United Nations Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Children in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice A/RES/69/194 account any power imbalance and the vulnerability of the child or his or her family in consenting to a settlement, with due regard for any future risk to the safety of the child or other children; (i) To ensure that child victims of violence and their families have access to appropriate mechanisms or procedures in order to obtain redress and reparation, including from the State, and that relevant information about those mechanisms is publicized and easily accessible. 21. Recognizing the fact that, for prosecutions to be effective, it is often necessary for child victims of violence to participate in the criminal justice process, that in some jurisdictions children can be required or compelled to testify and that these children are vulnerable and in need of special protection, assistance and support in order to prevent further hardship and trauma that may result from their participation in the criminal justice process, Member States are required in this regard to ensure that the child’s privacy is fully respected at all stages of the proceedings and are urged, as appropriate: (a) To ensure the availability for children of special services, physical and mental health care and protection that take into account gender and are appropriate to the age, level of maturity and needs of the child in order to prevent further hardship and trauma and promote the physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of child victims of violence; (b) To ensure that children who have been subjected to sexual abuse, and especially girls who have become pregnant or children living with HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases as a result of the abuse, receive age-appropriate medical advice and counselling and are provided with the requisite physical and mental health care and support; (c) To ensure that child victims receive assistance from support persons commencing at the initial report and continuing until such services are no longer required; (d) To ensure that professionals who are responsible for assisting child victims make every effort to coordinate support to avoid unnecessary procedures and limit the number of interviews. VI. Ensuring effective investigation and prosecution of incidents of violence against children 22. In order to effectively investigate and prosecute incidents of violence against children and bring the perpetrators to justice, Member States are urged, as appropriate and while taking into consideration relevant international human rights instruments: (a) To ensure that the primary responsibility for initiating investigations and prosecutions lies with the police, the prosecution and other competent authorities and does not require an official complaint to be filed by the child victim of violence or a parent or legal guardian of the child; (b) To adopt and implement policies and programmes aimed at guiding all decisions concerning the prosecution of offences of violence against children and ensuring the fairness, integrity and effectiveness of such decisions; (c) To ensure that the applicable laws, policies, procedures, programmes and practices related to violence against children are consistently and effectively implemented by the criminal justice system; 15/29