violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

5and discriminations attached to unwanted orfamily-less children are reinforced where thechild is seen as a social nuisance, or worse.Nature and extentof the problemAlthough information is hard to find and dataon children in care and justice systems are notgenerally disaggregated, some sources estimatethat, at any one time, one million childrenworldwide are deprived of their liberty.This is certainly an underestimate, and betterdata collection is urgently needed globally. Forexample, in the USA alone, more than 600,000children and teenagers spend some period oftime in secure detention facilities every year. 80The vast majority of boys and girls in detentionare charged with minor or petty crimes,and are first-time offenders. Very few havecommitted violent offences. Many have committedno offence at all, but have been roundedup for vagrancy, homelessness, or simply beingin need of care and protection. 81In many countries, the majority of children indetention have not been convicted of a crime,but are simply awaiting trial. In Pakistan, asof March 2003, out of around 2,340 childrendetained in prisons alone (i.e. not taking intoaccount detention in police cells and otherinstitutions), in just four regions of Pakistan,83% were under trial, or waiting for their trialto start. 82 In six jails in Cebu, the Philippines,75% of children held in jail between 1999 and2001 were detained pending trial. 83Building on the International Covenant onCivil and Political Rights, the CRC requiresthat every child deprived of their liberty hasthe right to prompt access to legal and otherappropriate assistance and the right to challengeits legality, and to receive a prompt decision(article 37d). However, pre-trial detentionmay last for months or even years. In Burundi,for example, the pre-trial period for childrenis sometimes longer than the maximum sentencefor the offence that was allegedly committed.84 Pre-trial detention of children inLagos State, Nigeria, has been found to lastfor as much as one year. 85 Disturbingly, manyof the children detained for long periods arenever convicted of a crime. In Pakistan, only13–17% of detained children were eventuallyconvicted of any offence. 86 In the interim, theyare detained for months or even years in overcrowded,dismal conditions, at risk of violencefrom staff, peers and adult inmates. 87Studies in South Asia indicate that the majorityof children detained are eligible for bailand pose no danger to the public. 88 However,judges routinely set bail well beyond the reachof detainees’ families, resulting in needlessincarceration. 89 Bail is rarely, if ever, consideredas an option for street children.After trial, large numbers of children are sentencedto correctional facilities or prisons.Although, as noted earlier, CRC article 40encourages a variety of alternatives, includingsupervision orders, probation, and foster care,imprisonment is often the norm. For example,in Indonesia in the late 1990s, up to 99% ofjuvenile offenders brought before the courtswere sentenced to prison. 90 In Bangladesh,children are frequently sent into ‘safe custody’191Violence against Children in care and justice institutions