Togo: Children deprived of liberty (in prison or in police custody) & Fighting harmful practices, violence, exclusion and trafficking of children

Summary

The project supported children

• in conflict with the law or
• victims of violence, neglect or child trafficking or
• particularly at risk, because they lack a stable family environment

in gaining access to their fundamental rights. A particular aim is directed towards the protection and rehabilitation of children who are persecuted for witchcraft. (read more on our campaign "Children are not witches!")

These children received support in form of legal advice, protection and basic care (psychological, medical, social). They were then supported in their social and educational or professional reintegration.

Further measures strengthened the juvenile justice system in Togo with a focus on resocialization programs.

Context

Many children living and/or working in the streets as well as children from poor families are easily exploited, abused or captured by traffickers who take children accross the borders all the way to Nigeria so that they work as cheap or even unpaid labor forces on the fields or in households. In addition, these children are deprived of their fundamental rights, such as access to sufficient and balanced meals, proper sanitation, medical care, education, shelter and protection. On their daily search for food, they start begging or are tempted to steel here and there. If caught, they end up in police custody or in jail, where they face inhumane detention conditions and are often humiliated. Due to prejudice and lacking legal assistance, some children are also detained inoccently. Most of the times, their employers accuse them of theft as a way to avoid paying their salary.

In 2007, Togo passed a modern legislative act aimed at the protection of children. Unfortunately, decrees necessary to put it into practice have not yet been issued. And very few representatives of the police or legal authorities have knowledge of the new regulations.

Therefore, in many prisons and police stations in Togo, children are detained in cells with adults, where they are easily abused or ill-treated. The detention cells are often crowded, badly ventilated and rarely have appropriate sanitary facilities. Diseases spread easily. There are no sufficient meals, medical care, psycho-social support or educational offers for children deprived of liberty.

After delayed public trials, in which the protection of the children’s identities is disregarded, the accused children often receive inappropriately high sentences. Existing prejudices throughout the population lead to great difficulties when it comes to their reintegration after liberation.

Similarly precarious are the situations, in which children have become victims to criminal offences, have been neglected or are particularly at risk. Usually, the police just hands them over to state-run social services. Due to missing human resources and financial possibilities, those are often incapable to adequately reintegrate these children.

Further, only few cases of violent or sexual offences upon children are reported to the police. The perpetrators rarely receive punishment due to extra-judicial settlements. Those usually ignore the interests of the child and lead to additional traumatization.

Project Objectives

The legal situation and the future prospects of children and adolescents who are in conflict with the law, who have become victims of violence or neglect, have improved in the Central region and in the region of Kara in Togo. In particular:

• Children and adolescents, who are in contact with the police or with the judicial system, face a functioning juvenile justice system with staff, that is adequately trained and respects children’s rights.
• The protection of these children has improved through active commitment of the civil society.
• 340 affected children have access to legal procedures and structures of basic care. They receive support with their social and educational or professional reintegration.

Involved Groups

• 340 children and adolescents aged 4-18 years. Of these 340 children, there are 180, who are suspected or convicted of a crime, 110 children, who are victims of criminal offences, and 50 neglected children or children at risk.
• 110 representatives of the police, and judiciary
• 30 members of monitoring initiatives of the civil society
• 100 members of other initiatives and groups of the civil society (local associations, traditional and religious authorities etc.)
• 40 responsibles of local markets and private video shops
• 30 professional instructors

Project Activities

• Stabilizing children and adolescents in in CREUSETs center for child
• Supporting social, familial, educational and professional reintegration of effected children
• Reinforcing competences of 110 public services in the areas of mediation and the protection of victims
• Logistically supporting court, police and gendarmerie for a contemporary and adequate treatment of children’s files
• Conducting Advocacy and awareness-raising activities on the political level, to effectively implement national and international standards
• Diminishing prejudices about children in jail, street children and victims of violence by cooperating with local radio stations
• Strengthening competences of civil society organisations
• Finding possible solutions for the prevention of juvenile delinquency as well as of violence against children
• Constructing two non-governmental establishments for the observation of children’s rights in Kara and Kanté
• Protecting children accused for witchcraft by raising awareness in the campaign “Children are not witches!”
• Sensitizing and mobilizing responsibles of local markets and private video shops for a possible cooperation in the areas of juvenile delinquency and child protection
• Sensitizing and mobilizing professional instructors for supporting the reintegration of children

Funding

Project costs: € 680,160

Financial Partners:

• German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
• Sternstunden e. V.
• CREUSET-Togo
• Kinderrechte Afrika e. V. (donations)