The new Child Justice Bill has been filed in Parliament. Sunday Times (29/06/08, p. 6) should be commended for publishing four articles in relation to this development. The feature explains the three classifications (called schedules) of child crime and how justice is going to be administered when the bill becomes law in 2010. The four inter-related articles were “Let the punishment fit the child” by Monica Laganparsad, “New justice for the child” by Monica Laganparsad, “All I knew was I had done something very bad” by Buyekezwa Makwebe and “Justice can mean second chance” by Bongani Mthethwa (Sunday Times, 29/06/08, p. 6)1. The articles which make up a full-page spread, are to be commended for educating readers about the implications of the Child Justice Bill, in a way that is comprehensive, understandable, and informed by the views and experiences of children who will be affected by it.
“Let the punishment fit the child” is worth being glad of because it explains the new bill in a way that it can be understandable to the readers. It breaks down the legal language into a more user friendly language.
The second article, “New Justice for child criminals”, further explained concepts of child justice in greater detail, so that the reader can have a good understanding of the new system. Raising awareness of legislation relating to child offenders with such clarity is very important because it promotes a general understanding of children’s rights in our society.
The third article, “All I knew was I had done something very bad”, provides an example of how a diversion system works. Sunday Times interviewed a young lady, “Nombuso” (not her real name) who three years ago had been found guilty of killing her younger sister.
Children have a right to express themselves. In this case it was done in a very meaningful way. By accessing the child directly, we get to understand the personal experience of a child who has been through the process. The media or the guardian don’t speak on her behalf. Measures have also been taken to protect the identity of the child.
The last article, “Justice can mean second chance”, is a positive story of forgiveness and rehabilitation of a young offender who killed his friend unintentionally during a fight. Unlike Nombuso’s story there is a missed opportunity in that the child involved was not anonymously asked to comment.
Despite the missed opportunity, this story, together with Nombuso’s story, provides evidence of the justice system’s capacity to help young offenders to turn their lives around and make a difference in their communities.
As one reads the four articles it is clear that the new bill in essence supports Article 40 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which states:
“States Parties recognize the right of every child alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law to be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child’s sense of dignity and worth, which reinforces the child’s respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of others and which takes into account the child’s age and the desirability of promoting the child’s reintegration and the child’s assuming a constructive role in society.”
Together these four articles clearly demonstrate the impact that the Child Justice Bill can have on children, in relation to their rights and welfare.
1. Alternatively, a PDF version of the 4 articles can be found here