Child Protection – Juvenile Justice Increasing the resilience of children and adolescents at risk and in conflict with the law

1. Tunisia
C4D Case Study
Child Protection – Juvenile Justice
Increasing the resilience of children
and adolescents at risk and in conflict
with the law

2. 2
C4D CASE STUDY – WCARO
Tunisia
Country context and programme background
It is estimated that some 12,000 boys and girls are
detained annually in Tunisia’s justice system. A sig-
nificant proportion, 27 per cent, of these children and
adolescents reoffend.1
Deprivation of liberty remains
a common form of punishment. The level of a child’s
reintegration is generally poor or limited. There are few
stakeholders and programmes that focus on the pro-
vision of alternative measures to deprivation of liberty
and child reinsertion.
The phenomenon of children and adolescents in con-
flict with the law in the Tunisian context is determined
by a complexity of several factors (e.g. intra-family
abuse and violence, school dropout, negative influence
of peers or peer pressure, the media, inequalities and
social exclusion). A lack of social awareness and social
accountability tend to surround this situation. Lessons
learned show that (a) isolated interventions are insuf-
ficient to address the complex issues associated with
this group of vulnerable children; (b) social norms need
to be addressed to change the situation and empower
boys and girls; and (c) prevention of risks should be
tackled at an early age and addressed through cross-
cutting interventions.
The Communication Strategy for Social and Behaviour
Change (CSBC) for children, including adolescents at
risk and those in conflict with the law, (further referred
to as the CSBC Strategy) was developed to prevent
girls and boys from committing criminal offenses, ad-
vocate for diversion and restorative justice for children
and adolescents in conflict with the law2
, and promote
alternative measures to detention (counselling, proba-
tion and community service). The strategy was elabo-
rated in 2016 through a participatory planning process
involving various actors ranging from judges, prosecu-
tors and social workers to representatives of juvenile
rehabilitation centres, police, child protection workers,
NGOs and media working with girls and boys at risk or
in conflict with the law. The process entailed strength-
ening the capacity of keys actors on C4D approaches
and practices. Furthermore, a series of meetings and
interviews with parents, children and adolescents,
including those in conflict with the law, artists, mass
media professionals, experts in the social and justice
sectors were also conducted. All these inputs, includ-
ing policy and legislations on child protection, contrib-
uted to devising and refining the CSBC Strategy.
The main goals of the CSBC Strategy are (i) to increase
the resilience of girls and boys in order to prevent
them from committing offences, and empower and
equip them with skills to become agents of change
amongst their peers; and (ii) to improve the provision
of care of girls and boys at risk or in conflict with the
law in order to ease their social reintegration and
reduce reoffending.
1
Source of data comes from the Situation of Children Report, Tunisia,
2012
2
Stratégie de Communication pour un changement social et com-
portamental visant la prévention de la délinquance juvénile et la pro-
motion des mesures alternatives à la détention, Tunis, Février 2016.

3. 3
C4D CASE STUDY – WCARO
Tunisia
The key objectives include:
• Enhance communication between children and
adolescents and their families, institutions and the
media
• Equip institutions responsible for the protection of
children and adolescents with communication tools
to promote a protective environment for girls and
boys at risk
• Equip social workers with a set of skills to facilitate
the reintegration and reunification of children and
adolescents who have been deprived of their liberty
with their families and communities - if it is in their
best interest
• Facilitate victim-offender mediation for minor
offences
• Build judges’ understanding about the benefits of
applying mediation measures for children in conflict
with the law
To date, the CSBC Strategy has been implemented as
a pilot in two regions of Tunisia, the governorates of
Manouba and Gabès.
Key platforms, entry points and partnerships
The main platform on which the CSBC Strategy was
developed built upon the Government of Tunisia’s
project, Support for Improving the Juvenile Justice
System in Tunisia (subsequently referred to as the
Juvenile Justice Project), with principal funding by the
European Union. An agency that specializes in com-
munication for social change was contracted for the
implementation of the CSBC Strategy. UNICEF and the
project’s National Steering Committee supported and
provided oversight of the development, implementa-
tion and monitoring of the CSBC Strategy. The Nation-
al Steering Committee’s members include the Ministry
of Justice (lead ministry), Ministry of Interior, Ministry
of Education, Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of
Youth, Ministry of Women, Family and Children, and
UNICEF.
Regional Committees were established to lead the
implementation of the CSBC Strategy within the two
targeted regions. These committees were composed
of representatives from the various ministries at sub-
national level and the Juvenile Rehabilitation Centres
as well as judges, prosecutors, delegates of child
protection3
and members of NGOs. The key imple-
3
The Office of the Child Protection Delegate (Délégué à la Protec-
tion de l’Enfant - DPE) was established under the Law No. 92 of 09
November 1995, promulgated in the Child Protection Code (Code de
la protection de l’enfance). It is a preventive intervention struc-
ture which adopts the principle of the primacy of the rights of the
child and its best interests in any difficult situation threatening the
health of the child or his or her physical or moral integrity within the
meaning of Article 20 of the Code of Child Protection; it coordinates
the various social services and bodies concerned with children’s
affairs (social affairs, justice and human rights, health, education and
training, and local development...) as well as associations and orga-
nizations. There are 24 offices in the governorates of the Republic.
During the strategy implementation, both delegates from Manouba
and Gabès regions have participated.

4. 4
C4D CASE STUDY – WCARO
Tunisia
menting partners at the local level, supported by the
specialized communication agency, were representa-
tives from the Defense and Social Integration Centres/
Centres de Défense et Intégration Social (CDIS) and
the Children’s Complex/Complexe de l’enfant.4
These
constituted the main entry points to reach the target-
ed populations and stakeholders and implement the
CSBC Strategy at local level.
Identifying and analyzing
bottlenecks & barriers
In addition to using existing data sources, baseline
surveys and follow up surveys were conducted in the
governorates of Manouba and Gabès with institutions
working with children, including adolescents at risk or
in conflict with the law. Socio-anthropological research
methods, combining quantitative and qualitative meth-
ods, were used. The data were used to orient and
fine-tune the C4D activities, and measure and track
progress and changes attributed to C4D interventions
against the baseline.
Inspired by the MoRES (Monitoring Results for Eq-
uity System) determinant analytical framework, the
baseline study identified bottlenecks and barriers,
contributing to better analyses of attitudes, practices
and social norms and behavior. The study supported
the design of C4D strategies for use in implementing
the CSBC Strategy. In particular, it focused on per-
ceptions, attitudes and practices of resilient children
and adolescents, including those in conflict with the
law, and their families and key stakeholders. Children
and adolescents’ attitudes related to their families,
school, social norms and the environment were taken
into account. This led to the development of a set of
indicators that measure the perception of children’s
and adolescents’ assessment of their current status,
self-efficacy, self-control, moral feelings, participation,
leadership, etc. Indicators related to professionals’
attitudes vis-à-vis children and adolescents in conflict
with the law were also developed. See the box for a
sampling of qualitative indicators related to the chil-
dren and adolescents.
4
CDIS, the Social and Integration Center / Centre de Défense et
Intégration Social, supports children and adolescents who have left
school at an early age, including those who are vulnerable or expe-
riencing relational problems. These centers work with children and
adolescents to support their social integration. They also monitor
the social reintegration of children and adolescents in conflict with
the law. After their exit from the correctional center, the CDIS works
with and provides advice to the children’s and adolescents’ families.
Children and adolescents are cared for by psychologists, educators
and social workers. Children and adolescents spend the day at the
CDIS and return to their parents in the afternoon. The Children’s
Complex/Complexe de l’enfant is a structure under the Ministry of
Women, Family and Children. It supports vulnerable children and ad-
olescents from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Chil-
dren and adolescents receive educational and social activities. It also
works with families to counsel and assist them on better parenting
and provide school supplies for their children and adolescents.
Baseline data linked to categories of
determinants, including:
• Enabling environment: social and
community support, degree of attachment
with the community, degree of
communication with the family, degree
of parental authority and relationship with
parents
• Supply socio-economic conditions of and
services for families and communities
• Demand child capacity to formulate
demands
• Quality of services offered
Sampling of indicators related to
the targeted groups of children and
adolescents
• Recognition of risks
• Expression of individual and shared
interests
• Assessment of current status
• Dimension of self-efficacy, to take action,
to change her/his life, to solve problems
• Sense of ownership, perceive benefit from
the programme and personal identification
with the programme

5. 5
C4D CASE STUDY – WCARO
Tunisia
To support decision making on C4D solutions, the
identified bottlenecks and barriers were also taken
into account in relation to the different levels of the
socio-ecological model (SEM), for example:
• At the individual level: weak self-esteem and social
skills in children and adolescents at risk and in
conflict with the law
• At the interpersonal level: intra-familial conflicts
and weak parenting skills; lack of interpersonal
communication skills related to the lack of dialogue
within the family and the use of violence as a mode
of parenting
• At the community level: poor civil society
engagement on issues related to children and
adolescents at risk and in conflict with the law
• At the organizational/institutional level: weak
capacities of professional workers to provide
psychosocial coaching for children and adolescents
and their families; lack of programmes for social
reinsertion of children and adolescents who have
been in conflict with the law
• At the policy/enabling environment: weak
implementation of alternative measures to detention
Designing, planning and implementing C4D
solutions
The CSBC Strategy was designed as a communi-
ty-based model that supports use of interpersonal
communication to address and mentor children and
adolescents at risk and those in conflict with the law
and their families.
The evidence-based planning process has occurred at
two levels as follows:
The strategic planning process at the national
level – This process was based on: i) interviews with
families of children and adolescents in conflict with
law and the children and adolescents themselves;
ii) meetings with resource persons and partners; iii)
inputs from a two-day participatory planning work-
shop with national partners, including members of the
National Steering Committee of the Juvenile Justice
Project. The SEM was used as a reference and frame-
work to guide and reinforce the relevance of the CSBC
strategy plan at different levels and with regard to the
diverse stakeholders.
The operational planning process at the regional
level – This process included the active participation
of members of the regional coordination committees
(partners, local associations, parents and adolescents)
to plan different interventions at the local level
responding to the identified bottlenecks and barriers
and feeding into the overall CSBC strategy plan.
In both pilot locations, Manouba and Gabès, the CSBC
Strategy plan has been implemented at the different
levels of the SEM as illustrated by the following
examples:

6. 6
C4D CASE STUDY – WCARO
Tunisia
At individual, interpersonal, community levels, dia-
logues were facilitated with and between adolescents,
between adolescents and their parents or other care-
givers, and between adolescents and policy makers
and magistrates. These sessions were held with both
adolescents at risk and adolescents in conflict with the
law. They have helped to identify the following:
• How the adolescents define themselves
• How they understand problems associated with
behaviours that have or can put them in conflict with
the law
• How they analyze factors to prevent being in conflict
with the law
• How the Government through the justice system and
related systems can prevent children and adoles-
cents from being in conflict with the law
The dialogue sessions were facilitated by the coordi-
nator of the CDIS, staff of the NGO (Complexe de l’en-
fant) and an animator from the communication agency.
A total of 34 dialogue sessions (2 hours each) were
held at the local level in Manouba and Gabès with
the participation of almost 50 adolescents and their
families. Nearly all the adolescents were between 14
and 18 years old and were involved in the dialogue
sessions together.
A campaign for the promotion of dialogue on juvenile
justice, including the development of communication
materials and artistic products, was prepared and
implemented in the two targeted regions, along with
related social mobilization interventions. Although
members of the regional committees actively partic-
ipated in its implementation, it was largely the ado-
lescents who prepared the communication materials
and products, drawing on the conclusions arrived at
in dialogues and from artistic training sessions. They
produced catchy slogans, visual identity, theater pro-
ductions, rap songs and films. The products, especially
the videos and theater productions, were presented
in public spaces (schools, children’s centers, etc.) and
successfully used to initiate discussions and relevant
debates on prevention of children and adolescents
coming into contact with the law, prevention of chil-
dren and adolescents who have been in conflict with
the law from reoffending, and promotion of alterna-
tives to detention.
There were also ‘open days’ in different institutions,
including the CDIS and at the NGO, Complexe de l’en-
fant, a football match promoting social reintegration of
children and adolescents in conflict with the law, forum
debates in schools and youth centers, and meetings
with magistrates and the police. These events were
organized with the aim of fostering an attitude of
empathy among community members toward children
and adolescents at risk so as to support their social
integration, get the local stakeholders to better under-
stand and address behaviours that put children and
adolescents in conflict with the law as well as to apply
preventive mechanisms.
Interactive methods were used to promote positive
parent-child relationships and raise awareness among
parents of the risks and challenges their children and
adolescents face. For instance, participatory theater
was used with a group of mothers as a way to allow

7. 7
C4D CASE STUDY – WCARO
Tunisia
them to interact and communicate family values and
expectations. The videos and theater productions
developed by the adolescents were presented to par-
ents, followed by debates in order to generate relevant
discussions about the role of family in the prevention
of children and adolescents coming into contact with
the law. Two of the videos covered violence against
children, school dropout, peer pressure, the influence
of peers and parents and a mix of communication
channels most effective in reaching out to children
and adolescents. Adolescents participated in local
radio programmes where they were able to share their
opinions and perspectives on issues regarding justice
for children.
At an organizational/institutional level, a multi-disci-
plinary team was established in each of the two pilot
regions. Each team included local experts working
with children and adolescents in conflict with the law
and those at risk (e.g. psychologists, magistrates, dele-
gates for child protection and social workers). This has
contributed to building and strengthening C4D capaci-
ties in local institutions. For example, a three-day train-
ing workshop on C4D and social and behavior commu-
nication skills took place in Hammamet with nearly 40
professionals from the regions of Manouba and Gabès
who work with children and adolescents at risk and
in conflict with the law. As well, the members of the
National Steering Committee of the Juvenile Justice
Project and other key partners strengthened their C4D
capacities through participation in this workshop. The
improved C4D capacities facilitated the development
of the regional CSBC Strategy plans, targeting children
and adolescents at risk and in conflict with the law.
A follow up two-day workshop held in Hammamet
further strengthened C4D capacity. Another participa-
tory workshop with national and sub-national part-
ners facilitated the exchange of information on good
practices related to alternative measures to detention
of children and adolescents. This led to the elaboration
of a guide covering good practices and case studies
for use in advocacy and training activities with relevant
stakeholders.5
At the policy/enabling environment level, consultative
processes and advocacy efforts have been part and
parcel of the design, planning and implementation of
the CSBC Strategy and have helped to mobilize the
involved institutions and media outlets to address
issues surrounding children and adolescents at risk
and in conflict with the law. For instance, this included
a consultative process with children and adolescents
at risk on decisions affecting their lives, which enabled
the creation of participative spaces in which exchanges
were facilitated with families, communities, justice
workers, police officers, judges, etc. These processes
and efforts have allowed children and adolescents to
have their opinions heard. This information was then
used to support programming directions, and guide
and influence practices among justice officials and
other relevant stakeholders, such as members of the
Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Women, Family and
Children, and the Ministry of Social Affairs.
5
The guide is entitled Manual on good practices on the preven-
tion of adolescents in conflict with the law and the promotion of
alternatives to detention (Manuel de bonnes pratiques en matière
de prévention de la délinquance et de la promotion des mesures
alternatives à la detention).
Adolescents at risk share their
experiences with regard to increasing
their sense of self-confidence, co-
existence and respect toward others, and
communication without violence:
“…many things have now changed: before I
did everything I had in my mind, I respected
no one, and now when my mother tells me
not to do something, I do not do it.” (Noren)
“Staying and talking with others gives me
the feeling that I exist with them. Now I
enjoy discussing and interacting, and not
laughing when someone is talking; I respect
others when they speak ... I have learned
how to speak in public and defend my
ideas.” (Sander)
“Before I drank, I smoked and I would fight,
and now thank goodness I do not do those
things. I learned how to talk with people …. I
became less violent.” (Montassar)

8. 8
C4D CASE STUDY – WCARO
Tunisia
Advocacy efforts with and by national stakeholders,
the media and influencers, such as school personnel,
police officers and justice officials (e.g. judges and
prosecutors), which have sometimes been organized
and led by adolescents, have contributed to better
understanding of the societal factors causing children
and adolescents to be in conflict with the law and
recidivism.
As a result, several actions have been undertaken, for
example:
• Adolescents visited the court to speak with judges
about issues surrounding justice for children and ado-
lescents and to understand legal processes concern-
ing minors in contact with the law
• Adolescents experimented with and became creative
in using the art of theater and cinema (as mentioned
above) to advocate for the rights of children and
adolescents, including those at risk and in conflict
with the law
• Adolescents (both at risk and in conflict with the law)
exchanged personal experiences and perspectives
between themselves and with professionals
On the one hand, these actions have helped adoles-
cents’ self-evaluation and also contributed to their
self-reflection and maturity, modelling of positive be-
haviors, acquiring self-confidence and more self-con-
trol. On the other hand, these actions have helped
identify preventive as well as reinsertion and rehabilita-
tion measures. Those are instrumental in promoting an
enabling policy environment and empowering targeted
children and adolescents to become positively en-
gaged in their communities. Such actions also facilitate
transition into a productive and healthy adulthood,
particularly from a resilience point of view.
Consideration of the CSBC Strategy interventions at
the different levels has contributed to systen strength-
ening in designing, planning and implementing a range
of appropriate C4D strategies. This has included devel-
oping and reinforcing integrative mechanisms among
involved institutions, especially the Ministry of Social
Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of
Justice, the Ministry of Women, Family and Children
and the Ministry of Interior with regard to prevention
of detention of minors, implementing and sustaining
alternative measures to detention of minors, and
reinsertion and rehabilitation of this targeted group of
children and adolescents.

9. 9
C4D CASE STUDY – WCARO
Tunisia
Sustainability of C4D capacity
Several training workshops have been organized in
the past year in order to build and strengthen institu-
tional capacity on C4D strategic planning, implemen-
tation and monitoring. In particular and with regard
to the strategic and operational planning processes
mentioned above, the specific participatory planning
workshops at the national level6
and the two other
workshops at the regional level7
were critical for
planning interventions aimed at building and sustaining
C4D capacity among the key stakeholders.
Participatory mechanisms to guide
C4D programming
The initial qualitative and quantitative research, re-
ferred to above, helped to formulate quantitative and
qualitative SMART8
indicators and establish a base-
line to track reduction and removal of the identified
bottlenecks and barriers. In turn, this makes it possible
to measure desired behavior and institutional changes
related to children and adolescents at risk and those in
conflict with the law.
A follow up qualitative study compared the base-
line and the situation of adolescents following their
involvement in interventions focused on improving
behaviours. The qualitative research methods included
a review and analysis of previous socio-anthropolog-
ical studies covering the profiles and experiences
of children and adolescents in conflict with the law.
Focus group interviews and individual interviews were
conducted with the targeted groups of adolescents,
principal stakeholders and families of children and
adolescents at risk and those in conflict with the law.
Participant observation took place during meetings and
forums, including debates in schools and other public
spaces with principal stakeholders and children and
adolescents.
Of note, the qualitative study highlighted key progress
in behavior change among adolescents following their
involvement in the CSBC Strategy interventions as
follows:
• The theater and cinema activities in which the
adolescents actively engaged helped to strengthen
adolescents’ self-esteem.
6
Workshops at national level targeted key partners and members of
the National Steering Committee of the Juvenile Justice Project
7
Workshop at regional level targeted members of the regional
coordination committees.
8
SMART means Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and
Time lined.

10. 10
C4D CASE STUDY – WCARO
Tunisia
• An increase in the capacity of adolescents to formu-
late their needs and expectations, mainly among ado-
lescents at risk who participated in the interventions.
They were able to describe their situation accurately
and in a more effective way within the family and/
or in their relations with the police, magistrates or
institutions.
• The adolescents’ overall self-assessment of their
situation and concerns about their future were
marked by a certain sense of clarity; more than half
(67 per cent) expressed a good grasp of their social
conditions and showed strong expectations from the
coaching and support they had received.
• The adolescents’ sense of self-control and confi-
dence as they look toward the future was higher in
adolescents at risk; seven out of 10 reported being
able to better cope with their situations.
A mid-term review was organized in February 2017
through a participatory self-evaluation process in which
the stakeholders (including those of the two regional
committees and children and adolescents) deter-
mined what worked well and what did not in the first
phase of the pilot. The mid-term review also facilitated
the collection of the ‘most significant change narra-
tives’ that gathered qualitative data to gain insights
and lessons learned from implementing the CSBC
Most significant change narrative:
Nizar, 18 years old, believes that the experience
of filmmaking (video production) that incorporates
messages and perspectives on adolescents’ lives
should continue. He wrote his first video script,
in which he was the principal actor. Nizar explains
that the film he wrote and acted in depicts his life
- for example, he said, “What I have experienced
is shown in this film; it conveys that school, and
people, including those in the street and institu-
tions, do not listen to young people! This is the
reality that we want to raise awareness about in
this film.”
Following this film, Nizar wrote about thirty
scripts on the experiences of young people in
working class neighborhoods. In describing one
of the scripts, he states, “I would like to show
the large number of young people in the cafes
on Monday morning drinking coffee as a sign of
unemployment….and talk about school dropout
and many other issues young people are facing.”
“In the Youth Center, we feel that young people
accept us”, Nizar indicated. He said, “after the
video projection, the children and adolescents
said they loved the short film and encouraged us
by saying that we did a great job and should con-
tinue our filmmaking. Also our film trainers have
become our friends - they let us be free to create
and express ourselves.”
A professional working with the adolescents on
filmmaking said, “Give adolescents the chance
to express their concerns and they become a full
partner in actions that concern them. In this film,
these (adolescent) children were very motivated
and happy. They play roles they actually live. This
shows that adolescents want to be partners in
producing programmes (films) about their lives
and not just consumers of programmes produced
about them.”

11. 11
C4D CASE STUDY – WCARO
Tunisia
Strategy, and identify persistent or other bottlenecks
affecting the implementation process and needing to
be addressed. (See the box sharing a ‘most significant
change narrative’.) It helped to assess and further
analyze partners’ roles, their accountabilities and their
commitment to capitalize on the social change out-
comes. It particularly contributed to enhancing stake-
holders’ capacities and improving institutional systems
and related mechanisms aimed at sustaining the
CSBC Strategy. For example, the regional coordination
committees were found to be a powerful platform to
exchange information on good practices and lessons
learned among the institutions implementing the
CSBC Strategy. This included a good practice that
resulted in creating new demands among adolescents
for interventions, such as in the NGO Complexe de
L’Enfant in Gabès where a cinema club for adolescents
is exemplary of one of their demands.
Main achievements
The commitment and involvement of the National
Steering Committee of the National Juvenile Justice
Project and the two regional committees have ensured
broad support of the CBSC Strategy by different mem-
bers. Their engagement in the elaboration and valida-
tion of the CSBC Strategy significantly facilitated its
implementation process. In each targeted region, the
national and regional committees have successfully
provided a forum and generated a movement toward
enhancing coordination on juvenile justice among key
stakeholders. This has improved the communication
flow within and between the involved institutions and
between levels while contributing to strengthening
C4D capacities.
The two regional committees’ regular meetings
resulted in action plans and better targeted engage-
ment with stakeholders in the implementation of the
CSBC Strategy. This has contributed, for example, to
changing the perception and practice of professionals
in relation to their traditional communication meth-
ods and approaches and work habits, leading to their
collaboration with other professionals, such as those
related to the theater and cinema and working with
NGOs’ animators. The project has helped build more
social cohesion among several institutions (like the
CDIS and Complexe de L’Enfant) around the collective
C4D project.
The positive support of interpersonal communication
via the 34 dialogue sessions in which nearly 50 ado-
lescents and their families participated, as referred to
above, catalyzed and resulted in:
• The formulation of recommendations and opinions
on mechanisms to reduce adolescents committing
offenses that put them in conflict with the law
• The elaboration of relevant communication materials
by and for young people
• The development of a social mobilization action plan
led by adolescents acting as agents of change

12. 12
C4D CASE STUDY – WCARO
Tunisia
The artistic campaign and related communication
materials made especially by the adolescents drew on
the conclusions arrived at in dialogues and from artistic
training sessions. Their products, especially the videos
(short films) and theater productions, have been
successfully used to extend the reach of discussions
and debates on the prevention of children coming
into conflict with the law, prevention of recidivism and
promotion of alternatives to detention. They have also
contributed a positive image of adolescents as being
capable and hopeful for their future.
Remaining challenges
Synergies and connections with other programmatic
areas, such as education and adolescent programming
have not been sufficiently developed, especially in
reducing school dropout and supporting adolescent
development and opportunities. In particular, more
work is needed with the Ministry of Education and
the Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment in
terms of their involvement in programmes related to
juvenile justice. Their support would be instrumental
in preventing children and adolescents from future
conflict with the law and in ensuring the cooperation
and social reintegration of children who have already
been in conflict with the law.
While the participatory approach with children and
adolescents ensured equal participation of girls and
boys in the CSBC Strategy activities, such as theater
production and filmmaking, there was little attention
given to the specific situations of girls who are or have
been in conflict with the law.
Lessons learned
The mid-term review revealed several lessons learned
during the first phase of implementation of the CSBC
Strategy, which were especially shared by adolescents
and key stakeholders engaged in the two regional
committees. Some of these included:
• It is necessary to have strong involvement of both
national and regional juvenile justice partners (such
as the members of both the National Steering Com-
mittee of the National Juvenile Justice Project and
regional committees) to coordinate, plan, implement,
monitor and refine C4D juvenile justice interventions.
• Professionals in institutions working with children
and adolescents in contact with the law who en-
gaged in the CSBC Strategy and included it in their
plans of action contributed to engendering a genuine
sense of ownership of the C4D interventions.

13. 13
C4D CASE STUDY – WCARO
Tunisia
• Coaching adolescents through dialogue strengthens
their communication skills, raises their level
of confidence, fosters their desire to change
their situation and increases their feeling of
empowerment to do so.
• Cultural and artistic activities are most appreciated
by both adolescents and parents, helping them to
develop creativity while also enhancing the ability to
express themselves and better communicate with
their peers, parents and society.
• Involving children and adolescents at risk and
those who are in conflict with the law through C4D
approaches recognizes their capacities as agents
of change. This helped to raise awareness among
the public to not stigmatize these children and
adolescents and instead contribute to their social
reintegration.
• Counterparts appreciated the quality of assistance
provided by UNICEF. Training and technical support
on the practical application of C4D approaches in-
creased understanding and perceptions of the value
of C4D to change attitudes, practices and behaviours
vis-à-vis children and adolescents who are at risk or
in conflict with the law.
• Being a powerful catalyst to leverage partners and
different actors to work together in the area of juve-
nile justice is UNICEF’s comparative advantage. This
includes providing expertise and recognizing children
and adolescents as valuable agents of change.
Planned next steps
The participatory self-evaluation regional workshops
resulted in recommending the following next steps:
• Put in place a sustainable and scale up strategy, built
on the results of action research that has been sup-
ported starting from the successful implementation
of the two models. In effect, the kick-start at local
level, mainly in the south (Gabès region), is providing
the stimulus for the neighboring regions to replicate
the approach.
• Continue UNICEF’s support in the pilot areas to guide
C4D programming and consolidate and sustain gains,
while extending the project to other regions in order
to take the CSBC strategy to scale.
• Draw from the experience of the multi-disciplinary
teams working with children and adolescents in con-
flict with the law in the two pilot regions referred to
above and establish a Local Expert Group on Social
Communication for Juvenile Justice that coaches
teams and supports them in building their knowledge
and experience. It is envisioned that this group would
build local capacity and provide technical support to
take the CSBC Strategy to scale.
• Provide continuity on building institutional capacity on
C4D, including with NGOs and local associations.
• Continue to support social mobilization actions and
horizontal communication with a focus on adoles-
cents acting as agents of change, including increased
opportunities for the use of social media and tradi-
tional radio communication.

14. 14
C4D CASE STUDY – WCARO
Tunisia
• Develop specific participation methods (e.g. dia-
logues, theater productions, etc.) geared for younger
and older adolescents, 12-14 year olds and 15-18
year olds, respectively.
• Develop a strategy to mobilize and involve fathers
in the project, such as in the dialogue sessions and
support of theater performances.
• Strengthen the involvement of the education sector
in the prevention of risky behaviours among children
and adolescents that can lead to conflict with the law
and also foster action that would contribute to social
reintegration of children and adolescents in conflict
with the law.
• Strengthen the role of local associations and family
mediators at youth centers, and psychosocial experts
and neighborhood leaders in advocacy and interven-
tions surrounding juvenile justice.
Case study developed with support from:
Contacts: Mokhtar Dhahri, Communication Specialist
Additional reference
• Prof. Dr. Pierre-Noël Denieuil, Dr. Abdelkhalek Bchir,
Dr. Houda Laroussi, Mme Synda Koundi. Rapport
d’état des lieux à Manouba et Gabès, Baseline. No-
vembre 2016.
• Stratégie de Communication pour un changement
social et comportemental visant la prévention de la
délinquance juvénile et la promotion des mesures
alternatives à la détention.