Marie-Therese Dahonnon Zeze

Treatment of Juvenile Deviance and Risk Factors for Recidivism Marie-Therese Dahonnon Zeze

This book is an analysis of the means provided by the Ivorian juvenile justice system for the protection of adolescents who have broken away from the social link. The study was carried out at the Centre d'Observation des Mineurs (COM), a socio-educational institution for deviant minors located within the Abidjan House of Arrest and Correction (MACA). This study shows that despite the efforts made by the judicial authorities and child and youth protection specialists, adolescents persist and repeat their antisocial acts after their release from this resocialization centre. This leads them back to prison. In order to understand this paradox, we used both a quantitative and qualitative approach and interviewed the deviant minors of the COM, as well as the actors (referring educators, parents, institutional managers) involved in the care of this category of adolescents. The results reveal institutional, structural and financial constraints and cultural beliefs that limit the care of these adolescents on the margins of society.