AfricaPress-Tanzania: ACTS of violence and sexual abuse of children are things that should be strongly condemned in society as they contribute significantly to moral attrition.
This was said by Judge in Charge of the High Court of Tanzania, Dodoma Zone, Mr Mustapher Siyani, when opening a training session for Judiciary stakeholders on how best to operate and improve the criminal justice system for children about sexual abuse.
A statement issued by Judiciary’s Directorate of Information and Communications also quoted Judge Siyani pointing out that acts of violence and sexual abuse for children could increase due to many people believing in superstition.
“It is our hope and wish that after this training, all stakeholders and court officials will have understood the rules and regulations on how best to deal with children’s cases based on the best interests of the child and protect their rights,” the judge said.
The training held in Dodoma recently involved judicial officers, social welfare officers, prosecutors and the Tanganyika Bar Association.
According to Judge Siyani, the criminal justice system for children in the country was growing rapidly, thus, he believed participants would gain enough knowledge and experience to enable them handle children’s cases effectively.
“The complexity of various procedures of conducting children’s cases is due to traditions and customs and the stakeholders not going through various terms of reference and the decisions of the higher Court when providing guidelines on the proper conduct of such cases,” he remarked.
The judge in charge urged the participants to focus on the key issues in the conduct of children’s cases, including customs and traditions, as well as religious principles as they are some of the cross-cutting issues in the administration of justice.
He reminded the participants of their responsibility to adhere to the rule of law in resolving the challenges posed by abuses that undermine the welfare of the child, including educating children so that they could report to authorities any acts of sexual harassment as directed by the Child Act.
Earlier, in her introductory remarks, the Acting Deputy Principal of Lushoto Institute of Judicial Administration (IJA) and Chief Training Coordinator, Ms. Mwanabaraka Mnyukwa, said the session was a continuation of training on conducting children’s cases for stakeholders in the legal sector in the country.
The training was coordinated by the institute in collaboration with the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS).
It was initially coordinated in collaboration between the Judiciary of Tanzania and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Tanzania has entered into various international and regional agreements on the rights and development of the child, including being part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights convection which has significantly improved the implementation of various issues surrounding children.
