{"title":"Therapeutic and non-therapeutic practices in the child justice system in Kenya: A therapeutic jurisprudence perspective","authors":"Florence Mueni Muema , Anna Kawałek","doi":"10.1016/j.ijlp.2024.101993","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Child justice systems are specialized jurisdictions set up for the purpose of providing justice related services to children. In an effort to resolve many of the systemic injustices expereinced by justice involved children, Kenya recently legislated the Children Act 2022. This new law is viewed as a paradigm shift from previous children acts as it incorporates constitutional provisions, UN conventions, minimum rules and other international protocols that Kenya is a state party to. The Act seeks to transform the child justice system into a jurisdiction which is more amenable to prioritising the mental wellbeing of children. The current study sought to examine the practices applied by state child justice agencies and whether these were therapeutic or non- therapeutic. This would clarify areas where the Act may need to be amended or reviewed to further its own goals. The findings revealed that the most non-therapeutic procedures centred on the courtroom such as the formal court environment and children facing perpetrators in court as well as limited access to mental health services. Therapeutic practices included ensuring children access treatment, use of child friendly interviewing techniques and testifying in camera. These may guide justice actors as to how they apply the Children Act 2022 within their own contexts whilst developing rules and standards that embody the principles of therapeutic jurisprudence.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":47930,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Law and Psychiatry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Law and Psychiatry","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160252724000426","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"LAW","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Child justice systems are specialized jurisdictions set up for the purpose of providing justice related services to children. In an effort to resolve many of the systemic injustices expereinced by justice involved children, Kenya recently legislated the Children Act 2022. This new law is viewed as a paradigm shift from previous children acts as it incorporates constitutional provisions, UN conventions, minimum rules and other international protocols that Kenya is a state party to. The Act seeks to transform the child justice system into a jurisdiction which is more amenable to prioritising the mental wellbeing of children. The current study sought to examine the practices applied by state child justice agencies and whether these were therapeutic or non- therapeutic. This would clarify areas where the Act may need to be amended or reviewed to further its own goals. The findings revealed that the most non-therapeutic procedures centred on the courtroom such as the formal court environment and children facing perpetrators in court as well as limited access to mental health services. Therapeutic practices included ensuring children access treatment, use of child friendly interviewing techniques and testifying in camera. These may guide justice actors as to how they apply the Children Act 2022 within their own contexts whilst developing rules and standards that embody the principles of therapeutic jurisprudence.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of Law and Psychiatry is intended to provide a multi-disciplinary forum for the exchange of ideas and information among professionals concerned with the interface of law and psychiatry. There is a growing awareness of the need for exploring the fundamental goals of both the legal and psychiatric systems and the social implications of their interaction. The journal seeks to enhance understanding and cooperation in the field through the varied approaches represented, not only by law and psychiatry, but also by the social sciences and related disciplines.