This guide has two main objectives. Firstly, to provide information about the specific medical, psychiatric and social needs of children falling under this category. Secondly, to recommend ways of improving the involvement of this population in justice, through easier access to it, better communication and an understanding of its specificities in a context of meaningful rather than superficial “inclusion”.

The present document incorporates the Training Needs Assessment (TNA) performed in Greece and Cyprus between March and July 2022, in accordance with established good practice in judicial training methodology. The present, consolidated version of the report combines the two national reports drafted by CECL in Greece and CFPA in Cyprus, which, in turn, encompass the findings of desk and primary research performed in the two countries. 

The research was primarily conducted by CECL and SSP. P. Sakellaropoulos, in Greece, and by CFPA in Cyprus. The Greek and Cypriot Judicial Schools offered valuable support in identifying participants for the primary research activities (interviews, focus groups, online survey), and hosted the focus group discussions either at their premises or online. The desk research focused on the applicable legal and policy framework relevant to child-friendly justice, as well as on judicial practice in relation to the application of safeguards and protective measures for children involved in judicial proceedings in Greece and Cyprus. Primary research aimed at gathering direct insights from the target groups in relation to their level of familiarity with child-friendly justice principles and procedures, and to their perceived training needs on the topic at hand. To this end, we conducted a total of twenty-one (21) in-depth interviews with individual judges and prosecutors, organised three (3) focus group discussions with a total of twenty-two (22) participants, and disseminated an online survey which gathered one hundred and sixty (160) responses from acting and trainee judges and prosecutors. Gender mainstreaming was a primary consideration in the identification of participants. Fourteen (14) women and seven (7) men participated in the interviews, and fifteen (15) women and seven (7) men participated in the focus groups. We did not include a question on the gender of participants in the online survey. Judicial trainers participated in all primary research activities, allowing us to gather input on their training needs as trainers, and providing us with qualitative data on the current initial and continuous training activities organised in the two target countries. The number of participants in the primary research activities significantly exceeded the targets set in the project proposal, allowing us to gather input from a representative sample of justice professionals on the needs related to training on child-friendly justice in Greece and Cyprus. 

In designing our research, we opted to rely on a mix of research methods, each designed to gather different perspectives and information on the type, frequency and focus of judicial training on child-friendly justice, as well as other topics relevant to our planned training curriculum (diversity and inclusion, personal data protection). The research participants’ in-depth knowledge of the issues and great interest on the topic at hand, allowed us to go beyond the strict scope of a TNA and offer an analysis of the broader institutional, legislative and practical barriers to child-friendly justice in Greece and Cyprus, highlighting specific challenges and areas in need of further support.