Committee on the rights of the child

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Figure 20 Adoption of children, by origin of adopter (2004-2006)
E. Protection and assistance of children
Figure 21 Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the 24 Magistrates Courts equipped with the Case Monitoring System
Figure 23 Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the 30 Preliminary Investigation Courts equipped with the Case Monitoring System.
Figure 24 Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the 30 preliminary investigation courts equipped with the Case Monitoring System in 2006.
Figure 25 Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the eight Trial Courts equipped with the Case Monitoring System.
Figure 26 Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the 8 Trial Courts equipped with the Case Monitoring System.

C. Alimony payments

Under the Family Code, family courts have ordered alimony payments in more than 3,000 cases over the past three years.

Figure 19

Alimony granted for minors (2004-2006), broken down by gender.

Family courts	Total			2004		2005		2006
Family courts	Total	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M
Total	3,049	1,522	1,527	484	468	508	564	530	495

D. Adoption

In accordance with article 21 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in the past three years priority has been given to the adoption of children by nationals, as ordered by Family Courts. The adoption process is highly protective. The legal framework governing adoption consists of the Family Code, the Family Procedural Act, the Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Adoption consists of two phases: administrative and judicial. During the administrative phase ISNA has to establish that the child is eligible for adoption, and together with the Office of the Attorney-General of the Republic (PGR) establish that the foreigners are eligible to adopt in El Salvador. The eligibility of Salvadoran families to adopt is determined solely by the PGR. The latter has set up an assignment committee, responsible for selecting the family that will adopt a child, once they have been established as eligible. It falls to the Attorney-General of the Republic to authorize the adoption and at that moment the judicial phase begins in which the judge orders the adoption. Domestic adoptions have been given priority in recent years, through the use of foster homes as a protection measure, since 90 per cent of children in foster homes are adopted by their carers. The formalities required by law are carried out in the Adoptions Office, by technical staff of ISNA and the PGR. In accordance with the 1993 Hague Convention, ISNA and the PGR are the central authority for adoptions.

Figure 20

Adoption of children, by origin of adopter (2004-2006)

Family courts	Total			2004		2005		2006
Family courts	Total	Salvadoran	Foreign	Salvadoran	Foreign	Salvadoran	Foreign	Salvadoran	Foreign
Total	1,924	1,637	287	461	77	511	82	665	128

E. Protection and assistance of children

The Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Republic’s mission is laid down in the Constitution as the prosecution of crime. For the protection of child victims of crime the Office also has a prevention function, carried out by its Multidisciplinary Support Unit, which aims to help prevent violence and delinquency by conducting criminological studies and implementating prevention projects and programmes, such as the running of training workshops for adolescent promoters of violence prevention, the promotion of peace and dialogue been generations and cultures.
In 1992 the Unit for Offences against Minors and Women was set up within the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Republic with the aim of concentrating on the investigation of offences committed against children in the family and offences against sexual freedom. The Office is obliged to take the necessary measures for the immediate protection of child victims and to prevent further violation of their rights as victims, always bearing in mind the child’s higher interest. This unit has been extended nationwide to ensure greater territorial coverage.
To protect child victims of crime and their families, the Unit for Offences against Minors and Women provides special assistance services, including the following:
1. Psychological assistance, with a view to supporting victims of physical, psychological and sexual violence, and their family members, to reduce the short- and long-term effects of the trauma;
2. Counselling, with the aim of seeking alternative care and protection for victims of physical, sexual and psychological violence, based on an investigation of the victim’s social and family background, and through coordination with other institutions involved in protection of children and adolescents;
3. Legal assistance, involving follow-up of court proceedings for trying crimes. In the case of adult defendants it begins with the presentation of an indictment or injunction in which requests may be submitted to the magistrate.
Regarding the judicial process, it is for the Office of the Attorney-General of the Republic via the Minors’ Attorneys to act as legal representative of minors to prevent them being exposed and to safeguard the child’s rights and higher interest in the proceedings referred to above.
The aggrieved parties, including the victims or plaintiffs, are legally empowered to take legal proceedings (lodge an appeal) in cases of dismissal or definitive discharge, and in case of provisional discharge or filing of the case, they may request the legal proceedings to be re-opened.
In cases of domestic violence it is essential for the victim to undergo a psychological assessment in order to establish the emotional effects caused by the cycle of violence to which they have been subjected. The attorney concerned will have to make an assessment of the victim before taking part in legal proceedings, and will have to provide psychological and social support, especially in the case of children and adolescent victims, offering them psychological treatment or assistance at the attorney’s office.
Legal hearings and proceedings are generally public, but the court may order them to be partially or totally private where required for moral reasons, in the public interest, or where child victims of crimes are taking part. Having regard to the higher interests of the child, the Code of Criminal Procedure states that where the victim is under 18 years of age, he or she is entitled to facilities for testifying in informal and non-hostile environments, and their testimony is recorded to facilitate its reproduction in public where necessary. The law states that the identity of minors and their families must not be disclosed.
The law offers special protection to minors aged under 18, providing for harsher sentences for crimes committed against them. The Code of Criminal Procedure provides that where the victim is a minor and has no parents or guardian, or where the crime is committed by a relative in the ascending line, the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Republic will press criminal charges for all offences subject to private prosecution.
Having regard to the higher interests of the child, the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Republic, through the Unit for Minors and Women, is obliged to implement mechanisms for protecting children, to prevent them becoming repeat victims. These measures notably include:

Giving evidence in advance of court proceedings;
Not exposing victims in court hearings, applying the Special Regime for the Protection of Witnesses Act;
Arranging shelter for child victims where necessary;
Arranging NGO support;
Guaranteeing psychological and social care by the Institutional Multidisciplinary Team;
Requesting the immediate protection measures provided for in the Domestic Violence Act.

Criminal courts (magistrate’s courts, preliminary investigation and trial courts) have heard cases of crimes against minors, with performance and processing over the period 2004–2005 as set out in the following tables:

Figure 21

Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the 24 Magistrates Courts
equipped with the Case Monitoring System

Magistrates Courts	Total	2004					2005					2006
Magistrates Courts	Total	Total	Age 0 to 5	Age 6 to 11	Age 12 to 15	Age 16 to 17	Total	Age 0 to 5	Age 6 to 11	Age 12 to 15	Age 16 to 17	Total	Age 0 to 5	Age 6 to 11	Age 12 to 15	Age 16 to 17
Total	1,870	575	63	136	197	179	700	84	130	200	286	595	53	154	188	200
Average per court	78	24	3	6	8	7	29	4	5	8	12	25	2	6	8	8

Figure 22

Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the 24 Magistrates Courts equipped with the Case Monitoring System In 2006.
Magistrates Courts	Total	Case filed	Mediation authorized	Plea bargain	Declaration of fault	Discharge	Inadmissible	Incompetent	Absolute invalidity	Order for investigation with interim detention	Order for investigation with injunctive relief	Order for investigation with petition hearing	Order for investigation without inerim detention	Judicial pardon	Mediation period	Acquittal in fault proceedings	Conviction in fast-track procedure	Definitive discharge	Provisional discharge	Conditional suspension of proceedings
Total	583	1	54	1	3	19	2	2	1	128	53	1	54	2	3	1	3	99	144	12
Average per court	24	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	5	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	4	6	1

Figure 23

Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the 30 Preliminary Investigation Courts
equipped with the Case Monitoring System.

Preliminary investigation courts	Total	2004					2005					2006
Preliminary investigation courts	Total	Total	Age 0 to 5	Age 6 to 11	Age 12 to 15	Age 16 to 17	Total	Age 0 to 5	Age 6 to 11	Age 12 to 15	Age 16 to 17	Total	Age 0 to 5	Age 6 to 11	Age 12 to 15	Age 16 to 17
Total	1,883	671	78	206	228	159	651	76	161	234	180	561	49	147	234	131
Average per court	63	23	3	7	8	5	22	3	6	8	6	19	2	5	8	5

Figure 24

Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the 30 preliminary investigation courts
equipped with the Case Monitoring System in 2006.

Preliminary investigation courts	2006
Preliminary investigation courts	Total	Proceedings in progress	Admission or rejection of evidence for public hearing	Trial proceedings	Provisional filing	Mediation authorized	Declaration of fault	Contempt of court	Incompetent	Ratifying injunctive relief	Revoking injunctive relief	Conviction in fast-track procedure	Conviction in fast-track procedure	Definitive discharge	Provisional discharge	Conditional suspension of proceedings
Total	561	263	1	170	1	21	1	12	5	1	1	6	1	26	38	14
Average per court	19	9	0	6	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0

Figure 25

Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the eight Trial Courts
equipped with the Case Monitoring System.

Trial Courts	Total	2004					2005					2006
Trial Courts	Total	Total	Age 0 to 5	Age 6 to 11	Age 12 to 15	Age 16 to 17	Total	Age 0 to 5	Age 6 to 11	Age 12 to 15	Age 16 to 17	Total	Age 0 to 5	Age 6 to 11	Age 12 to 15	Age 16 to 17
Total	448	16	5	1	7	3	99	40	19	27	13	333	93	74	103	63
Average per court	56	2	1	0	1	0	12	5	2	3	2	42	12	9	13	8

Figure 26

Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the 8 Trial Courts
equipped with the Case Monitoring System.

Trial Courts	Total 2004-2006	2004			2005				2006
Trial Courts	Total 2004-2006	Total	Acquittal	Conviction	Total	Acquittal	Conviction	Mixed verdict	Total	Acquittal	Conviction	Mixed verdict
Total	448	16	6	10	99	45	50	4	333	152	179	2
Average per court	56	2	1	1	12	6	6	1	42	19	22	0

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Committee on the rights of the child

C. Alimony payments

Figure 19

Alimony granted for minors (2004-2006), broken down by gender.

D. Adoption

Figure 20

Adoption of children, by origin of adopter (2004-2006)

E. Protection and assistance of children

Figure 21

Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the 24 Magistrates Courts equipped with the Case Monitoring System

Figure 22

Figure 23

Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the 30 Preliminary Investigation Courts equipped with the Case Monitoring System.

Figure 24

Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the 30 preliminary investigation courts equipped with the Case Monitoring System in 2006.

Figure 25

Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the eight Trial Courts equipped with the Case Monitoring System.

Figure 26

Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the 8 Trial Courts equipped with the Case Monitoring System.

Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the 24 Magistrates Courts
equipped with the Case Monitoring System

Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the 30 Preliminary Investigation Courts
equipped with the Case Monitoring System.

Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the 30 preliminary investigation courts
equipped with the Case Monitoring System in 2006.

Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the eight Trial Courts
equipped with the Case Monitoring System.

Statistical data of all cases involving minor victims in the 8 Trial Courts
equipped with the Case Monitoring System.