This Life Without Bars

            I was 15 when I was arrested. I had no job and I hadn’t been to school since Grade 2. I was on drugs and drinking alcohol all the time. I was under pressure from my friends to get money, and I got caught stealing. My sentence was 2 years. Being in prison was hard. It made me physically and mentally sick. It has affected me financially and it has ruined my relationship with my family. Cambodian male, aged 17.

 

Introduction

Prior to 2016, Cambodia did not have a juvenile justice system. The 2016 Juvenile Justice Law and the 2018 Juvenile Justice Law Strategic and Operational Plan (JJLSOP), were designed to keep children out of prison, but they are not yet fully operational. 

As a result children between the ages of 14 and 18 continue to be tried in the adult system and detained in adult prisons. The majority of these children are arrested for drug-related offences.  This Life Without Bars is a new program designed to operationalise the 2016 Juvenile Justice Law and the 2018 JILSOP to keep children out of prisons.

What is the aim of the program?

To ensure children in conflict with the law are able to access alternative measures to custodial sentences, also known as diversionary measures, where appropriate. 

Program implementation will progress in three phases.

Phase 1: Research. Status: Completed

Phase 2: Development and endorsement of the framework. Status: In progress

Phase 3. Implement a pilot program in Siem Reap. Status: Not yet commenced

Why Siem Reap province?

Siem Reap prison has the highest proportion of children in Cambodia. Around 13% of the prison population are under the age of 18, and this indicates a great need for diversionary measures in the province. Siem Reap is also one of Cambodia’s poorest provinces experiencing increased levels of drug use and petty crime in the juvenile population.

What activities do we run?

This is a new program and we are now:

What are the program outcomes?

 

* The image on this page appears with the kind permission of LICADHO.

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