Peru: Terre des hommes extends juvenile justice to Trujillo
23 Aug 2011 Juvenile justicePeru
A Terre des hommes pilot project for restorative juvenile justice has already been very successful in two regions, the districts of El Agustino in Lima and Leonardo Ortiz in Chiclayo. The Terre des hommes juvenile justice measures will now be installed in Trujillo, probably in the quarter of La Esperanza, a worrying area for governmental and civil institutions.
This announcement was made during a round-table organised by the Prosecution of the town of Trujillo, where the delegate of Terre des hommes in Peru, Véronique Henry, took part, together with the Public Prosecutor, Rita Figueroa Vásquez (Coordinator of the programme for restorative juvenile justice of the Public Prosecutor’s Office), and Raúl Márquez from the NGO Encuentros. There was also a large delegation from the police force at this meeting.
One of the vital characteristics of the system of restorative juvenile justice is taking into account the situation of the victim, to protect him and to make good the damage. This project has been running in Peru since 2005, and carried out by Tdh and its partners, the NGO Encuentros.
According to Véronique Henry, the growth of juvenile delinquency is due to two main factors: the absence of or lack of support from the family, and the lack or weakness of the public social policies adopted to prevent and deal with the phenomenon of violence. “Adolescents and youngsters who do not fit in with the established system are also rejected by public institutions, including schools. They are given no alternative but to go on the street, as a way out of the system. Certain media also contribute to generalising the image of youth as a generator of problems, instead of promoting its potential. In order to compensate for this problem, we set up this type of project, which has proved its efficiency in other countries. We have to help the youngsters to leave for good the vicious circle of violence and second offences”, explains the Tdh’s delegate.
“In the districts of El Agustino in Lima and Leonardo Ortiz, from now on the system of “de-judicialisation” will be applied, with compensation to the victim or society as a whole via a process of mediation (straightforward, widespread, direct or indirect, at different times: before, during or after the trial). Society is implicated in this process and also helps towards social stability, which is the final object of justice", says Véronique Henry.
The system of restorative justice should not be limited to a purely legal approach, but should be interdisciplinary and inter-sectorial. Domains like philosophy, psychoanalysis and anthropology have many responses to the issue of justice for minors. “The project brings together numerous professionals specialised in and willing to help adolescents. It is quite different to deal with an adolescent or an adult”, adds Tdh’s delegate.
The concept of restorative justice considers a youth as a person with developing rights, in the learning process and always being influenced by positive and negative experiences. This type of justice is not limited to judging the offence committed, but analyses everything surrounding the adolescent, what leads him to commit such an act and in which context and circumstances he did it. The young person requires training to promote his integration and education rather than punishment. Any measures for deprivation of liberty should be enforced only as a last resort and for the shortest duration possible.
Rita Figueroa, Chief Prosecutor, indicated that the public prosecution has adopted this pilot project and has already started its implementation progressively throughout the country, initially in the quarter of La Esperanza in Trujillo. “In managing to reintegrate these delinquent adolescents, we can avoid that they, once adult, turn into criminals committing attacks and kidnapping”, she explains.
According to Rita Figueroa, restorative justice brings a new approach to the administration of the legal system when it deals with a programme of orientation and treatment, permitting the insertion of the adolescents into the educational and job process, the putting right of damage caused, and the prevention of repeated offences. For example, in the El Agustino quarter, only 7.5% of the young people relapsed, from those dealt with through the programme of restorative justice, and in the Leonardo Ortiz district in Chiclayo, the rate of second offences committed is zero, which demonstrated to the public prosecution the success in citizens’ safety and in prevention.
Ms Figueroa also stated that the programme could not succeed without the participation of the investing institutions. There are numerous supporters amongst the banks, public enterprises, churches, NGOs, local authorities and others, who offer real opportunities to these youngsters to become reintegrated, by offering them work or job training. “Here in Trujillo, where we observe a daily escalation in violence and juvenile delinquency, it is necessary to use new tools to prevent crime at its source”, she concluded.
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