Violence Against Children in Contact with the Law in Afghanistan Research on the phenomenon of violence against children in contact with the law in Nangarhar, in both formal and informal systems

This paper illustrates the impacts of violence against children in contact with the law in Nangarhar province, in Afghanistan. It contains the results of a research based on a mixed-methods approach, incorporating a desk review, quantitative analysis of existing Terre des Hommes data and qualitative interviews (individual interviews and focus groups discussions) with a range of relevant actors. These include formal and informal justice actors, parents of affected children, and children in contact with the formal and informal justice systems. The findings of the research are very much in line with available evidence and suggest that children in contact with both the formal and informal justice systems experience various types of violence perpetrated by various actors. Furthermore, boys and girls are impacted in different ways within and between each type of justice system. Although actors from the formal and informal justice systems generally recognize international and legal definitions of children as being any person aged under 18 years of age, the majority of actors also recognized that definitions of childhood differed in Afghanistan with children, particularly girls, becoming adults at a much younger age. Neither formal nor informal justice system actors suggested that these interpretations might be harmful to the rights of children. According to findings, this paper concludes with several recommendations: the potential negative impacts of maintaining parallel definitions of childhood; the impacts of psychological and verbal abuse on children; knowledge of children’s rights and violence prevention among local and district police; the potential role of Informal Justice System actors and local community members in facilitating the successful reintegration of children into their communities.