing outcomes measures; templates for obta in ing feedback from chi ldren

about the i r invo lvement in the p ro jec t ; an exhaus t ive eva lua t ion repor t ; and a shor te r

summ ary version of th e la t t er . To assess th e CRAE pro ject , there are t w o o pt ions avai lable: t o

evaluate the whole pro ject based on the pro ject object ives set out in the grant appl icat ion to

th e EC;, th us paying c lose att ent ion t o: the si tuat ion befo re the in t ervent ion; the in t ervent ions

made by the pro ject; the tangib le results of the pro ject in tervent ions; the changes, whichoccur red dur ing the p ro jec t per iod and those fu l ly de l ive red by the end o f the p ro jec t ; the

im pact of t he CRAE pro ject t hat is to say the long-term changes it b rought . The second o pt ion

w ould be an advocacy-based focus, concentrat ing on the cam paigning results and out com es

of t he pro ject , This w ould result in a lesser focus on t he effects the pro ject may have had on

the young part ic ipants or on the d i f ferent s tages the pro ject had to go through. Eventual ly ,

M ary asked fo r the par tners op in ion .


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Op en discussion: Anda Ivan - Europ ean Com m ission ( t bc) f i rst asked for M ary s opin ion. Anda

w as a lso w onder ing if t he p ro jec t w i l l have the opp or tu n i ty t o have an im pact o n th e na t iona l

legal system as partners are st i l l looking for ch i ldren at the moment. Besides, she asked i f a

combina t ion o f the two op t ions was a lso a poss ib i l i ty . Helmut Sax Ludwig Bol tzmann

Inst i tute of Hum an Rights w as a lso in favour of an evaluat ion t hat w ould cover a l l th e areas of

the p ro jec t . Caro lyne W illow - Children s Right s Allian ce for England appreciated op t ion 2 bu tthought number 1 was more appropr ia te in o rder to emphas ize the work o f the par tners

th rou ghout the en t i re p ro ject .

M ary Robinson - independent eva luator (UK) po in ted ou t tha t the on ly documents she has

received so far were the ones sent to her by Carolyne. Yet, she needs more in formation to

assess the pro ject. Thus, pro ject partners should remember to regular ly keep her updated on

what they are doing. They could a lso communicate v ia e-mai ls or Skype in order to rev iew

everyones wo rk, progress and so on. I t w ould ind eed real ly help i f M ary could receive data and

in fo rm at ion dur ing the p ro jec t and no t w a it fo r t he f ina l nat iona l repor ts . Also , M ary is

in terested in involv ing the chi ldren in the pro ject s evaluat ion; she may use the br ick wal ltechn ique, make a t ime l ine o f the ch i ld ren s journey w i th t hem or s im p ly asked them ser ies o f

que stions. This is open t o d iscussion.

Af te r d iscussion i t w as agreed to adopt the f i rs t op t ion fo r t he eva lua t ion f ram ew ork , ie the

framework based on the pro ject object ives. The campaigning results would be incorporated

into t h is f ram ew ork. I t w as a lso agreed th at M ary wou ld propo se indicato rs (success cr i ter ia)

fo r t he w ho le p ro ject a f t e r look ing a t a l l the docum enta t ion ; a document w i ll be c ircu la ted in

Apr i l in good t im e fo r the nex t p ro jec t m eet ing .

Violence in custod y: coun try upd ates and externa l opportu nit ies

Caro lyne W illow - Childre ns Right s Alliance for Englan d summed up the ma in p rob lems and

challenges faced by the p ro ject s partners as w el l as th ings th at could have helped t hem i f t hey

had exis ted: data on young offenders; ch i ldrens emotional i ty ; the author i t ies re luctance; the

hard navigat io n in t he system , etc.

Cedric Foussard -International Juvenile Justice Observatory reminded pro jec t par tners tha t

not enabl ing chi ldren to have a proper access to educat ion, legal help or the health care

system is a form of v io lence. Yet, ch i ldren should l ive free from al l forms of v io lence. Hence,th e aforem ent ioned denia ls should a lso be taken into considerat ion. M oreover , i t m ay be

interest ing to contact the EU or UN persons in charge of s imi lar pro jects. For instance, the

European Commission is work ing on indicators assessing the compliance of juveni le just ice

systems with nat ional, European and Internat ional s tandards. By the same token, other

ent i t ies, such as th e OM CT or Am nesty Internat ional are developing repo rt s on corre lated

to pics. Cont act ing t hose in charge of t hese pro jects could a lso shed l ight on t he CRAE pro ject.


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Helmut Sax Ludwig Bol tzmann Inst i tute of Human Rights po in ted ou t th ree remarks . The

f irs t two remarks are re lated to the Youth invest igat ion Teams, the YIT. I t could be more

he lp fu l to pu t toge ther smal le r teams o f approx imate ly 10 peop le and teams o f wh ich some

are over 18 years o ld. Al thou gh th ere rem ains a str ong call for 25 chi ldren , f lexib i l i ty should be

al lowed. The th ird remark was l inked to the gender issue. With in the teams, i f possib le, there

should be a m ix of boys and g ir ls. In Austr ia , th e only tw o g ir ls held in detent ion at t he m om entw i l l cert a in ly take part in t he CRAE pro ject.

Anda Ivan - Europ ean Com m ission ( tbc) po in ted ou t tha t changes in the dead lines w ou ld no t

affect t he bud get. Things could be changed; such changes just had to be l isted. M oreover, she

adv ised the par tners no t t o im p lement too m any over lap in o r der to guaran tee the success o f

the p ro jec t .

Caro lyne W illow - Childre ns Right s Alliance for England in t roduced new dead l ines fo r theproject. Since nat ional reports could not be provided by the end of February, they are now

expected by the end of June. Nevertheless, partners should have found and involved enough

chi ldren before t he end of Ap r i l in ord er to keep th e June deadl ine possib le. Having tw ent y-f ive

ch ild ren rem ains the u l t imate goal . Ye t , fo r the cam pa ign in i tse lf , par tners cou ld w ork w i th

only f ive to ten chi ldren i f they wish to. Besides, nat ional campaigns should a l l s tar t a t the

same t ime in order to fac i l i ta te the work of the IJJO, which wi l l coord inate the campaign in

ot her count r ies. Eventu al ly , partners agreed t o m eet again in June. At t h is part icu lar meet ing,

chi ldren wi l l be inv i ted to jo in the experts in charge of the CRAE pro ject in their respect ive

count ry in order t o involve young people in the pr o ject s pro cess.

Engaging children and you ng pe ople in the pro ject: Review of the que stions

Helm ut Sax Ludw ig Bol tzm ann Inst i tute of Hum an Rights an d M aar t je Berger , Defence for

Children-ECP agreed tha t there shou ld be no m ent ion o f re l ig ion in the q uest ions . A l l par tners

th en d iscussed ho w to assess the chi ldren level of ed ucat ion and decided t o especia l ly focus on

the i r ab i l i ty to read and wr i te . Annex B wi l l be used fo r the eva lua t ion o f the YIT members

w hereas annex C wi l l be used for th e youn g offen ders assessm ent . Besides, the la t ter annexshou ld be rev iewed by each par tn er and the i r comm ents sen t t o CRAE in o rder t o com e up

w i th comprom ises and wi t h a docum ent t ha t w i l l sa t isfy the m a jor i ty .

Review o f the w ebsite


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Concerning the w ebsite, partn ers agreed logos of t he partn ers should be embed ded at t he to p

of t he w ebsite s hom e page. M oreover, each logo should red irect users to t he partn ers

website, and, i f possib le, to the partners website page specif ica l ly dedicated to the CRAE

project. The top banner inc luding t he p ic ture of a teenage g ir l could a lso inc lude extracts from

young offenders in terv iews.

M ary Robinson - independent e va luator (UK) also suggested the partners to use Google

analyt ics in order t o know th e num ber of v is its their w ebpage receives, the m ost v is ited p ages,

and in o rder t o fac i l i ta te t he assessm ent of t he w ebsite s success.

Caro lyne W illow - Children s Right s Alliance for England was expect ing a l l comments on the

upcoming w ebsi te fo r t he very end o f February .

Conclusion

Event ual ly , partn ers agreed t o m eet again in June. Im possib le dates for each part ner had t o be

sent t o the p ro jec t coord ina to r fo r t he beginn ing o f M arch .


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Annexes

Annex 1: Program p.12

Annex 2: Project De script ion p. 13 - 18

Annex 3: Progress Repor t p. 19 - 22

Annex 4: Pow erPoint Present at ion M ary Robinson p. 23 - 28


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Ann ex 1 Pro gram

Tim e I tem Expected outcom e

8.45am Arr iva l and refreshm ents9am W e lcom e and in t roduct ions

9.15am Recap on pro ject goals, act iv i t ies and expectedimpact

Progress and chall enges discussion

Shared und erstanding of w hat has beenach ieved by the pro ject t o date

Shared un derstanding of t he chal lenges

and w ays o f overcom ing these

Project partn ers have shared exper t ise

and mo t iva ted each o the r t o m ove

forw ard posi t ive ly

10.30am BREAK

10.45am Eva luat ion f ram ew ork Agreed evaluat ion f ram ew ork, inc lud ing

clari ty on ro les and responsibi l i t ies

12 m idday V io lence in custody count ry updates and

external oppo rt unit ies (nat ional, regional and

in ternat iona l )

Pro ject par tners aware o f si tua t ion and

chal lenges in each count ry

Prov isiona l l ist o f opport un i t ies we w ant

the pro ject t o cap i ta l ise on m oving

fo rward

1pm LUNCH

1.45pm Focus group schedule

Engaging chi ldren and y oung peop le in the

project : p ro gress and chal lenges

Agreed focus group schedule

Project partn ers have shared id eas and

expert ise so w e can m ove forw ard

posit ively

Possib i l i ty o f in form al support ne tw ork

across pro ject s ta f f w ork ing d i rect ly w i th

ch i ld ren and young peop le

3.15pm Review o f p ro ject w ebsi te Agreem ent on w ay fo rw ard , inc lud ing

roles and responsibi l i t ies of project

par tners

3.30pm Any oth er business Review of decisions made and agreed n ext

steps

Planning next al l -countr y meet ing

Shared un derstanding of greed decisionsand act ions and n ext steps.

4pm END


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14

Ann ex 2 Pro ject Descript ionD a phne pr o je ct JU ST/ 2 0 0 9 / D A P3/ A G/ 1 3 4 6 End violen ce aga inst children in custody

Activ it ies from Anne x 1 Project D escript ion

(Previously updat ed M arch 2011; fur t her changes h ighl ight ed below )

M onth s 1-6: February to July 2011Activity Time scale CRAE com m ent

CRAE att end s kick off semin ar M o n th 2 : M a r ch 2 0 1 1 Com pleted as agreed

CRAE and IJJO deliver guidanceto par tners on in ternat iona l and

European legal requirements

for t he protec t ion o f ch i ldren incustody against v iolence,

includ ing th e CRC

M o n th 2 : M a r ch 2 0 1 1

Del ivered M ont hs 4-5: M ay and June 2011

Requi red m ore w ork th an or ig ina l lyant ic ipated ( f ramework went

beyon d UN Violence Stud y and DCI

and Howard League study referredto in fun ding appl icat ion)

CRAE delivers det ai led guid anceto par tners on car ry ing outchi ldrens r ights invest igat ions

and w ork ing in par tnersh ip w i th

chi ldren and young people

M onths 1 and 2 : February and M arch

2011

Del ivered M ont h 7: August 2011

Requi red m ore w ork t han or ig inal lyant ic ipated because of emergingchal lenges of making contact wi th

and engaging chi ldren wi th

experience of custo dy

CRAE delivers templates to

par tners for f ocus group pro jec t

plans and wr i t ing up of f indings

M o n th 2 : M a r ch 2 0 1 1

Del ivered M ont h 7: August 2011

Templates part of detai led

guidance above

Design, product ion and

disseminat ion o f p ro ject f l yer to

ch i ldren and young people w i thexperience of custo dy

M onths 1 and 2 : February and M arch

2011

CRAE del ivered M ont hs 1 to 4 : February

to M ay 2011

Part ners del ivered Mo nt hs 4 onw ards:

Apr i l 2011 onw ards

S l ight l y more t ime requi red by

CRAE to complete compet i t ive

tendering process (February 2011);share design concepts wi th

par tners (M arch 2011) ; then

proceed to pr in t and d isseminat ion

(Apr il and M ay 2011)

In-count ry pro jec t br ie f ings

carr ied out by al l nat ionalpar tners w i th 20 ch i ldren w i th

exper ience of cus tody w i thinv i ta t ion to form Young

Investigat ion Team (YIT)

M onths 2 and 3 : M arch and Apr il 2011

CRAE del ivered M ont hs 9 and 10: October

and November 2011 (4 br ief ings in fourdi f feren t part s of England)

DCI undert ook aw areness raising M ont hs10 and 11: November and December 2011

The Commissioner for Children's Rights in

Cyprus, Ludwig Bol tzmann Inst i tute o f

Human Rights (Austr ia) and Save the

Chi ldren Romania to del iver br ief ings tochi ldren M ont hs 12 and 13 (January and

February 2012)

In addit ion:

CRAE and partners needed more

t ime because of di f f icul t iesaccessing chi ldren wi th experience

of custody.

In h inds ight , i t would have been

preferable to have bui l t in a 6-month awareness rais ing processwi th the author i t ies andprofessionals to have them

engaged and ready to suppor t the

project before di rect ly br ief ing

chi ldren.


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15

CRAE m et and br iefed M inistr y of Just iceofficials (Head of Youth Justice Policy Unit

and Head of Secure Estate Policy) in

M onth 1 (February 2011) ; then soughtform al suppor t f rom t he M oJ and Youth

Just ice Board in M ont h 3 (Apri l 2011) to

be c i ted in le t ters to 150+ youth o f f endingteams in England; di rect endorsement

was not agreed so we disseminated

le t ters in M onth 4 (M ay 2011) w i th t he

fo l lowing tex t : We have br ie fed the M inistry of Justice and th e Yout h Justice

Board about the project , and hope to

develop posi t ive work ing relat ionships to

he lp ach ieve max imum impac t . From

M onth 4 onw ards, we br ie fed re levantprofessional associations, including the

Associat ion of Youth Offending Team

M anagers; Childr en's Right s Officer s andAdvocates; Part ic ipat ion Works Network

for England; the Secure Accommodat ion

Network; the Nat ional Associat ion forYouth Just ice; and the Standing

Com m itt ee for Youth Just ice.

DCI-the Netherlands has used socialmedia and engagement w i th lawyerswo rk ing w i th ch ildren to ra ise awareness

of th e pro ject .

The Ludwig Bol tzm ann Inst i t ut eof HumanRights (Austr ia) has conducted br ief ing

sessions wi th pr ison managers, staf f andtrade unions in Austr ia 's main juveni le

pr ison and in Austr ia 's main pr ison for

fem ales. Like CRAE, i t h as faced diff icult ies

in obta in ing suppor t f rom the auth or i t ies,though t hese are now reso lved. In M onth

8 (September 2011) the project manager

was not i f ied that the Ministry of Just ice

would not suppor t the pro jec t : fo l lowingextensive dialogue, including a let ter to

the respons ib le Governm ent M in ister , theAustr ian authori t ies are now ful ly co-

operat ing

In-countr y and Europ ean level

desk-based stu dies of law ,

pol icy and pract ice regardingviolence against chi ldren in

custody

M onths 2 to 5 : M arch to June 2011

Del ivered Mo nt hs 7 to 11 (August toDecember 2011)

Informat ion di f f icul t to access in

som e p ar tner count r ies .

Framework prepared by CRAE

went beyond UN V io lence S tudyand DCI and Ho w ard League study

refer red to in fund ing appl i cat ion

( i .e . more deta i led and therefore

more t ime-consuming to


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16

complete)


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17

Al l nat ional part ners hold 1st

YIT m eet ing to del iver t raining

to YIT m emb ers and suppor t

them to pr oduce focus groupplans

M o n th s 3 to 4 : A p r il to M a y 2 0 1 1

CRAE del ivered M ont h 10 (Novem ber

2011)

The Commissioner for Children's Rights in

Cypru s planned for M ont h 12 (January

2012) i t has received 18 appl icat ionsf rom ch ildren and young people to date

The Ludwig Bol tzm ann Inst i t ut eof Human

Rights (Austr ia) planned for M ont h 12

(Januar y 2012)

DCI- the Nether lands p lanned for M onth13 (February 2012) i t has received 9

appl icat ions f rom chi ldren and young

people to date

Save the Chi ldren Romania to complete

by end M onth 13 (February 2012)

In addit ion :

CRAE is planning a residential trainingweekend in M onth 12 (January 2012) in

v iew of the suppor t needs of YIT m embers

( the fu l l ex tent o f which on ly became

evident dur ing the br ief ing sesisons and

the f i rst YIT meet ing). Off ic ials f rom theYouth Just ice Board have been invi ted to

at tend and observe th is t ra in ing weekend:

th is w i l l p rov ide an impor t ant oppor tu n i ty

for chi ldren and young people to begin

dialogue wi t h key decision-m akers

M ak ing contac t w i th ch ildren w i th

experience of custody has proven

m ore d i f f i cu l t than w e ant ic ipated.

W e are re l iant on th e co-operat ionand suppor t o f the author i t ies

(nat iona l government and

municipal i t ies) and the focus of

the project (ending v iolence instate-run inst i tut ions) has

at t rac ted concern f rom publ i cof f ic ials as wel l as t rade unions

repre sent ing staf f w orking in these

inst i tut ions. Furthermore, chi ldren

with experience of custody areamong the most vu lnerab le anddisadvantaged and their

par t i c ipat ion in t he pro ject w i l l , to

a large degree, be dependentupon suppor t i ve adul ts who theyalready have relat ionships w i th

CRAE consolidates al l focus

group p lans and producesoveral l uni form plan for use bya l l par tners

M onth 3 : Apr i l 2011

CRAE to d el iver by end M ont h 13(Febru ary 2011)

CRAE unable to complete this

activity unti l al l YITs have beenassembled, t rained and are readyto star t t he i r focus groups

Pro jec t W ebsi te development

and launch

M o n th 4 : M a y 2 01 1

Deli vered M onth s 2 (M arch 2011)onw ards, as fol low s:

Tender document c ircu lated in M onth 1(Febru ary 2011)

Interv iew s w i th short l is ted organisat ion in

M on th 2 (M arch 2011)

URL obta ined in M onth 2 (M arch 2011) :www.violencefreecustody.org.uk

In h indsight , th is t ime f rame four

months was far too opt im is t i c

for t he developm ent and launch ofa webs i te requi r ing input f ro m f i ve

European par tners (one of whom

came la te to the par tnersh ip) , inaddi t ion to a compet i t i veten dering pro cess for the select ion

of a websi te design company.

Nevertheless, we bel ieve we have

made very good progress (st i l l )

w i th in a re la t i ve ly shor t t imeper iod


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18

Hold ing si te wen t l i ve M onth 3 (Apr i l2011)

Ful l conten t del ivered to w eb designcompany M onth 2 (M arch 2011) , w i th

fur ther upd ates and correct ion s ( f rom

CRAE and part ners) M ont hs 3 to 10 (Apri lto Novemb er 2011)

In-country and European leveldesk-based studies of law,

pol icy and pract ice regarding

violence against chi ldren incus tody are completed and

consol idated in to one In ter im

Repor t which i s pos ted on theProject Websi te

M onth 6: July 2011

CRAE to d el iver by end of M ont h 12

(Januar y 2012)

Last d esk-based stud y (Rom ania)rece ived M onth 11 (15 December

2011) due to comput er prob lems

w ithin Save the Chi ldren Rom ania

Chi ldren and young peoples

versions of the Inter im Report

are produced and posted on theProject Websi te

M onth 6: July 2011

CRAE to d el iver by end of M ont h 12(Januar y 2012)

Last desk-based study (Romania)

rece ived M onth 11 (15 Decem ber

2011) due to computer prob lemsw ithin Save the Chi ldren Rom ania

Focus groups condu cted inpart nership w i th YITs

M onths 4 to 8 : M ay to Septemb er 2011

CRAE and part ners to del iver M ont hs 12

to 15 (January to Apri l 2012)

The diff icult ies in accessingchi ldren wi th experience of

custody, leading to delay in

forming the YITs, has inevtiably

af fected the project 's abi l i ty to

del iver the focus groups. We havehad to inves t more t ime and

energy than ant ic ipated in toengaging support ive professionals

w i th i n t he com m un i t y and i n

ins t i tu t iona l set t ings to bothaccess chi ldren and to support

thei r ongoing engagement (given

their high levels of vulnerabi l i ty

and disadvantage)

M onth s 7-12: August t o January 2012Focus groups condu cted inpart nership w i th YITs

M onths 4 to 8 : M ay to Septemb er 2011

CRAE and p art ner s (except IJJO) t o d eliver

M ont hs 12 to 15 (January to Apri l 2012)

The diff icult ies in accessingchi ldren wi th experience ofcustody, leading to delay in

forming the YITs, has inevtiably

af fected the project 's abi l i ty to

del iver the focus groups. We have

had to inves t more t ime andenergy than ant ic ipated in toengaging support ive professionals

w i th i n t he com m un i t y t o bo th

access chi ldren and to support

thei r ongoing engagement (giventheir high levels of vulnerabi l i ty

and disadvantage)

2nd in-country YIT meet ing torev iew and wr i te up focusgroup f ind ings

M onth 9 : October 2011

CRAE and p art ner s (except IJJO) t o d eliver

M onth 15 (Apr i l 2012)

Rescheduled so that al l focusgroups completed by the t ime YITmeets to rev iew and wr i te up i ts

f indings


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19

Focus group f indings and

Inter im Repor t are compi led

into a s ingle Invest igat ion

Repor t w hich is launched on t heWebs i te , w i th hard copies

disseminated in-country and at

European level to decis ion

makers and professionalswork ing w i th ch i ldren and

youn g people in custod y

M onths 11-12: Decemb er to January

2012

CRAE to del iver M ont h 17 (June 20 12)

Fol lowing rescheduled t imings for

del ivery of focus group f indings to

CRAE


versions of the Invest igat ion

Report are produced, launchedonl ine together w i th the main

repor t , and hard copies

disseminated in-country and atEuropean level to chi ldren and

young people w i th exper ienceof cus tody

M onths 11-12: Decemb er to January

2012

CRAE to del iver M ont h 17 (June 2 012)

Fol low ing rescheduled t im ings for

del ivery of focus group f indings to

CRAE

M onth s 13-18: February to July 2012Al l -count ry Camp aign M eet ing

in Brussels for representat ives

of the YITs to present thei r

f indings to each other, receivet ra in ing on conduct ingcampaigns, and start to plan

their own Year Two campaigns,

becoming Young Campaign

Teams

M onth 13 : February 2012

Project m eet ing planned M onth 13:

Febru ary 2012

Additional campaign meet ing planned

M onth 16 (M ay 2012)

Two meet ings w i l l a l low pro jec t

partners to share learning and

strategies for overcoming project

chal lenges; as wel l as undertakeplanned campaign meet ing oncefocus grou p f indings are know n

Chi ldren and young peoplescampaigns 4 w ork ing meet ing

days he ld throughout thecampaign period; act iv i t ies wi l lvary according to indiv idual

campaign plans produced by

ch i ldren and young people but

may inc lude fur ther targetedresearch, meet ing wi t h decision

makers, awareness raising; al l

act iv i t ies supported by staf ff rom par tner organisat ions

M onths 13 to 20 : February to Novem ber2012

Planned for M onth s 15 to 22 (Apr i l toJanuary 2013)

Rescheduled to begin once focusgroups completed, or near to

complet ion: s t i ll 10-month per iod

M onth s 19-24: August to January 2013Chi ldren and young peoples

campaigns conclude

M o n th 2 0 : N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 2

Planned for M ont h 22: January 2013

Sl ight ly rescheduled to al low for

same am ount o f cam paign t im e asin fund ing appl i cat ion and to

suppor t ch i ldren and young

people's act ive engagement r ight

to t he end of the pro jec t

All YCTs produce campaign

repor ts set t ing out the i ract iv i t ies, achievements,

learn ing and recommended

next steps. These are

M onths 21 and 22 : December and

January 2013

No change planned

No change planned


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consol idated into a s ingleCamp aign Report


versions of the Invest igat ionRepor t are produced

M onths 21 and 22 : December and

January 2013

No change planned

No change planned

Campaign Report and chi ldren

and yo ung peo ples versions arelaunched on the Webs ite . Hard

copies of the Campaign Report

are disseminated in-country

and at European level todecis ion makers andprofessionals working wi th

chi ldren and young people in

custody; hard copies of the

chi ldren and young peoples

versions are disseminated in-

country and at European levelto ch i ldren and young peoplew i th exper ience of custody

M onths 23 and 24: January and February

2013

No change planned

No change planned

Carolyne W i l low

Nat ional co-ordinator

Children's Rights Alliance for England (CRAE)

6 Januar y 2012cwi l [email protected]


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Ann ex 3 Pro gress Repo rt

PROJECT IN FORM ATION

1. Reference num ber of the project: JLS/2009/DAP3/AG/1346

2. T it le of th e project: Ending vio lence against chi ldren in custody

3. Star t date and end date of the project 01 /02 /2011 31 /01 /2013

4. Co-ord inating Organisation 's nam e: Child ren 's Right s Alliance fo r England (CRAE)

5. Cont act person: Nam e: Caro lyne W i l low

Add ress: CRAE, 94 W hit e Lion St reet

Postal code: N1 9PF

City: London

Email : cwil [email protected]

Phone: 00 44 (0) 207 278 8222 ext. 22 Fax: 00 44 (0) 207 278 95 52

6. Partner(s) involved in the action during the

l ife t ime of the project . 1.Internat io nal Juveni le Just ice Observatory 2.DCI-the Neth erlands

3.Com m isisoner for Chi ldr en's Rights,Cyprus4.Ludw ig Bo l tzmann Inst i tu te o f Hum anRight s, Austr ia5.Save the Childr en Rom ania


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1. Imp leme ntat ion of the project

Pl ease p r o v i d e g e n e r a l d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e p r o j e c t i m p l e m e n t a t i o n s o f a r . De scr ib e y o u r

act iv i t ies in the f i rs t 6 or 9 months o f the pro ject and the concre te outputs . Amongst the

planned act iv i t ies in the project f inanced by the European Commission, p lease out l ine those that

w ere im plem ented . Please also out line tho se that w ere n ot im plem ented and p rovid e explanat ion

(1 page text)

The fo l low ing p lanned act iv i t ies w ere undertaken in th e f i rst 9 m onth s o f th e pro ject :

Awareness-raising in f ive European countr ies; d ia logue with authori t ies in f ive European

countr ies; and dissem inat ion of pr oject leaf lets in f ive Euro pean countr ies

Competi t ive tendering process for project website ( including interview select ion); draf t ing of a l l

w ebsi te content (w i th input f rom a l l p ro ject par tners) ; and ho ld ing si te launched

Com pet i t ive tender ing pr ocess fo r independent evaluat ion ( inc lud ing in terv iew se lect ion) ;

and scoping meet ing wit h selected evaluator Complet ion of three desk-based country studies and one European study (al l f ive

comp le ted by end m on th 11 )

Draf t ing o f In ter im Report

Delivery of detai led guidance to project part ners on internat ional and European legalobl igat ion s relat ing to en ding vio lence in chi ld custody

Delivery of detai led guidance to project p artners on under taking chi ldren's r ights

invest iga t ions and work ing wi th ch i ld ren and young peop le who have d i rect exper ience o f

custody

Del ivery o f four br ie f ings wi th ch i ld ren and young peop le wi th exper ience o f custody in

app l icant count ry ( in four d i f fe rent par t s o f the count r y) and p lans in p lace fo r th ree o ther

count r ies First m eet ing of Young Invest igat ion Team (appl icant coun tr y) and plans in place for f i rst

YIT meet ings in four other countr ies (for example, the Commissioner for Chi ldren's Rights in

Cypru s is current ly assessing 18 appl icat ion s from inter ested chi ldren and youn g people; and DCI-

the N ether lands has received 9 appl icat ions)

Provisional arrangem ents in p lace for four focus group sessions in appl icant countr y (tw oin custod ia l se t t ings; tw o in comm uni ty se t t ings) .

In addit ion to the above, CRAE has establ ished f inancial systems to ensure al l project income and

expenditure is recorded and monitored. We have also establ ished posit ive working relat ionships

w i th par tners , som e o f whom w e have not p rev ious ly w orked wi th .

There are some p lanned act iv i t ies tha t we have, un for tunate ly , no t undertaken wi th in the f i rs t 9m ont hs. M ost signif icant ly, three part ners (The Ludw ig Boltzmann Inst i tu te of Hu m an Rights, Austr ia;

the Commissioner for Chi ldren's Rights in Cyprus; and Save the Children Romania) have not yet

comple ted the i r fou r br ie f ing sessions wi th ch i ld ren and young peop le w i th exper ience o f custody.

CRAE deliver ed th ese sessions later t han o rigin ally schedu led because of d iff icult ies accessing child ren

and young people with experience of custody. Project partners have also faced chal lenges see

sect ion 4 below . Indeed, one part ner The Ludw ig Boltzm ann Inst i tut e of Hum an Rights, Austr ia has

del ivered t w o brief in g sessions to pr ofessionals wor king in prisons holdin g chi ldren and young peo plein order to bu i ld u p t ru st and co-opera t ion w i th t he pro ject . Th is w as an unp lanned pro ject act iv i ty

necessary to secure assistance from the aut hori t ies in m aking contact w ith chi ldr en and young people.


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23

For these same reasons, the appl icant and partners have not yet commenced the focus group

research.


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2. T im etable of the project

Please descr ibe the implem enta t ion o f t he pro ject in te rm s o f t im ing. W ere you ab le to t im e lystar t t he pro ject? Did you f in ish act iv i t ies tha t w ere supposed to be im plemented in the f i rs t 6 or 9m onths o f the pro ject? Have you m ade or you ant ic ipa te any changes in th e t im etab le o f the pro ject

im plement a t ion so fa r? (1 / 2 page text )

We were able to start the project in a t imely fashion and made good progress in the early stages,

inc lud ing the product ion and d isseminat ion o f the pro ject lea f le t , beg inn ing d ia logue wi th the

autho ri t ies and ten dering for, and select ing, a website designer and independ ent evaluator.

W e com ple ted a large numb er o f act iv i t ies w i th in the 9 mo nths but m any o f these took longer than

ant ic ipated. For example, the desk-based count ry stud ies too k longer to comp lete than planned

because th e f ram ew ork CRAE deve loped wi t h par t ners w as far m ore deta i led than the U N Vio lence

Study and the DCI and Howard League report c i ted in the funding appl icat ion. This inevitably had a

knock-on e f fect on th e dra f t ing o f the In ter im Report .

The d i rect w ork w i th ch i ld ren and young peop le w i th exper ience o f custody d id not star t as ear ly in

the project as we planned. This means the focus groups wil l be conducted later than scheduled and

the t im ing of th e publ icat ion of t he Invest igat ion Report w i l l a lso change. Crucial ly, w e do not fo reseeany imp act on the length o f t im e ch i ld ren and young peop le w i l l have fo r cam paign ing fo r change;

and th is shou ld have no sign i f icant im pact on t he pro ject 's ou tcom es.

A sum m ary o f the changes in the pro ject 's t imet ab le is a t tached, together w i th a rev ised Annex I .

3. Chan ges to the scope of th e project

Do you im plem ent your act iv i t ies exact ly accord ing to the descr ip t ion in the app l ica t ion fo r m ? Did

you have to change the any part of your project or ant ic ipate such changes in the future? I f yes,please describe t he changes and pr ovide th e explanat ion of the r easons for t hose changes. (1/ 2 page

text )

We have requ i red a much longer and more t ime-consuming per iod to in form and seek the co-operat ion of the authori t ies. This has been necessary to access and engage chi ldren and youngpeop le . In h inds ight , i t w ou ld have been pre ferab le to have bu i l t th is into t he pro ject t im etab le f rom

the start . Clearly, in addit ion to being pivotal to engaging chi ldren and young people in the project ,

the co-operat ion of the authori t ies is essent ia l i f we are to bring about change in law, pol icy and

pract ice.

The ot her signif icant change to the scope of t he project is the engagem ent o f young adults wh o haveexperience of custody. I t is l ikely that a minori ty of the Young Invest igat ion Team members and the

young campaigners w i l l be aged over 18. Chi ldren and youn g people w ith experience of custod y w ho

are aged und er 18 are l ikely to st i l l be extrem ely vulnerable and unsett led and, even just a few y ears,

can make al l the dif fer ence in their abi l i ty to engage posit ively in a project l ike th is. Furth erm ore, w e

do not w ant to tu rn away young adu l ts w i th re levant exper ience, passion and expert ise to share .

Nevertheless, to retain the integri ty of the project , th is o lder age group (certa in ly not extending

beyond teenage years) w i l l be a m inor i ty .


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4. Overa l l assessm ent and diff iculties encount ered Overal l assessm ent of t he project to d ate. To what ext ent has the p roject achieved i ts a ims so far?Did you exper ience any major p rob lem s w i th imp lem enta t ion o f your pro ject? W hat w ere the main

prob lem s/ d i f f icu l t ies encountered dur ing the implem enta t ion o f the pro ject act iv i t ies? How w erethese solved? (1 page text)Although w e are m aking steady progress, the pro ject is p rov ing to b e m ore chal leng ing than w eant ic ipated. These chal lenges, how ever, sim ply conf ir m w hat w e already knew th at chi ldren and

young peop le in custody are am ong the m ost voiceless and excluded and t heir act ive part ic ipat io n in

the develo pm ent of law, pol icy and pract ice is rare. W e are having to f ind new w ays of accessing

chi ldren and young people, using channels that NGOs w ould not norm ally use for m ainstr eam

part ic ipat ion projects. For exam ple, DCI-the Net herlands has sought assistance from law yers wor king

w ith chi ldren and youn g people and CRAE has invited of f ic ia ls f rom the You th Just ice Board (t he

statu to ry bod y governing placement s in custod y and advising M inisters on juveni le just ice law and

po l icy) to a t tend a young peop le 's resident ia l t ra in ing w eekend t o t ry and engage the i r co-opera t ion

in the pro ject .

Chi ld ren and youn g peop le w i th exper ience o f custody rare ly be long to r epresenta t ive groups or

organ isa t ions, so there are few ex ist ing netw orks to tap in t o t ha t a re not a lso connected to the

autho ri t ies. The scope of th e pro ject to end vio lence in chi ld custo dy has at t racted cri t ic ism andfear f rom th e author i t ies.

The o t her aspect o f the pro ject w h ich w as perhaps not fu l ly considered w h i lst i t w as be ing developed

is the need f or h igh ly sk i l led and competent sta f f t o w ork d i rect ly w i th ch i ld ren and young peop le .

The const i tu ency of chi ldren and you ng peop le w e are seeking to engage, and support in research

and cam paign ing, are am ong the m ost vu lnerab le and w i l l genera l ly have very poor educat iona lexperiences and dif f icult ies in com plet in g tasks and w orking w ith others . M any wi l l have low se lf -esteem and be lacking in conf idence about their abi l i t ies. Few w il l have ongoing posit ive support

f rom fam il ies or stable hom e l ives. The use of experts, including th ose who have exist ingre la t ionsh ips wi th ch i ld ren and young peop le , is p rov ing to be v i ta l ; and th e ra t io o f s ta f f to ch i ld /

young p erson has been increased for group sessions.

Given the ext rem ely innovat ive nature o f th is pro ject , w e now rea l ise tha t an a l l-count ry pr o ject

m eet ing wou ld h ave been he lp fu l in the f i rst few m ont hs of the pr o ject . In l igh t o f th is , w e are now

propos ing to ho ld tw o a l l -count ry m eet ings (wi t h in th e same bu dget ) one in February 2012 as

or ig inal ly p lanned and another in M ay 2012 a f te r the focus groups havebeen comp leted. Posit ively,the t im escale o f the t wo m eet ings w i l l al low YIT m em bers to part ic ipate and have m ore in f luence onthe develo pm ent o f th e project . This is, of course, pr eferable t o project staf f m aking al l the crucia l

decisions; and i t w i l l b r ing together d i f fe rent expert ise and hopefu l ly lead to m ore creat ive so lu t ions.

Despite th e chal lenges, we rem ain convinced th at th is project w i l l be grou nd-breaking and w i l l leadto t angible changes in th e fu lf i lm ent of chi ldren's r ights in custod y. Even at th is early stage, w e arebeg inn ing to br ing inform at ion ( th rough the In ter im Report ) in to t he pub l ic domain tha t h as h i ther t orem ained hidden and under pinnin g al l our act ion s is the stro ng m essage that th e voices and

exper iences o f ch i ld pr isoners m ust be cent ra l to im provem ents in the i r p ro tect ion , care and

t rea tmen t .


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Annex 4 Pow erPoint Present at ion: M ary Robinson


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Documents

Ending violence against