4.8 Special procedures for child victims in the criminal justice system

Safeguards such as trained and same-sex officers, recorded testimony, the presence of guardians during interviews, and privacy protections reduce trauma and make it safer for children to seek justice.

Nearly half of countries received a score of 0 for child-friendly justice procedures, while 15 received 100 out of 100 and nearly a third received 50 out of 100.

Indicator	What it measures	Why it matters	Score range
4.8 Special procedures for child victims in the criminal justice system	Whether child-friendly procedures are legally provided (e.g., recorded interviews, testimony protections)	Without protections, the justice process itself can re-traumatize the child	0–2

How to interpret your country's score

4.8 Special procedures for child victims in the criminal justice system (0–2)

0	No special procedures exist for child and adolescent victims in the criminal justice system.
+1	Some child-friendly provisions exist (for example, trained officers, preferred-gender interviewer, guardian present).
+1	In addition, testimony can be video-recorded and used in court and/or the child can testify with protections (e.g., video link, shielding).

From indicators to budget lines

Use this as a guide to strengthen your advocacy requests and create targeted ‘asks’ to decision-makers within the right Ministry (for example: Foreign Affairs, Social Welfare, or Finance)

Indicator	What it tracks	Budget-line-to target	Template language
4.8 Special procedures for child victims	Whether legislation provides child-friendly interviewing and testimony protections	Ministry of Justice / Interior: child-friendly interview suites, video recording equipment, trained interviewers, courtroom video-link technology	“Allocate [amount] to establish child-friendly interview facilities in [number] locations, equip courts with video testimony technology, and train [number] specialized interviewers in child-friendly techniques.”

How to put a number on your ask

Indicator	Examples of components to estimate
4.8 Child-friendly procedures	Child-friendly interview suites (Barnahus model); video testimony equipment for courts; trained forensic interviewers; the presence of a support person; courtroom adaptations

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Third Richest Nation

www.bravemovement.org/campaigns/third-richest-nation

A world without childhood violence would be $7 trillion richer. This nation isn’t real. Its wealth could be. Brave Movement's survivor-led advocacy campaign at the G20 in 2025 pressured decision makers to invest in prevention, healing and justice to create stronger, happier nations.

#BeBrave G7 Scorecard 2025

www.bravemovement.org/g7

By evaluating each G7 nation’s progress on vital policy measures we're drawing global attention to the global, silent pandemic of sexual violence against children. This is a crisis that undermines the G7's commitment to building secure, prosperous, and equitable societies. Kids need bold leadership and decisive action now to be safe and thrive.

Break the record

www.togetherforgirls.org/en/press/a-record-breaking-event-now-governments-must-deliver

We broke the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ for the most countries represented at a childhood violence summit! With 120 governments attending, this first ever Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children was the largest organized event to address this issue on a global scale. Most importantly, as a result, we also broke the world’s record of inaction against childhood sexual violence.