violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

5reluctant to access formal complaints mechanisms.Children and their families should alsohave an appeals process if they are not satisfiedwith the response to their complaint.Redress and responsemechanismsWhen violence against children takes place,whether in care or detention institutions,perpetrators must be held accountable andthe children affected must receive appropriatecare, support and compensation. Childrenwho have been subjected to violence (eitherprevious to or subsequent to their placement)should receive appropriate medical and mentalhealth care. Appropriate interventions caninclude educational and psycho-social individualor group work with the child, or psychotherapy.Special attention should be given torestoring their confidence in human relationshipsas an important part of the healing process.In the case of ethnic and other minoritiesthat have systematically been institutionalisedat higher rates than the rest of the population,particularly when this has been the result ofGovernment policy, collective forms of redressmay need to be considered.Violence against children will never be fullyeliminated as long as perpetrators believe thatthey can get away with it. To ensure there is noimpunity for perpetrators of violence againstchildren, States should therefore ensure a continuumof appropriate sanctions against individualswho are responsible for violence againstchildren in institutions, and against the way inwhich institutions (public or private) are managedwhere such violence takes place. Thiscontinuum should include:• criminal prosecution• civil actions, including those fordamages or injunctive relief (such asordering changes in the institution)• administrative proceedings (such asrevoking licenses, imposing fines, orclosing facilities)• professional sanctions related toemployment (e.g. a note in an employee’spersonnel file, dismissal, being barredfrom working with children).Finally, policy is improved if it is based onreliable data, and if this data is open to thepublic. All placements should be registeredand centrally reported, and disaggregated statisticsshould be made publicly available forall children in all forms of care and detention.States should analyse and publish data on allinstances of violence, the response to complaints,and enforcement practices, includingactions taken against perpetrators of violencetowards children, or against institutions inwhich such acts of violence take place.De-institutionalising childrenalready in careAs alternatives are developed and implemented,concerted efforts should be made to shut downlarge institutions (see box). Where de-institutionalisationis introduced, this needs to bedone with great care and in a monitored andappropriate manner.213Violence against Children in care and justice institutions