POINT 9 - THE DIFFICULTIES OF ADOLESCENCE

In 2001, Telefono Azzuro handled 2,740 (47% of the total) cases of adolescent problems. 20% of them were in difficult situations: difficulty in relating to one's contemporaries, problems at school, running away from home, abortions, problems linked to drug abuse and intended suicides. Going by age, it was twelve, thirteen and fourteen year olds who mainly asked for help: fourteen year olds in particular, make up the most representative age group among adolescents (24%).
Typical forms of adolescent difficulties are generated by bullying, dangerous behaviour, drug abuse, violent behaviour, running away from home, suicides and attempted suicides. Bullying covers an age group from 7-8 year olds to 14-16 year olds. In Italy, approx. 40% of primary school children and 28% of middle school children claim to have been bullied "occasionally or often"; 20% and 15% respectively claim to have bullied their other classmates with the same regularity. Certain dangerous behaviour allows us to draw an outline of adolescent behaviour "in search of excitement": some of these being unprotected sexual relationships, dangerous driving and gambling. In particular, dangerous driving (of cars or motorbikes) is an extremely exiting novelty, transgressive and "grown up", despite putting one's own life and that of others at risk.
From this point of view, road accidents represent the main cause of death among youngsters around the world. The data also shows that a growing number of youngsters between 14 and 18 are showing new forms of violence within the family and school, commonly recognised as acts of vandalism, violence at the stadium, racial aggression, throwing stones from flyovers, "baby-gangs", sexual violence, overwhelming harm to contemporaries. Experimenting with alcohol or drugs is fairly common in adolescence. What is surprising is how young they are when they get their first taste. The prevention of suicidal behaviour is a priority all over the world, suicide being one of the five main causes of death among youngsters between the ages of 15 and 19 and being a phenomenon on the increase between the ages of 12 and 14. In Italy, the juvenile suicide phenomenon is fairly contained compared to the rest of Europe. Suicides among young Italians are more numerous among males while females tend more to attempt suicide.

POINT 10 - MUST THE LAW REALLY BE EQUAL FOR EVERYONE?

Italian legislation makes no specific provision for minors who commit sexual crimes; there is, however, law 66/1996 "Legislation against sexual violence" which introduces some considerable novelties in the field of criminal and procedural law. The legislation is particularly sensitive towards victims and more severe with offenders: the need to protect victims is reinforced by their inexperience, incapacity to express a free and conscious consensus and the damaging effects which an early sexual experience can have (not necessarily violent) on their developmental process. As confirmation of this, the legislator has foreseen that sentences will become more severe where the victim is under 10 or when the criminal is a relative, parents even if adoptive or guardian (former art. 609 ter C.p.).
14 year olds are borderline cases when talking of sexual freedom of minors. From 14 to 18, a minor is free to express their own sexuality, although this is protected from a negative point of view, that is, the right to assume that others will not invade their body and hence their psyche with undesired sexual acts. Since there is no specific legislation for the minor who commits a sexual crime, law 66/1996 is applied. He can then be criminally tried for the following crimes: Sexual violence, sexual acts with minors, corruption of minors, group sexual violence, incest. The 14 year old minor, even though they have committed a sexual crime, cannot, by law be prosecuted: as an alternative to criminal sanctions, custodial liberty and judicial reformatory are applicable, which are the safety measures foreseen under the Criminal Code (art. 224 C.p.). The aim is to reform the criminal and render him no longer a social danger, in order to prevent him falling back into a life of crime. Since 1998, following the reform of the juvenile criminal system, there are no longer judicial reformatories but open communities, nor is there custodial liberty but a form of limitation (art. 20 Dpr 448/1988) and confinement to the home (art. 21 Dpr 448/1988). The enforcement of these safety measures is entrusted to personnel working with minors.
In applying the principles of the Peking Regulations, Dpr 448/1998 guarantees the minor committing crimes, even sexual ones, a three-prong assistance so that he can understand the significance of the trial and the intervention of the judge and overcome any anxiety linked to this particular situation. It is emotional help which is offered, guaranteed by the presence of the parents or another suitable person identified by the minor and acceptable to the prosecution (art. 12 Dpr 448/1988); the social-psychological side, guaranteed by constant aid from social workers who "accompany" the offender during the entire trial (arts. 6 and 12); finally the technical side, guaranteed by the defence who has been appointed on their behalf and who must be selected from a special list of lawyers with specific professional preparation (art.11).

POINT 11 - YOUNG SEX OFFENDERS: YOUNG OFFENDERS FOR SERIOUS CRIMES

Approx. one third of sexual violence against minors is committed by youngsters, some of them under the age of 18. Telefono Azzuro is part of the international "Young Sex Offenders" project, which aims mainly to bring together knowledge on the phenomenon with a view to creating effective prevention and treatment strategies. Telefono Azzuro views deviant sexual behaviour in minors through the model of psychopathological development. These represent a form of external disadvantage, to be analysed using a multi-purpose approach which bears in mind the intrinsic and extrinsic conditions of the abusing minor. It is impossible to draw exact estimates on the extent of the young sex offenders phenomenon either at national or international level. An epidemiological test carried out between 1979 and 1984 shows that approx. 1,400 adolescents between 16 and 19 had been found guilty of one or more sexual crimes. In particular, in Italy the trend of this phenomenon appears constant: in 1998, 595 minors were reported, in 1999, 583 while in 2000 the number of reports filed fell slightly to 561, when the crime of sexual violence was 87.2% of the overall number of reports filed against minors. However, the data cannot be read as a simple increase in crime since it is based exclusively on reports filed: in other words, it is possible that other criminal circumstance may exist without word of them reaching the prosecutor's office at the Juvenile Court. Many young sex offenders are older than their victims, and so do not need to use physical violence to impose themselves. Violence and threats are usually used on older victims or those of the same age, while abuse of power, deceit, corruption or bribery are used on younger victims or small children. Children who are molested by these youngsters are generally incapable of fully understanding the nature of the relationship which binds them to their abuser. So the young victims are either frightened or feel unable to stand up to the molesting; the abusers, on the other hand, can read these reactions as a form of consensus and therefore continue with the abuse. The youngster's behaviour should be observed in a context of vaster life experiences and one must be aware that adolescents often form their own ideas about sex and sexuality drawing on adults and the world around them.

POINT 12 - YOKOHAMA: THE STARTING OR DEPARTURE POINT?

Every year, approx. one million minors, mainly between the ages of 13 and 18, are introduced to the sex trade. The problem is common in countries both in the north and south of the world: 100,000 in the Philippines, 400,000 in India, 100,000 in Taiwan, 200,000 in Thailand, between 244,000 and 325,000 in the United States, 100,000 in Brazil, 35,000 in western Africa, 175,000 in eastern and central Europe. The observers report a worrying drop in the age of these sexually exploited minors who are mostly little girls. The criminal activity against them is mainly carried out by men though women are also involved. Two important developing general principles of the phenomenon are represented by sexual tourism and the use of Internet which is used both for transmitting child pornography material and for luring minors. In Italy, over the last ten years, this phenomenon has become a social emergency. It is estimated that approx. 30,000 people have been "trafficked" in Italy for sexual purposes, 38% of whom are minors. The victims are mainly from Eastern Europe and are Albanian, Romanian, Moldavian, Russian Ukrainians or from the former Yugoslavian countries. The trafficking involves mainly girls between 14 and 17 but it is not uncommon to find children of 11 or 12. As far as boys are concerned, the data available is extremely limited. It seems that child prostitution is mainly found in cities in the north where they are sexually exploited in prostitution hidden away in night clubs or private apartments. Italy is both a country of destination and transit for trafficking in young female children. Many of the victims are forced into prostitution. In Italy, there are approx. 9 million clients and the sex market is profitable particularly in the central and northern regions. Prostitution in night clubs is increasing considerably. The victims, normally locked in apartments, bed and breakfasts or nomadic camps are forced to work 12-15 hours a day. With law 269/98 covering "Legislation against the sexual exploitation of prostitution, pornography, sexual tourism harming minors and new forms of slavery" our legislation aims specifically to protect children from any form of exploitation and sexual violence and preserve their physical, psychological and moral development. In order to achieve these aims, new forms of crime have been introduced to the Penal Code (child prostitution, child pornography, possession of pornographic material, organisation of tourism to exploit child prostitution, trading in minors) and the Criminal Procedure Code has adopted certain regulations for the trial relating to new kinds of crime; judicial police have been given new powers and particular organisational measures have been adopted by the Juvenile Court to provide help, including psychological aid and reintegration of the minor.

POINT 13 - PROTOCOLS FOR INTERVENING IN CASES OF ABUSE AND MISTREATMENT

The phenomenon of mistreatment, abuse and violence towards children has come to the forefront over the last few years. The term "abuse" is like any other form of behaviour, either voluntary or involuntary, by adults who seriously harm the psychophysical and/or psychosexual development of a child. Abuse is everything which impedes the harmonious growth of the minor with no respect for his needs and without protecting him physically and psychologically. We are dealing, therefore not only with commissive behaviour, which includes physical, sexual and psychological mistreatment, but also ommissive behaviour, linked to the parents serious or otherwise inability to provide their child with adequate emotional and material protection. The abuse of children is, therefore, an interesting interdisciplinary topic. In October 2000, the Board of Civil Services at the Home Office told every prefecture in Italy to call a meeting of the Provincial Committee for public administration with a view to deciding on policies and actions to be taken by the bodies which deal with the phenomenon of abuse and mistreatment. The co-ordination network, therefore, foresees the involvement of local bodies (Regional Council, the Provincial Council and the Town Council), the social services from the Health Boards (family consultancy, young persons space) the Town Council's social services, child neuropsychiatric services, health emergency, schools, private social services associations, police forces and judiciary, so that they can analyse the different local situations, find their weaknesses and specific needs and subsequently operate with intervention projects on different preventative levels. The close collaboration between services and technical consultants allows them not only to protect the minor from continuous evaluation but also allows them to create a project together for clinically and therapeutically taking charge which meet the needs and times of the minor. One final important point in the care of minors within the judicial route is the nomination of a special administrator.
A common practice is needed which can be put into force as soon as the case has been reported, to avoid for example, that in the case of intrafamiliar abuse, the person under investigation does not continue living with the child victim and in the case of protective intervention prevent situations where evidence can be tampered with and interfere negatively with the investigations carried out by the public prosecution service. Finally, the Document aimed at training those working in this field on the subject of child abuse and mistreatment, approved on 6 April 2001, has identified three fundamental aims: acquiring the skills required to spot child abuse at an early stage. Acquiring the knowledge and skills needed during the evaluation process of abuse. Finally and equally as important, the acquisition of knowledge and skills needed to provide support and treatment for the child who is a victim of abuse.

POINT 14 - THE METHODS FOR HELPING AND RECOVERING JUVENILE DELINQUENTS

Most of the debate covering the methods for helping and recovering juvenile delinquents was taken into consideration in the Dpr 448/88. The reform and approved criminal procedure Code foresees an entire legislative body dedicated to the sector on minors. In this new text, the psychological component is evaluated on a greater scale. The concepts of minimum offensiveness, attention to the personality of the minor, the continuation of their education, the stimulation of personnel resources and living environments, the adequacy of measures taken and the assuming of responsibilities are the guidelines around which the regulations on a criminal trial of a minor, are developed. The child criminal trial, evaluating from one side the psychological perspective and adhering to the minimum criminal law, sees an immediate change as far as the criminal procedure and the forms of treatment are concerned. From the point of view of minimum offensiveness, the trial becomes a moment for making the minor responsible and must give him the opportunity to understand what is happening to him. The arrangement of the child criminal trial and the new theoretical indications on psycho-social science force us to look at three different fields of analysis: one regarding the relationships between the accused's behaviour, the person in question and the context in which the act took place; another which helps us understand how the person in question can grasp the situation as well as cope with the social and legal consequences of the crime; and finally, how the person in question uses their international skills, understood as their ability to respond to the accused's actions. The child criminal trial appears to have found in the idea of responsibility, a way to get over the conceptual ambiguity: In fact, the responsibility, more coherently than the evolutionary maturity, allows us to grasp the links between the person in question - act - legislation, representing itself as a connecting criteria between the intraphysical and relational expression carried out and the contexts of discovering and attributing the crime to the criminal. The integration between psychological and legal knowledge is acknowledged during the child criminal trial, where, on the grounds of these premises, the justice system asks the minor to respond to the negative effects which their crime produced, and this way, the criminal response is thought out, proposed and drawn up in relation to the transgressive action and not in relation to the person responsible. A series of innovations have therefore been drawn up which translate into certain procedural institutes of particular legal and projectual importance, such as: the service known as "Detention Centres" (CPA); taking precautionary measures such as limitations; confinement to the home; transfer to a community and preventative detention. In conclusion, our intervention system has moved from an initial punitive remuneration model to one which re-educates and treats to the latest restorative model. The main characteristics of this model are as follows: the crime is a conflict between two sides; the penalty is the tool for healing the conflict between the two sides; making the criminal responsible for his actions is considered the most effective preventative method.

POINT 15 - NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH TO PREVENT MISTREATMENT AND ABUSE

Over the last ten years in Italy, there has been a re-awakening on the matter of city safety. There have been numerous initiatives such as the return of the neighbourhood watchman, whose job is to preside over a specific city area by means of direct, constant contact with the specific social, economic and individual situation. It is essential to enter into the problems which a new figure such as this will inevitably face from an operational point of view, paying particular attention to the relationship with infancy and adolescence. From here stems the need for adequate training. Under the three year plan for training the neighbourhood watchman, the Councillor's office for Urban Safety in Milan together with Telefono Azzuro introduced a significant scheme aimed at expanding the skills and area of work of those working in this field, by organising a training course entitled "The Phenomenon of Abuse and Mistreatment of Children", which aimed to provide the worker with the tools for correctly handling cases and reporting cases of abuse where minors are involved. Using active training methods, the Telefono Azzuro course aimed to supply tools which were not simply ideas; starting with daily dynamics, the course provided operational tools for solving important problems. The definition of the role of the neighbourhood watchman by means of a continuous training course which, by starting with the operational day to day reality, supplies possible indications and ways of getting to know people and becoming a point of reference for them. A role which sees, in the relationship with the minor and adolescent, the next challenge, to respond as best as possible to the needs of professionalism which the handling of these problems requires. The professionalism of the neighbourhood watchman is not intended as a specialisation in abuse, maltreatment of minors or the problems of adolescence, but as an ability to activate and call on those within the network, each one according to their own ability. The professional growth of the neighbourhood watchman, therefore goes through continuous training which aims to create a rapport with the families, children and those from other agencies working within the network.

POINT 16 - PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN IN THE EXPLOITATION AND REPRESENTATION OF MASS MEDIA: A CONTINUOUSLY EVOLVING REPORT

TV is the most widely followed means of communication: more than 82% of the population from 3 years upwards, in 2000, watched it every day, with enjoyment levels at around 90% in the age group between 6 and 14. But the quality of the programmes is getting notoriously worse. Moreover, the image of children, given by the television is, without doubt, an extremely spoiled one: Journalists talk of children and adolescents, particularly with regard to crime or legal news, as victims of abuse of every kind or as being responsible for violent and sometimes brutal crimes. The legal measures adopted in our country in most cases lack sufficient sanctions. The importance of means of communication in developing children's personality also grows in relation to reducing time for playing or communicating and is directly linked proportionally to the absence of adults. As far as the use of radio is concerned, the lack of educational or cultural programmes specifically designed for children must be pointed out. Moreover, it should be pointed out that the level of quality of public service radio transmission is undoubtedly higher than that of the television. From a study carried out, it is clear that in 2000, 72% of Italians from 3 years old onwards listened to it at least once: in particular, 31.4% of children between 3 and 5, 49.4% between 6 and 10, 76.2% of youngsters between 11 and 14, 87.1% between 15 and 17.
There are insufficient programmes in the so-called "protected stage", especially for the adolescent target. There is also the problem of prime time: at dinner time, 40.4% of children between 3 and 5 are in front of the video with their family, 59% of those between 6 and 10, 66.3% of those between 11 and 14, 65.3% of those between 15 and 17. The percentage goes down but not by much, for children and youngsters who sit and watch TV with their family after dinner (respectively: 26,7%, 41,8%, 55,9%, 53%). The percentage of those who watch it alone after dinner is lower: 2,5%, 2,2%, 3,4%, 4,1%. 2.6% of children between the ages of 3 and 5 are alone in front of the video after dinner, 4% of those from 6 to 10, 13.3% of youngsters between 11 and 14 and a significant 24.8% of those between 15 and 17: almost a quarter of adolescents stay up to watch TV. There is no lack of children and youngsters who watch TV alone at night: 3.3% of youngsters between 11 and 14 and 7.7% of those between 15 and 17. 39.1% link up to Internet and/or use their e-mails: 22.1% of them are between 11 and 14, 39.2% between 15 and 17. There is also a pressing need for regulations covering mobile phones: in 2000, 41.4% of youngsters between 11 and 14 used a mobile phone, 76.3% between 15 and 19.