Legal Literacy in Accessing Justice for Child Sexual Abuse
Abstract
The sustainable development goals (SDG) set peace, justice, and strong institutions with targeted access to justice for all by 2030. Goal 16 of the SDG sets the number of reports made by victims of violence to the authorities to benchmark access to justice. The study argues that there is a correlation between legal literacy and reporting of crimes. Legal literacy means awareness of a society of the legal rights and obligations and their ability to use the legal avenue to get redress. The methodology of this study is by using content and doctrinal approach. Interviews are conducted with the legal aid and human rights representatives on the society and law enforcement awareness and understanding of the legal process in CSA cases. The study shows adequate law addressing access to justice in CSA cases. The Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 and the Legal Aid (Amendment) Act 2017 enhanced the legal process to seek justice. However, inadequate legal literacy among the authority handling CSA is among the hindrance to justice. The absence of support from family members in lodging a police report is another issue found in the study. They were less likely to have the perceptual powers of the mind to report crimes. This study contributes to the literature on prioritising and improving access to justice in CSA.
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References
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