Child Poverty in Mozambique. A Situation and Trend ... - Unicef

• Children with disabilities;
• Child victims of violence;
• Children who are the victims of sexual exploitation;
• Child who are victims of trafficking;
• Children married before the legal age;
• Child refugees or children who have been internally displaced.
This chapter has two sections. The first section addresses the protection of children
from violence, abuse and exploitation, providing an analysis of the situation regarding:
(i) children in conflict with the law, (ii) violence and sexual exploitation, (iii) trafficking,
(iv) child marriage, (v) working children and reviewing the legal framework for
protection. The nature of violations of children’s rights such as child labour, trafficking
or sexual abuse means that quantitative data are not easily available. Qualitative
studies and in depth analysis of the situation in specific provinces are used here to
provide insights into the present situation.
The second section addresses the issue of social protection for the most vulnerable
children, paying particular attention to the impact of HIV/AIDS on vulnerability levels of
communities, families and children. This section provides an overview of the situation
of orphaned and vulnerable children and their access to basic social services, with
particular attention being paid to the situation of child-headed households, to disabled
children and to children in emergencies. The section reviews the policy framework
for social protection, the capacity of governmental institutions to implement social
protection schemes and the extent to which these are effective tools to reach
vulnerable children.
2. Protection of children from violence, abuse and exploitation
A. Children in conflict with the law
In Mozambique, little reliable and systematic information exists on the situation of
children in conflict with the law, but all of the available evidence suggests that the
current system does not afford such children protection in line with the minimum
standards enshrined in international instruments including the CRC (Articles 37 and
40), the Beijing Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (1985) and the Riyadh
Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (1988).
In 2003, Save the Children Norway conducted a study on the situation of children in
conflict with the law in Mozambique (SCN 2003). The study was carried out in the
provinces of Nampula, Sofala and Maputo, through interviews with stakeholders
including children in conflict with the law and their families, other prison inmates and
police and justice officials.
The findings showed that at least 25 per cent of all prison inmates interviewed were
under the age of 18. Children represented the second largest group of inmates in
the prison system and at particular times of the year, the largest group. Comparisons
of numbers with those from preceding years indicated that the number of prison
inmates, including children, was increasing at a faster rate than the national rate of
population growth (of about 2 to 3 per cent per year).
The study showed that the average age among the children interviewed was 16 or 17.
Although Article 42 of the Penal Code states that children under the age of 16 are not
criminally liable, of those under the age of 21 interviewed for the study, 18 per cent
were found to be under the age of 16, including children as young as 12. The study
also showed that the principles of due process had not been followed in many cases
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