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DIVERSION AND ALTERNATIVES
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B3.3 Attitudes, traditions, customs, behaviour & practices

 

What is it & why is it important?

'Tough on crime' or 'zero tolerance' policies have often formed an obstacle to constructive responses to conflict with the law. These policies are largely the result of negative public attitudes which influence political decision-making.

Top-down political and legislative reform therefore needs to be matched by bottom-up awareness-raising and sensitisation in order to build constituencies of support for diversion and alternatives. This is important so that: policy-makers and legislators are encouraged via positive public opinion to implement diversion and alternatives; people accept children in conflict with the law back into the community as part of diversion and alternatives programmes; they are willing to actively participate in reintegration processes and programmes for children in conflict with the law; the targeted messages that professionals and policy-makers receive through specialised training etc. are reinforced on a daily basis through the positive cultural and traditional attitudes towards diversion and alternatives which surround them.

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What does it mean for diversion & alternatives?

Key issues :

  1. What is the overall opinion of children in general and children in conflict with the law in particular?
  2. Do people in general (including victims/survivors) accept and/or proactively support the use of diversion and alternatives for children in conflict with the law?
  3.  How will these attitudes affect reform efforts in relation to diversion and alternatives?
  4. Are these opinions uniform across different types of stakeholder groups or are there significant differences (e.g. politicians, justice and social welfare professionals, religious leaders, media spokespeople, academic institutions, low income versus higher income communities, rural versus urban communities, women versus men, adults versus children and ethnic minorities)?
  5. What are the reasons for these attitudes?
  6. Are there significant differences of opinion within the country or within particular regions?
  7. Are specific awareness-raising and/or behaviour change campaigns necessary to combat negative attitudes relating to children in conflict with the law and/or diversion and alternatives?
  8. What existing non-formal and/or traditional justice mechanisms are in place?
  9. What is the potential to work with these systems (bearing in mind necessary child rights and legal safeguards)?
  10. How can children themselves be involved in attitudinal change? What support and protection will they need to do this?

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Tips for planning and implementation:
  • There can be a tendency to assume that this element of the protective environment framework applies only to 'communities' and that it consists of large-scale, mass media public awareness campaigns. However, all stakeholders are strongly influenced by their traditions and customs which help to shape their attitudes and, in turn, their behaviour and practices. Professionals such as police, social workers, members of the judiciary, lawyers, NGO workers, politicians etc. all need to be targeted in efforts to promote attitudes and practices which support the use of diversion and alternatives as much as possible.
  • The importance of using the right language:
    • Children in conflict with the law in general, and diversion and alternatives in particular, are one of the most politically and socially unpopular areas of child rights. We need all the help we can get in our efforts to overcome the stigma, discrimination, negativity and disinterest which still surrounds this crucial area of child rights - the ‘unwanted child’ of the child rights movement.[1] Words are some of our greatest allies in this challenge: using them accurately, positively and sensitively as part of general advocacy efforts can promote greater understanding and acceptance of diversion and alternatives with government partners and society as a whole.
    • Words are very powerful. They are loaded with cultural, emotional, political and legal connotations.
    • On the positive side, if used accurately and sensitively, words can revolutionise the way people think, feel and act about children who come into conflict with the law, helping to turn punitive approaches into constructive ones. For example: a judge who realises that the person in front of them is a ‘child’ - rather than a dehumanised legal term (‘juvenile’ or ‘minor’) – may be much more likely to apply compassionate and constructive sentencing dispositions and to apply child rights during the process, including participation; legislators who understand that for children in street situations begging is ‘survival behaviour,’ rather than an act of ‘delinquency,’ may be motivated to re-write outdated legislation that makes a starving child into a ‘criminal’.
    • On the negative side, the consequences of mis-using words, or of using words (either deliberately or just thoughtlessly) to ‘label’ children are very real: for example, the stigma of being branded a ‘juvenile delinquent’ by someone in authority may last a lifetime, negatively affecting self-esteem, community reintegration and the search for job opportunities; a physically or sexually abused child who displays challenging behaviour  and who is labelled as being ‘beyond parental control’ may end up in detention rather than receiving the care and protection they so desperately need.
    • We are all advocates for positive change. In our everyday lives, even outside the workplace, our choice of words can spark debate, discussion, compassion and action.
    • Article 16.1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states that: “No child shall be subjected to […] to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation.”
    • We have a duty to the children involved to describe them, and the situations in which they come into conflict with the law, as accurately and sensitively as possible.
    • The choice of words will be determined by the purpose of the communication: the use of language for public awareness-raising may be different to the use of technical language with actors in the justice system.
    • UNICEF's credibility as an actor in justice reform may be undermined through the inaccurate use of technical terms in programming and advocacy documents (e.g. proposals, concept notes, project partner agreements and IEC materials).

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How does this link to the other elements of the Protective Environment Framework and the 3 principles?

A. Child rights-based approach: Communication, sensitisation and advocacy work in relation to diversion and alternatives is an important strategy to build the capacity of duty-bearers to fulfil rights and of claims-holders to demand them. Work in this area must take into account the 'umbrella rights' of the CRC: the right to life, survival and development (Art. 6), non-discrimination (Art. 2), best interests of the child (Art. 3), the right to be heard (Art. 6) and implementation to the 'maximum extent of available resources'.

B. Systemic approach: It is possible that other initiatives already exist in relation to public awareness raising, sensitisation and advocacy - e.g. for child rights, child protection and even possibly through rule of law reform - which can be capitalised on for diversion and alternatives more specifically. See below for more detail on each of the 8 PEF elements.

C. Restorative justice approach: Communication, sensitisation and advocacy should promote restorative justice approaches where possible and appropriate. There may be existing work in this area in the form of traditional or non-formal justice systems, or in the form of restorative justice approaches for adults in conflict with the law which can be capitalised on.

Other elements of the PEF:

#1. Government commitment to fulfilling protection rights: Government commitment is strongly influenced by public opinion. In turn, government commitment can help to influence public opinion to promote acceptance and support of more progressive policies for diversion and alternatives at community level and amongst professionals. The 2 elements are therefore closely linked.

#2. Legislation & enforcement: Communication, sensitisation and advocacy can contribute significantly to building constituencies of support for legislative reform and enforcement. Legislation in turn can provide a strong platform on which to build advocacy messages.

#4. Open discussion, including engagement of media & civil society: 'Open discussion' and media and civil society engagement is very closely intertwined with PEF element #3. 'Open discussion' is the strategy by which communication, sensitisation and advocacy can take place.

#5. Children's life skills, knowledge & participation: Communication, sensitisation and advocacy are necessary to develop public, professional and political support for programmes which enhance the life skills, knowldege and participation of children in conflict with the law. In turn, capacity building of children in these areas can help them to be involved as actors in advocacy processes.

#6. Capacity of those in contact with children: Communication, sensitisation and advocacy are key components of capacity building of those in contact with children. The 'head, heart, hands' process should be an integral strategy in this area.

#7. Basic & targeted services: Communication, sensitisation and advocacy are necessary to develop public, professional and political support for the provision of sustainable services for diversion and alternatives in practice.

#8. Monitoring & oversight: Communication, sensitisation and advocacy initiatives need to be monitored for relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability.

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Footnotes:
1. Abramson, B., Juvenile Justice: the “Unwanted Child” - Why the potential of the Convention on the Rights of the Child is not being realized, and what we can do about it, 2003.
 

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