Transcript
SHELDON YETT: Sometimes people assume that children are just like adults and of course we know they're not. We know that the level of maturity and the level of development in children is very different. So in order for a child to have his or her full right of protection fully met, it's important that the people that interact with them understand this and have specific training and procedures in place in the institutions in which they work. It doesn't matter if it's the health system, the education system or the judicial system.
DOMINIC GODFREY: Indeed, what about the media?
SY: Absolutely, the same thing. Of course the media too. Very specific things have to be in place when dealing with children, particularly in children in contact with the law.
DG: I note this because a couple of years ago there was a terrible case in Fiji where a girl was raped and murdered in Pacific Harbour, and her name was immediately in the media. It struck me because nothing was done by the judiciary to block her name from going into the media. The media didn't have anything in place to stop this and protect the child and her family.
SY: Yes it's extremely important, that's why we spend a lot of time working with editors and publishers and people in the media to understand what their responsibilities are as well. Everybody has a responsibility to ensure the needs of children are met.
DG: So these judges and magistrates, there are 41 of them doing this training and they come from throughout Fiji. What specifically is the format of the training, what are they going to be going through?
SY: Sure. Well it's three days of training so it's quite intense. It starts with talking about the stages of development of a child, how a child's brain develops and how children are different from adults. It goes through the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the fundamental document that governs protection for children. It talks about the obligations of government agencies, the obligations of the judiciary. It talks about best practices in other countries. Our participants will have a chance to talk about what they've seen, what they're experiencing. We'll have a chance to talk with psychologists, and with lawyers and with our practitioners from around the world. So it's an opportunity for them to be honest and open and learn about best practices elsewhere in the world and learn about really what their obligations are under UN treaties.
DG: Children and women, they're the most vulnerable of the groups of people and made even more so in times of crisis, in times of natural disaster. Fiji itself goes through natural disasters, crises or various sorts at various stages. It has done a lot recently. And this of course makes them more vulnerable than ever to assault, to crimes against them, perpetrated against them. How is this going to help?
SY: Well absolutely. I think it's important to know that the number of children in contact with the law has gone up and that's for a number of reasons. People are more familiar with the issues of child abuse, why it's such a problem for children, and the services available and that's why it's so important for judges and others in the judicial system to understand what their obligations are. And this does give them the training, give them the skills necessary to work with children.
DG: So when a child is talking to the judiciary, to a judge for example, to get the best in the least traumatic way out of a child, is this part of what this is going to do?
SY: Absolutely. This is very simple things and very simple principles that need to be kept in mind. For example, a child victim of abuse should not be confronted directly with the alleged perpetrator. A child shouldn't be asked to repeat over-and-over the story that he or she went through because that itself can be traumatising. There are ways or recording testimony. There are ways of separating children from the perpetrator. All these things are issues that are being discussed during the training.
DG: How have the judges and magistrates reacted so far? Have there been any surprises amongst them, have they been just totally open to the training?
SY: Extremely open to the training. You know, everybody wants to do the right thing but with all the demands on their time, it's sometimes difficult for them to learn about what best practices are elsewhere, to learn about how a child develops, to learn about some of the simple things they can do. They've been extremely open, extremely interested and extremely engaged. We're very pleased.
DG: You talked before about the UN Rights of the Child. What breaches have there been in the past in Fiji of the Rights of the Child through the judiciary?
SY: Well I don't want to single out Fiji. Around the world we see breaches of it. Often people, children are not interviewed in an appropriate manner, they're asked to repeat their stories over-and-over again. Sometimes their names have been improperly released. These things happen in Fiji but they happen around the world.
DG: And of course Fiji, by going through this process, is trying to mitigate the incidences of this happening and trying to further a better process for children…
SY: Absolutely. We are seeing very very strong commitment from the judiciary to ensure that all the best measures are put in place to ensure that the laws in Fiji are fully enacted and fully enforced, consistent with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. So there's certainly the will and there's certainly a willingness to move forward and improve the situation. We're very impressed by that.
DG: What would you like to see done across the rest of the Pacific? Is this an example that can be rolled out?
SY: Ahh it is, it is. I think we need to make sure that judges devote the time to it, that resources are put in place, that judges and everyone who has contact with a child really understands the unique vulnerabilities that a child faces in the court system. We know it's extremely traumatic for an adult. Put yourself in a child's shoes and you can see how bad the situation can be. Everybody needs to understand what they can do to make sure that a child does not get victimised twice, and there are simple measures and we're glad to see that they're being put in place in Fiji.
