Internationally there is recognition that unmet legal needs tend to affect some groups more than others and that children and youth are one of the groups in greater need. For example, a 2018 report by the Law Council of Australia reviewed existing literature and consultations about access to justice in Australia and concluded that “[c]hildren and young people often experience age-related legal problems but are reluctant to take action in response due to limited financial resources, poor knowledge of their l
Very limited research has been done in relation to children and young people’s access to justice in Aotearoa. However, we do know that while the vision of the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy is that Aotearoa is the best place in the world to be a child, a recent UNICEF report ranked New Zealand 35 out of 41 EU and OECD countries in its league table of child well-being. Recent reports by the Children’s Rights Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand have also identified that some children and groups of children – pa
In order to make positive change for our children and young people we must firstly understand the extent to which children and young people are able to access justice in Aotearoa, and then take steps to close the justice gap.