Mobile Justice for Children initiative launched in Mozambique

Mobile state courts have been launched in northern Mozambique with the support of World Vision, to help improve access to justice for underprivileged girls and boys and other vulnerable groups. This follows engagement between World Vision and Mozambique's Supreme Court on challenges faced by local communities due to distance, costs and other factors.

The mobile courts will function at community level and abide by child-friendly principles. The initiative is funded by the Government of Canada through the “Every Girl Can” project, to be implemented in three districts of Nampula Province in the next five years.

For local child parliaments, this is the way to go to ensure children in rural communities will have justice served whenever a crime is committed against them. “We hope that these trials serve to educate our parents, uncles, aunts and all community members to fight and ensure our protection from acts of violence; thus securing our physical, mental, moral, spiritual and social development", says a child parliament representative, Neria. 

“Violence against children remains, unfortunately and tragically, a dark reality among us”, says “Every Girl Can” Project Manager, José Macaringue. “We refer to violence in its most perverse expressions: verbal violence, emotional violence, physical violence and sexual violence. The mobile courts will help restore the dignity of children and minors, especially girls and young women who are victims of sexual and other gender-based violence.”

The mobile courts come into operation on the eve of the start of the 16 Days of Activism on Violence Against Women and Girls under the theme 'Orange the World: Stop Violence Against Women and Girls'.