A/HRC/25/35 15. The justice system is often intimidating for children. They may be afraid to make complaints out of fear of harassment, further stigmatization, abandonment or reprisals against them or their families. They may also lack trust and confidence that their complaints will be taken seriously and fairly assessed.23 In addition, in some parts of the world, it is culturally and socially unacceptable for children to lodge complaints and claim redress. Doing so would place children at great risks of reprisals, including violence, intimidation, exclusion and ostracism. Violence against children is also often considered as a fact of life rather than a rights violation that could be brought to court. 16. In addition, access to justice for children usually depends on the support provided by adults, who themselves may not be aware of children’s rights or know how to best support their children. Children often have no capacity to act without their parents or legal representatives, which is particularly problematic in case of a conflict of interest. In addition, children are sometimes not accepted or seen as rights holders, but rather as subject to the good will of adults, who may not act in the best interest of the child. During the process, decisions are often taken without explaining them and their consequences to children. Children’s ability to access justice is also affected by factors such as the costs of proceedings and the physical distance to courts as they often lack the necessary means to pay for fees or organize travel. 17. While difficulties mentioned above are experienced by many children, certain groups of children, including children in alternative care, children deprived of their liberty, children with disabilities, children living in poverty,24 children living in the streets, belonging to minorities or who are indigenous children,25 girls,26 children in conflict situations, asylum-seeking and migrant children, are faced with additional barriers in accessing justice. These children are often exposed to multiple forms of stigmatization and discrimination, including on grounds of sex, disability, race, ethnicity, colour, language, religion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status, such as sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as violence, such as gender-based violence, domestic violence, murder and violence related to organized crime and gangs, witchcraft and serious forms of violence based on ill perceptions towards children with disability and albinism. It should be emphasized that girls and boys often experience violence differently. While boys are more exposed to serious forms of violence on the streets, in gangs and in organized crime, girls are more exposed to violence in the private sphere, in particular sexual violence, which is often associated with shame, fear and distrust, which prevents them from speaking out and seeking help to bring the perpetrator to justice. 23 24 25 26 Child Rights Connect, survey, see footnote 1 above. See the Report of the Special Rapporteur on Extreme poverty and human rights (A/67/278), analysing the obstacles to access to justice for persons living in poverty. See the Study by the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on Access to justice in the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples (A/HRC/24/50), paras. 66-70. UN Women, Progress on the World`s Women 2011-2012: In Pursuit of Justice, 2011. On 18 February 2013, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women held a half-day general discussion on access to justice, in order to start elaborating a general recommendation on access to justice for women and girls. 7