Access to Justice for children:

Our child justice program seeks to ensure that children in conflict and in contact with the law can seek redress, be rehabilitated and reintegrated in society. In recent years, the Government of Sierra Leone’s justice agenda was guided by its Justice Sector Reform Strategy and Investment Plan IV (JSRSIP 2018-2023).

In 2024 following the expiration of the JSRSIP, the government of Sierra Leone developed the Justice Sector Reform Strategy (2024 -2030), which is intended to build upon the achievement of the JSRISP as well as efforts towards Sierra Leone’s attainment of the Sustainable Development Goal 16’s targets for peace, justice and inclusion (SDG16+) by 2030.

DCI Sierra Leone implements programs to influence, accelerate and/or contribute towards the execution of the legislations, policies and strategies of the government as well as regional and international standards. In a more specific terms, DCI carries out the following interventions to facilitate access to justice, rehabilitation and reintegration of children in conflict and in contact with the law:

• DCI Sierra Leone identifies and manages cases of children in conflict and in contact with the law through its socio-legal defence centres (SLDCs), established in Freetown, Bo, Makeni and Kenema
• Regular monitoring of law enforcement and justice institutions to identify and support cases of children
• Conduct cases management for cases identified in order to ensure that the children concerned receive appropriate socio-legal services based on their needs, following assessment
• Provide legal aid including advice and representation
• Counseling services especially in a form of first aid Family tracing and working with families to reintegrate the children concerned
• Legal empowerment of children and youths, enabling them influence legal transformation in their communities

OUR IMPACT:

As a result of the advocacy work of DCI and other organisations, the following have been done: • Expansion of courts- more courts have been established in Freetown, Bo and Kenema and other places with more magistrates, judges and state counsels recruited. Though the addition is not enough, it will help in reducing workload of existing courts and improve period of adjudication of matters
• Development of a new justice reform strategy
• Review of the Child Rights Act to address legal gaps concerning child justice and other issues. The new Child Rights bill is more comprehensive with new provisions that meet minimum international standards, which if passed into law will address major gaps in existing laws on child justice
• Rate of detention of children at police stations has significantly reduced despite the fact that major problems regarding treatment of children in police hands still prevail. The police is also now more approachable in negotiating for the release of children in conflict with the law as well as resorting to alternative dispute resolution practices compared to before. This is due to increase in monitoring and accountability mechanisms

o In both 2024, we recorded 1 case of a child in Freetown who was prosecuted and tried for Unlawful Possession (a non-sexual offence) and was detained at the Remand Home in Freetown in the midst of an older boy who often bullied him. Though it doesn’t happen more often, it takes place in different jurisdictions across Sierra Leone. For sexual offences, DCI SL recorded the prosecution and trial of 8 and 6 boys under 16 years in 2023 and 2024 respectively tried in court for sexual offences.
o Expansion of courts- more courts have been established in Freetown, Bo and Kenema and other places with more magistrates, judges and state counsels recruited. Though the addition is not enough, it will help in reducing workload of existing courts and improve period of adjudication of matters
o Review of the Child Rights Act to address legal gaps concerning child justice and other issues. The new Child Rights bill is more comprehensive with new provisions that meet minimum international standards, which if passed into law will address major gaps in existing laws on child justice
o The rate of detention of children at police stations has significantly reduced despite the fact that major problems regarding treatment of children in police hands still prevail. The police is also now more approachable in negotiating for the release of children in conflict with the law as well as resorting to alternative dispute resolution practices compared to before. This is due to an increase in monitoring and accountability mechanisms.