UNITED NATIONS VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN (UNVAC) Key Information Questionnaire
Overall question: General assessment of the implementation of the recommendations of the UN Study
1. In the light of the process of implementation of the recommendations of the UN Study in your country, what do you consider are the most important developments?
a) Passing of two children laws as follows:
Children (Care and Adoption) Act # 15 of 2010
Status of Children Act # 21 of 2011
b) The passage of The Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act. # 27 of 2011. This Act especially focuses on children as they are deemed particularly vulnerable.
c) The Ministry is presently engaged in the process of completing the first draft of the 2nd & 3rd Periodic UN CRC State Report which is at the stage of the consultation and promotion to the various stakeholders. d) The Ministry is presently engaged in the process of completing the Child Abuse
Reporting Procedures: Protocol and Guidelines. The protocol document is complete. The Ministry is now engaging in consultation with stakeholders and it is intended that this will soon culminate with the implementation of the protocol in the operations of the relevant state agencies.
2. Which are the most serious gaps and persisting challenges? How do you anticipate to overcome them? a) The absence of data and coordinated record keeping processes.
Establishment of an analyzing and monitoring unit within the Ministry to manage data and monitor and evaluate programmes.
Establish a Unit to deal specially with children’s issues and to collect and manage the data from all sources within the state that deal with children and matters concerning children. Increased focus on data collecting and record keeping in child abuse awareness and prevention programme activities.
b) Absence of a Juvenile Detention Centre for the housing, training and rehabilitation of children in conflict with the law. - It is considered that it is only in the most extreme of circumstances that the Ministry will contemplate the institutionalized detention of a juvenile. The Ministry is contemplating the construction of a facility for the training, instruction and rehabilitation of juveniles. Such detention will not be considered punishment. For this purpose it is contemplated that the upper age limit for a juvenile will be changed to 18 instead of 16 for compliance with international standards. c) Appropriate institutions to house children abandoned, neglected, at risk or otherwise in need of care and protection. - The Ministry is contemplating the establishment of facilities in communities throughout the state to deal with this issue.
Please add any additional information you may wish to provide. a) The Ministry is developing regulations for the two recently passed children laws and is in the process of the establishment of the administrative institutions created by the legislation. b) The Ministry has started a policy for the increase in the number of Counselors in Primary and Secondary Schools. c) The State has established a Prevention in Trafficking in Persons Unit which also focuses on children who are victims of violence. d) The Government is collaborating with private sector organizations that care for disadvantaged children, such as: the Bread of Life, Guadeloupe Home for Girls, St. Benedicts’ Children’s Home and the Salvation Army Children’s Home and the Liberty Lodge Boys Training Centre and Marion House. e) The Ministry maintains a Foster Care Programme and a Teen Mother’s Programme
Recommendation 1 Strengthen national and local commitment and action
I recommend that all States develop a multi-faceted and systematic framework to respond to violence against children which is integrated into national planning processes. A national strategy, policy or plan of action on violence against children with realistic and time-bound targets, coordinated by an agency with the capacity to involve multiple sectors in a broad-based implementation strategy, should be formulated. National laws, policies, plans and programmes should fully comply with international human rights and current scientific knowledge. The implementation of the national strategy, policy or plan should be systematically evaluated according to established targets and timetables, and provided with adequate human and financial resources to support its implementation.
General questions 1. Please provide your country’s policy framework to prevent and respond to incidents of violence against children. Please describe the main initiatives promoted, and in what way they address violence against children. Please include information on coordination with significant civil society initiatives addressing violence against children in your country, including the types of institutions involved1, and whether your Government provided support for such activities. Please provide information on existing obstacles, if any, to the adoption and implementation of measures to respond to violence against children and on measures taken or envisaged to overcome them. a) At present the State does not have a national policy to prevent and respond to incidents of violence. - The preparation of the Child abuse reporting protocol and guidelines is expected to contain the State’s policy as it includes a comprehensive scheme for a response to incidents of violence against children. b) The State has established a National Committee on the Rights of the Child (NCRC). This body is not premised on any local legislative enactment but its membership is drawn from the Governmental Departments and NGO’s that deal with matters pertaining to children and the Committee performs a critical role in making recommendations on legislative and administrative policy and matters prior to enactment and implementation. The NCRC has received endorsement by the executive arm of Government being the Cabinet of Ministers.
1
Such as academic institutions, professional associations, women’s associations, student associations, communitybased groups, faith-based groups, child and youth-led groups, trade unions, employers organizations, national nongovernmental organizations, international non-governmental organizations.
c) The Ministry has a number of programmes in place to sensitise the general public, parents, guardians, caregivers, and stakeholder groups and organizations of the incidence of child abuse. The programmes are comprehensive and are operative throughout the year. The month of May is continued to be celebrated as Child Month. In relation to Child Abuse awareness and prevention the focus which was previously concentrated in April is now yearlong given the importance of the subject to the country. d) Two important pieces of legislation concerning Juvenile Justice are yet to be passed (Specify the model legislation) and two new Acts the Child Care and Adoption bill and the Status of Children Act are now in force as law in the State the administrative structures under the Act are yet to be implemented. e) There are a number of challenges facing the state concerning the issue of violence against children. These include but are not limited to the following: - Proper facilities for the receiving and investigation of reports. - Lack of coordination and understanding of roles as it relate to the different state agencies dealing with a report of child violence. - Friction amongst agencies at times as regard the action to be taken where an incident of child violence becomes apparent. - Lack of facilities for victim protection and rehabilitation after an incident of reported child violence. - The slow and often tardy progress of cases in the courts relating to child violence or child abuse. 2. Please describe any progress made in the implementation of the three time-bound goals adopted in the Rio de Janeiro Declaration and Call for Action to Prevent and Stop Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents, namely the establishment by 2013 of a) an effective and accessible system for reporting, follow up and support for child victims of suspected or actual incidents of sexual exploitation; (1) The Child Abuse Reporting Protocol and Guidelines has been prepared and is soon to be placed into full implementation. (2) The New Child Care and Adoption Act 2010 at Parts III and IV provides for the care and protection of children and for mandatory reporting and recording of all incidents where a child is in need of care and protection. Such incidents will include incidents of sexual exploitation of the child. b) concrete mechanisms and/or processes to facilitate coordination at national, regional and international levels for enhanced cooperation among government ministries, funding bodies, UN agencies, NGOs, the private sector, workers’ and employers’ organizations, the media, children’s organizations and other representatives of civil society with a view to enabling and supporting concrete action to prevent and stop the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents;
The child abuse protocol is intended to facilitate coordination at the national level amongst stakeholders with respect to the incidence of child abuse and violence. At the centre of the process is a directorate. This approach has been implemented in the Child Care and Protection Act 2010 which also has at the centre of the administrative framework a directorate with overriding responsibility in the state for the protection of children. The Director in both instances has regard to the work of the National Committee on the Rights of the Child (NCRC) and other organizations in support of children.
There is an established, working collaboration with national, regional and international organizations that support children.
c) independent children’s rights institutions such as children’s ombudspersons or equivalents or focal points on children’s rights in existing human rights institutions. As indicated above the Child Care and Protection Act 2010 has a directorate as the focal point for children in need of care and protection. For the first time in the legislative history of the state an individual is described as the protector of children in need of care and protection. This is seen at Section 7 of the Act. There are however no legal or administrative policy promoting independent children right’s institutions or ambudspersons or equivalents. There is however a National Youth Council that promotes the interests of youths at the national level.
Specific questions (please attach any relevant information is support of your replies)
Yes
Short detail (please attach relevant documentation)
No
Do not know
3. Does your country have a comprehensive policy, strategy or plan of action on violence against children?
Draft Child Abuse
4. Are there sectoral policies or plans dealing with violence against children in the five key settings identified by the UN Study?2
Yes
( I would stand corrected but I think the response should be no)
5. Is there a lead Government institution or authority tasked with the coordination of action addressing violence against children, including cross departmental cooperation and coordination between central and subnational authorities?
Yes
Family Affairs Division in the Ministry of National Mobilisation, Social Development, the Family, Gender Affairs, Youth, etc.
6. Are there any other governmental authorities, structures and mechanisms, at federal, state/provincial, municipal and local level which are currently responsible for addressing violence against children? Which, and at which level?
Yes
The Family Court, Police and the Cabinet-appointed National Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Director of Family Services
7. Has there been an evaluation of the impact of policies and programmes directed towards violence against children? Please indicate relevant monitoring mechanisms to assess progress in this area.
A monitoring and evaluation and data management Unit was set up with focus on issues dealing with children
No
8. Are there specific financial and/or human resources allocated to address violence against children?
Yes
Financial and human resource allocation is made through the budgetary process to address violence against children. Caseworkers are strategically placed throughout the country to deal with abuse against children
2
Yes Reporting Procedures: Protocol and Guidelines in collaboration with UNICEF
No
The five key settings are: the family and home environment; educational settings; institutional care and juvenile justice institutions; workplaces, and the community.
Yes
Short detail (please attach relevant documentation)
No
Do not know
9. Are there any particular parliamentary structures (for example special committees) or initiatives to address violence against children?
Yes
10. Is there an independent national institution on children’s rights dealing with incidents of violence?
No
There is a National Committee on the Rights of the Child endorsed by Cabinet. The Director of Family Services is by law responsible for children in need of care and protection. The NGO, Marion House, Church-based organizations (Training initiated by UNICEF for Religious Leaders) deal with some matters of violence against children
Recommendation 2 --
Prohibit by law all violence against children I urge States to ensure that no person below 18 years of age should be subjected to the death penalty and sentences of life imprisonment without possibility of release. I recommend that States take all necessary measures to immediately suspend the execution of all death penalties imposed on persons for having committed a crime before the age of 18, and take the appropriate legal measures to convert them into penalties in conformity with international human rights standards. Death penalty as a sentence imposed on persons for crimes committed before the age of 18 should be abolished as a matter of highest priority. I urge States to prohibit all forms of violence against children, in all settings, including all corporal punishment, harmful traditional practices, such as early and forced marriages, female genital mutilation and so-called honour crimes, sexual violence, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment, as required by international treaties, including the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. I draw attention to General Comment No. 8 (2006) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment (articles 19. 28, para 2 and 37, inter alia) (CRC/C/GC/8).
General questions 1. Please describe how violence against children is addressed in your country's legal framework, including in the constitution, legislation and subsidiary legislation, and, where appropriate, religious and customary law. Please include any information on challenges identified towards the adoption of a comprehensive legal ban of all forms of violence against children and measures taken or envisaged to overcome them. The Constitution of the State generally prohibits violence and violent conduct towards all persons in the state of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. This general prohibition is augmented by the Criminal Code CAP 171 of the Laws of the State which contains specific provision dealing with violence against children. Sexual exploitation and the removal of children are prohibited under the provisions of the code. In terms of sexual exploitation the law leans more towards the protection of girls than towards boys. Violence against any person within the state is prohibited by law and violence ranges from common assault to murder. The Juveniles Act offers special protection to children from violence and abuse. Part II of that Ac contains special provisions for the protection of the child against cruelty and exposure to moral and physical danger.
The Domestic violence summary proceedings Act number 13 of 1985 also contains special protection measures with respect to children. Matters concerning children are dealt with by the family court which conducts proceedings in camera. Facilities are now in place for children to give evidence from a location other than the court room in which the Defendant perpetrator is present. Where the violent conduct occurs in the matrimonial home there is the alternative of invoking the Domestic Violence Summary Matrimonial Proceedings Act for the protection of the child. The main challenge is the obtaining of a report of the violence against the child. The abuse is often perpetrated in the privacy of a home or an institution and more often than not the child is threatened of induced into silent submission. Evidence of the abuse is often revealed through the child’s overall conduct or physical signs that are abnormal. The child abuse reporting protocol and guidelines will significantly alleviate this challenge as the institutions such as church, school, community groups or organizations and health centers or hospitals will have an obligation to report signs of abuse to the relevant agency. In this regard the director of family services will perform a significant role as the protector of the nation’s children. 2. Please provide information on any studies and surveys which have been undertaken to assess the impact of legal measures to address violence against children. Specific questions (please attach any relevant information is support of your replies) Yes
Short detail (please attach relevant documentation)
No
Do not know
Prohibition of all forms of violence, including physical, mental, and sexual violence, injury on abuse, neglect or negligent or negligent treatment and exploitation?
YES
Prevention of all forms of physical, sexual and mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, and exploitation?
11. Does the legal framework contain any specific legislative provisions on: a.
b.
c. Protection of children from all forms of violence, including child victims and witnesses?
The Criminal Code and Juveniles Act are the two principal pieces of legislation. There is also legislation dealing with domestic violence. Yes The Criminal Code and
The Juveniles Act. Also the Child Care and Adoption Act. Yes The Family Court Act The Child Care and Adoption Act and the Criminal Code
Yes
Short detail (please attach relevant documentation)
No
Do not know
Yes Generally the court has the power to order a criminal perpetrator to pay compensation or make amends. There is no law dealing directly with the issue in relation to a child victim although the child will have a cause of Action under the civil law against the guilty perpetrator for redress. Yes The penalties are contained in the legislation that has been breached and may be by way of imprisonment, fine or both with the power to order compensation. Yes The Child care and Adoption Act and the Juveniles Act Yes
d.
Redress, including compensation, for child victims of violence?
e.
Penalties for perpetrators of violence against children?
f.
Recovery and reintegration of child victims of violence?
12. Does the legal framework contain any specific legislative provisions which address all forms of violence including physical, sexual and psychological violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment and sexual exploitation against children which take place in:
The Criminal Code,
a.
the family and home environment?
b.
schools, including preschool care and education (both formal and non-formal, state and private, and including sexual violence and
The Juveniles Act, The Child Care and Adoption Act and The Domestic Violence legislation. Yes The Domestic Violence legislation and the Child Care and protection Act addresses this issue directly. Yes The Education Act 2006 Addresses this violence in educational institutions
Yes
Short detail (please attach relevant documentation)
No
Do not know
Yes The Prisons Act, The Juveniles Act and the Child Care and Adoption Act.
directly. Also the Criminal Code.
bullying)? c.
residential care institutions, including for health and mental health?
d.
juvenile justice institutions and other detention centres, or centres where migrant, asylum seeking and refugee children may be placed?
e.
the community, including in neighbourhoods, rural areas, and including armed violence? the workplace (informal and formal, both concerning child labour and legitimate work by children above the legal minimum working age)?
Yes The Criminal Code and the Juveniles Act.
Yes The Child Care and Adoption Act and the Criminal code.
13. Is corporal punishment of children, in all or some settings, including in the home, explicitly prohibited by law?
Yes The Criminal Code, The employment of Women Young Persons and Children Act and the Juveniles Act. No
14. Does the penal code permit corporal punishment, life imprisonment and/or capital punishment as a sentence for crimes committed by children under 18 years?
Corporal punishment is generally permitted in the state Yes
15. Does the legal framework address or prohibit harmful/violent traditional practices, including but not limited to female genital mutilation, early or forced marriage, witchcraft rituals or honour crimes?
The law permits corporal punishment by virtue of the Corporal punishment of Juveniles Act. The Criminal code permits life imprisonment and death sentences for children between 16 and 18. Yes
f.
Although there is no tradition of genital mutilation, honour crimes and forced marriage these crimes and witchcraft are prohibited by the
Yes
Short detail (please attach relevant documentation)
No
Do not know
Yes The Criminal Code prohibits such conduct.
Criminal Code 16. Does the law apply equally to all children, including non-citizens and stateless children?
17. Does the law prohibit the sexual exploitation of children, including through prostitution and other unlawful sexual activities?
18. Does the law prohibit the use of children in criminal activities?
Yes The Criminal Code and the Juveniles Act
19. Does the law prohibit all forms of sale or trafficking in children?
20. Does the law prohibit the use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances?
21. Does the law prohibit the possession and dissemination of child pornography, including via the internet?
Yes The Criminal Code and the Prevention of trafficking in persons Act. Yes The law speaks in general terms as such conduct is prohibited in the State by the Criminal Code.
Yes There is no discriminatory treatment. This is prohibited by the Constitution.
Yes The criminal code contains a general prohibition of such conduct which would include dissemination via the internet.
Recommendation 11 Develop and implement systematic national data collection and
I recommend that States improve data collection and information systems in order to identify vulnerable sub-groups, inform policy and programming at all levels, and track progress towards the goal of preventing violence against children. States should use national indicators based on internationally agreed standards, and ensure that data are compiled, analysed and disseminated to monitor progress over time. Where not currently in place, birth, death and marriage data registries with full national coverage should be created and maintained. States should also create and maintain data on children without parental care, and on children in the criminal justice system. Data should be disaggregated by sex, age, urban/rural, household and family characteristics, education and ethnicity. States should also develop a national research agenda on violence against children across settings where violence occurs, including through interview studies with children and parents, with particular attention to vulnerable groups of girls and boys.
research efforts 1. Does your country maintain any national, regional, or local data system on violence against children? How and how often is information made public? What kind of information can be obtained in these systems? At present St.Vincent and the Grenadines has a local data system but that needs strengthening and coordination to be effective. Essentially there is need for a strong centralized agency to manage the collection and collation of the data. 2. Is the available information disaggregated by: Some of the information is disaggregated Yes Sex
Age
Ethnicity
Nature of injury or death
Cause of injury or death
Geographical location of incidents of violence
Context of the incident
No
Date and time of the incident
Relationship between the victim and perpetrator
Other information, namely ….
3. Please indicate whether your country maintains any of the following :
registries for birth, death and marriage --- Yes, this is in place systems to capture data on children without parental care --- Yes, there is a manual system in place to capture the data but needs strengthening; systems to capture data on children deprived of liberty, including in the criminal justice system, administrative detention, and pretrial detention. The passing of the Children (Care and Adoption) Act #15 of 2010 has been effected. The relevant Regulations are to be developed and appropriate systems put in place. systems to capture data on specific forms of violence against children --- Not in place 4. Please indicate whether since 2009, any of the following data collection and research activities have been carried on violence against children: population-based surveys of any form --- No qualitative studies or surveys based on interviews with parents/caregivers and children -No studies or surveys to assess the impact of legal measures --- No any other scientific research on violence against children, including on particularly vulnerable groups? --- No If YES, indicate the subject of this research and where the findings of these projects may be consulted in more detail. 5. Are regular (e.g. annual) reports published providing statistical information on violence against children? If YES, provide details or references, or attach. --- No 6. Please indicate any measures taken since 2009 or envisaged to implement the use of indicators based on internationally agreed standards on violence against children, and the responsible agency.
a) The Passing of two children laws as follows:-
Children (Care and Adoption) Act # 15 of 2010 and implementation
Status of Children Act # 21 of 2011 and implementation
b) Passing of the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act. # 27 of 2011 nd rd c) Completion and submission of the first draft of the 2 & 3 Periodic UN CRC State
Report
d) Completing the Child Abuse Reporting Procedures: Protocol and Guidelines
7. Is there a research agenda on violence against children, across settings? How are vulnerable children addressed? -- Yes. Information and data is cases of violence against children are dealt with on an individual basis; 8. Have national studies been developed on violence against children, or on violence against children in a particular setting (the family and home environment; educational settings; institutional care and juvenile justice institutions; workplaces, and the community)institutional care and juvenile justice institutions; workplaces, and the community) -- No
