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Zimbabwe Is Reviewing The Age Of Criminal Responsibility

2 years agoTue, 27 Jul 2021 19:05:59 GMT
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Zimbabwe Is Reviewing The Age Of Criminal Responsibility

Zimbabwe is reviewing upwards the age of criminal responsibility for a child from 7 to 12 years.

Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Senator Monica Mutsvangwa made the announcement this Tuesday at a Post-Cabinet Media Briefing.

The review is being done in line with the Child Justice Bill, 2020 which was presented by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Honourable Ziyambi Ziyambi. Mutsvangwa said;

The nation is informed that the Bill will establish a Child Justice System for children in conflict with the law, in accordance with the values and principles underpinning the Constitution and the international obligations of Zimbabwe.

Furthermore, the Bill will provide for legal representation for children; and the sentencing options available for children. The age of criminal responsibility of a child is being reviewed upwards from 7 to 12 years. The Bill also provides for the establishment of child justice committees at national, provincial and district levels.

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The Bill seeks to entrench the principles of rehabilitation and restorative justice as an integral part of the child justice system, and to establish procedures for the screening of children to create special rules for a Child Justice Court.

Cabinet also considered and approved the Children’s Amendment Bill 2021 which will be amended to align with the 2013 Constitution and incorporate provisions of International Conventions and treaties that Zimbabwe has ratified. Mutsvangwa said:

The Bill widens and criminalises instances of child abuse to include allowing a child to reside in or to frequent a brothel; causing the seduction, abduction or commercial sexual exploitation of a child; and causing a child to participate in the propagation of child sexual abuse material. The denial of medical treatment or access to medical treatment to a child without reasonable cause will also be criminalised.

The Bill places an obligation on any professional person who becomes aware or suspects, on reasonable grounds, that a child is being abused, to report that person to a Police Officer or a Child Protection Officer.

Furthermore, the Bill will criminalise parents or guardians who enable the commission of an offence by a child or fail to take reasonable steps to ensure that the child does not commit an offence.

More: ZBC News

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