Child Victim Response Database

Millions of children are impacted by armed conflict worldwide. While international responses to armed conflict recognize the need for decisive action to end crimes against and affecting children, a justice gap persists when it comes to child victims. This reflects a gap in capacity when it comes to child-sensitive investigations. Lack of specialized knowledge and training in child interviewing is commonly cited as a problem hindering the effectiveness of investigations. Children continue to be underappreciated as sources of evidence in favour of other primary and secondary sources, such as parents and older siblings, and while there are often valid trauma-informed reasons for this practice, it may also reflect a lack of understanding or confidence in how to obtain best evidence from children. These problems are compounded when it comes to child victims of conflict-related sexual violence.

Not only a database

The Child Victim Response Database has arisen in response to these challenges. The database represents the culmination of months of research by Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), with the support of Oak Foundation, to identify and analyse existing resources on child-centred investigations. It serves as a tool for making best practice in child-centred investigations more accessible.

What is this database

The database enables lawyers, investigators, and other practitioners to easily identify relevant resources to assist them in integrating a child sensitive, child competent and child rights approach in justice and accountability. The database consolidates LAW’s review of national, regional, and international guidance on documenting and investigating crimes against children. It shows which tools disaggregate information on age and gender, whether they address topics like LGBTIQ+ status, and whether there is specific guidance on child victims of sexual violence.

Why a database

The world has never been darker for children and young people, with more children than ever before living in conflict, and the number of recorded violations and crimes against children at an all-time high. One of the few sources of light is the emergence of a community of practice whose commitment to addressing and ending the war against children has never been stronger. The Child Victim Response Database has been created to aid them in their efforts.