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CHILDREN AND JUVENILES BEHIND BARS – In Sierra Leone’s justice system, children and youth are usually not treated any differently than adults. They often spend excessive time behind bars without charge – considered guilty until proved innocent. Detention is often the first resort for offences committed by children.
In late May 2016, AdvocAid’s Executive Director, Simitie Lavaly, visited the remand home for juveniles in Bo on an unannounced monitoring visit. Here she met 21 children under the age of 18 – including one 10-year old boy charged with murder – held in a dark, unmaintained detention facility with poor sanitation facilities and too few mattresses. Two young girls were also detained at the remand home, but there is no gate separating the girls’ and boy’s dormitories and no female member of staff. The remand home is massively under-funded, and staff members stated that they lack the resources to refurbish the facility.
The conditions in the Bo Remand Home clearly violate the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules), the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing Rules), the United Nation Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders (Bangkok Rules) as well as procedures for child protection outlined in Sierra Leone’s 2007 Child Rights Act and the Children and Young Persons Act 1945.
HELP US IMPROVE CHILD JUSTICE – On the Day of the African Child 2016, AdvocAid joins forces with Save the Children to upgrade detention facilities in the Bo Remand Home. We are mobilising our resources and connections to repaint the walls in brighter colours and repair broken interior and exterior windows, and today we have provided new mattresses and recreational items for the juvenile inmates in the remand home.
But improving the physical conditions is not going to change the context that enables neglect of children behind bars. What we have seen in Bo is sadly not extraordinary, and it only highlights a bigger need for long-term care and legal aid for children in the criminal justice system. We thus appeal to institutions, government and individuals to support AdvocAid’s work to improve access to justice for children across Sierra Leone.
The Day of the African Child is the perfect time to reflect on how our country is treating some of its most vulnerable, neglected and marginalised children – and to collectively pledge to do better for them. It is, and should be, about all children of Sierra Leone – not only those that have safe homes and caring families.
Below are the stories of two of AdvocAid’s most recent juvenile clients, both 16 years old, whose cases turned out very differently.
Appeal saved 16-year old Juliet from two years in prison – Juliet lives in Makeni. She goes to school and sells fruit in her spare time. One day she had a minor dispute with a high level police officer (in civilian clothes), whom she claimed had not paid for a mango some time back. It escalated into a scuffle when Juliet took the man’s cap and threw it on the ground, and bystanders had to intervene to separate the two. As a result, Juliet was taken to the police station, where she was detained – accused of assault and wounding with intent.
AdvocAid’s paralegal met Juliet the same day. Because of the status of the complainant in the police force, bail was refused and the matter taken to court. Yet in the process, her age was mistakenly stated to be 21, and when she pleaded guilty to the offences charged, she was sentenced by the Magistrate to two years in prison despite our efforts at convincing the court of her real age.
The paralegal called on Juliet’s parents and asked them to urgently bring her birth certificate and school enrolment forms to the High Court for a review of the Magistrate’s decision. She also went with a representative of the Ministry of Social Welfare to plead to the complainant that he should forgive Juliet and allow her to be released so that she could get home and finish her school tests. After some discussion he agreed, and they all went to the judge to settle the matter. One week after her arrest, Juliet was released, and our paralegal contacted the school principal to ensure that she was allowed to sit her school tests.
16-year old Christine detained in remand home for two years – Christine used to go to Junior Secondary School in Bo. She entered into a relationship with 30-year old Ibrahim, who was married. Ibrahim and his wife, Mariatu, had had a dispute and they had gone separate ways for some time. One day the wife came to Ibrahim’s family house where she found him in bed with Christine. What started as a quarrel between the three escalated into a fight, and Christine ended up stabbing Mariatu with a knife. Mariatu was rushed to the hospital, but sadly not in time – she passed away on the same day.
Christine was arrested in June 2014 and charged with manslaughter. Her indictment didn’t come out until February 2016, and she has now been detained for two years. Our paralegal has assisted Christine from the start, highlighting her young age at court, but still the defence has yet to be opened. Waiting for her trial is causing serious strain to Christine’s mental health, and she is showing signs of depression, so AdvocAid strongly appeals to the judiciary that her case is given high priority.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS – AdvocAid meets juveniles like Juliet and Christine every day, and young women make up the vast majority of our clients. We are therefore part of a work group for child justice, consisting of government and civil society partners, including Save the Children; Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs; National Children’s Commission; Justice Sector Coordination Office; the Family Support Unit of the Sierra Leone Police; Defence for Children International; the Legal Aid Board, and UNICEF, to coordinate efforts at protecting under-age detainees in the justice system and advocate for their legal rights.
AdvocAid already provides dedicated legal representation, social support and rehabilitation services to young girls in conflict with the law, and we are actively trying to raise funds to create child-friendly spaces in correctional centres. Furthermore, we recommend that government and justice sector partners work together to achieve the following:
- Treat children in the criminal justice system as children – not adults! Children in contact with the law need protection and care, separate from adults, and speedy trials are crucial to ensure successful rehabilitation and reintegration.
- Implement non-custodial sentences for juveniles where possible – In the Bo Remand Home, a 10-year old boy is detained for the charge of murder, even though the Children and Young Persons Act states that children under the age of 14 should not be imprisoned. AdvocAid strongly urges the judiciary to always consider alternative sentencing for juveniles.
- Allocate funding to child justice – The conditions in the Bo Remand Home, where staff struggles to ensure a safe environment for the detainees, highlights the urgent need for allocating additional resources to child justice to ensure a functional legal system and humane conditions for children in detention.
- Improve rehabilitation and reintegration services – Children and young people, who have been in conflict with the law, are often faced with stigma and prejudice when they are released. This makes reintegration difficult and hinders rehabilitation. Education, social welfare provisions, family support and community mediations should be an integral part of the management of juvenile cases.
- Ensure age is accurately and transparently determined – Before initial charges are raised and the legal process begins, ensure that an individual’s age is accurately determined to the best extent possible. This will help prevent faulty sentencing that is difficult to undo or change later.