violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

WORLD REPORT ONviolence against childrenPaulo Sérgio PinheiroIndependent Expert for the United NationsSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children

WORLD REPORT ONviolence against childrenPaulo Sérgio PinheiroIndependent Expert for the United NationsSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against ChildrenPublished by the United NationsSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not implythe expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nations or the regionalconsultation partners concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or itsauthorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.The Study Secretariat welcomes requests for permission to reproduce and translate this book in partor in full. Applications and enquiries should be addressed to the Office of The High Commissionerfor Human Rights, United Nations Children’s Fund, and the World Health Organization whichwill be glad to provide the latest information on any changes made to the text.Designed by the United Nations Publishing Services (UN Geneva)and Services Concept (www.services-concept.ch)Printed in Geneva, Switzerland by ATAR Roto Presse SAThis book may also be consulted and downloaded on the following websites:http://www.violencestudy.orghttp://www.ohchr.orghttp://www.unicef.orghttp://www.who.intISBN-10 92-95057-51-1ISBN-13 978-92-95057-51-7

ContentsAcknowledgementsPrefaceForewordMessage from the NGO Advisory PanelThe Imperative to End Violence against ChildrenVXIXIIIXVXVII1. An end to violence against children 1Introduction 3Making a real difference 3Prevention is the key 6A global problem 6Principles and recommendations 17Overarching recommendations 18Implementation and follow-up 24References 262. Violence against children and international human rights law and standards 29Introduction 31The Convention on the Rights of the Child 32International criminal, humanitarian, refugee and labour law 37Regional human rights systems 38Non-binding instruments 39References 423. Violence against children in the home and family 45Introduction 47Human rights instruments 48Background and context 50Nature and extent of the problem 50The consequences of violence against children 63Factors contributing to violence 66Responses to violence against children in the home and family 73Recommendations 92References 964. Violence against children in schools and educational settings 109Introduction 111Human rights instruments 113Background and context 115III

IVNature and extent of the problem 115Impacts of violence at school 128Factors contributing to violence 131Responses to violence against children in schools and educational settings 136Recommendations 153References 1575. Violence against children in care and justice institutions 171Introduction 175Human rights instruments 177Background and context 178Factors contributing to violence in institutions 180Children in institutional care 183Children in custody and detention 190Other children in State custody 201Responses to violence against children in care and justice institutions 203Recommendations 216References 2206. Violence against children in places of work 231Introduction 233Human rights instruments 234Background and context 238Nature and extent of the problem 241Factors contributing to violence 251Responses to violence against children in places of work 253Recommendations 268References 2717. Violence against children in the community 283Introduction 285Human rights instruments 286Background and context 286Nature and extent of the problem 287Factors contributing to violence 301Responses to violence against children in the community 317Recommendations 335References 3398. The way forward 353Annex 357

Development Programme (UNDP); the joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS(UNAIDS); the United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI); the UnitedNations Information Service, the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW);the United Nations Population Fund, (UNFPA); the United Nations Development Fundfor Women (UNIFEM); the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP),in particular Kimberly Gamble-Payne; the United Nations Office for the Coordination ofHumanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA); UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre; the World Bank;the Inter-Parliamentary Union; and the International Committee of the Red Cross; the IndianOcean Observatory; the European Commission Daphne Programme.VIThe Editorial BoardShirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra, Nancy Baron, Jo Becker, Susan Bissell, Alexander Butchart,Nancy Cardia, Jane Connors, Jaap Doek, Amaya Gillespie, Savitri Goonesekere, Hani Jahshan,Maria Francisca Ize-Charrin, Etienne Krug, Karin Landgren, Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo,Jim Mercy, Peter Newell, Alison Phinney Harvey, Frans Roselaers, Marta Santos-Pais.Invited ExpertsAssefa Bequele, Ragne Birte Lund, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Anees Jillani,Moushira Khattab, Thoko Majokweni, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Phillip O’Brien, Juan Miguel Petit.Contributing authorsKevin Browne, Fatuma Chege, Luke Dowdney, Alexander Fyfe, Deborah Gorman-Smith,Changu Mannathoko, Claudia Mitchell, Carmen Madrinan and Deborah Muir, Moncef Moalla,Yoshie Noguchi, Teija Vallandingham, and the many peer reviewers internationally.Publication developmentMaggie Black, lead writer; Andrew Wilson, writer and editor; Stuart Adams, support writer;Anne Schreier-Audoire, copy editor; Michelle Siegel and colleagues, UNICEF, design;Sophie Combette, and Services-Concept, design and lay-out.Research Advisory GroupGareth Jones(lead expert), Patrick Belser, Jeroo Bilimoria, Joan Durrant, Michaelle de Cocke,Michael Dunne, Claudia Garcia-Moreno, Henrica Jansen, Chen Jinqui, Jack Jones,Ingrid Leversen, the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglectcolleagues (ISPCAN), Doris Ma Fat, Dipak Naker; Sami Nevala, Leanne Riley,Oddrun Samdal, Kenji Shibuya.

I would like to thank the generous support for my research work that I have received from2003 to 2006 from the Center for the Study of Violence, University of São Paulo, NEV/CEPID/USP and the São Paulo State Foundation for the Support of Research, (FAPESP),Brazil; the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológica (CNPq), theCentre de Recherches sur le Brésil Contemporain (CRBC); École des Hautes Études enSciences Sociales, Maison des Sciences de l’Homme and the Chaire Brésilienne de SciencesSociales Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, Paris, and the Watson Institute for International Studies,Brown University, USA.DonorsThe Governments of Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Monaco,Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.Private sector partners: The Oak Foundation; The Body Shop; Microsoft Corporation.The nine regional steering and planning committees and the host Governments forthe regional consultations, sub-regional and national consultationsLatin America Regional Consultation, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaVIINorth America Regional Consultation, Toronto, CanadaMiddle East and North Africa Regional Consultation, Cairo, EgyptPacific Island Nations Sub-regional Consultation, Suva, FijiIndian Ocean Island Nations Sub-regional Consultation, Antananarivo, MadagascarWest and Central Africa Regional Consultation, Bamako, MaliSouth Asia Regional Consultation, Islamabad, PakistanEurope and Central Asia Regional Consultation, Ljubljana, SloveniaEastern and Southern Africa Regional Consultation, Johannesburg, South AfricaEast Asia and the Pacific Regional Consultation, Bangkok, ThailandCaribbean Regional Consultation, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

Regional bodiesThe African Union, in particular its African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfareof the Child; the Caribbean Community (CARICOM); the Council of Europe, particularly theDeputy Secretary-General of the Council and the European Commissioner for Human Rights;the European Union, in particular, the Personal Representative of the Secretary-Generalon Human Rights; the League of Arab States; the Organization of American States and, inparticular, its Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; and the South Asian Associationfor Regional Cooperation.VIIIChildren and young peopleThe children and young people, and youth facilitators who have been involved in the Studyprocess since the very beginning. Their contributions, hope, strength and energy have beenextremely valuable in ensuring that their message, essential for future generations, wouldcontinue to be heard loud and clear.The NGO Advisory Panel for the UN Secretary-General’s Studyon Violence against ChildrenJo Becker (co-chair), Human Rights Watch; Melanie Gow (co-chair), World VisionInternational, Australia; Mary Beloff, Center of Legal and Social Studies on Childhood andYouth, Argentina; Carol Lynn Bower, Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse andNeglect (RAPCAN), South Africa; Luke Dowdney, Viva Rio, Brazil; Joseph Gathia,Centre of Concern for Child Labour, India; Dilyana Giteva, Human Rights Project, Bulgaria;Stuart Hart, International School Psychology Association (ISPA) and the International Institutefor Child Rights and Development (IICRD), United States; Séverine Jacomy, Focal PointSexual Exploitation of Children, Switzerland; Elizabeth Jareg, International Save the ChildrenAlliance, Norway; Dr. Hasson Qasem Khan, Yemen Psychological Association, Yemen;Ellen Mouravieff-Apostol, International Federation of Social Workers, Switzerland;Najat M’jid, BAYTI, Morocco; Virginia Murillo Herrera, Defense for Children International,Costa Rica; Peter Newell, Global Initiative to End all Corporal Punishment of Children,United Kingdom; Millie Odhiambo, Child Rights Advisory Documentation and Legal Center(CRADLE), Kenya; Anastasia Pinto, Centre for Organization Research and Education/WorldCoalition for Indigenous Children and Youth, India; Elizabeth Protacio-de Castro, Programon Psychosocial Trauma and Human Rights, Center for Integrative and Development Studies,University of the Philippines, Philippines; Rakesh Rajani, Haki Elimu, Tanzania;Marcellina Mian, Kimberly Svevo, Barbara Bonner (ISPCAN); Washeila Sait, DisabledChildren’s Action Group, South Africa; Dick Sobsey, Inclusion International, The CanadianAssociation for Community Living, The JP Das Developmental Disabilities Centre at

the University of Alberta, Canada; Liliana Ines Tojo, Center for Justice and International Law(CEJIL), Brazil; Marie Wernham, Consortium for Street Children, United Kingdom.Other NGOs, civil society and academic institutionsVeronica Yates, Isabelle Guitard and Jenny Thomas at the Child Rights Information Network;Lena Karlsson, Roberta Cecchetti, Ravi Karkara, and colleagues at Save the Children;the National Committees of UNICEF; Desmond Runyan (ISPCAN); Carmen Madrinan,End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes(ECPAT); Christine Bloch, Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children;Miquel Paladella, Global Movement for Children; Jim Cairns, World Conference of Religionsfor Peace; the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, Egypt; Annemarie Schlack,SOS Children’s Villages; Plan International; Rachel Brett, Quaker UN Office; Areti Sianni,Amnesty International; Dina Abousamra, Norwegian Refugee Council; Maria Amélia Azevedoe Viviane Nogueira de Azevedo Guerra, Laboratorio de Estudos da Crianca (LACRI);Musimbi Kanyoro, World YWCA and the International Alliance of Youth CEOs;Bartholomew Shaha and Jenny Aris World Alliance of YMCAs; Ibrahim Osman,International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; Gillian Shirazi,International Award Association; Lesly Bulman, World Association of Girl Guides and GirlScouts; Eduardo Missoni, World Organization of the Scout Movement; Nora Groce of YaleUniversity School of Public Health, Michael Dunne et al of Queensland Universityof Technology.IXThe Study SecretariatThe Director, Amaya Gillespie, and colleagues, Marcelo Daher (my principal assisant),Esther van der Velde, Imma Guerras, Teizu Guluma, Alexandra Scolari, Véronique Taveau,Sunita Grote, Helen Moestue, June Kane, Phyllis Ressler, Susan Fountain, and otherconsultants and interns.

PrefaceViolence against children cuts across boundaries of geography, race, class, religion and culture. Itoccurs in homes, schools and streets; in places of work and entertainment, and in care and detentioncentres. Perpetrators include parents, family members, teachers, caretakers, law enforcementauthorities and other children. Some children are particularly vulnerable because of gender, race,ethnic origin, disability or social status. And no country is immune, whether rich or poor.The consequences of violence can be devastating. Above all, it can result in early death. Buteven children who survive must cope with terrible physical and emotional scars. Indeed, violenceplaces at risk not only their health, but also their ability to learn and grow into adults who cancreate sound families and communities.Violence against children is thus a major threat to global development and our work to reachthe Millennium Development Goals. We will not achieve universal primary education unlesschildren are safe in school. The spread of HIV/AIDS will not be halted until we also stop theviolence against girls that helps to fuel the pandemic. Violence against children is also a majorobstacle to gender equality.XIThe impact of violence against children is fully and persuasively documented in the UnitedNations Study that is the subject of this book. The Study also outlines what must be done toconfront this challenge. In that effort, States bear primary responsibility for preventing andresponding to violence against children, and for upholding the Convention on the Rights of theChild and other treaties, which guarantee girls and boys everywhere the right to live their livesfree from violence. There must be action in all sectors – from health and education to labourand justice – and at all levels, local, national and international. But civil society groups andindividual citizens also have important roles to play. The UN family, for its part, remains stronglycommitted to this work.Violence against children is never justifiable. Nor is it inevitable. If its underlying causes areidentified and addressed, violence against children is entirely preventable. This book and Studyshould help to improve our understanding of the problem, and help us devise strategies to confrontit. I therefore commend the contents to a wide global audience.Kofi AnnanUnited Nations Secretary-GeneralOctober 2006

XII

Message from the NGO Advisory Panel tothe United Nations Secretary-General’s Studyon Violence against ChildrenNGOs’ commitment to the Study and its follow-upThis Study brings to the attention of the highest level of the United Nations the horrific scaleof all forms of violence suffered by girls and boys at the hands of adults throughout the world.The Study process and outcome are also an affirmation of the involvement and capacity of children.Children have been engaged in the Study to an unprecedented degree. Their presence, theirhumanity, input and commitment have enriched every aspect of the Study.Children’s hopes and expectations demand that States act now with real urgency to fulfil theirobligations to children as rights-holders. Not only Governments, but individual adults throughoutthe world must accept, finally, the core message of the Study: that no violence against girls andboys is justifiable, and that all violence against them is preventable. All violence against children isa violation of their equal human right to respect for their human dignity and physical integrity.XVNon-governmental organisations (NGOs) – international, regional and national – have beeninvolved from the very beginning of the process. Working with UN and other agencies, NGOshave facilitated and supported the involvement of girls and boys at national, regional and internationallevel. NGOs, often working directly with children and young people, have documentedthe types and frequency of violence against children, including the shameful fact that in 2006so much of it still remains lawful and State-authorised – endorsed and administered by thoseresponsible for children’s upbringing, care, welfare and education. NGOs have also demonstratedand promoted positive programmes and interventions – ways forward towards a world in whichall violence against children is condemned and eliminated. The NGO Advisory Panel, set up tosupport the Study and expanded to include children and youth members, and the Sub-Group onChildren and Violence of the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, havebeen fully consulted and involved in the preparation of the Study outcomes. 1The UN Secretary-General’s Study must generate a living process that starts rather than ends withthe submission of the report to the General Assembly and the publication of this book. NGOs areready and willing to continue and collaborate in this process. We believe that it should be led andcoordinated by a Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Childrenwho must, reflecting the Study process, engage directly with children as partners.Children have underlined with passion the urgency of stopping all this violence; Paulo SérgioPinheiro has responded by setting essential time-bound targets for Governments, which bear the

primary obligation to prevent violence and respond. We will work together with Governments tomeet these targets, and in particular:• to ensure that all currently lawfully accepted violence against girls and boys, includingall corporal punishment, all harmful traditional practices, and all sexual violence,is prohibited and also effectively eliminated through awareness raising and publiceducation;• to support the development of a multi-faceted and systematic framework to respond toviolence against children, fully integrated within national planning processes.Finally, we would like to express our thanks to Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, who has led the Study processin an open and participatory fashion, travelled tirelessly and proved himself to be an attentiveand responsive listener to children.XVI1 Members of the Sub-Group on Violence of the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child include:African Child Policy Forum; Arigatou Foundation; ECPAT International; Friends World Committee for Consultation;Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children; Human Rights Watch; International Alliance of Women;International Catholic Child Bureau (ICCB/BICE); International Council of Women; International Federation of SocialWorkers ; International Federation Terre des Hommes; International Save the Children Alliance; Jesuit Refugee Service;Plan International; Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect – RAPCAN; SOS-KinderdorfInternational; World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT); WWSF Women’s World Summit Foundation; World Unionof Catholic Women’s Organisations; World Vision International.

the imperative To endviolence against childrenThe World Report on Violence against Children is not an individual achievement nor the work ofjust one office, but the result of a genuine and lively participatory process, involving Governments,international entities, civil society and children. Over the last three years I have had the privilegeof learning from the testimony of thousands of adults and children from all regions of the world.Their commitment to the protection and promotion of children’s rights has been the driving forcebehind the development of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violence againstChildren, and this book which elaborates on the ‘Study’.The Study confirms that violence against children happens in all parts of the world. In the courseof the Study process, though, I have witnessed the efforts of many civil society organisations thatstrive ceaselessly at local and international levels to ensure the protection of children. We mustbe inspired by the strength of those in the field who are confronted with very difficult conditionson a daily basis and who have extremely creative approaches for reducing children’s exposure toviolence and advocating for their rights.XVIIAnother promising element of the Study process has been the great interest of Governments allover the world to address the issue of violence against children. As of September 2006, I hadreceived a total of 136 responses to the questionnaire I sent to Governments as I prepared myreport. Their responses do not deny the pervasiveness of violence. This recognition of violence,and the open involvement of Governments, are important steps towards putting into practice thecommitments States made when they ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights ofthe Child.The collaboration of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UnitedNations Children’s Fund and the World Health Organisation in developing the Study was crucialin recognising the multi-faceted nature of violence against children and the need for a cooperative,multidisciplinary approach to addressing it. The Study also benefited from the substantialcontributions of research centres and experts working in very different fields such as criminal justice,public health, education, public security and human rights. This is in itself a reminder thatmaking a real and lasting difference in the lives of children requires all sectors to work togetherand to coordinate their efforts.The preparation of a Study with such global dimensions was only possible through mobilisationof a formidable network of organisations and programmes around the world. United Nationsentities played a leading role in promoting this participatory process, in partnership with Governmentsand civil society, and especially through the national, subregional and regional con-

sultations that were facilitated by UNICEF offices and various partners. This broad process ofconsultation was the key strategy that ensured that the final recommendations in this report arefirmly anchored in the reality of children’s lives at country level.Some forms of violence, such as sexual exploitation and trafficking and the impact of armed conflicton children, have provoked international condemnation over the past decade. The recognitionof these extreme situations has helped to bring children’s concerns high on the internationalagenda. However attention to violence against children in general continues to be fragmentedand very limited – different forms of violence in the home, schools, institutions and the communityare largely ignored in current debates in the international community.XVIIIFamily units are the best providers of physical and emotional care for children. Schools have afundamental role in ensuring the development of children’s potential while protecting them. Butit is Governments that have the responsibility to build a solid legal framework and to provide thesupport needed by families, schools and communities to adequately fulfil their role.Appropriate legal frameworks are vital to ending violence against children, but preventing andresponding to violence does not mean adopting unilateral, tough or repressive measures. Moreover,if these measures violate the rights of any group of citizens, they are never going to be effective.This is particularly serious when countries face the challenges of growing levels of violenceand crime. If Governments are committed to ensuring safety, it is clear that this is not going to beachieved by locking up adolescents under appalling conditions, by condoning the use of violenceby agents of the State, or by weakening civil and political rights. This Study demonstrates thateffective responses to violence involve comprehensive efforts, combining long-term investment inprevention, challenging attitudes which condone or support violence, reliable data collection, andimproving the functioning of State institutions and ensuring accountability.As Nelson Mandela has reminded us, violence thrives in the absence of democracy and respect forhuman rights. Violence against children persists as a permanent threat where authoritarian relationshipsbetween adults and children remain. The belief that adults have unlimited rights in theupbringing of a child compromises any approach to stop and prevent violence committed withinthe home, school or state institution. For lasting change, attitudes that condone or normaliseviolence against children, including stereotypical gender roles, need to be challenged,Our failure to listen to children has resulted in a failure to respond to their needs. It is hard tounderstand why and how adults can continue to argue that children should have less protectionfrom violence than adults do: in law, in policy and in practice. I sincerely hope that this Study willbe a watershed in ending the double standards and compromises that have existed for far too long.

Throughout the Study, children’s voices were listened to, heard, and respected. They assertedtheir right to protection from all forms of violence, and their desire to enjoy that right withoutdelay. Their testimonies describing the harm they experience as a result of violence, and theirdistress that many adults continue to accept and approve of it must prompt us to live up to ourprinciples, and to practise what we preach. We must act now to end children’s scepticism aboutadult promises. Children are tired of being told they are the future. They want to see us fulfil ourpromises in the present, and enjoy their right to be protected from violence today.Paulo Sérgio PinheiroGeneva, Fall 2006XIX

UNICEF/HQ 05-1826. Giacomo PirozziUkraine, 2005, Artem, 14, sits on a wall outside ‘Way Home’, a shelter in the port city of Odessa.Artem arrived at the shelter three months ago after living for two years on the streets.

1An end toviolence against childrenIntroduction 3Making a real difference 3Prevention is the key 6A global problem 6Settings in which violence occurs 7Hidden dimensions of violence against children 10Range and scale of the problem 11Risk factors and protective factors 12The devastating impact of violence 13Principles and recommendations 17Overarching recommendations 18Implementation and follow-up 24National and regional level 24International level 25References 26An end to violence against children

An end to violence against children

“The children must, at last, play in the open veldt, no longer tortured by the pangs of hunger or ravagedby disease or threatened with the scourge of ignorance, molestation and abuse, and no longer requiredto engage in deeds whose gravity exceeds the demands of their tender years.”Nelson Mandela, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate1IntroductionThe full range and scale of all forms ofviolence against children are only now becomingvisible, as is the evidence of the harm itdoes. This book documents the outcomes andrecommendations of the process of the UnitedNations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children.‘The Study’ is the first comprehensive, globalstudy on all forms of violence against children.It builds on the model of the study on theimpact of armed conflict on children, preparedby Graça Machel and presented to the GeneralAssembly in 1996, and follows the WorldHealth Organization’s 2002 World Report onViolence and Health. 1The Study is also the first United Nations(UN) study to engage directly and consistentlywith children, underlining and reflecting children’sstatus as rights holders, and their rightto express views on all matters that affect themand have their views given due weight.The central message of the Study is that noviolence against children is justifiable, and allviolence against children is preventable. TheStudy reveals that in every region, in starkcontradiction to States’ human rights obligationsand children’s developmental needs,much violence against children remains legal,State-authorised and socially approved. TheStudy aims to mark a definitive global turningpoint: an end to the justification of violenceagainst children, whether accepted as ‘tradition’or disguised as ‘discipline’.There can be no compromise in challengingviolence against children. Children’s uniqueness– their human potential, their initial fragilityand vulnerability, their dependence on adultsfor their growth and development – make anunassailable case for more, not less, investmentin prevention and protection from violence.In recent decades some extreme forms ofviolence against children, including sexualexploitation and trafficking, female genitalmutilation (FGM), the worst forms of childlabour and the impact of armed conflict, haveprovoked international outcry and achieveda consensus of condemnation, although norapid remedy. But in addition to these extremeforms of violence, many children are routinelyexposed to physical, sexual and psychologicalviolence in their homes and schools, in careand justice systems, in places of work and intheir communities. All of this has devastatingconsequences for their health and well-being,now and in the future.Making a realdifferenceA number of linked and profound developmentssuggest that the process and outcomesof the Study are timed to make a real differenceto the status and lives of children.First, recognition of human rights obligationsto eliminate violence against childrenhas intensified with the adoption and almostuniversal ratification of the Convention of theRights of the Child (CRC). The latter underlineschildren’s status as rights holders. Yet, asAn end to violence against children

“Children are not mini-human beings with mini-human rights. But as long as adults continueto regard them as such, violence against children will persist.”Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of EuropeMandate and scope of the StudyIn 2001, on the recommendation of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, theGeneral Assembly in its resolution 56/138 requested the Secretary-General to conductan in-depth study on the question of violence against children and to put forward recommendationsfor consideration by Member States for appropriate action. In February2003, I was appointed by the UN Secretary-General to lead this Study.An end to violence against childrenThe Study adopts the definition of the child as contained in article 1 of the Conventionon the Rights of the Child (CRC): “every human being below the age of 18years unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.” Thedefinition of violence is that of article 19 of the CRC: “all forms of physical or mentalviolence, injury and abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation,including sexual abuse.” It also draws on the definition in the World Report onViolence and Health (2002): “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatenedor actual, against a child, by an individual or group, that either results in or has a highlikelihood of resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, developmentor dignity.” 2In my capacity as Independent Expert, I submitted a report to the UN General Assembly,and this book is intended to complement that report. Child-friendly materials havealso been produced. This book elaborates on the five different settings where violenceagainst children occurs: the family, schools, alternative care institutions and detentionfacilities, places where children work, and in their communities. It does not address theissue of children in armed conflict, as this is in the mandate of the Special Representativeof the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, but it considers relatedissues, such as violence against child refugees and other displaced children.The Study and its secretariat in Geneva were supported by three UN entities: the Officeof the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the UnitedNations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO),and were also informed by a multidisciplinary Editorial Board of experts.

“We have to wipe their tears and transform their gloomy faces into happy ones.We have to kindle the flame of hope and a better tomorrow in them.”The First Lady of Pakistan, Begum Sehba Pervez Musharraf, 2005 I1the Study reveals, despite this broad acceptanceof the CRC, children in almost all Statesare still waiting for full recognition of respectfor their human dignity and physical integrity,and for adequate investment in actions to preventall forms of violence against them.Second, children themselves are speakingout on this issue and beginning to be heardand taken seriously. Children have testifiedat the nine Regional Consultations held inconnection with the Study about the routineviolence they experience, in their homes andfamilies and also in schools, other institutionsand penal systems, in places of work, and intheir communities. Violence against childrenexists in every State and cuts across boundariesof culture, class, education, income, ethnicorigin and age. Throughout the Study process,children have consistently expressed theurgent need to stop all this violence. Childrentestify to the hurt – not only physical, but‘the hurt inside’ – which this violence causesthem, compounded by adult acceptance, evenapproval of it.Governments need to accept that this is indeedan emergency, although it is not a new emergency.Children have suffered violence at thehands of adults unseen and unheard for centuries.But now that the scale and impact ofviolence against children is becoming visible,they cannot be kept waiting any longer forthe effective protection to which they have anunqualified right.Third, growing recognition of the impact ofviolence on the mental and physical health andwell-being of children throughout their liveshas given new urgency to prevention. Until the1960s there was no significant acknowledgement,even among professionals, of the extentof death, rape and injuries inflicted on childrenby parents and those who have a duty of careor are in positions of trust. The problems ofviolence against children in schools and othersettings had also only been given scant attentionuntil recent decades.Significantly, the expansion of research in theneurobiological, behavioural and social scienceshas generated a much deeper understandingof the significance of childhood experiencesto the development of the brain and the centralrole of early relationships in healthy braindevelopment. 3 This research clearly indicatesthe importance of the child’s positive bond orattachment to parents; it demonstrates thatwhen protective relationships do not exist, exposureto stress in the form of violence can disruptthe developing nervous and immune systems,leading to greater susceptibility to physical andmental health problems. Thus, the opportunityto prevent violence against children promisesto address a host of longer-term problemsthat impose a substantial social and economicburden on the nations of the world.Fourth, there is increased recognition that theprevention of violence against children requirescooperation and collaboration among manypartners. In effect, preventing and responding toviolence against children should be everybody’sbusiness. The Study has benefited from collaborationbetween UN agencies addressing humanrights, child protection and public health, andfrom input from a very broad range of sectors.An end to violence against children

“There is a large gap between what we know about violence against children and what we know shouldbe done. We know that violence against children often causes lifelong physical and mental harm. Wealso know that violence erodes the potential for children to contribute to society by affecting theirability to learn and their social and emotional development. Given the importance of children to ourfuture the current complacency cannot continue – we must place “preventing” violence against childrenamong our highest priorities.”James A. Mercy, Editorial Board of the UN Secretary-General’s Studyon Violence against ChildrenAn end to violence against childrenNo longer can different professions afford toaddress this problem while working in isolation.Public health, criminal justice, social services,education, human rights organisations, mediaand businesses – all have a common interest ineliminating violence against children, and canfind more efficient and effective ways to achievethis goal by working together.Prevention is the keyDespite the emerging picture of the scaleof violence against children, there is a greatopportunity now to move towards its elimination.Violence is not an inevitable consequenceof the human condition. Governmentsare increasingly acknowledging andenforcing their human rights obligations tochildren, and recognising the prevalence andlong-term impact of violence. The Study hasconfirmed that the knowledge and capacity toprevent violence against children and reduceits consequences exist. The science base fordeveloping effective violence prevention strategiesand therapeutic interventions is expanding;the existence of evidence-based strategies demonstratesthat – with sufficient commitment andinvestment – creative approaches to preventioncan make a difference. Moreover, protectingyoung children from violence has vast potentialfor reducing all forms of violence in society, aswell as reducing the long-term social and healthconsequences of violence against children.Every society, no matter what its cultural, economicor social background, can and must stopviolence against children now. This requirestransformation of the ‘mindset’ of societies,and the underlying economic and social conditionsassociated with violence.As the Report of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Childrennotes: “The core message of the Study is thatno violence against children is justifiable; allviolence against children is preventable. Thereshould be no more excuses. Member Statesmust act now with urgency to fulfil theirhuman rights obligations and other commitmentsto ensure protection from all forms ofviolence. While legal obligations lie with States,all sectors of society, all individuals, share theresponsibility of condemning and preventingviolence against children and responding tochild victims. None of us can look children inthe eye if we continue to approve or condoneany form of violence against them.” 4A global problemReports of infanticide, cruel and humiliatingpunishment, neglect and abandonment, sexualabuse and other forms of violence againstchildren date back to ancient civilisations. 5,6Recently, documentation of the magnitudeand impact of violence against children showsclearly that this is a very substantial and seriousglobal problem. 7,8 It occurs in every countryin the world in a variety of forms and settingsand is often deeply rooted in cultural,economic, and social practices.A large proportion of children in every societysuffer significant violence within their homes.Only 16 States prohibit all corporal punishmentgainst children in all settings, leaving the vastmajority of the world’s child population without

“Violence against children is a violation of their human rights, a disturbing reality of our societies.It can never be justified whether for disciplinary reasons or cultural tradition. No such thing as“reasonable” levels of violence is acceptable. Legalized violence against children in one context riskstolerance of violence against children generally.”Louise Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights1equal legal protection from being hit and deliberatelyhumiliated within their homes. In addition,children face violence from those entrustedwith their care in schools, in care and justice systems,as well as in places where they are workinglegally or illegally. In over 100 countries,children in schools suffer the reality or threat ofState-authorised, legalised beating. In at least 30States, sentences of whipping or caning are stillbeing imposed on children in penal systems,and in many more States violent punishmentsare authorised in penal and care institutions. 9Settings in which violenceoccursThe Study used an analytical framework basedon the environments or settings in which childhoodis spent – home and family, schools, careand justice systems, workplaces and the community.Chapter 2 explores the existing frameworkof international instruments and mechanismsapplicable to violence against children. Chapters3 to 7 focus on the forms violence takes withineach of these settings. Each chapter aims to coverthe settings-related background and context ofviolence against children, contributory factorsand risks, prevalence insofar as it has been identified,impacts on children and others, and thenecessary directions for preventive action andfor response to violence when it occurs.Describing children’s experience of violenceis far from straightforward. Certain formsof violence against children are common inall settings. Corporal punishment and otherforms of cruel or degrading punishment areused by parents and other family members athome, by those responsible for their care ininstitutions, by teachers in schools, and arealso inflicted on children in conflict with thelaw. In workplaces where children below theminimum legal age for employment are found,employers often enjoy impunity in inflictingcorporal punishment on children for inadequateperformance. In the community, a childwho is labelled vagrant or anti-social may beassaulted or otherwise ill-treated, with impunity,by figures in authority, including police.Children forced into prostitution frequentlydescribe their violent treatment by clients as ifit were something they deserved. 12Sexual abuse, physical and psychological violence,and sexual harassment are forms of violencewhich occur in all settings. In most societies,sexual abuse of girls and boys is mostcommon within the home or is committed by aperson known to the family. But sexual violencealso occurs in schools and other educational settings,by both peers and teachers. It is rife againstchildren in closed workplaces, such as domesticlabourers employed in private households. It alsotakes place in institutions and in the community,at the hands people known to the victimand others. Girls suffer considerably more sexualviolence than boys, and their greater vulnerabilityto violence in many settings is in large part aproduct of the influence of gender-based powerrelations within society. At the same time, boysare more likely to be the victims of homicide,and particularly of violence involving weapons.Exposure to violence in one setting may wellbe reflected or compounded by violence inanother, and the Study’s analysis has illuminatedspecific vulnerabilities that need to beaddressed, setting by setting.An end to violence against children

“Throughout history some children have been loved and cherished and others brutalized by violence.This report reflects that global reality. I hope it will help to promote action to address and eliminate allforms of violence against children, as an essential path to human development and peace.”Savitri Goonesekere, Editorial Board of the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against ChildrenThe Study processThe Study was developed through a participatory process which included Regional,Sub-regional and National Consultations, expert thematic meetings and field visits. InMarch 2004, a detailed questionnaire was sent to Governments on their approachesto violence against children. A total of 136 responses had been received at the time ofpublishing. 10An end to violence against childrenBetween March and July 2005, nine Regional Consultations, for the Caribbean, SouthAsia, West and Central Africa, Latin America, North America, East Asia and thePacific, the Middle East and North Africa, Europe and Central Asia, and Easternand Southern Africa, were convened. Each Consultation brought together an averageof 350 participants, including Government ministers and officials, parliamentarians,representatives of regional and other intergovernmental organisations and UNentities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), national human rights institutions(NHRIs), other elements of civil society, including the media and faith-based organisations,and children themselves. Children participated in each Regional Consultation,which were all preceded by meetings where they developed inputs and recommendationsfor the Study. Outcome reports for each Regional Consultation were also produced.A number of Sub-regional and National Consultations were also held.Governments which hosted these consultations were actively involved in the promotionof the Study. Regional organisations including the African Union, the Arab League, theCaribbean Community (CARICOM), the Council of Europe, the European Union,the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of AmericanStates and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation played importantroles in the organisation of consultations. National and regional organisations havecommitted themselves to ongoing involvement in the follow-up to the Study.Field visits were undertaken in Argentina, Canada, China, El Salvador, Guatemala,Haiti, Honduras, India, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Mali,Pakistan, Paraguay, Slovenia, South Africa, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago – thanksto the hospitality of the Governments of the countries in which visits and consultationstook place.Regular consultations with members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child andspecial procedure mandate holders of the former Commission on Human Rights were

“The participatory process adopted by the Study unleashed a sense of ownership; soul searching andcourage in confessing what has long been denied. We have a historic opportuniy to uproot all forms ofviolence against children and we must not waste it.”Ambassador Moushira Khattab, Secretary General of the National Council for Childhood andMotherhood-Egypt, Vice Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child1held. The concluding observations on States parties’ reports to the Committee wereanalysed, as were the reports of relevant special procedure mandate holders.Many organisations made contributions to the Study, including the InternationalLabour Organization (ILO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner forRefugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), andthe Division for the Advancement of Women of the United Nations Department ofEconomic and Social Affairs. A UN Inter-agency Group on Violence against Childrenmet to develop strategies of follow-up to the Study.This report has also drawn on many inputs made to the Study over the last three yearsby different stakeholders, including children. Close to 300 individuals, NGOs, andother organisations from many parts of the world responded to the call for publicsubmissions. Contributions included submissions from children and major researchreports commissioned specifically for the Study. 11An NGO Advisory Panel, including children and young people, was established earlyin the Study process which included representatives from all regions. The Subgroup onChildren and Violence established within the NGO Group for the CRC also contributedto this effort.In addition to preparing numerous studies, the International Save the Children Alliancemade a special contribution by advising on and facilitating the involvement ofchildren, in particular in the Regional Consultations, together with UNICEF andother partners. The global Children’s Rights Information Network (CRIN) documentedthe progress of the Study, including the meetings with children, making itwidely available on its website.The UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre provided particular support, along with otherresearch centres and networks who submitted information and participated in consultations.Thematic meetings were also convened on gender-based violence, violence inschools, the home and family, violence against children with disabilities; juvenile justicesystems and violence against children in conflict with the law; the role of faith-basedorganisations; information and communication technologies; violence against childrefugee and other displaced children; and on methodologies for measuring violence.An end to violence against children

“Violence against children is a serious breach of human rights, which must end NOW! Let us continueto work together to make this world a world free from any forms of violence against children.”Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Secretary General, Save the Children Sweden10An end to violence against childrenHidden dimensions of violenceagainst childrenOnly a small proportion of acts of violenceagainst children is reported and investigated,and few perpetrators held to account. Inmany parts of the world there are no systemsresponsible for recording, or thoroughly investigating,reports of violence against children.Where official statistics based on reports ofviolence in the home and other settings exist,they dramatically underestimate the true magnitudeof the problem.There are various reasons for this lack of reporting.Very young children who suffer violencein their homes lack the capacity to report.Many children are afraid to report incidentsof violence against them for fear of reprisals byperpetrators, or of interventions by authoritieswhich may worsen their overall situation.In many cases parents, who should protecttheir children, are silent if the violence is perpetratedby a spouse or other family member, ora more powerful member of society such as anemployer, a police officer, or community leader.Fear is closely related to the stigma frequentlyattached to reporting violence. In societieswhere patriarchal notions of family ‘honour’are valued above girls’ human rights and wellbeing,an incident of rape or sexual violence canlead to ostracism of the victim, further violenceand even death at the hands of her family.Many Governments lack systems for consistentregistration of births, leading to a lack of formalidentity that can place infants and small childrenat risk. Many also lack rigorous investigationinto and registration of child deaths. Althoughmillions of girls are married before the age of 18,lack of marriage registration makes the problemdifficult to track. 13 Few States consistentlyrecord and report on the placement of childrenin institutions and alternative care, or in detention,and fewer still collect information aboutviolence against children in such placements.Persistent social acceptance of some types ofviolence against children is a major factor in itsperpetuation in almost every State. Children,the perpetrators of violence against them andthe public at large may accept physical, sexualand psychological violence as an inevitablepart of childhood. Laws in a majority of Statesstill condone ‘reasonable’ or ‘lawful’ corporalpunishment and reflect societal approval ofviolence when it is described or disguised as‘discipline’ (see Figure 1.1). Corporal punishmentand other forms of cruel or degradingpunishment, bullying and sexual harassment,and a range of violent traditional practices maybe perceived as normal, particularly when nolasting visible physical injury results.No country can measure its progress towardsthe elimination of violence against childrenwithout reliable data. To estimate the magnitudeand nature of non-fatal violence againstchildren accurately, surveys are required thatexplore the use of violence by parents andother adults, experiences of violence in childhood,and current health status and health-riskbehaviours of children and adults. Fatal violenceagainst children can only be measuredaccurately through comprehensive death registration,investigation and reporting systems.

“How can we expect children to take human rights seriously and to help build a culture of humanrights, while we adults not only persist in slapping, spanking, smacking and beating them, but actuallydefend doing so as being ‘ for their own good’? Smacking children is not just a lesson in bad behaviour;it is a potent demonstration of contempt for the human rights of smaller, weaker people.”Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, 2006 II1FIGURE 1.1Percentage of the world’s children who are legally protectedfrom corporal punishmentHome2Protected Not protected Unknown980Alternative care47818School42580Penal system(corporal punishmentas sentence)Penal sytem(corporal punishmentas disciplinary measure)Source: Global Initiative to End all Corporal Punishment of Children (2006). Global Summary ofthe Legal Status of Corporal Punishment of Children. 28 July 2006.Range and scale ofthe problemA variety of initiatives, ranging from internationalcomparative studies to small-scale interviewstudies with children at local level, are providinga clearer picture of the magnitude andpervasive nature of the problem in all regions.Information generated by these initiatives indicatesthat, while some violence against childrenis perpetrated by strangers, the vast majority ofviolent acts is perpetrated by people who are partof the child victim’s immediate environment:parents and the wider family, boyfriends or girlfriends,spouses and partners, teachers, schoolmates,and employers. The following examples42810 20 40 60 80 100Percentage of children55give some idea of the range and scale of violenceagainst children covered by the Study:• WHO estimates that almost 53,000child deaths in 2002 were homicides. 14(See Annex for regional homicide ratesby age, income group and sex.)• In the Global School-Based StudentHealth Survey carried out in awide range of developing countries,between 20% and 65% of schoolagedchildren reported having beenverbally or physically bullied in schoolin the previous 30 days. 15 Similarrates of bullying have been found inindustrialised countries. 16192011An end to violence against children

“I hate being a child, I hate being hit and I hate being taken for granted. I have feelings and emotions.I need love, care, protection and attention.”Girl, 13, South Asia, 2005 III12An end to violence against children• An estimated 150 million girls and 73million boys under 18 have experiencedforced sexual intercourse or other formsof sexual violence involving physicalcontact. 17• UNICEF estimates that in sub-Saharan Africa, Egypt and Sudan,3 million girls and women aresubjected to FGM every year. 18• ILO estimates that 218 millionchildren were involved in childlabour in 2004, of whom 126 millionwere engaged in hazardous work. 19Estimates from 2000 suggest that5.7 million were in forced or bondedlabour, 1.8 million in prostitution andpornography, and 1.2 million werevictims of trafficking. 20• Only 2.4% of the world’s childrenare legally protected from corporalpunishment in all settings. 21Risk factors and protectivefactorsThe 2002 World Report on Violence and Healthadopted an ‘ecological model’ to help understandthe multi-level, multi-faceted nature ofviolence. As an analytical tool, the model recognisesthat a wide and complex range of factorsincreases the risk of violence and helps to perpetuateit – or, alternatively may protect againstit. As illustrated in Figure 1.2, the ecologicalmodel identifies personal history and characteristicsof the victim or perpetrator, his orher family, the immediate social context (oftenreferred to as community factors) and the characteristicsof the larger society. In contrast tosimplistic explanations, the model emphasisesthat it is a combination of factors, acting at differentlevels, which influence the likelihoodthat violence will occur, recur, or cease. Thevarious factors relevant to the different levelsof the ecological model will also be affected bythe context of the settings that children interactwith – in their home and family environment,at school, in institutions and workplaces, as wellas in their community and broader society.For example, economic development, socialstatus, age and gender are among the many riskfactors associated with fatal violence. WHOestimates that the rate of homicide of childrenin 2002 was twice as high in low-income countriesthan high-income countries (2.58 versus1.21 per 100,000 population). As can be seenin Figure 1.3, the highest child homicide ratesoccur among adolescents, especially boys,aged 15 to 17 years (3.28 per 100,00 for girls,9.06 for boys) and among children aged 0 to 4years (1.99 for girls, 2.09 for boys). 22 However,studies on infant homicide are urgently neededto strengthen the reliability of these estimatesand to determine the extent of practices suchas female infanticide in various regions.Available data suggest that young children areat greatest risk of physical violence, while sexualviolence predominantly affects those who havereached puberty or adolescence. Boys appearto be at greater risk of physical violence thangirls, while girls face greater risk of neglect andsexual violence. 23 Social and cultural patternsof behaviour, socio-economic factors includinginequality and unemployment, and stereotypedgender-roles also play an important role.

1Some groups or categories of children are especiallyvulnerable to different forms of violence.For example, higher levels of vulnerabilityare associated with children with disabilities,orphaned children (including the millionsorphaned by AIDS), indigenous children,children from ethnic minorities and othermarginalised groups, children living or workingon the streets, children in institutions anddetention, children living in communities inwhich inequality, unemployment and povertyare highly concentrated, child refugees andother displaced children. Gender also plays akey role, as girls and boys are at different riskfor different kinds of violence.Global issues also play a part, including increasinginequality between and within States,migration, urbanisation, and armed conflict.Addressing these challenges, as well as reachinginternationally agreed objectives such asFIGURE 1.2the Millennium Development Goals, will aidthe elimination of violence against children.At the same time, other factors may preventor reduce the likelihood of violence. Althoughmore research is needed on these protectivefactors, it is clear that the development ofstrong attachment bonds between parents andchildren, and the nurturing of relationshipswith children that do not involve violence orhumiliation within stable family units, can bepowerful sources of protection for children.Factors applicable to the prevention of violencein the various settings are described inChapters 3 to 7.The devastating impactof violenceAlthough the consequences of violence againstchildren vary according to its nature and sever-Ecological model for understanding risk factors and protective factors of violence13An end to violence against childrenSocietyCommunity Relationship IndividualSource: Krug EG et al. (Eds) (2002). World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva, World Health Organization.

14ity, the short- and long-term repercussions canbe devastating (see Table 1.1). Early exposure toviolence is critical because it can have an impacton the architecture of the maturing brain. In thecase of prolonged violence, including witnessingviolence, the disruption of nervous and immunesystems can lead to social, emotional, and cognitiveimpairments, as well as behaviours thatcause disease, injury and social problems. 24Exposure to violence in childhood may alsoresult in greater susceptibility to lifelongsocial, emotional, and cognitive impairments,to obesity, and to health-risk behaviours suchas substance abuse, early sexual activity, andsmoking. 25,26 Related mental health and socialproblems include anxiety and depressive disorders,hallucinations, impaired work performance,memory disturbances, as well as aggressivebehaviour. These risks are also associatedlater on in life with lung, heart, and liver disease,sexually transmitted diseases and foetaldeath during pregnancy, as well as intimatepartner violence, and suicide attempts. 27,28Exposure to violence in the community is alsoassociated with troubling health behavioural,and social consequences. Associations haveAn end to violence against childrenFIGURE 1.3Estimated child homicide rates by age and sex10.009.069.00rate per 100 000 population8.00Females7.00Males6.005.004.003.002.933.281.92 1.99 2.092.082.001.48 1.491.001.000.000-17 yrs 0-4 yrs 5-9 yrs 10-14 yrs 15-17 yrsSource: WHO (2006). Global Estimates of Health Consequences due to Violence against Children.Background Paper to the UN Study on Violence against Children. Geneva, World Health Organization.

“UBUNTU is an embodiment of humaneness, empathy, respect, dignity and many other such valuesand it can only result from an investment of the same values in the children themselves.Let us leave a legacy consistent with ensuring UBUNTU in the world by speakingand acting against abuse of all children.”Adv. Thoko Majokweni, Head of the SOCA Unit: National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa1Table 1.1 – Acute and long-term consequences of violence against childrenPhysical health consequencesAbdominal/thoracic injuriesBrain injuriesBruises and weltsBurns and scaldsCentral nervous system injuriesFracturesLacerations and abrasionsDamage to the eyesDisabilitySexual and reproductive consequencesReproductive health problemsSexual dysfunctionSexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDSUnwanted pregnancyPsychological consequencesAlcohol and drug abuseCognitive impairmentCriminal, violent and other risk-taking behavioursDepression and anxietyDevelopmental delaysEating and sleep disordersFeelings of shame and guilt >>>15An end to violence against children

“Nations will not prosper if their children do not heal. To suffer violence in childhood is to be woundedin the soul, and if not healed, to go on to inflict pain on others as well as oneself.No child should be a victim of violence. All children have the right to protection and to first callon their nations’ resources. The time to fulfil their rights is now.”Hon. Landon Pearson, Director, Landon Pearson Resource Centre for the Study of Childhood andChildren’s Rights, Carleton University, CanadaContinuedTable 1.1 – Acute and long-term consequences of violence against children16An end to violence against childrenHyperactivityPoor relationshipsPoor school performancePoor self-esteemPost-traumatic stress disorderPsychosomatic disordersSuicidal behaviour and self-harmOther longer-term health consequencesCancerChronic lung diseaseIrritable bowel syndromeIschaemic heart diseaseLiver diseaseReproductive health problems such as infertilityFinancial consequencesDirect costs:Indirect costs:Costs borne bycriminal justice systemand other institutions:Treatment, visits to the hospital doctor and otherhealth servicesLost productivity, disability, decreased quality of lifeand premature deathExpenditures related to apprehending and prosecutingoffenders. Costs to social welfare organisations, costsassociated with foster care, to the educational systemand costs to the employment sector arising fromabsenteeism and low productivitySource: Runyan D et al. (2002). Child Abuse and Neglect by Parents and Other Caregivers. In: Krug EG et al. (Eds).World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva, World Health Organization, pp 59–86.

1been established between exposure to communityviolence and post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD), depression, antisocial behaviours,substance abuse, decline in academic performance,problematic peer relations, and greaterinvolvement with the criminal justice system.While there is little information available aboutthe global economic costs of violence against children,in particular from the developing world,the variety of short- and long-term consequencesassociated with it suggest that the economiccosts to society are significant. In the UnitedStates, the financial costs associated with childabuse and neglect, including future lost earningsand cost of mental health care, were estimated in2001 to amount to US$ 94 billion. 29Principles andrecommendationsEfforts to prevent and respond to violence againstchildren must be multi-faceted and adjustedaccording to the form of violence, its setting andthe perpetrator or perpetrators. Whatever theaction taken, the best interests of the child mustalways be the primary consideration.The Study Report to the UN General Assemblyhas identified a number of key principleswhich are reflected in his recommendations:• No violence against children isjustifiable. Children should neverreceive less protection than adults;• All violence against children ispreventable. States must investin evidence-based policies andprogrammes to address factors that giverise to violence against children;• States have the primary responsibilityto uphold children’s rights to protectionand access to services, and to supportfamilies’ capacity to provide childrenwith care in a safe environment;• States have the obligation to ensureaccountability in every case of violence;• The vulnerability of children toviolence is linked to their age andevolving capacity. Some children,because of gender, race, ethnicorigin, disability or social status areparticularly vulnerable;• Children have the right to express theirviews and have them given due weightin the planning and implementation ofpolicies and programmes.The Study has developed overarching andsetting-specific recommendations, which areincluded in the Study Report to the GeneralAssembly. The overarching recommendationsoutline broad actions that all States must taketo prevent violence against children and torespond to it effectively if it occurs. These aresupplemented by additional recommendationsfor specific settings: the home and family,schools, care and justice systems, places wherechildren are working legally or illegally, andthe community; these are found in the conclusionsto each of the Chapters 3 to 7.The recommendations presented here areaddressed primarily to Governments, referringto their legislative, administrative, judicial,policy-making, service delivery and institu-17An end to violence against children

“This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the impacts of violence on children.It is clear that protection of children is everyone’s responsibility.”Ann M. Veneman, Executive Director, UNICEF18An end to violence against childrentional functions. Some recommendations aredirected at the role of other partners and sectorsof society, such as civil society organisations,which are also of critical importance.Overarching recommendations1. Strengthen national and local commitmentand actionI recommend that all States develop amulti-faceted and systematic frameworkto respond to violence against childrenwhich is integrated into national planningprocesses. A national strategy, policyor plan of action on violence againstchildren with realistic and time-boundtargets, coordinated by an agency withthe capacity to involve multiple sectorsin a broad-based implementation strategy,should be formulated. Nationallaws, policies, plans and programmesshould fully comply with internationalhuman rights and current scientificknowledge. The implementation of thenational strategy, policy or plan shouldbe systematically evaluated according toestablished targets and timetables, andprovided with adequate human andfinancial resources to support its implementation.An integrated and systematic framework totackle violence against children should includecomponents to address the prevention of violencein all settings, care and rehabilitation forchild victims, awareness-raising and capacitybuilding, and research and data collection.2. Prohibit all violence against childrenI urge States to ensure that no personbelow 18 years of age should be subjectedto the death penalty and sentencesof life imprisonment without possibilityof release. I recommend that Statestake all necessary measures to immediatelysuspend the execution of all deathpenalties imposed on persons for havingcommitted a crime before the age of 18,and take the appropriate legal measuresto convert them into penalties in conformitywith international human rightsstandards. Death penalty as a sentenceimposed on persons for crimes committedbefore the age of 18 should be abolishedas a matter of highest priority.I urge States to prohibit all forms of violenceagainst children, in all settings,including all corporal punishment, harmfultraditional practices, such as early andforced marriages, female genital mutilationand so-called honour crimes, sexualviolence, torture and other cruel, inhumanor degrading punishment and treatment,as required by international treaties,including the Convention againstTorture and Other Cruel, Inhuman orDegrading Treatment or Punishmentand the Convention on the Rights of theChild. I draw attention to General CommentNo. 8 (2006) of the Committee onthe Rights of the Child on the right of thechild to protection from corporal punishmentand other cruel or degrading formsof punishment (articles 19. 28, para 2and 37, inter alia) (CRC/C/GC/8).

“Commitments should be translated into concrete, time-bound targets.”Jaap Doek, Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child1The first purpose of clear prohibition of violenceis educational – to send a clear messageacross societies that all violence against childrenis unacceptable and unlawful, to reinforce positive,non-violent social norms. There should beno impunity for those who perpetrate violenceagainst children, but care must be taken to ensurethat child victims do not suffer further throughinsensitive enforcement of the law. Prosecutionsand formal interventions, in particular withinthe family, should occur when necessary to protecta child from significant harm and whenjudged to be in the best interests of the child.Strong and enforceable legal sanctions should beimplemented to deter violence against children.3. Prioritise preventionI recommend that States prioritise preventingviolence against children byaddressing its underlying causes. Justas resources devoted to interveningafter violence has occurred are essential,States should allocate adequateresources to address risk factors andprevent violence before it occurs. Policiesand programmes should addressimmediate risk and factors such as lackof parent–child attachment, familybreakdown, abuse of alcohol or drugs,and reducing access to guns and otherweapons. In line with the MillenniumDevelopment Goals, attention should befocused on economic and social policiesthat address poverty, gender and otherforms of inequality, income gaps, unemployment,urban overcrowding, andother factors which undermine society.Prevention takes many forms, including thoseset out in other overarching recommendations:developing a consistent legal and policyframework prohibiting all forms of violence;challenging social norms which condone violence,and enhancing the capacity of all thosewho work with and for children and familiesto promote non-violence.4. Promote non-violent values and awareness-raisingI recommend that States and civil societyshould strive to transform attitudes thatcondone or normalise violence againstchildren, including stereotypical genderroles and discrimination, acceptance ofcorporal punishment, and other harmfultraditional practices. States shouldensure that children’s rights are disseminatedand understood, including bychildren. Public information campaignsshould be used to sensitize the publicabout the harmful effects that violencehas on children. States should encouragethe media to promote non-violent valuesand implement guidelines to ensure fullrespect for the rights of the child in allmedia coverage.Positive, non-violent environments must becreated for and with children, in their homes,schools, other institutions and communities,including through public and parent education,advocacy campaigns and training. Socialand cultural attitudes and actions whichplainly conflict with human rights must beconfronted with sensitivity because of people’sattachment to their traditions.19An end to violence against children

20An end to violence against children5. Enhance the capacity of all who workwith and for childrenI recommend that the capacity of allthose who work with and for childrento contribute to eliminate all violenceagainst them must be developed. Initialand in-service training which impartsknowledge and respect for children’srights should be provided. States shouldinvest in systematic education andtraining programmes both for professionalsand non-professionals who workwith or for children and families toprevent, detect and respond to violenceagainst children. Codes of conduct andclear standards of practice, incorporatingthe prohibition and rejection of allforms of violence, should be formulatedand implemented.While many services contribute to the preventionof violence against children, all need toconsider how to maximise their potential forprevention, including through the specifictraining of all who work with children. Systematicand long-term support, in pre-serviceas well as in-service training, is needed at alllevels to ensure highly functional staff andhigh-quality services for children.6. Provide recovery and social reintegrationservicesI recommend that States provide accessible,child-sensitive and universal healthand social services, including pre-hospitaland emergency care, legal assistanceto children and, where appropriate,their families when violence is detectedor disclosed. Health, criminal justice,and social service systems should bedesigned to meet the special needs ofchildren.Violence against children can have a range ofserious health and social outcomes, costly bothto individuals and to society. Minimising theseconsequences of violence will require a varietyof treatment and support services. Servicesfocused on rehabilitation and reintegration mayalso help to reduce the risk of child victims ofviolence continuing the cycle of violence.7. Ensure the participation of childrenI recommend that States actively engagewith children and respect their views inall aspects of prevention, response andmonitoring of violence against them,taking into account article 12 of theConvention on the Rights of the Child.Children’s organisations and child-ledinitiatives to address violence, guidedby the best interests of the child, shouldbe supported and encouraged.The CRC elaborates children’s right to expresstheir views freely on all matters that affectthem and to have those views given due weight.Children’s own views and experiences mustcontribute to prevention and other interventionsto stop violence against them. Children– acting voluntarily and with appropriate ethicalsafeguards – can make a significant contributionto both describing the problem of violenceagainst them, and also to the design ofservices and other interventions that they cantrust and use. The obligation to ascertain andtake children’s views seriously must be built

“No matter whether violence against children occurs in the family, school, community, institution orworkplace, health workers are the front line for responding to it. We must make our contribution to ensuringthat such violence is prevented from occurring in the first place, and that where it does occur children receivethe best possible services to reduce its harmful effects.”Anders Nordström, Acting Director-General, WHO1into the legal framework for child protectionand must inform the training of all those whowork with children and families. Child victimsof violence must not be simply objects ofconcern, but treated as individual people withrights and views of their own. Children mustinvariably be listened to and taken seriously.8. Create accessible and child-friendlyreporting systems and servicesI recommend that States should establishsafe, well-publicised, confidentialand accessible mechanisms for children,their representatives and othersto report violence against children. Allchildren, including those in care andjustice institutions, should be awareof the existence of mechanisms of complaint.Mechanisms such as telephonehelplines through which children canreport violence, speak to a trained counsellorin confidence and ask for supportand advice should be established and thecreation of other ways of reporting violencethrough new technologies shouldbe considered.Retrospective studies, questioning young adultsabout their childhood experiences, reveal that themajority of child victims did not talk to anyoneor approach child protection services duringtheir childhood, even in States which havehighly developed systems. Reasons included notknowing where to go for help, a lack of services,lack of trust in the services or in some cases fearof reprisals from the perpetrator.In many countries, certain professional groupsare under a legal obligation to report any concernsabout violence against children undermandatory reporting systems. In a few countries,the public are under the same legal duty.The Study has heard varying views aboutmandatory reporting. It is essential that everyGovernment should review existing reportingsystems and involve children or young adultswith recent experience of child protection servicesin the review.In every locality and every setting whichincludes children, there should be well-publicisedand easily accessible services required toinvestigate reports or indications of violenceagainst children. There should also be access toservices where children can go to talk in confidenceabout anything that is worrying or hurtingthem. Providing confidential services forchildren – services which guarantee that theywill not report to others or take action withoutthe child’s consent, unless the child is at immediaterisk of death or serious harm – remainscontroversial in many countries. Making confidentialservices available to children, includingthose most vulnerable to violence, challengesoutdated concepts of parental ‘ownership’ oftheir children. Yet what we now know aboutintra-familial violence demands that childrenshould have the rights to seek confidentialadvice and help.9. Ensure accountability and end impunityI recommend that States should buildcommunity confidence in the justicesystem by, inter alia, bringing all perpetratorsof violence against childrento justice and ensure that they areheld accountable through appropriate21An end to violence against children

“Ending violence against children needs to be part of national development plans anddevelopment assistance frameworks, not an afterthought”Ragne Birte Lund, Ambassador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway22An end to violence against childrencriminal, civil, administrative andprofessional proceedings and sanctions.Persons convicted of violent offences andsexual abuse of children should be preventedfrom working with children.Governments must develop child-sensitiveprocedures for investigating cases of violence,which avoid subjecting the victim to multipleinterviews and examinations. Court processesmust ensure that child witnesses are treated sensitively,that they are not subjected to extendedcourt proceedings, and that their privacy isrespected. The stress of court proceedings canbe reduced through the use of technology suchas video-taped evidence, courtroom screens,and witness-preparation programmes as wellas access to child-friendly legal support.When parents or other family members arethe perpetrators of violence, decisions concerningformal interventions and prosecutionsmust be made according to the best interestsof the child. When the perpetrator is anotherchild, the response should be focused on rehabilitation,while ensuring the protection of theaffected child.The risk of perpetrators of violence againstchildren re-offending should be minimised byappropriate treatment. Governments shouldbe encouraged to review the situation of perpetratorscurrently serving sentences to determinewhether their sentence or treatment isminimising the risk of re-offending, and makeappropriate recommendations for future sentencingand treatment, focused on this aim.10. Address the gender dimension of violenceagainst childrenI recommend that States ensure thatanti-violence policies and programmesare designed and implemented from agender perspective, taking into accountthe different risks facing girls and boysin respect of violence. States shouldpromote and protect the human rightsof women and girls, and address allforms of gender discrimination as partof a comprehensive violence preventionstrategy.Girls and boys are at different risk for differentforms of violence across different settings. Allresearch into violence against children and intostrategies to prevent and respond to it shouldbe designed to take gender into account. Inparticular, the Study has found a need for menand boys to play active roles and exercise leadershipin efforts to overcome violence.11. Develop and implement systematicnational data collection and researcheffortsI recommend that States improve datacollection and information systems inorder to identify vulnerable sub-groups,inform policy and programming at alllevels, and track progress towards thegoal of preventing violence against children.States should use national indicatorsbased on internationally agreedstandards, and ensure that data arecompiled, analysed and disseminatedto monitor progress over time. Wherenot currently in place, birth, death

“How is it that Africa, a continent so rich in resources, cultures and values, today fails to protectits own children, its present and future resource?”Young refugee, Eastern and Southern Africa, 2005 IV1and marriage data registries with fullnational coverage should be created andmaintained. States should also createand maintain data on children withoutparental care, and on children in thecriminal justice system. Data should bedisaggregated by sex, age, urban/rural,household and family characteristics,education and ethnicity. States shouldalso develop a national research agendaon violence against children across settingswhere violence occurs, includingthrough interview studies with childrenand parents, with particular attentionto vulnerable groups of girls and boys.The development of a national research agendaon violence against children across settings iscritical for knowledge building and improvedprogramme development. Such plans shouldinclude children, parents, service providersand others, and use a range of methods such asinterview studies, improved reporting and registrationsystems and investigation procedures,and regular surveys, with particular attentiongiven to vulnerable groups of girls and boys.No country can be complacent about violenceagainst children and more research into prevalence,causes, and prevention is needed everywhere.Our ability to determine the magnitude,characteristics, and trends of many forms ofviolence against children is poor, even in industrialisedcountries. All countries must increasetheir capacity to monitor deaths, injuries andbehaviours associated with violence againstchildren to determine whether the problemis getting better or worse, and the associationbetween these trends and various strategies forprevention. Internationally accepted uniformstandards for collecting data on violence againstchildren are needed to enhance comparability,and ensure appropriate ethical safeguards.While some progress has been made in the identificationof effective strategies for preventingsome forms of violence against children in afew countries, additional research is needed toidentify and evaluate policies and programmesthat are appropriate and effective in preventingall forms of violence against children, andespecially for vulnerable girls and boys.12. Strengthen international commitmentI recommend that all States should ratifyand implement the Convention on theRights of the Child and its two OptionalProtocols on the involvement of childrenin armed conflict and on the saleof children, child prostitution and childpornography. All reservations which areincompatible with the object and purposeof the Convention and the OptionalProtocols should be withdrawn in accordancewith the Vienna Declaration andPlan of Action of the World Conferenceon Human Rights of 1993. States shouldratify all relevant international andregional human rights instruments thatprovide protection for children includingthe Convention against Tortureand Other Cruel, Inhuman or DegradingTreatment or Punishment and itsOptional Protocol; the Rome Statuteof the International Criminal Court;the Convention on the Elimination of23An end to violence against children

“All of our proposals are achievable with political will and the commitment of civil society.”Young person, Europe and Central Asia, 2006 V24An end to violence against childrenAll Forms of Discrimination againstWomen and its Optional Protocol; ILOConventions No. 138 on the MinimumAge for Admission to Employment andNo. 182 on the Worst Forms of ChildLabour; and the United Nations Conventionagainst Transnational OrganizedCrime and the Protocol to Prevent,Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,Especially Women and Children,supplementing the United Nations Conventionagainst Transnational OrganizedCrime. States should implementall their international legal obligationsand strengthen their cooperation withthe treaty bodies.I recommend that States act in conformitywith their commitments on theprevention of violence made at the UNGeneral Assembly Special Session onChildren, and in the context of the WHOHealth Assembly resolution on implementingthe recommendations of theWorld Report on Violence and Health, 30and other regional public health resolutionsthat reinforce this resolution.Implementation andfollow-upThe Study Report submitted to the GeneralAssembly emphasised that the primary responsibilityfor implementing the recommendationsrests with Governments. However, theparticipation of other actors at national,regional and international level is critical toassist Governments to carry out their commitments.These include UN entities, civilsociety organisations including nationalhuman rights institutions, professional bodiessuch as doctors’ and nurses’ associations, communityassociations, educators, parents andchildren. The key strategies for implementationare set out below.National and regional levelAbove all, the Study has focused on improvingimplementation at the country level, for thebenefit of all girls and boys. To this end, theReport to the UN General Assembly emphasisesthe urgency of country-level action andsets targets for Governments:• The integration in national planningprocesses of measures to prevent andrespond to violence against childrenshould take place by 2007 and shouldinclude the identification of a focalpoint, preferably at ministerial level.• Prohibiting all violence against childrenby law and initiating a process todevelop reliable national data collectionsystems should be achieved by 2009.The report also urges Governments to provideinformation on implementation of the Study’srecommendations in their periodic reports tothe Committee on the Rights of the Child.International organisations should encourageand support Governments in the implementationof these recommendations. Internationalfinancial institutions should review their policiesand activities to take account of the impactthey may have on children. UN country teams

“Vision without action is a dream, but action without a vision is a nightmare.”Young Person, Europe and Central Asia, 2006 VI1should include measures to address violenceagainst children within poverty reductionstrategies, coordinated country assessmentsand development assistance frameworks.Governments should consider establishing anombudsperson or commissioner for children’srights – complying with the Paris Principles. 31Working closely with other agencies concernedwith public health and child protection issues,these independent institutions should havea clear mandate to monitor children’s rightsat national, regional and local levels. Whereappropriate, they should have the competenceto receive and investigate complaints on violationsof children’s rights from the public,including from children.In light of the contribution of regional organisationsto the development of the Study, regionalentities should be involved in the implementationand follow-up of its recommendations.The further development of regional mechanismsshould be encouraged as an importantpart of the overall framework for follow-up.Regional human rights protection systems arealso encouraged to monitor implementation ofthe Study’s recommendations.International levelIn view of the importance of multi-sectoralcoordination to address violence against children,the Study Report has proposed thatGovernments establish a Special Representativeof the Secretary-General on Violenceagainst Children. The Special Representativeshould act as a high-profile global advocate topromote prevention and elimination of all violenceagainst children, to encourage internationaland regional cooperation, and to ensurefollow-up and monitoring of the Study’s recommendations.The Special Representative should disseminateand promote the Study recommendations indifferent international, regional and nationalforums, and provide a periodic report to theHuman Rights Council and the GeneralAssembly. In addition, a report on implementationof the Study recommendations is proposedfor the sixty-fifth session of the GeneralAssembly in 2010.The Special Representative should work closelywith, but not duplicate the work of, the Committeeon the Rights of the Child, the SpecialRepresentative of the Secretary-General forchildren in armed conflict, the Special Rapporteuron the sale of children, child prostitutionand child pornography, and the SpecialRapporteurs on violence against women andon trafficking in persons. He or she shouldcollaborate with regional human rights protectionsystems and all other regional andnational follow-up initiatives.It is recommended that the Special Representativeshould have an initial mandate of fouryears. Building on the successful interagencycollaboration that marked the Study, he or sheshould be supported by OHCHR, UNICEFand WHO. The United Nations Inter-agencyGroup on Violence against Children, with representationfrom NGOs and children, shouldalso support follow-up.25An end to violence against children

26An end to violence against childrenReferences1 Krug EG et al. (Eds) (2002). World Report on Violenceand Health. Geneva, World Health Organization.2 Krug EG et al. (Eds.) (2002). World Report on Violenceand Health. Geneva, World Health Organization, p 5.3 Shonkoff JP, Phillips DA (Eds) (2000). From Neuronsto Neighbourhoods: The Science of Early ChildhoodDevelopment. Washington DC, National Academy Press.4 Krug EG et al. (Eds) (2002). World Report on Violenceand Health. Geneva, World Health Organization.5 Ten Bensel RW, Rheinberger MM, Radbill SX (1997).Children in a World of Violence: The Roots of ChildMaltreatment. In: Helfer M et al. (Eds). The BatteredChild. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, pp 3–28.6 United Nations Secretary-General (2006). Report ofthe Independent Expert for the United Nations Study onViolence against Children. Promotion and protectionof the rights of children. United Nations GeneralAssembly, Sixty-first session. A/61/299.7 Reza A et al. (2001). Epidemiology of Violent Deaths inthe World. Injury Prevention, 7: 104–111.8 Krug E et al. (Eds) (2002). World Report on Violence andHealth. Geneva, World Health Organization.9 Global Initiative to End all Corporal Punishment ofChildren (2006). Global Summary of the Legal Status ofCorporal Punishment of Children. 28 June 2006.10 All responses are available at: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/study.htm. As of 20 September 2006,135 Member States and one observer had submittedresponses.11 The list of submissions is available at the website of theUnited Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children: http://www.violencestudy.org.12 Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak Out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys. Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children. Oslo, Save theChildren Norway.13 Bruce J (2002). Married Adolescents Girls: Human Rights,Health and Development Needs of a Neglected Majority.Paper presented by the Population Council at theSupporting Event: Early Marriage in a Human RightsContext, United Nations Special Session on Children,8–10 May 2002.14 WHO (2006). Global Estimates of Health ConsequencesDue to Violence against Children. Background Paper tothe UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence againstChildren. Geneva, World Health Organization.15 Analysis provided to the Study by the Global SchoolbasedStudent Health Survey: The World HealthOrganization (http://www.who.int/chp/gshs or http://www.cdc.gov/gshs) for surveys conducted in 2003–5 forBotswana, Chile (metropolitan area), China (Beijing),Guyana, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Namibia, Oman,Philippines, Swaziland, Uganda, UAE, Venezuela (Lara),Zambia and Zimbabwe (Harare).16 Currie C et al. (2004). Health Behaviour in School-agedChildren (HBSC) Study: International Report from the2001/2002 Survey. Health Policy for Children andAdolescents, No 4. Geneva, World Health Organization.17 WHO (2006). Global Estimates of Health ConsequencesDue to Violence against Children. Background Paper tothe UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence againstChildren. Geneva, World Health Organization, basedon estimates by Andrews G et al. (2004). Child SexualAbuse. Ch. 23 in Ezzati M et al. (2004). ComparativeQuantification of Health Risks: Global and RegionalBurden of Disease Attributable to Selected Major RiskFactors, Vol 2. Geneva, World Health Organization, pp.1851–1940, and using UN Population Division data forthe population under 18 years.18 UNICEF (2005). Changing a Harmful SocialConvention: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting.Innocenti Digest. Florence, UNICEF Innocenti ResearchCentre.19 ILO (2006). The End of Child Labour: WithinReach. Global Report. Geneva, International LabourOrganization.20 ILO (2002). A Future Without Child Labour. GlobalReport. Geneva, International Labour Organization.

121 Global Initiative to End all Corporal Punishment ofChildren (2006). Global Summary of the Legal Status ofCorporal Punishment of Children. 28 June 2006.22 WHO (2006). Global Estimates of Health ConsequencesDue to Violence against Children. Background Paper tothe UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence againstChildren. Geneva, World Health Organization.23 Runyan D et al. (2002). Child Abuse and Neglect byParents and Other Caregivers. In: Krug EG et al. (Eds).World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva,World Health Organization, pp 59–86.24 Perry BD (2001). The Neurodevelopmental Impactof Violence in Childhood. In: Schetky D, BenedekEP (Eds). Textbook of Child and Adolescent ForensicPsychiatry. Washington DC, American Psychiatric Press,pp 221–238.25 Felitti VJ et al. (1998). Relationship of ChildhoodAbuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of theLeading Causes of Death in Adults. The AdverseChildhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American Journalof Preventive Medicine 14: 245–258.26 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2006).Adverse Childhood Experiences Study. Atlanta, GA,National Centers for Injury Prevention and Control,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/NCCDPHP/ACE.27 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2006).Adverse Childhood Experiences Study. Atlanta, GA,National Centers for Injury Prevention and Control,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/NCCDPHP/ACE.28 Panel on Research on Child Abuse and Neglect,Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciencesand Education, National Research Council (1999).Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect. WashingtonDC, National Academy Press.29 Fromm S (2001). Total Estimates of the Cost of ChildAbuse and Neglect in the United States – StatisticalEvidence. Chicago (IL), Prevent Child Abuse America(PCAA). Cited on: August 14 2006. Available at:http://www.preventchildabuse.org/learn_more/research_docs/cost_analysis.pdf.30 WHO (2003). Implementing the Recommendations ofthe World Report on Violence and Health. Report on theWorld Health Assembly, WHA56.24, Fifty-sixth WorldHealth Assembly. Geneva, World Health Organization.31 United Nations (1993). Principles Relating to the Statusand Functioning of National Institutions for Protectionand Promotion of Human Rights. Available at:http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/fs19.htm#annex.These recommendations were endorsed by the GeneralAssembly in its resolutionA/RES/48/134 of 20 December 1993.QuotesIIIIIIIVVVIUnited Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Consultation OutcomeReport: South Asia, p 3. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.Commissioner for Human Rights (2006). Childrenand corporal punishment: The right not to be hit, alsoa children’s right. Issue paper 2006/1. 6 June 2006.Strasbourg, Council of Europe.United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: SouthAsia, p 23. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Consultation OutcomeReport: Eastern and Southern Africa, p 18. Available at:http:/www.violencestudy.org/r27.Council of Europe (2006). Monaco launchingconference for ‘Building a Europe for and withChildren’, 4-5 April 2006. Available at:http://www.coe.int/t/transversalprojects/children/events/monacoLaunch_en.aspCouncil of Europe (2006). Monaco launchingconference for ‘Building a Europe for and withChildren’, 4-5 April 2006. Available at: http://www.coe.int/t/transversalprojects/children/events/monacoLaunch_en.asp27An end to violence against children

UNICEF/HQ05-1931. Roger LemoyneHAITI, 2005, Girls stand in the concrete yard of the women’s prison at Pétionville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince.

2Violence against childrenand international human rights lawand standardsIntroduction 31The Convention on the Rights of the Child 32International criminal, humanitarian,refugee and labour law 37Regional human rights systems 38Non-binding instruments 39References 4229Violence against children and international human rights law and standards

30Violence against children and international human rights law and standards

“I would like a coalition of international associations and organisations to be set up as quicklyas possible to encourage and support those governments which undertake to adopt specific measuresto prevent the most serious crimes committed against children from going unpunished – measures suchas extending or doing away with the time limits for the prosecution of offences, stepping up judicialco-operation or adopting a model or framework law to strengthen action against traffickingin children, including that done with the help of the Internet.”HRH Princess Caroline of Hanover, April 2006 I2IntroductionEach child has the right to his or her physicaland personal integrity, and protection from allforms of violence. Children, as human beings,are entitled to enjoy all the rights guaranteedby the various international human rights treatiesthat have developed from the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights. ∗ They are alsoentitled to the protection laid down in internationallegal instruments relating to internationalcriminal, humanitarian and labour law. *Since the adoption in 1948 of the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights, the firstauthoritative – although not legally binding– statement on human rights, over 60 treatiesaddressing slavery, the administration of justice,the status of refugees and minority groupsand human rights have been elaborated. Allare grounded in the concepts of non-discrimination,equality and recognition of the dignityof each and every individual as contained inthe Universal Declaration, and each makesit clear that the rights contained therein areavailable to all, including children, on a basisof equality.Children are therefore entitled to the rightsand procedures set out in the InternationalBill of Rights, consisting of the InternationalCovenants on Economic, Social and CulturalRights, and that on Civil and PoliticalRights. They are also entitled to the rightsand protections contained in specific treaties,including those which address the elimina-* Further information on all instruments referred to in thischapter is available at: http://www.ohchr.org.tion of racial discrimination, discriminationagainst women, the prevention of torture, andthe rights of migrant workers and membersof their families. These instruments, legallybinding on States which have accepted them,include provisions which are relevant to eliminatingviolence against children. Some treaties,in particular the two Covenants, also containprovisions extending specific protectionsto children.Thus the International Covenant on Economic,Social and Cultural Rights includesa provision requiring that children be protectedfrom economic and social exploitation,and that the employment of children in workthat is harmful to their morals, or health ordangerous to life, or likely to hamper theirnormal development, be punished by law. TheInternational Covenant on Civil and PoliticalRights expressly prohibits the imposition ofdeath sentences on children and young peopleunder 18. It also includes provisions governingthe proper treatment of accused and convictedchildren, which in particular requiretheir separation from the adult(s) accused andoffenders.The Convention on the Elimination of AllForms of Discrimination against Women isfully applicable to girls under 18 years of age.Article 16.2 of the Convention provides thatthe betrothal and marriage of a child shall haveno legal effect and that all necessary action,including legislative action, shall be taken byStates to specify a minimum age for marriage,and to make the registration of marriages in anofficial registry compulsory.31Violence against children and international human rights law and standards

“I really believe there is nothing more important than child protection because it is linked with every otherchild right, be it development, survival or participation. For all countries the recognition of this rightas paramount and the decision to set up both programmes and institutions to ensure child protectionis a giant step in the right direction.”Ms. Loveleen Kacker, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development, India32Violence against children and international human rights law and standardsExisting protection under internationalhuman rights law will be expanded with thefinalisation of treaties regarding children, ondisappearance and disability, currently beingconcluded. Specific provisions relating to thehuman rights of children with disabilities,including obligations of States to address violenceagainst them, are included in the draftConvention on the Rights of Persons withDisabilities, which will be submitted to theGeneral Assembly for adoption at its sixtyfirstsession.The implementation of each of the seven corehuman rights treaties currently in force ismonitored by a Committee of Experts throughvarious procedures. Each reviews implementationthereof through the consideration ofreports submitted by States, and makes recommendationsfor further action. Four Committeesare empowered to consider petitionsfrom individuals who allege that their rightshave been violated in cases where the Stateconcerned has accepted this procedure. TwoCommittees have competence to conductinquiries into grave, systematic or serious violationsof the treaty, again in cases where theState has accepted these procedures. Similarprocedures are contained in the draft treatieson disappearance and disability, while theOptional Protocol on the Convention againstTorture and other Forms of Cruel, Inhumanand Degrading Treatment or Punishmentintroduces a system of visits to places of detentionin States parties.All bodies accepting the treaty have emphasisedthe obligations of States to take specificsteps to eliminate and respond to violenceagainst children in their concluding observations,reports, and in several of their decisionson petitions. Several treaty bodies have alsoadopted General Comments or recommendationswhich outline States’ obligations toaddress violence against children. The Committeeon Economic, Social and CulturalRights General Comment on the Right toEducation indicates that corporal punishmentin an educational setting is inconsistent withinternational law and the dignity of the individual.The Committee on the Elimination ofDiscrimination against Women has adopted ageneral recommendation on States’ obligationsunder the Convention with regard to femalegenital mutilation (FGM) and two generalrecommendations concerning gender-basedviolence against women.The Convention onthe Rights of the ChildAlthough protections are provided to childrenby general international human rights treatiesand other international agreements, at an earlystage in the history of the United Nations, theinternational community recognised the needto provide specific human rights protection forchildren. The General Assembly’s 1959 Declarationon the Rights of the Child set out 10non-legally binding principles aimed at providingspecial safeguards for children.The Convention on the Rights of the Child(CRC), which sets out legally binding standards,was adopted by the General Assembly in 1989.The CRC, which signals clearly that children

“Upon ratification of the Convention (on the Rights of the Child), countries are required to adopt laws,policies and programmes to ensure that each and every child grows up in an environment of love andunderstanding, enjoys freedom from fear and from want, is protected from discrimination,violence and exploitation and is given all opportunities to develop to the fullest potential.With the Convention, we are committed to ensure that the opportunities of life are not determinedby the circumstances of birth.”Marta Santos Pais, Editorial Board of the UN Secretary-General’s Studyon Violence against Children2are holders of human rights and acknowledgestheir distinct legal personality and evolvingcapacities, is the most widely accepted humanrights treaty, having been ratified or accededto by 192 States. Its 42 substantive articles setout civil, political, economic, social and culturalrights, formulated to address the specialneeds of the child, defined by the CRC as everyhuman being under the age of 18, unless majorityis attained earlier under national law. 2of the Child to Protection from Corporal Punishmentand Other Cruel or Degrading Formsof Punishment, adopted at its forty-second sessionin June 2006, highlights the obligationof all States to move quickly to prohibit andeliminate all corporal punishment and othercruel or degrading forms of punishment ofchildren, focusing on the legislative, awareness-raisingand educational measures thatStates must take. 3The CRC sets up a framework of legal principlesand detailed standards which shouldgovern all law, policy and practice affectingchildren. These include the promotion of preventionof violence, and responses to protectall children from all forms of violence.Various articles of the CRC assert the rightsof children to physical and personal integrity,and establish high standards for protection.Article 19 requires that States which are partiesto the CRC take “all appropriate legislative,administrative, social and educationalmeasures to protect the child from all formsof physical or mental violence, injury or abuse,neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatmentor exploitation, including sexual abuse, whilein the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s),or any other person who has the care of thechild.” The breadth of this obligation has beenemphasised by the Committee on the Rightsof the Child.The Committee has also underlined therequirement that all violence against childrenbe prohibited. This includes all forms of corporalpunishment, however light. The Committee’sGeneral Comment No. 8 on the RightThe General Comment makes clear that theCommittee does not reject the positive conceptof discipline, and recognises that parentingand caring for children, especially babies andyoung children, demands frequent physicalaction and intervention to protect them. TheCommittee indicates that this is quite distinctfrom the deliberate and punitive use of forceto cause some degree of pain, discomfort orhumiliation to children.“Addressing the widespread acceptanceor tolerance of corporal punishment ofchildren and eliminating it, in the family,schools and other settings, is not only anobligation of States parties under the Convention.It is also a key strategy for reducingand preventing all forms of violence insocieties.”Committee on the Rights of the Child,General Comment No. 8, para. 3 4Article 28(2) of the CRC requires that schooldiscipline be “administered in a manner consistentwith the child’s human dignity and33Violence against children and international human rights law and standards

“Children are betrayed every day by silence, inaction, and impunity. Teachers who have sexuallyassaulted their pupils continue to teach. Police officers who have tortured children before witnessesremain on duty. Orphanage staff who subject children to shocking levels of cruelty and neglect sufferno consequences. Too often, children are victimized twice: first by the initial abuse, and again by thefailure of authorities to hold perpetrators accountable.”Jo Becker, Editorial Board of the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children34Violence against children and international human rights law and standardsin conformity with the present Convention.”In interpreting this provision, the Committeeunderlines that it requires States partiesto prohibit corporal punishment and all otherhumiliating and harmful forms of disciplinein the educational context.“…Children do not lose their humanrights by virtue of passing through theschool gates. Thus, for example, educationmust be provided in a way that respectsthe inherent dignity of the child, enablesthe child to express his or her views freelyin accordance with article 12(1) and toparticipate in school life. Education mustalso be provided in a way that respectsthe strict limits on discipline reflected inarticle 28(2) and promotes non-violence inschool…”Committee on the Rights of the Child,General Comment No. 1 5Articles 32 to 36 entrench the child’s legalright to protection from various forms ofexploitation: from economic exploitation andfrom “any work that is likely to be hazardousor to interfere with the child’s education, orto be harmful to the child’s health or physical,mental, spiritual, moral or social development”(article 32); from “the illicit use of narcoticdrugs and psychotropic substances” andinvolvement “in the illicit production and traffickingof such substances” (article 33); from“all forms of sexual exploitation and sexualabuse,” including prostitution and pornography(article 34); from abduction, sale and trafficking(article 35); and from “all other formsof exploitation prejudicial to any aspects of thechild’s welfare” (article 36).Article 38, by which States parties undertaketo respect and to ensure respect for the rules ofinternational humanitarian law applicable tothem in relation to children and armed conflicts,recalls the obligations laid down in theGeneva Conventions, while article 37 declaresthat no child shall be subjected to “torture orother cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment orpunishment,” nor sentenced to capital punishmentor to life imprisonment without possibilityof release. Article 37 also prohibits all arbitraryor unlawful restriction of the liberty of children,and sets out strict limits and conditions for anydeprivation of liberty, which apply to any restrictionof liberty imposed for ‘welfare’ as well asfor ‘penal’ purposes. Article 39 obliges States totake all appropriate measures to promote physicaland psychological recovery and social reintegrationof child victims of violence.Together with article 37, article 40 on theadministration of juvenile justice sets outdetailed safeguards: children who come intoconflict with the law should be “treated in amanner consistent with the promotion of thechild’s sense of dignity and worth,” which,combined with article 19, requires the State toensure that children do not suffer violence atthe hands of State officials at any stage of thesystem. Treatment and punishments must notinvolve physical or mental violence of any kind.Wherever appropriate and desirable, thereshould be diversion from judicial systems; forchildren found guilty of infringing the lawthere should be alternatives to institutional care,“such as care, guidance and supervision orders;

2counselling; probation; foster care; educationaland vocational training programmes.”Other provisions of the CRC are relevantto the protection of children from violence.These include civil rights relating to freedomof expression, information, conscience and religion,association, peaceful assembly, privacyand access to information (articles 12, 13, 14,15, 16 and 17). Article 9 guarantees the child’sright not to be separated from parents unlessit is in their best interests. Article 18 providesthat States shall render appropriate assistanceto parents and legal guardians in their performanceof their child-rearing responsibilities;and under article 20, children deprived of afamily environment are entitled to special Stateassistance and protection. Article 25 providesfor a right of periodic review of placement ortreatment. Obligations relating to adoption areset out in article 21, to refugee children in article22, and to disabled children in article 23.More general obligations – relevant particularlyto the prevention of violence – are included inarticle 24 on the right to health and access tohealth services; articles 28 and 29 on the rightto education and the aims of education; andarticle 27 on the right to an adequate standardof living.The CRC is supplemented by two OptionalProtocols, both adopted in 2000, which providemore detailed protection for children fromparticular forms of violence. The OptionalProtocol on the sale of children, child prostitutionand child pornography defines theseviolations. It also requires States parties tocriminalise these activities and requires thatany participation in these acts, includingattempt and conspiracy be penalised in a waythat takes into account the gravity of theseoffences. It also requires States to close anypremises used for child prostitution and pornography,and to seize and confiscate the proceedsof these activities, as well as any meansused to facilitate them, and provides detailedprovisions relating to the treatment of childvictims. The Optional Protocol to the CRCon the involvement of children in armed conflictlimits the recruitment of children under18 years of age in armed conflict, and obligesStates to provide the children who have participatedin armed conflict with any necessaryphysical and psychological rehabilitation andsupport for reintegration within society.The Committee on the Rights of the Childhas identified articles 2, 3, 6 and 12 as providinggeneral principles. In line with article2, all rights in the Convention are availableto all children without discrimination of anykind, and States parties are required to take allappropriate measures to protect children fromdiscrimination.The best interests of the child must be a primaryconsideration in all actions concerningchildren; thus all public and private bodies,courts and administrative authorities arerequired to consider the impact of actionson children in order to ensure that the bestinterests of the child are properly considered(article 3). The child’s inherent right to lifeand maximum capacity for survival and development,envisaged by the CRC to includephysical, mental, spiritual, moral and social35Violence against children and international human rights law and standards

“In bringing to light the many issues of children facing violence, we realize that our plight is part ofa larger worldwide struggle for the realization of human rights. Our cry is not to be treated speciallybut, rather, humanely, in accordance with the core values of human dignity that are the cornerstones ofthe Universal Declaration of Human rights. As global citizens we demand to be acknowledged as firstand not second class human beings.”Declaration of children and young people, Regional Consultation, the Caribbean, 2005 II36Violence against children and international human rights law and standards“… interpretation of a child’s best interestsmust be consistent with the whole Convention,including the obligation to protectchildren from all forms of violence and therequirement to give due weight to the child’sviews; it cannot be used to justify practices,including corporal punishment and otherforms of cruel or degrading punishment,which conflict with the child’s human dignityand right to physical integrity.”Committee on the Rights of the Child,General Comment No. 8 6dimensions (article 6), is also identified as ageneral principle. Under article 12, the childhas the right to express his/her views freely onall matters affecting them and to have theirviews given due weight in accordance with ageand maturity.The Committee on the Rights of the Child,which has been considering reports from States“… in conceptualising violence, the criticalstarting point and frame of reference mustbe the experience of children themselves.Therefore children and young people mustbe meaningfully involved in promotingand strategising action on violence againstchildren”.Committee on the Rights of the Child,recommendations adopted following the dayof general discussion on Violence againstChildren in the Family and Schools, 2001 7since 1993, has provided substantial guidanceon States’ obligations on violence against children,in particular regarding recommendationsissued following its two days of generaldiscussion on Violence against Children in2000 8 and 2001 9 and in its General CommentsNos 1 10 and 8. 11The Committee has been pleased to note thatdomestic courts, including constitutional andsuperior courts in many jurisdictions, havecondemned violence against children in judgementswhich increasingly draw on humanrights treaties, in particular the CRC, and theoutput of the human rights treaty bodies.“Children have rights no way inferior tothe rights of adults. Fiji has ratified theConvention. Our Constitution also guaranteesfundamental rights to every person.Government is required to adhere to principlesrespecting the rights of all individuals,communities and groups. By theirstatus as children, children need specialprotection. Our educational institutionsshould be sanctuaries of peace and creativeenrichment, not places for fear, ill-treatmentand tampering with the human dignityof students.”Fiji Court of Appeal, 2002, in Naushadv. the State, holding that corporalpunishment in schools and the penalsystem is unconstitutional 12

2International criminal,humanitarian, refugeeand labour lawThe protection provided to children throughhuman rights provisions is relevant at alltimes. At the same time, the Rome Statute ofthe International Criminal Court, the fourGeneva Conventions of 1949 and their twoAdditional Protocols of 1977 provide keylegal protection to children in internal andinternational conflict. Children who meet thedefinition of a refugee within the 1951 UnitedNations Convention relating to the Status ofRefugees and its 1967 Protocol have access toa wide array of rights and protections, includinglegal aid and material protection, as well asthe right not to be returned to the place wherethey face persecution. While not legally binding,the 1998 Guiding Principles on InternalDisplacement consisting of 30 principles, provideprotection and assistance for individualsthroughout displacement, and establish guidelinesfor safe return, resettlement and reintegration.The Guiding Principles pay particularattention to the rights and needs of children,in particular girls, prohibiting sale of childreninto marriage, sexual exploitation, forcedlabour and the recruitment or use of childrenduring hostilities.Trafficking generally, including the traffickingof children, is addressed in the first consolidatedinstrument on this issue, the Conventionfor the Suppression of the Traffic in Personsand of the Exploitation of Others which wasadopted by the General Assembly in 1950.Provisions directed at the elimination of traffickingare also included in the Conventionson the Elimination of Discrimination againstWomen and Rights of the Child, and the InternationalLabour Organization’s Worst Formsof Child Labour Convention (1999), No. 182.In 2000, the General Assembly adopted theUnited Nations Convention against TransnationalOrganized Crime and its supplementaryProtocols: the Protocol to Prevent, Suppressand Punish Trafficking in Persons, EspeciallyWomen and Children, and the Protocol againstthe Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea andAir. The Convention provides for cooperationin investigation, mutual legal assistance,and extradition where trafficking is concerned.The Trafficking Protocol, now accepted by 105States from all regions of the world (as of the6th of September 2006), includes the first internationallegal definition of trafficking, makesprovision for assistance and protection of victimsof trafficking, and requires States partiesto criminalise this activity, as well as to provideassistance and protection for victims. It alsosets out preventive measures in this context.Specific rights and protection for childrenin the context of work are provided by thenumerous conventions elaborated by the InternationalLabour Organization, with particularprotection being provided by the MinimumAge Convention (1973), No. 183 and the WorstForms of Child Labour (1999), No. 182.37Violence against children and international human rights law and standards

“Fundamental rights, children rights are yet to be built, first and foremost at national level.”Françoise Tulkens, Judge of the European Court of Human Rights, April 2006 III38Violence against children and international human rights law and standardsRegional human rightssystemsThe international legal framework for the promotionand protection of human rights and thestandards that it provides in respect of violenceagainst children are reinforced by treaties whichhave been adopted regionally, by the Council ofEurope, the European Union, the Organizationof American States, the African Union, andmechanisms established to monitor and enforcethem. The African Charter on the Rights of theChild is particularly relevant, as is the AfricanProtocol on the Rights of Women adopted in2004 which contains provisions directed at theelimination of harmful traditional practices,including female genital mutilation (FGM),scarification, medicalisation of harmful traditionalpractices, and establishes 18 years asbeing the minimum age for marriage.Regional human rights mechanisms, responsiblefor the oversight of these legal instrumentshave addressed various forms of violenceagainst children. For example, the EuropeanCourt of Human Rights has found violationsof the European Convention on Human Rightsin a number of judgements concerning casesof corporal punishment in the penal system,schools and the home. 13 Other judgements ofthe Court have concerned sexual abuse, failuresof child protection systems and juvenilejustice. 14 The European Committee of SocialRights, which monitors compliance with theEuropean Social Charter and the RevisedSocial Charter, has held that these instrumentsrequire prohibition in legislation of any formof violence against children. 15“The Committee does not find it acceptablethat a society which prohibits anyform of physical violence between adultswould accept that adults subject childrento physical violence.”European Committee of Social Rights (2001).General observation in General Introductionto Conclusions XV–2, Volume 1 16In 2002, the Inter-American Court of HumanRights issued an Advisory Opinion on thelegal status and human rights of the child: thisindicates that States parties to the AmericanConvention on Human Rights are under anobligation to adopt all positive measures toensure protection of children against mistreatment,whether in their relations with publicauthorities or private individuals or with nongovernmentalentities. 17In 2003, the African Commission on Humanand Peoples’ Rights decided that lashing ofstudents constituted cruel, inhuman or degradingpunishment and requested that the Stateconcerned amend the law, abolish lashing as apenalty and take appropriate measures to compensatethe victims. 18

“Eradicating violence requires that the common aim and intrinsic connections between health andhuman rights are used to safeguard human dignity and improve well-being.”Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Former Director-General, WHO2“There is no right for individuals, andparticularly the Government of a countryto apply physical violence to individualsfor offences. Such a right would be tantamountto sanctioning State-sponsored torture(under the African Charter on Humanand Peoples’ Rights) and contrary to thevery nature of this human rights treaty.”African Commission on Human and Peoples’Rights, Curtis Francis Doebbler v. Sudan,Communication No. 236/2000 (2003) 19Non-bindinginstrumentsInternational and regional human rights treatiesare supplemented by instruments which,although not legally binding, set standards orelaborate principles which are concerned with theeradication of violence against children. Withinthe United Nations, rules and guidelines havebeen adopted on the administration of juvenilejustice (the Beijing Rules, 1985), the preventionof juvenile delinquency (the Riyadh Guidelines,1990) and the protection of juveniles deprivedof their liberty. The 1993 United Nations Declarationon Violence against Women definesgender-based violence, and provides guidanceto States on the steps that should be taken toaddress violence against women and girls.The outcome of United Nations world conferencesand their reviews by special sessions ofthe General Assembly also address violenceagainst children. The 2002 General Assemblyspecial session on children includes a substantialsection on violence against children in itsoutcome document, “A World Fit for Children.”The Millennium Development Goalsadopted by the Millennium Summit in 2000,and the Outcome of the 2005 UN Summitalso include agreements which are relevant tothe elimination of violence against children.Non-legally-binding but highly persuasiveinstruments relevant to the context of violenceagainst children have also been adoptedwithin the framework of the governing bodiesof the specialised agencies and other entitiesof the United Nations system. These includeresolutions adopted by the governing bodiesof the WHO (see box) and UNICEF. TheExecutive Committee of the United NationsHigh Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)adopted a policy on refugee children in 1993,and it has developed guidelines on the protectionand care of refugee children, which providedetailed guidance aimed at ensuring thatchild refugees are protected from physical andsexual violence, especially when they are livingin large refugee camps.By becoming party to international and regionaltreaties, States incur legally binding obligationsto respect, protect and fulfil the rights theyhave said they comply with. They are requiredto refrain from interfering in the enjoyment ofrights, protect individuals from violence by non-State actors, and take positive steps to ensurethat human rights can be exercised.Where violence against children is concerned,Governments are required to take immediateand positive steps to prevent and eliminateall forms of violence against children and to39Violence against children and international human rights law and standards

Regional treaties relevant to violence against children*40Violence against children and international human rights law and standardsOrganization of American States:Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish TortureInter-American Convention on the Forced Disappearance of PersonsInter-American Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination againstPersons with Disabilities.Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication ofViolence against Women ‘Convention of Belém Do Pará’African Union:African Charter on Human and Peoples’ RightsProtocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights ofWomen in AfricaAfrican Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the ChildSouth Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC):Convention on Regional Arrangements on the Promotion of Child WelfareSocial CharterRegional Convention on Combating the Crime of Trafficking in Women andChildren for ProstitutionLeague of Arab States:Arab Charter on Human Rights (adopted 1994, revised 2005; not yet in force)European Union:Communication from the Commission: Towards an EU Strategy on the Rights of theChild, Brussels, 4.7.2006, COM (2006) 367 finalCommunication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council:Fighting trafficking in human beings – an integrated approach and proposals for anaction plan, Brussels, 18.10.2005, COM (2005) 514 finalCouncil of Europe:European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental FreedomsEuropean Social Charter and the Revised European Social CharterAdditional Protocol to the European Social Charter Providing for a System of CollectiveComplaintsEuropean Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Other Inhuman and DegradingTreatment or PunishmentConvention on Cyber CrimeCouncil of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings*This list is not exhaustive

2The World Health OrganizationThe activities of the World Health Assembly in relation to violence against childrenalso reflect commitment by Governments and constitute a strong platform to addressviolence against children which complements human rights.The public health mandate for addressing violence against children is grounded in theWorld Health Organization’s broader mandate for prevention of all forms of violence. TheWorld Health Assembly, governing body of the World Health Organization, in resolutionWHA 49.25 (1996), declared violence to be a leading worldwide public health problemand expressed particular concern at levels of violence against women and children; iturged Member States to assess the problem of violence, and requested that WHO presenta plan of action for the prevention of violence. The World Health Assembly endorsed theplan of action and called for its further development (resolution WHA 50.19).In response to these resolutions WHO prepared the first world report on violence andhealth, launched in 2002. The World Report on Violence and Health described theextent of violence as a global public health problem, set out a public health-orientedprevention strategy, and made nine recommendations. The report inspired the WorldHealth Assembly to adopt a resolution (WHA 56.24) urging Member States to promotethe report recommendations, appoint a ministry of health focal point for violence prevention,and prepare a national report on violence and violence prevention.respond to it effectively if it occurs, ensuringthat perpetrators do not enjoy impunity.States are required to ensure that their authorities,such as the police or teachers in State-runschools do not perpetrate violence against childrenthrough the adoption of legislative andother measures to prevent such acts through,for example, training police and other Stateofficials in investigation techniques which donot involve violence. They are also required toadopt legislative and other measures to protectchildren and to prevent and to deter parents,legal guardians and other non-State actors froma violating children’s rights through violence.International law thus provides a powerful,overarching legal framework which demands amultifaceted response. Required responses willvary according to the type of violence and thesetting in which it occurs. They will includepublic health responses, which emphasize prevention,criminal law responses, compensation,education, health or legislative approaches. 20The existing standards in international lawrelevant to violence against children are comprehensiveand detailed. The challenge is toensure that all States implement their obligations.The systemic and widespread nature41Violence against children and international human rights law and standards

42Violence against children and international human rights law and standardsof violence against children in all its formsand all its settings must be recognised andacknowledged. Thereafter, appropriate andeffective legislative, policy and programmaticresponses must be put in place, implemented,monitored and consistently modified so as torespond effectively and urgently to this massiveglobal issue.References1 UNICEF (2005). UN Human Rights Standards andMechanisms to Combat Violence against Children: AContribution to the UN Secretary-General’s Study onViolence against Children. Florence, UNICEF InnocentiResearch Centre.2 UNICEF (2001). Implementation Handbook for theConvention on the Rights of the Child, Revised edition.Geneva, UNICEF.3 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006). GeneralComment No. 8. The Right of the Child to Protectionfrom Corporal Punishment and Other Cruel or DegradingForms of Punishment, (articles 19, 28(2) and 37, interalia), CRC/C/GC/8.4 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006). GeneralComment No. 8. The Right of the Child to Protectionfrom Corporal Punishment and Other Cruel or DegradingForms of Punishment (articles 19, 28(2) and 37, interalia), CRC/C/GC/8, para 3.5 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2001).General Comment No. 1. The Aims of Education.CRC/GC/2001/1, para 8.6 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006). GeneralComment No. 8. The Right of the Child to Protectionfrom Corporal Punishment and Other Cruel or DegradingForms of Punishment (articles 19, 28(2) and 37, interalia), CRC/C/GC/8, para 26.7 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2001).Recommendations Adopted Following the GeneralDiscussion Day on Violence within the Family and inSchools. Report on the 28th session, September/October2001, CRC/C/111.8 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2000). GeneralDiscussion Day on the State of Violence againstChildren. Report on the 25th session, September/October 2000, CRC/C/100.9 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2001).General Discussion Day on Violence within the Familyand in Schools. Report on the 28th session, September/October 2001, CRC/C/111.

210 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2001).General Comment No. 1. The Aims of Education,CRC/GC/2001/1.11 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006). GeneralComment No. 8. The Right of the Child to Protectionfrom Corporal Punishment and Other Cruel or DegradingForms of Punishment (articles 19, 28(2) and 37, interalia), CRC/C/GC/8.12 Fiji Court of Appeal (2002). Naushad Ali v. State.Cited in: Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006).General Comment No. 8. The Right of the Child toProtection from Corporal Punishment and Other Cruel orDegrading Forms of Punishment (articles 19, 28(2) and37, inter alia), CRC/C/GC/8.13 UNICEF (2005). UN Human Rights Standards andMechanisms to Combat Violence against Children:A Contribution to the UN Secretary-General’s Study onViolence against Children. Florence, UNICEF InnocentiResearch Centre.14 UNICEF (2005). UN Human Rights Standards andMechanisms to Combat Violence against Children:A Contribution to the UN Secretary-General’s Study onViolence against Children. Florence, UNICEF InnocentiResearch Centre.15 European Committee of Social Rights (2001).Conclusions XV-2, Volume 1. General Introduction:General observations regarding Articles 7 para. 10 and17, pp 27 et seq.16 European Committee of Social Rights (2001).Conclusions XV-2, Volume 1, General Introduction:General observations regarding Articles 7 paras 10 and17, p 27.17 Inter-American Court of Human Rights (2002).Advisory Opinion OC-17/2002, Legal Status and HumanRights of the Child. 28 August 2002, paras 87 and 91.18 African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights(2003). Curtis Francis Doebbler v. Sudan. AfricanCommission on Human and Peoples’ Rights,Communication No. 236/2000.19 African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights(2003). Curtis Francis Doebbler v. Sudan. AfricanCommission on Human and Peoples’ Rights,Communication No. 236/2000, para. 42.20 Krug EG et al. (Eds) (2002). World Report on Violenceand Health. Geneva, World Health Organization.QuotesIIIIIICouncil of Europe (2006). Monaco launchingconference for ‘Building a Europe for and withChildren’, 4-5 April 2006. Available at:http://www.coe.int/t/transversalprojects/children/events/monacoLaunch_en.aspUnited Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Consultation OutcomeReport: the Caribbean, p 22. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.Council of Europe (2006). Monaco launchingconference for ‘Building a Europe for and withChildren’, 4-5 April 2006. Available at:http://www.coe.int/t/transversalprojects/children/events/monacoLaunch_en.asp43Violence against children and international human rights law and standards

UNICEF/HQ01-0432. Claudio VersianiBrazil, 2001, Maria (name changed), 6, hides her face in a pillow, in a room at CEDECA, the Centre for the Defense of Children andAdolescents, in a major city in Brazil. Maria was the victim of child abuse. Behind her is a six-year-old boy who is also being treated atthe centre, to help him recover from abuse of his older sister.

3Violence against childrenin the home and familyIntroduction 47Human rights instruments 48Background and context 50Nature and extent of the problem 50Physical violence 51Homicide 51Non-fatal physical violence 52Neglect 54Sexual violence 54Violence related to sexual behaviour and perceptions of honour 56Sexual violence in intimate relationships and child marriage 56Prevalence of child marriage 57Physical, sexual and psychological violence 58Harmful traditional practices 60Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM) 60Psychological violence 61The consequences of violence against children 63Developmental consequences: physical and psychological 63Consequences over the longer term 64Further victimisation 65Social and economic consequences 66Factors contributing to violence 66Child-related factors 67Family-related factors 68Societal and cultural factors 70Protective factors within the home 72Responses to violence against children in the home and family 73Legal reform 74Laws on corporal punishment andother forms of cruel or degrading punishment 7445Violence against children in the home and family

46Violence against children in the home and familyOther areas for legal change 75Prevention strategies 76Support for parents and families 77Programmes for and with children 80Social policy 81Other strategies 82Intervening when violence becomes known 83Detection of violence against children in the family 83Treatment for victims of violence 84Reporting by professionals 85Intervention in the best interests of the child 85When alternative care is necessary 87Advocacy and public education 87Eliminating harmful traditional practices 88Improving information for policy development and action 90Recommendations 92References 96

“With these two hands my mother holds me, cares for me, this I love.But with these two hands, my mother hits me – this I hate”Girl, East Asia and the Pacific, 2005 I3IntroductionFamilies, defined widely, hold the greatestpotential for protecting children from all formsof violence. Families can also empower childrento protect themselves. A basic assumptionof the Convention on the Rights of the Child(CRC) is that the family is the natural environmentfor the growth and well-being of allits members – particularly for children – whilethe Universal Declaration on Human Rightsand the International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights and the International Covenanton Economic, Social and Cultural Rightsproclaim the family as being the fundamentalgroup unit of society. The CRC requires theState to fully respect and support families.But families can be dangerous places for childrenand in particular for babies and youngchildren. The prevalence of violence againstchildren by parents and other close familymembers – physical, sexual and psychologicalviolence, as well as deliberate neglect – hasonly begun to be acknowledged and documented.Challenging violence against childrenis most difficult in the context of the familyin all its forms. There is a reluctance to intervenein what is still perceived in most societiesas a ‘private’ sphere. But human rights to fullrespect for human dignity and physical integrity– children’s and adults’ equal rights – andState obligations to uphold these rights do notstop at the door of the family home.State responsibility to respect, protect and fulfillthe rights of children extends beyond its directactivities and those of State agents, and requiresthe adoption of measures to ensure that parents,legal guardians and others do not violatechildren’s rights. It is obliged to put in place aframework of laws, policies and programmes toprevent violence by providing adequate protection,and responding to violence if it occurs.Younger children tend to be more vulnerableto violence in the home. In some industrialisedStates, where child deaths are most rigorouslyrecorded and investigated, infants under oneyear of age face around three times the risk ofhomicide, almost invariably by parents, thanchildren aged one to four, and twice the risk ofthose aged five to 14. 1 While all physical punishmentis degrading, there are other cruel anddegrading and potentially equally damagingnon-physical forms of violence which childrensuffer within the family. These include enduringpersistent threats, insults, name-calling orother forms of verbal abuse, belittling, isolationor rejection. In addition to the direct violence,many children witness violence between adultfamily members, which in itself has seriousconsequences, only very recently recognised.Everywhere that sexual violence has been studied,it is increasingly acknowledged that a substantialproportion of children are sexually harassed andviolated by the people closest to them. Forced sexwithin forced and early marriage is common inmany States. So-called ‘honour killings’ of adolescentgirls, regarded as having breached moralcodes, occur in some countries. Despite legislationand advocacy efforts, female genital mutilationor cutting (FGM) remains widespread: inparts of North and Eastern Africa, over 90% ofgirls undergo this operation, usually at aroundthe age of seven. 2,347Violence against children in the home and family

“The Study marks a watershed in adult relationships with children. In just a few years time,we should be looking back with shame and bewilderment at the fact that in the early years of the secondmillennium, governments and individual adults were still justifying - even promoting - hitting anddeliberately hurting babies and children as lawful and legitimate.”Peter Newell, Editorial Board of the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against ChildrenSexual and gender-based violence has profoundimplications in the era of HIV/AIDS,and also compromises self-esteem, psychologicaland emotional health. The implicationsof all forms of home and family violence forfuture development, behaviour and well-beingin adulthood, and for future parenting, areprofound. In addition, home is the place wheregender-based inequalities are first experiencedby children, and where future power-imbalancedrelationships are modelled, or challenged.Boys may be encouraged to becomeaggressive and dominant (‘takers’ of care),and girls are encouraged to be passive, compliantcaregivers. These gender-based stereotypessupport the use of violence and coercion thatperpetuates gender inequalities.This chapter discusses the various types ofphysical, psychological and sexual violencethat occur in home and family settings, theirimpacts on children, and the wide range ofresponses that can be used to reduce and ultimatelyeliminate this violence.48Violence against children in the home and familyHuman rights instrumentsThe adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1989 confirmedthat children too are holders of human rights. The CRC claims, on the one hand, children’sright to individuality and to have their views on all matters which affect themtaken seriously; and on the other, in the light of their developmental state and vulnerability,rights to special care and protection. The CRC makes clear that wherever possiblechildren should be raised within their family; and where the family is unable tocare for and protect them adequately, an alternative family-type environment should beprovided. Therefore the CRC uncompromisingly asserts that the family is the primarysite for children’s healthy, loving and safe upbringing. However, this role must be fullyunderpinned and supported by the State, including by stepping over the family thresholdto intervene when necessary, in the best interests of the child.The balance between the responsibilities and duties of families and of States to providechildren with the necessary protections for their development is addressed in several articlesof the CRC. Article 18 expresses the balance as follows: “…Parents or …legal guardians,

3have the primary responsibility for the upbringing and development of the child,” andin paragraph 2: “… States parties shall render appropriate assistance to parents and legalguardians in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities.” Article 3 requiresthat “the best interest of the child shall be a primary consideration in all actions concerningchildren.” Article 9 states: “A child shall not be separated from his or her parentsagainst their will” except when competent authorities determine that such separation isnecessary in the best interests of the child, including in cases of violence.The CRC therefore provides clear authorisation to the State to protect children againstall forms of violence in the home and family, and establishes its role as final arbiter ofchild welfare in the domestic arena. Article 19 asserts children’s right to protection“from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury and abuse, neglect or negligenttreatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care ofparent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has care of the child.” Articles 20and 21 address the State’s obligations to make arrangements for alternative care wherea child is parentless or has been separated from the family. Article 23 concerns specialsupport for disabled children; articles 34 and 35 seek protection from sexual exploitationand abuse, and from sale and trafficking; article 37 states: “No child shall besubjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;”article 24 requires States to take action to end harmful traditional practices, includingfor example FGM and forced and/or early marriage.The CRC requires States both to prevent all forms of violence and to respond to violenceeffectively when it occurs. While the State cannot be held directly responsible for individualacts of violence against children by parents or others, it is required to provide aframework of law and other necessary measures to supply adequate protection, includingeffective deterrence. Few States have put in place the necessary laws prohibiting allviolence against children, together with policies, structures, and reporting and referralmechanisms to address violence in the home and family. Law enforcement officials inmany countries remain reluctant to intervene even in cases of severe violence, childmarriage, and incest. Violent forms of discipline remain legal and socially accepted inmany States, despite the consistent interpretation of the CRC and other human rightsinstruments as requiring their prohibition and elimination (most recently, this hasbeen underlined by the Committee’s General Comment No. 8, 2006 on “The right ofthe child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading formsof punishment and control,” discussed later in this chapter). 449Violence against children in the home and family

“I was forced to marry with an old man of over 30 years who had raped me.”Girl, 16, Eastern and Southern Africa, 2005 II50Violence against children in the home and familyBackground andcontextIn most parts of the world, the family as aninstitution is itself changing or evolving in thelight of social and economic pressures. Thepace of urbanisation, especially in sub-SaharanAfrica (nearly 6% a year) and in Asia (3–4%), 5 has important implications for familyliving patterns and make-up. One in threecity dwellers – nearly one billion people – livein slums. Crowded living conditions, and thenecessity for cash income to meet all familyneeds, create circumstances of stress very differentfrom the life of rural subsistence. 6In industrialised countries, family make-up isless stable and also taking new forms, and thenature of ‘family life’ is undergoing change.Where income gaps have widened or there hasbeen rapid social change, levels of interpersonalviolence tend to rise. 7 In many parts of theworld there has also been a loss of protectionfrom kin, community and informal employersor ‘patrons’ that families traditionally reliedupon. 8 Market-based social policy reforms ofthe 1990s and early 2000s have exacerbatedpressures, especially on women, by reducingthe already limited access of poorer families tohealth care, pensions, schooling, and care forsmall children and the elderly.Economic pressures on low-income familiesin all regions have also led to significant levelsof migration – seasonal, temporary or permanent– by one or other parent, either to town oranother country, to earn and send remittanceshome. 9 Unprecedented levels of mobility leadto protracted periods of family separation, withnegative effects for children, and often lead topermanent family break-up. 10 Single-parenthouseholds may also have the stress of economicdisadvantage, and the added burden of childcareresponsibilities, especially where otherextended family support is not available. 11,12,13In Southern Africa where HIV/AIDS alsoexerts stress on families, fathers are reportedabsent in 42% of households. 14,15,16 HeavilyAIDS-affected countries have also seen theemergence of ‘child-headed households’ whereorphaned children are left managing the homeand struggling to provide for siblings.Nature and extent ofthe problemForms of violence to which a child will beexposed vary according to age and stage ofdevelopment, especially as the child starts tointeract with the world outside the home. 17,18Infants and young children are more likely tobe victimised by primary caregivers and otherfamily members because of their dependence onadult caregivers and limited independent socialinteractions outside the home. 19 As childrendevelop, they grow in independence and spendincreasing amounts of time outside the homeand away from family; therefore older childrenare more likely to be victimised by people outsidetheir home and family. However, there aremany overlaps in terms of age as well as formsof violence, and in terms of perpetrators.In the home and family setting, childrenexperience assaults and other acts of physicalviolence, sexual violation, harmful traditionalpractices, humiliation and other types

3of psychological violence, and neglect. As wellas assaults and other physical violence, thesecan include acts of omission, such as failure toprotect the child from exposure to preventableviolence at the hands of friends, neighbours, orvisitors; acts of stigma or gross discrimination;and failure to utilise child health and welfareservices to support the child’s well-being. Perpetratorsof violence in the home circle includeparents and step-parents, and can also includealternative family carers, extended family,spouses (in the case of child marriage) andtheir in-laws.Physical violenceHomicideIn countries where homicide statistics are analysedaccording to age of the victim, 15–17-yearoldsare the age group that is most at risk. Thesecond high-risk group is infants. Data fromOECD countries suggest that the risk of death isabout three times greater for children under oneyear old than for those aged 1 to 4, who in turnface double the risk of those aged 5 to 14. Theyounger the child, the more likely their deathwill be caused by a close family member. 20,21The most frequent causes of death are injuries tothe head or to the internal organs. Other causesinclude intentional suffocation, shaking, andmore rarely, choking or battering. According toWHO estimates, the highest rates of homicidein children under the age of five are found in sub-Saharan Africa and Northern America, and thelowest in the high-income countries of Europe,and in Eastern and Western Asia. 22 Estimatingthe proportion of child homicides occurring inthe home and family setting requires sophisticatedsurveillance systems of child deaths, whichare lacking in most countries. Where deaths arenot recorded or investigated, the extent of fatalviolence to children is not accurately known,and may become obscured by the high ratesof under-five mortality generally. It is assumedthat violence in one form or another – includingneglect – may often play a part in infantand young child deaths that are not recorded ashomicides, or perhaps not recorded at all. It iswidely agreed that violence against children byfamily members results in death far more oftenthan official records suggest. 23Where sufficient reliable data exist (for examplein New Zealand, Switzerland, and the USA),a few trends emerge. 24,25,26,27,28 In general, childrenunder 10 are at significantly greater riskthan children aged 10 to 19 of severe violenceperpetrated by family members and peopleclosely associated with the family. Age and sexare important risk factors. The majority of murdersof children under the age of one are perpetratedby one or both of the child’s parents, frequentlythe mother. While approximately 50%to 75% of murders of children aged under 10are by family members, this proportion dropsto about 20% of murders of children aged 10to 14, and 5% of murders of children aged 15to 19. A substantial proportion of homicides ofchildren under 10 years of age are committedby a stepparent, by a parent’s boyfriend or girlfriend,or by other people known to the victim.A US study found that female victims weretwice as likely as male victims to have beenkilled by family members. 29 Although girls’risk of murder by immediate family mem-51Violence against children in the home and family

“One day I went to put the cows to graze and one cow got lost. When I returned home,my father beat me almost to death and I sustained wounds all over my body”Boy, 17, Eastern and Southern Africa III52Violence against children in the home and familybers appears to decline after the age of 10, thedata suggest that they face increased risk ofmurder by intimate partners (dating partnersor spouses) or by the families of the intimatepartner. Moreover, in regions where early marriageand so-called ‘honour killings’ againstwomen are common, it is probable that theproportion of murders of girls by family membersmay remain stable or actually increase inthe 10 to 14- and 15 to 19-year age groups.Further research is needed to confirm whetherthis is so.In some parts of South Asia, high rates ofmurder of girls within a few days of birth havebeen reported, with these deaths often disguisedand registered as a still birth. A studyin India, interviewing 1,000 women regardingpregnancy outcomes, found that 41% ofthe early neo-natal female deaths are due tofemale infanticide. Although the practice isapparently not limited to India, one study inTamil Nadu estimated that 8–10% of infantdeaths in 1995 could have been due to femaleinfanticide. 30 Further research is required tobetter understand the nature and extent of thephenomenon across countries.Non-fatal physical violencePhysical violence is the intentional use of physicalforce against a child that either results inor has a high likelihood of resulting in harmto the child’s health, survival, development ordignity. Children around the world experiencehitting, kicking, shaking, beating, bites,burns, strangulation, poisoning and suffocationby members of their family. In extremecases this violence can result in a child’s death(as discussed above), in disability, or in severephysical injury. In other cases, physical violencemay leave no outwardly visible sign ofinjury. In all instances, however, physical violencehas a negative impact on a child’s psychologicalhealth and development.Surveys from around the world suggest thatphysical violence against children in the homeis widespread in all regions. For example, in asurvey of students aged 11 to 18 in the KurdistanProvince of the Islamic Republic of Iran,38.5% reported experiences of physical violenceat home that had caused physical injury rangingfrom mild to severe. 31 A review of research onphysical victimisation of children in the Republicof Korea found that kicking, biting, chokingand beating by parents are alarmingly common,with a high risk of physical injury – and for asmall proportion, disability – as a result. 32 Inthe UK, a national survey found that mothersand fathers were most often responsible forphysical violence, although violence by siblingswas also reported. 33Corporal punishment is defined by the Committeeon the Rights of the Child as “anypunishment in which physical force is usedand intended to cause some degree of pain ordiscomfort, however light.” 34 While growingglobal concern over the prevalence of corporalpunishment in the home – perpetuated by itswidespread legality and social approval – hasfostered interest in understanding its prevalenceand forms, it has also generated debate. Mostcorporal punishment involves hitting (‘smacking’,‘slapping’, ‘spanking’) children, with thehand or with an implement – whip, stick, belt,

3shoe, wooden spoon, etc. But it can also involve,for example, kicking, shaking or throwingchildren, scratching, pinching, biting, pullinghair or boxing ears, forcing children to stay inuncomfortable positions, burning, scalding orforced ingestion (for example, washing children’smouths out with soap or forcing themto swallow hot spices). The Committee comments:“In the view of the Committee, corporalpunishment is invariably degrading. Inaddition, there are other non-physical forms ofpunishment which are also cruel and degradingand thus incompatible with the CRC. Theseinclude, for example, punishment which belittles,humiliates, denigrates, scapegoats, threatens,scares or ridicules the child.” 35There are considerable variations in popularviews about the use and effectiveness ofcorporal punishment, according to availablestudies. While a Canadian study found that59% of people believed that spanking is harmfuland 86% that it is ineffective, 36 researchin the USA found that 84% agreed “that itis sometimes necessary to discipline a childwith a good hard spanking.” 37,38 A study in theRepublic of Korea found that 90% of parentsthought corporal punishment ‘necessary’. 39 Ina report from Yemen, almost 90% of childrensaid that physical and humiliating punishmentis the main method of discipline in the family,with the most common form being beating. 40What children think about corporal punishmentThe Save the Children Alliance conducted research on physical and humiliating punishmentwith children around the world as a special contribution to the Study. Theresulting report found that overwhelmingly, the children disagreed with the idea thatsuch punishment accomplished anything positive. The report suggested that whilechildren may comply with adults’ wishes immediately after being hit, “young childrenfrequently do not remember why they are hit, and children will only refrain from themisbehaviour if they face an imminent threat of being hit. This sort of punishmentfrightens children into certain behaviours: it does not help children to want to behave,or teach them self-discipline or promote any alternative.” 41 In a survey undertaken byUNICEF in Europe and Central Asia, over 75% of children said that ‘hitting’ was‘never’ a good solution to problems at home. 42 In Regional Consultations for the Study,children repeatedly called for other methods of discipline, including being offered aproper explanation of what they had done wrong. They underlined how hurtful it wasto be hit and humiliated by those who professed to love and care for them.53Violence against children in the home and family

54Violence against children in the home and familyNeglectNeglect is an important contributor to deathand illness in young children. Neglect meansthe failure of parents or carers to meet a child’sphysical and emotional needs when they havethe means, knowledge and access to servicesto do so; or failure to protect her or him fromexposure to danger. However, in many settingsthe line between what is caused deliberatelyand what is caused by ignorance or lackof care possibilities may be difficult to draw.The degree to which neglect influences childmortality rates in many parts of the worldis unknown (with exceptions, including the‘missing girls’ phenomenon; see below).Cases of neglect are difficult to interpret in circumstancesof poor public health and undernutrition.In some industrialised countries,neglect constitutes the largest proportion of childmaltreatment cases reported to the authorities.Studies in these countries confirm that forms ofviolence and neglect interconnect. 43 All of theRegional Consultations for the Study expressedconcern about neglect of children with disabilities;although there is little quantitativeevidence, it is known that these children are athigh risk of neglect, from deliberate withholdingof basic physical necessities to emotionalisolation and lack of stimulation.Research on sex differences in neglect inIndia suggests that girls suffer relatively moreneglect than boys throughout early childhood.They are breast-fed less frequently thanboys and for shorter duration; once weaned,they are given food of an inferior quality andquantity. 44 Girls are also taken to health servicesless often, and later in the course of anyillness. 45 A study from Nepal into outcomes ofpolio infection in the population found thatseveral years later, the survival rate of boys wastwice that of girls, despite the fact that polioaffects equal numbers of males and females,thus suggesting gender bias in care. 46 In China,the sex ratio is unbalanced in favour of boys(117 to 100), with this being contributed to byinfanticide. 47Sexual violenceThe WHO estimates that 150 million girlsand 73 million boys under 18 have experiencedforced sexual intercourse or other formsof sexual violence involving physical contact, 48though this is certainly an underestimate.Much of this sexual violence is inflicted byfamily members or other people residing inor visiting a child’s family home – people normallytrusted by children and often responsiblefor their care.A review of epidemiological surveys from 21countries, mainly high- and middle-incomecountries, found that at least 7% of females(ranging up to 36%) and 3% of males (rangingup to 29%) reported sexual victimisationduring their childhood. 49 According to thesestudies, between 14% and 56% of the sexualabuse of girls, and up to 25% of the sexualabuse of boys, was perpetrated by relatives orstep-parents. In many places, adults are outspokenabout the risk of sexual violence their childrenface at school or at play in the community,but rarely do adults speak of children’s risk ofsexual abuse within the home and family context.The shame, secrecy and denial associated

“When I was like twelve, I thought I was pregnant by my father. I contemplated suicide becauseI was just saying to myself. “How am I going to explain this to people?”I mean, I was twelve years old. Nobody is going to believe me.”Young girl, North America, 2005 IV3with familial sexual violence against childrenfoster a pervasive culture of silence, where childrencannot speak about sexual abuse they havesuffered, adults do not speak about the risk ofsexual violence in the home, and where adultsdo not know what to do or say if they suspectsomeone they know is sexually abusing a child.Most children do not report the sexual violencethey experience at home because they areafraid of what will happen to them and theirfamilies, that their families will be ashamed orreject them, or that they will not be believed.Adults may also fail to report such abuse. Incommunities and families with rigid normsabout masculinity, femininity and familyhonour, boys who disclose sexual violence maybe viewed as weak and unmanly, and girlswho disclose sexual violence risk being blamed– and frequently beaten and killed. 50,51 Bothboys and girls are vulnerable to sexual violence,but comparison of international studies revealsthat rates of sexual violence against girls aregenerally higher than those against boys. 52,53A recent WHO multi-country study interviewedmore than 24,000 women in 10 countries(Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan, Peru,Namibia, Samoa, the former Serbia and Montenegro,Thailand, and the United Republic ofTanzania), and asked if someone had touchedthem sexually or made them do somethingsexual they did not want to do, before the ageof 15 years. 54 In some of these countries, theproportion of childhood sexual abuse perpetratedby family members is extremely high:• In the two Brazil sites, city and province,12% and 9% respectively of the womenreported childhood sexual abuse. Ofthese, 66% and 54% reported that afamily member was the perpetrator.• In Namibia, 21% of the womenreported childhood sexual abuse. Ofthese, 47% indicated that a familymember was the perpetrator.• In the two Peruvian sites, city andprovince, 19.5% and 18% of thewomen reported childhood sexualabuse, with 54% and 41% of theperpetrators being family members.The most commonly reported perpetrators ofsexual violence towards girls were male familymembers (brothers, uncles), followed by stepfathers,fathers and female family members.Male friends of family were also commonlynamed as perpetrators. Other research confirmsthat parents, caregivers, aunts and uncles,siblings, grandparents, cousins, and friends ofthe family perpetrate sexual violence againstchildren. For example:• In a study of women aged 15 to 49in South Africa, 21% of women whoreported being forced or persuaded tohave intercourse against their will priorto the age of 15 years, reported that theperpetrator was a relative. 55• In a Romanian national study of 13-and 14-year-olds, 9% of the childrenreported they had been sexually violatedin the family and 1% reported they hadbeen raped by a family member. 56• In the Occupied Palestinian Territory,19% of surveyed undergraduate collegestudents reported at least one act ofsexual violence against them by an55Violence against children in the home and family

“I was just 15 years old and was studying in Grade 9 when my dreams shattered. I was attacked withacid for refusing a marriage proposal. You can imagine the physical pain of having acid thrown overyour face and body, but the pain of social stigma is worse than physical pain and can last forever.”Acid victim, South and Central Asia, 2005 V56Violence against children in the home and familyimmediate family member prior to theage of 16. A further 36.2% reportedsexual abuse by a relative at least once.Males and females reported similarrates of childhood sexual abuse. 57• In a study of university students in theHong Kong Special AdministrativeRegion of China, 4.3% of males and7.4% of females reported experiencingone or more incidents of sexual violencebefore the age of 17 years. Perpetratorswere strangers in less than one-third ofcases. 58• An analysis of child protection files inSpain from 1997 and 1998 showed that3.6% of abuse cases involved sexualabuse, and 96% of the perpetratorsof sexual abuse were family membersor relatives. Fathers and stepfathersaccounted for the largest proportion ofpersons responsible for sexual abuse,followed by mothers and uncles oraunts. 59• In Somalia, 20% of the childrenreported to one study that they knew ofa sexual assault against a child in theirfamily. 60Violence related to sexual behaviourand perceptions of honourIn some circumstances, girls are regarded ascomplicit in cases of sexual violence againstthem and they, rather than their abusers, areheld responsible for any sexual act, forced,violent or otherwise. In some countries, a girlolder than 12 can be punished severely in casesof rape and other sexual assaults if the perpetratordenies it, and there is no witness. 61In some cultures, suspected loss of virginity ofa female member of the family, including asa result of rape, is perceived as compromisingfamily honour, and may lead to her murder byfamily members. In Pakistan, human rightsorganisations report that there were over 1,200cases of so-called ‘honour killings’ in 2003alone. 62,63 They also occur in Jordan, India,Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, the Occupied PalestinianTerritory, Turkey, Iraq, and Afghanistan;and in countries with populations originallyfrom Asia and the Middle East. UK datasuggest that around 12 of these killings occurthere every year. 64 These deaths are thoughtto represent only the extreme end of a muchlarger problem of intimidation and violence. 65Extreme violence may be perpetrated againstgirls and women who do not respond in stereotypicalways. Rejection of romantic overtures ormarriage proposals, for example, may prompt aviolent reaction. The proportion of acid attackson women and girls in Bangladesh, currentlyestimated at around 120 every year, 66 related torefusal of a relationship or marriage proposalwas reported as amounting to 17% in 2003. 67Most of the girls come from poor households,and attacks often occur on the way to school orduring collection of water or fuel.Sexual violence in intimaterelationships and childmarriageFor a large number of girls – and some boys– the first experience of sexual intercourse inadolescence is unwanted and even coerced,and a proportion of these rapes occur in thecontext of intimate partnerships and under-

3age permanent unions or marriages. Therecan also be violence in the context of dating,but this type of non-formal partnership relationshipsbetween adolescent boys and girls(and between same-sex young couples) tendsto occur outside the home and family context.It is therefore primarily covered in the chapteron violence against children in the community.In many societies, a marriage or permanentunion is arranged – in the case of girls, usuallyat or soon after puberty – by parents and familyelders. Sometimes these unions are forced onchildren, particularly girls, and result in earlymarriage.While the justifications include protection offamily honour and a girl’s sexual purity, economicfactors also play a role: girls may beviewed as an economic burden in poor families;dowry costs are commonly lower, andbride wealth gains are higher for younger girls;a young girl’s marriage may be arranged tosecure her and her family’s economic future.The Convention on the Elimination of AllForms of Discrimination against Women providesthat the marriage of a child shall haveno legal effect, and that all necessary action,including legislation, shall be taken to specifya minimum age for marriage. In its 1994 GeneralRecommendation on equality and familyrelations, the Committee on the Eliminationof Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)recommended that that the minimum age formarriage for both boys and girls should be 18.The Committee on the Rights of the Childhas echoed this proposal, and frequently recommendsto States that the legal age for marriageshould be raised and equalised.Early marriage of girls has significant negativeconsequences on their health, developmentand rights. It often ends their opportunities forformal education, and results in social isolation.Young wives are regarded as having consentedto sexual relations with their husbands,and become pregnant when young, beforetheir bodies are ready. They face higher ratesof problems in childbirth and maternal mortality.The same applies to child marriage. 68In addition to other risks to their health anddevelopment, girls who marry before the age of18 face significant risk of physical, sexual andpsychological violence at the hands of theirhusbands, with existing evidence suggestingthat girls who marry young are at higherrisk of violence than other women. 69 Intimatepartner violence against married girls is oftena manifestation of unequal power relationsbetween her and her husband, and indicativeof underlying societal beliefs in the status androles of men and women.Prevalence of child marriageChild marriage is common in South Asia, WestAfrica, and some countries in East and SouthernAfrica – especially Mozambique, Uganda andEthiopia – as well as others in the Middle East,notably Yemen. In some countries – mostly inWest Africa, but including Bangladesh andNepal – about 60% of girls are married bythe age of 18, and in at least 28 countries, theproportion is 30%. 70 Although the majority ofcountries have legislation which prohibits mar-57Violence against children in the home and family

“I hate early marriage. I was married at an early age and my in-laws forced me to sleepwith my husband and he made me suffer all night. After that, whenever day becomes night,I get worried thinking that it will be like that. That is what I hate most.”Girl, 11, married at 5, Eastern and Southern Africa, 2005 VI58Violence against children in the home and familyriage of girls under the age of 16, and someforbid marriage under the age of 18, such lawsare frequently ignored: marriages are not registered,customary or religious rules are accepted,with few cases resulting in court proceedings.It is estimated that, globally, 82 million girls nowbetween 10–17 years of age will marry beforetheir 18th birthday. 71 This includes significantnumbers of girls married at much younger ages.In Nepal, for example, 7% of girls are marriedby the time they are 10, and 40% by the ageof 15. 72 In the Amhara region of Ethiopia, 40%of girls in rural areas are married by the age of15, 73 in some cases following abduction and rapein order to avoid bride price. In all such cases,the notion of consent to the marriage by eitherpartner, especially the girl, and to the sex withinit, does not apply. In settings where a girl is sentto her in-laws once agreement between the familieswith respect to the marriage has been made,sex within the union often begins at the age of10 or 11, before the girl has menstruated.Physical, sexual and psychologicalviolenceMarried girls experience a significant amountof violence from their husbands. A recentanalysis of Demographic and Health Surveys(DHS) data showed that spousal violence hadbeen experienced in the previous 12 months by4% of girls aged 15 to 19 in Cambodia, 15.4%in the Dominican Republic, 21.0% in Egypt,25.4% in Haiti, 10.4% in India, 18.2% inNicaragua, and 33.3% in Zambia. 74 In thesecountries, younger women and women whomarried at the earliest ages reported the mostintimate partner violence.Physical violence against married girls by theirspouses can include pushing, shaking, slapping,punching, biting, kicking, dragging,strangling, burning, and threatening/attackingwith a weapon. In societies with a customof dowry, intimate partner violence against theyoung bride can result from her family’s failureto pay the dowry, or her husband’s or in-laws’dissatisfaction with the amount.Studies of domestic violence and dowry-relatedharassment show that close relatives, especiallymembers of the husband’s family, play importantroles in perpetrating violence againstwomen. Often the perpetrator is the husband,assisted by the mother- in-law. 75 However,in some cases the husband’s relatives are themain perpetrators of violence and harassmentagainst the young bride. 76,77,78 A studyfrom India revealed that, among women whoreported physical violence and harassment dueto dissatisfaction with the dowry, the familymember who most frequently harassed was themother-in-law (95%), followed by the husbandand father-in-law (72% each), sister-inlaw(49%), and brother-in-law (14%). 79Many married girls experience sexual violencefrom their partners; they may be physicallyforced, or threatened into having sexual intercourseagainst their will, or they may havesexual intercourse because they are afraid ofwhat their partner will do if they refuse, orthey may be forced to do something sexualthat they find degrading or humiliating. Insocieties where the cultural norm is for men tohave unlimited sexual access to women uponmarriage, married girls are likely to experienceforced and traumatic sexual initiation. 80

3FIGURE 3.1Percentage of women married by the age of 18 yearsNigerChadMaliBangladeshGuineaBurkina FasoCentral African RepublicMozambiqueNepalUgandaCameroonEthiopiaYemenEritreaMalawiIndiaNigeriaNicaraguaZambiaDominican RepublicMadagascarUnited Republic of TanzaniaBeninSenegalGuatemalaGabonCôte d'IvoireTogoComorosZimbabweGhanaCambodiaKenyaIndonesiaHaitiBrazilColombiaKyrgyzstanBoliviaRwandaEgyptPeruPhilippinesKazakhstanViet NamNamibiaTurkmenistanSouth Africa6565656257575654534948474746434342414039373634343331302928252524242421212120201915141110987771Percentage0 20 40 60 80 10059Violence against children in the home and familySource: UNICEF (2005). Early Marriage - a harmful traditional practice. A Statistical Exploration.New York, UNICEF. Data analysed from 1996 - 2003

60Violence against children in the home and familyPsychological violence, by spouses, againstmarried girls includes humiliation, threatsagainst her or someone close to her, and controllingbehaviours. Where a girl flees a violentmarriage and returns home, she may berejected by her parents and beaten for inadequacyas a wife.Harmful traditional practicesIn some settings, cultural traditions includepractices which inflict pain and ‘disfigurement’on children, such as scarifying, branding,or tattooing. Although the term ‘harmfultraditional practices’ has been particularlyassociated with FGM of girls, there are manyother harmful practices involving both boysand girls. In Ethiopia, a 1998 survey by theNational Committee on Harmful TraditionalPractices found that uvulectomy (removal offlesh from the soft palate at the back of themouth) is carried out on 84% of children,and milk teeth extraction on 89%. 81 Theseoperations may be performed with unsterilisedinstruments, leading to potential infection.Participants in the West and Central Africanconsultations for the Study expressed concernthat in West African countries includingMauritania, Niger and northern Mali, thedesire to marry their children at a very youngage incites parents to force-feed their 5–10-year-old daughters to promote their physicaldevelopment, make them as plump as maturewomen, and therefore pleasing to men. Thismay have tragic consequences, including rejectionby husbands who find their wives have notmenstruated and cannot produce children, aswell as obesity which is associated with laterserious health problems: cardiovascular disease,hypertension and diabetes.Female genital mutilation/cutting(FGM)The term ‘harmful traditional practices’ is mostfrequently used to refer to female genital mutilation,or ‘cutting’ as it is described in areaswhere it is practised. According to a WHOestimate, between 100 and 140 million girlsand women in the world have undergone someform of FGM. 82 Girls from very young ages upto their mid or late teens undergo this form ofgenital excision, normally including the clitoris,as a precursor to marriage. 83 FGM is seen asa protection of virginity, a beautification process,and in a number of cultures is regarded asan essential precondition of marriage.There are different forms of FGM, some ofwhich involve more radical excisions in thegenital area than others. In its most extremeform (infibulation), the internal labia minoraand external labia majora are cut and theexposed edges sutured together, leaving thevagina almost shut. Following the procedure,the girl’s legs are normally bound from foot tohip, immobilising her for days to enable scartissue to form. 84 This form of the operation isendured by 90–98% of Somali girls, usually atthe age of 7 or 8 years. 85 There are profoundimplications for a woman’s experience of sexualrelations and maternity. Prolonged labourand stillbirth are common. After delivery, thewoman is usually ‘re-sewn’.The most reliable and extensive data on theprevalence and nature of FGM are provided

“My grandmother arrived. She told me I was to be circumcised but I did not understand.She said: “Now you will be like everybody else, you will not be left behind.” Then they got ready.They held me at my shoulders and at the knees, and I started crying and trying to close my legs.It was very terrible. I can never forget that.”Mother, who will still submit her daughters to the FGM due to pressurefrom her mother-in-law, Eastern and Southern Africa, 2005 VII3by DHS and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys(MICS). However, the practice variesconsiderably in degree of severity of mutilation,and some of the countries in which it ismost frequently practised and in its severestforms have not been subject to DHS or MICS,notably Somalia and Djibouti (see Figure 3.2).Estimates from UNICEF published in 2005suggest that in sub-Saharan Africa, Egypt andthe Sudan, 3 million girls and women are subjectedto FGM every year. 86The highest prevalence is in the countries in theHorn of Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea andDjibouti), followed by neighbouring Egypt andSudan, East and West Africa, with some casesalso occurring in other parts of the Middle Eastand in Asia. In many of the countries where itoccurs, it is practised by certain peoples; forexample in Nigeria, according to DHS data,the prevalence reaches almost 60% of girls inthe southern provinces, but only 2% in thenorth. In a country such as Kenya, it is practisedalmost universally among Kenyan Somali,Masai, and some other groups, but reaches 32%in the country as a whole. 87 In Guinea, Maliand Mauritania, recent DHS have shown thatrates of FGM are as high as 71–99%, and thatsome girls are nowadays ‘cut’ before the age offour. 88 There are also cases in the industrialisedworld among diaspora groups.Psychological violenceAll physical and sexual violence involves somepsychological harm; but psychological violencecan also take the form of insults, name-calling,ignoring, isolation, rejection, threats, emotionalindifference and belittlement – that can be detrimentalto a child’s psychological developmentand well-being. Standard definitions are lacking,and little is known about the global extentof this form of violence against children exceptthat it frequently accompanies other forms: astrong coexistence between psychological andphysical violence against children in violenthouseholds has been established. 89 In the violentfamily setting, there is constant fear and anxietycaused by the anticipation of violence; pain,humiliation and fear during its enactment; and,in older age groups, the loneliness of parentalrejection, distrust, and at times self-disgust.Psychological violence may be the product ofuncontrolled frustration, or it may have a similarpurpose to that of corporal punishment: to cowa child into obedience and ‘retrain’ his or herunruly behaviour. Although children may knowthe saying “words can never hurt me,” the truthis that many children find the pain and anxietyof rejection, and the humiliation of an attack ontheir self-esteem, is also difficult to bear. 90Psychological forms of punishment occur inevery region. A study across five countriesconducted by the World Studies of Abuse inthe Family Environment (WorldSAFE) projectindicated that shouting or screaming atchildren was a punishment practised by parentsin all five countries (Chile, Egypt, India,the Philippines, and the USA). The incidenceof cursing children or threatening them wasmore varied; for example, in the Philippinesno mother was reported as cursing her child,but 48% threatened abandonment; in Egypt51% cursed the child, but only 10% threatenedabandonment. 9161Violence against children in the home and family

FIGURE 3.2The prevalence of FGM among women and their daughters100999792Women (aged 15-49) undergone FGM/CWomen (aged 15-49) with at least onedaughter who has undergone FGM/C90 89Countries where FGM is practicedFGM/C practiced, DHS orMICS data available62Violence against children in the home and familyPercentage806040200Guinea54Egypt47Mali73Sudan (North)58Eritrea6380Ethiopia4877Burkina Faso327166Mauritania45 45Cote d'IvoireData are from latest available years, 1996–2004. Adapted from UNICEF (2005). Changing a Harmful SocialConvention: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. Innocenti Digest, No. 12. Florence, UNICEF Innocenti ResearchCentre; UNICEF (2005). Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Statistical Exploration. New York, UNICEF.24The most reliable and extensive data on prevalence and nature of FGM are provided byDHS and MICS. However, the surveys do not capture the degree of severity of mutilation,which varies considerably between and within countries. In addition, some of thecountries in which FGM is known to be most frequently practised in its severest forms,such as Somalia and Djibouti, have not been subject to DHS or MICS.Chad36Central AfricanRepublic322321 20 19 18 17KenyaYemenNigeria10United Republicof Tanzania7 6FGM/C practiced,no DHS or MICS dataFGM/C not practicedBenin5 53NigerGhana1Cameroon

3One type of punishment may give way toanother, depending on age. A study conductedamong 2,000 children aged six to 18 in Swazilandfound that humiliating psychologicalpunishment was more common against olderchildren, and corporal punishment morecommon among younger ones. 92The consequencesof violence againstchildrenThe consequences of violence against childreninclude both the immediate personal impactsand the damage that they carry forward intolater childhood, adolescence and adult life.The violence that children experience in thecontext of home and family can lead to lifelongconsequences for their health and development.They may lose the trust in other humanbeings essential to normal human development.Learning to trust from infancy onwardsthrough attachments in the family is an essentialtask of childhood, and closely related tothe capacity for love, empathy and the developmentof future relationships. At a broader level,violence can stunt the potential for personaldevelopment and achievement in life, and presentheavy costs to society as a whole.Developmental consequences:physical and psychologicalThe most apparent immediate consequencesof violence to children are fatal and non-fatalinjury, cognitive impairment and failure tothrive, and the psychological and emotionalconsequences of experiencing or witnessingpainful and degrading treatment that theycannot understand and are powerless to prevent.These consequences include feelings ofrejection and abandonment, impaired attachment,trauma, fear, anxiety, insecurity andshattered self-esteem. When a parent deliberatelyinflicts pain on a child, whether forpunishment or for some other reason, part ofthe child’s lesson is that the parent is a sourceof pain to be avoided; even at two years old,physically punished children distance themselvesfrom mothers compared to children whoare not physically punished. 93Impacts and consequences are complicated bythe fact that, at home, children are victimisedby people they love and trust, in places wherethey ought to feel safe. The damage is particularlysevere in the context of sexual abuse, particularlyas the stigma and shame surroundingchild sexual abuse in all countries usually leavesthe child dealing with the harm in solitude.Loss of confidence and belief in the humanbeings closest to the child can instil feelingsof fear, suspicion, uncertainty, and emotionalisolation. He or she may never again feel safe orsecure in the company of the parent or familymember who perpetrated the violence.A growing body of evidence suggests that exposureto violence or trauma alters the developingbrain by interfering with normal neuro-developmentalprocesses. 94 Where family violence isacute, children may show age-related changesin behaviour and symptoms consistent withPost-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) anddepression. Physical and sexual victimisationare associated with an increased risk of suicidalthoughts and behaviour, and the more severe63Violence against children in the home and family

“Violence against children in the home and family is a serious problem in itself and has been stronglyassociated with health risk behaviours later in life… In turn, these behaviours contribute to someof the leading causes of disease and death…. Preventing violence against children in the home andfamily should therefore be a public health priority.”Dr Alexander Butchart, Editorial Board of the UN Secretary-General’s Studyon Violence against Children64Violence against children in the home and familythe violence, the higher this risk. 95,96 Theeffects may also be influenced by how adultsrespond to children if they try to talk aboutwhat they have experienced. Other variableswill include how long the violence has goneon, where it has taken place, and whether thechild is suffering from repeated violence fromthe same person, or whether he or she is being‘re-victimised’ by another perpetrator. 97According to WHO, the negative effects tochildren of living in a violent household aresimilar across culturally and geographicallydiverse settings. Based on studies of women inBangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan, Namibia,Peru, Samoa, Thailand and the United Republicof Tanzania, children living in violenthouseholds (where the mother reported physicalabuse from the father) were more likely tohave behavioural problems such as bed-wetting,nightmares, and excessively aggressivebehaviour or timidity, than those in non-violenthouseholds. 98 The results suggest that exposureto violence in the home is a warning sign fordamage to children, and care services need tofactor this into prevention and response.Consequences overthe longer termA growing body of research shows that violenceperpetrated against children, or the experienceof living in a household where violence againstloved ones is frequently witnessed, can be a significantcontributing factor in adult illness anddeath. Childhood experience of violence hasbeen linked to alcohol and drug abuse, cancer,chronic lung disease, depression, and a numberof other conditions including liver disease,obesity and chronic reproductive health problems.99,100,101 The links may result from harmfulbehaviours adopted as coping mechanismssuch as smoking, drinking, substance abuse,bingeing or other poor dietary habits.Violence against children can also have a lastingimpact on mental health. 102 A study comparingdata from around the world shows thata significant proportion of adult mental disordersare connected to sexual abuse in childhood(see Table 3.1). 103 Although the prevalence ofabuse varied in different regions, the impactsappeared similar, with mental health effectsbeing worse in relation to the period over whichabuse continued and degree of severity.Findings are similar regarding physical punishmentand other degrading forms of treatment.Corporal punishment is a predictor ofdepression, unhappiness and anxiety, and feelingsof hopelessness in children and youth.Even a low frequency of corporal punishmentmay lead to psychological distress in youngpeople. 104,105,106,107 In a group of adolescents inthe Hong Kong Special Administrative Regionof China, those who had been physically punishedin recent months were more likely to consumealcohol, smoke cigarettes, get into fights,be anxious and stressed, and perceive difficultiesin their ability to cope with everyday problems.108 The relationship with poorer mentalhealth continues into adulthood according tostudies in Canada and the USA, which founda higher level of anxiety disorders and alcoholdependence. 109

“I am 8 years old and was raped when I was 6. My parents made a complaint to the police and he wassent to jail. But I cannot stay where I live anymore. You know what they call me here?They have nicknamed me the “tainted” (la déchirée)…even when I go to the well toget water the kids call me that. I want to run away from here”.Girl, 8, Eastern and Southern Africa, 2006 VIII3Table 3.1 – Global burden of mental disorder attributed to child sexual abuseMental disorderPercentage of global diseaseburden attributed to childsexual abuse (CSA)Females (%) males (%)Depression, alcohol and drug abuse 7–8 4–5Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder 33 21Further victimisationExperiencing violence as a young child alsoincreases the risk of further victimisation, andan accumulation of violent experiences. Thisreinforces the importance of recognising andpreventing violence against children as earlyas possible. Similarly, child sexual abuse hasbeen clearly established as a risk factor forsexual victimisation in adulthood, and the riskis compounded when it includes intercourseand other forms of violence. 110 The extent ofcontinued victimisation in the home has onlybeen assessed in a few countries where registersand databases are routinely updated. Inthe UK and the USA cases where violence tothe child has been referred to official childprotection agencies, rates of re-referral rangefrom between 5% and 24% within a 1–4 yearSuicide attempts 11 6Panic disorders 13 7Source: Andrews G et al. (2004). Child Sexual Abuse. In: Ezzati M et al. (2004). Comparative Quantificationof Health Risks: Global and Regional Burden of Disease Attributable to Selected Major Risk Factors, Vol 2.Geneva, World Health Organization, pp 1851–1940.follow-up. 111,112,113 In cases where a child hasbeen referred on at least two occasions, riskrises significantly.Family violence against children is believed tobe associated with increased risk of violence inother settings. A study in the UK found thatchildren witnessing domestic violence are alsomore likely to be victims of bullying, 114 andsimilarly a study of elementary and middleschool-aged children in Italy showed that beingbullied at school was associated with witnessingparents’ violence at home, especially for girls. 115Children who have been sexually abused, orextremely neglected, or who have experiencedviolence at home, may run away or drift intoa street life which exposes them to the risk ofsexual abuse or exploitation. This happens toboys as well as girls: according to a report from65Violence against children in the home and family

“It could appear a feeling of guilt. The victim and even people around who don’t knowthe situation could consider that the abused child is responsible for the abuse. If close peoplebelieve this, then slowly the victim will believe the same thing.”Girl, 11th grade, Europe, 2005 IX66Violence against children in the home and familyCanada, almost all boys involved in prostitutionthere have been sexually abused at home. 116A number of studies have focused on the intergenerationalnature of violence. 117 Recent datafrom an international study in Australia, CostaRica, the Czech Republic, Poland and the Philippinesindicates that the problem is commonacross cultures and regions. 118 Women in allcountries who have experienced physical violencefrom their parents in childhood are considerablymore likely to report physical violencefrom an intimate partner as an adult, supportingthe notion of a life-course perspective ofviolence 119 (see Figure 3.3).In the case of traditional practices, and of childmarriage, there is a consistent intergenerationallink in that mothers (and fathers) who regardthem as mandatory customs inflict them ondaughters and sons. The main predeterminantof FGM is ethnic affiliation; some ethnic groupscarry out the practice in almost their entire population,whereas others living in the same areado not do so. 120 Education of girls, especially tosecondary level, can break the intergenerationallink and reduce the prevalence of FGM. 121Social and economicconsequencesIn addition to its negative impact on a child’srights, health and development, family violenceagainst children has economic consequencesfor families and society. These includedirect costs such as the cost of medical carefor victims, legal and social welfare services,and the placement of child victims in care.Indirect costs include possible lasting injury ordisability, psychological costs or other impactson a victim’s quality of life; the disruptionor discontinuation of education; and productivitylosses in the future life of the childor young person. 122 The potential financialburden is illustrated by data from a few industrialisedsocieties. The financial costs associatedwith child abuse and neglect, includingfuture lost earnings and mental health care,were estimated in the USA in 2001 at US$94 billion. 123 In the UK, an annual cost ofUS$ 1.2 billion has been cited for immediatewelfare and legal services alone. 124Factors contributingto violenceThe risk of home and family violence arisesfrom the interaction between the quality offamily relationships, and stress or pressureupon the family from external factors or fromcharacteristics of family members. Some factorsstem from the individual characteristics of thechild (e.g. stage of development, sex) and thecharacteristics of the parent or caregiver (e.g.mental disorders, substance abuse). Othersderive from the family setting and the rolesand relationships of people within it; these mayenhance vulnerability, or on the contrary, mayoffer protection. Dysfunctional family relationshipsand poor parent–child interactionshave a critical bearing on whether childrenexperience violence in the home. Other factorsderive from the environment, as in the case ofemergency situations, but may also be relatedto the availability of social networks, or lossof livelihood. Of course, a negative outcome is

3not inevitable; for example, where parent andsibling relationships are good, this will providechildren with protection and foster resilienceagainst external shocks.Violence is likely to result from a combination ofpersonal, familial, social, economic and culturalfactors, and the interrelationship amongst thesefactors can be difficult to disentangle. Moreover,some children are exposed to several types ofviolence from multiple sources over many years.Child-related factorsAge: At a very early age, the physical frailtyof the infant and state of dependence on themother or immediate carer is the key to vulnerability.Apart from the risks of injury or deathfrom physical violence, infants are vulnerableto as a result of omission and neglect. Infantsare most vulnerable in the time immediatelyafter birth; they remain extremely vulnerable,but become decreasingly so, throughout theirfirst year and early childhood (0 to 4 years).FIGURE 3.3Women’s experience of intimate partner violence after the age of 16 and its associationwith childhood victimisationPercentage6040202743 4333213913No physical violence in childhoodOne or both parents physically violent2815 159 867Violence against children in the home and family0Costa Rica(N=820)Czech Republic(N=1860)Australia(N=6378)Poland(N=2177)Philippines(N=1917)Switzerland(N=1975)Source: Johnson H et al. (forthcoming). Violence Against Women: An International Perspective. New York, Springer.

“When the head of the household has a bad day, the dog cries.”From an Asian proverb, Regional Consultation, South Asia68Violence against children in the home and familySex: A child’s sex may also be a factor which raiseshis or her risk of victimisation. Although sexualviolence is frequently directed against boys, girlsare more likely to suffer such abuse. Daughtersare more likely to be severely neglected in societieswhere son preference is pronounced, whilein some societies sons are more likely to experiencesevere violence than daughters.Other characteristics: Children with disabilitiesare at heightened risk of violence for a varietyof reasons, ranging from deeply ingrainedcultural prejudices to the higher emotional,physical, economic, and social demands that achild’s disability can place on his or her family. 125In the USA, children with physical, sensory,intellectual or mental health disabilities endurealmost double the number of violent incidentscompared to their non-disabled peers. 126 Similarly,the Caribbean Regional Desk Reviewundertaken for the Study reported that childrenwith disabilities were at heightened riskfor all types of violence (physical, sexual, emotionaland neglect), much of it in the home. 127In some regions disabled children are viewedas cursed; for example in West and CentralAfrican such children are likely to be exposedfrom birth to tacit or open neglect, and violencemay be accepted or even encouraged bythe family. 128 (Violence against children withdisabilities is also discussed at some length inthe chapter on violence against children in careand justice systems.)In addition to disability, certain other characteristicsheighten children’s risk of experiencingviolence in the home. Characteristicsthat hinder parent–child attachment or makea child more difficult to care for can affect susceptibility.129,130,131 For example children whoare unwanted, born prematurely or are of lowbirth-weight or part of a multiple birth, andchildren with chronic illness or serious behaviouralproblems may be at increased risk ofmaltreatment.Family-related factorsParent characteristics and socio-economicstatus: While violence in the home is found inall social and economic spheres, studies from arange of different settings show that low parentaleducation levels, lack of income, and householdovercrowding increase the risk of physical andpsychological violence against children. 132,133,134Physically violent parents are also more likelyto be young, single and poor. 135 These associationsare likely to be related to stress caused bypoverty, unemployment and social isolation.Children living in families with these factorsare most at risk when there is inadequate socialsupport and the family is not part of a strongsocial network. Lack of extended family supportmay exacerbate existing problems. 136Stress and social isolation: Studies from bothindustrialised and developing countries showthat many of the personality and behaviouralcharacteristics of violent parents are related topoor social functioning and diminished capacityto cope with stress. 137 Parents with poor impulsecontrol, low self-esteem, mental health problems,and substance abuse (alcohol and drugs)are more likely to use physical violence againsttheir children and/or to neglect them. 138 Parentswho use violence against their children may wellhave experienced violence as children. 139

3Research on the links between socio-economicconditions and violence against children suggestthat efforts are needed to alter the underlyingconditions that put extreme economic,social and emotional stress on families. Greaterattention must be given to supporting familieswho live in communities characterised by highlevels of unemployment, overcrowded housing,rapid population turnover and low levelsof social cohesion.UKRAINE,2005, Sasha, 5, holding a stuffed animal, sitswith his sister Nastya, 4, at a state institution in the village ofKopylov, near Kyiv. Six months earlier, Sasha had witnessed hisfather killing his mother.UNICEF/HQ05-1776. Giacomo PirozziParental loss or separation: Orphanhood,which has increased with the HIV/AIDS pandemic,heightens vulnerability. A study byWorld Vision in Uganda, where an estimated1.7 million children have been orphaned byAIDS, argues that the deliberate stigmatisationsuffered by these children from guardians,teachers and relatives causes psychologicalharm and is itself a form of violence. 140 Placingthese orphans into the homes of extendedfamily or local community is a common andpreferred practice over institutionalisationor the phenomenon of child-headed households;however, community leaders in Ugandareported that corporal punishment was moreviolent and common against orphans thanagainst other children in the household whowere more closely related to adult carers or tothe head of the household. In Zambia, a studyby Human Rights Watch found that orphanswho were taken in by extended family memberswere frequently subjected to sexual violencefrom uncles, stepfathers and cousins. With arate of around 20% cases of HIV infection inthe population, such violence can be deadly.Girls rarely attempted to disclose the abuse:they were too aware of their dependency, and69Violence against children in the home and family

“Some of our parents fight in front of us, causing us a lot of pain and distress. Some of our parentsalways come back home drunk and do not care for our physical, emotional and nutritional needs. Somechildren are looking after their parents and siblings because their parents are not responsible.”Child, Eastern and Southern Africa, 2005 X70Violence against children in the home and familythat they might be silenced or lose essentialsupport. 141 Orphanhood can also increase therisk of violence in community settings.Exposure to intimate partner violence in thehome: It is estimated that 133 to 275 millionchildren witness violence between their parents/carersannually on a frequent basis, usuallyfights between parents, or between their motherand partner (see Table 3.2). 142 Children canbe psychologically and emotionally damagedby witnessing violence against another familymember. 143 Evidence from a range of studiesshows that witnessing of this violence over along period of time can severely affect a child’swell-being, personal development and socialinteractions both in childhood and adulthood;such children may exhibit the same behaviouraland psychological disturbances as those who aredirectly exposed to violence (see below). 144,145,146Violence against women in the home often islinked with violence against children; in theUSA, inter-partner violence (also known asdomestic violence) may be the most importantprecursor to child maltreatment fatalities. 147The same association has been observed in avariety of geographically and culturally distinctsettings and countries: in China, Colombia,Egypt, India, Mexico, the Philippines, andSouth Africa a strong relationship betweenthese two forms of violence has been found. 148In one study from India, inter-partner violencein the home doubled the risk of direct violenceagainst children in the household. 149 Childrenliving in circumstances of inter-partner violenceamong parents/caregivers in their homeare not only at risk of physical violence themselves,but may suffer psychological and emotionaldisturbances; without intervention theymay go on to be future perpetrators or victimsof violence. 150,151Since they spend more time at home, childrenin the early years – when they are mostsubject to influence by external factors andliable to be more overwhelmed by fear – are atparticular risk of witnessing intimate partnerviolence. Such children may also learn powerfullessons about aggression in interpersonalrelationships which they carry with them intotheir future. Child development specialistssuggest that hostile styles of behaviour, emotionalregulation and the capacity for personalconflict resolution are shaped by parent–childand inter-parental relationships. 153 However,not all children who grow up in violent homessuffer long-lasting consequences; given support,children have remarkable capacities forcoping, and resilience in the face of violence.Societal and cultural factorsLegal and policy framework: Weak legalframeworks contribute both directly and indirectlyto family violence against children. Thelaws of some countries still condone, eitherexplicitly or implicitly as a result of interpretation,some level of violence against childrenif it is inflicted by the child’s own parents orguardians as a means of behavioural correction.Many countries lack legal protectionagainst harmful traditional practices and childmarriage, and in some countries laws againstchild sexual abuse apply only to men’s sexualviolence against girls or may not address sexualviolence against children by family members.

3Table 3.2 – Estimated number of children who witness violence at home annuallyMDG regionEstimated number of childrenwitnessing violence inthe home*South AsiaWestern AsiaSub-Saharan AfricaSouth-eastern AsiaLaws and policies relating to access to familyplanning services, alcohol availability, acceptablelevels of environmental toxins, access tomental health and substance abuse treatment,and access to birth, death and marriage registration,have an indirect but substantialimpact on the risk of child maltreatment inhomes and families. Policies regarding education,child care, parental leave, health care,unemployment and social security that leave40.7–88 million7.2–15.9 million34.9–38.2 millionNo estimateOceania 548,000–657,000Northern AfricaLatin America and the CaribbeanEastern AsiaCommonwealth of Independent StatesDeveloped countriesGlobal estimateNo estimate11.3–25.5 million19.8–61.4 million900,000 to 3.6 million4.6–11.3 million133–275 million*Estimates based on: UN Population Division Data for Global Population under 18 Years for 2000; Domestic ViolenceStudies from 1987 to 2005; analysis conducted by the Secretariat of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Study onViolence against Children (2005). 152children and families without economic andsocial safety nets exacerbate family stress andsocial isolation and contribute to higher ratesof violence against children.Authoritarianism: Where parent–childrelationships are excessively controlling andafford a low status to children, this is likelyto increase violence, particularly when coupledwith the belief that corporal punishment or71Violence against children in the home and family

72Violence against children in the home and familyother humiliating forms of punishment are anecessary means of discipline. Several studieshave suggested that a culture in which childrenare expected to submit without questionto the injunctions of older family membersand adults in authority contribute to children’svulnerability. 154,155 Where parents believe they‘own’ children and have the right to do to themwhatever they think best, there is resistance toState involvement in child protection. Belief inthe sanctity of the family makes authorities,neighbours and members reluctant to speakup when they know children are being victimised.156,157,158,159,160 This should not be confusedwith authoritative parenting, which balanceswarmth and support with setting and enforcingclear limits on behaviour, and blends settinghigh standards with being responsive tothe child’s needs and developing capacities. 161Patriarchal attitudes: Patriarchal attitudes –particularly when they perpetrate the entrenchedinferior status of women in many cultures – arealso associated with increased risk of violence.In some societies, extremely violent acts may beinflicted by boys or men if the girls or women inquestion do not comply with their wishes. Seekinga girl’s consent in such matters as sexual relationsand marriage may not be considered necessary.Girls may also be blamed for male violenceagainst them. In these settings, male childrenmay be exposed to violence as punishment forbehaving in a manner inconsistent with stereotypicalroles for men and women.Membership in ethnic minority or indigenousgroups: Children in ethnic minoritygroups are often at high risk of violencebecause of a confluence of other risk factorsassociated with the social exclusion of thesegroups. These include high rates of substanceabuse and alcoholism, poverty, bad housing,and unemployment.Protective factors withinthe homeJust as certain factors increase the likelihoodof family violence against children, otherfactors can reduce its likelihood. Not everyfamily with the risk factors described abovebecomes a violent environment for children.Unfortunately, there has been little systematicresearch on protective factors and they arenot well understood. Where research has beenconducted, the focus is on identifying factorsthat mediate the impact of violence once it hasoccurred, for example those that might protecta victim from developing long-term mental disordersor that seem to be associated with breakingthe cycle of violence. Factors that appearthrough common sense and research to facilitateresilience include higher levels of paternalcare during childhood, 162 fewer associationswith substance-abusing peers, or peers engagedin criminal activity, 163 a warm and supportiverelationship with a non-offending parent, 164and lower levels of violence-related stress. 165Little is known about what prevents familiesfrom becoming violent. A few studies haveshown that communities with strong socialcohesion, thriving social networks and neighbourhoodconnections have a strong protectiveeffect and can even lessen the risk of violencewhen other family risk factors are pres-

3ent. 166,167,168 Based on current understanding ofthe risk factors for violence and the evidenceof prevention strategies that are effective, it isclear that families can be a powerful sourceof protection and support for children. Goodparenting, strong attachment between parentsand children, and positive non-violent relationshipswith children are clear protective factors.This highlights the importance of providingsupport to families to encourage these factorsto flourish, especially families situated in communitieswith low levels of social cohesion.Responses to violenceagainst children inthe home and familyUnder the CRC and other human rights treaties,States have an obligation to provide acomprehensive and multi-sectoral response toall forms of violence against children in families.These should comprise policies and servicesfor both prevention of violence and protectionto assist child victims.Child safety: A pioneering model in JordanThe Jordan River Foundation (JRF) was set up in 1997, with the support of HerMajesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah, to promote the protection of Jordanian children,strengthen the family unit, and enhance positive child–parent relationships and healthyfamily dynamics. The Foundation has established itself as a pioneer in building anArab child safety model.The Child Safety Programme carried out under the JRF umbrella provides awareness,prevention and intervention services in relation to the sensitive issue of child abuse, byaddressing legal, medical, psychological educational and social needs of the child in anintegrated manner. The programme is unique to Jordan and the Arab world, and haspioneered the opening up of a complex issue and bringing it to the awareness of theJordanian public and decision-makers.The Child Safety Centre – Dar Al-Aman – set up by the Foundation is the first therapeuticcentre in the Arab world for rehabilitating abused children and their families.Children and families attending the centre are able to gain from a variety of services andeducation programmes. Mothers are assisted with child care techniques, fathers familiarisedwith alternative means of discipline, young people instructed in conflict resolutionand basic life skills, and children empowered with techniques for self-protection. 16973Violence against children in the home and family

74Violence against children in the home and familyTo date, States’ responses have focused primarilyon child protection services or alternativesystems of care, rather than on prevention.Prevention and protection strategies shouldbe developed in tandem, balanced within theframework of an overall strategy which considersissues of social policy; legal reform; programmesand services for prevention and care;and strategies to bring about changes in attitudesand behaviours.Legal reformFewer than 20 countries have reformed theirlaws to prohibit physical chastisement in thefamily, but more have committed themselvesto doing so as the Study has progressed. AllStates have laws making assault a criminaloffence and many Constitutions prohibitcruel, inhuman or degrading punishment;many have laws which prohibit cruelty, maltreatmentor ‘abuse’ of children. But these lawsare not interpreted as prohibiting all violenceagainst children, and in many States legislationcontains justifications or defences forcorporal punishment. Most countries prohibitincest, rape and other sexual assaults; manyalso specify a minimum age of sexual consentand of marriage, although this is often belowthe age of 18. Most countries where FGM ispractised now have laws against it. 170 However,laws on violence against children are not effectivelyimplemented in many places becauseof the strength of traditional attitudes and insome cases because of the existence of religiousor customary legal systems.Laws on corporal punishment andother forms of cruel or degradingpunishmentLaws on criminal assault, as has been notedby the Committee on the Rights of the Child,are seldom interpreted as prohibiting physicalchastisement, corporal punishment and allother forms of cruel or degrading punishmentof children in the family. In over 70 countries,the English common-law defence of ‘reasonable’or ‘moderate’ chastisement of children hasremained following periods of colonisation. Inorder to prohibit all corporal punishment, anysuch defences must be removed and prohibitionof corporal punishment and other forms ofcruel or degrading punishment made explicit.Between 1996 and 2006, the Committee onthe Rights of the Child has recommended to130 countries that they take steps to prohibitall corporal punishment. In 2006, the Committeeadopted a General Comment – a statementof its authoritative interpretation of theCRC – on the right of the child to protectionfrom corporal punishment and other degradingforms of punishment. 171 The Committeeemphasises that the first purpose of law reformto prohibit all corporal punishment withinthe family is preventive: “to prevent violenceagainst children by changing attitudes andpractice, underlining children’s right to equalprotection and providing an unambiguousfoundation for child protection and for thepromotion of positive, non-violent and participatoryforms of child-rearing.” 172The Committee also emphasises that the principleof equal protection of children and adults

3from assault, including within the family, doesnot mean that all cases of corporal punishmentof children by their parents that come to lightshould lead to prosecution of parents: “The deminimis principle – that the law does not concernitself with trivial matters – ensures thatminor assaults between adults only come tocourt in very exceptional circumstances; thesame will be true of minor assaults on children.States need to develop effective reporting andreferral mechanisms. While all reports of violenceagainst children should be appropriatelyinvestigated and their protection from significantharm assured, the aim should be to stopparents using violent or other cruel or degradingpunishments through supportive and educational,not punitive, interventions.” 173For legal reform to fulfil the purpose intended,advice and training will be needed for all thoseinvolved in child protection systems, includingthe police, prosecuting authorities and thecourts. Guidance should emphasise that supportfor the family and for constructive and non-violentupbringing is vital, and that any question ofseparating a child from his or her family mustfully respect the best interests of the child.Other areas for legal changeSome countries have introduced measures tocriminalise abuse by intimate partners; measureswhich broaden the definition of rape havebeen introduced, thus dispelling the notion thatviolence among intimates is a private matter,thereby helping to shift social norms. 175However, legal change does not guarantee socialchange where it is not backed up by public andprofessional education. Laws passed to reflectCRC obligations which are not linked to widespreadpublic education and which clash withcultural norms and accepted practices may besystematically ignored. Combating harmfultraditional practices such as FGM, for example,cannot be achieved by legal change alone,even though legal systems should and mustcondemn them. Legal change must be accompaniedby education programmes directed atofficials, parents and children.In some cases, legislation exists but is insufficient;imprecise or insensitive implementationof it can compound children’s victimisationrather than relieve it. Some existing legislationis so inadequate that it penalises child victimsinstead of family perpetrators; in these circumstances,it may actually reinforce the possibilityof violence against children. In many settingsin Africa, Asia and the Middle East, when ayoung girl below the age of consent or maritalunion has been raped and become pregnant,marriage to the rapist can be imposed uponher by the courts and her parents. 176 Legislationagainst so-called ‘honour killings’ mayimpose more lenient sentences than on otherhomicides, or perpetrators may be exoneratedby traditional justice systems; and childrensold into prostitution may bear the brunt ofsocial disapproval or be treated as criminals.Preventing violence against children in thehome and family setting requires legal reformto reach beyond laws directly concerned withviolence. To achieve large-scale reductionsin violence against children, legal and policyframeworks must address the underlying risk75Violence against children in the home and family

The Swedish experience with prohibition ofcorporal punishmentSweden was the first State to prohibit all corporal punishment. In 1957, a provision wasremoved from the Criminal Code which excused parents who caused minor injuries inthe course of ‘discipline’. In 1979, Sweden explicitly prohibited corporal punishmentin its Parenthood and Guardianship Code: “Children … may not be subjected to corporalpunishment or any other humiliating treatment.”76Violence against children in the home and familySweden’s experience shows that when progressive law reform is linked to comprehensivepublic education, substantial changes in attitude and reductions in violence againstchildren can be achieved within decades. In 2000, a parliamentary committee enquiredinto the experiences of parents and children with corporal punishment since the ban.The data indicate that its use has decreased dramatically, particularly in relation to beatingchildren with fists or with an implement, or ‘spanking’ them. In national parentalstudies in 1980, 51% of parents said that they had used corporal punishment during theprevious year; 20 years later, in 2000, this figure had decreased to 8%. 174factors and strengthen protective factors. Factorssuch as alcohol availability, family planningservices, pre- and post-natal care, socialsecurity, mental health and substance abusetreatment, birth, death and marriage registration,and levels of environmental toxins arejust a few examples of important factors thatare sensitive to legal and policy reform.Prevention strategiesWhat many do not realise, but which researchcontinues to show, is that a variety of interventionscan prevent violence: violence againstchildren in the home and family setting canbe reduced significantly by the implementationof laws, policies and programmes whichstrengthen and support families, and thataddress the underlying community and societalfactors that allow violence to thrive.To maximise effectiveness, prevention strategiesshould be based on the best available scientificevidence, aim to reduce factors contributing torisk and strengthen protective factors, includemechanisms for evaluating the impact of thestrategy, and be carried out within a broaderframework for addressing violence against children.Promising strategies to prevent violenceagainst children in the home and family contextare many and varied, ranging from programmeswith a direct impact, such as parentingtraining, to policies with a more indirectimpact, such as those governing alcohol availabilityor access to family planning services.

3Support for parents and familiesMaternal and child health servicesServices for reproductive and maternal andchild health are the first line of action to reduceneglect and violence against children fromtheir earliest moments of life. These servicesnot only provide the possibility of preventingunwanted pregnancies and improving access toprenatal, post-natal and early childhood healthcare, but can also help strengthen early attachmentand reduce the risk of parental violenceagainst young children. Most countries providematernity services and some have homevisitation programmes for newborns by healthor community workers/volunteers. Therefore,the early identification of parents whoneed support can be achieved without stigmaUSA, 1997, Tiffany, 10, her mother, Letisha and herstep-father, Billie, sit on a sidewalk bench in the city of DaytonaBeach. After months of homelessness, they have decided to sendTiffany and her sister, Tonya, 13, to live with their grandmotherin another state.UNICEF/HQ97-0211. Betty Pressor labelling by the routine checks on mothersand children through maternity services,promoting safe pregnancy and childbirth, andthrough home visits by health workers. Thesegive an opportunity to provide parent education,and to direct resources to ‘high priority’families by identifying known risk factors andoffering additional services.Home visitation andparent education programmesProgrammes focusing on family functioning,particularly on family management, problemsolving,and parenting practices, have existed forseveral decades. There is strong and consistentevidence showing them to be effective in reducinghome and family violence against children,as well as other negative child health and developmentoutcomes. The most successful programmesaddress both the internal dynamics ofthe family and the family’s capacity for dealingwith external demands. Caregiver education canalso pre-empt the evolution of poor parent-childrelationships, and provide a context in which toteach parents non-violent methods of discipline.The earlier these programmes are delivered inthe child’s life and the longer their duration, thegreater the benefits.Home visitation involves health professionals,social workers or trained volunteers in theassessment of infants and young children’sneeds and their parents’ capacity to meet thoseneeds, given the family’s current social andeconomic situation. Personalised home visitsaim to provide emotional support and trainingto promote positive parental knowledge, skillsand behaviour, and to a certain extent to assess77Violence against children in the home and family

78Violence against children in the home and familythe family. Home visits also offer an opportunityto link a family with other communityservices as needed.In the USA, the value of home visits by nursesto young first-time mothers in socio-economicdifficulty, for the first two years of the child’slife, were evident 15 years later. 177 In a randomisedtrial, the benefits to the visited familiesincluded a significant reduction in child abuseand neglect, as well as reductions in maternalalcohol/drug problems. Current evidence indicatesthat the most successful home visitationprogrammes focus on families with an elevatedrisk of violence against the child, and begin inpregnancy and continue to at least the secondyear of the child’s life, actively promote positivehealth behaviours, support the family in stressmanagement, and address a range of issues thatare important to the family. 178,179 Programmesshould be flexible in order to adjust to thechanging needs of families.Parenting education, another successful andwidely used prevention strategy, can be offeredeither in the context of home visitation programmesor independently. Programmes usuallyeducate parents about child development andaim to improve their skills for behaviour management.Parents’ and caregivers’ positive behaviourmanagement skills can be improved bydeveloping an understanding of the importanceof follow-through and consistency, rewardingand reinforcing positive behaviour, strategicallyignoring minor negative behaviours, givingeffective instructions, and implementing nonviolentconsequences for misbehaviour. 180 Parentingprogrammes should strive to strengthenthe skills of both mothers and fathers.Parenting programmes are increasingly beingimplemented in middle- and low-income countries.For example, at the instigation of theAll China Women’s Federation, over 200,000Chinese communities organised ‘Parents’Schools’ to help people adapt to parenting inthe one-child family. 181 In Eastern Europe, theRepublic of Moldova is mainstreaming parenteducation in the primary health care system.Health workers are trained to provide parentswith the knowledge and skills needed to meetthe survival, growth, development and protectionneeds of their young children, and alsoto know when and where to go for specialisedservices. The initiative started in 2002; alreadyit is clear that family doctors and nurses whoattended the training programme are morelikely to engage in parent education. This initiativeincludes a specific focus on protectingchildren from all forms of violence, includingphysical punishment and other humiliatingforms of discipline. 182In developing countries, parenting courses areoffered by community-based parents’ centres.For example, services offered by The ParentCentre in Cape Town, South Africa includethe following: 183• Parent groups for mothers and babies,mothers and toddlers, and singleparents• Post-natal depression support• Training on effective discipline fortoddlers• Training for parents of under-5s, under-12s, and teenagers• Counselling for parents and caregivers

3• Home visitation specifically to preventfamily violence against children• Training for professionals and paraprofessionalswho work with children.Early education and child care programmesMany families need help in providing not onlybasic care but also stimulation and educationfor their children. Early Childhood Careand Development (ECCD) programmes aredesigned to achieve both of these objectives,and there is evidence that they can be effectivein reducing the factors that engender violencein the home. In the UK, for example, a reviewof day-care programmes for pre-school childrenof economically disadvantaged parentsfound that the effects on the mothers’ interactionwith their children were positive, and thatthe mothers’ gains in education or employmentwere beneficial for their families. Long-termbenefits to children included improved behaviouraldevelopment and school achievement,higher levels of employment, lower teenagepregnancy rates, higher socio-economic status,and decreased criminal behaviour. 187Triple P: Positive Parenting ProgrammeSince the risk factors that shape the risk of family violence occur at several levels,some of the most effective prevention strategies involve interventions at more than onelevel. An example is the Positive Parenting Programme (Triple P) originally devised inAustralia, and now also used in Canada, Germany, the Hong Kong Special AdministrativeRegion of China, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, the USA and the UK.Triple P has been shown to be effective in promoting positive parenting behaviour andis likely to reduce the risk of violence against children. The US Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention is currently funding an outcome evaluation study to assess theimpact of Triple P on child maltreatment. 184Level 1 of the programme is aimed at the whole population. For selected parents, twofurther levels offer consultation sessions in primary care settings such as health centres.For parents in difficulty, with mental health problems or where there may be a high riskof violence in the family, more intense parent training programmes are available, with8–10 sessions (level 4) or 10–16 sessions (level 5).The core principles of Triple P are:– Safe engaging environment for the child– Responsive learning environment for the child– Assertive (non-aggressive) and consistent discipline from the parent– Reasonable expectations of the child– Parent taking care of self. 18579Violence against children in the home and family

80Violence against children in the home and familySupport for families of children with disabilitiesThere is little research on the effectiveness ofprogrammes aimed at reducing family violenceagainst children born with disabilities.However, the Expert Consultation on Childrenwith Disabilities held for the Study notedthat promising approaches from various partsof the world include community-based rehabilitationand early stimulation programmes,either at centres or through home visits.Providing short-term respite care for parents ofchildren with disabilities can reduce stress onthe family as a whole, but also act as a preventivestrategy against violence. Support mechanismsthat allow parents to take a break fromchild care, organised through religious bodies,NGOs, or through a State agency, may helpprevent violence against disabled children. 188FatheringProgrammes for and with childrenLife-skills-based education, which enables childrento recognise and avoid risky situations, hasproduced promising outcomes in a number ofschool- and community-based settings. This typeof intervention usually teaches children aboutappropriate and inappropriate touching, saying‘no’ to an adult when they feel uncomfortable,and who they can talk to if they experience violence.While some programmes have improvedchildren’s knowledge and skills regarding threateningsituations, longer-term evaluations are notgenerally available. Such programmes work bestas part of a more comprehensive strategy, ratherthan as stand-alone programmes. (See the chapteron violence against children in schools andeducational settings.)In a number of countries, stimulated by the childrights movement, children’s and adolescents’Since 2003, Save the Children Sweden in South and Central Asia has included workingwith men and boys in its regional strategy, in the belief that many males are uncomfortablewith constructs of masculinity which tolerate violence against women andchildren. Working to support alternative constructs with men and boys as partnersis now being explored in the region. Workshops on working with men and boys havebeen conducted to enlist them in efforts to reduce violence against girls, boys, womenand other men. Input has been sought from the White Ribbon Campaign, the longeststandingorganisational effort among men to reject violence against women, whichtoday has a network in 47 countries throughout the world, including South Africa,South Asia, New Zealand, Tonga, Brazil, Germany, and the Nordic countries. Country-basedworkshops have also been held, and in Bangladesh, a non-governmentalorganisation (NGO) network on the issue has been formed. Increasing the focus onthe socialisation of boys is now seen as the challenge. 186

“We are at a disadvantage because of our age. Adults don’t believe what we say when something like thishappens. That’s why we don’t say anything. I have a girlfriend whose stepfather touches her and she waseven punished when she told her mother about it”Boy, 15, Latin America3own organisations have developed and becomeactive during the past decade. These organisationshave enabled many of their members togain confidence, articulate their problems, andin solidarity with others, undertake actionsdesigned to reduce acts of violence that haveeither been threatened or carried out againstthemselves or other children. Some, such asthe Girls’ Advisory Committees in Ethiopia,target specific problems such as child marriage(see box on next page). Although there is evidencethat these school-based programmes canreduce the risk of childhood sexual victimisationin the community, it is not clear whetherthis embraces family-related sexual abuse. 189Child participation activities based on schoolsand community settings need to be supported,as peer groups can have a major role to play inhelping identify at-risk children and undertakingproactive initiatives.Breaking the silenceOne of the cornerstones of any strategicresponse must be to break down the silence inwhich most children endure episodes of physical,psychological or sexual violence at home.Consultations and reviews repeatedly demonstratethat children – however much theyfear and dislike the violence they experience– do not feel they have any place to make theirfeelings known, or they may even considerthat such feelings are ‘legitimate’. Many feelshame or blame themselves, while others staysilent for fear of provoking further violence,or insensitive interventions which could maketheir overall situation worse.Within the general trend to lay more emphasison child consultation as an integral componentof programme planning and interventions withchildren, child-friendly methodologies for consultationand action-research have been developed.These, coupled with counselling andcommunications skills, have also been usedto enable children to open up to adults theyregard as safe about their intimate and painfulexperiences. In some small-scale examples,notably in India and Brazil, children who havebeen trafficked by their families and have fewtrusting relationships with adults have organisedthemselves to provide mutual support andavoid further exposure. 191Child helplines are gradually becoming morecommon: as already noted, discussion in confidencewith a counsellor by phone allowssome children to report what is happening tothem and seek help. Helplines or hotlines havebeen set up by various NGOs in order to helpchildren escape from abusive situations; theyare used in the Philippines and Cambodia bychildren experiencing violence as domestichelpers in the homes of those who are not theirparents. 192 (See the chapter on violence againstchildren in the community.)Social policyStrong social policy is essential for supportingfamilies and enabling them to thrive despiteeconomic, social and psychological stress.Improvements in these areas address some ofthe major risk factors for family violence againstchildren and should therefore lead to reductionsin the rate of child maltreatment. Relevantpolicies include support for employment,minimum wages, rural livelihoods, equitableland reform, equitable compensation in case81Violence against children in the home and family

of forced displacement, women’s income generation,and equitable access to facilities suchas water supplies, roads and paths, transportsystems, drainage, and sanitation. Other socialpolicies with a proven positive effect on familylife include access to social protection systems,such as social security benefits for people whosuffer from disabilities or who care for childrenwith disabilities; unemployment benefits;health insurance or free care for the indigent;income or food supplementation for those inextreme need. (Social policy interventions arediscussed in greater detail in the chapter onviolence against children in the community.)Other strategiesAlthough the direct impact of these interventionson violence against children has not beenwell researched, general health initiatives at thecommunity level can reduce levels of violence.82Violence against children in the home and familyGirls’ advisory committees:A child-led activity in rural EthiopiaPrimary schools are the one location in rural Ethiopia that bring together girls (andboys) who might be vulnerable to forced early marriage. The creation of Girls’ AdvisoryCommittees (GAC) is an innovation in Ethiopian primary schools aimed at preventingchild marriage and other forms of gender discrimination.The Girls’ Advisory Committee is not a club, but a school committee linked to theParent–Teacher Association. GACs work to create a more positive environment forchildren at home and at school, by awareness-raising and other means. They vary incomposition, but include male and female students, sometimes a community member,and a female teacher as advisor. The student members act as links between families inthe community and the school, reporting on upcoming child marriages, abductions,teasing, harassment, and extended absence of girls from school.Where an impending marriage of a young girl is reported, the GAC visits the parents toattempt to dissuade them. If they refuse to listen, the GAC asks the parents to come tothe school. The teachers then ask the parents to cancel the marriage, explaining that itis illegal. This is normally successful. Mothers are reported as saying they are glad thattheir daughter has escaped the life they were forced into, but they would not be able toprotest the marriage without the backup of the school.This example of child-led activity illustrates the necessity of an integrated approach,whereby children’s efforts are backed up by authority figures such as schoolteachers,and the law. 190

3For example, environmental health initiativesthat remove lead and other environmentaltoxins from communities can lead to lessphysical violence against children by reducingthe rate of foetal brain damage and subsequentcognitive disorders such as Attention DeficitDisorder (ADD) and hyperactivity, therebydecreasing the number of children with highriskcharacteristics. Similarly, limiting accessto alcohol, for example through controllingthe number of alcohol outlets or raising prices,may help prevent child maltreatment. 193 Similarefforts in developing countries could reducealcohol-related violence against children,although these measures should be consideredcarefully, as they might prompt people whodrink to switch to cheaper and less regulatedhome-brewed alternatives. 194Although few formal evaluations have beenconducted, other promising interventionsinclude providing shelters and crisis centresfor battered women and their children, traininghealth care workers to identify and workwith adults who have experienced violence inchildhood, as well as strengthening the linkagesbetween mental health services, substanceabuse treatment and child protection services.Intervening when violencebecomes knownWhen violence against children is suspected ordisclosed, action must be taken to protect thechildren at risk. The content and legislativefoundation of child protection services varyfrom country to country and often includemechanisms for reporting, referral, investigationand follow-up. Ideally, legal measuresshould be implemented in tandem with healthand social support approaches. Support andassistance without adequate protection canendanger the child’s well-being and development;but a legal focus on investigation andprotection with insufficient follow-up and paralleltreatment can lead to severe and lastingdamage both to the child and to the family.Research is urgently needed to identify effectivesupport, help and treatment-orientedapproaches to child protection and how theymight be implemented in both high- and lowresourcesettings. Although rooted in humanrights and a clear framework of legislation,child protection systems operating at communitylevel need to evolve in consultation withcommunities. While aiming for acceptanceand trust, child protection workers must bemade fully accountable within the context ofthe overall system and its accountabilities.Detection of violence against childrenin the familyThe potential for damage to the child increaseswith increasing frequency and severity of victimisationover time. It is therefore importantto identify violence as early as possible andintervene to stop it. Health professionals havean important role in child protection because,except in very remote rural areas, infants andsmall children are usually taken to the healthcentre on a routine basis. In countries withsocial service networks, they may also be seenoccasionally or on a regular basis by socialworkers.83Violence against children in the home and family

84Violence against children in the home and familyThese occasions and contacts provide anopportunity to detect violence against childrenthat parents and caregivers may try to disguiseas unintentional injury or illness. Given thepressure on health-clinic staff, they need trainingand capacity-building, as well as improvedfacilities. Since detection is not always straightforward,standardised guidelines and tools toassist professionals with assessments are essential.Training health workers to detect andmanage violence against children appears particularlypromising for pre-verbal infants whocannot describe what has happened, and for allcases where detection depends upon observationrather than a first-person account.In many developing country settings, community-basedmechanisms are being established formonitoring violence in the home and the needfor child protection. Most of these are in experimentalstages, and structured evaluation isrequired before clear conclusions can be drawn.For example, in the Philippines, UNICEF hassupported the establishment of 6,500 barangay(village) councils for the protection of children.The Councils set up a database and monitoringsystem on children, including those who are atrisk or who are victims of exploitation and violence.195 In the United Republic of Tanzania,an organisation called Kivulini whose primarytarget is to reduce physical, emotional and sexualviolence in the home, works closely with leadersat the lowest structure of local Government –ward executive officers and street leaders. Streetleaders are elected by community members, andhave a right of access to people’s homes. 196Treatment for victims of violenceChildren who have experienced family violencehave a wide range of treatment needs.Health workers need to be trained to detectcases of violence against a child, and theprocedures to follow in documentation andreporting, as well as treatment and followup.197 In some cases, the collection of forensicspecimens may be required; whenever possible,this should be done at the same time as thephysical examination. Trained professionalsare needed for interpretation of injuries, forensicexaminations and forensic interviewing ofchildren. Victims of sexual violence shouldbe given preventive prophylaxis for sexuallytransmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS,as appropriate. Health workers have a responsibilityto prioritise the child’s physical healthand to refer the child for psychosocial supportservices and social welfare or child protectionservices. Cases of violence detected outside thehealth sector should be referred to a healthworker for proper assessment and care.All forms of family violence have significantimpact on a child’s emotional health and development;psycho-social support is thereforecrucial. A supportive, non-offending caregiveris an important facilitator of a child’s recovery.The most effective mental health interventionsemploy behavioural and cognitive techniques,and work with both the child and the family.Key skills for children include skills to identify,process and regulate emotion; anxietymanagement skills; skills to identify and alterinaccurate perceptions; and problem-solvingskills. Trauma-specific cognitive behavioural

3interventions appear to be particularly effectivein reducing victims’ anxiety, depression,sexual concerns and symptoms of PTSD. 198,199Reporting by professionalsWhen professionals such as nurses, doctors,social workers and teachers identify a suspectedcase of family violence against children,they may be required by law to reporttheir suspicions to the authorities, or expectedto do so irrespective of legal obligation. To beeffective, reporting structures must always bematched with equally well-developed structuresfor protection, support and treatment forchildren and families. Countries with mandatoryreporting laws should consider systemsreforms that allow children and families accessto confidential services where they can receivesupport on a voluntary basis.Mandatory reporting can establish an adversarialrelationship between families and child protectionauthorities, and may even deter familiesfrom seeking formal support. However, the reluctanceof professionals and the general public inmost parts of the world to report violence in thehome suggests that without mandatory reportinglaws applying at least to defined groups ofprofessionals, large numbers of children in needof protection will never be identified and giventhe protection they need. Whatever approach ischosen, it should present itself as a help-orientedservice offering public health and social supportrather than as being primarily punitive. Someexperts urge that children and their representativesshould have access both to services whichthey know have an obligation to report violenceand take action (usually social services, lawenforcement), and also to services that are confidentialand will not take action except with theagreement of the child unless the child is perceivedas being at risk of death or serious injury.Intervention in the best interests ofthe childOnce a child has been identified as being indanger of family violence, a coordinated responseis needed to guarantee the protection of the child.Assessment of the child and the child’s familyrequires input and participation from serviceproviders in different sectors who have had contactwith the child and/or family. To minimisethe risk that a child will ‘fall through the cracks’of a system, the various sectors with responsibilitiesfor child protection must share informationabout individual cases of family violence againstchildren, as already noted. But there must alsobe clear lines of responsibility for taking action,and accountability for failures in protection.Some middle-income countries are experimentingwith innovative ways of building protectiveenvironments for children in local communities.In Serbia, Mobile Outreach Teamsfor Child Protection were initially developedin four municipalities in 2001 with the cooperationof governmental social work centresand NGO mobile teams. In Montenegro, pilotOperational Multidisciplinary Teams wereformed in 2003, with technical assistance fromUNICEF, to provide teams of professionalswho would identify cases involving violenceand neglect and respond in a coordinated way.Various protocols were adopted on collaborativeworking, on communication with themedia, and on interviewing child victims of85Violence against children in the home and family

A multisectoral approach to comprehensive serviceprovision: The Child Protection Unit of the PhilippinesGeneral HospitalThe Child Protection Unit (CPU) of the Philippines General Hospital uses a multisectoralapproach towards comprehensive medical and psychosocial services for maltreatedchildren and their families. The aim is to prevent further maltreatment and tostart the process of healing. In 2005, the CPU cared for 972 new cases of maltreatedchildren, 81% of whom had been sexually abused.86Violence against children in the home and familyFrom the first point of contact through a long follow-up, the CPU provides qualitycare using a multisectoral approach which coordinates the actions of the health,legal and social sectors through CPU’s case management system. The CPU provideslegal and police services, judicial hearings, medical services, guidance and support tothe child and next of kin, as well as therapy or referral to other specialised medicalservices, when necessary. The CPU also provides other social services to very poorfamilies, including grants for the child’s school-related costs and interest-free loans forlivelihood assistance. Parenting classes help parents manage their expectations of theirchildren, help them to better understand their children’s behaviour, and adjust theirmethods of discipline accordingly.Each child has a CPU case manager to coordinate all services received by the child andthe family, and to facilitate and monitor child safety placement, legal assistance andmental health care. Case managers work with the children and families for as long asis necessary. 200violence. The Ministry of Labour and SocialWelfare has since adopted these protocols, anddecided to establish teams in all Social WelfareCentres by 2009. 201Child protection service agencies may investigateand try to substantiate reports of suspectedviolence. If the reports are verified,then the staff of the child protection serviceschoose the appropriate course of action. Suchdecisions are often difficult, since a balancehas to be found between various potentiallycompeting demands – such as the need to protectthe child and the wish to keep a familyintact. The least detrimental alternative to thechild and the least intrusive alternative forthe family should be employed, as long as thechild’s safety can be assured. Considerationmust be given to the concerns and desires ofthe child in all decisions about interventions,taking into account the context of the child’sdevelopmental stage, emotional health, and

“I remember being a foster child on another reserve as a child. I had been strapped…never understoodthe reasons why or what I had done wrong, I do remember the fear and pain.”Youth leader, North America, 2005 XI3the healthy or unhealthy bonds between thechild and other family members.When alternative care is necessaryRemoving a child from the family should be alast-resort intervention. Ideally, services shouldbe available to support those parents who arefailing to cope with the demands of parenting.Only when the child appears to be at immediaterisk of significant harm, the parent isassessed as not responding to other interventions,or appears unable to change within thedevelopmental time frame of the child, shouldlong-term alternatives (i.e. long-term fosteringor adoption) be considered.A child who is separated from the family environmentfor his or her own best interest isentitled to special protection and assistance;furthermore, States are obliged to ensure somesuitable form of alternative care for a childin these circumstances, giving due regard tomaintaining continuity in a child’s upbringingand to the child’s ethnic, religious, culturaland linguistic background (CRC article 20).Alternative care can be provided both formally– through foster-care placement (kafalah careunder Islamic law), and adoption – and informally,such as the placement of a child withthe extended family. Three principles shouldguide decisions about alternative forms of carefor children: 202• Family-based solutions are generallypreferable to institutional placements• Sustainable solutions aimed atpermanency in the best interests of thechild, but including regular review,should take precedence over temporarysolutions• National solutions are generallypreferable to those involving anothercountry (e.g. international adoption).All forms of alternative care involve risk for thechild, including risk of further violence, exploitationand other violations of the child’s rights.It is therefore important that States registerand regulate all forms of alternative care, withcontinuous monitoring of children’s placementand treatment, and with the full participationof the child. (See also the chapter on violenceagainst children in care and justice systems.)Advocacy and publiceducationViolence against children in the home andfamily receives little media and research attentionworldwide compared to issues such ascommercial sexual exploitation of children, orchild labour. The media play a central role inshaping opinions and influencing social normsthat can also affect behaviour. Violence againstchildren in the home and family should bebrought into the public sphere in every region;space must be created to discuss the issues andto find solutions. Without raising awareness, itwill be difficult to achieve large-scale and lastingprevention, and behavioural change.An important development of recent years, andone promoted by the Study process, has been theinvolvement of children themselves in research,and in advocacy based on such research. Childrenpointed out in Regional Consultations thatthey normally had no opportunity to articulate87Violence against children in the home and family

“I think child abuse happens a lot more than we think it does. Kids get beaten at home and are afraidto tell anyone. It’s hard to stop something that happens behind closed doors.”Child, 12, North America XII88Violence against children in the home and familytheir views and feelings about the violence theyhad experienced at home. In all regions, NGOshave begun to undertake participatory researchinto violence against children in the family, inwhich boys and girls are involved not only asrespondents but as co-researchers. Besides givingchildren the opportunity to talk about the punitivebehaviour of parents and other caregivers,such exercises challenge the silence surroundingfamily violence, and contribute to the understandingof the nature and dimensions of childabuse and its effects. These exercises are of primaryimportance in providing a basis for awareness-raisingcampaigns and workshops. 203,204At every Regional Consultation, adults andchildren alike expressed the urgent need foradvocacy strategies to change cultural norms inorder to end violence against children. Outcomedocuments from the consultations and thematicworking groups emphasised that advocacy shouldtarget policy-makers, parents, and children, andthat advocacy on the following themes wouldhelp prevent family violence against children:• Children’s rights, including their rightto protection from all forms of violence• Harmful consequences of corporalpunishment and other forms of cruel ordegrading punishment, and the needfor parents to develop positive, nonviolentrelationships with their childrenand ways of child-rearing• Breaking the culture of silence aroundsexual violence in the family• Addressing traditional stigma andprejudicial beliefs concerning inabilityto reduce the vulnerability of disabledchildren to violence• Harmful traditional practices• Gender-based violence• The role of men and boys in preventingviolence• The effects of HIV on thestigmatisation of children and theirincreased vulnerability to violence.Children and adolescents have a very importantpart to play in advocacy on issues thatconcern them. (See the chapter on violenceagainst children in the community.)Eliminating harmful traditionalpracticesEfforts to eliminate harmful traditional practiceshave illustrated the importance of interveningat multiple levels – parents and familieswill find it hard to change their behaviour ifthe norms and behaviour in the wider communitydo not change. Bringing an end toFGM requires clear prohibition, education andawareness-raising within families and communities,and community mobilisation (see box).Triggering changes in community knowledge,beliefs, attitudes and practices is the key tosuccess. 205 This requires an advocacy strategyin which religious and community leaders,health professionals and a variety of actorsparticipate; persuading individual parents ormothers is not sufficient. Where social standingand eligibility for marriage are dependenton girls having undergone FGM, mothers areunlikely on an individual basis to refuse theoperation for their daughters, however terriblethe experience was in their own case. The decisionneeds to be made by a community as acollective, and that community needs to know

3Tostan’s approachIn November 2005, representatives of 70 villages in Senegal’s northeastern region ofMatam participated in a public declaration that they were ending the practice of FGMand forced child marriage. Matam is a very conservative region, where a few years agothese subjects could not even have been discussed. Thousands of villagers from up to300 km away witnessed the ceremony. Dignitaries, officials and the media were also inattendance. Rural women, adolescents, chiefs, religious leaders and Government officialspledged their commitment. This declaration, the 19th of its kind in Senegal, is thefinal stage in a programme of public education and advocacy at village level.This programme was undertaken by the Tostan Community Empowerment Programme,in a drive for the collective abandonment of FGM and early marriagethroughout the country. Since 1997, 1,628 communities have committed themselvesto abandoning these practices. The Tostan strategy consists of the formation of villagecommittees, setting up classes on women’s health and rights at village level, and socialmobilisation by class members. At the end of the programme, a public declaration ismade at a major ceremony. This is seen as a vital part of the process, since it marks collectivesocial endorsement of change.An evaluation by the Population Council in 2004 found that Tostan’s programmesignificantly affected the knowledge and beliefs of the people who participated in theclasses, and of those in their circles. For example, the proportion of girls aged 10 andunder who had not been cut increased from 46% to 60% among intervention participantfamilies, but remained unchanged at 48% in the comparison group. Approval ofFGM and intent to cut girls decreased significantly, and the intention to cut amongparticipating women fell from nearly 75% at baseline to less than 25%. Anotherencouraging finding was that knowledge about human rights increased significantlyamong study participants. The proportion of women who were aware of their rightsto health, education, and a healthy environment increased from 11% to 94%, whileknowledge among men increased from 41% to 92%. 20889Violence against children in the home and family

90Violence against children in the home and familythat other communities are similarly abandoningthe custom (see box).Child marriage requires similar efforts tochange social and cultural norms. Up to nowthe number of advocacy initiatives to influenceand reduce child marriages directly havebeen very few. The tendency has been to regardthe custom as susceptible to the wider enrolmentof girls in education, and to the legislativeenforcement of marriage laws. However, moreconcerted attention to women’s and girls’ rightsin marriage has led in new directions. Someprogrammes specifically directed at child marriagereduction are now underway, and targetedadvocacy against the practice is beginning. 206For example, a campaign against child marriagehas recently been launched by civil societyorganisations in Yemen, on the basis of researchundertaken by the University of Sana’a. 207Many other practices which cause violenceand harm to children need the benefit of exposureand campaigning as part of the efforts toprevent them. These include the sale of childreninto sexual or other work; the stigmatisationof disabled children, children withoutfamilies, or children orphaned by HIV/AIDS;child victims of sexual abuse; children accusedof sorcery; children who have been dedicatedby their parents to priests and shrines.Improving information forpolicy development and actionAccurate and reliable data on the magnitudeand consequences of family violence againstchildren are essential to evidence-based advocacy,policy development, resource allocationand programme implementation. The lack ofdata has been a constant refrain throughoutthe Study, and nowhere has this been moreacute than in the home and family context,particularly because of the already describedinhibitions to reporting, but also because of thelack of investment in scientific research on thetopic. On the one hand, no effective systems ofresponse can be developed without proper data;on the other, the development of programmaticresponses to children suffering violence cannotawait the development of systematic data-gatheringsystems where country or State capacitiesin this context are limited or under-resourced.Ongoing data collection and analysis of officiallyreported cases can be useful for identifyingtrends in service utilisation and, in someinstances, prevalence. However, as these systemsrely only on cases brought to the attentionof the authorities, and given that children mostoften suffer family violence without tellinganyone, surveillance systems based on officialrecords will always underestimate the extent ofthe problem. Surveillance of officially reportedcases must be supplemented by populationbasedsurveys that document exposure to childhoodviolence and its lifelong consequences.Similary, true understanding of fatal violenceagainst children can only be gained throughcomprehensive death registration, investigationand reporting systems (see box).Small qualitative studies and studies usingconvenience sampling – of families referred tosocial services, for example – are important fordocumenting the problem of violence againstchildren and how to manage it. However, tobegin to understand fully the patterns of family

“It is time we moved beyond qualtiative explorations of violence against children. In South-East Asia,population-based surveys are needd urgently to shed light on the full extent of violence against children.We must invest in better research and systematic data collection on this issue.”Dr Samlee Plianbangchang, Regional Director for South-East Asia, WHO3violence against children, studies that surveya large subset of the general population andwhich are repeated over time are necessary.Confidential interview studies with children,parents and other close carers can also contributeto understanding all forms of violence inthe home and family. There must, of course,be ethical safeguards to ensure the necessaryprotection of the children involved. Retrospectivestudies, interviewing young adults abouttheir childhood experiences, are also valuable,but disclose nothing about what is happeningto children now, and may distort understandingof experiences in early childhood whensome forms of violence are most common.Child Fatality Review Teams (CFRT)One of the important purposes of data collection,especially in countries and regions wherehome and family violence is denied or not publiclydebated, is advocacy. Policy-makers needto be persuaded that violence against childrenis more prevalent than they believe or care toadmit, and that responses are urgently needed.Efforts by NGOs and international supportagencies to collect information and publishanalyses of children facing violence are oftenthe first step towards enabling a culturally orpolitically sensitive issue to emerge, becomelocally owned up to, and taken up.Most children who die from violence are young. About 40% are infants and 80% areunder six. The most common cause of death is head trauma, followed by blunt forcetrauma to the body. It is sometimes difficult to detect how a child has died when he orshe is reported as having had ‘a fall’.The first Child Fatality Review Team (CFRT) was formed in Los Angeles in 1978,sponsored by the Los Angeles County Interagency Council on Child Abuse andNeglect (ICAN). Members included the coroner, police, social services, courts, healthand public health workers. ICAN later became the National Center for Fatality Review(NCFR) and other teams followed, some adding teachers, mental health workers andoccasionally community members. The team meets to discuss cases of young childdeath where medical evidence is inconclusive; thus different types of evidence cometogether, and a mystery can conceivably be solved.91Violence against children in the home and familyBy 2001, an estimated 1,000 teams existed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and theUSA. The Philippines recently added a hospital-based model that may better fit developingcountries. An international working network has begun connecting ICAN withcontacts and start-up programmes in China, Estonia, Iceland, the Islamic Republic ofIran, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, the Netherlands and the UK. 209

Improving the knowledge base in India - The NationalStudy on Child Abuse92Violence against children in the home and familyIndia has taken a proactive approach to the issue of child protection. Initiated by theDepartment of Women and Child Development in 2005, the National Study on ChildAbuse involved an enormous network around the country. One of the first majoractivities undertaken was a National Level Consultation on Child Abuse, held in NewDelhi in April 2005, to discuss various issues related to project formulation, includingdefining the concept of child abuse and methodology for the project, developinginstruments for data collection and identifying the various categories of respondents.This Consultation involved experts from all over India and from various disciplines toexchange views on the common theme of child abuse. The experts included academics,social workers, activists, NGO representatives, teachers, researchers, police, judiciary,representatives from funding agencies like UNICEF, Save the Children, USAID, USAgency, Plan International, Catholic Relief Services, SARI Equity, etc.The sample size of 17,500 included children (n=12500), young adults (n=2500), andother stakeholders (n= 2500). The child respondents included children living on thestreets, working children, children in schools, children in institutional care, and childrenin family groups not attending school. Part of the methodology involved focusgroup discussions with children in the context of children’s workshops, through whichall indicators of various forms of abuse were elicited, and confidentiality and ethicalconsiderations taken into account.From its inception, the project emerged as an advocacy and awareness opportunity,which was extremely useful from the standpoint of a country where child abuse wasknown to exist, and yet so little about the issue was discussed publicly. The participationof so many experts had a multiplier effect, in that it increased awareness and moreopen discussion about the previously neglected issue of child abuse ensued. Analysis ofresults are expected at the end of 2006. 210RecommendationsThe following recommendations are guided bythe human rights obligations of Governmentsunder the CRC and other instruments, and arealso based on evidence from research and existingpractice. They recognise that, while the primaryrole in childrens’ upbringing is accordedto the family, Governments have obligations toensure that in all places – including in the home– children are protected from actions constitutingviolence against them, and that there isan effective response when violence occurs. Inaddition, Governments are required to provideappropriate support and assistance to parents.

“In the consultations all over the world, it was as if everyone had been waiting for permission to talkabout this - waiting for violence against children not to be a secret any more.”Karin Landgren, Chief, Child Protection, UNICEF3Prioritise prevention1. Ensure that comprehensive systems toprevent violence and protect childrenare implemented at scale, in ways thatrespect the whole child and their family,their dignity and privacy, and the developmentalneeds of girls and boys. Governmentsshould ensure that responsesystems should be coordinated, aimed atprevention and early intervention, linkedto integrated services that extend acrosssectors – legal, education, justice, social,health, employment and other necessaryservices. Respect for the views of the childin all matters and decisions which affectthem should be assured. Governmentshave the obligation to develop evidencebasedstandards to facilitate effective andsensitive service delivery for children in allparts of the country.Societal level2. Assess the impact of public policies onchildren and their families. Governmentsshould conduct social impact assessmentswhich give particular attention tothe potential impact of public policies onviolence against children – especially discrimination,social and economic stress,and other risk factors relevant to family violenceagainst children. The results shouldbe used to prioritise economic and socialsafety nets which directly benefit families.3. Increase economic and social safety netsfor families. These should include familysupport centres which can provide assistance,including that provided in emergencysituations; and they should help to developsupportive networks through providingquality child care facilities and pre-schoolenrichment programmes; and throughrespite programmes for families facingespecially difficult circumstances; and alsoby giving attention to underlying factorssuch as education, housing, employment,and social policies and opportunities.4. Implement evidence-based advocacyprogrammes on violence prevention. Atthe society and community level, Governmentsshould support strategies that aim toraise awareness of child rights, and promotechange in social and cultural norms, genderequity/equality, and non-discrimination.Such programmes should target Governmentsector workers, including police andjustice system staff, educators, health workers,and the private sector, as well as parentsand the general public. Governmentshave the obligation to initiate and supportawareness campaigns that promote non-violentrelationships and communication withchildren, as well as the positive involvementof men and boys in family life.Legal measures5. Develop an explicit framework of lawand policy in which all forms of violenceagainst children within the familyare prohibited and rejected. Governmentshave the obligation to prohibit andeliminate all forms of violence againstchildren in the home as well as in othersettings. This includes all harmful tradi-93Violence against children in the home and family

94Violence against children in the home and familytional practices, sexual violence, and allcorporal punishment, in accordance withthe CRC and other human rights instruments(see the Committee’s General Commenton corporal punishment, No. 8, June2006). Clear guidance and training shouldensure that the law is implemented sensitively,in line with the best interests of thechild. Legal reform should be linked withadvocacy and awareness-raising activitiesto promote positive, non-violent relationshipswith children.6. Ensure that family courts and otherparts of the justice system are sensitiveto the needs of children and theirfamilies. Governments should ensure thatchild victims of family violence are not revictimisedduring the justice process, norsubjected to extended or drawn-out legalprocesses. Child victims should be treatedin a caring and sensitive manner throughoutthe justice process, taking into accounttheir personal situation and immediateneeds, age, gender, disability and level ofmaturity, and fully respecting their physical,mental and moral integrity.In particular, Governments should ensurethat investigations, law enforcement, prosecutionand judicial processes take intoaccount the special needs of the child,bearing in mind the Guidelines on Justicefor Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime(ECOSOC Resolution 2005/20). In thisregard, the child should be accompaniedby a trusted adult throughout his or herinvolvement in the justice process, if it is inhis or her best interests; the child’s identityand privacy should be protected; confidentialityshould be respected; and the childshould not be subjected to excessive interviews,statements, hearings and unnecessarycontact with the judicial process.Consideration should be given to the useof pre-recorded video and other testimonialaids, such as the use of screens or closedcircuit televisions, as well as to eliminatingunnecessary contacts with the alleged perpetrator,or their defence. In particular, ifcompatible with the legal system and withdue respect for the rights of the defence,professionals should ensure that the childvictim of violence is protected from beingunnecessarily cross-examined, that the generalpublic and the media are excluded fromthe courtroom during the child’s testimony,and that guardians ad litem are available toprotect the child’s legal interests. Speedytrials should also be ensured, unless delaysare in the child’s best interests.Strengthen coordinated responses7. Provide pre-natal and post-natal care,and home visitation programmes foroptimising early childhood development.These measures should be aimedat building on the strengths of the familyand the community to promote healthychild development, and the early detectionand support of families with problems.Governments should ensure that suchprogrammes include information on theimportance of attachment and the physical,emotional, and cognitive development

3of infants and young children as well asattention to cultural factors.8. Implement culturally-appropriate andgender-sensitive parenting programmesand programmes that support familiesto provide a violence-free home. Governmentsshould ensure that important componentsare included in these programmessuch as: the importance of attachmentbonds between parents and their children,and increasing understanding of the physical,psychological, sexual, and cognitivedevelopment of infants, children and youngpeople in the context of social and culturalfactors; expanding child-rearing andparenting skills for fathers and mothers,including promoting non-violent relationshipsand non-violent forms of discipline,problem-solving skills, and the managementof family conflicts; addressing genderstereotypes, and emphasising the involvementof men and boys in family life. Governmentsmust develop such programmesin compliance with human rights norms,and also with reference to scientific evidenceregarding the effectiveness thereof.9. Protect especially vulnerable childrenin the family, and address gender issues.Governments should ensure a focus in allresearch, prevention, and response initiativesdealing with the family, on the situationand risks of children who are especiallyvulnerable to violence; for example,children with disabilities, refugee andother displaced children, children fromminority groups, children without parentalcare, and children affected by HIV/AIDS.Special efforts are required to understandand respond to the differing risks whichmay be faced by girls and boys, and to payattention to the concept of masculinityand gender stereotypes on violence experiencedby girls and boys.Build capacity10. Build capacity among those who workwith children and their families. Governmentsshould ensure that professionalsand non-professionals who work with andaround children and their families receiveadequate training and ongoing capacitybuilding which includes basic informationon children’s rights and the law, violenceagainst children, its prevention, early detectionand response, non-violent conflict management,and children’s rights. In addition,workers must have a clear understanding ofthe physical, sexual, emotional and cognitivedevelopment of children and youngpeople, and the links between gender andviolence. Specific skills in communicatingwith and involving children in the decisionsaffecting them should also be promoted.Build information systems11. Implement civil registration universally,including the registration of births,deaths, and marriages. Governmentsshould ensure free and accessible civil registrationwith free certification, and shouldremove penalties for late registration. Theprocess must be advocated widely, andfacilitated and implemented in coopera-95Violence against children in the home and family

96Violence against children in the home and familytion with local government, hospitals, professionaland traditional birth attendants,police, religious and community leaders,and other partners in order to ensure universaluptake.12. Develop a national research agenda onfamily violence against children. Governmentsshould put in place a set of nationalpriorities for research that can supplementinformation systems with in-depth qualitativeand quantitative research. Guidedby international indicators and standards,Governments and their partners shouldstrengthen information systems throughimproved surveillance of reported cases offamily violence against children, and alsothrough population-based research whichincludes estimates of the prevalence ofchildhood victimisation. Risk and protectivefactors related to violence can also beassessed by retrospective studies of childhood,and by interviewing young adults.Data should be disaggregated to make visiblethe scale and scope of the experiencesof girls and boys of different ages that arerelated to violence and overcoming it, theirsituations, and their risk and protectivefactors. Such efforts should include confidentialinterviews with the children themselves,with special attention given to vulnerablegroups and their families, as well asto parents and other caregivers and adults,and appropriate ethical safeguards shouldbe put in place. The information gatheredshould be shared widely to inform publicpolicy and related action.References1 UNICEF (2003). A League Table of Child MaltreatmentDeaths in Rich Nations. Innocenti Report Card, No. 5.Florence, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre.2 Yoder PS et al. (2004). Female Genital Cutting in theDemographic Health Surveys: A Critical and ComparativeAnalysis. Calvertion, ORC Macro.3 UNICEF (2003). Female Genital Cutting in Somalia:Reasons for Continuation and Recommendations forEradication. UNICEF Somalia. Cited in: UNICEFSomalia (2003). From Perception to Reality: A Study onChild Protection in Somalia, Ch. 3. UNICEF Somalia.4 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006). GeneralComment No. 8. The Right of the Child to Protectionfrom Corporal Punishment and Other Cruel or DegradingForms of Punishment (articles 19, 28(2) and 37, interalia), CRC/C/GC/8.5 UN Habitat (2006). State of the World’s Cities Report2006/7. Nairobi, UN Habitat. Available at: http://www.unhabitat.org/mediacentre/ documents/sowcr2006/SOWCR%201.pdf.6 UN Habitat (2006). State of the World’s Cities Report2006/7. Nairobi, UN Habitat. Available at: http://www.unhabitat.org/mediacentre/ documents/sowcr2006/SOWCR%201.pdf.7 Krug EG et al. (Eds) (2002). World Report on Violenceand Health. Geneva, World Health Organization.8 Molyneux M (2004). Poverty Relief Programmes andthe ‘New Social Policy in Latin America’: Women andCommunity Carework. UNRISD Project on Genderand Social Policy, Mimeo, Geneva, UNRISD. Cited in:UNRISD (2005). Gender Equality: Striving for Justicein an Unequal World. United Nations Research Institutefor Social Development.9 UNRISD (2005). Gender Equality: Striving for Justicein an Unequal World. United Nations Research Institutefor Social Development.

310 Asis MMB et al. (2004). When the Light of the Homeis Abroad: Female Migration and the Filipino Family.Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 25(2): 198–215.11 National Research Council (1993). Understanding ChildAbuse and Neglect. Washington DC, National Academyof Sciences Press.12 Straus MA et al. (1998). Identification of ChildMaltreatment with the Parent–Child Conflict TacticsScales: Development and Psychometric Data for aNational Sample of American Parents. Child Abuse &Neglect, 22: 249–270.13 Zununegui MV et al. (1997). Child Abuse: SocioeconomicFactors and Health Status. Anales Españoles dePediatria, 47: 33–41.14 Kelly MJ (2005). The Power of Early Childhood as aHealing Force in the AIDS Crisis. Paper for Presentationto the World Forum on Early Care and Education,Montreal, 19 May 2005.15 UNICEF (2003). Africa’s Orphaned Generations. NewYork, UNICEF..16 United Nations (2000). The World’s Women: Trends andStatistics. New York, United Nations.17 Boudreaux MC, Lord WD (2005). Combating ChildHomicide: Preventive Policing for the New Millennium.Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20(4): 380–387.18 Finkelhor D, Berliner L (1995). Research on theTreatment of Sexually Abused Children: A Reviewand Recommendations. Journal of the Academy of ChildAdolescent Psychiatry, 34: 1408–1423.19 Boudreaux MC, Lord WD (2005). Combating ChildHomicide: Preventive Policing for the New Millennium.Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20(4): 380–387.20 UNICEF (2003). Innocenti Report Card No. 5: A LeagueTable of Child Maltreatment Deaths in Rich Nations.UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, Florence.21 Dean PJ (2004). Child Homicide and Infanticide in NewZealand. Int J Law Psychiatry, 27(4): 339–348; RomainN et al. (2003). Childhood Homicide: A 1990–2000Retrospective Study at the Institute of Legal Medicinein Lausanne, Switzerland. Medicine, Science and the Law,43(3): 203–206; Collins KA, Nichols CA (1999).A Decade of Pediatric Homicide: A Retrospective Studyat the Medical University of South Carolina. AmericanJournal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, 20(2):169–172.22 WHO (2006). Global Estimates of Health ConsequencesDue to Violence against Children. Background Paper tothe UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence againstChildren. Geneva, World Health Organization.23 Runyan D et al. (2002). Child Abuse and Neglect byParents and Other Caregivers. In: Krug EG et al. (Eds).World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva, WorldHealth Organization, pp 59–86.24 Collins KA, Nichols CA (1999). A Decade of PediatricHomicide: A Retrospective Study at the MedicalUniversity of South Carolina. American Journal ofForensic Medicine and Pathology, 20(2): 169–172.25 Lyman JM et al. (2003). Epidemiology of ChildHomicide in Jefferson County, Alabama. Child Abuse &Neglect, 27(9): 1063–1073.26 Romain NK et al. (2003). Childhood Homicide:A 1990–2000 Retrospective Study at the Institute ofLegal Medicine in Lausanne, Switzerland. Medicine,Science and the Law, 43(3): 203–206.27 Moskowitz HD et al. (2005). Relationships of US YouthHomicide Victims and Their Offenders, 1976–1999.Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 159(4):356–361.28 Dean PJ (2004). Child Homicide and Infanticidein New Zealand. International Journal of Law andPsychiatry, 27(4): 339–348.29 Moskowitz HD et al. (2005). Relationships of US YouthHomicide Victims and Their Offenders, 1976–1999.Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 159(4):356–361.97Violence against children in the home and family

98Violence against children in the home and family30 George S (1995). Female Infanticide in Tamil-Nadu,India: From Recognition Back to Denial? ReproductiveHealth Matters, 10: 124–132. Cited in: Naved RT (2003).A Situation Analysis of Violence against Women in SouthAsia. In: Violence against Women in South Asia: A RegionalAnalysis. Bangkok, Asian Forum of Parliamentarians onPopulation and Development/Kathmandu, UNFPA.31 Stephenson R et al. (2006). Child Maltreatment amongSchool Children in Kurdistan Province, Iran. ChildAbuse & Neglect, 30: 231–245.32 Hahm HC, Guterman NB (2001). The EmergingProblem of Physical Child Abuse in South Korea. ChildMaltreatment, 6(2): 169–179.33 May-Chalal C, Cawson P (2005). Measuring ChildMaltreatment in the United Kingdom: A Study of thePrevalence of Child Abuse and Neglect. Child Abuse &Neglect, 29: 969–984.34 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006). GeneralComment No. 8. The Right of the Child to Protectionfrom Corporal Punishment and Other Cruel or DegradingForms of Punishment (articles 19, 28(2) and 37, interalia), CRC/C/GC/8, para 11.35 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006). GeneralComment No. 8. The Right of the Child to Protectionfrom Corporal Punishment and Other Cruel or DegradingForms of Punishment (articles 19, 28(2) and 37, interalia), CRC/C/GC/8.36 Durrant JE (2003). Maternal Beliefs about physicalpunishment in Sweden and Canada. Journal ofComparative Family Studies, 34:586-604. Cited in:Durrant JE (2005). Corporal Punishment: Prevalence,Predictors and Implications for Child Behaviour andDevelopment. In: Hart SN (Ed) (2005). EliminatingCorporal Punishment. Paris, UNESCO.37 Lehman BA (1989). Making a Case against Spanking.The Washington Post, 23 March 1989. Cited in: StrausMA, Mathur AK (1996). Social Change and Trends inApproval of Corporal Punishment by Parents from 1968 to1994. In: Frehsee D et al. (Eds). Violence against Children.Berlin and New York, Walter de Gruyter, pp 91–105.38 Durrant JE (2005). Corporal Punishment: Prevalence,Predictors and Implications for Child Behaviour andDevelopment. In: Hart SN (Ed) (2005). EliminatingCorporal Punishment. Paris, UNESCO.39 Kim D-H (2000). Children’s Experience of Violence inChina and Korea: A Transcultural Study. Child Abuse& Neglect, 18: 155–166. Cited in: Durrant JE (2005).Corporal Punishment: Prevalence, Predictors andImplications for Child Behaviour and Development. In:Hart SN (Ed) (2005). Eliminating Corporal Punishment.Paris, UNESCO.40 Habasch R (2005). Physical and Humiliating Punishmentof Children in Yemen. Save the Children Sweden. Citedin: International Save the Children Alliance (2005).Ending Physical and Humiliating Punishment of Children.Making It Happen, Part 2. Global Submission to the UNSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children.Stockholm, Save the Children Sweden.41 International Save the Children Alliance (2005). EndingPhysical and Humiliating Punishment of Children.Making It Happen, Part 2. Global Submission to the UNSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children.Stockholm, Save the Children Sweden.42 UNICEF (2001). Young Voices Opinion Survey ofChildren and Young People in Europe and Central Asia.Geneva, UNICEF.43 Dong M et al. (2004). The Interrelatedness of MultipleForms of Childhood Abuse, Neglect, and HouseholdDysfunction. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28(7): 771–784.44 Government of India (2005). India Country Report onViolence against Children. New Delhi, Department ofWomen and Child Development, Ministry of HumanResource Development, Government of India.45 Klasen S, Wink C (2003). Missing Women: Revisitingthe Debate. Feminist Economics, 9(2–3): 263–299.46 Helander E (1999). Prejudice and Dignity: An Introductionto Community-based Rehabilitation, 2nd Edition. NewYork, United Nations Development Programme. Citedin: United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Summary Report of the ThematicMeeting on Violence against Children with Disabilities.28 July 2005, New York.

347 UNICEF (2002). UNICEF 2002 China Annual Report.UNICEF China.48 WHO (2006). Global Estimates of Health ConsequencesDue to Violence against Children. Background Paper tothe UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence againstChildren. Geneva, World Health Organization.49 Finkelhor D (1994). The International Epidemiologyof Child Sexual Abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 18(5):409–417.50 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: SouthAsia. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.51 Haj-Yahi MM, Tamish S (2001). The Rates of ChildSexual Abuse and Its Psychological Consequences asRevealed by a Study among Palestinian UniversityStudents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 25(10): 1303–1327.52 Finkelhor D (1994). The International Epidemiologyof Child Sexual Abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 18(5):409–417.53 Andrews G et al. (2004). Child Sexual Abuse. In: EzzatiM et al. (2004). Comparative Quantification of HealthRisks: Global and Regional Burden of Disease Attributableto Selected Major Risk Factors, Vol. 2. Geneva, WorldHealth Organization, pp 1851–1940.54 WHO (2005). WHO Multi-country Study on Women’sHealth and Domestic Violence against Women. Geneva,World Health Organization.55 Jewkes R et al. (2002). Rape of Girls in South Africa.Lancet, 359(9303): 319–320.56 Browne KD et al. (2002). Child Abuse and Neglectin Romanian Families: A National Prevalence Study.Denmark, World Health Organization Regional Officefor Europe.57 Haj-Yahi MM, Tamish S (2001). The Rates of ChildSexual Abuse and Its Psychological Consequences asRevealed by a Study among Palestinian UniversityStudents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 25(10): 1303–1327.58 Tang CS (2002). Childhood Experience of Sexual Abuseamong Hong Kong Chinese College Students. ChildAbuse & Neglect, 26(1): 23–37.59 Queen Sofia Centre for the Study of Violence (2003).Child Abuse in Spain 1997/1998: A Statistical ReportBased on Field Research. Valencia, Queen Sofia Centre.60 UNICEF (2003). From Perception to Reality: A Study onChild Protection in Somalia. UNICEF Somalia, Ch. 3.61 Naved RT (2003). A Situation Analysis of Violenceagainst Women in South Asia. In: AFPPD/UNFPA(2003). Violence against Women in South Asia: A RegionalAnalysis. AFPPD/UNFPA.62 AFPPD/UNFPA (2003). Violence against Women inSouth Asia: A Regional Analysis. AFPPD/UNFPA.Cited in: United Nations Secretary-General’s Study onViolence against Children (2005) Regional Desk Review:South Asia. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.63 Irinnews (2002). Special Report on Elections, 3 October2002. Cited in: Home Office (2004). Pakistan CountryReport. United Kingdom, Country Information &Policy Unit, Immigration & Nationality DirectorateHome Office.64 Wainwright M (2006). Honour Murders LeaveThousands of Women Living in Fear. The Guardian, 21July 2006.65 Wainwright M (2006). Honour Murders LeaveThousands of Women Living in Fear. The Guardian, 21July 2006.66 Bangladesh Human Rights Commission (2001). Acidand Trauma Victims. Available at: http://www.bhrcbd.org/victims.htm.67 Farouk S (2005). Violence against Women: A StatisticalOverview, Challenges and Gaps in Data Collection andMethodology and Approaches for Overcoming Them.Expert Paper prepared for Expert Group Meeting of theUN Division for the Advancement of Women. 11–14April, 2005, Geneva.68 UNICEF (2001). Early Marriage, Child Spouses.Innocenti Digest, No. 7. Florence, UNICEF InnocentiResearch Centre.99Violence against children in the home and family

100Violence against children in the home and family69 Outtara M et al. (1998). Forced Marriage, ForcedSex: The Perils of Childhood for Girls. Gender andDevelopment, 6(3). Cited in: UNICEF (2001). EarlyMarriage, Child Spouses. Innocenti Digest, No. 7.Florence, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre.70 UNICEF (2001). Early Marriage, Child Spouses.Innocenti Digest, No. 7. Florence, UNICEF InnocentiResearch Centre.71 Forum on Marriage and the Rights of Women and Girls(2003). Early Marriage and Poverty: Exploring the Linksfor Policy and Programme Development. London, Forumon Marriage and the Rights of Women and Girls/IPPF.72 UNICEF (2001). Early Marriage, Child Spouses.Innocenti Digest, No. 7. Florence, UNICEF InnocentiResearch Centre.73 Erulkar A et al. (2004). The Experience of Adolescence inRural Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Accra, The PopulationCouncil.74 Kishor S, Johnson K (2004). Profiling Domestic Violence:A Multi-Country Study. Calverton, ORC Macro.75 Marcus R (1993). Violence against Women in Bangladesh,Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan, Senegal and Yemen. Reportprepared for Special Programme WID, NetherlandsMinistry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS). Brighton, Instituteof Development Studies.76 Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights (1998).Domestic Violence in Nepal. Minnesota Advocates forHuman Rights, MN.77 Marcus R (1993). Violence against Women in Bangladesh,Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan, Senegal and Yemen. Reportprepared for Special Programme WID, NetherlandsMinistry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS). Brighton, Instituteof Development Studies.78 Fernandez F (1997). Domestic Violence by ExtendedFamily Members in India. Interplay of Gender andGeneration. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 12(3):433–455.79 Panda KP (2004). Domestic Violence against Women inKerala, Discussion Paper No. 86. Thiruvananthapuram,Kerala Research Programme on Local LevelDevelopment, Centre for Development Studies.80 Naved RT (2003). A Situation Analysis of Violenceagainst Women in South Asia. In: Violence againstWomen in South Asia: A Regional Analysis. Bangkok,Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population andDevelopment/Kathmandu, UNFPA.81 NCTPE (1998). Baseline Survey on Harmful TraditionalPractices in Ethiopia. Addis Ababa, National Committeeon Harmful Traditional Practices.82 WHO (2000). Female Genital Mutilation, Factsheet No241. Geneva, World Health Organization.83 UNICEF (2005). Changing a Harmful SocialConvention: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting.Innocenti Digest, No. 12. Florence, UNICEF InnocentiResearch Centre.84 UNICEF (2003). Female Genital Cutting in Somalia:Reasons for Continuation and Recommendations forEradication. UNICEF Somalia. Cited in: UNICEFSomalia (2003). From Perception to Reality: A Study onChild Protection in Somalia. UNICEF Somalia, Ch. 3.85 UNICEF Somalia (2003). From Perception to Reality:A Study on Child Protection in Somalia. UNICEFSomalia, Ch. 3.86 UNICEF (2005). Changing a Harmful SocialConvention: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting.Innocenti Digest, No. 12. Florence, UNICEF InnocentiResearch Centre.87 UNICEF (2005). Changing a Harmful SocialConvention: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting.Innocenti Digest, No. 12. Florence, UNICEF InnocentiResearch Centre.88 Stanley YP et al. (2004). Female Genital Cutting inthe Demographic and Health Surveys: A Critical andComparative Analysis. DHS Comparative Reports, No.7. Calverton, ORC Macro. Cited in: United NationsSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children(2005). Regional Desk Review: West and Central Africa.Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.89 Dube SR et al. (2002). Exposure to Abuse, Neglect, andHousehold Dysfunction among Adults Who WitnessedIntimate Partner Violence as Children: Implications forHealth and Social Services. Violence and Victims, 17(1):3–17.

390 International Save the Children Alliance (2005). EndingPhysical and Humiliating Punishment of Children.Making It Happen, Part 1. Global Submission to the UNSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children.Stockholm, Save the Children Sweden.91 Runyan D et al. (2002). Child Abuse and Neglect byParents and Other Caregivers. In: Krug EG et al. (Eds).World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva, WorldHealth Organization, pp 59–86.92 International Save the Children Alliance (2005).Ending Physical and Humiliating Punishment of Children.Making It Happen, Part 2. Global Submission to the UNSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children.Stockholm, Save the Children Sweden.93 Crockenburg S (1987). Predictors and Correlates ofAnger towards and Punitive Control of Toddlers byAdolescent Mothers. Child Development, 58: 964–975.Cited in: Durrant JE (2005). Corporal Punishment:Prevalence, Predictors and Implications for ChildBehaviour and Development. In: Hart SN (Ed) (2005).Eliminating Corporal Punishment. Paris, UNESCO.94 Perry BD (2001). The Neurodevelopmental Impactof Violence in Childhood. In: Schetky D, BenedekEP (Eds). Textbook of Child and Adolescent ForensicPsychiatry. Washington DC, American Psychiatric Press,pp 221–238.95 Evans E et al. (2005). Suicidal Phenomena and Abuse inAdolescents: A Review of Epidemiological Studies. ChildAbuse & Neglect, 29(1): 45–58.96 Thompson R et al. (2005). Suicidal Ideation among8-Year-olds Who Are Maltreated and At Risk: Findingsfrom the LONGSCAN Studies. Child Maltreatment,10(1): 26–36.97 Hamilton CE, Browne KD (1998). The RepeatVictimization of Children. Aggression and ViolentBehavior, 3: 47–60.98 Analysis provided to the Study by the WHO MulticountryStudy on Women’s Health and DomesticViolence against Women (2006). Geneva, World HealthOrganization.99 Felitti VJ et al. (1998). The Relationship of AdultHealth Status to Childhood Abuse and HouseholdDysfunction. American Journal of Preventive Medicine,14: 245–258.100 Dube SR et al. (2005). Long-term Consequences ofChildhood Sexual Abuse by Gender of Victim. AmericanJournal of Preventive Medicine, 28(5): 430–438.101 Dong MRF et al. (2004). The Interrelatedness ofMultiple Forms of Childhood Abuse, Neglect, andHousehold Dysfunction. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28(7):771–784.102 Turner HA et al. (2006). The Effect of LifetimeVictimisation on the Mental Health of Children andAdolescents. Social Science and Medicine, 62(1): 13–27.103 Andrews G et al. (2004). Child Sexual Abuse. In: EzzatiM et al. (2004). Comparative Quantification of HealthRisks: Global and Regional Burden of Disease Attributableto Selected Major Risk Factors, Vol. 2. Geneva, WorldHealth Organization, pp 1851–1940.104 Turner HA, Finkelhor D (1996). Corporal Punishmentas a Stressor Among Youth. Journal of Marriage andthe Family, 58: 155–166. Cited in: Durrant JE (2005).Corporal Punishment: Prevalence, Predictors andImplications for Child Behaviour and Development. In:Hart SN (Ed) (2005). Eliminating Corporal Punishment.Paris, UNESCO.105 Thompson R et al. (2005). Suicidal Ideation among8-Year-olds Who Are Maltreated and At Risk: Findingsfrom the LONGSCAN Studies. Child Maltreatment,10(1): 26–36.106 Evans E et al. (2005). Suicidal Phenomena and Abuse inAdolescents: A Review of Epidemiological Studies. ChildAbuse & Neglect, 29(1): 45–58.107 Csorba J et al. (2001). Family and School-relatedStresses in Depressed Hungarian Children. EuropeanPsychiatry, 16: 18–26.101Violence against children in the home and family

102Violence against children in the home and family108 Lau JTF et al (1999). Prevalence and Correlates ofPhysical Abuse in Hong Kong Chinese Adolescents:A Population-based Approach. Child Abuse & Neglect,23: 549–57. Cited in: Durrant JE (2005). CorporalPunishment: Prevalence, Predictors and Implicationsfor Child Behaviour and Development. In: Hart SN(Ed) (2005). Eliminating Corporal Punishment. Paris,UNESCO.109 MacMillan HL et al. (1999). Slapping and Spanking inChildhood and Its Association with Lifetime Prevalenceof Psychiatric Disorders in a General Population Sample.Canadian Medical Association Journal, 16: 805–809.Cited in: Durrant JE (2005). Corporal Punishment:Prevalence, Predictors and Implications for ChildBehaviour and Development. In: Hart SN (Ed) (2005).Eliminating Corporal Punishment. Paris, UNESCO.110 Classen CC et al. (2005). Sexual Revictimisation: AReview of the Empirical Literature. Trauma Violence andAbuse, 6(2): 103–129.111 Fryer G, Miyoshi T (1994). A Survival Analysis of theRevictimization of Children: The Case of Colorado.Child Abuse & Neglect, 18(12): 1063–1071.112 Creighton SJ (1992). Child Abuse Trends in England andWales 1988–1990: And an Overview from 1973–1990.London, NSPCC.113 Hamilton CE, Browne KD (1999). RecurrentMaltreatment During Childhood: A Survey of Referralsto Police Child Protection Units in England. ChildMaltreatment, 4(4): 275–286.114 Bradshaw J, Mayhew E (Eds). The Well-being of Childrenin the UK, 2nd Edition. London, The University ofYork/Save the Children UK.115 Baldry A (2003). Bullying in Schools and Exposureto Domestic Violence. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27(7):713–732.116 International Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10Essential Learning Points: Listen and Speak Out againstSexual Abuse of Girls and Boys. Global Submission tothe UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence againstChildren. Oslo, Save the Children.117 Ertem IO et al. (2000). Intergenerational Continuityof Child Physical Abuse: How Good is the Evidence?Lancet, 356 (9232): 814–819.118 Johnson H et al. (forthcoming). Violence against Women:An International Perspective. New York, Springer.119 Williams LM (2003). Understanding Child Abuse andViolence against Women: A Life Course Perspective.Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18(4): 441–451.120 UNICEF (2005). Changing a Harmful SocialConvention: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting.Innocenti Digest, No. 12. Florence, UNICEF InnocentiResearch Centre.121 Stanley YP et al. (2004). Female Genital Cutting inthe Demographic and Health Surveys: A Critical andComparative Analysis. DHS Comparative Reports, No.7. Calverton, ORC Macro. Cited in: UNICEF (2005).Changing a Harmful Social Convention: Female GenitalMutilation/Cutting. Innocenti Digest, No. 12. Florence,UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre.122 Waters H et al. (2004). The Economic Dimensionsof Interpersonal Violence. Geneva, World HealthOrganization.123 Fromm S (2001). Total Estimates of Cost of Child Abuseand Neglect in the United States – Statistical Evidence.Chicago, Prevent Child Abuse America.124 National Commission of Inquiry into the Prevention ofChild Abuse (1996). Childhood Matters: The Report ofthe National Commission of Inquiry into the Prevention ofChild Abuse, Vol. 1. London, Her Majesty’s StationeryOffice. Cited in: Runyan D et al. (2002). Child Abuseand Neglect by Parents and Other Caregivers. In: KrugEG et al. (Eds). World Report on Violence and Health.Geneva, World Health Organization, pp 59–86.125 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Summary Report of theThematic Meeting on Violence against Children withDisabilities, 28 July 2005, New York. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r180.126 American Academy of Pediatrics (2001). Assessment ofMaltreatment of Children with Disabilities. Pediatrics,108(2): 508–552.

3127 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: theCaribbean. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.128 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: West andCentral Africa. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.129 Wolfe DA (1999). Child Abuse: Implications forChild Development and Psychopathology, 2nd Edition.Thousand Oaks, Sage.130 Leventhal JM (1996). Twenty Years Later: We Do KnowHow to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect. Child Abuse& Neglect, 20: 647–653.131 National Research Council (1993). Understanding ChildAbuse and Neglect. Washington DC, National Academyof Sciences Press.132 Sariola H, Uutela A (1992). The Prevalence and Contextof Family Violence against Children in Finland. ChildAbuse & Neglect, 16: 823–832.133 Zununegui MV et al. (1997). Child Abuse:Socioeconomic Factors and Health Status. AnalesEspañoles de Pediatria, 47: 33–41.134 Turner HA et al. (2006). The Effect of LifetimeVictimisation on the Mental Health of Children andAdolescents. Social Science & Medicine, 62(1): 13–27.135 Runyan D et al. (2002). Child Abuse and Neglect byParents and Other Caregivers. In: Krug EG et al. (Eds).World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva, WorldHealth Organization, pp 59–86.136 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: SouthAsia. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.137 Sidebotham P, Golding J (2001). Child Maltreatmentin the ‘Children of the Nineties’: A Longitudinal Studyof Parental Risk Factors. Child Abuse & Neglect, 25:1177–1200.138 Klevens J et al. (2000). Risk Factors and the Context ofMen Who Physically Abuse in Bogota, Colombia. ChildAbuse & Neglect, 24: 323–332.139 Ertem IO et al. (2000). Intergenerational Continuityof Child Physical Abuse: How Good Is the Evidence?Lancet, 356 (9232): 814–819.140 World Vision (2005). Violence against Children Affectedby HIV/AIDS: A Case Study of Uganda. A contributionto the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children. Nairobi, World Vision International–Africa Office.141 Human Rights Watch (2002). Suffering in Silence:The Links Between Human Rights Abuses and HIVTransmission to Girls in Zambia. New York, HumanRights Watch.142 The Body Shop/UNICEF (2006). Behind Closed Doors.The Impact of Domestic Violence on Children. London,The Body Shop International Plc.143 Edleson JL (1996). Children’s Witnessing of DomesticViolence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14 (8): 839–870.144 McClosky LA et al. (1995). The Effect of SystematicFamily Violence on Children’s Mental Health. ChildDevelopment, 66: 1239–1261. Cited in: Krug EG etal. (Eds) (2002). World Report on Violence and Health.Geneva, World Health Organization.145 Dube SR et al. (2002). Exposure to Abuse, Neglect, andHousehold Dysfunction among Adults Who WitnessedIntimate Partner Violence as Children: Implications forHealth and Social Services. Violence and Victims, 17(1):3–17.146 UNICEF (2005). Submission to the United NationsSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children.UNICEF New Zealand.147 Family Violence Prevention Fund (2006). Programs:Children and Domestic Violence. Family ViolencePrevention Fund. Available at: http://endabuse.org/programs/children/.148 Runyan D et al. (2002). Child Abuse and Neglect byParents and Other Caregivers. In: Krug EG et al. (Eds).World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva, WorldHealth Organization, pp 59–86.103Violence against children in the home and family

104Violence against children in the home and family149 Hunter WM et al. (2000). Risk Factors for Severe ChildDiscipline Practices in Rural India. Journal of PaediatricPsychology, 25: 435–447.150 UNICEF (2005). Submission to the United NationsSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children.UNICEF New Zealand.151 The Body Shop/UNICEF (2006). Behind Closed Doors.The Impact of Domestic Violence on Children. London,The Body Shop International Plc.152 The Body Shop/UNICEF (2006). Behind Closed Doors.The Impact of Domestic Violence on Children. London,The Body Shop International Plc.153 Ehrensaft MK et al. (2004). Clinically AbusiveRelationships in an Unselected Birth Cohort: Men’s andWomen’s Participation and Developmental Antecedents.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 113(2): 258–271.154 Naved RT (2003). A Situation Analysis of Violenceagainst Women in South Asia. In: Violence againstWomen in South Asia: A Regional Analysis. Bangkok,Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population andDevelopment/Kathmandu, UNFPA.155 Lalor K (2004). Child Sexual Abuse in Sub-SaharanAfrica: A Literature Review. Child Abuse & Neglect,28(4): 439–460.156 Haj-Yahi MM, Tamish S (2001). The Rates of ChildSexual Abuse and Its Psychological Consequences asRevealed By a Study among Palestinian UniversityStudents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 25: 1303–1327.157 Chen J et al. (2004). Child Sexual Abuse in China: AStudy of Adolescents in Four Provinces. Child Abuse &Neglect, 28(11): 1171–1186.158 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: SouthAsia. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.159 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: East Asiaand the Pacific. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.160 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: MiddleEast and North Africa. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.161 Luster T et al. (2004). Family Advocates’ Perspectiveson the Early Academic Success of Children Born to LowincomeAdolescent Mothers. Family Relations, 53: 68–77.162 Fergusson DM, Lynskey MT (1997). PhysicalPunishment/Maltreatment During Childhood andAdjustment in Young Adulthood. Child Abuse & Neglect,21 (7): 617–630.163 Fergusson DM, Lynskey MT (1997). PhysicalPunishment/Maltreatment During Childhood andAdjustment in Young Adulthood. Child Abuse & Neglect,21 (7): 617–630.164 Spaccarelli S, Kim S (1995). Resilience Criteria andFactors Associated with Resilience in Sexually AbusedGirls. Child Abuse & Neglect, 19: 1171–1182.165 Spaccarelli S, Kim S (1995). Resilience Criteria andFactors Associated with Resilience in Sexually AbusedGirls. Child Abuse & Neglect, 19: 1171–1182.166 Hunter R et al. (1978). Antecedents of Child Abuse andNeglect in Premature Infants: A Prospective Study in aNewborn Intensive Care Unit. Pediatrics, 61: 629–635.167 Korbin J et al. (2000). Neighborhood Views on theDefinition and Etiology of Child Maltreatment. ChildAbuse & Neglect, 24(12):1509–1527.168 Runyan D et al. (2002). Child Abuse and Neglect byParents and Other Caregivers. In: Krug EG et al. (Eds).World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva, WorldHealth Organization, pp 59–86.169 WHO (2003). Violence and Health. Brief Report on theSituation of Violence and Health in Jordan. World HealthOrganization.170 UNICEF (2005). Changing a Harmful SocialConvention: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting.Innocenti Digest, No. 12. Florence, UNICEF InnocentiResearch Centre.

3171 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006). GeneralComment No. 8. The Right of the Child to Protectionfrom Corporal Punishment and Other Cruel or DegradingForms of Punishment (articles 19, 28(2) and 37, interalia), CRC/C/GC/8.172 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006). GeneralComment No. 8. The Right of the Child to Protectionfrom Corporal Punishment and Other Cruel or DegradingForms of Punishment (articles 19, 28(2) and 37, interalia), CRC/C/GC/8, para 38.173 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006). GeneralComment No. 8. The Right of the Child to Protectionfrom Corporal Punishment and Other Cruel or DegradingForms of Punishment (articles 19, 28(2) and 37, interalia), CRC/C/GC/8.174 International Save the Children Alliance (2005). EndingPhysical and Humiliating Punishment of Children.Making It Happen, Part 1. Global Submission to the UNStudy on Violence against Children. Stockholm, Savethe Children Sweden.175 Heise L, Garcia-Moreno C (2002). Violence byintimate partners. In: Krug EG et al. (Eds). WorldReport on Violence and Health. Geneva, World HealthOrganization.176 UNICEF (2001). Early Marriage, Child Spouses.Innocenti Digest, No. 7. Florence, UNICEF InnocentiResearch Centre.177 Olds DL et al. (1999). Prenatal and Infancy HomeVisitation by Nurses: Recent Findings. Future ofChildren, 9(1): 44–65.178 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2003).First Reports Evaluating the Effectiveness of Strategiesfor Preventing Violence: Early Childhood HomeVisitation. Findings from the Task Force on CommunityPreventive Services. MMWR, 52: 1–9.179 Holzer PJ et al. (2006). The Effectiveness of ParentEducation and Home Visitation Child MaltreatmentPrevention Programmes. Child Abuse Prevention Issues,No. 24. Australian Institute of Family Studies.180 Saunders BEL et al. (Eds) (2004). Child Physical andSexual Abuse: Guidelines for Treatment. Revised Report:April 26, 2004. Charleston, SC, USA. National CrimeVictims Research and Treatment Center.181 UNICEF (2003). Meeting Basic Learning Needs. NewYork, Consultative Group on ECCD, UNICEF. Citedin: Black M (1996). Children First: The Story of UNICEFPast and Present. New York, New York and OxfordUniversity Press.182 UNICEF (2004). Moldova Annual Report 2004.UNICEF Moldova. Cited in: United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children (2005).Violence in the Home and Family. Regional DeskReview: Europe and Central Asia. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.183 Butchart A, Hendricks G (2000). The Parent Centre.In: Butchart A (Ed). Behind the Mask: Getting to Gripswith Crime and Violence in South Africa. Pretoria, HSRCPublishers.184 CDC (2006). Child Maltreatment: CDC Activities.Atlanta, National Center for Injury Prevention andControl. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/cmactivities.htm.185 Hoath F, Sanders M (2002). A Feasibility Studyof Enhanced Group Triple P – Positive ParentingProgramme for Parents of Children with AttentionDeficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Behaviour Change,19(4): 191–206.186 Karlsson L, Karkara R (2006). How to End Violence.CRIN Newsletter, No. 19. Child Rights InformationNetwork.187 Zoritch B et al. (2000). Day Care for Pre-schoolChildren. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 3:CD000564.188 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Summary Report of theThematic Meeting on Violence against Children withDisabilities, 28 July 2005, New York. Available at:www.violencestudy.org/r180.105Violence against children in the home and family

106Violence against children in the home and family189 Gibson LE, Leitenberg H (2000). Child Sexual AbusePrevention Programmes: Do They Decrease theOccurrence of Child Sexual Abuse? Child Abuse &Neglect, 24(9): 1115–1125.190 Gurevich R, Gero T (2005). Using Schools to Reduce theIncidence of Early Marriage among Girls: A Case Studyfrom Ethiopia. Paper by World Learning Ethiopia,presented at Early Marriage Technical Consultation,IPPF Kenya, October 2005, Nairobi.191 International Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10Essential Learning Points: Listen and Speak Out againstSexual Abuse of Girls and Boys. Global Submission tothe UN Study on Violence against Children. Oslo,Save the Children.192 Anti-Slavery International (2005). Child DomesticWorkers: A Handbook on Good Practice in ProgrammeInterventions. London, Anti-Slavery International.193 Markowitz S, Grossman M (1998). Alcohol Regulationand Domestic Violence towards Children. ContemporaryEconomic Policy, XVI: 309–320.194 Room R et al (2003). Alcohol in Developing Societies: APublic Health Approach. Helsinki, Finnish Foundationfor Alcohol Studies/Geneva, World Health Organization.195 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: East Asiaand the Pacific. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.196 Anti-Slavery International (2005). Child DomesticWorkers: A Handbook on Good Practice in ProgrammeInterventions. London, Anti-Slavery International.197 WHO (2003). Guidelines for Medico-legal Care forVictims of Sexual Violence. Geneva, World HealthOrganization.198 Saunders BEL et al. (Eds) (2004). Child Physical andSexual Abuse: Guidelines for Treatment. Revised Report:April 26, 2004. Charleston, SC, USA. National CrimeVictims Research and Treatment Center.199 Cohen JA et al. (2005). Treating Sexually AbusedChildren: 1-Year Follow-up of a Randomised ControlledTrial. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29: 135–145.200 WHO/ISPCAN (2006). Preventing Child Maltreatment:A Guide to Taking Action and Generating Evidence.Geneva, World Health Organization/InternationalSociety for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.201 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Violence in the Home andFamily. Regional Desk Review: Europe and Central Asia.Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.202 UNICEF/Inter-parliamentary Union (2004). Handbookon Child Protection. Inter-parliamentary Union.203 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: SouthAsia. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.204 Save the Children (2004). So You Want to Involve Childrenin Research? A Toolkit Supporting Children’s Meaningfuland Ethical Participation in Research Relating to Violenceagainst Children. Stockholm, Save the Children Sweden.205 UNICEF (2005). Changing a Harmful SocialConvention: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting.Innocenti Digest, No. 12. Florence, UNICEF InnocentiResearch Centre.206 Forum on Marriage and the Rights of Women andGirls/IPPF (forthcoming). Taking Action to End ChildMarriage A Guide for Advocacy by Programmers andActivists. London, Forum on Marriage and the Rights ofWomen and Girls/IPPF.207 Forum on Marriage and the Rights of Women and Girlsand IPPF (forthcoming). Taking Action to End ChildMarriage A Guide for Advocacy by Programmers andActivists. London, Forum on Marriage and the Rights ofWomen and Girls/IPPF.208 Diop NJ et al. (2004). The Tostan Programme:Evaluation of a Community-based Education Programmein Senegal. Population Council, GTZ/Tostan.209 WHO/ISPCAN (2006). Preventing Child Maltreatment:A Guide to Taking Action and Generating Evidence.Geneva, World Health Organization and InternationalSociety for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.210 Kacker L (2006). National Level Study on Child Abuse.Submission to the UN Secretary-General’s Study onViolence against Children. India.

3QuotesIIIIIIIVInternational Save the Children Alliance (2005). EndingPhysical and Humiliating Punishment of Children.Making It Happen. Part 2. Global submission to the UNSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children.Stockholm, Save the Children Sweden, p 78.Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak Out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys. Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children. Oslo, Save theChildren Norway, p 54.Naker D (2005). Violence against Children: The Voices ofUgandan Children and Adults. Raising Voices and Savethe Children Uganda, p 21.United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: NorthAmerica, p 7. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.V International Save the Children Alliance (2005).Voices of Girls and Boys to end Violence against Childrenin South and Central Asia. In preparation of UNSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children.Kathmandu, Save the Children Sweden RegionalProgramme for South and Central Asia, p 49.VIErulkar A et al. (2004). The experience of adolescence inrural Amhara region of Ethiopia. Accra, The PopulationCouncil.VII UNICEF (2003). Somali children and youth: Challengingthe past and building the future. UNICEF Somalia.VIII L’Observatoire des droits de l’enfant de la région océanindien (2006). La violence contre les enfants dans la régionde l’océan indien. Annual Report of the Observatoire desdroits de l’enfant de la région océan indien. Mauritius,l’Observatoire des droits de l’enfant de la région océanindien, p 29.IX International Save the Children Alliance (2005).10 Essential Learning Points: Listen and Speak out againstSexual Abuse of Girls and Boys. Global Submission tothe UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence againstChildren. Oslo, Save the Children, p 66.XXIUnited Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review:Eastern and Southern Africa, p 1. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: NorthAmerica, p 10. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.XII United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: NorthAmerica, p 19. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.107Violence against children in the home and family

UNICEF/HQ06-0881. Mariella FurrerSudan, 2006, Children outside their classroom at Comboni Primary School in Rumbek, in Southern Sudan.

4Violence against childrenin schools and educational settingsIntroduction 111Human rights instruments 113Background and context 115Nature and extent of the problem 116Forms of violence in schools 116Physical and psychological punishment 116Links to discrimination and gender-based violence 118Sexual and gender-based violence 118HIV and sexual violence 120Bullying 121Fighting, physical assault, and gangs 123Homicide and serious injury 126Weapons in schools 126Impacts of violence at school 128Health impacts 128Social impacts 129Educational impacts 130Factors contributing to violence 131Risk factors 131Resilience and other protective factors 131Systematic response to patterns of violence 132Children who are vulnerable to violence 133The special situation of girls 135Responses to violence against children in schools andeducational settings 136Laws and law enforcement 139Rights-based school policies and programmes 141Leadership and policy development 142Supporting school staff 143109Violence against children in schools and educational settings

110Violence against children in schools and educational settingsThe participation of children 144Working with parents and communities 145Constructive child discipline 148Bullying: prevention and intervention 148Sexual and gender-based violence: prevention and intervention 149Curriculum: What should be taught and how? 150Creating safe and welcoming physical spaces 151Research and evaluation 152Recommendations 153References 157

“To avoid violence we need to be listened to, we need economic,work and educational opportunities. We need the chance to improve our qualityof life and have the right to live in a violence free environment.”Adolescent boys, Latin America I4IntroductionChildren spend more time in the care of adultsin pre-schools, schools, vocational trainingcentres and other places of learning than theydo anywhere else outside of their homes. Likeparents, the adults who oversee, manage andstaff these places have a duty to provide safeand nurturing environments that supportand promote children’s education and development.They also have a duty to make suresuch development prepares children for life asresponsible adults, guided by values of nonviolence,gender equality, non-discrimination,tolerance and mutual respect. These are thevalues that Governments embrace when theyratify the Convention on the Rights of theChild (CRC) and other international humanrights conventions, along with obligations toprotect children from all forms of violence, inschools and elsewhere, including providing aclear framework of law prohibiting and deterringall forms of violence, and taking all othernecessary measures to prevent violence.Violence in schools can be prevented and mustnot be tolerated. The reality for many millionsof children is that schools (used hereafteras the generic term for all education settingsfor children) expose them to violence and, inso doing, children are denied of their rights,including to education. In all of the RegionalConsultations conducted for the Study, and inmany of the reports received, children attestedto the impact of violence on their ability to getto and from school, to learn effectively whilein school, and to remain in school long enoughto reap the benefits of education. 1,2,3The public image of violence in schools hasbeen coloured by the media’s focus on extremeevents, such as school shootings; the targetingof schools for attacks and mass kidnappings.However, such events are very rare. Morecommon are forms of violence that go unreportedand may be so tolerated and perhaps soactively condoned by the public and by officialpolicy and law that they are not deemedworthy of study, discussion or debate.Where the social and physical environment ofthe community is hostile, the school environmentis unlikely to be spared. The levels andpatterns of violence in schools often reflect thelevels and patterns of violence in countries,communities and families. These, in turn,reflect prevailing political and socio-economicconditions, social attitudes, cultural traditionsand values, and laws and law enforcement.Where it is legal, considered acceptable andperhaps even commendable for men to controlwomen, and the wealthy or privileged to controlthe poor and disadvantaged, and parentsto control children through violence and thethreat of violence, then it is likely to be legal,considered acceptable and perhaps even commendablefor both adults and children to usesimilar methods in schools. 4,5,6 By being victims,perpetrators and witnesses of violence,children learn that violence is an acceptableway for the strong and aggressive to get whatthey want from the comparatively weak, passiveor peaceful.111Violence against children in schools and educational settings

112Violence against children in schools and educational settingsSchools are uniquely placed to break the patternsof violence by giving children, theirparents and communities the knowledge andskills to communicate, negotiate and resolveconflicts in more constructive ways. However,patterns of violence are often entrenched inschool culture, sometimes as a matter of policysupported and promoted by certain theoriesabout childhood development and learning.Whether perpetrated by adults or children,almost all violence in schools reflects a ‘hiddencurriculum’ that promotes gender inequalityand stereotyping. For example, boys taunteach other about their lack of masculinity andharass girls with verbal and physical gesturesthat are sexual in nature. Corporal punishmentof boys is more frequent and harsh thancorporal punishment of girls. Sexual aggressionby male teachers and boys is often dismissedas ‘just boys being boys’, while girls areblamed for ‘asking for it’. The implicit messagesare that males should be tough, generallyand sexually assertive and ready for life in arough-and-tumble world but females shouldbe passive, sheltered, and unassertive, particularlysexually. These stereotypes often makeschools unsafe and uncomfortable for girlsand are prominent among the reasons why, insome countries girls, particularly during adolescence,are less likely to attend school thanadolescent boys. 7,8,9Ensuring access to quality education for allchildren is integral to the Millenium DevelopmentGoals, and the related efforts detailed inthe Dakar Framework for Action. 10,11,12 To dothis, schools must provide a safe and welcomingenvironment for girls and boys, which isfree of the threat of violence (see box).Education for All and the Millennium Development GoalsIn April 2000, the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal, adopted the DakarFramework for Action to achieve six Education for All (EFA) goals. 13,14,15 In September2000, the Millennium Declaration established two of the EFA goals as being two ofthe eight Millennium Development Goals. Goal 2 states that, by 2015, all childrenshould have access to free and compulsory primary education of good quality. Goal 3 isto, by 2005, achieve gender equality in primary and secondary education and, by 2015,achieve gender equality in all levels of education. These two goals constitute a specifictimetable for achieving “the right of the child to education … progressively and on thebasis of equal opportunity” required by the CRC.

4Human rights INSTRUMENTSReflecting article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic and Social Rightswhich enshrines the right of everyone to education, article 28 of the Convention onthe Rights of the Child (CRC) recognises “the right of the child to education … witha view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity.” Thefirst paragraph of article 28 lists States parties’ obligations, which include making primaryeducation compulsory and free for all, encouraging the development of differentforms of secondary education that will be free or financially assisted in case of need,and making higher education accessible to all on the basis of their capacity. Article 28(2) states that: “States parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that schooldiscipline is administered in a manner consistent with the child’s human dignity andin conformity with the present Convention.” Conformity with the CRC requires, forexample, protecting the child against “all forms of physical or mental violence, injuryor abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexualabuse” (article 19) and from “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”(article 37).Article 29 of the CRC addresses the aims of the child’s education. Paragraph 29 (1.b)calls for “development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms” andparagraph 29 (1.d) calls for “preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society,in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendshipamong all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenousorigin.” In 2001, the Committee on the Rights of the Child issued General CommentNo. 1 on the aims of education (CRC/GC/2001/1), emphasising that the educationprocess itself should be based on and promote the rights guaranteed by the Convention.This means that States parties should take measures to ensure that all schoolsrespect, for example, the child’s rights to non-discrimination (article 2), to freedom ofexpression (article 13), and to protection from all forms of sexual abuse and exploitation(article 34). States must also ensure that children are fully protected from exposureto bullying and other forms of violence by other students. The Committee hasnoted that failure to protect students from such forms of violence could deny childrentheir right to education (articles 28 and 29). 16 >>>113Violence against children in schools and educational settings

“I have seen the harsh behaviour of teachers in schools and colleges. Every day there are severepunishments by teachers, so we remain very afraid in class. The teacher often makes a student stand upin class, scolds him with ugly words and teases him for being naughty or for not learning the lessons.It is very shameful as well as painful.”Boy, 17, South and Central Asia, 2005 IIHuman rights INSTRUMENTSGeneral Comment No. 1 also states that: “…Children do not lose their human rightsby virtue of passing through the school gates. Thus, for example, education must beprovided in a way that respects the inherent dignity of the child, enables the child toexpress his or her views freely in accordance with article 12(1) and to participate inschool life. Education must also be provided in a way that respects the strict limits ondiscipline reflected in article 28(2) and promotes non-violence in school. The Committeehas repeatedly made clear in its concluding observations that the use of corporalpunishment does not respect the inherent dignity of the child nor the strict limits onschool discipline…” 17114Violence against children in schools and educational settingsThe Committee has reflected this interpretation in its concluding observations onStates parties’ reports under the CRC, recommending that they should prohibit allcorporal punishment. In June 2006 the Committee adopted its General Comment No.8 on the right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel ordegrading forms of punishment (articles 19, 28(2) and 37, inter alia; CRC/C/GC/8).The Committee states that the purpose of the General Comment is “to highlight theobligation of all States parties to move quickly to prohibit and eliminate all corporalpunishment and all other cruel or degrading forms of punishment of children and tooutline the legislative and other awareness-raising and educational measures that Statesmust take.”The Committee comments: “Addressing the widespread acceptance or tolerance ofcorporal punishment of children and eliminating it, in the family, schools and othersettings, is not only an obligation of States parties under the CRC. It is also a key strategyfor reducing and preventing all forms of violence in societies.” 18

4UNICEF/HQ02-0650. Alejandro Balaguerorder, and hardening the unseasoned childto the difficult, brutal and abrasive world.In Europe and North America, the idea ofuniversal education, paid for by the State orsubsidised by the State, to equip children forthe working world, for their civic and familyresponsibilities and for their personal fulfilmentdid not emerge until the mid-19th century,when the industrial revolution was welladvanced. From then until well into the 20thcentury, beating, humiliation and isolationwere routinely used as methods of teachingand discipline.PERU, 2002, Two boys do arithmetic using calculators andcoloured blocks in a school in the village of Los Angeles in thenorth-eastern department of San Martín in the Amazon.Background andcontextHistorically, many cultures have had hierarchicalsocial structures where those higherup have controlled those lower down throughviolence and threat of violence. These structuresand practices have extended to familiesand the relations between men and womenand between parents and their children. Theyhave also extended to schools and the relationsbetween school staff and children.In both families and schools, corporal punishmentand other forms of cruel or degradingpunishment have been widely favoured methodsof ‘discipline’ perceived as ‘taming’ theunruly child, training the presumptuous childto take his or her ‘proper place’ in the socialSince the 1990s, the global economy and theeconomies of many nations have been experiencingunprecedented rates of expansion.The industrialised nations have moved intoan era where knowledge-based industries arepredominant and where economies benefitfrom all the workers they can get, if thoseworkers are well-educated and flexible, readyto absorb new knowledge, adjust to new technology,move from job to job and place toplace, and work with people of many differentbackgrounds. It is now widely recognisedthat everyone loses when people are excludedon the basis of gender, race, religious beliefand other factors unrelated to their capabilityand potential. It is also widely recognised thatthe free-enquiry-and-personal-growth modelis one that best serves everyone’s interests andthat it requires safe and nurturing school environments.115Violence against children in schools and educational settings

“The teacher slapped the students that skipped his lesson because they wanted to go to the library to dosome research. The noise was really loud in the corridor. I witnessed the scene and was scared. I stillcannot forget the sound of the slaps on their face.”Student, 16, Indian Ocean subregion, 2006 III116Violence against children in schools and educational settingsThere are still countries where many leaders,educators and parents believe that educationwhich teaches children to question and thinkfor themselves brings children into conflictwith the established customs upon which thefamily and community have been based forgenerations. 19Change in disciplinary practices in schools hasbeen especially slow in some countries whereresources for education are severely stretched atthe same time as education systems are beingasked to absorb ever-increasing numbers ofschool-goers. Laws are gradually improving 20but even where laws ban corporal punishmentthey are not always effectively enforcedand often not initially supported by prevailingsocial attitudes. Prohibition of corporal punishmentneeds to be accompanied by effectiveinitial and in-service training in behaviourmanagement and school organisation whichrespect children’s rights.Nature and extentof the problemWhile the status of every country’s progresstoward abolition of corporal punishment inhomes, schools and penal systems has beenmapped, research and analysis pertainingto other forms of violence in schools is notnearly so far advanced. 21 Most studies havelooked at one or, at most, two forms of schoolviolence and not at the multiple dimensionsof that violence and the links between schoolviolence and phenomena outside of schools,such as violence in families and society as awhole.Forms of violence in schoolsThe forms of violence found in schools areboth physical and psychological, and usuallyoccur together. Forms perpetrated by teachersand other school staff, with or without theovert or tacit approval of education ministriesand other authorities that oversee schoolsinclude corporal punishment and other crueland humiliating forms of punishment or treatment,sexual and gender-based violence, andbullying.Forms of violence perpetrated by childreninclude bullying, sexual and gender-based violence,schoolyard fighting, gang violence, andassault with weapons. Technology provides anew medium for bullying using the Internet andmobile phones, and has given rise to new termssuch as ‘cyber-bully’ and ‘cyber-bullying’.Physical and psychologicalpunishmentThe Committee on the Rights of the Childdefines ‘corporal’ or ‘physical’ punishment asany punishment in which physical force is usedand intended to cause some degree of pain ordiscomfort, however light. Most involves hitting(‘smacking’, ‘slapping’, ‘spanking’) children,with the hand or with an implement.But it can also involve, for example, kicking,shaking or throwing children, scratching,pinching, biting, pulling hair or boxing ears,forcing children to stay in uncomfortablepositions, burning, scalding or forced ingestion(for example, washing children’s mouthsout with soap or forcing them to swallow hotspices). 22

“She [the teacher] knows she is doing wrong, but she feels impunity.She will go unpunished and she knows this.”Girl, 15, Europe, 2005 IV4In the view of the Committee, corporal punishmentis invariably degrading. In addition tothe physical aspects defined above, there aremany other non-physical forms of punishmentwhich are also cruel and degrading and thusincompatible with the CRC. These include, forexample, punishment which belittles, humiliates,denigrates, scapegoats, threatens, scares orridicules the child. Corporal punishment, andother forms of cruel or degrading punishmentused by school heads and teachers, were frequentlybrought to the attention of the Studyby children during all nine Regional Consultations.The Children’s Consultation in Sloveniaheaded its list of messages to be taken forwardto the Europe and Central Asia Regional Consultationwith: “That there should be a prohibitionof every kind of violence that happens inschools in every country and … schools shouldbe happy places in which children are eager tolearn.” 23 Similar messages came from childrenall over the world.The key set of studies on corporal punishment24 and a series of regional reports developedfor the Study 25 demonstrate a clear trendaway from corporal punishment in schools inall regions, most notably in Europe. Of the223 States and dependent territories trackedby the Global Initiative to End All CorporalPunishment of Children, 106 now have lawsbanning corporal punishment in all schoolsand another seven have laws banning it in someparts of the country, for example where provincesof a federal State have their own laws, orin some schools, such as only those funded bythe State. 26 However, laws banning corporalpunishment are often not effectively enforced,even in countries such as China where theyhave been in place for many years. 27 In Cameroon,a 1998 law bans corporal punishmentin schools but a study covering four of Cameroon’sprovinces, published two years after theban, found teachers made no secret of usingit for “cheekiness, disobedience and academicmistakes” and 97% of students reported thatthey had been physically punished. 28 The consequencesof non-enforcement can be serious.Other forms of cruel or degrading punishment,not involving physical violence, have been muchless studied. The Children’s Consultationsinforming the Study revealed that other formsof humiliation are very much on the mindsof children and lodged in the minds of manyadults with painful memories of how they ortheir classmates were humiliated by the wordsand actions of school heads and teachers.Cases have been reported of the use of corporalpunishment for reasons entirely beyond achild’s control, such as failure of parents to payschool fees, 29 and also for academic failure orto correct misbehaviour. In many situations,it is not easy to disentangle these two motivations.Studies in Egypt, 30 Lesotho 31 and Togo, 32and from Indian Ocean Island nations 33 showthat corporal punishment is widely used topunish unsatisfactory academic performance,as elsewhere. Studies of seven Middle Easternand North African countries reportedthat one-third of students said they hadbeen caned because their class or school hadnot done well on examinations. 34 Collectivepunishment for unsatisfactory performance ofa whole class or whole school was also commonlyreported.117Violence against children in schools and educational settings

118Violence against children in schools and educational settingsLinks to discrimination and genderbasedviolenceThere is evidence to suggest that corporalpunishment in schools is sometimes administeredwith greater severity or frequencyto children from groups that are subject tostigma and discrimination in the whole ofsociety. In India, the 1998 Public Report onBasic Education (PROBE) found that highercaste teachers were inclined to humiliate childrenfrom Dalit (‘untouchables’, or the lowestof the four castes) and other lower castes bylabelling them as dull and incapable of beingeducated. 35 In the 23 states of the USA wherecorporal punishment in schools is still lawful,African-American children are more often victimsthan others. 36 Refugee children in Angola,Zambia and South Africa also feel singled outfor corporal punishment. 37In general, boys experience more frequent andmore severe corporal punishment than girlsbut girls are far from immune. Surveys havefound that in Egypt, 80% of schoolboys and67% of schoolgirls had experienced corporalpunishment in schools; in Barbados, 95% ofinterviewed boys and 92% of interviewed girlssaid they had experienced caning or floggingin school. 38 A survey covering 3,577 studentsin six provinces of China found that 17.5%had experienced one or more forms of corporalpunishment by teachers before they were 16years old; 15% had been hit, kicked or otherwisepunished without the use of an object;7% had been beaten with an object; 0.4% hadbeen locked up in a small place, or tied upwith ropes or chains; 0.1% had been choked,burned or stabbed. The percentage of malestudents (26.9%) who had experienced one ormore of those forms was more than 2.5 timesthe percentage of female students (10.1%) whohad done so. 39School heads and teachers may apply corporalpunishment and other forms of cruel or degradingpunishment in different ways, accordingto the sex of the child, and by so doing conveymessages about what is expected of childrenand adults of each sex. In Botswana, for example,no male teacher but the head teacher canadminister corporal punishment to a girl; andin primary schools, boys can be beaten on thebuttocks but girls only on the backs of theircalves and palms of their hands. Boys andgirls may also be punished for different misdemeanoursso that, for example, a boy mightbe punished for failure to perform an athleticfeat in a physical education class whereas agirl might be punished for rowdy and ‘unladylikebehaviour’ that might be forgiven in aboy. The fact that there are explicit or implicitgender policies applying to corporal punishmentsuggests that any strategies to eliminatecorporal punishment should address genderdifferences, too. 40Sexual and gender-based violenceGender-based violence stems from genderinequality, stereotypes and socially imposedroles. Sexual violence, including sexual harassmenttowards girls may be motivated by thedesire to punish or humiliate girls because oftheir sex or sexuality, or by sexual interest andbravado. It also serves to intimidate, humiliateand diminish girls. This is demonstrated by

“Violence against children has incalculable costs to present and future generations and it undermineshuman development. We recognize that virtually all forms of violence are linked to entrenched genderroles and inequalities, and that the violation of the rights of children is linked to the status of women.”The African Declaration on Violence against Girls, 2006 V4the widespread practice of blaming girls whoare victims of rape, and that where gender discriminationis an unquestioned norm, blaminggirls may extend to almost any kind of sexualharassment, assault or exploitation.Studies suggest that sexual harassment ofschoolgirls is common throughout the world,to varying degrees by teachers themselves aswell as by students, and that it may be particularlycommon and extreme in places whereother forms of school violence are also prevalent.41,42,43,44,45 Teachers often see the sexualharassment among students – most often girls– as a normal part of school life, and thereforeignore it. Under these circumstancesit is difficult for students to report it. In theMiddle East, sexual harassment of girls is notcommonly reported, perhaps because girls arecommonly separated from boys in schools,or also perhaps because girls are reluctant tospeak out.Until recently, there was almost no public discussionof sexual abuse of schoolgirls in Japanand victims rarely came forward. Their shamewas profound and they knew that if theytalked about what had happened, their reputationswould have been tainted for the rest oftheir lives. 46 Similar attitudes are still commonin many countries. A study in Ethiopia, forexample, found that students attributed thesexual harassment of girls to the way the girlsdressed and not to boys’ attitudes towardgirls. 47 In West and Central Africa, teachersjustified sexual exploitation of female studentsby saying that their clothes and behaviourwere provocative, and that the teachers werefar from home and in sexual need. 48In Europe and North America, revelation ofthe widespread sexual abuse of boys by maleteachers (often clerics) in church-run schoolshas only occurred since the 1990s in the presenceof better protections against, and systemsof, reporting abuse – often decades after theabuse took place. Previously, children whowere sexually assaulted or exploited by teacherswere too ashamed to tell anyone what hadhappened, knowing that their stories would notbe believed or that, if believed, they would beblamed for attracting the sexual attention ofother males. A recent study found that nearly4,400 priests (4% of all priests ministeringduring that period) had been accused of sexuallyabusing nearly 10,700 children, in acts thattook place between 1950 and 2002, and thatthe vast majority of the children were boys. 49Harmful cultural stereotypes that demeanchildren because of their sex or their knownor suspected sexuality create environments inwhich children can be abused with impunity,including by adults in positions of trust andauthority such as clerics in religious schools.In 2004, Pakistan’s Minister of State for ReligiousAffairs stunned the nation by reportingthat, so far that year, 500 complaints of sexualabuse by clerics in religious schools had beenregistered and that, in the previous year, 2,000complaints had been registered, although there50, 51had been no successful prosecutions so far.119Violence against children in schools and educational settings

120Violence against children in schools and educational settingsHIV and sexual violenceIn sub-Saharan African countries, the averagerate of HIV prevalence among girls andyoung women 15 to 24 years old is now threetimes higher than the average rate amongboys and young men of that age. 52 Sexual violenceis increasingly recognised, although stillunder-studied, as an important factor in theseincreases.An analysis of data from the Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) foundthat in Namibia, 19% of both boys and girlsanswered ‘yes’ when asked if they had “ever beenphysically forced to have sex.” In Swaziland, 9%of boys and 10% of girls said ‘yes’; in Uganda,13% of boys and 25% of girls; in Zambia, 30%of boys and 31% of girls; in Zimbabwe, 11%of boys and 14% of girls. 53 In 1999, researchbased on a sample of 10,000 schoolgirls inKenya found that one-third were sexually activeand that, of those, 40% said their first encounterwas forced, usually by a male student. 54More recent research in Burkina Faso, Ghana,Malawi, and Uganda found, however, thatforced sex and vulnerability to HIV infectionwere more prevalent among married adolescentsthan among unmarried adolescents. 55 In manysub-Saharan African countries, the majority ofadolescent girls are not in school and betweenone-quarter and one-half of them are married,often to much older men. 56 In Ethiopia, girlsoften see attendance at school as a way to avoidearly and unwanted marriage. 57Forced sex is a risk factor for HIV/AIDS. Thisis a growing concern in the context of schoolsIn Eastern and Southern Africa (as in otherregions), the Regional Consultation held for theStudy identified sexual harassment and abuseby students and teachers, usually male, againstfemale students as major problems. Participantsof the Consultation attested to cases of teacherspromising higher grades in exchange forsex with girls, and also that girls who becomepregnant as a result of sexual abuse by teachersor students are often expelled from school. Insome countries, marriage of a pregnant girl toher abuser may absolve him of legal responsibility,increasing the risks of forced marriage.A study conducted by UNICEF found thatsuch sexual abuse was common in all countriesof West and Central Africa, and that Ministriesof Education were aware of it and consideredit to be one of the main reasons whygirls drop out of school. 58 A Human RightsWatch study found that sexual harassmentand abuse of girls by teachers and studentsin South African schools was widespread andthat girls were raped in school toilets, emptyclassrooms, dormitories and hostels. 59 In arecent survey in Ghana, 6% of schoolgirlssaid teachers had blackmailed them, threateningto give them lower grades if they refusedto have sexual relations. Two-thirds of themhad not reported the incidents due to feelingsof shame, advice that they should be tolerant,and their belief that no action would betaken against the culprits. A small percentageof boys had experienced sexual harassment,too. Of the boys, 24% admitted they had participatedin rape, including gang rape. Of thegirls, 14% said they had been raped by boysclose to them. 60

“I took a folder, wrote down dates and times every time I was harassed. I took it down to the principal.He said, ‘Son you have too much time on your hands to worry about these folders.I have more important things to do than to worry for what happened two weeks ago’. I told him,‘I wanted to give you an idea of what goes on, the day-to-day harassment.’ He took the folder away from me and threw it in the trash.”Student, North America, bullied for allegedly being gay, 2005 VI4Elsewhere, more general studies into sexualabuse have found that teachers are among thosewho sexually coerce or abuse children and youngpeople. In one such study, 6% of more than2,000 college students in the Hong Kong SpecialAdministrative Region of China said they hadbeen abused before they turned 17. Eleven wasthe average age at which the abuse had occurredand teachers were the abusers in 7% of all cases,although family members or family friendswere more commonly identified as abusers. 61A UNICEF study covering Nepal found that9% of children had experienced severe sexualabuse (kissing of sensitive parts, oral sex andpenetration), and that 18% of the perpetratorswere teachers. 62 In a submission to this Study,the International Rescue Committee reportedthat sexual abuse against girls is a significantproblem in refugee schools where the teachersare male. 63 The Regional Consultation in LatinAmerica reported that girls in the DominicanRepublic, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico andPanama Nicaragua experience sexual coercionfrom teachers, sometimes with threats that theirgrades will suffer if they do not cooperate. 64On the positive side, the Regional Consultationin Eastern and Southern Africa foundthat countries are responding with changes inlaw, policy and practice. In South Africa andZambia, for example, ‘defilement’ of under-agegirls is treated as a serious offence by courts oflaw, and may result in sentences of up to lifeimprisonment, while pregnant girls are given aleave of absence from school. 65BullyingSince the 1970s, there has been growing recognitionof the threat posed by bullying inschools to children’s well-being, and a increasingbody of literature examining its causes,prevalence and impacts on both victims andperpetrators. 66,67 Although bullying is a worldwideproblem, the literature pertains mostlyto the industrialised world. Emerging fromScandinavia in the 1970s and then from theUK, Japan, Australia, and the USA, this bodyof literature has analysed the characteristicsof bullies and victims, and the range of personaland social risk factors that contributeto bullying. It has also broadened the definitionof bullying to include more subtle andcomplex forms of psychological violence,and extended analysis beyond examining thecharacteristics of bullies and victims to lookingat their upbringing and their family andsocial environments, including school environments.Bullying is also distinguished fromother forms of violence because it representsa pattern of behaviour rather than an isolatedevent. The literature also reveals how almostall bullying is sexual or gender-based. This haschanged the way bullying is perceived, so thatresponses also target the pattern.Bullying that targets the child’s sexor sexualityTeachers and other children commonly putpressure on children to make them conform tocultural values and social attitudes that definewhat it means to be ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’.A widespread method is to use words suggestingthat a boy is acting like a girl or may be gay,and that a girl is acting like a boy or may belesbian. Such words may be used jokingly, butnevertheless convey the message that it wouldbe very bad or wrong if it were true. Such jibes121Violence against children in schools and educational settings

122Violence against children in schools and educational settingsmay be used maliciously, to punish or bullychildren because they are ‘too effeminate’, ‘toomasculine’, or known or suspected to be gayor lesbian, or else just different in other disapprovedways.When boys call girls ‘sluts’, ‘lesbians’ or similarterms that question girls’ sexual morals orsexuality, they may be expressing resentmentof girls in general or anger, frustration or jealousy.A study in South Africa found that girlswho complained of being sexually harassedor abused by male students were often calledlesbians. 68 Similarly, boys may be called gay ifthey show too much respect for girls and donot participate in other boys’ sexual harassmentof girls.Bullying of known, suspected or alleged gayand lesbian students can take the form oftaunts, obscene notes or graffiti, unwelcomesexual advances, and mock rapes and can leadto brutal physical attacks. Though such bullyingis known to be common in many countries,most of the literature on the subjectpertains to Europe and North America. 69,70In many countries, homosexual activity isa criminal offence or, at least, highly stigmatisedwith the result that bullying andother forms of violence towards these groupsreceives little official attention, and are drivenunderground. 71The extent of bullyingThe 2001/02 Health Behaviour in SchoolagedChildren (HBSC) survey in developedand transitional countries in Central andEastern Europe found that 35% of schoolchildrensaid they had been bullied within thepast two months, with the percentage rangingfrom 15% in Sweden to 64% in Lithuania (seeFigure 4.1). 72 Recent surveys done in developingcountries as part of the ongoing GSHSfound similarly wide-ranging percentages ofchildren saying that they had been bulliedwithin the past 30 days (see Figure 4.2). 73The differing ‘past two months’ and ‘past30 days’ time-frames mean that the findingsare not strictly comparable but even wheretime-frames are the same, country comparisonsshould be made with caution becausethe reported incidence of bullying tends toincrease as specialists in education and childhooddevelopment make the public moreaware of the issue. 74The 2001/02 HBSC survey found that bullyingdecreased as children grew older and that,while similar percentages of boys and girls saidthey had been bullied, more boys admittedto bullying others. While bullying within sexgroups is common, when it occurs across sexgroups girls are much more likely to be bulliedby boys than vice versa. 75 Recent studies suggestthat around half of all children involvedin bullying are both victims and perpetrators,and that they are the most troubled of all childreninvolved in bullying. 76Bullying is just beginning to emerge as an issuein the Philippines, Thailand and other countriesof the East Asia and the Pacific region.In a survey in the Lao People’s DemocraticRepublic, 98% of girls and 100% of boyssaid they had witnessed bullying in schoolsand, while the precise nature or seriousnessof the bullying was not clear, the victims were

Schools, that are supposed to be “places of learning, turned out to be a nightmare because there isviolence and it is unbearable.”Child, Eastern and Southern Africa, 2005 VII4mainly girls or children from ethnic minorities.77 A study among primary school studentsin the fourth grade in the Republic of Koreaconcluded that bullying is common in schoolsand arises from social conditions and bullies’emotional problems. 78 Reports from SouthAsia indicated severe discrimination in theclassroom, amounting to abuse and exclusion,against children from minorities or low castes.A consultation on violence in schools heldthrough UNICEF’s Voices of Youth forumalso confirmed the widespread experience ofbullying in schools in the Middle East andNorth Africa, and led to calls from childrento stop it. 79The most common forms of bullying areverbal and, if left unchecked, verbal bullyingcan lead to extreme violence. Some of therecent impetus for studies of bullying camefrom the notorious school shootings in theUSA and Canada during the late 1990s. Oneinvestigation found that an inability to copewith social ridicule and personal rejectionmay have fuelled those outbursts. 80 A study inIsrael found that bullies’ feelings of suffering,humiliation and anger often explain why theymove from verbal to physical violence. 81The Internet and mobile phones have providednew opportunities for bullying throughe-mails, online chat lines, personal web pages,text messages, and transmission of images. 82,83A survey of students in Canada found thatboys confessed to cyber-bullying more oftenthan girls, and were also more frequently thevictims of cyber-bullying. 84 Unique aspects ofcyber-bullying are that it allows perpetratorsto remain anonymous, it allows for quick distributionand replication of messages, and itcan turn masses of children into bystanders orwitnesses of non-physical bullying of a highlymalicious nature as perpetrators hide behindtheir anonymity.How schools fail to discourage bullyingStrong leadership, an ethos of caring, andclear and consistently enforced policies canreduce the incidence and severity of violencein schools of all kinds and even prevent it fromhappening. Unfortunately, most schools applyquick-fix solutions or deal with the problemsuperficially. They may expel perpetratorsrather than attempt to change their behaviour,which only transfers the problem to anotherschool or the wider community. They mayinclude anti-violence material in non-compulsorycourses or ad hoc lessons, but it is usuallyinsufficient to impart the knowledge and skillsteachers and students need to understand andprevent violence. 85School bullying usually occurs when no teachersare present and when student bystandersneither intervene nor inform teachers or otherschool staff. A Canadian study found that in57% of cases where bystanders intervened thebullying stopped. 86 North American childrenparticipating in Children’s Forums held as partof this Study suggested turning bystanders intodefenders through peer support schemes.Fighting, physical assault, and gangsFighting generally involves conflict generallinvolves two or more people where it is not easyto make distinctions between perpetrators and123Violence against children in schools and educational settings

FIGURE 4.1The percentage of children aged 11, 13 and 15 years who reportedhaving been bullied within the past couple of months124Violence against children in schools and educational settingsLithuania (N=5630)Portugal (N=2919)Latvia (N=3442)Ukraine (N=4038)Austria (N=4440)Estonia (N=3979)Switzerland (N=4652)Greenland (N=832)Russia (N=8026)Belgium (N=10556)Germany (N=5582)Canada (N=4331)USA (N=4956)Norway (N=4955)France (N=8103)Poland (N=6351)United Kingdom (N=14122)Netherlands (N=4230)Denmark (N=4646)Italy (N=4353)Former Yugoslav Rep. of Macedonia (N=4145)Malta (N=1945)Ireland (N=2830)Croatia (N=4384)Spain (N=5785)Finland (N=5336)Greece (N=3788)Hungary (N=4145)Slovenia (N=3936)Czech Republic (N=4970)Sweden (N=3828)646544564552485041484247394246413540304034403738333630353634273332322732323125312531183024292128252721272326Females242323Males22151715150 20 40 60 80 100Source: Analysis of data from the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children: a WHO Cross-National Study 2001/2(http://www.hbsc.org) and Currie C et al. (2001). Health Behaviour in School-aged Children: A WHO Cross-National study.Research Protocol for the 2001/2002 Survey. Edinburgh, Child and Adolescent Health Research Unit, University of Edinburgh.

4FIGURE 4.2The percentage of children aged 13–15 who had beenbullied at least once within the last 30 daysZambia (N=2257)Zimbabwe (Harare) (N=1997)Kenya (N=3691)Namibia (N=6367)4851676360575757Botswana (N=2197)Uganda (N=3215)Chile (Metropolitan Region) (N=2111)Jordan (N=2457)Swaziland (N=7341)Guyana (N=1212)Lebanon (N=5115)Venezuela (Lara) (N=2166)Philippines (N=7338)Oman (N=2979)United Arab Emirates (N=15790)China (Beijing) (N=2348)Source: Analysis provided to the Study by the Global School-Based Student Health Survey:The World Health Organization (http://www.who.int/chp/gshs or http://www.cdc.gov/gshs)for surveys conducted in 2003-51717232529384338433936373736373541424352530 20 40 60 80505050FemalesMalesPercentage125Violence against children in schools and educational settings

“Two kids were fighting and one of them pulled out a gun…because there were too many people aroundthem…he didn’t do anything, but I think he would have shot him if there was no one around.”Boy, 11, North America, 2005 VIII126Violence against children in schools and educational settingsvictims. Bullying can lead to fighting, with orwithout weapons. Physical assault can occuras a separate phenomenon, as in the case ofan attack by one person on another driven byinflamed feelings of anger or jealousy. It mayalso be driven by general feelings of rage, frustrationor humiliation unprovoked by anythingthe victim may have done, as in the case of violentsexual assault and random shootings.Analysis of data from the 2001/02 HBSCsurvey revealed that anywhere from 25% ofschool-aged children in Finland to 49% ofschool-aged children in Lithuania had engagedin physical fights during the past 12 monthsand that physical fights were far more commonamong boys than girls (see Figure 4.3). 87 Analysisof data from more recent surveys done aspart of the GSHS suggests that, in developingcountries, fighting is more common, andgirls from developing countries are more likelyto participate in it than girls in developed andtransitional countries (see Figure 4.3). 88Boys tend to engage in physical fighting andassault against each other as they seek to live upto stereotypes of males as being powerful andstrong. 89 Students at a Kenyan university wereasked to record their ‘Memories of ChildhoodViolence’. What they recalled most vividly wasviolence by teachers, but they described bullyingand fighting among children in ways thatsuggested they were barely worthy of recollectionand just accepted parts of school culture. 90Homicide and serious injuryHomicide and assault resulting in seriousphysical injury– is comparatively rare inschools, and accounts for only a tiny proportionof criminal violence in the whole of society.Media attention to extreme events such asknifings or shootings in schools has created adistorted impression of the prevalence of suchviolence, but it has also prompted enquiry intothe connections between violence in schoolsand criminal violence by juveniles and adultsoutside schools.The testimony of children, parents, teachersand others during the Children’s Forums andRegional Consultations held as part of thisStudy suggests that extreme violence in schoolsneeds to be studied more thoroughly. A studyin Jamaica found that 61% of students hadwitnessed acts of violence at school, 29% ofthose acts had caused injuries, and that manychildren felt unsafe in schools. 91 In Jamaica,the homicide rate was 55 per 100,000 in 2004,and 25% of those arrested for all violent crimeswere school-aged children, mainly boys. Mostof those crimes took place away from schools;however, a separate study has concluded thatcrimes that did occur in schools were due tofactors in wider Jamaican society, suggestingthe need for comprehensive solutions. 92Weapons in schoolsA recent nationwide study in the USA foundthat from 3% to 10% of students carried weaponson school property, while 12% to 25%carried weapons outside school. The samestudy found that 13% of students had beeninvolved in fights on school property at leastonce in the previous year and 33% had beeninvolved in fights outside school. The studyfound that 5% of all students had stayed away

4FIGURE 4.3The percentage of children aged 11, 13 and 15 years old who reportedhaving been in a physical fight within the last 12 monthsChina (Beijing) (N=2348)*Finland (N=5363)**Swaziland (N=7341)*Uganda (N=3215)*Former Yugoslav Rep. of Macedonia (N=4147)**Germany (N=5610)**Greenland (N=853)**Zimbabwe (Harare) (N=1997)*Venezuela (Lara) (N=2166)*Switzerland (N=4660)**Guyana (N=1212)*Oman (N=2979)*Canada (N=4310)**USA (N=4923)**Sweden (N=3810)**Zambia (N=2257)*Netherlands (N=4213)**Kenya (N=3691)*Philippines (N=7338)*Portugal (N=2901)**Denmark (N=4630)**France (N=8140)**Botswana (N=2197)*Chile (Metropolitan Region) (N=2111)*Norway (N=4937)**Spain (N=5802)**Ireland (N=2857)**Italy (N=4355)**Croatia (N=4390)**Namibia (N=6367)*United Kingdom (N=14297)**United Arab Emirates (N=15790)*Austria (N=4449)**Slovenia (N=3935)**Malta (N=1961)**Greece (N=3789)**Poland (N=6359)**Belgium (N=10511)**Latvia (N=3450)**Ukraine (N=4050)**Estonia (N=3977)**Hungary (N=4132)**Lebanon (N=5115)*Russia (N=8028)**Jordan (N=2457)*Lithuania (N=5639)**Czech Republic (N=4978)**61213151616182019182022232322242024212624252619272421182424282928282931323232293127373739404043454546473547484850424546505051515156535454545555555657585858*Source: Analysis of data from theHealth Behaviour in School-AgedChildren: a WHO Cross-NationalStudy 2001/2 (http://www.hbsc.org)and Currie C et al. (2001) HealthBehaviour in School-aged Children:A WHO Cross-National study.Research Protocol for the 2001/2002Survey. Edinburgh: Child andAdolescent Health Research Unit,University of Edinburgh. Surveyedstudents aged 13-15.**Source: Analysis provided to theStudy by the Global School-BasedStudent Health Survey: The WorldHealth Organization (http://www.who.int/chp/gshs or http://www.cdc.gov/gshs) for surveys conducted in2003-5. Surveyed students aged 11,13 and 15.FemalesMales585858596060616263646565656667690 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80Percentage127Violence against children in schools and educational settings

128Violence against children in schools and educational settingsfrom school for at least one of the previous30 days because they were worried about theirsafety. 93 In the USA, some research has suggestedthat in schools where boys are carryingweapons, girls are also more likely to carryweapons. 94Studies from Canada suggest weapon-carryingin schools is as common in Canada as it is inthe USA. 95 An analysis of school suspensionsin Nova Scotia found that around half weredue to carrying a weapon. Whether weaponcarryingis a rising or decreasing phenomenonin North American schools is a subject ofdebate. The same is true of Western Europeanschools, though evidence suggests that physicalviolence of all kinds has remained fairlyconstant. 96 In other regions, weapons are oftenassociated with gang violence.The development of peer groups is a naturalpart of school life, but gangs also develop inthe school environment. These groups are distinguishedfrom other peer groups by moreformal structures and rituals. Gang violencein schools would appear to be most prevalentin places where violence in the whole of societyis common. Participants in the CaribbeanRegional Consultation for this Study reportedthat gangs, gang violence outside schools andgang violence in schools have all grown in parallel.These participants reported that gangviolence in schools includes severe beatings,stabbings and shootings, and tends to be moresevere than other forms of violence in schoolsbecause it is associated with trafficking of illicitdrugs. 97,98 Participants in the Latin AmericanRegional Consultation reported similar parallelgrowth in gang violence in and outsideschools. 99 (See the chapter on violence againstchildren in the community.)Impacts of violenceat schoolThis section outlines the possible impacts ofviolence at school. However, it is important tonote that these consequences are not inevitable.In fact, they are largely preventable and can besignificantly reduced by effective interventions,which are discussed in subsequent sections.Health impactsViolence in school can have a physical impact,cause psychological distress, permanent physicaldisability and long-term physical or mentalill-health. Physical impacts are the most obviousand may include mild or serious wounds,bruises, fractures, and deaths by homicide orsuicide. Sexual assault may lead to unwantedand early pregnancy and sexually transmittedinfections, including HIV/AIDS. 100 Thepsychological impacts may include immediateimpairment of emotional development andlong-term mental distress and ill-health, whichcan contribute to physical ill-health as well.A number of studies have shown correlationsbetween corporal punishment and poor mentalhealth. 101 While most have focused on corporalpunishment within families, some havefocused on corporal punishment in schools.One European study on personal histories ofdepressed children found that corporal punishmentin schools was the strongest past pre-

“Tolerance of violence against children is a major obstacle to health and development in Europe. Wecannot afford to let this violence continue unchallenged; we must act now to change the conditions thatlead to the victimization of children.”Dr Marc Danzon, Regional Director for Europe, WHO4dictor of their current depression. 102 It is nowrecognised that peer violence among schoolchildrenalso has significant impacts on bothphysical and mental health, especially if thatviolence is repeated or severe, and if victimslack adequate support. 103,104FIGURE 4.4The percentage of children reporting tohave a ‘high life satisfaction’ and‘excellent health’ among children aged11, 13 and 15 years504030201004036Neither bullied norbully othersHigh Life SatisfactionExcellent HealthSource: Analysis of data from the Health Behaviour inSchool-Aged Children: a WHO Cross-National Study2001/2 (http://www.hbsc.org) and Currie C et al. (2001).Health Behaviour in School-aged Children: A WHOCross-National study. Research Protocol for the 2001/2002Survey. Edinburgh, Child and Adolescent Health ResearchUnit, University of Edinburgh.2927N=75507 N=73785 N=77884 N=74227Bullied or bully othersA study of bullying in 28 European countriesfound that physical symptoms of being bulliedincluded headache, stomachache, backache,and dizziness, while psychological symptomsincluded bad temper and feeling nervous,lonely and helpless. The same study foundthat, according to children’s own reports, themore often they had been bullied, the moresymptoms of ill-health they had. This ‘dose–response’ relationship was similar in boys andgirls. 105 An analysis of data from 30 industrialisedand transitional countries covered bythe HBSC study found that children who saidthey were bullies or the victims of bullyingwere significantly less likely than other childrento say that they enjoyed ‘excellent health’and a ‘very satisfied life’ (see Figure 4.4). 106Children who said they were both bullies andvictims of bullying were the least likely of allto say they enjoyed either of these things.Social impactsStudies from many different countries confirmthat the social impacts of corporal punishmentand all other forms of violence against childrenat school are invariably negative. A recentstudy in Cameroon, for example, found thatcorporal punishment in home and school islikely to block the development of social skills.Victims of corporal punishment are likely tobecome passive and overly cautious, and tofear free expression of their ideas and feelingswhile, at the same time, they may become perpetratorsof psychological violence. 107129Violence against children in schools and educational settings

“I didn’t go back to school for one month after I came forward. Everything reminds me,wearing my school uniform reminds me of what happened. I have dreams. He is in the classroomlaughing at me. I sometimes have to pass down the hall where his classroom was.I thought I could see him, still there. I was scared he’ll still be there.”Girl, South Africa, 2001 IX130Violence against children in schools and educational settingsSome research suggests that children who arephysically punished are less likely than otherchildren to internalise moral values. They areless inclined to resist temptation, to engage inaltruistic behaviour, to empathise with othersor to exercise moral judgement of any kind. 108They are more inclined to engage in disorderlyand aggressive conduct such as hitting their siblings,parents, schoolmates and boyfriends orgirlfriends. 109 And they may become adults whouse corporal punishment against their own children,and so pass on the habits of violence. 110North American and European studies suggestthat school bullying, whether the children arevictims or perpetrators or both, can be a predictorof future anti-social and criminal behaviour,including intimate partner violence, involvementin fights and self-destructive behavioursuch as smoking and drinking to excess. 111,112Educational impactsIn the Regional Consultations for this Study,physical and psychological punishment, verbalabuse, bullying and sexual violence in schoolswere repeatedly reported as reasons for absenteeism,dropping-out and lack of motivationfor academic achievement. In a Save the Childrensubmission to the Study, children fromBangladesh said that physical and cruel ordegrading punishment affected their schoolperformance and that they valued kind andcomforting teachers who explained rather thandrilled. 113 The educational impacts of bullyinghave been less well researched than other psychologicaland social impacts, but it is knownthat both victims and perpetrators tend to getlower marks than other children. 114 There alsoappears to be a relationship between bullying,absence of bonding with other children, andabsenteeism. 115An analysis of data collected by the Trends inInternational Mathematics and Science Study(TIMSS) focused on eighth and ninth grademaths and science students in 49 countries,and found that in schools where there was aheavy emphasis on competition and large gapsbetween high and low scorers, students weremore likely to engage in violence against eachother. 116 Another analysis of the same data foundno strong relationship between this violence inschools and the patterns of violence or lack ofsocial integration in the wider society. 117A number of studies in South Asia indicate thatviolence at school, notably corporal punishment,leads to students dropping out of school.A study in Nepal, where harsh corporal punishmentis routine, found that 14% of schooldropouts can be attributed to fear of teachers. 118A Save the Children submission to this Studyfound that children in South Asian countrieswere unanimous in their opinion that corporalpunishment is a major reason why childrendrop out of school. They also said that regularbeatings result in a loss of interest in studies,and a drop in academic performance. 119Studies have found that, in South Africa, victimsof sexual violence are greeted with suchhostility after they report the violence thatthey leave schools for periods of time, changeschools or quit schools entirely, while the teachersor students accused of abusing them remainin place. 120,121,122,123 In most African, Asian and

4Caribbean countries, pregnancy resulting fromsexual assault and coercion often forces girls toquit school and miss out on opportunities foreducation and compromises their future.Factors contributingto violenceRisk factorsRisk factors make it more likely that a childwill be a victim or perpetrator of violence inschools, while protective factors make it lesslikely. Both individual and external characteristics(including beyond the school), are relevantto increasing or decreasing the likelihood that achild will be involved in school violence or seriouslyharmed by it when it occurs. 124,125,126Research on risk factors for violence againstchildren specific to schools is lacking for thefull range of international contexts, and tendsto focus on peer violence. In general, researchfrom mainly industrialised countries suggeststhat influences tend to change with developmentalstage: for example, the influence offamily is stronger for young children, whilethe influence of peers is stronger for adolescents.127 Consistently emerging from researchas significant risk factors specific to schoolsare poor academic performance, high absenteeism,leaving school early, and unstructuredfree time. 128,129 In addition, many of the factorsidentified in research about other aspects of lifeare also likely to be relevant to schools – forexample, pro-violence attitudes, risk-taking,weak social ties, affiliation with anti-socialpeers, poor parent–child relationships, drugabuse, harsh, lax or inconsistent discipline, orpoor parental monitoring.A study in the USA interviewed 1,467 childrenfrom 12 to 17 years old about experiences of victimisationover time. The study suggested thatsome children may be ‘poly-victims’ (victimsof different types of violence), who reported,for example, corporal punishment by parents,sexual abuse by a relative, physical assault bya peer, and bullying by peers in school. Persistenceof poly-victimisation was associated withthe child scoring high on anger and aggressionscales, family problems, and having experiencedrecent life adversities. Having morefriends was associated with decreased levels ofviolence. 130Violence in schools tends to be less about isolatedincidents and more about patterns of violence.Without proper systems in place, thesepatterns become normalised and can escalate.No single factor or combination of factorsprotects children from violence. Risk factorsdo not operate in isolation, and their impactcan be mediated by protective factors. Theconcept of resilience involves a number of protectivefactors, and has emerged in the literatureas important in preventing violence and anumber of other risk behaviours.Resilience and otherprotective factorsA child’s resilience can be defined as the child’scapacity “to cope successfully with everydaychallenges including life transitions, times ofcumulative stress and significant adversity orrisk. Typically, resilient children are recog-131Violence against children in schools and educational settings

“If they [kids] are beaten at home, they are going to beat, that is, if their parents ill-treatthem or don’t talk to them, kids will beat others because they are beaten.They are going to drag with them what they see at home. This is the basis of violence.”Adolescent girls, Latin America, 2005 X132Violence against children in schools and educational settingsnised by their high self-esteem, internal locusof control, optimism and clear aspirations,achievement and goal-orientation, reflectionand problem-solving capacity, healthy communicationpatterns, and the capacity to seekout mentoring adult relationships.” 131Schools can play a critical role in buildingchildren’s resilience and feelings of well-being,which have also been linked to the reducedlikelihood of being victimised. 132 Adults andpeers in children’s families and communitiesbegin building, or failing to build, children’sresilience from birth. Good parenting in stablefamily units is critical. The power of earlyparent–child bonds established within warmand supportive family relationships, along withhigh levels of parental care during early childhood,are important in building resilience. 133But even when families or communities fail,schools can compensate, especially when theyprovide strong support from the early years.Schools can also provide bridges betweenchildren and their families and communities,helping families and communities to understandhow they affect children and to acquirethe skills to become more supportive.Studies from Australia suggest the importanceof comprehensive and whole of schoolapproaches in reducing risk factors and increasingprotective factors simultaneously. Supportfrom teachers, parents and other adults hasbeen identified as important, as well as havingsupportive peers and belonging to supportivepro-social groups. Such a whole of schoolapproach has also shown improvements in studentmental health. 134,135Many of the protective factors identified inother settings are also relevant to the schoolenvironment, although research across internationalcontexts is lacking. For example, relationshipswith caring and mentoring adultsappear to promote resilience through modellingof pro-social behaviour, providing guidance,and offering protection – all of whichgood teachers do on a daily basis. 136 . Havingthe perception that clear sanctions will followtransgressions at school is also protective,underlining the importance of having clearcodes of conduct and making sure they areenforced. In addition, schools can promote thedevelopment of strong peer group and socialbonds to build resilience, as well as buildempathy, conflict management skills and criticalthinking. 137,138Systematic responseto patterns of violenceWhile support from their families and peersis critical to making children less vulnerableto violence in schools, an increasing body ofresearch confirms that the systematic attentionto the behaviour of the school heads, teachersand other school staff is also critical. If theyengage in abusive behaviour and show disrespectfor the rights, comfort and safety ofothers, then children will follow their example.Many North American studies have founda direct correlation between their lack of firmintervention and the prevalence of violenceamong children. 139 A study in Yemen foundthe same correlation. 140 Studies in Botswanaand Ghana have found that when teachers toleratesex segregation and tension between the

“I am disabled and I hate children {who} tell me so.”Child, of 8-10 years, South Asia, 2005 XI4sexes, they help to sustain cultures of bullyingand sexual and gender-based violence. 141In the Americas, South Africa and placesof violent civil conflict such as Nepal andSierra Leone, however, much of the violenceamong children in schools enters from theviolent world surrounding the schools. Socialupheaval and displacement combined with lowacademic achievement may lead to studentsbecoming violent. In the Occuppied PalestinianTerritory and Algeria, boys who transferfrom other schools and repeat grades are moreprone to violence than their peers. 142There is evidence to suggest that fierce peercompetition, gender-based violence and gangviolence within schools are all, to some extent,related to the stresses that go with modernisationand industrialisation. These phenomenaare all more commonly reported from theurban areas of industrialised or rapidly industrialisingcountries than from rural areas ofless developed countries. Country responsesto questionnaires distributed to Governmentsby this Study indicate that countries in rapidlyindustrialising regions, such as East Asia,are just beginning to become concerned aboutbullying and other forms of violence amongchildren. 143Children who are vulnerableto violenceChildren’s vulnerability to violence changesas they grow older. During infancy and youngchildhood the child’s cognitive ability is lessdeveloped and activity level is high, so trainingto avoid danger and self-harm or to behavein a manner acceptable to adults is more likelyto be administered by threats, slaps and otherphysical means. 144 As early as pre-school age,children develop attitudes to others, includingdiscriminatory attitudes, and these tendto become more pronounced during primaryschool, perhaps evolving into bullying (or beingvictimised). There may also be gender-basedviolence of a verbal nature at early ages, and itmay evolve until, towards or after puberty, itbecomes threats of physical violence. Simon’sstory illustrates how each child’s experience ofviolence is unique but changes over the years(see box).Individual characteristics of the child can alsoincrease vulnerability. According to NorthAmerican researchers, children with disabilitiesand learning difficulties are often targetedfor exclusion, discrimination and bullying. 146Children with speech defects or whose movementsare affected by conditions such as multipledystrophy are also frequent targets of bullying.Much of the evidence, however, derivesfrom schools for children with special needs.Schools with explicit policies of integrationand inclusion tend to focus more on reducingstigma, discrimination and bullying of thesechildren, although conclusive evidence is notyet available. 147 Data from developing countriesare sparse, but a study from South Asia foundthat children with disabilities are sometimesreferred to by their disability as if it were theirname. 148 Studies covering seven countries inthe Middle East and North Africa found thatchildren with learning difficulties were at highrisk of being both the victims and perpetratorsof bullying inside and outside schools. 149133Violence against children in schools and educational settings

Simon’s story: A case study on a child’s lifecycleand violence in schoolsDay-care centre: “I hated the girls and used to tease them.”“My mother enrolled me in a nursery school. Immediately I became rational, I preoccupiedmy mind with constructive things, (like) building my own toy cars as I had learnt fromother children. I hated the girls and used to tease them. On seeing me, they would run awaybecause I could beat one for no reason. A Catholic sister came to our nursery to teach. Sheintroduced common games like hiding and seeking, songs in which we played together withthe girls. Surprisingly, I came to love all the girls and even sang songs praising their namesand comparing them to roses.”134Violence against children in schools and educational settingsMiddle primary school: “We always anticipated being beaten for the slightesterror.”“Sometimes we were beaten for having dirty collars on our shirts, (or) long nails. The punishmentwas very severe. (It is impossible for) the shirt of an active standard 4, 5, 6 student tobe sparkling white at 4 p.m. unless the boy/girl is sick. My maths teacher in class eight madeus kneel on a Saturday for 2 hours for failing a sum. We could be told to kneel on pebbles.”Upper primary school: “Students had to speak English all the time to avoid teachers’wrath.”“In my fourth year in my primary school, there was a declaration that all students of upperlevel (4–8) had to be speaking English. On speaking mother tongue, one’s name was writtendown by the class prefect and the list of those who spoke Kiswahili or mother tongueforwarded to teachers. A meeting was called and those appearing on the list punished byreceiving six strokes of the cane for class 4 pupils, 7 for class 5 and 10 for class 6 to 8. Theteachers stood in a row and each could whip you with all his might. Surprisingly, no femaleteacher could join the male teachers nor be around. Tears could be shed and all forms ofstruggle and screams. There was nothing but fear and hatred.” 145

“My classmates knew my parents had died, they caused problems for me. I was segregated. I was knownas ‘The Son of AIDS’ and ‘TASO Child.’ The kids wouldn’t want to sit next to me.”Boy, receiving assistance with school fees from the AIDS Service Organization, 2004 XII4‘Outsider’ children, including those who arerefugees or from indigenous minorities, areespecially likely to be excluded, discriminatedagainst and bullied. Evidence from Australiasuggests that Aboriginal students are morelikely to be recipients of verbal abuse fromteachers and from non-Aboriginal peers thanthe others. 150 In Botswana, research by authoritieshas found that the dropout rates of Basarwa(or San) children are unusually high, and thatthey drop out largely because of prejudice andbullying, though also because the corporalpunishment meted out in schools is alien totheir culture. 151 Children from nomadic communitiesmay miss formal schooling altogetheror else be excluded, discriminated against, orbullied.In South Asia, children from official castes andindigenous tribes suffer from exclusion, discriminationand bullying in schools. In LatinAmerica, as elsewhere, indigenous children arefrequently banned from wearing traditionalclothing and hairstyles. 152 In industrialisedcountries, children of minorities or those whowear faith-related garments, such as a hijabor burka, also face discrimination by State oreducational authorities. Such discriminationmay be called a form of psychological violenceinsofar as it conveys the message that childrenare somehow less worthy because they are different,and that what makes them differentmust be suppressed.Orphaned children are more likely to drop outof school or to repeat grades, and the contrastbetween the attendance of orphans and nonorphansis greatest in countries where attendanceis already low. 153,154 In Africa, childrenorphaned or otherwise affected by HIV andAIDS may suffer stigma in school while theyare also shouldering extra burdens of grief,poverty and sibling care. A recent HumanRights Watch report into the impact of HIVand AIDS on affected children’s access to educationin Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda,documents how stigma in school leads totaunting, and makes it difficult for childrento communicate with their teachers about illnessin the family. 155 Within the context ofsilence and shame that surrounds HIV infection,the fear of stigma, discrimination andpossibly violence can lead to HIV-infected andaffected children withdrawing from school orbeing excluded, as reported not only in SouthernAfrica but elsewhere, including Bolivia, ElSalvador, Ghana, Haiti, India and Nepal. 156The special situation of girlsIn many places, there are local schools foryoung children, but children have to leavehome for boarding schools, or to live with relativesfor the higher primary grades and secondaryschool. This is often the case in regionswhere populations are scattered through ruralareas, perhaps in mountains or other hard-toaccesslocations. Parents fear that their girlsmay be assaulted on the way there or back, onthe road, or in crowded buses. A World Educationstudy in Peru found that as the distancea girl travels to school increases, so does herchance of being molested. The risks of sexualharassment, rape and unintended pregnancykeep many Peruvian girls home and increaseabsenteeism, grade repetition and dropout. 157135Violence against children in schools and educational settings

“As my father could not go to pick up my sister from school one day, she had to come home alone.On the way home four boys touched her but she could not talk to her father about that.But she told me, and even I could not tell father.”Boy, South Asia, 2005 VIIIThe EFA campaign has shone a spotlighton the fact that girls still have less access toschooling than boys in most developing countries,that the discrepancy increases sharplyafter the primary grades, and that there is astrong correlation between low levels of educationfor girls and women and low levels ofnational development. 158,159136Violence against children in schools and educational settingsIn some societies with low levels of girls’ education,the seclusion of girls at home after pubertyis still common, and the same is true of earlymarriage, for example, in many parts of SouthAsia and the Middle East. Even where seclusionis not practised, research shows that parentsfear for their girls’ sexual safety in school.In sub-Saharan Africa, this fear is exacerbatedby fear of HIV infection. In 2001, a HumanRights Watch study on gender-based violencein schools found alarming levels of sexual violenceagainst schoolgirls, and a frighteningdegree of tolerance and collusion by teachers. 160Such evidence all too often results in pressureon girls to leave school. 161Responses to violenceagainst childrenin schools andeducational settingsIn the many children’s forums, Regional Consultationsand submissions that contributedto this Study, clear messages came from theworld’s children:• They want the violence to stop.• They want teachers and other schoolstaff to give them firm guidance whileUNICEF/HQ04-0611. Giacomo PirozziAZERBAIJAN, 2004, Two children from an ‘ internat’(boarding school) in the town of Sheki.accepting them for whom they are,respecting their rights and helping themto express themselves constructively andto develop their full potential.• They want teachers and other schoolstaff to help them get along with eachother and to develop the habits ofmutual respect and empathy that willsee them through lives of constructivecitizenship.

4At a glance: Children out of school• 115 million or 18% of children of primary school age were not in school in2001/02. Of these, 61.3 million (53%) were girls, 45 million (39%) were insub-Saharan Africa and 42 million (36%) were in South Asia. Most likely tobe out of school were children in West and Central Africa (45.3%), Easternand Southern Africa (38.5%), South Asia (26%) and the Middle East andNorth Africa (18.7%) and in all of these regions girls were more likely to beout of school than boys. The greatest disparity between boys and girls was inthe Middle East and North Africa, where 15.4% of boys but 22.1% of girlswere out of school.• Boys and young men still have far better chances of going to school thangirls and young women. Of the 86 developing countries for which data areavailable, 50% have achieved gender parity (where a girl’s chances of going toschool are equal to a boy’s) in primary education but only 20% have achievedgender parity in secondary education and 5% in tertiary education. 162• In much of the world, secondary schooling is a luxury. Gross enrolment insecondary education (number of children and adults of any age in secondaryschool as a percentage of the number of children of official age for secondaryschool) is less than 40% in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South andWest Asia, East Asia and Pacific, and North Africa and Middle East and lessthan 60% in many other countries in these regions and in Latin America andthe Caribbean. 163• They want their parents and otheradults outside schools to playconstructive roles in their education,promoting and supporting violence-freeschools and giving them violence-freehomes and communities. 164The many contributions to this Study have alsoshown that there is good reason for hope thatthe dreams of these children can and will berealised, if only countries will commit themselvesto accelerating and sustaining their progresstoward violence-free schools. There is nowwidespread and rapidly growing awareness ofviolence in schools and of the harm it is doingto children and to all of society. Many countriesin all regions are taking action to counterthat violence, and there is mounting evidenceto suggest which approaches work best.Unfortunately, there are no simple or singlestrategy solutions. To be effective, it is importantthat approaches address overall prevention, forexample through life skills-based education, as137Violence against children in schools and educational settings

well as early intervention when problems arise,and safe and supervised activities and facilitiesfor children and young people. 165This Study has concluded that the most effectiveapproaches to countering violence in schoolsare tailored to the unique circumstances of theschools in question, but that they also have keyelements in common. Specifically, they are basedon recognition that all children have equal rightsto education in settings that are free of violence,and that one of the functions of education isto produce adults imbued with the non-violentvalues and practises.The overall approach can be called ‘rightsbased’and ‘child-friendly’. It is consistent withthe CRC, other international conventions onThe United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) rolein promoting girls’ participation138Violence against children in schools and educational settingsIn 2000, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan showed his strong commitment to girls’education by launching the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI), a partnershipfor girls’ education and gender equality. It is emerging as an effective strategy forthe prevention of violence against girls. In countries where UNGEI is established, partnerswork together to strengthen interventions that promote girls’ access to quality education.Interventions which include those that accelerate and encourage the participationof girls and boys in their own empowerment. For example, the Girls’ Education Movement(GEM) operates in Botswana, Lesotho, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, the UnitedRepublic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe as an important aspect of UNGEI. WhenGEM was launched in 2001, it was conceptualised as a pan-African education initiativethrough which girls would become leaders in the transformation of Africa and agents inthe decision-making processes concerning their educational chances. In Uganda, GEMis very active in making sure that orphans and other vulnerable children access school,and work with local authorities and traditional leaders to address the issue of early marriage.In Botswana, GEM has done a baseline study on safety in schools which is beingedited for publication. In South Africa, GEM works through Public–Private Partnershipsto support the education of girls in mathematics, science and technology and, sponsoredby UNICEF, has a number of different activities for ensuring that the voices of girls andyoung women are heard, particularly in relation to policy-making. Girls’ Parliaments,sponsored by GEM, in conjunction with the National Department of Education in SouthAfrica, have offered girls the opportunity to contribute to policy-making around issuesof sexual violence in schools. The first Girls’ Parliament in South Africa took place in2003. It is worth noting that GEM in South Africa has also developed posters addressinggender violence, and a chat line for girls to speak out. 168

4human rights and the EFA goals, and widelyendorsed by international organisations. Mostimportantly, it answers children and youngadults around the world who say they want theviolence to stop.The basic principles of a rights-based childfriendlyschool are that it should be 166,167 :1. Proactively inclusive. The school seeksout and enables the participation of allchildren of both sexes, and especially thosewho are different ethnically, culturally,linguistically, socio-economically and intheir abilities or disabilities.2. Academically effective and relevant. Itmeets children’s needs for life and livelihoodknowledge, attitudes and skills.3. Gender-sensitive. It creates environmentsthat foster gender equality, and it meetsthe needs for knowledge, attitudes andskills that ensure gender equality.4. Healthy and protective. It promotes andprotects children’s emotional, psychologicaland physical well-being by providing ahealthy and protective educational climate.5. Engaged with the family and the community.It seeks out and enables the participationof children’s families and thecommunity in the development and implementationof all aspects of school policiesand programmes, including those designedto protect children from harm and to teachchildren to appreciate the rights of otherchildren to the same protection.Laws and law enforcementInternational conventions, regional agreementsand national laws that address corporal punishment,sexual harassment and assault, andother forms of violence are essential steps in themovement toward violence-free schools. Experiencehas shown, however, that many countriesare slow to meet their international and regionalobligations and slow to enforce their own laws.Since the UN General Assembly adopted theCRC in 1989, a substantial number of countrieshave taken steps to ban corporal punishmentin schools, even though they have oftenbeen lax in enforcing their laws. High-levelcourts in many regions and countries includingNamibia (Supreme Court, 1991), SouthAfrica (Constitutional Court, 2000) and inthe courts of various parts of federal countries– for example, Delhi, India (Delhi HighCourt, 2000), and Canada (Supreme Court,2004) 169 – have condemned corporal punishmentin schools and required its prohibition.The Committee on the Rights of the Childnotes in its recent General Comment No.8: “Where, despite prohibition and positiveeducation and training programmes, cases ofcorporal punishment come to light outsidethe family home – in schools, other institutionsand forms of alternative care for example– prosecution may be a reasonable response.”170The threat to the perpetrator of other disciplinaryaction or dismissal should also act asa clear deterrent. It is essential that the prohibitionof all corporal punishment and othercruel or degrading punishment, and the sanctionsthat may be imposed if it is inflicted,139Violence against children in schools and educational settings

140Violence against children in schools and educational settingsshould be well disseminated to children andto all those working with or for children in allsettings. Monitoring disciplinary systems andthe treatment of children must be part of thesustained supervision of all institutions andplacements. Children and their representativesin all such placements should have immediateand confidential access to child-sensitiveadvice, advocacy and complaints proceduresand ultimately to courts where necessary, andlegal assistance. In institutions, there shouldbe a requirement to report and to review anyviolent incidents.Many countries have laws or, at least, policiesthat prevent sexual harassment in the workplaceand these often apply to educationalworkplaces, such as schools, and may serve toprotect both teachers and students. In SouthAfrica, for example, the Promotion of Equalityand Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 4(2000), defines harassment as “unwanted conductwhich is persistent or serious and demeans,humiliates or creates a hostile or intimidatingenvironment or is calculated to induce submission... and which is related to sex, gender orsexual orientation.” The Government of SouthAfrica has taken steps to make the investigationof alleged rapes more sensitive to the concernsof victims and, therefore, more likely toresult in successful prosecutions. In addition,South Africa’s Department of Education hasSouth Africa’s guidelines to stopping teachers fromsexually abusing studentsIn 2000, South Africa’s Department of Education issued guidelines noting the prevalenceof sexual abuse of students by teachers and the consequent high risk of HIV transmission.The guidelines explain the law and the consequences of violating the law:– Educators must not have sexual relations with learners. It is against the law,even if the learner consents. Such action transgresses the code of conduct foreducators, who are in a position of trust.– Strict disciplinary action will be taken against any educator who has sex with alearner.– Sex that is demanded by an educator without consent is rape, which is a seriouscrime, and the educator will be charged. If an educator has sex with a girl orboy who is under 16 years, he or she will be charged with statutory rape andmay face a penalty of life imprisonment.– If you are aware of a colleague who is having sexual relations with a learner,you must report them to the principal or higher educational authorities, andif the boy or girl is under 16, to the police. If you do not do so you may becharged with being an accessory to rape. 172

4Two countries where national committeesdevelop and enforce anti-violence measuresThe Republic of Korea’s Act on the Prevention of School Violence requires that a newplan for preventing school violence be drawn up every five years. A National Committeehas responsibility for coordinating and monitoring implementation of the planand for overseeing the five-year reviews and updates. Every school is required to holdregular sessions to review their contributions to the implementation of the plan, and torecommend whatever actions may be called for within the school or beyond.In Cyprus, the Ministry of Education requires all schools to establish committees toaddress needs for “prevention and confrontation of violence in the family and schoolenvironment.” These committees are empowered to receive and investigate complaintsof violence before passing them on to the appropriate authorities. 174141issued special guidelines applying to sexualrelations between students and teachers inschools (see box). 171Under-reporting of all forms of violence is achronic problem in most countries. Reasonsinclude lack of confidence in the capacity ofauthorities to intervene in constructive ways,and fear of repercussions to victims and theirfamilies and even to perpetrators, since somuch violence occurs within circles of peoplewho know each other.Government responses to the questionnairesent out as part of the Study 173 show that a fewcountries have reformed laws and improvedlaw enforcement to address school violence inmore holistic ways, as part of broader effortsto promote and support rights-based childfriendlyeducation for all children (see box).Rights-based school policiesand programmesA large number and variety of policies and programmesto counter school-based violence havebeen introduced in all regions of the world.Only a few of these have been rigorously evaluated– and mostly in industrialised countries– but the results are encouraging, and showthat effective solutions exist, although they arenot widely implemented.UNESCO has found promising anti-schoolviolenceprogrammes in eight countries –Australia,France, Israel, Japan, Northern Ireland,Norway, South Africa and the USA. Theseprogrammes are well-regarded by administrators,teachers, students and parents and showearly indications of being effective in reducingviolence in schools. A small body of researchevaluating these programmes indicates thatthey not only reduce violence, but help studentsViolence against children in schools and educational settings

142Violence against children in schools and educational settingsdevelop better social skills, higher self-esteemand a greater sense of personal control overtheir lives, and also help students attain higherlevels of academic achievement. 175During the past 10 years, profound concernabout violence in North American schools hasled to considerable research and experimentationwith different interventions, and there isnow a large body of literature documentingand evaluating different approaches. 176,177 Asa result, there is now evidence of approachesthat work in Canada and the USA. Similarresearch and experimentation is underway inmany other countries and, where there areevaluations, they are demonstrating that thesecountries are finding approaches that work,too. There is no reason to doubt that, with thewill and resources (often minimal), any country,community or school can find effectiveways of reducing violence in schools.The following discussion focuses on particularareas of intervention and provides examplesof promising practices from all regions of theworld.Leadership and policydevelopmentPolicies to tackle school violence should recognisethat schools are, above all, places of learningand can play an important role in equalisingpower and eliminating abuses of power.Schools can be guided by the highest humanrights standards in everything they do, and usealternative, non-violent methods of communication,negotiation and conflict resolution.A growing body of research has consideredschools as social systems and sought to identifyparts of the systems that might be changedto reduce violence. The conclusion has beenthat effective school leaders (e.g. the headsof education authorities and of individualschools) can go a long way toward improvingthe quality of school life by working with theother stakeholders to develop and implementpolicies governing the conduct and disciplineof teachers and students and building communityconfidence in schools. 178,179 A study ofschools in Botswana and Ghana found that themost common feature of safe and high-achievingschools is strong management. 180A review of programmes to address violencein Latin American and Caribbean schoolspointed to the importance of building positiveattitudes and behaviours from as early an ageas possible, sustaining the effort to build thosevalues right through school, and doing thisthrough such means as giving students opportunitiesto participate in making the decisionsthat shape their school environments. 181Ensuring such continuity calls for action byauthorities that oversee all schools, whether atnational, district or local level.A longitudinal study in Norway has found acausal link between good classroom managementtechniques and reduced peer violence. 182In addition, the curriculum should promotethe values of social equality, tolerance towarddiversity and non-violent means of resolvingconflicts.What happens outside the classroom is alsocritical. Education authorities should pro-

“If teachers talk badly to us, if they do not take care about what they say and do not respect us,how do you expect us to respect them? They are not good role models for us.”Student, Indian Ocean subregion, 2006 XIV4vide guidance and support to school headsand teachers, helping them shape the climateoutside the classroom by changing the way inwhich the school is managed. Codes of conductshould be developed and enforced throughprocesses that give a voice to every stakeholder,for example through student councils and parents’associations. The climate thus createdwithin the school can spill over into the widercommunity when, for example, students carryhome the values and habits they learn in schooland then carry them through their lives, intotheir workplaces, relationships, and so on.Supporting school staffThere are almost 43 million teachers at the primaryand secondary school levels around theworld, in addition to an unknown number ofteachers in pre-schools and other educationalsettings, and their potential to act as rolemodels is immense. 183 Teachers are among anycountry’s most important agents of social developmentand change, since they make essentialcontributions to the emotional and cognitivedevelopment of current generations of childrenand thus to future generations of mature andresponsible citizens. Even when children aresubject to violence in their homes and communities,teachers can provide them with modelsof non-violence from a very early age.Good teacher recruitment and training shouldbe at the very root of any country’s long-termand comprehensive strategy to reduce violence,not just in schools but in the whole ofsociety. In reality, however, many countriesundervalue teachers, pay little attention torecruiting the best candidates, and then offerthem insufficient pre- and in-service training,low salaries and poor working conditions,often in overcrowded and ill-equipped schoolsand classrooms. In most countries, teachersare already overburdened, but they are underincreasing pressure to take on more responsibilityfor addressing violence in their schools,though they often lack the training and expertisefor this added responsibility. If, despite allthis, schools attract good teachers, they thenhave difficulty retaining them.All of these factors should be taken intoaccount when assessing needs to changethe way teaching candidates are recruited,trained, and supported. Teachers cannot carrythe whole burden, so any assessment of theirneeds should look at ways in which educationauthorities, school heads and other schoolstaff, parents and communities may be underminingteachers’ work, and at ways in whichthey could be doing more to support it.Most Governments that responded to the Studyquestionnaire 184 reported that they, NGOs orpartnerships between the two were supportingteacher training programmes that addressedviolence. However, this training was often notcontinuous, systematic and sustainable. Mostof the training programmes addressed preventionand protection; some addressed rehabilitationof victims or offenders; only a few countriesmentioned redress (Gambia, Nigeria, theSeychelles, Singapore, Switzerland, and Thailand),penalties (Cameroon, Singapore, SriLanka, Switzerland, and Thailand), methodsfor educating students in violence prevention143Violence against children in schools and educational settings

In Croatia, a campaign for ‘Safe and Enabling’ schoolsachieves early resultsIn the spring of 2004, after broad consultations with Government ministries, civil societyorganisations and others, UNICEF launched a five-phase campaign ‘For a Safe andEnabling School Environment’ in Croatia. Before the launch, a national survey coveringstudents, parents and teachers established baseline data on violence in schools. Thecampaign was scheduled to last for 18 months. After 12 months, an evaluation foundthat it was surpassing expectations.144Violence against children in schools and educational settingsMore than 4,500 teachers, twice the number targeted, had received training in nonviolentmethods of teaching, discipline and intervention in violence among children.The campaign had covered 121 schools including more than 60,000 children, 20%more than targeted, and this had been achieved with 15% less than the projectedbudget. More than 92% of Croatian citizens had become aware of the campaign, whilemore than 80% of funding was now coming from individual donors and corporationswithin Croatia. Most importantly, there had been significant decreases in some formsof violence and increased awareness of others. For example, children and teachers werebetter able to recognise all forms of bullying and better prepared to stop it. More than80% of students knew the rules against school violence, and knew of an adult theycould turn to for help.There were, however, challenges ahead. Teachers felt they were more competent todeal with violence but, while students felt safer, they still did not consider that schoolsprovided them with enough protection against violence. The evaluation concluded thatthere was need for more parent involvement and for the strengthening of peer supportfor non-violence among students. 185and protection (Bulgaria, Estonia, Indonesia,the Netherlands), or methods for integratinghuman rights and non-violence into theschool curriculum (Brazil and the Seychelles).While these efforts are all moving in the rightdirection, clearly more radical and sustainedimprovements in teacher training for non-violenceare needed.The Participation of childrenInvolving children in developing and implementingprogrammes is important in buildingpersonal knowledge, attitudes and skills,ensuring programme relevance and ownership,and ultimately in improving programme outcomes.186,187 A study by the United KingdomDepartment for International Development

4Child Rights Clubs empower Zambia’s schoolchildrenThe Zambia Civic Education Association (ZCEA) works to promote and protect children’srights through civic education. Through its Child Participation Programme, itsupports Child Rights Clubs that empower children by raising their awareness of theirrights under the CRC, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child,and other instruments. At least 300 Child Rights Clubs in primary and secondaryschools operate throughout Zambia. 195covering Bangladesh, Kenya, Nepal, Sri Lanka,Uganda, and Zambia found that teaching environmentsthat put children at the centre of thelearning experience, so that teachers listen totheir concerns and needs, are more likely toaddress violence effectively than other schools. 188Another international study by World Visionfound that, in communities where childrenparticipate in discussing and addressing violence,discussion is more open and more likelyto result in specific strategies. 189Save the Children has had a number of firsthandexperiences working with partners in theestablishment and support of child-led organisationsand initiatives whereby children hold adultdecision-makers and caregivers accountable,and work with them on addressing school violence.190 Research in the USA suggests that thebest initiatives tend to be those in which studentsand teachers work together on developing andimplementing strategies to make schools safe foreveryone. Peer mediation and peer counselling,for example, are more effective when studentsand teachers work together in developing andassessing appropriate mediation and counsellingmethods. 191Exploratory studies and experience in all regionshave identified benefits, some unexpected, ofinvolving children in the development andimplementation of programmes to addressviolence in schools. 192 Children can provide acomprehensive snapshot of their experience ofviolence in their schools, thus giving staff informationthey need to take action. Involving childrenserves as effective intervention in itself, inthat it helps to heal children through the disclosureof experiences and sharing of feelings, andit teaches the staff about children’s experiencesand feelings, and this in turn changes staff attitudesand behaviours. 193,194Working with parentsand communitiesMany countries have a tradition of involvingparents and communities in school life.In North America, there is a long traditionof Parent–Teachers’ Associations (PTAs).Typically, these have branches in every publicschool within a community, plus an umbrellaPTA covering the whole community, and theyenable parents’ rights to monitor schools andintervene as they see fit. In the USA, the Safe145Violence against children in schools and educational settings

146Violence against children in schools and educational settingsSchools Coalition of Washington was set upout of concern about violence against gays andlesbians in Seattle schools, but it and similarSafe Schools Coalitions in a number of otherstates now serve as public–private partnershipsthrough which many Government organisationsand NGOs collaborate to address violenceand other safety issues in schools. 196Many other countries have similar organisationsthrough which parents and communitybasedorganisations address a wide range ofissues in schools, in collaboration with educationauthorities, school heads and teachers. 197Elsewhere in this section, a number of examplesare given of ways in which parents andIn Mexico City – ‘Combating Violence:Education for Peace’ projectcommunities get involved in addressing thefull range of violence issues in schools. Wheresuch involvement is not already taking place,there may be existing mechanisms for securingthat involvement. In Lesotho, the UnitedRepublic of Tanzania and a number of othersub-Saharan African countries, for example,there are now local committees that involve abroad range of stakeholders in addressing thefull range of issues related to HIV and AIDS.Mexico City, Nepal, and Kenya provide examplesof what major cities or whole countriescan do to involve parents and communities(see boxes).In Mexico City, social inequalities, poverty and other factors have contributed toincreasing violence in homes, schools and the whole city, and school violence has beenlinked to high rates of early dropout. Currently, more than 1,500 of the city’s schoolsand 450,000 of the city’s students are participating in a project called “CombatingViolence: Education for Peace – For Me, You, and the Entire World.” The project consistsof training workshops that build the capacity of school administrators, teachers,students and parents to resolve conflicts in a non-violent manner. Follow-up in schoolsaims to ensure that the lessons have been absorbed and put into practice, and to providesupport to individuals charged with the responsibility for continuing to build thecapacity of each school’s population to resolve conflicts peacefully. The project owes itslaunch and success to leadership and enthusiastic support from the Secretary of Educationand, mostly importantly, from school heads. The hope, now, is that the projectwill become a permanent programme after the city’s next general elections. 198

4In Nepal – Girls taking action to end sexual harassmentIn Surkhet, Nepal, Save the Children has supported girls as they educate men and boysand make their schools and community safer. Boys and male adults (including educationofficials and village leaders) were unaware that girls perceived their ‘innocent teasing’as sexual harassment and discrimination until the girls mapped the places wherethey felt unsafe. By examining and discussing the maps, males were able to recognisethat these were the places where girls were regularly subject to such teasing. In addition,the girls have developed networks throughout the village and district, with linksto girls’ groups in other villages, local police, teachers’ and women’s groups, and thedistrict child welfare committee. 199In Kenya – ‘Be a Champion for Children’ campaignIn the spring of 2006, a campaign to stop violence against children was launched inKenya, with support from UNICEF. The campaign called upon families, schools, faithbasedorganisations, the private sector, the mass media and all other elements of Kenyansociety to collaborate (with financial and other support) in efforts to ensure that everyhome, school and community in the nation was committed to stopping violence againstchildren. The campaign aims to rally everyone against violence and to empower themwith information about what they can do to help create environments in which allKenyan children can reach their potential. It has also raised funds to support:• A core package of child protection services for the most vulnerablecommunities.• Hotlines where both children and adult victims of violence can call for help.• Safe houses for those who need to escape violence in their homes.• Training for counsellors to help victims and also to help families and otherperpetrators of violence break their patterns of violent behaviour.• Training for teachers, health workers and police in how to reduce violence andintervene when it occurs.• School-based programmes and youth programmes to reduce violence.• Publicity to raise awareness and mobilise ever greater commitment. 200147Violence against children in schools and educational settings

148Violence against children in schools and educational settingsConstructive child disciplineThe rights-based, child-centred approachrequires that there be codes of conduct acceptedby all members of the school community, establishingmoral and social reference points andemphasising the values that underpin them,including the values inherent in the CRC andin other human rights conventions. Disciplineshould aim at positive reinforcement, constructivecriticism, clear guidance and instruction.Except in extreme cases it should not promotemeasures that may impede a child’s cognitiveand emotional development.Recent research on disciplinary regimes hasmade a distinction between what are termedpro-active and reactive regimes. Those that arepro-active focus on prevention, and are generallybased on careful research into what works,and they establish a legal framework, clear policies,clear rules of conduct and mechanisms forenforcement. Those that are reactive are oftenbased on ill-informed ‘blanket statements’ orassertions, and call for ‘zero tolerance’ andharsh punishments. They often involve suspendingor expelling children, which only displacesthe problem to another school or to thewider community while doing little to help thechild. Such measures contravene a child’s rightto education. Firm but fair discipline can correctunacceptable behaviour without resortingto violence. 201 The consensus among leadingeducationalists is that reactive regimes areineffective in the long term. 202 In this context,UNESCO has outlined basic principles whichshould govern school discipline of childrenwhich emphasise constructive criticism, clearguidance and instruction as well as the principlesof the CRC. 203Bullying: prevention andinterventionWith its Olweus Bullying Prevention Programme,Norway has been a pioneer in effortsto stop bullying in schools. Monitoring offour cohorts of 600–700 elementary schoolstudents each found that, within two years,the programme had reduced bullying by 50%or more. It also had reduced rates of truancy,theft, vandalism and other antisocial behaviour,and the reductions were consistent acrossgenders and grades. 204 The Olweus approachhas been tried and proven to work in severalother countries, including Australia, Germanyand the USA. 205 It has not been tried in nonindustrialisedcountries, mainly because bullyinghas not risen to prominence as a matter ofpublic concern in these countries.The Olweus approach has achieved a considerabledegree of success and also identified importantissues requiring ongoing attention, suchas, the need to build the commitment of stakeholders,to sustain leadership over time, andto monitor and understand motivations andinterlinking causes of violence while addressingall forms of violence at school. Introducinga human rights framework into bullyingprevention programmes can also meet thesechallenges. 206 (see box).For children who are at high risk of bullying,whether as victims or offenders, it may be desirableto provide intensive one-on-one strategiesthat involve home visits, counselling and skillsdevelopment for both children and parents.

4Key elements of effective, rights-based and child-centredanti-bullying programmesWhile anti-bullying programmes may vary widely in specific details, the most effectiveprogrammes are rights-based and child-centred. Common characteristics include:• They involve children at an early age, before their attitudes and behavioursbecome fixed in permanent patterns.• Schools involve all key stakeholders and focus on prevention of violence –heads, teachers, students, parents and the wider community – in development,implementation and monitoring.• There is a leadership group that sustains momentum and initiates adjustmentsin the light of changing circumstances.• There are educational components that increase the knowledge and improvethe skills of all key stakeholders; and components are integrated into theregular curriculum, so that children learn about human rights and develop theskills to communicate and resolve conflicts in a non-violent manner.• There is increased monitoring of student behaviour, with thoughtful attentionpaid to how students relate to each other, especially when there is evidence thatbullying may be taking place.• There are mechanisms for reporting, intervention, recovery of victims andrehabilitation of offenders.• Interventions are consistent, so there can be no perception of negligence orunfairness. 207,208Sexual and gender-basedviolence: preventionand interventionThe whole school climate should welcome girlsand all children who may be considered differentbecause of their known, suspected oralleged sexuality. Schools should be safe andcomfortable places, and all children encouragedto take full advantage of all opportunitiesfor cognitive and emotional development.To do this, sexual and gender-based underpinningsof violence must be addressed directly,providing children with an understanding ofthe issues, attitudes, and a grasp of the skills toavoid it or cope with violence when it occurs.The concern that sexual coercion and abuse putgirls and young women at extremely high riskof HIV infection has given rise to many differentresponses globally, especially in SouthernAfrica. Some of the initiatives by internationalNGOs extend beyond schools. For example,ActionAid’s ‘Stepping Stones’ training programmeaims to prevent HIV transmissionand, in doing so, addresses related sexual and149Violence against children in schools and educational settings

“Curriculum is far more than what is taught.”Mary Joy Pigozzi, Director, Division for the Promotion of Quality Education, UNESCO XV150Violence against children in schools and educational settingsgender-based violence in hundreds of communitiesin Africa, Asia, Latin America andthe Caribbean. 209 Parallel workshops are heldfor males and females in order to provide safeand supportive environments in which bothcan feel comfortable talking about sensitiveissues, but participants from male and femaleworkshops also come together periodically toshare concerns and insights. Themes include“why do we behave as we do” and “how canwe change.” Results have included safer sexualbehaviour, reduced domestic violence, moresharing of household tasks by men, improvedcommunications between couples and parentsand children, especially about sensitive issuesthat pertain to sexual health.In Ethiopia, communities have taken the initiativein establishing Girls’ Education AdvisoryCommittees (GEACs) that address thewhole problem of providing girls with accessto education of a high standard. GEACs haveestablished Girls’ Clubs that serve as safe placesfor girls to talk, encourage them to reportproblems about harassment and abuse. OtherGEAC initiatives include disciplinary committeesto hold teachers accountable, ‘police’to protect girls on their way to and fromschool; constructing separate latrines for girls;insisting on female teachers in schools; trainingboys and girls on how to treat each otherrespectfully; providing counselling for girls insafe places; and enlisting religious and clanleaders to stop abductions and child marriages.As a result, in one primary school the dropoutrate for girls fell from 57% to 19%. 210Curriculum: What shouldbe taught and how?The curriculum, teaching methods and thewhole school climate should teach, illustrateand reinforce the principles of gender equality,human rights and non-violence and the skillsto apply these principles in day-to-day life.They should also serve to increase children’sresilience, so they can cope with violence andrecover when it occurs.Traditionally, school curriculum has been very‘content’ focussed (what), with less attentionpaid to learning skills and processes (how),such as inquiry, problem-solving, and decisionmaking.There is increasing recognition that,in a rapidly changing world, it is necessary toteach children the how of constructive humanbehaviour so that they can protect themselvesfrom harm, and take action to avoid harm toothers. This kind of education is often called‘life skills-based education’.Life skills-based education should be part of apackage that includes education on the principlesof gender equality, human rights andnon-violence and how and why these principleshave evolved and can be put into practice. 211,212This may involve dealing with highly personaland sensitive issues relating to the unique characteristicsof each child, that child’s familybackground, religious and cultural traditions,and subjects that were once considered tabooin discussions involving children. Dealing withsuch issues requires development not only of thecurriculum but of appropriate teaching methods.This involves going beyond traditional rotelearning to encouraging children to ask ques-

4tions, including of their teachers, to relate theirown experiences, and to express their own feelingsand ideas as part of the learning process. Forexample, in South Africa, the Curriculum 2005programme emphasises flexible teaching methodsthat encourage and accommodate children’sactive participation in learning experiences andhelps them develop critical thinking skills. 213From 1998 to 2004, the Special Rapporteuron the Right to Education collaboratedwith UNESCO to produce the Manual onRights-based Education: Global Human RightsRequirements Made Simple. 214 It states that thechild has both a right to education and rightsin education. This means that schools have toprotect the rights of their students, and alsoteach them how to respect the rights of others.The rights-based approach to education makeseducation the very foundation of the longtermcampaign against violence of all kinds,including violence against children. Childrenraised in schools free of violence and taughtto respect the rights of everyone to live in violence-freeenvironments are the best hope for aviolence-free future.In the USA, for example, an NGO called TheCommittee for Children has developed threesets of curricula – Second Step, Steps to Respectand Talking about Touching – designed to givechildren the knowledge and skills necessaryto prevent bullying, sexual abuse and otherforms of violence. These sets aim to help childrenstand up for themselves, talk rather thanfight, and think about issues from others’ perspectives.A 1997 assessment of the impactsof Second Step in more than 10,000 elementaryschools in Canada and the USA foundthat it had decreased aggressive behaviour andincreased positive social behaviour in classrooms,playgrounds and cafeterias. 215Some sensitive issues might best be addressedin a wider context. When asked their opinionabout how best to address sexual abuse,for example, children in Canada, Columbia,Bangladesh, Brazil, Mozambique, Nepal,Nicaragua, Romania, Rwanda, South Africa,Spain, Syria, and Uganda said that the subjectof sexual abuse should be raised in the contextof learning about children’s rights andchild protection, rather than singled out onits own. 216,217 A feature of effective life skillsbasededucation is that the teaching and learningmethods are interactive and allow childrento share their ideas. Effective life skills educationoften involves children in addressing realissues in their own schools and contributing tothe development of policies and programmes.Creating safe and welcomingphysical spacesA number of studies have asked children tomap danger or safety zones in their schoolsand school playgrounds and these have pinpointedareas where girls feel unsafe, such asareas where boys congregate or where maleteachers who sexually harass them have theirclassrooms. 218,219,220 A study of a high schoolin Durban, South Africa, found that its spaceswere extremely gendered. There were manyprivate spaces for boys, where they were leftalone and transgressions such as smoking weretolerated, and for male teachers, who declared151Violence against children in schools and educational settings

“When children grow up they keep what was done to them in mind and in the end they also do the sameto those younger than them, especially at school. Some people become mentally disturbed.”Boy, 14, Eastern and Southern Africa, 2005 XVI152Violence against children in schools and educational settingstheir spaces strictly off limits to female teachersand girls. The only private spaces for girlswere the toilets, and their privacy was compromisedby missing doors. Female teachersfound it difficult to find spaces that were notpoliced, or intruded upon, by males. 221Where a school is not welcoming or visuallyappealing, it is more difficult to build staffmorale and help children develop a positiveoutlook towards learning. Improving schoolsdoes not necessarily require significant expenditureof money, and can be done also as anextra-curricular activity involving school staff,students, parents and others in the community.In low-income areas of rural India, for example,staff and students have worked together toredecorate classrooms and develop school gardensusing the simplest of materials at hand,though they have found that this works bestwhen schools are secured and protected fromvandalism. 222Research and evaluationAll functioning education systems have mechanismthat gather data, down to the individualschool level, and many have regular inspectionsthat provide additional opportunities forgathering data. The quantity and quality ofthis data vary widely, however, and rarely providesufficient basis for making even the mostapproximate estimates of the prevalence ofdifferent forms of violence in schools and howthe prevalence may be increasing or decreasingover time. One reason for this is that mostschools have no staff trained in data collectionand analysis, and the same is true of mostlocal and district school authorities and somenational school authorities. Since such data areessential in order to evaluate interventions andwhether they are contributing to reductions inviolence, it is highly recommended that districtschool authorities develop their capacityto collect, analyse and report data for monitoringand evaluation purposes.Agreed standards, universally accepted definitionsand classifications of different forms ofviolence in schools are needed, but local issuesshould be integrated into these as well. Thereare models for such definitions and classifications,including the International Classificationof External Causes of Injury. 223 There are alsoInjury Surveillance Guidelines that would helpany education authority at national, district orat school level, to develop its own definitionsand classifications and, also, simple formsand mechanisms for gathering, analysing andreporting data. 224The most widely applied instruments for gatheringglobal and national data on violence inschools are the GSHS, 225 covering an increasingnumber of developing countries, and theHBSC study, covering mostly industrialisedcountries and some transitional countries. 226Other existing instruments are Demographicand Health Surveys and similar surveys periodicallyundertaken by ministries of health(and other sectors) in order to determine, forexample, the prevalence of HIV infection andbehaviour that may contribute to infection.Monitoring and evaluation will help to identifywhich interventions work best and howinterventions might be improved. Also needed

4RecommendationsEducation is a key agent of change capable ofbreaking the cycle of violence, not just againstchildren but among adults, too. It can encouragechildren to learn self-respect, respect forothers and how to express their feelings andnegotiate for what they want without resort tophysical or psychological violence.IRAQ,2003, Children at Youth House in the Adhamiyaneighborhood, Baghdad.are more in-depth studies into particularforms of violence and the links between differentforms of violence, their risk and protectivefactors, and the effectiveness of interventionprogrammes.UNICEF 101-0155. Dan BhayiThe following recommendations are intendedto support Governments, education authorities,school heads, teachers, students, parentsand communities as they seek to create nonviolentschools. The recommendations areguided by the UN Convention on the Rightsof the Child, and informed by Regional Consultationsfor the Study, expert inputs, publicsubmissions, and an evidence-based understandingof the causes of violence and itsprevention, including its virtually universallink with gender. The recommendations aredesigned to ensure that education methods,curricula, programmes and services upholdthe norms established by the CRC, and thattheir design and implementation are consistentwith social and cultural diversity, as wellas economic and practical realities.Prioritise prevention1. Ensure universal access to violencefreelearning environments, where therights of all children are respected andpromoted. Consistent with the global callfor ‘Education for All’ (i.e. EFA), Governmentsmust ensure that primary and secondaryschools are rights-based, and offersafe and healthy, gender-sensitive, inclu-153Violence against children in schools and educational settings

154Violence against children in schools and educational settingssive, and effective learning environmentsfor girls and boys. Promoting non-violencein and beyond the school should be a cleargoal with policies and well-publicised proceduresfor enforcement.2. Prohibit violence in schools. Governmentshave the obligation to explicitly prohibitviolence against children by law, andto ensure the implementation of relatedpolicies and procedures at the school level– specifically putting a stop to corporalpunishment and other humiliating ordegrading treatment, bullying and othersexual and gender-based violence.3. Prevent violence in schools with specificprogrammes which address thewhole school environment. Governmentsshould implement violence prevention programmescomprehensively across the educationsetting for all staff and students,while being sensitive to the special needs ofvulnerable children.4. Prioritise attention to gender issues andtheir links with violence. Governmentsmust acknowledge the pervasive impactof entrenched gender stereotypes on thenature of violence in and around schools.Male students, staff and community members,must be actively encouraged as strategicpartners and allies; and along withfemale students, staff and communitymembers, must be provided with opportunitiesto increase their understanding ofhow to stop gender discrimination and itsviolent manifestations.5. Give special attention to vulnerablegroups. Governments must implementspecific strategies to ensure that the specialneeds of vulnerable children are addressed,and that discrimination in particular isstopped. Staff must understand and be ableto systematically respond to the situationand particular risks experienced by minoritygroups, children with disabilities, childrenwithout parental care or affected byHIV, or children reintegrating into schoolcommunities such as refugee and displacedchildren, or former child soldiers.6. Provide safe physical spaces. Governmentsshould ensure that safe physicalspaces are provided to ensure that both girlsand boys have equal access to facilities andcan participate fully in school life. Schoolsmust have adequate toilet facilities for girlsand boys. All facilities must be clean andsafe, accessible by girls and boys, and free ofnegative interference from the community.Build capacity7. Establish and implement codes of conductreflecting child rights principles.Clear codes of conduct reflecting childrights principles, which are harmonisedwith the law, should be established and promotedwidely for all staff, students and theirfamilies and communities. It is the Government’sresponsibility to put in place mechanismsand protocols to ensure that schoolshave trained and trusted adults, within orindependent of the school, to whom studentscan safely and confidentially reportincidents of violence and receive advice.

“There is new awareness about the prevalence of violence against children in Africa, and its effects,both on those who experience it, and on the society at large. We need to translate this awaremessinto prevention, based on successful strategies from this and other regions.To delay this response is to betray the trust invested in us to protect the vulnerable.”Dr Luis G. Sambo, Regional Director for Africa, WHO48. Ensure that school heads and teachersuse non-violent teaching and learningstrategies and disciplinary measures.Governments should ensure that teachingand learning strategies and disciplinarymeasures are used that are not based onfear, threat, humiliation or physical force.All school staff should be trained andsupported in the use of non-violent andrespectful classroom management strategies,as well as specific skills to prevent patternsof bullying and other gender-basedviolence and to respond to it effectively.9. Listen to students and encourage participation.Governments and their partnersshould actively promote and supportthe involvement of students in thedesign, development, implementation, andmonitoring of policies and programmes,including through access to confidentialcomplaints or reporting mechanisms. Participatory,gender-sensitive, and inclusiveschool management structures should bepromoted and students should be equippedwith the necessary skills and given opportunitiesto be involved, with special attentiongiven to the participation of vulnerablechildren.Strengthen knowledge and skills for nonviolence10. Revise the curriculum to model nonviolenceand gender equity. Governmentsshould ensure that the curriculum,textbooks and teaching methods promotechild rights, support diversity and indigenousknowledge, and emphasise tolerance,respect, equity, non-discrimination, andnon-violent conflict resolution.11. Implement life skills education to enablestudents to build personal skills. Governmentsshould ensure that rights-based lifeskills programmes for non-violence shouldbe promoted in the curriculum throughsubjects such as peace education, citizenshipeducation, anti-bullying, humanrights education, and conflict resolutionand mediation; with emphasis placed onchild rights and positive values such asdiversity and tolerance, and on skills suchas problem-solving, social and effectivecommunication, in order to enable girlsand boys to overcome entrenched genderbiases and to prevent and deal with violenceand harassment, including sexualharassment.12. Promote school–community partnerships,and present schools as a resourceto the community. Governments shouldacknowledge the school as a communityresource and facilitate closer school–communitylinkages to address violence in andaround schools, involving students, staff,parents and other partners such as police,health services, social services, faith-basedgroups, community recreation groups, andcultural groups.Build information systems13. Strengthen data collection systems onall forms of violence against girls andboys. Data collected should ensure thatthe views of students and potential stu-155Violence against children in schools and educational settings

dents are considered along with those ofteachers, parents, and the wider community,with a special focus on the experiencesof vulnerable children. Governmentsshould ensure that the information yieldedshould be disaggregated by age and sex ata minimum, and should be incorporatedinto existing education management informationsystems established at local, districtand national levels.156Violence against children in schools and educational settings14. Develop a national research agenda onviolence in and around schools. Governmentsshould put in place a set of nationalpriorities for research that can supplementdata collection systems (described above)with in-depth qualitative and quantitativeresearch that is ethical and child-centred.Data must be disaggregated to make visiblethe scale and scope of the experiencesof girls and boys of different ages relatedto violence and overcoming it, their situations,and to make their risk and protectivefactors more evident.

4References1 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Consultation OutcomeReports. Available at http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.2 Wood K, Jewkes R (2001). ‘Dangerous’ Love:Reflections on Violence among XhosaTownship Youth. In: Morrell R (Ed).Changing Men in Southern Africa. London, Universityof Natal Press, Pietermaritzburg and Zed Press, pp317–336.3 Leach F et al. (2003). An Investigative Study of the Abuseof Girls in African Schools.Education Research Report No 54. London, EducationDepartment, United KingdomDepartment for International Development4 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: SouthAsia. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.5 Wood K, Jewkes R (2001). ‘Dangerous’ Love:Reflections on Violence among XhosaTownship Youth. In: Morrell R (Ed).Changing Men in Southern Africa. London,University of Natal Press, Pietermaritzburg and ZedPress, pp 317–336.6 Leach F et al. (2003). An Investigative Study of the Abuseof Girls in African Schools.Education Research Report No. 54, London, EducationDepartment, United KingdomDepartment for International Development.7 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Consultation OutcomeReports. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.8 Wood K, Jewkes R (2001). ‘Dangerous’ Love:Reflections on Violence Among XhosaTownship Youth. In: Morrell R (Ed). Changing Men inSouthern Africa. London,University of Natal Press, Pietermaritzburg and ZedPress, pp 317–336.9 Leach F et al. (2003). An Investigative Study of theAbuse of Girls in African Schools. Education ResearchReport No. 54, London, Education Department, UnitedKingdom Department for International Development.10 World Education Forum (2000). The Dakar Frameworkfor Action. Paris, UNESCO.11 United Nations (2000). United Nations MillenniumDeclaration. (Adopted by the 55th Session of the GeneralAssembly.) New York, United Nations.12 UNESCO (2005). Education For All Global MonitoringReport 2005. Paris, UNESCO.13 World Education Forum (2000). The Dakar Frameworkfor Action. Paris, UNESCO.14 United Nations (2000). United Nations MillenniumDeclaration. (Adopted by the 55th Session of the GeneralAssembly.) New York, United Nations.15 UNESCO (2005). Education For All Global MonitoringReport 2005. Paris, UNESCO.16 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2001). Day ofGeneral Discussion on Violence against Children withinthe Family and in Schools. CRC/C/111, para 679 (b).17 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2001).General Comment No. 1. The Aims of Education, CRC/GC/2001/1, para 8.18 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006). GeneralComment No. 8. The Right of the Child to Protectionfrom Corporal Punishment and Other Cruel or DegradingForms of Punishment (articles 19, 28(2) and 37, interalia), CRC/C/GC/8.19 WorldVision (2005). Strongim Pikinini, Strongim LaefB’ long Famili: Enabling Children to Reach their FullPotential. A contribution to the United Nations Studyon Violence against Children. Milton Keynes, WorldVision International.20 Global Initiative to End all Corporal Punishment ofChildren (2006). Global Summary of the Legal Status ofCorporal Punishment of Children. 28 June 2006.157Violence against children in schools and educational settings

158Violence against children in schools and educational settings21 Launched in 2001, the Global Initiative to End AllCorporal Punishment of Children has the supportof UNICEF, UNESCO, the former UN HighCommissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, andmany prominent international and national leaders andorganisations concerned with the rights, safety, healthand general well-being of children. Its home page withstatus status reports on all countries is available at:www.endcorporalpunishment.org22 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006). GeneralComment No. 8. The Right of the Child to Protectionfrom Corporal Punishment and Other Cruel or DegradingForms of Punishment (articles 19, 28(2) and 37,inter alia), CRC/C/GC/8.23 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Consultation OutcomeReport: Children and Young People’s Consultation inEurope and Central Asia. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.24 Hart SN (Ed) (2005). Eliminating Corporal Punishment.Paris, UNESCO.25 Regional Reports on Corporal Punishment wereprepared for the Regional Consultations conducted forthe Study by the Global Initiative to End All Formsof Corporal Punishment. Available at: http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org.26 Global Initiative to End all Corporal Punishment ofChildren (2006). Global Summary of the Legal Status ofCorporal Punishment of Children. 28 June 2006.27 Durrant JE (2005). Corporal Punishment: Prevalence,Predictors and Implications for Child Behaviour andDevelopment. In: Hart SN (Ed) (2005). EliminatingCorporal Punishment. Paris, UNESCO.28 EMIDA (2000). Enquête sur les violences educativesfaites aux enfants dans les familles et à l’ école primaire auCameroun. Yaoundé, EMIDA/UNICEF.29 Nelson Mandela Foundation (2005). Emerging Voices: AReport on Education in South African Rural Communities.Cape Town, Nelson Mandela Foundation/HSRC Press.30 Youssef RM et al. (1998). Children ExperiencingViolence (II): Prevalence and Determinants of CorporalPunishment in Schools. Child Abuse & Neglect, 22:975–985.31 Monyooe LA (1993). Perspective Reports of CorporalPunishment by Pupils in Lesotho Schools. PsychologicalReports, 73: 515–518.32 Plan Togo (2006). Suffering to Succeed? Violence andAbuse in Schools in Togo. Lome, Plan Togo.33 L’Observatoire des droits de l’enfant de la région océanindien (2006). La violence contre les enfants dans la régionde l’océan indien. Annual Report of the Observatoire desdroits de l’enfant de la région océan indien. Mauritius,l’Observatoire des droits de l’enfant de la région océanindien.34 UNICEF MENARO (2005). Violence in Schools inthe Middle East and North Africa – Features, Causes,Intervention and Prevention. (Dr Josi Salem-Pickertz.)Amman, UNICEF MENARO.35 Anuradha D, Dreze J (1999). Public Report on BasicEducation in India. New Delhi, Oxford University Press.36 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: NorthAmerica. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.37 UNHCR (2005). Refugee and Returnee Children inSouthern Africa: Perceptions and Experiences of Violence– A Qualitative Study of Refugees and Returnee Childrenin UNHCR Operations in Angola, South Africa andZambia. Pretoria, UNHCR.38 Durrant JE (2005). Corporal Punishment: Prevalence,Predictors and Implications for Child Behaviour andDevelopment. In: Hart SN (Ed) (2005). EliminatingCorporal Punishment. Paris, UNESCO.39 Qi CJ, Dunne MP (2006). Childhood MaltreatmentExperiences of Young People in China. Prevalence andAssociations with Mental Health among 3,577 Studentsin 6 Provinces. Peking, All-China Women’s Federation,UNICEF China Institute of Child and AdolescentHealth, Peking University.

440 Dunne M, Leach F (2004). Institutional Sexism: Contextand Texts in Botswana and Ghana. Paper presented at the7th Oxford International Conference on EducationalDevelopment, 9–11 September 2003.41 WHO (2005). Multi-country Study on Women’sHealth and Domestic Violence. Geneva, World HealthOrganization.42 Krug EG et al. (Eds) (2002). World Report on Violenceand Health. Geneva, World Health Organization.43 Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak Out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys. Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children. Oslo, Save theChildren Norway.44 Heise L et al. (1994). Violence against Women: TheHidden Health Burden. World Bank Discussion PaperNo. 255. Washington, World Bank.45 Leach F et al. (2003). An Investigative Study of theAbuse of Girls in African Schools. London, EducationalPapers, United Kingdom Department for InternationalDevelopment.46 French HW (2003). Victims Say Japan Ignores SexCrimes Committed by Teachers. New York Times, 29June 2003.47 Terefe D, Mengistu D (1997). Violence in EthiopianSchools: A Study of Some Schools in Addis Ababa. In:Ohsako T (Ed). Violence at School: Global Issues andInterventions. Paris, UNESCO IBE.48 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: West andCentral Africa. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.49 John Jay College of Criminal Justice (2004). TheNature and Scope of the Problem of Sexual Abuse ofMinors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the UnitedStates. A Research Study Conducted by the John JayCollege of Criminal Justice, Report to the United StatesConference of Catholic Bishops. New York, John JayCollege of Criminal Justice.50 Raza S (2004). Minister Resolves to Expose SexualAbuse by Clerics. Daily Times, 9 December 2004.Available at: www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_9-12-2004_pg1_6 .51 Murphy B (2005). Sex Abuse in Islamic Schools.Frontpagemag, 21 September 2005. Available at: www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=19530.52 UNAIDS (2006). 2006 Report on the Global AIDSEpidemic. Geneva, Joint United Nations Programme onHIV/AIDS.53 Analysis provided to the Study by the Global School-Based Student Health Survey: The World HealthOrganization (http://www.who.int/chp/gshs or http://www.cdc.gov/gshs) for surveys conducted in 2003–5 forBotswana, Chile (metropolitan area), China (Beijing),Guyana, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Namibia, Oman,Philippines, Swaziland, Uganda, UAE, Venezuela(Lara), Zambia and Zimbabwe (Harare).54 Youri P (Ed) (1994). Female Adolescent Health andSexuality in Kenyan Secondary Schools: A Research Report.Nairobi, African Medical and Research Foundation.55 Undie CC (2005). APHRC, Kenya: HIV and PregnancyPrevention among Adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa.Presentation to IPPF Workshop on Child Marriage,Nairobi, October 11, 2005. Country study profilesavailable at: http://www.guttmacher.org.56 UNICEF (2005). Early Marriage: A Harmful TraditionalPractice. UNICEF, New York.57 Erulkar AS et al. (2004). The Experience of Adolescencein Rural Amhara Region, Ethiopia. New York, PopulationCouncil.58 UNICEF (2004). Analyse régionale sur l’exploitationsexuelle en Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre : évolution de lasituation, progrès accomplis et obstacles à surmonter depuisle Congrès de Yokohama en 2001. UNICEF, West andCentral Africa Regional Office.59 Human Rights Watch (2001). Scared at School: SexualViolence against Girls in South African Schools. New York,Human Rights Watch.159Violence against children in schools and educational settings

160Violence against children in schools and educational settings60 Brown C (2003). Sexual Abuse of School Children inGhana. Cape Coast, Ghana, Centre for DevelopmentStudies, University of Cape Coast/UNICEF.61 Tang CSK (2002). Childhood Experience of SexualAbuse among Hong Kong Chinese College Students.Child Abuse & Neglect, 26(1): 23–37.62 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: SouthAsia. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.63 Kirk J, Winthrop R (2005). Addressing Abuse andExploitation in Refugee Schools: Learning from IRC’sHealing Classroom Initiative. Submission to the UnitedNations Secretary-General’s Study on Violence againstChildren. International Rescue Committee.64 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: LatinAmerica. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.65 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review:Eastern and Southern Africa. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.66 Olweus D (1984). Aggressors and Their Victims: Bullyingat School. In: Frude NG, Gault H (Eds). DisruptiveBehavior in Schools. New York, Wiley & Sons, pp 57–76.67 Smith PK, Sharp S (1994). School Bullying: Insights andPerspectives. London, Routledge.68 Human Rights Watch (2001). Scared at School: SexualViolence against Girls in South African Schools. New York,Human Rights Watch.69 Douglas N et al. (1999). Homophobic bullying insecondary schools in England and Wales - teachers’experiences. Health Education, 99: 53-60.70 Human Rights Watch (2001). Scared at School: SexualViolence against Girls in South African Schools. New York,Human Rights Watch.71 De Groulard M et al. (1998). Homosexual Aspects of theHIV/AIDS Epidemic in the Caribbean: A Public HealthChallenge for Prevention and Control. Port of Spain,Caribbean Epidemiology Centre, Pan-American HealthOrganization/World Health Organization.72 Currie C et al. (2004). Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) Study: International Reportfrom the 2001/2002 Survey. Health Policy for Childrenand Adolescents, No. 4. Geneva, World HealthOrganization.73 Analysis provided to the Study by the Global School-Based Student Health Survey: The World HealthOrganization (http://www.who.int/chp/gshs or http://www.cdc.gov/gshs) for surveys conducted in 2003–5 forBotswana, Chile (metropolitan area), China (Beijing),Guyana, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Namibia, Oman,Philippines, Swaziland, Uganda, UAE, Venezuela(Lara), Zambia and Zimbabwe (Harare).74 Creighton SJ (2004). Prevalence and Incidence of ChildAbuse: International Comparisons. NSPCC InformationBriefing. London, NSPCC Research Department.75 Rigby K (1998). Manual for the Peer RelationsQuestionnaire (PRQ ). Point Lonsdale, Victoria,Australia, The Professional Reading Guide.76 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: NorthAmerica. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.77 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: East Asiaand the Pacific. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.78 Yang SJ et al. (2006). Bullying and VictimizationBehaviors in Boys and Girls at South Korean PrimarySchools. Journal of the American Academy of Child &Adolescent Psychiatry, 45(1): 69–77.79 Report of the International Colloquium (2005).Towards a School of Dialogue and Respect, Tunis 14–16April 2005, UNICEF Tunisia. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/IMG/pdf/Children_participation_to_the_International_Colloquium.pdf.80 CNN (2002). ‘What are Kids Saying about Violence?Survey: Emotional Abuse a Bigger Concern thanPhysical’. 30 July 2002. Available at http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/parenting/07/30/young.bullies.

481 Geiger B, Fischer M (2006). Will Words Ever HarmMe? Escalation from Verbal to Physical Abuse in SixthgradeClassrooms. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.21(3): 337-57.82 Ybarra ML et al. (2004). Online Aggressor/Targets,Aggressors, and Targets: A Comparison of AssociatedYouth Characteristics. Journal of Child Psychology andPsychiatry, 45(7): 1308–1316.83 ECPAT (2005). Violence against Children in Cyberspace.A Contribution to the UN Secretary-General’s Studyon Violence against Children. Bangkok, ECPATInternational.84 Li Qing (2005). Cyber-bullying in Schools: The Natureand Extent of Adolescents’ Experience. Paper presented atthe American Education Research Association (AERA)Conference in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, April, 2005.85 Greene M (2005). Reducing Violence and Aggression inSchools. Trauma, Violence and Abuse, 6(3): 236–253.86 Hawkins D et al. (2001). Naturalistic Observations ofPeer Interventions in Bullying. Social Development, 10:512–527.87 Currie C et al. (2004). Health Behaviour in School-AgedChildren (HBSC) Study: International Report from the2001/2002 Survey. Health Policy for Children andAdolescents, No 4. Geneva, World Health Organization88 Analysis provided to the Study by the Global School-Based Student Health Survey: The World HealthOrganization (http://www.who.int/chp/gshs or http://www.cdc.gov/gshs) for surveys conducted in 2003-5 forBotswana, Chile (metropolitan area), China (Bejing),Guyana, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Namibia, Oman,Philippines, Swaziland, Uganda, UAE, Venezuela(Lara), Zambia and Zimbabwe (Harare).89 UNICEF (2003). Finding Our Voices, Gender andSexual Identities and HIV/AIDS in Education. Nairobi,UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office.90 Chege F (2006). Memories of Childhood Violence: LifeCycle Reflections of African Student Teachers. Submissionto the United Nations Secretary-General’s Study onViolence against Children. UNICEF East and SouthernAfrica Regional Office.91 Soyibo K, Lee MG (2000). Domestic and SchoolViolence Among High School Students in Jamaica.West Indian Medical Journal, 49(3): 232-236. Cited in:United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: theCaribbean. Available at www.violencestudy.org/r27.92 Chevannes P (2004). Preliminary Study on Violencein Caribbean Schools. Change from Within Project,University of the West Indies for the UNESCO Officefor the Caribbean. Cited in: United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children (2005).Regional Desk Review: the Caribbean. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.93 Department of Human Health Services/CDC (2004).Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance – United States,2003. Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report, 53(SS-2):1–29.94 Webster DW et al. (1993). Weapon Carrying amongInner-city Junior High School Students: DefensiveBehavior Versus Aggressive Delinquency. AmericanJournal of Public Health, 83: 1604–1608.95 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: NorthAmerica. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.96 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Violence in School. RegionalDesk Review: Europe and Central Asia. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.97 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Consultation OutcomeReport: the Caribbean. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.98 Chevannes P (2004). Preliminary Study on Violencein Caribbean Schools. Change from Within Project,University of the West Indies for the UNESCO Officefor the Caribbean. Cited in: United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children (2005).Regional Desk Review: the Caribbean. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r27161Violence against children in schools and educational settings

162Violence against children in schools and educational settings99 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Consultation OutcomeReport: Latin America. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.100 WHO/UNESCO/Education International (1998).WHO Information Series on School Health – Document3. Violence Prevention: An Important Element of a HealthPromoting School. Geneva, World Health Organization.Available at: http://www.who.int/school_youth_health/resources/en/101 Durrant JE (2005). Corporal Punishment: Prevalence,Predictors and Implications for Child Behaviour andDevelopment. In: Hart SN (Ed) (2005). EliminatingCorporal Punishment. Paris, UNESCO.102 Csorba J et al. (2001). Family- and School-relatedStresses in Depressed Hungarian Children. EuropeanPsychiatry, 16: 18–26. Cited in: Durrant JE (2005).Corporal Punishment: Prevalence, Predictors andImplications for Child Behaviour and Development. In:Hart SN (Ed) (2005). Eliminating Corporal Punishment.Paris, UNESCO.103 Sharp S et al. (2000). How Long Before It Hurts? AnInvestigation into Long-term Bullying. School PsychologyInternational, 21: 37–46.104 Rigby K (2003). Consequences of Bullying in School.Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 48(9): 583–590.105 Due P et al. (2005). Bullying and Symptoms amongSchool-aged Children: International ComparativeCross-sectional Study in 28 Countries. The EuropeanJournal of Public Health, 15(2): 128–132.106 Currie C et al. (2004). Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) Study: International Reportfrom the 2001/2002 Survey. Health Policy for Childrenand Adolescents, No. 4. Geneva, World HealthOrganization.107 EMIDA (2000). Enquête sur les violences educativesfaites aux enfants dans les familles et à l’ école primaire auCameroun. Yaoundé, EMIDA/UNICEF.108 Lopez NL et al. (2001). Parental Disciplinary History,Current Levels of Empathy and Moral Reasonings inYoung Adults. North American Journal of Psychology,3: 193-204. Cited in: Durrant JE (2005). CorporalPunishment: Prevalence, Predictors and Implicationsfor Child Behaviour and Development. In: Hart SN(Ed.) (2005). Eliminating Corporal Punishment. Paris,UNESCO.109 Durrant JE (2005). Corporal Punishment: Prevalence,Predictors and Implications for Child Behaviour andDevelopment. In: Hart SN (Ed.) (2005). EliminatingCorporal Punishment. Paris, UNESCO.110 Gershoff ET (2002). Corporal Punishment by Parentsand Associated Child Behaviours and Experiences: AMeta-analytic and Theoretical Review. PsychologicalBulletin, 128: 539-79.111 Farrington DP (1993). Understanding and PreventingBullying. In: Tonny M, Morris N (Eds). Crime andJustice, Vol. 17. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.112 Alexander LC et al. (2004). Bullying: Health, Well-beingand Risk Behaviours. HBSC Briefing Paper No. 10. Child& Adolescent Health Research Unit, The University ofEdinburgh.113 International Save the Children Alliance (2005). Voicesof Girls and Boys to End Violence against Children inSouth and Central Asia. Contribution to UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children.Kathmandu, Save the Children Sweden RegionalProgramme for South and Central Asia.114 Olweus D (1978). Aggression in Schools. Bullies andWhipping Boys. Washington, DC, Hemisphere Press(Wiley).115 Dake J A et al. (2003). The Nature and Extent of Bullyingat School. Journal of School Health, 73(5): 173-80.116 Baker DP, LeTendre GK (2005). National Differences,Global Similarities: World Culture and the Future ofSchooling. Stanford, Stanford University Press.117 Akiba M (2002). Student Victimization: National andSchool System Effects on School Violence in 37 Nations.American Educational Research Journal, 39(4): 829–853.

4118 International Save the Children Alliance (2004).Mapping Save the Children’s Response to Violence againstChildren in South Asia Region. Kathmandu, Save theChildren Sweden. Cited in: United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children (2005).Regional Desk Review: South Asia. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.119 International Save the Children Alliance (2005).Ending Physical and Humiliating Punishment of Children– Making it Happen. Submission to the United NationsSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children.Stockholm, Save the Children Sweden.120 Jewkes R et al. (2001). Relationship Dynamics andTeenage Pregnancy in South Africa. Social Science andMedicine, 52: 733-744.121 Wingood GM et al. (2001). Dating Violence and theSexual Health of Black Adolescent Females. Pediatrics,107(5): Art. No. e72.122 García -Moreno C, Watts CH (2000). Violence againstWomen: its Importance for HIV/AIDS Prevention.AIDS, 14(Suppl. 3): S253 – S265.123 Human Rights Watch (2001). Scared at School: SexualViolence against Girls in South African Schools, New York,Human Rights Watch.124 Chan LS et al. (2005). Preventing Violence and RelatedHealth-risking Social Behaviours in Adolescents. EvidenceReport/ Technology Assessment No. 107, Agency forHealthcare Research and Quality.125 Baldry AC, Farrington DP (2000). Bullies andDelinquents: Personal Characteristics and ParentalStyles. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology,10(1): 17–31.126 Search Institute (2005). 40 Developmental Assets.Available at: http://www.search-institute.org/assets/.127 US Department of Health and Human Services(2001). Youth Violence: A Report of the SurgeonGeneral. Rockville, MD, US Department of Healthand Human Services, Centers for Disease Control andPrevention, National Center for Injury Prevention andControl, Substance Abuse and Mental Health ServicesAdministration, Center for Mental Health Services,and National Institutes of Health, National Institute ofMental Health.128 US Department of Health and Human Services(2001). Youth Violence: A Report of the SurgeonGeneral. Rockville, MD, US Department of Healthand Human Services, Centers for Disease Control andPrevention, National Center for Injury Prevention andControl, Substance Abuse and Mental Health ServicesAdministration, Center for Mental Health Services,and National Institutes of Health, National Institute ofMental Health.129 Maugin E, Loeber R (1996). Academic Performance andDelinquency. In: Tonry M (Ed). Crime and Justice: AReview of Research, 20: 145–264. Chicago, University ofChicago Press.130 Finkelhor D et al. (2006). Re-victimization Patterns ina National Longitudinal Sample of Children and Youth.Durham, Crimes against Children Research Center,University of New Hampshire.131 Stewart D et al. (2006). How Can We Build Resiliencein Primary School Aged Children? Asia-Pacific Journalof Public Health,16 (Suppl.): S37–S41. Queensland, AsiaPacific Consortium for Public Health.132 Alexander LC et al. (2004). Bullying: Health, Well-beingand Risk Behaviours. HBSC Briefing Paper No. 10.Edinburgh, Child & Adolescent Health Research Unit,The University of Edinburgh.133 WHO (2006). Preventing Child Maltreatment: A Guideto Taking Action and Generating Evidence. Geneva,WHO/ISPCAN.134 Bond L et al. (2004). The Gatehouse Project: Cana Multi-level School Intervention Affect EmotionalWell-being and Health Risk Behaviours? Journal ofEpidemiology and Community Health, 58: 997–1000.163Violence against children in schools and educational settings

164Violence against children in schools and educational settings135 Stewart D et al. (2006). How Can We Build Resiliencein Primary School Aged Children? Asia-Pacific Journal ofPublic Health, 16 (Suppl.): S37–S41. Queensland, Asia-Pacific Consortium for Public Health.136 Smith HE, Akinsulure-Smith AM (2004). A GlobalPerspective on Youth Outreach. In: Clauss-EhlersCS, Weist MD (Eds). Community Planning to FosterResilience in Children. New York, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.137 US Department of Health and Human Services(2001). Youth Violence: A Report of the SurgeonGeneral. Rockville, MD, US Department of Healthand Human Services, Centers for Disease Control andPrevention, National Center for Injury Prevention andControl, Substance Abuse and Mental Health ServicesAdministration, Center for Mental Health Services,and National Institutes of Health, National Institute ofMental Health.138 Search Institute (2005). 40 Developmental Assets.Accessed online August 2006. Available at: http://www.search-institute.org/assets/.139 Greene M (2005). Reducing Violence and Aggression inSchools. Trauma, Violence and Abuse, 6(3): 236–253.140 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: MiddleEast and North Africa. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.141 Dunne M et al. (2005). Gendered School Experiences:The Impact on Retention and Achievement in Botswanaand Ghana. London, United Kingdom Department forInternational Development.142 UNICEF MENARO (2005). Violence in Schools inthe Middle East and North Africa – Features, Causes,Intervention and Prevention. (Dr Josi Salem-Pickertz.)Amman, UNICEF MENARO.143 All responses are available at: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/ study.htm. As of 20 September2006, 135 Member States and one observer hadsubmitted responses.144 Durrant JE (2005). Corporal Punishment: Prevalence,Predictors and Implications for Child Behaviour andDevelopment. In: Hart SN (Ed.) (2005). EliminatingCorporal Punishment. Paris, UNESCO.145 UNICEF (2005). Memories of Childhood Violence.Unpublished report. UNICEF, Eastern and SouthernAfrica Regional Office.146 Limber S, Cedillo S (2003). Responding to Bullying.Intervention in School and Clinic, 38 (4):236–242.147 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: NorthAmerica. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.148 UNICEF (not dated). Children with Disabilities:Towards Inclusive Education in South Asia. (UnpublishedConsolidated Report.) Kathmandu, UNICEF RegionalOffice for South Asia.149 UNICEF MENARO (2005). Violence in Schools inthe Middle East and North Africa – Features, Causes,Intervention and Prevention. (Dr Josi Salem-Pickertz.)Amman, UNICEF MENARO.150 Rigby K (2003). Addressing Bullying in Schools:Theory and Practice. In: Trends and Issues in Crime andCriminal Justice, No. 259. Australia, Australian Instituteof Criminology.151 Government of Botswana website (2003). Daily NewsOnline. Available at: http://www.gov.bw/cgi-bin/news.cgi?d=20030916.152 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: LatinAmerica. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.153 UNAIDS Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) onEducation (2006). Quality Education and HIV & AIDS.Available at: www.unesco.org/aids/iatt.154 Monasch R, Boerma JT (2004). Orphanhood andChildcare Patterns in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Analysisof National Surveys from 40 Countries. AIDS, 18(Suppl. 2): S55–S65.

4155 Human Rights Watch (2004). Letting Them Fail:Government Neglect and the Right to Education for ChildrenAffected by AIDS. New York, Human Rights Watch.156 Boler T, Jellema A (2005). Deadly Inertia: A CrosscountryStudy of Educational Responses to HIV. GlobalCampaign for Education, ActionAid International withsupport from CIDA, IIEP, UNESCO et al.157 World Education (2001). Menarche and Its Implicationsfor Educational Policy in Peru. Girls’ and Women’sEducation Policy Research Activity (GWE-PRA) PolicyBrief. Available at: http://www.worlded.org/docs/Policy_brief.pdf.158 Bruns B et al. (2003). Achieving Universal PrimaryEducation by 2015: A Chance for Every Child.Washington DC, The World Bank.159 UNICEF (2004). The State of the World’s Children. NewYork, UNICEF.160 Human Rights Watch (2001). Scared at School: SexualViolence against Girls in South African Schools. New York,Human Rights Watch.161 Shepard B (2000). Youth Programmes in the SADCCountries: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.Paper presented at the 1st Youth Conference of theSouthern Africa Development Community Region,13–16 June 2000, Maputo, Mozambique.162 UNESCO (2005). Education For All Global MonitoringReport 2005. Paris, UNESCO.163 UNESCO (2005). Education For All Global MonitoringReport 2005. Paris, UNESCO.164 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Consultation OutcomeReports. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.165 National Center for Mental Health Promotion andViolence Prevention (2004). Prevention Brief. Newton,MA, National Center for Mental Health Promotion andViolence Prevention.166 Adapted from UNICEF, UNESCO and Save theChildren (2002). Quality Education for All: From a Girl’sPoint of View. New York, UNICEF; and UNESCO(2004). Inclusive, Learner-Friendly Environment Toolkit.Bangkok, UNESCO.167 UNAIDS Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) onEducation (2006). Quality Education and HIV & AIDS.Available at: www.unesco.org/aids/iatt.168 Kirk J, Garrow S (2003). Girls in Policy: Challenges forthe Education Sector, Agenda No. 56. Durban, Girls’Education Movement.169 Country reports available from the Global Initiative toEnd All Corporal Punishment of Children at http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/index.html170 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006). GeneralComment No. 8. The Right of the Child to Protectionfrom Corporal Punishment and Other Cruel or DegradingForms of Punishment (articles 19, 28(2) and 37, interalia), CRC/C/GC/8.171 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review:Eastern and Southern Africa. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.172 Jewkes R (2000). The HIV/AIDS Emergency: Departmentof Education Guidelines for Educators. Pretoria,Department of Education.173 All responses are available at: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/ study.htm. As of 20 September2006, 135 Member States and one observer hadsubmitted responses.174 All responses are available at: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/ study.htm. As of 20 September2006, 135 Member States and one observer hadsubmitted responses.175 UNESCO (1996). Examples of School-based ProgramsInvolving Peaceful Conflict Resolution and MediationOriented to Overcome Community Violence. New York,Ying Ying Lim and Morton Deutsch, InternationalCenter for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution,Teachers College, Columbia University.176 Wilson SJ, Lipsey MW (2005). The Effectiveness ofSchool-Based Violence Prevention Programs for ReducingDisruptive and Aggressive Behavior. Nashville, Centerfor Evaluation Research and Methodology, Institute forPublic Policy Studies, Vanderbilt University.165Violence against children in schools and educational settings

166Violence against children in schools and educational settings177 Greene M (2005). Reducing Violence and Aggression inSchools. Trauma, Violence and Abuse, 6(3): 236–253.178 UNAIDS Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) onEducation (2006).Quality Education and HIV & AIDS.Available at: www.unesco.org/aids/iatt.179 Greene M (2005). Reducing Violence and Aggression inSchools. Trauma, Violence and Abuse, 6(3): 236–253.180 Dunne M et al. (2005). Gendered School Experiences:The Impact on Retention and Achievement in Botswanaand Ghana. London, United Kingdom Department forInternational Development.181 Moser C, van Bronkhorst B (1999). Youth Violence inLatin America and the Caribbean: Costs, Causes, andInterventions. LCR Sustainable Development WorkingPaper No. 3, Urban Peace Program Series. WashingtonDC, World Bank.182 Galloway D, Roland E ( 2004). Is the Direct Approachto Bullying Always the Best? In: Smith PK et al. (Eds).Bullying in Schools: How Successful Can Interventions Be?Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, pp 37–54.183 UNESCO (2004). Making the Case for ViolencePrevention Through Schools. FRESH Tools for EffectiveSchool Health, 1st Edition. Geneva, UNESCO.184 All responses are available at: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/ study.htm. As of 20 September2006, 135 Member States and one observer hadsubmitted responses.185 Marušić I et al. (2005). Evaluation of the Programme“For Safe and Enabling Environment in Schools– Campaign for Prevention and Combatting Violence inSchools.” Zagreb, Institute for Social Research in Zagreband Centre for Educational Research and Development.186 Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak Out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys. Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children. Oslo, Save theChildren Norway.187 Gittins C (2006) Violence Reduction in Schools – How toMake a Difference. A Handbook. Strasbourg, Council ofEurope.188 Boyle S (2002). Reaching the Poor: The ‘Costs’ ofSending Children to School. London, United KingdomDepartment for International Development.189 Cow M (2001). A World Safe for Children – EndingAbuse, Violence and Exploitation. Milton Keynes,WorldVision International.190 Save the Children (2005). Children’s Actions to EndViolence against Girls and Boys. A contribution to theUN Secretary-General’s Study of Violence againstChildren. Save the Children Sweden.191 Greene M (2005). Reducing Violence and Aggression inSchools. Trauma, Violence and Abuse, 6(3): 236–253.192 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Reviews.Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.193 Seshadri SP (2005). Children and Violence: ParticipatoryRapid Assessment Tool. Bangalore, Kolkata and Lucknow,UNICEF India.194 Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak Out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys. Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children. Oslo, Save theChildren Norway.195 Chigunta F (2005). Report on the Evaluation of the ChildRights Clubs Project in Zambia. Lusaka, Save the Swedenand UNICEF. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/evaldatabase/index_31123.html.196 Safe Schools Coalition of Washington. Informationavailable at: http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/.197 L’Observatoire des droits de l’enfant de la région océanindien (2006). La violence contre les enfants dans la régionde l’océan indien. Annual Report of the Observatoire desdroits de l’enfant de la région océan indien. Mauritius,l’Observatoire des droits de l’enfant de la région océanindien.198 UNICEF (2005). Combatting Violence: Education forPeace – For Me, You and the Entire World, BackgroundNote. Mexico, UNICEF Mexico.

4199 Save the Children (2005). Voices of Girls and Boys toEnd Violence against Children in South and CentralAsia. Submission to the UN Secretary-General’s Studyon Violence against Children. Kathmandu, Save theChildren Sweden Regional Programme for South andCentral Asia.200 UNICEF (2006). Stigma of AIDS Leads to Killing ofan Orphaned Kenyan Boy, 21 April 2006. UNICEF.Available at: http://www.unicef.org/uniteforchildren/makeadifference/makediff_33564.htm.201 United Nations Secretary-Generals’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: NorthAmerica. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.202 Ierley A, Claasen-Wilson D (2003). Making ThingsRight. Restorative Justice for School Communities. In:TS Jones, R Compton (Eds). Kids Working It Out. SanFrancisco, Jossey-Bass, pp 199–219. Cited in: UnitedNations Secretary-Generals’s Study on Violence againstChildren (2005). Regional Desk Review: North America.Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.203 Adapted from Hart SN (Ed) (2005). EliminatingCorporal Punishment. Paris, UNESCO.204 Olweus D (1993). Bullying at School: What We Know andWhat We Can Do. Oxford, Blackwell.205 SAMHSA Model Program (undated). The OlweusBullying Prevention Program. FactSheet – SAMHSAModel Program. US Department of Health and HumanServices. Available at: http://www.clemson.edu/olweus/.206 Green M (2006). Bullying in Schools: A Plea for aMeasure of Human Rights. Journal of Social Issues,62(1): 63–79.207 Green M (2006). Bullying in Schools: A Plea for aMeasure of Human Rights. Journal of Social Issues,62(1): 63–79.208 Smith P et al. (Eds) (2004). Bullying in Schools: HowSuccessful Can Interventions Be? Cambridge, CambridgeUniversity Press.209 Welbourn A (1995). Stepping Stones: A Training Packagein HIV/AIDS, Communication and Relationship Skills.London, ActionAid.210 DevTech Systems Inc. (2004). The Safe Schools ProgramEthiopia Assessment Report. Washington, United StatesAgency for International Development.211 WHO, UNICEF, World Bank, UNESCO and UNFPA(2003). Skills for Health. WHO’s Information Series onSchool Health Document No. 9. Geneva, World HealthOrganization.212 L’Observatoire des droits de l’enfant de la région océanindien (2006). La violence contre les enfants dans la régionde l’océan indien. Annual Report of the Observatoire desdroits de l’enfant de la région océan indien. Mauritius,l’Observatoire des droits de l’enfant de la région océanindien.213 Campbell C, MacPhail C (2002). Peer Education,Gender and the Development of Critical Consciousness:Participatory HIV Prevention by South African Youth.Social Science and Medicine, 55: 331–345.214 Tomasevski K (2004). Manual on Rights-basedEducation: global human rights requirements made simple.Bangkok, UNESCO.215 Grossman DC et al. (1997). Effectiveness of a ViolencePrevention Curriculum Among Children in ElementarySchool. Journal of the American Medical Association, 277:1605–1611.216 WHO, UNICEF, World Bank, UNESCO and UNFPA(2003). Skills for Health. WHO Information Series onSchool Health, Document No. 9. Geneva, World HealthOrganization.217 Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak Out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys. Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children. Oslo, Save theChildren Norway.218 Prosser J (2002). Visual Studies and School Playgrounds.Annual Conference of the International VisualSociology Association. Santorini, Greece, July 14–17.167Violence against children in schools and educational settings

168Violence against children in schools and educational settings219 Leach F, Machakanja P (2000). Preliminary Investigationof the Abuse of Girls in Zimbabwean Junior SecondarySchools. London, Education Report, Serial No. 39.United Kingdom Department for InternationalDevelopment.220 Leach F et al. (2003). An Investigative Study of theAbuse of Girls in African Schools, Educational Papers.London, United Kingdom Department for InternationalDevelopment.221 Kent A (2004). Living on the Edge: Examining Spaceand Sexualities within a Township High School inGreater Durban. Transformation, 54: 59–75.222 Black M, Talbot R (2005). Water: A Matter of Life andHealth. Oxford University Press/UNICEF India.223 WHO (2004). International Classification of ExternalCauses of Injury, Version 1.2. Geneva, World HealthOrganization.224 CDC/WHO (2001). Injury Surveillance Guidelines.Atlanta and Geneva, Centers for Disease Control andPrevention and World Health Organization.225 Analysis provided to the Study by the Global School-Based Student Health Survey: The World HealthOrganization (http://www.who.int/chp/gshs or http://www.cdc.gov/gshs) for surveys conducted in 2003–5 forBotswana, Chile (metropolitan area), China (Beijing),Guyana, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Namibia, Oman,Philippines, Swaziland, Uganda, UAE, Venezuela(Lara), Zambia and Zimbabwe (Harare).226 Currie C et al. (2004). Health Behaviour in School-AgedChildren (HBSC) Study: International Report from the2001/2002 Survey. Health Policy for Children andAdolescents, No 4. Geneva, World Health Organization.QuotesIUnited Nations Secretary General’s Study on violenceagainst children (2005). Regional Desk Review: LatinAmerica, p 16. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.II International Save the Children Alliance (2005).Voices of Girls and Boys to end Violence against Childrenin South and Central Asia. In preparation of the UNSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children.Kathmandu, Save the Children Sweden RegionalProgramme for South and Central Asia, p 22.IIIIVVVIL’Observatoire des droits de l’enfant de la région océanindien (2006). La violence contre les enfants dans la régionde l’océan indien. Annual Report of the Observatoire desdroits de l’enfant de la région océan indien. Mauritius,l’Observatoire des droits de l’enfant de la région océanindien, p 34.United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Consultation OutcomeReport: Europe and Central Asia, p 30. Available at:www.violencestudy.org/r27.Africa Child Policy Forum (2006). The AfricanDeclaration on Violence against Girls. SecondInternational Policy conference on the African Child.Addis Ababa, 11 and 12 May 2006, p 1.United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: NorthAmerica, p 30. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.VII United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Consultation OutcomeReport: Eastern and Southern Africa, p 18. Available at:www.violencestudy.org/r27.VIII United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: NorthAmerica, p 26. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.IXXHuman Rights Watch (2001). Scared at School: SexualViolence Against Girls in South African Schools. NewYork, Human Rights Watch.United Nations Secretary General’s Study on violenceagainst children (2005). Regional Desk Review: LatinAmerica, p 28. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.

4XIUnited Nations Secretary General’s Study on violenceagainst children (2005). Regional Desk Review: SouthAsia, p 59. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.XII Human Rights Watch (2004). Letting Them Fail:Government Neglect and the Right to Education forChildren Affected by AIDS. New York, Human RightsWatch.XIII United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: SouthAsia, p 33. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.XIV L’Observatoire des droits de l’enfant de la région océanindien (2006). La violence contre les enfants dans la régionde l’océan indien. Annual Report of the Observatoire desdroits de l’enfant de la région océan indien. Mauritius,l’Observatoire des droits de l’enfant de la région océanindien, p 35.XV UNAIDS Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) onEducation (2006). Quality Education and HIV & AIDS.Available at: www.unesco.org/aids/iatt.XVI Naker D (2005). Violence against children, the voices ofUgandan Children and Adults. Raising Voices and Savethe Children Uganda, p 35.169Violence against children in schools and educational settings

UNICEF/HQ99-0638. Giacomo PirozziIRAQ, 1999, Mahmoud sits in the dormitory of Al-Rahma Rehabilitation Centre for streetchildren in the Rashad section of Baghdad.

5Violence against Childrenin care and justice institutionsIntroduction 175Human rights instruments 177Background and context 178The rise of the institution 178Second thoughts about institutional care 180Factors contributing to violence in institutions 180Low priority 181Inadequate staffing 181Lack of Monitoring and Oversight 182Mixing different levels of vulnerability 182Children in institutional care 183Nature and extent of the problem 183Institutionalisation in Eastern Europe andformer Soviet countries 184Ethnic minorities targeted 184Why children are placed in residential care 185Patterns of institutionalisation 186Sources of violence within care institutions 187Violence by staff 187Violence in the guise of treatment 188Lack of care as a form of violence 188Violence by other children 189Impact of institutionalisation on children’s healthand development 189Children in custody and detention 190Nature and extent of the problem 191Historical context 192Children in conflict with the law 193Why children come into conflict with the law 193Detention as a substitute for care 195171Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

172Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsSources of violence in detention and police custody 196Violence by staff in detention institutions 196Violence while in custody of police and security forces 197Violence as a sentence 198Violence by adult detainees 199Violence by other children 199Self-harm 200Other children in State custody 201Refugees, asylum seekers and migrants 201Unaccompanied children 201Jail-like facilities 201Detention of migrant children 202Children in peacetime armies 203Responses to violence against childrenin care and justice institutions 203Legislative action 204Policies to prevent institutionalisation 205The principle of ‘last resort’ 205Prioritise alternatives 206Alternatives to institutional care 207Support for disadvantaged and at-risk families 207Support for families of children with disabilities 208Direct support for orphans and vulnerable children 209Accommodating different needs and preferences 209

5Alternatives to institutional detention 209Community-based diversion programmes 210Protection from violence within institutions 211Staff selection, training and remuneration 211Conforming to international standards 212Monitoring and investigation 212Complaints mechanisms 212Redress and response mechanisms 213De-institutionalising children already in care 213Public education: getting the message out 215Where resources are scarce 215Recommendations 216For all care and justice settings 216For care and social welfare systems 218For justice systems 218References 220173Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

174Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

“Sometimes one day in prison felt like a year.But after ten days you get used to it and you don’t cry as much.”Boy in juvenile detention, Middle East, 2003 I5IntroductionAround the world, millions of girls and boysgrow up for substantial periods not in theirown or alternative families, but under the controland supervision of care authorities or justicesystems. The institutions they live in have manynames, including orphanages, children’s homes,care homes, prisons, juvenile detention facilities,reform schools, etc. They may be open or closed(i.e. where children are locked in), and may berun by Governments, private companies or individuals,or by non-governmental or faith-basedorganisations. Many are large-scale, and childrenwho enter them can live prolonged periodsof their lives inside. Whatever their name,these institutions govern the day-to-day lives,personal development and future life chances ofa very large number of children.Although these institutions are established toprovide care, guidance, support and protectionto children, the boys and girls who live in themmay be at heightened risk of violence comparedto children whose care and protectionis governed by parents and teachers, at homeand at school. Reports from many countriesin all regions show that institutionalised childrenare often subjected to violence from staffand officials responsible for their well-being.This can include torture, beatings, isolation,restraints, rape, harassment, and humiliation.In addition, the stigmatisation, isolation andoften de-socialisation that results from theseinstitutionalised responses place boys and girlsat much greater risk of being exposed to furtherviolence and in some cases becoming perpetratorsof it.Children are institutionalised for a variety ofreasons. Some are placed in orphanages (aswell as in more home-like arrangements suchas foster care or kinship care), because theyhave lost their parents and have no extendedor surrogate family to go to – a problem thatis expanding due to AIDS, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Others are there because ofphysical or mental disability, psychiatric orother severe illness. Many have been givenup by parents who, lacking money or supportservices to cope with their child’s disabilities,feel they have no alternative. As a result, manychildren with disabilities are institutionalisedin hospitals. Some have run away, or have beenremoved by the authorities, from violent andabusive homes.The majority of children in the custody ofpolice, or in detention because of actual orperceived offences should not be there. Inmany countries, this group typically includeschildren simply in need of care and protectionbut who have been placed in correctionalfacilities under charges such as vagrancy, andhave thereby been criminalised for nothingmore than homelessness and poverty. The vastmajority of children in detention are chargedwith minor or petty crimes, and are first-timeoffenders. Very few have committed violentoffences. 1 The ‘institutionalised’ umbrellaalso includes migrant and refugee children,including those seeking asylum and who areplaced in detention centres while their casesare being decided. Children in the custody ofthe State as members of peacetime armies arealso included.175Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

176Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsIll-treatment – and outright negligence – stemsnot only from the typical overcrowding, squalidconditions and lack of resources invested in thecare of these girls and boys. As importantly,there is often a profound degree of discriminationagainst children who end up in institutions.The lack of public concern about brutalitytowards children in correctional institutionsmay reflect societies’ rejection of children whodo not conform to conventional social behaviour.Such stigmatisation may also be expressedin the abusive attitudes and behaviour of poorlytrained staff.Stigma also contributes to violence against childrenwith disabilities. Research has shown thatthey are frequently at higher risk of staff violencein institutions than other boys and girls. 2The violence suffered by children in institutionscan be exacerbated when they are housedwith adults or older children; this may leadto physical and sexual victimisation by otherolder children and adult inmates. The impactof institutionalisation goes beyond the immediateexposure of children to violence: longtermeffects can include severe developmentaldelays, disability, irreversible psychologicaldamage, and increased rates of suicide andcriminal activity. A study from the USA foundthat children who had been in detention inthe juvenile justice system were at great risk ofearly violent death. The main cause of deathfor young people who had been detained aschildren was homicide (90.1%). Being male,a member of a racial or ethnic minority, andfrom an urban area were the salient risk factorsfor violent death, as well as for being caught upin the juvenile justice system. 3Institutions housing children are often closedto public scrutiny. They lack a basic legalframework prohibiting all violence, and alsolack adequate Government regulation andoversight, effective complaints mechanisms,and inspection systems. Perpetrators are rarelyheld accountable, allowing high rates of violenceto continue unchecked, thereby perpetuatingtolerance of violence against children.TYPES OF CARE INSTITUTIONSWhile there is no universally accepted definitionof a children’s care institution, the featuresmost have in common are round-the-clock careof children who live apart from their families,and supervision by remunerated staff. Thesize, organisation and activities carried outwithin these institutions can vary widely. Inthe most closed and isolated institutions, thechild’s entire life – education, health servicesand work, leisure and sleep – takes place there,and the institution is very much cut off fromthe rest of the community. 4Some broad categories of institutional careinclude:Long-term residential or institutional care:The number of children living in individualinstitutions may range from a few dozen toseveral hundred. Some residential institutionsare specifically for children with disabilities.The terms ‘residential care’ and ‘institutionalcare’ are used interchangeably in this chapter.Emergency shelter care: Facilities that provideservices to meet children’s basic needs forsafety, food, shelter and education on a shorttermbasis.

5Human rights instrumentsThe Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) requires States to provide specialprotection to children who are deprived of a family environment (articles 19, 20). Theincreased risk of violence against children in institutions adds to the State obligationsto take effective legislative and other measures to protect children in care or detentionfrom violence, and reduce significantly the number of children who are institutionalisedand detained. The CRC recognises that children should grow up in a familyenvironment: the Convention’s Preamble states that “… the child, for the full andharmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment,in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding.”Other articles reiterate the centrality of the family in the upbringing of the child, exceptwhen the child’s best interests dictate that alternative arrangements be made. Article9 concerns family contact in cases where children are separated from their families;article 37(b) asserts that “the arrest, detention and imprisonment of a child shall beused only as a measure of last resort, and for the shortest appropriate period of time.”Article 40 concerning children in conflict with the law asserts that children shouldbe treated “in a manner consistent with the child’s sense of dignity and worth… andwhich takes into account the child’s age and the desirability of promoting the child’sreintegration.” These provisions make clear that alternatives to institutional care whichsupport the children’s development and allow them to remain at home and at school arefar preferable to judicial procedures and institutionalisation 5 .The CRC specifically addresses the rights of boys and girls with disabilities, recognising“that a mentally or physically disabled child should enjoy a full and decent life, inconditions which ensure dignity, promote self-reliance and facilitate the child’s activeparticipation in the community” (article 23). Segregation and institutionalisation cannever be justified by disability. Children with disabilities are frequently institutionalisedand dangers of such placements are well known, thus the CRC requires child care whichdoes not involve social isolation or exclusion. In addition, article 25 entitles all childrenwho have been placed in care to have a periodic review of all aspects of their placement.177Violence against Children in care and justice institutions>>>

Human rights instrumentsThe International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) states that thesentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below 18years of age (article 6). The Covenant also contains provisions which stipulate thatjuvenile offenders shall be segregated from adults and be accorded treatment appropriateto their age and legal status (article 10). Article 14 of the Covenant states thatprocedures against juvenile persons should take account of the age and the desirabilityof promoting rehabilitation. In addition, the Convention against Torture and otherCruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment states that States shouldtake effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts oftorture (article 2).178Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsPsychiatric facilities: Residential care, staffedby personnel including medical professionals,for children with psycho-social disabilities.Group homes or home shelter: Personalisedresidential care, provided by one or more staffin a house that is not their own, looking aftera group of children (typically 10–15) in a lessformal, more home-like environment.Two other categories of care which aim to providea non-institutional environment for childrenliving apart from their families are:Foster care: The placement of a child withanother family for a variable period of time.The foster child is accepted into the home ofthe foster family, which often includes the parents’biological children.Informal foster care/kinship care: Placementof a child with another family, which may havekinship ties to the child, usually without theinvolvement of Government authorities. (Seethe chapter on violence against children in thehome and family.)Background andcontextTHE RISE OF THE INSTITUTIONFrom their earliest inception, institutions createdto take in children were essentially set upas repositories for the unwanted. Historianssuggest that the earliest institution specificallyfor the care of neglected children was createdin Constantinople in the 3rd century AD asa means of reducing infanticide. Later on, inthe Middle Ages, foundling homes for abandonedchildren were set up by the Church inItaly, and the practice spread across Europe. 9As well as being a charitable work, the foundlinghome was a means of removing neglectedand abandoned children from the streetsand making the problem invisible to society– an increasingly important task as the rate of

5UN standards on juvenile justiceIn addition to the CRC, specific UN standards have been adopted for handling casesof children in conflict with the law. These include the Standard Minimum Rules forthe Administration of Juvenile Justice, known as ‘the Beijing Rules’, adopted in 1985,which offer guidance on the administration of justice in such a way as to provide forthe protection of children’s rights and respect for their developmental needs. 6 Twoother standards adopted in 1990 – the UN Guidelines for the Prevention of JuvenileDelinquency (the Riyadh Guidelines) and the UN Rules for the Protection of JuvenilesDeprived of their Liberty (the JDL Rules) – complete the framework of prevention,case management, and social rehabilitation of children. 7,8Many children who have been abandoned or placed in residential care, including childrenwith disabilities, could live with their families if provided with adequate social,financial or medical support. By ratifying the CRC, States have committed themselvesto providing such support to the maximum extent of their resources (article 18.2).When living with the biological family is not in the child’s best interests, a range offamily-based alternatives should be put in place to provide safer and more beneficialcare than large-scale institutions (article 20). Similarly, stronger care and protectionsystems, including support for families, could reduce the number of children whocome into conflict with the law. The vast majority of offences committed by childrenare petty and non-violent. Community-based alternatives to detention provide not onlya safer environment for children, but much more effective means of rehabilitation.When institutionalisation or detention is absolutely necessary, a safe environment forchildren must be provided, with adequate trained staff, programmes and services.Children should have clear, accessible and safe opportunities to complain about theway they are treated, and Governments must ensure effective monitoring, investigation,and accountability mechanisms to address violence when it occurs and to holdthe perpetrators responsible.abandonment of infants reached one in four insome European cities in later centuries. Untilthe 20th century, the mortality rate amongchildren in such institutions was invariablyhigh. 10 This reflected not only the swift spreadof infection in any crowded residential settingbefore the advent of public health systems, butalso the lack of effective and individual caregiven to the children.Institutions for children grew with industrialisationand colonialism. As slums, unemploymentand crime proliferated in the early industrialisedworld, the idea developed of ‘rescuing’179Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

“There were teachers [at the ‘orphanage’] who exceeded their authorityand could beat us for no reason. They know that children have nowhere to turn.And they could do anything they wanted.”Child, Europe and Central Asia, 2003 II180Violence against Children in care and justice institutionspoor children from their families – often judgedto be delinquent or depraved – and protectingthem in residential institutions. Meanwhile, incolonial and post-colonial settings, indigenousor aboriginal children were also seen as needingto be ‘saved’ from what were judged to be‘inferior’ cultures. In Australia and Canada,for example, entire generations of such childrenwere removed from their families, placedin residential schools, and denied their ownculture, clothing and language. 11 Systems of‘juvenile justice’ in Europe and the Americasbegan to introduce residential detention institutionsthat were separate from adult prisonsin the late 19th and early 20th century.In some places, the development of large-scaleinstitutions for children came later, either todeal with profound social distress after suchevents as the two World Wars; or as part of anideological commitment to ‘socialised’ childcare. This was the pattern in many communistcountries, notably those in the post-1945USSR sphere of influence.Second thoughts aboutinstitutional careAs understanding about child developmentgrew, some countries began to cut back onthe use of residential care institutions, andto consider options other than detention forchildren in conflict with the law. Beginning inthe second half of the 20th century, it becamerecognised that large, closed institutions couldnot support physical, social, emotional andcognitive development in any way comparableto that in a family setting. 12Today, social policy ‘best practice,’ reflectingthe CRC and other human rights obligations,aims to provide as many children as possiblewith an upbringing in a family, and access to amainstream school and community life. However,the process of de-institutionalisation, andrecognition of the damaging effects of institutionalisationon children, is at different stagesaround the world. In countries where institutionalisationof children was never taken up onany major scale, the care institutions that diddevelop have mostly been small and run by privateor religious institutions.In some countries the level of youth crime hasbecome a high-profile political concern, andthere has also been some regression towardsinstitutional detention, even when actual childoffender rates have fallen. In many countries,children in conflict with the law have typicallybeen detained within the same institutions asthose for adult offenders, and few countrieshave invested in real alternatives to detention.Unfortunately, the numbers of childrenwho lose the protection of their families andrequire alternative forms of care are growingfor a variety of reasons. These include thechanging social patterns accompanying rapidurbanisation, natural disasters, armed conflict,widespread population displacement, and theHIV/AIDS pandemic.Factors contributing toviolence in institutionsViolence against children in care and justicesystems is legitimised by long-held attitudesand behaviours, and failures in both law and

5its implementation. At the time when theestablishment of care institutions for childrenin disadvantaged and marginal groups was apreferred social policy, corporal punishmentwas almost universally endorsed for the disciplineand control of unruly children. Thiseffectively meant that institutionalised childrenwere exposed to a brutal regime and tofrequent violence. In all regions, by omissionor commission, this situation still prevails.Low priorityDespite changes in child care practice andthe evolution of children’s rights, includingjuvenile justice standards, reform has beenslow to take place in institutions. Few Governmentshave set about de-institutionalisingas many children as possible in keepingwith their human rights obligations. This ismainly because of the low level of importanceaccorded to the most disadvantaged childrenin society – those who have been orphaned,abandoned, those living with disabilities, orin conflict with the law.Far too often, children needing care and protectionoutside the family become the focusof policy attention only when some notoriouscare system failure or rampant abuse occurs.This lack of priority in policy terms meansthat conditions in residential care and juveniledetention centres are frequently poor,with inadequate (sometimes life-threateninglymeagre) nutrition, hygiene and health care.Low levels of funding result in a lack of properlyqualified professionals. In Azerbaijan, for example,a 2005 report indicated that not one of thecountry’s 69 residential care institutions hada child psychologist on staff, despite the identifiedneed for such expertise. 13 There may inaddition be no specialised facilities for children.In Northern Ireland, for example, only 15 bedsare available for adolescents with severe mentalhealth problems. 14Inadequate staffingUnqualified and poorly remunerated staff arewidely recognised as a key factor linked to violencewithin institutions. Low pay and statusfrequently result in poorly motivated employeesand rapid staff turnover, and under-staffing is aserious problem. For example, in a number ofcountries it has been documented that staffingratios in institutions for children with disabilitiesmay be as high as one hundred children for eachstaff member. Under such conditions, childrenare often left unattended for long periods, andovernight entire wards are unattended or padlocked,with only a skeleton night shift. Physicaland sexual abuse in such instances is rife. 15Relatively few staff in care institutions receiveany special training in child development orrights, or information about issues of violence. Ininstitutions for children with disabilities, inadequatelytrained staff can be quick to lash out atthe children. 16 Overwhelmed staff may resort toviolent measures to maintain discipline, particularlywhen supervision is lacking. Staff ‘burnout’results in increasingly negative attitudes towardschildren and in patterns of physical and impulsiveresponses to confrontation. 17Individuals with histories of violence againstchildren, including sexual abuse and exploi-181Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

182Violence against Children in care and justice institutionstation, may seek out jobs that allow themeasy access to children. Rigorous backgroundchecks on personnel are still rare, allowing anemployee who has been dismissed from oneinstitution to be hired by another and to continuea pattern of abuse. 18Failure to supervise staff properly is also a seriousproblem. A study of abuse in residential carein the UK identified ineffective managementand minimal contact by managers with staff assignificant features common to abuse cases. 19,20Lack of Monitoring and OversightResidential care and detention facilities areoften unregulated and closed to outside scrutiny,especially those run by private agencies,faith-based organisations, and NGOs, or thatare situated in isolated areas. In such circumstances,violence may continue for years untilan extreme incident brings it to light. Moreover,individuals responsible for violence againstchildren in care and justice systems are rarelyheld accountable for their actions. If casesare reported, they often are only investigatedsuperficially and prosecutions are extremelyrare. Those in a position to take action may becomplicit in the abuse, reluctant to disciplineor prosecute a colleague, or fearful of negativepublicity or loss of financial support. They mayrespond by blocking access to the institutions;punishing or threatening to dismiss workersif they speak out. The failure to hold perpetratorsaccountable only ensures that violencecontinues. Perpetrators go on to abuse otherchildren, and their violent acts create a climatewhere violence against children becomes‘acceptable’ and commonplace. 21,22Mixing different levelsof vulnerabilityMany facilities fail to segregate vulnerablechildren from dangerous peers. Children whoare vulnerable to violence because of age, size,sex or other characteristics are often housedtogether with older children with a history ofviolent behaviour. 23 For example, in formerSerbia and Montenegro, NGOs report thatchildren under the age of seven may be placedin the same institution as child offenders overthe age of 14. 24 In Jamaica, where children inneed of care and protection are often housedwith children charged with offences, a 2003Government investigation found that ‘bullies’or gangs of older children sexually preyed uponmore vulnerable children. 25 In many countries,children in detention are held with adult offenders,greatly increasing their risk of violence.UNICEF/HQ98-0891. Giacomo PirozziRWANDA, 1998, Rose, 4, helps set tables for lunch atthe Gitarama Orphanage, where she and her sister have livedsince losing their parents in the 1994 genocide.

“Some of us are abused at home. We move into the child welfare system that is meantto protect us. The system abuses us. We try to make a complaint and nothing is done.We harbor all this anger and lash out at our peers, family, friends, social workers,foster parents, group home staff, teachers etc., and the cycle continues.Somewhere this needs to stop.”Young person, North America, 2004 III5Children in institutionalcareBy some accounts, as many as eight million boysand girls around the world live in institutionalcare. 26 Some studies have found that violence inresidential institutions is six times higher thanviolence in foster care, and that children ingroup care are almost four times more likely toexperience sexual abuse than children in familybasedcare. 27 In Kazakhstan, for example, a2002 study found that over 63% of children inchildren’s homes reported that they had beensubjected to violence; 28% indicated that suchviolence occurred regularly. 28 A survey of 3,164children in residential institutions in Romaniafound that physical abuse included beatings,suppression of meals, physical isolation, andsubmission to various humiliating jobs. Almosthalf of the children surveyed confirmed beatingas a punitive practice. More than a thirdof the institutionalised children were aware ofcases when children were obliged to have sexualrelations. Abusers included members of the staffand mainly older children in the institution. 29Nature and extentof the problemNumerous studies have consistently establishedthe negative impact of institutionalisation andthe existence of high rates of violence in largescaleresidential care. Yet in some parts of theworld, and for some groups of children, rates ofinstitutionalisation are increasing. For example,between 1989 and 2002, the proportionof children in institutional care was estimatedby one researcher to have increased by 3% inCentral and Eastern Europe and the formerSoviet Union, even though the actual numbershad declined due to a falling population. (Thetotal number of children in institutional caredeclined during that period, however, becausethe total population of children in the regiondeclined, the proportion of children in institutionsactually increased.) 30Some countries in which large-scale institutionalcare was previously approved havedeliberately moved away from this kind of carefor children without families. For example, thenumber of children living in children’s homeshas dropped significantly over the last 20 yearsin England, 31 Italy and Spain. 32 In the USAand Canada, where the number of children inout-of-home care has increased significantlyin recent years, the majority of children areplaced in foster care or group homes. 33The pattern of de-institutionalisation is not uniformamong industrialised countries, however.In Japan, 30,000 children remain in institutionsestablished in the post-War era. These childrenstill live in large dormitories in hospital-likebuildings, run by a small, non-specialist andoverworked staff, and there is virtually no therapeuticcase work. Funds are from private charitablesources, and boards of directors have illdefinedfunctions and are rarely monitored. 34High rates of institutionalisation can also befound in other regions. In the Middle East,over 25,000 children were in residential carein 1999–2000 in Lebanon, while in Morocco,there were an estimated 25,300 children in residentialcare in 1999–2000. 35 In Latin America,certain countries still report significant num-183Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

184Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsbers of children in care institutions, the highestbeing Colombia (24,300), Brazil (24,000),Bolivia (15,600), and Chile (11,600) accordingto figures published in 2004. 36In Africa, the extended family has normallyabsorbed orphaned children and other victimsof family casualty, and rates of institutionalisationhave traditionally been low. In many Africancountries, the only orphanages that existeduntil recently were set up by missionariesbefore independence. However, today in manyAfrican countries private orphanages are nowmushrooming, as faith-based organisations,NGOs and private donors seek to respond tothe growing numbers of children orphanedby HIV/AIDS and armed conflict. 37 Evidencefrom Liberia, 38 Uganda, 39 and Zimbabwe 40 allpoints to an increased use of institutional carein recent years. Children’s rights advocatespoint out that the majority of children enteringthese institutions often have at least one livingparent or contactable relative. They arguethat these new institutions simply draw childrenout of communities, and represent fundswhich could have been better used to provideimproved support services at local level. Institutionalcare is also expensive, costing betweensix and 100 times more than community-basedfoster care, the policy response preferred bothby Governments and aid donors. 41Institutionalisation in Eastern Europeand former Soviet countriesInstitutions for children are more prevalent inCentral and Eastern Europe (CEE) and in theCommonwealth of Independent States (CIS)than any other region. During the 1960s and1970s, large numbers of institutions openedthroughout the region. Following the collapseof communist Governments, lack of alternativesupport systems for families meant thatthe widespread use of institutions continued.In 2002, an estimated 1,120,800 childrenwere in public care in 27 of the CEE, CIS andBaltic States, 54% of whom – around 605,000– were in residential facilities. 42Many of these facilities are for children withdisabilities. In 2002, an estimated 317,000children with disabilities in the region livedin residential institutions. 43 In some countries,children labelled as ‘disabled’ make up themajority of those in residential care. In Uzbekistan,for example, children with disabilities incare number almost 20,000, compared to only4,300 without disabilities. 44Ethnic minorities targetedHistorically, children from racial and ethnicminorities tend to be over-represented in care(for example in Australia, Brazil, and Canada,as mentioned above), and in many cases thistrend persists. In Romania, for example, theRoma people account for less than 10% of thecountry’s population, yet as many as 40% ofinstitutionalised children are Roma. This patternis repeated in several other countries ofEastern Europe, including Bulgaria, the CzechRepublic and Hungary. In Central and EasternEurope and ex-USSR countries generally,prejudice against ethnic minorities is reportedto have led staff in residential institutions todiscourage contact between parents and theirinstitutionalised children, and reduced fostercare and adoptive placements. 45,46

5Why children are placedin residential careIn contrast to earlier times, today relatively fewchildren are placed in residential care becausethey have no parents. In the CEE and the CIS,for example, the proportion of children livingin residential institutions who have no livingparent is between 2% and 5%, 47,48 while inBrazil it is about 5%. 49 Most commonly, childrenare placed in care because of disability,family disintegration, violence in the home,lack of social support systems, and poor socialand economic conditions, including poverty. Insome countries, natural disasters, armed conflictor the effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemicmay leave parents unable to care for their children.Illness, accidents, and incarceration mayalso separate children from their parents.Poverty: This is a significant factor in thedecision of many parents to place children inresidential care. When parents feel unable toprovide for their children, and believe thatchildren can receive better access to education,health care and adequate nutrition in residentialfacilities, they may choose to place theirchild in care, believing he or she will be betteroff than at home.Violence within families: Many children endup in care because of violence in their family,including neglect, and psychological, physicaland sexual violence. Domestic violence inLatin America is also a leading cause for theloss of parental care. 50 SOS Children’s Villagesfound that 73% of children in their Villagesin Venezuela had prior experiences of physicalor psychological violence, including sexualviolence. The organisation found that 88% ofchildren in SOS Children’s Villages in Croatia,75% of children in Belarus, and 55% ofchildren in Lithuania, had suffered physical orsexual violence within the biological family. 51Also, many children are removed from familiesbecause of substance abuse by their parentsand caregivers.Disability: Because of the widespread stigmatisationof children with disabilities as well asthe lack of support provided to parents, thesechildren are institutionalised at significantlyhigher rates than other children. In Jamaica, forexample, 65% of children with developmentalor physical disabilities live in homes run exclusivelyfor children with disabilities. 52 Countryreports prepared by the CEE/CIS for the 2002UN Special Session on Children found thatthe overriding reason why families placed theirchildren with disabilities in institutions was dueto a lack of care-giving capacity. Misdiagnosis,over-diagnosis and an exclusive focus on themedical model of disability are also problemsleading to the overuse of institutionalisationin these countries. In some cases, the lack ofstimulation or the lack of access to high-qualityhealth and education can delay development,therefore adding to the children’s disability. 53Family catastrophes including HIV/AIDS:Armed conflicts, natural disasters on a massivescale, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, or otherdisease naturally incline some humanitarianorganisations to propose the establishmentof care institutions and orphanages as a suitableresponse to the large numbers of childrenin need of care. In Russia, for example,185Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

186Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsbabies born with HIV who have been abandonedare placed in special orphanages just forHIV – positive children, or isolated indefinitelyin hospital wards, where they are deprivedof any opportunities for social, physical andmental development. 54 In some conflict-torncountries where a high proportion of childrenhave lost one or both parents, levels of institutionalisationmay be unusually high. In Somalia,for example, although it is contrary toIslamic standards and traditional norms, useof children’s homes or orphanages is stronglyadvocated by parents and carers, especially inurban areas. Children’s homes, all of whichsubsist on external, mostly charitable support,provide children with food, shelter and education,which are often not available elsewhere.Among the approximately 8,000 Somali childrenresident in children’s homes, a high proportionof them have relatives. 55Lack of alternatives: In many environments,alternatives to institutionalisation, includingsupport for vulnerable families and familybasedcare, have not been developed. Thiscan lead to unnecessary overuse of residentialplacements. For example, the director of a psychiatrichospital in Turkey estimated that of500 patients (including adults and children)at his facility, only 10% would need to beconfined as in-patients if community-basedservices were available. 56 In Romania, thepopulation of children in orphanages has beenreduced, but many children with disabilitieshave simply been moved from larger institutionsto smaller ones. The extensive fundingneeded for these new institutions has drainedscarce resources from developing foster careand services that would support communityintegration. 57Patterns of institutionalisationThere is great variation in patterns of institutionalisationbetween countries, even withinregions. A recent study carried out in Europeancountries found significant differences inthe reasons why children under the age of threeare being taken into care. In Western Europeancountries (Belgium, France, Norway, Portugal,Sweden and the UK), which providedinformation on reasons for placing childrenunder three in residential care institutions, themain reasons were abuse and neglect withinthe family (69%), social reasons such as parentsin prison (23%), abandonment (4%), anddisability (4%).There were no orphans (defined in this contextas children with no living parents) livingin institutions in these countries. In contrast,a little over one in 20 of the institutionalisedchildren in central and south-eastern Europe(Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary,Latvia, Romania and Slovakia), Cyprus andMalta were orphans. The main reasons forthe children being placed in residential carein these countries were abandonment (32%),social reasons such as family ill-health andincapacity (25%), disability (23%), abuse orneglect (14%), and orphaned (6%). 58The study concluded that less wealthy countrieswith lower levels of spending on publichealth and social services tended to havehigher numbers of institutionalised children.It speculated that this might be due to a lack

5of counselling services to prevent abandonment,and that are unable to provide socialservices to parents who are at risk of being violenttowards their child. As well, in countrieswith fewer health and social services to offerparents such as mental health and alcohol ordrug addiction services, children are likely toremain in institutional care for longer periodsof time.In Brazil, a national survey of 589 institutionsreceiving federal funding used somewhat differentcategories to collect data on institutionalisationof children of all ages. The main reasonschildren were institutionalised included thefollowing: family’s lack of material resources(i.e. poverty) (24%), abandonment by parentsor guardians (18%), domestic violence (11%),parents’ or guardians’ addiction to chemicalsubstances (11%), parents living on the streets(7%), orphaned: 5%, imprisonment of parentsor guardians (4%), and sexual abuse by eitherparents or guardians (3%). 59Most children living in institutions could bereintegrated into their families with the assistanceof social workers, or other services andsupport. When family reintegration is not possible,other family-based alternatives provide afar safer and more beneficial environment forchildren. The lack of arrangements for alternativesystems of care in countries with themeans to provide such systems is another demonstrationof the obscurity and prejudice surroundingthe care of children who have beendeprived of their families, or had the misfortuneto be born into dysfunctional, violent, orfragmented home situations.Sources of violence withincare institutionsThe heightened risk of violence to childrenin care institutions comes from a variety ofsources. The greatest amount of evidence concernsviolence of various kinds by staff, includingneglect, and violence by children againstother children. In addition, some forms oftreatment practiced in many institutionsthemselves constitute violence.Violence by staffChildren in residential facilities may be subjectedto physical, sexual and psychologicalviolence by staff. Such violence can includeverbal abuse, beatings, excessive or prolongedrestraints, rape, sexual assault or harassment.Some of it comes in the form of State-authorisedand still lawful violent disciplinary measures.In 145 States, corporal punishmentand other forms of degrading punishment ortreatment have not been explicitly prohibitedin all residential institutions and other formsof alternative care; only 31 States have consistentlyprohibited all corporal punishment inall forms of alternative care. 60 In some States,there are detailed regulations specifying howpunishment is to be administered, includingthe implement to be used, and what parts ofthe body may be struck.Although the State is responsible for protectingchildren from violence irrespective of whois providing their care, staff violence has beendocumented in institutions around the world,including those run by the State, by faithbasedorganisations, and by private entrepre-187Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

188Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsneurs or enterprises. The forms of violence canbe horrific. In care institutions in Jordan, childrenhave been reportedly subjected to beatingswith hands, sticks and hoses, and havingtheir heads hit against the wall. 61 In care institutionsin Qatar, a study found that childrenwere often beaten with sticks by institutionstaff, including teachers, supervisors, guardsand social workers. 62Violence in the guise of treatmentIn residential institutions for children with disabilities(including brain injuries, developmentaldisabilities, and psychiatric disabilities), childrenmay be subjected to violence as part of theirpurported ‘treatment.’ For example, in Turkey,a two-year investigation found that in psychiatricinstitutions, children as young as nine weresubjected to electroconvulsive or ‘shock’ treatment(ECT) without the use of muscle relaxantsor anaesthesia. Such treatment is extremelypainful, frightening and dangerous. 63Electric shocks are also used as an ‘aversivetreatment’ to control children’s behaviour insome institutions. For example, the SIBIS (SelfInjurious Behaviour-Inhibiting System) deviceis a commercially available remote-controlledelectric shock device marketed almost exclusivelyfor administering shocks to childrenwith disabilities. One facility in the UnitedStates devised its own ‘substantially stronger’device when it found that electrical shocksfrom the SIBIS device “lost much of (their)effectiveness” over a period of a few months. 64Drugs may also be used, not for medical treatment,but to control children’s behaviour andmake them more ‘compliant.’ This may haveother implications; for example when childrenwith disabilities are heavily medicated by staffin institutions and hospitals (often as a way ofcoping with staff shortages), they are unableto defend themselves from physical violence orsexual assault. 65A further example of State-authorised violenceis the practice of performing medical interventionsto limit reproductive functions – forexample, giving hysterectomies to young girlswith intellectual impairments or mental healthconcerns. There have been reports of this violationof human rights on girls as young as sevenor eight. 66 There is no medical justificationfor such operations. However, several reasonshave been given, including that the operationwill prevent the girls from menstruating, thusavoiding demands that would otherwise beplaced on caregivers; and that it will ensurethat the young girl will not become pregnant.Such concerns reflect the problems of understaffedinstitutions and the lack of sexual andreproductive health education and services forgirls with disabilities, as well as the lack ofadequate protection against the assumed riskof rape for young women both in institutionsand the community.Lack of care as a form of violenceWherever children are living, including whenthey are in the custody of the State, Governmentsare required to ensure that basic needs aremet. However, conditions in many residentialinstitutions are often so poor that they put thehealth and lives of children at risk. Institutionsare often overcrowded, unsanitary, and lacking

5in both staff and resources, leading to increasedmortality rates among these children comparedto their peers in family environments.In Mexico, children in psychiatric facilitieshave been found lying on mats on the floor,some covered with urine and faeces. Lackingadequate staff supervision, some children wereseen eating their own faeces and physicallyabusing themselves. 67 In rehabilitation centresfor children with mental disabilities bedriddenchildren emaciated from starvation anddehydration have been found. Bottles of foodwere provided by staff, but children who wereunable to pick up the bottles due to their disabilitygot no nourishment. 68In many facilities for children with disabilities,the children have no access to education, recreation,rehabilitation or other programmes.They are often left in their beds or cribs forlong periods without human contact or stimulation.Such deprivation often leads to severenegative physical, mental and psychologicaldamage, and in many instances to death.Violence by other childrenChildren in residential care are vulnerable toviolence from their peers, particularly whenconditions and staff supervision are poor.Lack of privacy and respect for cultural identity,frustration, overcrowding, and a failure toseparate particularly vulnerable children fromolder, more aggressive children often lead topeer-on-peer violence. Staff may sanction orencourage peer abuse amongst children – eitherto maintain control or simply for amusement.While recent studies are not common onthis issue, studies from the 1990s in the UK,Russia, and elsewhere indicated that bullyingand sexual abuse by peers while children werein care widespread. 69 ‘High-impact’ physicalviolence was also reported widely, ranging fromknife attacks to kicks and punches, primarilyfrom peers. 70 In some cases, children reportedthat orphanage staff pitted them against eachother for their own entertainment. 71Impact of institutionalisationon children’s healthand developmentThe overuse of institutions for children exactsenormous costs on children, their families, andsociety. Extensive research in child developmenthas shown that the effects of institutionalisationcan include poor physical health, severe developmentaldelays, disability, and potentiallyirreversible psychological damage. The negativeeffects are more severe the longer a child remainsin an institution, and in instances where theconditions of the institution are poor.The risk of developmental and psychologicaldamage is particularly acute for young childrenunder the age of four, which is a critical periodfor children to bond to their parents or caregivers.72 Even in a well-staffed institution, it isunlikely that the attention they might receivefrom their own parents would be replaced bystaff. One study on institutions in Europefound that young children (0–3 years) placedin residential care institutions without parentswere at risk of harm in terms of attachmentdisorder, developmental delay and neural atro-189Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

190Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsphy in the developing brain. The study concludedthat “The neglect and damage causedby early privation of parenting is equivalent toviolence to a young child.” 73Inactivity, social isolation, and degrading conditionsof living in institutions can lead to a declinein a child’s social and psychological functioning.74,75 After spending time in an institution,children can lose basic skills that they had uponentry, such as the ability to look after themselvesand to develop caring relationships.The physical condition of children in institutionsmay also deteriorate. Lacking rehabilitation,physical therapy or other programmes,children are often left to languish for yearsin a state of total inactivity. Without stimulationand opportunities for mobility, children’sarms, legs, and spines become contorted andatrophied from lack of use. Lacking adequatehuman contact, some children resort to selfharm.Their situation is exacerbated when staffrespond by using physical restraints.Institutionalisation also fuels the cycle of violence:institutionalised children are more likelyto engage in self-harm, aggression towardsothers, or become involved in crime, prostitution,or substance abuse. One study in Russiasuggests that one in three young people wholeave residential institutions becomes homeless,one in five ends up with a criminal record,and one in ten commits suicide. 76 Some studiesindicate that many institutionalised childrenare emotionally vulnerable and crave adultattention, making them ready targets for traffickers.77 A study in the Republic of Moldovafound that young people who had spent partof their childhood in institutions were overrepresentedby a factor of 10 among returnedtrafficking victims. 78Research also shows that children placed in residentialcare are more likely to come into conflictwith the law. In Northern Ireland, for example,a large proportion of young people who end upin the criminal justice system have come from acare background. Twenty-five percent of thosein custody are admitted directly from residentialcare, and an estimated 70% of 10–13-year-oldsin detention are from the care system. One studyon the state of mental health services regardingchildren in secure care and custody in NorthernIreland found that 48% of young people questionedhad been in care for over five years, andthat 22% had experienced four or more placementswithin the previous two years – with oneperson having been moved 13 times. 79Children in custodyand detentionViolence against children while in justice institutionsor in the custody of the police – policelock-ups, prisons including adult prisons,reformatory schools, and other places wherechildren in conflict with the law may be held– is more common than violence against childrenplaced in institutions solely for provisionof care. Even though there are many overlapsand similarities (poor conditions, low qualityof staffing, etc.), the institutional treatment ofchildren regarded as being anti-social or criminalis likely to be more physically and psychologicallypunitive than that of other groupsor in other environments. All the prejudices

5and discriminations attached to unwanted orfamily-less children are reinforced where thechild is seen as a social nuisance, or worse.Nature and extentof the problemAlthough information is hard to find and dataon children in care and justice systems are notgenerally disaggregated, some sources estimatethat, at any one time, one million childrenworldwide are deprived of their liberty.This is certainly an underestimate, and betterdata collection is urgently needed globally. Forexample, in the USA alone, more than 600,000children and teenagers spend some period oftime in secure detention facilities every year. 80The vast majority of boys and girls in detentionare charged with minor or petty crimes,and are first-time offenders. Very few havecommitted violent offences. Many have committedno offence at all, but have been roundedup for vagrancy, homelessness, or simply beingin need of care and protection. 81In many countries, the majority of children indetention have not been convicted of a crime,but are simply awaiting trial. In Pakistan, asof March 2003, out of around 2,340 childrendetained in prisons alone (i.e. not taking intoaccount detention in police cells and otherinstitutions), in just four regions of Pakistan,83% were under trial, or waiting for their trialto start. 82 In six jails in Cebu, the Philippines,75% of children held in jail between 1999 and2001 were detained pending trial. 83Building on the International Covenant onCivil and Political Rights, the CRC requiresthat every child deprived of their liberty hasthe right to prompt access to legal and otherappropriate assistance and the right to challengeits legality, and to receive a prompt decision(article 37d). However, pre-trial detentionmay last for months or even years. In Burundi,for example, the pre-trial period for childrenis sometimes longer than the maximum sentencefor the offence that was allegedly committed.84 Pre-trial detention of children inLagos State, Nigeria, has been found to lastfor as much as one year. 85 Disturbingly, manyof the children detained for long periods arenever convicted of a crime. In Pakistan, only13–17% of detained children were eventuallyconvicted of any offence. 86 In the interim, theyare detained for months or even years in overcrowded,dismal conditions, at risk of violencefrom staff, peers and adult inmates. 87Studies in South Asia indicate that the majorityof children detained are eligible for bailand pose no danger to the public. 88 However,judges routinely set bail well beyond the reachof detainees’ families, resulting in needlessincarceration. 89 Bail is rarely, if ever, consideredas an option for street children.After trial, large numbers of children are sentencedto correctional facilities or prisons.Although, as noted earlier, CRC article 40encourages a variety of alternatives, includingsupervision orders, probation, and foster care,imprisonment is often the norm. For example,in Indonesia in the late 1990s, up to 99% ofjuvenile offenders brought before the courtswere sentenced to prison. 90 In Bangladesh,children are frequently sent into ‘safe custody’191Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

192Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsby the police and the courts, even if this isunnecessary. Bangladesh passed a Children’sAct in 1974 which called for a separate systemof juvenile justice, probation, and the removalof children from adult prisons. However, morethan 30 years later, the provisions of this Actare breached and abused at every stage of achild’s contact with the law, and children incustody may experience appalling conditions,abuse of rights, and violence. 91Similar situations have been reported inAfrica. Most countries in Eastern and SouthernAfrica have legislation on juvenile justicesystems designed to respect the rights of thechild. However, many are not functioning ordo not exist due to financial constraints andlack of capacity. Separate facilities for childrenin conflict with the law are scarce, andchildren under 18 are imprisoned with adultoffenders, putting them at even greater risk ofviolence and sexual abuse. This situation hasbeen reported to the Study from Kenya, Madagascar,Eritrea, and Mozambique, and occursin many other countries. 92Historical contextPolicies to deal with children in conflict withthe law have evolved as societies themselveshave changed over time, and as ways of administeringlaw and order have been redesigned tomatch contemporary socio-political ideas andrealities.Children living on the streets of towns andcities, some of them involved in petty crime,became a fixture of the urban scene fromthe 19th century onwards, sparking calls forremedy and social reform. The first separatesystem of criminal justice for young people wasintroduced in the US State of Illinois in 1899,and other States and countries swiftly followedsuit. Since then, most (but not all) countrieshave introduced special ways of handling thecases of young people, including lighter andalternative types of sentence. Many childrenaccused of an offence today will – withoutlosing the right to a fair trial – be divertedfrom judicial processes into the welfare system,come before special ‘child hearings’, or be providedwith treatment that takes full account oftheir age, circumstances and needs. 93 However,while many countries have introduced childfriendlylegislation in line with the CRC andother international standards, application andenforcement of these norms lag behind.Although the majority of offences committedby children are non-violent, pressure on politiciansto ‘get tough on crime’ has driven increasinglytougher responses to children in conflictwith the law. This pressure has resulted inharsher sentences and increased rates of detention.These policies are often fuelled by disproportionatemedia attention to juvenile crimethat reinforce public misconceptions aboutthe nature and extent of crimes committed bychildren. For example, in the USA, between1993 and 1999, the number of children confinedin juvenile detention facilities increasedby 48%, even though violent crime committedby children decreased by 33% during the sameperiod. 94 Between 1994 and 2004, the numberof children sentenced to penal custody in Englandand Wales increased by 90%. 95

“The life here in prison is very difficult. It is hard, because it is not easy for a person to live.We who are new here suffer a lot. We sleep badly. Usually, you don’t sleep – you fall asleepsitting down until the morning. Because the prison is overcrowded. We eat badly. We are suffering,we’re beaten with a belt, the boss of the discipline beats us a lot. They sleep with us.The cell bosses force us to sleep with them (to have sexual intercourse).”Boy, 14, Eastern and Southern Africa, 2005 IV5On the plus side, more progressive attitudes arebeginning to make an impression in pocketsof the developing world. Some of these effortsto change attitudes towards marginalised anddiscriminated children, and to keep themfrom the descent into criminality which canbe expected to follow exposure to incarcerationand police brutality, are examined moreclosely later.most modern child development experts, butthe crime- and safety-conscious society mayinsist upon it.The CRC and other human rights treaties setout guidelines for the use of detention, andprovides that it should always be used as a lastresort and for the shortest possible time (article37). However, custodial regimes for the under-18s vary enormously, and few live up to theseprovisions.HAITI, 2005, Boys reach through bars at a jail for juvenilesin the Delmas neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince.Children in conflictwith the lawThe discourse about children and criminalitygoes to the heart of strongly held views aboutchild development, upbringing methods, thepurpose of justice systems, political pressures,and the human potential for transformationafter a ‘bad start’ in life. Institutionalisation isopposed as anything except as a last resort byUNICEF/HQ05-1934. Roger LemoyneWhy children come into conflictwith the lawViolence in the home and the pressures ofchronic poverty, coupled with a lack of adequatecare and protection systems, result inmany children coming into conflict with thelaw. Research conducted in Peru found thatfamily violence and child mistreatment werethe precipitating factors in 73% of cases ofchildren migrating to the streets. 96 Oncethere, many children engage in risky survivalbehaviours that bring them into contact withthe law, including begging, loitering, scavenging,petty thieving or prostitution. Hence thefrequent association between petty crime andthe desperate need of care. In a study of youngoffenders in three districts of Uganda, 70% ofchildren said that meeting their own needs,including those for food, was their main motivationfor stealing. 97Up to 95% of children in detention are chargedwith minor and petty offences. 98,99 Theft andother property crimes are most common. Inthe Philippines, a study in Davao City foundthat more than 80% of offences were for theft193Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

194Violence against Children in care and justice institutions(35%), substance abuse (28%) and curfew violations(19%). Violent offences accounted foronly 7% of crimes committed by children. 100In Malawi, a 1999 study found that 68% ofregistered offences were theft, burglary androbbery. The word ‘vagabond’ was used todescribe a further 8% of young offenders,which the study noted was “a term… representingobvious cases of street children.” 101In addition to being petty offenders, mostchildren in detention have not been previouslyarrested. For example, in the Lao People’sDemocratic Republic and the Philippines, itwas found that over 90% of children in detentionwere there for a first offence. 102Many children are arrested and detained foroffences that are only a crime when committedby children. These ‘status offences’ include truancy,running away from home, or being ‘beyondparental control’. In March–April 2003, 60%of children detained in a Boys’ Remand HomeInfants and young children in prisonin Lagos, Nigeria were non-criminal cases, ofwhich 55% were boys ‘beyond parental control’,and 30% were care and protection cases(‘found’ children). A further 15% were childrenwho had been rounded up in police streetraids. Likewise, 80% of girls detained in theGirls’ Remand Home were non-criminal cases,i.e. ‘beyond parental control’, or ‘care and protection’and civil dispute cases. 103Although almost no data are available aboutyoung offenders with disabilities, it is widelyaccepted that children with intellectualimpairments and mental health problemsare at increased risk of conflict with the law– often at the behest of others who see themas pawns. Once in trouble, these children areless likely to be able to talk their way out oftrouble, or make a compelling case on theirown behalf. Once in prison, they are alsomore likely to be victimised. Neither thejuvenile justice nor the child welfare systemis well equipped to address children’s mentalA unique group of children at risk of violence in detention facilities are infants andyoung children who are in prison with their mothers. This practice exists in manycountries, in all regions. However, institutions seldom provide the necessary conditionsto protect children. There are undeniable benefits in keeping children with theirmothers; some countries allow only infants to stay with their mothers, while othersallow mothers to keep children up to the age of six. However, improvements areurgently needed in the conditions under which these institutions function in orderto cater for the specific needs of children living with their mothers in detention. Forexample, a study on children in prisons with their mothers in Cambodia found thatchildren were beaten by other prisoners when they cried, or as a result of a disputewith the child’s mother. 104

5health needs, yet increasing numbers of childrenwith mental or emotional disorders endup there. Such placements are devastating tofamilies. Children with mental health needsface the added stress of being displaced andfeeling abandoned. Meanwhile, parents haveto give up their say about key aspects of theirchildren’s lives, sometimes even losing track ofwhere their children are living.Detention as a substitute for careIn too many countries, the criminal justicesystem is used as a substitute for adequate careand protection systems. The police are oftenthe first and only agency to respond to childrenin need, and lacking appropriate alternatives,place vulnerable children in police lockupsor in detention. 105 For example, in Kenya, astudy found that 80–85% of children in policecustody or correctional facilities were childrenin need of care and protection, and who hadactually committed no criminal offence. 106Girls in detentionMany children working or living on the streetsare simply assumed to be anti-social elements,and are taken into detention by police withoutproof of misdeed. In Rwanda, as in manyother countries, street children are rounded upand placed in ‘re-education centres’ where theyare deprived of their liberty, whether or notthey have committed an offence. 107 In manysettings, they are sent by courts to detentionin remand institutions or adult prisons, wherethey may be kept indefinitely. 108Children who are victims of sexual or economicexploitation are frequently detained asif they were criminals, including girls fleeingforced marriages, trafficked children and childrenin the commercial sex industry (see box).For example, under ‘safe custody’ laws in Bangladesh,boys and girls can be detained in jailsor homes for vagrants in cases where they havebeen the victims of rape or sexual assaults, rescuedfrom brothels or from traffickers, or, inthe case of girls and women, where they haveThe use of so-called ‘protective custody’ disproportionately affects girls who are mostoften the victims of sexual abuse and exploitation. Detention for the protection of girlswho have been sexually abused is particularly acute in countries where ‘honour crimes’are practised. For example, in Syria, girls who have been sexually assaulted are oftenput into an institution for juvenile delinquents rather than handed over to their parents,due to fears that the girls may be killed to preserve the family honour, or forcedto marry their rapist. 114195Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsSince girls are usually detained in much smaller numbers than boys, Governmentsmay have even fewer facilities to ensure their segregation from adults. A 2002 paper onjuveniles and the law commented that “The numbers of juvenile girls within the system>>>

“Ninety percent of the kids that go in, come out worse than when they went in.”Young person, North America, 2004 VGirls in detentionare small, and as a result they are simply tacked onto the rest of the system with littlerecognition that their needs are different and separate from older women. It also meansthat they attract fewer resources…” 115Girls in detention facilities are at particular risk of physical and sexual abuse, particularlywhen detained in mixed-sex facilities, or where a general lack of facilities forgirls results in placement in adult facilities. An additional concern is the lack of femalestaff in facilities detaining girls. Male staff often engage in ‘sanctioned sexual harassment,’including improper touching during searches, or watching girls while they dress,shower, or use the toilet. 116 Male staff also use their positions of authority to demandsexual favours, and are responsible for sexual assault and rape.196Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsmarried someone from another religion orwithout the consent of their guardians. 109 Similarly,in India and Nepal, trafficking survivorsand girls found in brothels are often forced bythe police and NGOs into ‘protective custody’in secure institutions. 110Mental health is also an issue of concern inthe incarceration of children. Studies in theUK indicate that between 46% and 81% ofyoung prisoners (aged between 15–21 years)have mental health problems. 111 Other researchclaims that about 80% of children in custodysuffer from at least two mental disorders. 112Quite apart from the fact that such childrenshould be receiving treatment and not punishment,staff in correctional institutions areoften not trained to deal with children who arementally ill or who have emotional problems.In detention centres, for example, it has beenreported that staff have responded to suicidalchildren by stripping them naked and tyingtheir wrists and ankles to bare beds. 113Sources of violence indetention and police custodyChildren deprived of their liberty and placedin detention are at extreme risk of violence. Asin residential care, violence against children indetention often comes from staff or peers. Inaddition, children may be subject to violencefrom adult detainees, from police or securityforces while in their custody, or may receive violentsentences as a judgment from the courts.Violence by staff in detentioninstitutionsChildren in detention are frequently subjectedto violence by the staff, as a form of control orpunishment, and often for minor infractions.Although 124 countries have fully prohibitedcorporal punishment in penal institutions, inat least 78 countries it remains legal as a disciplinarymeasure in these institutions. 117 Inthe Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30% ofdetained children reported physical or mental

“Cops are really aggressive with kids. They slam kids on the groundand when they strip search you they are rough.”Girl, 16, North America VI5punishment, ranging from beatings, beingforced to crawl, sitting in the sun, and havingmeals withheld. 118 In Yemen, more than onethirdof detained children reported beatingsand other cruel treatment; more than half of astudy sample said that they had been sexuallyabused, usually by guards and teachers. 119 Insome juvenile detention centres in Brazil, beatingsare a daily occurrence; children reportedthat guards verbally abused them, punchedthem with their fists, kicked them, and hitthem with wooden sticks. 120Violent practices are found in both industrializedand developing countries. Childrenmay be confined to cramped cells for weeksor even months, subjected to painful restraintsas a “disciplinary” measure, or forced to holduncomfortable physical positions for hours ata time. In the UK, information obtained inNovember 2005 revealed frequent use of painfulrestraints in four privately-run ‘secure trainingcentres’, in which children aged between12 and 17 were detained. Painful restrainingholds involving pressure to noses, thumbs andribs were used 768 times in the year, causinginjuries in 51 cases. 121Violence while in custody of policeand security forcesPolice and other security forces are oftenresponsible for violence against children. Childrenliving or working on the street are particularlyvulnerable to violence by police, includingharassment, beatings, sexual assault, andkillings. This is discussed at greater length inthe chapter on violence against children in thecommunity. However, it is important to notethat a significant part of this violence occursto children formally in the custody of policeand security forces, for example, during arrest,interrogation, or in police lock-ups. In Egypt,for example, children detained in police lockupsreported beatings with batons, whips,rubber hoses, and belts, and sexual abuse. 122In Nepal, 85% of children and young peopleinterviewed in prisons reported abusive treatmentwhile in the custody of police or securityforces, and 58.6% reported torture withmethods such as electric shocks, beatings withhard objects, beatings with their hands tied,and beatings while blindfolded. 123It is well documented that some police forcesroutinely use violence, including torture, toextract information and confessions from children.In Pakistan, the National Commissionfor Child Welfare and Development foundthat of juvenile detainees, 68% of respondentsreported having been forced to admit theirguilt. 124 In Papua New Guinea, children havebeen burned, cut with scissors, whipped whilenaked, and humiliated during interrogationsby police in order to get them to confess to acrime. 125 In some states, children have died asa result of police torture. 126In many countries, laws require children tobe transferred quickly from police custody toan appropriate children’s facility or broughtbefore a judge within 24 to 48 hours or less.However, in practice, children may remain inpolice lock-ups for long periods of time, oftenwithout notification to their parents or guardians.For example, in the Philippines, lawsrequiring police to inform the Department of197Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

“It was like being crucified on an iron bed. I tried to resist, but seven or eight guards pushed me downon my back onto a hard iron frame. They stretched out my arms and legs and chained them to the fourcorners of the bed. I had to lie there like that from the evening till the next morning.”Girl, 16, Middle East, 2003 VII198Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsSocial Welfare and Development within eighthours of a child’s arrest are frequently notobserved, and children may remain detainedin police cells for up to a month. 127 In Jamaica,an investigation in the late 1990s found thatmany children who were abused, neglectedor accused of only petty offences remainedin filthy and overcrowded police lock-ups forperiods of eight months or more. 128Similarly, violence may be used against childrenin the custody of security and militaryforces in occupied or disputed territories. InIsrael and the Occupied Palestinian Territory,over 1,400 Palestinian children were arrestedby Israeli military authorities between 2000and 2004. Affidavits by Palestinian childdetainees indicated that most were subjectedto one or more forms of mistreatment duringtheir period of arrest and interrogation includingsexual harassment, and physical and psychologicalthreats. 129Violence as a sentenceCorporal punishment as a sentence for childrenconvicted of offences has been prohibited in177 States and territories, and a series of humanrights judgments have condemned the practice.However, some 31 States and territories stillpermit corporal punishment as a court sentenceagainst children. 130 For example, Malaysia’sChild Act allows the whipping of children foundguilty of an offence. 131 In Tonga, the CriminalOffences Act stipulates that boys under the ageof 16 can be whipped up to 20 times.In certain countries, children who are judgedto have reached puberty may be sentenced topunishments of extreme violence, includingflogging, stoning, and amputation. For example,the CRC has expressed concern aboutsuch sentencing of children to States includingBrunei Darrussalam, the Islamic Republicof Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, andYemen, and has recommended that these countriesamend existing laws to make these practicesunlawful. 132Although universally condemned and prohibitedby international law (ICCPR, article 6,CRC, article 37a), some States still demandcapital punishment for crimes committedby children. Since 1990, Amnesty Internationalhas recorded 39 reported executionsof child offenders in eight countries – China,the Democratic Republic of the Congo, theIslamic Republic of Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan,Saudi Arabia, the USA, and Yemen. 133 InMarch 2005, however, the US Supreme Courtruled that the death penalty could no longerbe imposed on individuals for crimes committedbefore the age of 18, and the remaining72 persons who had been sentenced to deathfor crimes committed as juveniles were thenremoved from death row. 134A life sentence without the possibility of releasefor offences committed by children is alsoproscribed by international law (CRC, article37a). However, at least 15 countries have lawsallowing this, although only a handful imposethe sentence in practice. Outside the USA,there are only about a dozen child offendersknown to be serving life sentences. In the USA,however, by 2005 some 2,225 individuals hadbeen sentenced to serve the rest of their lives

5in prison for crimes they had committed aschildren. An estimated 59% were sentenced tolife imprisonment without parole for their firstevercriminal conviction; an estimated 26%were convicted of ‘felony murder,’ in which thechild had participated in a robbery or burglaryduring which a co-participant had committedmurder, often without the knowledge or intentof the child. Racial disparities are marked, withAfrican-Americans receiving the sentence 10times more often than white children. 135Violence by adult detaineesNational legislation in most countries requiresseparate facilities for children in conflict withthe law in order to prevent abuse and exploitationby adults. Yet in many countries, detentionwith adults still occurs. Since 2001, theCouncil of Europe’s Committee for the Preventionof Torture has recorded its concern aboutyoung people being kept in the same cells asadults in at least three Council of Europecountries. In Germany, for example, in 1988UNICEF reported that young people under 18were not systematically separated from adults,putting them at risk of threatening behaviour,blackmail, or even rape by older prisoners. 136In police lock-ups, where space is limited,children are often held together with adultswho may perpetrate violence, including sexualviolence, against them. Adequate supervision,particularly at night, is often lacking, resultingin further abuses by police, including rape.In some parts of the world, separate facilitiesfor short-term custody or longer-term detentionmay not even exist. In States where separatejuvenile justice systems have not beeninstalled, children are routinely detained withadult offenders under appalling conditions,increasing their risk of violence from olderinmates. 137In addition, where countries allow childrento be detained, tried, and sentenced as adults,they may also incarcerate them with adults.In the USA, nearly every state has recentlychanged its laws to make it easier to try childrenas adults; in 2000, an estimated 55,000children were tried in adult courts. 138 Childrenwho are convicted in these courts are then typicallydetained in adult prisons.Violence by other childrenAs in care institutions, children in detentionfacilities are vulnerable to violence from theirpeers, particularly when conditions and staffsupervision are poor. Lack of privacy, frustration,overcrowding, and a failure to separateparticularly vulnerable children from older,more aggressive children often lead to peeron-peerviolence.In Rio de Janiero, gang-related rivalries haveled to serious episodes of violence among childrenheld in juvenile detention centers, includingbeatings, stabbings, rape, and murder. 139 Inthe UK, a 2005 report from the Chief Inspectorof Prisons and Youth Justice Board (Englandand Wales) found that 21% of both boysand girls had been hit, kicked or assaulted byanother young person. 140Self-harmChildren in detention are at heightened riskof self-mutilation and suicidal behaviour due199Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

“When I went to prison, I was around all the violence. I was like, ‘man I gotta get outof this – how am I gonna get out of this prison?’ I can’t do no life sentence hereat that age. And so I thought of that [killing himself]. Gotta end it, gotta end it...I’ve got so many cuts on me… Razor blades. They give us disposable razors.”Boy, sentenced to life without parole for an offence committed at 14, North America, 2005 VIIIto violence, neglect, or poor living conditions.Prolonged or indefinite detention and isolationalso contribute to poor mental health (discussedabove) and the risk of self-harm.In the USA, 110 youth suicides are reported tohave occurred nationwide in juvenile facilitiesfrom 1995 to 1999. 141 In 2002, a total of 122juvenile detention facilities reported transportingat least one child to a hospital emergencyroom because of a suicide attempt. 142 In theUK, 29 children died in detention between1990 and September 2005. Twenty-sevenhanged themselves, the youngest aged 14, andone died while being restrained. 143For children detained in adult facilities, therisks of self-harm are particularly great; somestudies in the USA indicate that childrendetained in adult jails or prisons are up toeight times more likely to commit suicide thanthose detained in juvenile facilities. 144Does child detention ‘work’?200Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsChildren subjected to detention are more likely to commit offences in the future thanchildren placed in diversion programmes. In the USA, virtually every study examiningrecidivism among children sentenced to juvenile detention facilities has found that atleast 50–70% of offenders are re-arrested within one or two years after their release. 145In contrast, recidivism rates for children placed in some community-based alternativeprogrammes are as low as 10%. 146 Recidivism is particularly acute for childrendetained with adults. In Cambodia, an estimated six out of 10 children detained inadult prisons are re-arrested for more serious crimes after their release. 147According to one juvenile justice expert: “Evaluation research indicates that incarceratingyoung offenders in large, congregate-care juvenile institutions does not effectivelyrehabilitate and may actually harm them. A century of experience with training schoolsand youth prisons demonstrates that they constitute the one extensively evaluated andclearly ineffective method to treat delinquents.” 148

5Other children in StatecustodyRefugees, asylum seekersand migrantsChildren may flee their home countries for avariety of reasons including armed conflict,ethnic insurgency, persecution of their families,death or disappearance of their parents, orforced military recruitment. Others may moveacross borders in search of better economic andsocial opportunities, often without the necessarydocuments or in contravention of immigrationrules. Whether legal or illegal in status,many of these children find themselves in institutionswhere they are isolated from the community.Unaccompanied childrenWhile many refugee children are with theirparents or in the care of family members, asignificant number of asylum-seeking and refugeechildren are either separated from closefamily, or entirely unaccompanied. In 2004,countries such as Austria, Belgium, France,Italy and the UK each recorded between 1,000and 5,000 arrivals of asylum-seeking separatedchildren. 149 In 2005, concern about the vulnerabilitiesand losses of rights faced by unaccompaniedand separated asylum-seeking childrenled the Committee on the Rights of the Childto adopt a General Comment providing guidanceon the protection, care and proper treatmentof such children based on the CRC. 150Currently, only around one-third of Europeancountries have legal and practical provisionsfor the care and protection of unaccompaniedchildren. Such arrangements shouldideally include separate reception facilities, aprohibition on child detention, and officiallyappointed trained guardians. But the realityis that many centres are not equipped to meetchildren’s needs, and staff are not trained todeal with children, especially those who maybe suffering from trauma. This increases theirpotential exposure to violence. Significantnumbers of unaccompanied and separatedchildren disappear from reception facilities orduring the asylum procedure. 151 Some of thesedisappearances are reported as being related totrafficking.Groups working with asylum-seeking detaineeshave expressed concern that the level ofuncertainty about how long they are to bedetained, combined with fears about the consequencesof return, may exacerbate these children’srisk of self-harm. 152 This is a particularanxiety in the case of those who have survivedtorture or serious trauma in their country oforigin. Depression can lead to desperate outcomes.According to the Separated Childrenin Europe Programme, the placement of somechildren in residential centres “has gone on tolast years and has been described as ‘mentaltorture’, leading some children to feel thatthe only way they can end this suffering, totake some control of their life, is to commitsuicide.” 153Jail-like facilitiesAlthough children should never be detainedin relation to their immigration status, manyare held in secure facilities for long periods.201Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

“I was tortured in prison and male inmates burnt mewith cigarettes because I refused to have sex with them”.Boy, 16, Indian Ocean subregion, 2006 IX202Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsFor example, in Australia, hundreds of girlsand boys seeking asylum have been held indetention centres for an average of 20 months.The prolonged detention had a significantlydetrimental impact on the mental and physicalhealth of some of these children. Some ofthe children held in detention suffered fromdepression, post-traumatic stress disorder, andanxiety disorders. Other children experiencedbed wetting, sleep walking and night terrors. 154Children were also exposed to unrest, protestsand violence that took place in some of thedetention centres. Some children in detentionalso sewed their lips together and committedother acts of self-harm. 155Asylum-seeking children were detained inimmigration centres or confined in internationalairports in several countries in 2004 and 2005,including the Bahamas, Botswana, LibyanArab Jamahiriya, Malaysia, Thailand, the USAand Europe. 156 Children may be detained withtheir family members for immigration-relatedoffences, without it being assessed if this is intheir best interests, and without examiningalternatives to detention. Release is often onlysecured when confirmation of resettlement toa third country of the minor or the family hasbeen obtained. Stateless children are at a particularrisk of facing long-term detention forlack of residence requirements. These circumstancesdo not necessarily entail violence, butmay leave children in especially vulnerable andexposed situations.Detention of migrant childrenStatistics on illegal migration are few and notreliable in view of the clandestine nature ofmigration channels, but major flows invariablyinclude children, including some who becomeunaccompanied or separated from close familyduring the migratory process. In Spain, almost1,400 unaccompanied and separated migrantchildren were taken in by the AndalucianAdministration in Southern Spain betweenJanuary and October 2005. 157 In Mexico, over4,000 unaccompanied children were returnedto their countries of origin in 2005 alone, mostof them to Guatemala. The return proceduresdo not include the necessary safeguards toguarantee the security and well-being of thesechildren.Concern over the treatment and care migrantchildren receive in the country of destination– as well as in their country of origin in thosecases where they are subsequently repatriated –has been growing. The ‘care’ of these childrentoo often involves unwarranted deprivation ofliberty, or placement in open facilities whereconditions are inappropriate. These childrenfrequently lack the guarantees and legal representationavailable to other children in thecountry concerned. 158 Detained children arefrequently housed in the same facilities as nonrelatedadults; they may be exposed to traumatisingexperiences and have inadequate accessto proper nutrition, health support and education.Some children detained for breaches ofimmigration regulations are held together withindividuals charged with criminal offences.Peer violence is also a risk. A study of migrantchildren from Northern Africa detained inSpanish centres found that many reportedextortion, theft, and physical abuse by larger,

5older children. Many children reported thatthe staff often failed to intervene, even whenabuses occurred in front of them. Some childrenran away from the centres in the beliefthat they would be safer on the streets. 159Children in peacetime armiesThis study does not cover the subject of childsoldiers during wartime, which was exploredin the 1996 UN study Impact of Armed Conflicton Children (known as the Machel Study)and its follow-up. However, children who aremembers of Government military forces maybe subjected to violence in peacetime. Themode of life, work, and residence of these childrenis essentially institutional, taking place inarmy barracks or training camps.In at least 65 countries around the world,boys and girls are recruited into Governmentmilitary forces, either legally as volunteers, orillegally through force or deception. 160 Considerableevidence indicates that such underagesoldiers may be subjected to bullying,rape, sexual violence, and harassment to thepoint of self-harm and/or suicide, depressionand mental illness. For example, in Paraguay,children as young as 12 have been forciblyrecruited into the armed forces, often withbirth certificates falsified by civilian or militaryauthorities. Since 1989, over 100 youngconscripts have died while serving compulsorymilitary service, and many others have beenvictims of serious accidents. The deaths andinjuries were believed to be the result of punishmentby officers and the lack of safety measuresfor dangerous activities such as handlingweapons. Some conscripts suffered permanentpsychiatric damage after systematic ill-treatment.161,162,163In the UK, the suspicious deaths of two 17 yearold soldiers at Deepcut Army Barracks led torevelations of other suicides, as well as dozensof incidents of self-harm and systematic bullyingat the barracks. A 2004 parliamentarycommittee later conducted an inquiry and recommendedan external complaints procedureto investigate allegations of bullying and abusein the British military. 164Although not members of the armed forces,thousands of children live permanently onmilitary bases in army barracks. In Kazakhstan,Russia and the Ukraine, homeless andorphaned children may be ‘adopted’ by militaryunits from the age of 10 or 11. They alsoreceive military training, raising concernsabout their exposure to harsh conditions, bullyingand other forms of abuse, and hazardousactivities such as weapons training. 165Responses to violenceagainst children in careand justice institutionsA variety of responses is required to preventand respond to violence against children incare and justice systems. As with other settingsin which violence against children occurs,primary prevention to avoid violence beforeit takes place in institutions is highly important.This has two major thrusts: reducingthe main factors that lead to children beingplaced in institutions, and providing alterna-203Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

204Violence against Children in care and justice institutionstives to the institutions themselves. The firstof these can only be dealt with briefly in thissection, and is also addressed in the chapteron violence against children in the home andfamily. Alternatives to institutionalisation aredescribed in more detail.The section also deals with secondary preventionmeasures focused on responding immediatelyto violence in institutions. These takeinto account that however fast primary preventionadvances and institutionalisation isreduced, existing institutions and all alternativecare placements must be made safe placesfor children. These include better training andappropriate remuneration for staff, more andbetter services to meet a wide range of children’sneeds (including those related to sex anddisability), improved supervision and administrativetransparency, and more openness to thevoices and involvement of children and theirfamilies.Also essential is action to address the impunityof those who are responsible for violenceagainst children, by establishing effective andtransparent monitoring, investigation andaccountability mechanisms.Legislative actionA clear legislative basis to deal with children incare and detention is an essential part of eliminatingviolence against children in institutionsand other forms of alternative care. In somecountries, this may best be contained within acomprehensive children’s act or similar broadbasedpiece of legislation; in others, existinglegislation may need to be modified. In allcases, legislation should be consistent with theCRC and other human rights instruments.Some important features of such legislationinclude the following.The State must not itself be a perpetrator ofviolence against individuals in its care. Thereforeall forms of violent sentencing must beeliminated, including capital punishment andlife imprisonment without the possibility ofrelease. The use of corporal punishment andother cruel or degrading forms of punishmentor control must be prohibited explicitly withinall institutional and alternative care settingswhere children reside or are detained.In the interests of reducing the numbers ofchildren taken into custody, criminal codesand other legislation related to crime and policingneed to decriminalise status offences andsurvival behaviours (such as begging, loitering,vagrancy) to remove the legal basis under whichmany children are taken into custody. Sexuallyexploited or trafficked children should betreated as victims to be helped rather than perpetratorsto be arrested, and must be providedwith community-based care and protection.In the case of trafficking and illegal entry ofmigrant children, there should be a non-punishmentclause for immigration offences suchas possession of fraudulent documents.Legislation must reflect States’ obligations toprotect children, wherever they are placed andwhoever is providing or managing the institutionor form of care. All potential staff shouldbe screened. All institutions and alternativeforms of care must be registered and the careof children within them regulated in detail. All

5care and justice institutions should be requiredto report on all incidents of violence.Legislation should also ensure that institutionscan no longer operate as closed settings, withoutaccountability. Public scrutiny must be guaranteedin a number of ways, including ensuringaccess for children’s families (except whennot in the best interests of the child), NGOs,human rights institutions and ombudspersons,lawyers, media, and other elements of civil society,while respecting individual privacy and dignityfor girls and boys. Effective monitoring andreporting systems by competent bodies shouldbe established in law, with the power to demandongoing information on conditions, and toinvestigate and redress allegations of violence.Guarantees that the voices of children andtheir families will be heard should have a basisin law, rather than just guidance or institutionalprocedure manuals. Legislation mustensure that simple, accessible, independentand safe complaint mechanisms should be providedto children in institutions. Children andtheir representatives should also have access toan appeals process if they are not satisfied withthe response to their complaint.Policies to preventinstitutionalisationPolicies governing care and justice systemsshould aim both to prevent violence againstchildren in care or custody, and to reduce thenumbers of children entering the full rangeof institutions, from both public and privatecare facilities to police custody, juvenile detentioncentres, and adult prisons. Detentionand institutional care should be regarded asoptions of last resort, taking into account thebest interests of the child and his or her longtermspecial needs.Most of the following are primary preventionapproaches, aimed specifically at reducing institutionalisation.It should, of course, be borne inmind that a range of broad-brush measures (suchas improved basic service provision, includingfor families of children with disabilities or otherrisk factors, livelihood improvement, genderand social equality, prevention of substanceabuse, reduction of domestic violence, inclusiveeducation and educational retention, andgeneral anti-poverty development goals) wouldby definition help improve families’ capacity toraise or manage vulnerable and at-risk children,and contribute greatly to keeping children outof care and detention institutions.The principle of ‘last resort’Institutional care should be reserved for childrenwhose needs cannot be met in their ownfamily or an alternative family setting. For childrenwho are in conflict with the law, detentionshould be used only for children who areassessed as posing a real danger to others, andthen only for the shortest necessary time.In practical terms, this principle of ‘last resort’means that whenever a child is considered foror taken into care, an evaluation should be conductedto identify the type of placement mostappropriate to that child’s needs. An importantobjective of such evaluations is to ensurethat children are not admitted into residentialcare unless it is in their best interests.205Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

“We are beaten by security forces… when we are caught, on the way to the lockup,and when we arrive at the lockup. In the lockup, we are beaten by other prisonerswho ask us for money. During interrogation, we are beaten so that we will tellthe (police inspector) what we stole or tell him who did it.”Boy living on the streets, Eastern and Southern Africa, 2005 X206Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsThere is nothing particularly new about the‘last resort’ principle either for care or justiceissues. The problem has been that in many partsof the world, the ‘last resort’ is frequently theonly resort considered or available. Althoughthere have been local successes, in only a fewregions have entire care and justice systemsshifted towards making alternatives the norm.In the words of one expert who contributed tothis Study, “It is not enough to repeat the samemantra, it must mean a radical change in theway the systems operate.”Prioritise alternativesFamily and community-based alternatives anddiversion mechanisms must be developed andresources allocated, to reduce the reliance oninstitutional care. Clear strategies for reintegratingchildren into the communities must bein place. In many countries, this will entail afundamental shift in policies.Professionals who work with children, policymakers, and officials including police andjudges should be educated about the desirabilityand availability of alternatives to institutionalisationor detention. For example, policeservices should have specifically trained policeto focus on children’s care and protectionissues. Doctors and other health professionalsshould be able to provide families with a disabledchild or other at-risk children with thereferrals and information they need to care forand support their children.The high financial costs of institutionalisationInstitutionalisation of children is expensive, and can be up to 12 times the per capitacost of community-based care options, creating an unnecessary financial drain on budgets.168,169 The World Bank reported that the annual cost for one child in residential carein the Kagera region of the United Republic of Tanzania was over six times that of supportinga child in a foster home. 170 Research in Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova andRussia during 2001 and 2002 showed that community residential and small group homecare cost approximately half that of State institutional care; foster care cost approximatelyone-fifth to one-third that of State institutional care; and family support and social serviceprovision cost approximately one-eighth that of State institutional care. 171Although less expensive over the long term, the creation of such alternatives initiallyrequires additional resources. A study of institutionalisation in the CEE/CIS countriescautions that “the resultant savings will not be realised immediately. This is because toenable a smooth transition it is necessary to set up alternatives before an institutionalsystem has been closed down or reduced in size…(However) as institutions are graduallyclosed, the costs are reduced as the new system takes over. These extra transitional costsmust be regarded as an investment to the introduction of a new and better system.” 172

5All donors, whether multi-lateral, intergovernmentalor NGO, should actively support alternatives,through advocacy with Governmentand partners, and support for re-training andsensitisation activity. Where Governments havealready made clear a non-institutional policy forchildren orphaned by HIV/AIDS and othersneeding care, as in South Africa, charities andNGOs should respect the policy and avoidbuilding the kind of facilities which reinforcestigma, social exclusion, discrimination and apoor life start for children who might otherwisehave stayed with family members. 166,167 Donorsthat support juvenile justice reform should alsoensure that they support alternatives to detentionand prevention programmes, rather thanallow aid to be used for the construction ofsecure facilities.More generally, public education is necessaryto change societal attitudes to child care andYEMEN, 1998, Nine-year-old Abdullah Ahmed lies in bedreading in the dormitory at the Centre for Rehabilitationfor Minors, in the old part of Sana’a.UNICEF/HQ98-0996. Giacomo Pirozzicriminalisation, as well as to institutionalisationitself. This is essential to ensure both thatdecision-makers actually take action, and toinform families about non-institutional solutionsfor the care of their children.Alternativesto institutional careSupport for disadvantaged andat-risk familiesWith adequate support services, many parentswho might otherwise abandon a child or resortto institutionalisation can be helped to care forhim or her. Family support can address violencein the home and other factors that are linkedwith children coming into conflict with thelaw. Such services include accessible and qualitybasic health and social services; home visits bysocial workers, visiting nurses or communitybasedsupport groups (mutual support groups,local faith-based groups, etc.); programmes thatteach effective parenting skills; livelihood assistanceto relieve the pressures of poverty; andrespite care to enable parents with serious burdensof care to take a break from time to time.The benefits of keeping children with their familiesare inarguable in terms of their health andhappiness, and the best interests of the child.Furthermore, the cost of supporting families tomaintain their children at home is substantiallylower than institutionalising them.Access to free education (or in some settings,help with school fees) is a means of reducinginstitutionalisation in places where poverty isentrenched, and parents may deposit childrenin institutions in order to obtain an education207Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

208Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsfor them. In Zimbabwe, the Child ProtectionSociety reports that the biggest single reasonwhy families in Zimbabwe do not want tocare for their children is that they are worriedabout the cost of education. 173 Governments arerequired to invest in education for all children,and donors and NGOs should favour helpingfamilies or foster families with school fees ratherthan encouraging the use of orphanages orbuilding institutions. Where necessary, normalschooling should be supplemented with targetedassistance and outreach to specific at-riskchildren and their families (see the chapter onviolence against children in the community).Support for families of children withdisabilitiesWhere children have disabilities, family supportprogrammes which enable children withintensive needs to stay in their natural familiesrepresent an economically viable alternativeto institutionalisation. They provide familieswith various combinations of training,financial subsidies, and services. In the twodecades following the introduction of familysupport programmes in the USA and Canada,the number of children with developmentaldisabilities living in institutions decreased byabout 70%. 174 For this to work, parents withchildren who have disabilities need to be providedwith accurate information about howthey can care for their child and what servicesare available in their community. The same istrue of parents with disabilities or with chronicillnesses like HIV/AIDS.Boys and girls with disabilities have an equalright to education. In 1999, it was estimatedthat only about 3% of children with disabilitiesCase study: helping families to care for children at homeA family in Lebanon had four children between the ages of two and 12. The fatherwas severely disabled and required extensive care. The mother was active and healthy,but jobless and overburdened with her family’s daily needs. Although her three olderchildren were doing well in school, the mother was unable to pay their education fees.She approached an SOS Children’s Village, asking them to accept her children.Rather than taking the children into care, SOS made an agreement with the motherthat SOS would cover the children’s educational fees for one year, and approached theschool to reduce the school fees. The mother was also asked to prepare a business planfor an income-generating activity that she could carry out. SOS agreed to help withstart-up costs and provide a loan for her business. Within 15 days, the mother drew upa plan for a mini-bakery in a shop next to her house. As soon as she went into business,she began to generate income and to repay the loan to SOS. The family soon becameentirely self-reliant, with the children remaining at home with their parents. 176

“We don’t know why you are here and how long you will have to stay. You are ten years old,scared and confused. Your journey through life has been grim – family despair and violent arguments,no money for clothes or games, sometimes no money for food. But nothing has prepared you for this.Yesterday you were home. This morning a social worker came and took you away. You joined the morethan one million children living in residential institutions across Europe and Central Asia. We musttry to see the world through the eyes of children we serve.”Maria Calivis, Regional Director for CEE/CIS and Baltic States, UNICEF, 2005 XI5in developing countries had access to school. 175Children with disabilities have a right to inclusiveeducation alongside their peers.Direct support for orphans andvulnerable childrenWhen children lose their family or it is not possiblefor them to stay with their parents, alternativesto institutionalisation may include fostering,adoption, support for extended familymembers who serve as carers, and small grouphomes. In regions with a high HIV prevalencein rural Africa, where older children are actingas heads of household, it is often possible toprovide support so as to keep siblings togetherand avoid institutional care.Accommodating different needs andpreferencesGovernments and those involved in placementdecisions, including courts, should recognisethat different children need different types ofcare and aim to offer as wide a range of differentcare options as possible and ensure the qualityof each. The CRC (article 20.3) also emphasisesthe need to take into account the child’s ethnic,religious, cultural and linguistic backgroundwhen considering options for the child.Children have a right to participate in allstages of the placement process (CRC article12). 177 When it is not possible or desirable forchildren to stay with their biological families,both children and their parents should participatein decision-making about care options,with children having the full opportunity toexpress their views.Alternatives to institutionaldetentionAs a guiding principle, children in need of careand protection should not be apprehended bythe police but should instead be immediatelyreferred to child welfare agencies. Some of thiscan be accomplished by decriminalising statusoffences (such as truancy), survival behaviours(such as begging, selling sex, scavenging, loiteringor vagrancy), victimisation throughtrafficking or criminal exploitation, and antisocialor unruly behaviour by children, thusavoiding a criminal justice response to whatis a social or developmental/behavioural problem.Of those children who remain – i.e. thosein actual conflict with the law – it is essentialthat they are ‘diverted’ as quickly as possiblefrom police custody and the formal justicesystem into alternative programmes.Children should only be detained as a lastresort, and for the shortest possible length oftime. Screening systems should be put in placeto ensure that children are only detained if theyare assessed as posing a real danger to othersand following a judicial hearing at which theyare represented. Police, judges, and appropriateGovernment agencies should develop mechanismsto identify the least restrictive environmentfor each child, taking into account eachchild’s individual situation. Any child whoseliberty is restricted has a right to speedy legaland other assistance to challenge the legality oftheir deprivation of liberty (CRC article 37d).209Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

Case study: diversion pilot projects in KenyaIn 1997 and 1998, the Kenyan Department of Children’s Services estimated that 80% ofchildren in the juvenile justice system were cases of children requiring care and protection.Only 20% of children had committed actual offences, and few of these were serious.In 2001, the Department of Children’s Services and Save the Children UK started apilot project to divert children away from the courts in Nairobi, Nakuru and Kisumu.210Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsThe aim of the programme is to divert children, especially those in need of care andprotection, away from the justice system at the earliest possible point. A focus is toensure that police officers are trained to refer children to other agencies rather thanplacing them in detention. As part of the project, specialised Child Protection Unitswere set up in major police stations in the three pilot project areas, and police officersand other stakeholders received training in child rights and the diversion process. Atthe community level, member groups offer skills training, counselling for parents andchildren, non-formal education, community centres and temporary shelters.In its first four years, 2,800 children were diverted from the courts, and district officialsreported a 90% drop in the number of children referred to Children’s Courts inthe project areas. Decisions by police and district teams on how to assist children aremade much more quickly, with some children being resettled straight from the policestation. Many now stay in police custody for less than 24 hours, reducing congestionin police stations. Around 70% of children diverted from the courts have been reintegratedwith their families. The number of children in the Nairobi Children’s RemandHome has been reduced by half. In general, children are spending only days in remandhomes rather than weeks or months. 182Community-based diversionprogrammesA wide variety of alternatives to detention exist,both in industrialised and developing countries.Many provide effective rehabilitation andcommunity reintegration for young offenderswithout unnecessarily depriving them of theirliberty. 178 These include the establishmentof community-based mechanisms to handleminor offences before the children responsibleenter the formal justice system, the useof Local Councils as ‘courts of first instance’for children; and restorative justice initiatives.When successful, such programmes reducethe risk of exposing the child to a brutalisingenvironment in which anger and resentmentgrows, violent behaviour is regarded as a norm,and recidivism almost guaranteed.

5In some countries, traditional practices offermodels for children who come in conflict withthe law without resorting to detention. Forexample, in Somalia, under customary law,traditional elders oversee the resolution of conflictsand compensation for crimes or disputes.If a child has committed an offence, the parentsof the child and the victims will go together tosee an elder who will decide on the compensationto be paid by the child’s parents. 179 However,attempts to extend or adapt such modelsshould beware of practices that may contravenethe CRC and other human rights instruments,in terms of punishments available and in somecases in terms of gender relations. In Somaliantraditional justice, for example, women aregenerally unable to speak for themselves, andcompensation is always less for crimes againstwomen than for those against men. 180In recent years, a number of NGO initiativeshave been taken in countries where police routinelydetain children for petty offences. Forexample, in the Philippines, as many as 94%of children detained in custody are first-timeoffenders, and the level of violence they experiencein custody is high. In the country’s Visayasisland group, local Children’s Justice Committeeshave been formed to handle the cases ofchildren arrested for minor offences, usingmediation between the parties. This project,run by FREELAVA, a Filipino NGO, is nowoperational in 10 barangays (villages or municipalwards) with a population of between 10,000and 100,000. Community volunteers and peercounsellors, who were themselves previouslychildren in conflict with the law, assist childrenremoved from custody and help them reintegratein the community. Even though moreserious cases – murder, rape, drug trafficking,extreme violence – do not get handled by theCommittees, the reintegration service can helpthem upon their release from prison. 181A number of ‘good practice’ lessons haveemerged from community-based diversionefforts. Such programmes should be appropriateto the age and maturity of the child,and can include the creation of cautioning orwarning systems, in-home supervision, victim/offender mediation, community service as asentence, and family and community counselling.Many other options are available andshould be explored to fit local conditions.Protection from violencewithin institutionsIt is of utmost importance that all childrenwho are placed in care systems or detentionfacilities should be protected from all formsof violence. To do so, a clear legal frameworkand a range of policies, regulations and programmesmust be in place.Staff selection, training andremunerationGiven the documented levels of violence perpetratedby staff against children in institutions,staff who work in both care and justicesystems – including foster carers – should becarefully selected, undergo criminal recordchecks, receive appropriate training and necessarysupervision, be fully qualified, and receiveadequate wages. Levels of staffing shouldensure effective care and oversight.211Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

“We feel our juvenile justice systems have the responsibility to rehabilitate youthand integrate them back into society rather than subject them to more violence.”Children, North America, 2005 XI212Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsStaff must be trained in child rights and nonviolentdisciplinary measures. Care should betaken not to train staff in such a way as tocreate a gulf between them and children andyoung people. The overwhelming need of childrenis for nurture, and few react well to beingtreated like ‘clients’ and ‘caseloads’.Efforts should be made to improve the status ofindividuals working with children in care andjustice systems, to ensure high-calibre employees.Health-care and educational staff shouldbe institutionally independent from the agencythat runs the institution. All staff should berequired to report all instances of violence.Conforming to international standardsWhere children are held in custody, internationalstandards of due process shouldbe strictly followed (see the Introductory sectionof this chapter on the relevant UN standards).These include the right to be informedpromptly of charges against the young detainee,the right to legal assistance, and a swift determinationof the child’s case.Notification of a child’s parents or legal guardians,including NGOs accredited to work withchildren, should be mandatory whenever achild is arrested or taken into custody. From theearliest stage of apprehension, children shouldreceive free medical and legal assistance fromindependent professionals. A parent, guardianor ‘appropriate adult’ should be present duringany interview or interrogation of children.Guidelines for transfers should be adoptedand strictly observed to limit the length oftime that children are in police custody, andensure their transfer to more appropriate care.Police stations and lock-ups should be subjectto regular, independent monitoring.Conditions in all institutions should conformto international standards, including theprovision of health and mental health care,adequate nutrition, and sanitation. Children’sdignity and need for personal space should berespected. Children should be separated fromadults, and younger, more vulnerable childrenshould be separated from those that are olderor known to be violent. Facilities should not beovercrowded, and children should have opportunitiesfor recreation and mobility. Childrenshould not lose their right to education, vocationaltraining, and other programmes tofacilitate their full development.Monitoring and investigationAll facilities should be independently inspectedand monitored by qualified bodies with fullaccess to the facilities and freedom to interviewchildren and staff in private. These bodiesshould have the power and capacity to monitorconditions and investigate any allegationsof violence in a timely manner. Such bodiescould include ombudspersons, independentcommissions, citizens or police review boards.Complaints mechanismsChildren in both care and justice systems shouldhave simple, accessible and safe opportunities tocomplain about the way they are treated withoutrisk of reprisal. Children should also haveopportunities to express themselves freely andverbalise their concerns, particularly for those

5reluctant to access formal complaints mechanisms.Children and their families should alsohave an appeals process if they are not satisfiedwith the response to their complaint.Redress and responsemechanismsWhen violence against children takes place,whether in care or detention institutions,perpetrators must be held accountable andthe children affected must receive appropriatecare, support and compensation. Childrenwho have been subjected to violence (eitherprevious to or subsequent to their placement)should receive appropriate medical and mentalhealth care. Appropriate interventions caninclude educational and psycho-social individualor group work with the child, or psychotherapy.Special attention should be given torestoring their confidence in human relationshipsas an important part of the healing process.In the case of ethnic and other minoritiesthat have systematically been institutionalisedat higher rates than the rest of the population,particularly when this has been the result ofGovernment policy, collective forms of redressmay need to be considered.Violence against children will never be fullyeliminated as long as perpetrators believe thatthey can get away with it. To ensure there is noimpunity for perpetrators of violence againstchildren, States should therefore ensure a continuumof appropriate sanctions against individualswho are responsible for violence againstchildren in institutions, and against the way inwhich institutions (public or private) are managedwhere such violence takes place. Thiscontinuum should include:• criminal prosecution• civil actions, including those fordamages or injunctive relief (such asordering changes in the institution)• administrative proceedings (such asrevoking licenses, imposing fines, orclosing facilities)• professional sanctions related toemployment (e.g. a note in an employee’spersonnel file, dismissal, being barredfrom working with children).Finally, policy is improved if it is based onreliable data, and if this data is open to thepublic. All placements should be registeredand centrally reported, and disaggregated statisticsshould be made publicly available forall children in all forms of care and detention.States should analyse and publish data on allinstances of violence, the response to complaints,and enforcement practices, includingactions taken against perpetrators of violencetowards children, or against institutions inwhich such acts of violence take place.De-institutionalising childrenalready in careAs alternatives are developed and implemented,concerted efforts should be made to shut downlarge institutions (see box). Where de-institutionalisationis introduced, this needs to bedone with great care and in a monitored andappropriate manner.213Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

Case study: de-institutionalisation in SudanIn 2003, approximately 110 infants were abandoned on the streets of Khartoum everymonth, with 50% dying within hours. Those who survived were admitted to Maygoma,Khartoum’s only institution for infants, where mortality rates reached 75%.Between 1998 and 2003, of 2,500 infants admitted, only 400 survived. Those thatlived suffered severe developmental delays and some suffered from chronic illnesses dueto poor nutrition and to lack of stimulation and individual care.214Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsTo address the problems at Maygoma, the Sudanese Government, UN organisations,community groups and key NGOs including Médecins Sans Frontières and Hope andHomes for Children formed a task force. This task force identified three main needsin the community: services to prevent the separation of children from their families,and services to reunite families; alternative family care for children who could not livewith their families; and specialist services for children with disabilities. Its goal was theeventual closure of Maygoma.The programme developed by the task force included communications strategies toaddress the stigma attached to children born outside marriage; the training and activationof social workers; the development of alternative family care programmes (forboth emergency and permanent placements), and prevention programmes to identifymothers at risk and to reunify infants with their birth mothers.The programme has been enormously successful. The mortality rate at Maygomadropped to 33% by 2004, and to 10% by 2005. Admissions from the streets havedecreased from 75% to 30%, and 51 infants have been reunited with their mothers.More than 500 infants have been placed in alternative family care in less than twoyears. All of these infants recovered their developmental delays. The programme is alsocost-effective. The expense for each child in alternative family care is only one-tenththe cost for care in Maygoma.Maygoma is scheduled to close in 2006. 184In order to ensure that children are not unnecessarilyretained in residential or other care,placements should be reviewed regularly toassess whether the child’s continued institutionalisationis necessary, or whether alternativeplacements or a return to the child’s familyis possible (CRC article 25). This assessmentshould be carried out with the full involvementof the child and, where appropriate, with thechild’s family, together with a multi-disciplin-

5ary group including educators, social workers,representatives of the facility, and others.Children who go out into the world at the endof a long period of institutional care or detentionshould not simply be left to fend for themselves,without follow-up and support. Manychildren feel as if they have ‘been pushed off acliff’ when they leave care and have to managetheir lives independently; they may have noexperience of making the simplest decision ontheir own behalf. They may lose their friendsand what they regard as ‘home’, and have greatdifficulty adjusting to any new regime, whetherindependent or in another form of care. Forexample, children formerly in care in the USAwho became homeless after leaving the systemidentified the need for instruction in everydaylife skills, transitional living programmes, andhelp from social workers in locating homes andavailable services. They also explained howhighly regimented settings in group homes limitedtheir ability to practice independent decision-makingand learn other skills that wouldprepare them for adulthood before leaving thesystem. “Don’t over-shelter us and then expect usto be independent,” said one young woman. 183Public education: getting themessage outSocietal attitudes play an important part in howinstitutions treat – or mistreat – children intheir charge. Efforts should therefore be madeto conduct public campaigns to promote children’srights and counter negative stereotypesof certain groups of children, such as childrenliving or working on the streets, children fromracial and ethnic minorities, parentless children,children with disabilities, and childrenaffected by HIV/AIDS, since exclusion anddiscrimination exacerbate the risk of violence.Individuals and families should be encouragedto demand more support in caring for theirchildren themselves, and to resist pressures togive children up to institutional care.Where resources are scarceMany of the responses described in this chapterdepend on the capacity of care systems andthe availability of qualified social workers. Inmany countries, that capacity is at a very lowlevel, or non-existent, particularly in ruralareas. For example, the lack of social workers isacute in many countries. Government officialsin Namibia reported in 2002 that there wereonly 118 registered social workers in the entirecountry, and that in the Caprivi region, therewas only one social worker to serve a populationof 79,000. In Zimbabwe, the Child ProtectionSociety reported that the loss of socialworkers through emigration led to significantdelays in the review of child welfare cases,children becoming ‘stuck’ in institutions, andto delays in foster family placements.However, much can be achieved by community-basedorganisations and resources. Theseinclude faith-based groups, neighbourhoodassociations, women’s groups, and committeesof village elders or other community leaders.While some may be formed or take on suchresponsibilities spontaneously, or in reactionto specific events, building the capacity of localcommunities and para-professionals is crucial.215Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

216Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsIn response to rising numbers of children’s casesof petty crime being dealt with by the formallegal system, local councils in Uganda havereceived training to strengthen their roles for theprotection of children in conflict with the law.Specific capacity-building initiatives and supportfor the local council committees have included:training on roles and jurisdiction in handlingchild-related cases, training on diversion measures,and capacity building on children’s rights,growth and development, rehabilitation andreintegration. The local councils handle childrelatedcases, but also refer some cases to policeand probation social welfare offices. The localcouncils also use alternative forms of punishmentsuch as compensation, apology and restitution,and have organised sensitisation campaignsdesigned to teach surrounding communitiesabout the value of non-custodial sanctions. Thisproject has helped to divert child-related casesfrom the formal justice system. 185In Malawi, Community Crime PreventionCommittees are combining traditional ways ofhandling children’s issues with current law. Thecommittees aim to divert children in conflictwith the law from the court system, by counsellingthe family and the child, and supportingthe child’s reintegration. To support the workof the committees, UNICEF also supportssensitisation to increase the awareness of parents,teachers and especially traditional leadersabout crime prevention and diversion possibilities.UNICEF Malawi reports that most pettycrimes are now addressed within the communitywithout police and judiciary involvement,and that both the number of court cases andlevels of recidivism have decreased. 186RecommendationsAll States have the obligation to protect all childrenfrom all forms of violence, wherever theyare placed and irrespective of who is providingtheir care. To effectively prevent and addressviolence against children in care and justicesystems, a range of actions must be taken, and avariety of organisations and constituencies needto be engaged. It is essential that action plans beformulated, costed and fully discussed in orderto bring societies ‘on board’ with their objectives.In doing so, the voices of children andtheir families must be listened to and heeded.For all care and justice settings1. Prohibit all violence in care and justicesystems. Governments should ensure thatsectoral laws applying to care and justicesystems reflect the State-wide legislativeprohibition on all forms of violence. Legalprohibition should be backed by detailedguidance for all involved.2. Ensure institutionalisation is a lastresort, and prioritise alternatives. Governmentsshould ensure that placement inan institutional setting is avoided whereverpossible, and a full range of alternativesshould be available for both care and justicesystems.3. Ensure quality staffing and training.Governments should ensure that staffrecruitment, training and employmentpolicies, and rights-based codes of conductensure that all those who work with childrenin care and justice systems are both

5qualified and fit to work with children andyoung people, that their professional statusis recognised, and that their wages areadequate. Levels of staffing should ensureadequate supervision and oversight.4. Sensitise police, referral agencies, lawyers,judges, institution managers andstaff. Governments should ensure that allthose who come into contact with childrenduring the process of their assimilationinto care and justice systems shouldbe familiarised with children’s rights; thisapplies equally to the children concernedand to their parents.5. Ensure court systems are sensitive to theneeds of children and their families. Governmentsshould ensure that child victims,including those who have witnessed familyviolence, are not re-victimised during thejustice process nor subjected to extended ordrawn out cross-examination or other legalprocesses. In line with the Guidelines onJustice for Child Victims and Witnesses ofCrime (ECOSOC Resolution 2005/20),all investigations, law enforcement, prosecutionand judicial processes should takeinto account the needs of these childrenin terms of their age, sex, disability andlevel of maturity, and fully respect theirphysical, mental and moral integrity. If itis in their best interests, children should beaccompanied by a trusted adult throughouttheir involvement in the justice process.Moreover, the child’s privacy should beprotected, his or her identity and confidentialityrespected, and he or she should notbe subjected to excessive interviews, statements,hearings and unnecessary contactwith the justice process.Consideration should be given to the useof video-taping and other testimonial aidssuch as the use of screens or closed-circuittelevisions. Unnecessary contacts with thealleged perpetrator, or their defence counsel,should be eliminated. Speedy trialsshould also be ensured, unless delays arein the child’s best interests.6. Regularly reassess placements. Governmentsshould ensure that authoritiesregularly review the reasons for a child’splacement in care, residential or detentionfacilities, and assess whether continuedinstitutionalisation is necessary; children(and their parents when appropriate)should be involved in reviews at all stagesto determine appropriate care options.7. Ensure effective complaints, investigationand enforcement mechanisms. Governmentsshould ensure that children havesimple, accessible and safe opportunities toraise concerns and complain about the waythey are treated without the risk of reprisals,and have access to the courts when necessary.All allegations of violence must beinvestigated thoroughly and promptly, safeguarding‘whistleblowers’ from reprisals.8. Effective sanctions against perpetrators.Governments should adopt and applya continuum of appropriate criminal, civil,administrative and professional proceedingsand sanctions against individuals who are217Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

218Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsresponsible for violence against children aswell as against those who are responsible forinstitutions where such violence takes place.9. Ensure effective monitoring and access.Governments shouild ensure that institutionsare inspected regularly by appropriatelyempowered independent bodieswith the authority to enter without warning,interview children and staff in privateand investigate any alleged violence;access to institutions by NGOs, lawyers,judges, ombudspersons, national humanrights institutions, parliamentarians, themedia, and others as appropriate shouldbe assured, while respecting children’s privacyrights.10. Registration and collection of data. Governmentsshould ensure that all placementsand movements of children between placements,including detention, are registeredand centrally reported. Data on childrenin detention and residential care should besystematically collected and published. Ata minimum, such data should be disaggregatedby sex, age, disability and reasons forplacement. All incidents of violence shouldbe recorded and centrally reported. Informationon violence against children shouldalso be collected through confidential exitinterviews with all children leaving suchinstitutions, in order to measure progressin ending violence against children.For care and social welfare systems11. Support parents’ capacity to care for theirchildren. Governments should fulfil theirobligations to reduce rates of abandonmentand institutionalisation by ensuring parents’access to adequate support, includingservices and livelihood programmes. Priorityshould be given to supporting familiesof children with disabilities, and other childrenat high risk of abandonment or institutionalisation.12. Ensure that alternatives to institutionalisationcover all children in need ofcare. This includes all children in need ofcare, especially orphaned children, thosewith disabilities, and minority or marginalisedgroups. Government should ensurethat family-based care options are favouredin all cases, and are the only option forbabies and small children.For justice systems13. Reduce detention. Governments shouldensure that detention is only used for childoffenders who are assessed as posing a realdanger to others, and then only as a lastresort, for the shortest necessary time, andfollowing judicial hearing, with greaterresources invested in alternative familyandcommunity-based rehabilitation andreintegration programmes.14. Legal reform. Governments should ensurethat all forms of violent sentencing are prohibitedfor offences committed before theage of eighteen, including the death penalty,and all indeterminate and disproportionatesentences, including life imprisonmentwithout parole and corporal punishment.Status offences (such as truancy), survival

5behaviours (such as begging, selling sex,scavenging, loitering or vagrancy), victimisationconnected with trafficking or criminalexploitation, and anti-social or unrulybehaviour should be decriminalised.15. Establish child-focused juvenile justicesystems. Governments should ensure thatjuvenile justice systems for all children upto age 18 are comprehensive, child-focused,and have rehabilitation and social reintegrationas their paramount aims. Suchsystems should adhere to internationalstandards, ensuring children’s right to dueprocess, legal counsel, access to family,and the resolution of cases as quickly aspossible.219Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

220Violence against Children in care and justice institutionsReferences1 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Summary Report of the ThematicMeeting on Violence against Children in Conflict withthe Law. 4–5 April 2005, Geneva. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r180.2 American Academy of Pediatrics (2001). Assessmentof Maltreatment of Children with Disabilities (PolicyStatement). Pediatrics, 108(2): 508–512.3 Teplin LA et al. (2005). Early Violent Death AmongDelinquent Youth: A Prospective Longitudinal Study.Pediatrics, 115: 1586–1593.4 Ministry for Foreign Affairs Sweden (2001). Childrenin Institutions. Stockholm, Ministry for Foreign AffairsSweden.5 United Nations (1990). Convention on the Rights ofthe Child. New York, UN. Available at:http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/pdf/crc.pdf.6 United Nations (1985). United Nations StandardMinimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice(‘The Beijing Rules’). Adopted by General Assemblyresolution 40/33 of 29 November 1985. Available at:http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/beijingrules.htm.7 United Nations (1990). United Nations Guidelines forthe Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (The ‘RiyadhGuidelines’). Adopted by General Assembly resolution45/112 of 14 December 1990. Available at:http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/h_comp47.htm.8 United Nations (1990). United Nations Rules forthe Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty.Adopted by General Assembly resolution 45/113 of14 December 1990. Available at:http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/h_comp37.htm.9 Carter R (2005). Family Matters: A Study of InstitutionalChildcare in Central and Eastern Europe and the FormerSoviet Union. London, EveryChild.10 Boswell J (1988). The Kindness of Strangers:The Abandonment of Children in Western Europe fromLate Antiquity to the Renaissance.New York, Pantheon Books.11 OHCHR (2005). Informal Note on Indigenous Children:Four Years Experience of Servicing the Mandate of the UNSpecial Rapporteur. Prepared for the United NationsSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children.12 UNICEF (2003). Children in Institutions:The Beginning of the End? The Cases of Italy, Spain,Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Innocenti Insight.Florence, Innocenti Research Centre.13 Burchell G (2005). Meeting the Challenges of Out-of-Home Care Provision. Submission to the Committeeon the Rights of the Child General Day of Discussionon Children Without Parental Care. United Aid forAzerbaijan.14 Include Youth (2005). Submission to the Committeeon the Rights of the Child General Day of Discussion onChildren Without Parental Care. Belfast, Include Youth.15 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Summary Report of theThematic Meeting on Violence against Children withDisabilities. 28 July 2005, New York. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r180.16 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Summary Report ofthe Thematic Meeting on Violence against Children withDisabilities. 28 July 2005, New York. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r180.17 Kendrick A (1998). ‘Who Do We Trust?’ The Abuse ofChildren Living Away from Home in the United Kingdom.Paper presented to the 12th International Congress onChild Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN). September 1998,Auckland, New Zealand.18 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Summary Report ofthe Thematic Meeting on Violence against Children withDisabilities. 28 July 2005, New York. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r180.19 Berridge D, Brodie I (1996). Residential Child Carein England and Wales: The Inquiries and After. In:Hill M, Aldgate J (eds). Child Welfare Services:Developments in Law, Policy, Practice and Research.London, Jessica Kingsley, pp 180–195.

520 Barter C (2003). Abuse of Children in Residential Care.London, NSPCC.21 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Summary Report ofthe Thematic Meeting on Violence against Childrenin Conflict with the Law. 4–5 April 2005, Geneva.Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r180.22 Human Rights Watch (2001). Easy Targets: ViolenceAgainst Children Worldwide. New York, Human RightsWatch.23 Westcott H, Clement M (1992). NSPCC Experience ofChild Abuse in Residential Care and EducationalPlacements: Results of a Survey. London, NSPCC.24 Astra, Children’s Rights Centre, Humanitarian LawCentre, and OMCT (2004). State Violence in Serbiaand Montenegro: An Alternative Report to the UnitedNations Human Rights Committee. Geneva and Belgrade.25 Keating P et al. (2003). Review of Children’s Homes andPlaces of Safety in Jamaica. Kingston, Jamaica,Ministry of Health.26 International Save the Children Alliance (2003).A Last Resort: The Growing Concern About Childrenin Residential Care. London, Save the Children UK.27 Barth RP (2002). Institutions vs Foster Homes:The Empirical Base for a Century of Action. Chapel Hill,NC, University of North Carolina School of SocialWork, Jordan Institute for Families.28 Almaty (2002). Alternative Report of Non-GovernmentalOrganisations of Kazakhstan. Available at:http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.33/kazakhstan_ngo_report.pdf.29 Stativa E (2000). Survey on Child Abuse in ResidentialCare Institutions in Romania (ABSUR). Available at:http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.40/GDD_2005_stativa1eng.pdf#search=%22Survey%20on%20Child%20Abuse%20in%20Residential%20Care%20Institutions%20in%20Romania%22.30 Carter R (2005). Family Matters: A Study of InstitutionalChildcare in Central and Eastern Europe and the FormerSoviet Union. London, EveryChild.31 Barter C (2003). Abuse of Children in Residential Care.London, NSPCC. Available at: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/OnlineResources/InformationBriefings/AbuseOfChildrenInResidentialCare_asp_ifegap26011.html.32 UNICEF (2003). Children in Institutions: TheBeginning of the End? The Cases of Italy, Spain,Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Innocenti Insight.Florence, Innocenti Research Centre.33 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: NorthAmerica. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.34 Goodman R (2000). Children of the Japanese State:The Changing Role of Child Protection Institutions inContemporary Japan. Oxford, Oxford University Press.35 International Save the Children Alliance (2003). ALast Resort: The Growing Concern about Children inResidential Care. London, Save the Children UK.36 UNICEF Regional Office for Latin America and theCaribbean (2004). Convention on the Rights of the Child.Fifteen Years Later. Latin America, UNICEF.37 Foster G (2004). Study of the Response by Faith-BasedOrganisations to Orphans and Vulnerable Children.UNICEF and Word Conference of Religions forPeace.38 International Save the Children Alliance (2003).A Last Resort: The Growing Concern about Children inResidential Care. London, Save the Children UK.39 Ugandan Ministry of Labour, Gender and SocialDevelopment (2003). Uganda Country Report for theStockholm Conference on Residential Care. University ofStockholm, Sweden.40 Powell G et al. (forthcoming). Children in ResidentialCare: The Zimbabwean Experience. New York, UNICEF.41 UNICEF (2003). Africa’s Orphaned Generations. NewYork, UNICEF.221Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

222Violence against Children in care and justice institutions42 TransMONEE Database (2002). UNICEF InnocentiResearch Centre, Florence. Cited in: United NationsStudy on Violence against Children (2005). Violence inResidential Facilities for Children. Regional Desk Review:Europe and Central Asia. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r2743 UNICEF (2005). Children and Disability in Transitionin CEE/CIS and Baltic States. New York, UNICEF.44 Burnett A (2005). Study Examines the Situation ofChildren with Disabilities in Uzbekistan. Tashkent,Uzbekistan, UNICEF. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/uzbekistan_25809.html.45 Tobis D (2000). Moving from Residential Institutions toCommunity-based Social Services in Central and EasternEurope and the Former Soviet Union. Washington DC,World Bank.46 Carter R (2005). Family Matters: A Study of InstitutionalChildcare in Central and Eastern Europe and the FormerSoviet Union. London, EveryChild.47 Tobis D (1992). The Continuum of Child WelfareServices: Principles and Practices for Central and EasternEurope. Paper given at the Regional Seminar for Eastand Central Europe, Sofia, Bulgaria, September/October 1992. Cited in: Carter R (2005). FamilyMatters: A Study of Institutional Childcare in Central andEastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. London,EveryChild.48 A Jones et al. (Eds) (1991). Soviet Social Problems.Boulder, Colorado, Westview Press. Cited in: Carter R(2005). Family Matters: A Study of Institutional Childcarein Central and Eastern Europe and the Former SovietUnion. London, EveryChild.49 Cabral C (2005). Contributions to InternationalStandards for the Protection of Children in Out-of-HomeCare. Submission to the Committee on the Rights of theChild Day of General Discussion on Children WithoutParental Care, Geneva.50 SOS-Kinderdorf (2005). A Child’s Right to a Family:The Experience, Learning and Vision of SOS Children’sVillages. Position Paper.51 SOS-Kinderdorf (2005). A Child’s Right to a Family:The Experience, Learning and Vision of SOS Children’sVillages. Position Paper.52 Keating P et al. (2003). Review of Children’s Homes andPlaces of Safety in Jamaica. Kingston, Jamaica, Ministryof Health.53 Carter R (2005). Family Matters: A Study of InstitutionalChildcare in Central and Eastern Europe and the FormerSoviet Union. London, EveryChild.54 Human Rights Watch (2005). Positively Abandoned:Stigma and Discrimination against HIV-Positive Mothersand Their Children in Russia. New York, Human RightsWatch.55 UNICEF Somalia (2003). From Perception to Reality:A Study on Child Protection in Somalia. UNICEFSomalia, Ch. 5.56 Mental Disability Rights International (2005). BehindClosed Doors: Human Rights Abuses in the PsychiatricFacilities, Orphanages and Rehabilitation Centres ofTurkey. Washington DC, MDRI.57 Mental Disability Rights International (2006). HiddenSuffering: Romania’s Segregation and Abuse of Infants andChildren with Disabilities. Washington DC, MDRI.58 Browne KD et al. (2004). Mapping the Number andCharacteristics of Children Under Three in InstitutionsAcross Europe at Risk of Harm. European Union DaphneProgramme, Final Project Report No. 2002/017/C, Publication 26951. Birmingham, University ofBirmingham.59 Silva E (2004). O Direito à Convivência Familiar eComunitária: os Abrigos para Crianças e Adolescentes noBrasil (The Right to Live with Family and Community:Shelters for Children and Adolescents in Brazil). Brasília:Ipea/Conanda. Cited in: Cabral C (2005). Contributionsto International Standards for the Protection of Childrenin Out-of-Home Care. Submission to the Committee onthe Rights of the Child Day of General Discussion onChildren without Parental Care, Geneva.60 Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment ofChildren (2006). Global Summary of the Legal Status ofCorporal Punishment of Children. 28 June 2006.

561 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: MiddleEast and North Africa. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.62 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: MiddleEast and North Africa. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.63 Mental Disability Rights International (2005). BehindClosed Doors: Human Rights Abuses in the PsychiatricFacilities, Orphanages and Rehabilitation Centres ofTurkey. Washington DC, MRDI.64 Israel M (2002). Use of Skin-Shock as a SupplementaryAversive at the Judge Rotenberg Centre (JRC). Paperpresented at the 2002 Meeting of the Association forBehaviour Analysis. Available at: http://www.judgerc.org/writeup3.html.65 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Summary Report of theThematic Meeting on Violence against Children withDisabilities. 28 July 2005, New York. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r180.66 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Summary Report of theThematic Meeting on Violence against Children withDisabilities. 28 July 2005, New York, pp 18–19.Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r180.67 Mental Disability Rights International (2000). HumanRights and Mental Health: Mexico. Washington, DC,MRDI.68 Mental Disability Rights International (2005). BehindClosed Doors: Human Rights Abuses in the PsychiatricFacilities, Orphanages and Rehabilitation Centres ofTurkey. Washington, DC, MRDI.69 Sinclair I, Gibbs I (1998). Children’s Homes: A Study inDiversity. Chichester, UK, Wiley. Cited in: Barter C(2003). Abuse of Children in Residential Care. London,NSPCC.70 Kendrick A (1998). Who Do We Trust? The Abuse ofChildren Living Away from Home in the United Kingdom.Paper presented to the 12th International Congresson Child Abuse and Neglect; Protecting Children,Innovation and Inspiration. ISPCAN, Auckland,New Zealand, 6–9 September.71 Human Rights Watch (1998). Abandoned to the State:Cruelty and Neglect in Russian Orphanages. New York,Human Rights Watch.72 Frank DA et al. (1996). Infants and Young Childrenin Orphanages: One View from Paediatrics and ChildPsychiatry. Pediatrics, 97(4): 569–578.73 University of Birmingham, UK Centre for Forensic andFamily Psychology. Cited in: International Foster CareOrganisation (2005). Submission to the Committeeon the Rights of the Child Day of General Discussion.Available at: http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.40/GDD_2005_IFCO.pdf.74 Conroy J, Bradley V (1985). The Pennhurst LongitudinalStudy: A Report of Five Years of Research and Analysis.Philadelphia, Temple University DevelopmentalDisabilities Centre and Boston, Human ServicesResearch Institute.75 Bregman J, Harris J (1995). Mental Retardation. In:Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, VI 2207.76 Harwin J (1996). Children of the Russian State: 1917–95.Avebury, Ashgate Publishing Company.77 Carter R (2005). Family Matters: A Study of InstitutionalChildcare in Central and Eastern Europe and the FormerSoviet Union. London, EveryChild.78 IOM Rehabilitation Centre for Victims of Trafficking(2004). Cited in: Child Rights Information Center(2004). Evaluation Report: Life Skills Education forPrevention of Trafficking in Human Beings. Child RightsInformation Centre (CRIC), Secretariat of the NationalCouncil for Protection of the Rights of the Child,Ministry of Education.79 Include Youth (2005). Submission to the Committee onthe Rights of the Child General Day of Discussion onChildren Without Parental Care. Belfast, Include Youth.223Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

224Violence against Children in care and justice institutions80 Annie E Casey Foundation (2004). Kids Count: 2004Date Book Online. Available at: http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/.81 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Summary Report of theThematic Meeting on Violence against Children in Conflictwith the Law. 4–5 April 2005, Geneva. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r180.82 National Commission for Child Welfare andDevelopment Records (2003). Cited in: AMAL andConsortium for Street Children (2004). Street Childrenand Juvenile Justice in Pakistan. AMAL and Consortiumfor Street Children.83 Martin F, Parry-Williams J (2005). The Right Not to LoseHope. London, Save the Children UK.84 Amnesty International (2002). Burundi: Juvenile Justicein Burundi. London, Amnesty International. Cited in:United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: East andSouthern Africa. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.85 Human Development Initiatives and Consortium forStreet Children (2004). Street Children and JuvenileJustice in Lagos State. Human Development Initiativesand Consortium for Street Children, p 73.86 Jahangir A, Doucet M (1993). Children of a Lesser God:Child Prisoners of Pakistan. Lahore, Pakistan, VanguardBooks, p 1.87 Human Rights Watch (1999). Prison Bound: The Denialof Juvenile Justice in Pakistan. New York, Human RightsWatch.88 NCCWD (2001). Situation Analysis of Juveniles in Jails,p 79. Cited in: United Nations Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children (2005). RegionalDesk Review: South Asia. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.89 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: SouthAsia. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.90 Defence for Children International (2003). Kids BehindBars: A Study on Children in Conflict with the Law:Towards Investing in Prevention, Stopping Incarcerationand Meeting International Standards. Amsterdam,Defence for Children International.91 Save the Children (2005). Mapping Save the Children’sResponse to Violence against Children in the South AsiaRegion. International Save the Children Alliance92 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: SouthAsia. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.93 UNICEF (1998). Juvenile Justice. Innocenti Digest No 3.Florence, International Child Development Centre.94 Annie E Casey Foundation (2003). The AdvocaseyIndex: Kids, Crime and Punishment. Advocasey, 5(1).95 Nacro (2005). A Better Alternative: Reducing ChildImprisonment. London, Nacro.96 Consortium for Street Children and University CollegeCork (1999). Prevention of Street Migration: ResourcePack. London, Consortium for Street Children andUniversity College Cork. Cited in: Wernham M (2004).An Outside Chance: Street Children and Juvenile Justice– An International Perspective. London, Consortium forStreet Children.97 Kakama PT (2002). Deprivation of Basic Needs asMotivator for Criminal Activities Among Children.London, Save the Children UK.98 Defence for Children International (2003). Kids BehindBars: A Study on Children in Conflict with the Law:Towards Investing in Prevention, Stopping Incarcerationand Meeting International Standards. Amsterdam,Defence for Children International.99 Martin F, Parry-Williams J (2005). The Right Not to LoseHope. London, Save the Children UK.100 Martin F, Parry-Williams J (2005). The Right Not to LoseHope. London, Save the Children UK.101 Centre for Youth and Children’s Affairs (1999). A SurveyStudy Report on the Juvenile Offenders in Malawi Prisonsand Approved Reform Centres. Lilongwe, Malawi, Centrefor Youth and Children’s Affairs, p 16.

5102 Martin F, Parry-Williams J (2005). The Right Not to LoseHope. London, Save the Children UK.103 Wernham M (2004). An Outside Chance: Street Childrenand Juvenile Justice – An International Perspective.London, Consortium for Street Children.104 Quaker United Nations Office (2005). Violence againstBabies and Small Children Living in Prisons with TheirMothers. Submission to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children.105 NGO Advisory Panel for the United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children (2005).Summary Report: Violence against Children in Conflictwith the Law. Thematic Consultation for the UNSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children.Geneva, 4–5 April 2005. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r180.106 The Consortium for Street Children. Data Takenfrom the Juvenile Court Register, Nairobi, Kenya, forthe Period Feb. 1998–Jan. 2002. Cited in: WernhamM (2004). An Outside Chance: Street Children andJuvenile Justice – An International Perspective. London,Consortium for Street Children.107 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review:Eastern and Southern Africa. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.108 Defence for Children International (2003). Kids BehindBars: A Study on Children in Conflict with the Law:Towards Investing in Prevention, Stopping Incarcerationand Meeting International Standards. Amsterdam,Defence for Children International.109 Khan SZ (2000). Herds and Shepherds: The Issue of SafeCustody of Children in Bangladesh, BLAST/Save theChildren UK.110 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: SouthAsia. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.111 Home Affairs Committee (2005). Rehabilitation ofPrisoners. First Report of Session 2004–2005. HouseAffairs Committee, House of Commons. London,The Stationery Office Ltd.112 Davies N (2004). Wasted Lives of the Young LetDown by Jail System. The Guardian, 8 December2004. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/criminaljustice/story/0,,1369112,00.html.113 Human Rights Watch (1996). Modern Capital of HumanRights? Abuses in the State of Georgia. New York, HumanRights Watch.114 Moussa D (2005). Report About the Sexual Assault andChildren Exploitation in Syria. Save the Children Swedenin Lebanon.115 The Howard League for Penal Reform (UK). Cited in:Roy N, Wong M (2002). Juvenile Justice Review andTraining Documents. Prepared for Save the Children UK,pp 2002–2003.116 United Nations (1999). Report of the Special Rapporteuron Violence against Women of the Mission to the UnitedStates of America on the Issue of Violence against Womenin State and Federal Prisons. E/CN.4/1999/68/Add. 2,paras 55 and 58.117 Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment ofChildren (2006). Global Summary of the Legal Statusof Corporal Punishment of Children, 28 June 2006.Available at: http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org.118 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: East Asiaand the Pacific. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.119 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: MiddleEast and North Africa. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.120 Human Rights Watch (2004). Real Dungeons: JuvenileDetention in the State of Rio de Janeiro. New York,Human Rights Watch.121 Children’s Rights Alliance for England (2005). State ofChildren’s Rights in England annual review, available atwww.crae.org.uk122 Human Rights Watch (2003). Charged with BeingChildren: Egyptian Police Abuse of Children in Need ofProtection. New York: Human Rights Watch.225Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

226Violence against Children in care and justice institutions123 Penal Reform International and Advocacy Forum(2006). Assessment of children and young persons inprisons, correction home and police custody in Nepal.Juvenile Justice in Nepal Series 2. Kathmandu.UNICEF.124 National Commission for Child Welfare andDevelopment (2001). Situation Analysis of Juvenilesin Jails, p. 79. United Nations Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children (2005). RegionalDesk Review: South Asia. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.125 Human Rights Watch (2005). Making Their Own Rules:Police Beatings, Rape and Torture of Children in PapuaNew Guinea. New York, Human Rights Watch.126 See for example, Amnesty International (2000). HiddenScandal, Secret Shame. London, Amnesty International,and Human Rights Watch (2001). Easy Targets: Violenceagainst Children Worldwide. New York, Human RightsWatch.127 Defence for Children International (2003). Kids BehindBars: A Study on Children in Conflict with the Law:Towards investing in prevention, stopping incarcerationand meeting international standards. Amsterdam,Defence for Children International.128 Human Rights Watch (1999). Nobody’s Children:Jamaican Children in Police Detention and GovernmentInstitutions. New York, Human Rights Watch.129 Defence for Children International (2003). Kids BehindBars: A Study on Children in Conflict with the Law:Towards Investing in Prevention, Stopping Incarcerationand Meeting International Standards. Amsterdam,Defence for Children International.130 Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment ofChildren (2006). Global Summary of the Legal Statusof Corporal Punishment of Children, 28 June 2006.Available at: www.endcorporalpunishment.org.131 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: East Asiaand the Pacific. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.132 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2005, 2006).Concluding Observations: Brunei Darussalam (CRC/C/15/Add. 219) 2003; Iran (CRC/C/15/Add. 254) 2005;Nigeria (CRC/C/15/Add. 257) 2005; Pakistan (CRC/C/15/Add. 217) 2003; Saudi Arabia (CRC/C/SAU/CO/2) 2006; and Yemen (CRC/C/15/Add. 267) 2005.133 Amnesty International (2005). Violence againstChildren: Capital Punishment. Submission to the UNSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children.134 United States Supreme Court (2005). Roper vs Simmons.543 USA 551.135 Human Rights Watch (2005). The Rest of Their Lives:Life Without Parole for Child Offenders in the UnitedStates. New York, Human Rights Watch.136 UNICEF (1998). Juvenile Justice. Innocenti Digest No 3.Florence, International Child Development Centre.137 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Summary Report of theThematic Meeting on Violence against Children in Conflictwith the Law. 4–5 April 2005, Geneva. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r180.138 Human Rights Watch (2005). The Rest of Their Lives:Life Without Parole for Child Offenders in the UnitedStates. New York, Human Rights Watch.139 Human Rights Watch (2004). Real Dungeons: JuvenileDetention in the State of Rio de Janiero. New York,Human Rights Watch.140 HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (2005). Juveniles inCustody 2003-2004: an analysis of children’s experiencesin prison.141 Annie E. Casey Foundation (2003). Juvenile Justice ata Crossroads. Advocasey, Vol. 5, No 1. Baltimore, TheAnnie E. Casey Foundation.142 US Department of Justice (2004). Office of JuvenileJustice and Delinquency Prevention Annual Report,FY2003-2004. Washington DC, OJJDP.143 The Howard League for Penal Reform (2005). Availableat: http://www.howardleague.org/index.php?id=213

5144 Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention(1985). Juveniles in Adult Jails and Lockups: It’s YourMove. Washington DC, OJJDP.145 American Youth Policy Forum (2001). Less Cost, MoreSafety: Guiding Lights for Reform in Juvenile Justice.Washington DC, American Youth Policy Forum.146 Coalition for Juvenile Justice (2004). Unlocking theFuture: Detention Reform in the Juvenile Justice System.147 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: East Asiaand the Pacific. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.148 Feld BC (1998). Juvenile and Criminal Justice Systems’Responses to Youth Violence. Crime and Justice, 24:189–261. Cited in: Annie E Casey Foundation (2003).Juvenile Justice at a Crossroads. Advocasey, 5(1): 17.149 Separated Children in Europe Programme (2005).Newsletter No. 22. Available at: http://www.savethechildren.net/separated_children/publications/newsletter/NEWSLETTER_No_22.pdf.150 The Committee on the Rights of the Child (2005).General Comment No. 6 on the Treatment ofUnaccompanied and Separated Children Outside TheirCountry of Crigin. CRC/GC/2005/6.151 Separated Children in Europe Programme (2005).Newsletter No. 22. Available at: http://www.savethechildren.net/separated_children/publications/newsletter/NEWSLETTER_No_22.pdf.152 Amnesty International (2005). Seeking Asylum Is Nota Crime: Detention of People Who Have Sought Asylum.AI Index : EUR 45/015/2005. London, AmnestyInternational. Available at: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGEUR450152005?open&of=ENG-369.153 Kanics J (2005). Presentation to the UN RegionalConsultation on Violence against Children, Ljublijana,Slovenia. Cited in: United Nations Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children (2005). RegionalConsultation Outcome Report: Europe and Central Asia.Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.154 Human Rights and Equal Opportunity CommissionAustralia (2004). A Last Resort? Summary Guide.(A summary of the important issues, findings andrecommendations of the National Inquiry into Childrenin Immigration Detention.) Human Rights and EqualOpportunity Commission.155 Human Rights and Equal Opportunity CommissionAustralia (2004). A last resort? Summary Guide.(A summary of the important issues, findings andrecommendations of the National Inquiry into Childrenin Immigration Detention.) Human Rights and EqualOpportunity Commission.156 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2006). Summary Report of theThematic Consultation on Violence against Refugeeand other Displaced Children. 25 April 2006, Geneva.Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r180.157 BBC Monitoring of RNF Radio 1 (2005). Child MigrantCentres at ‘Breaking Point’ – Spanish Official.1 November 2005.158 UNICEF and International Social Service (2004).Improving Protection for Children Without Parental Care,a Call for International Standards. New York, UNICEF,and Geneva, International Social Service. Available at:http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.40/GDD_2005_CALL_FOR_INT_STANDARDS.pdf.159 Human Rights Watch (2002). Nowhere to Turn: StateAbuses of Unaccompanied Migrant Children by Spain andMorocco. New York, Human Rights Watch.160 Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers (2004).Child Soldiers Global Report 2004. London, Coalition toStop the Use of Child Soldiers.161 Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers (2005).Submission to the UN Secretary-General’s Study onViolence against Children, with specific reference tochildren in military schools and to children in peacetimegovernment forces. Coalition to Stop the Use of ChildSoldiers.227Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

228Violence against Children in care and justice institutions162 Amnesty International (2001). Paraguay: No Child’sPlay – Under-age Recruitment in the Armed Forces MustStop. Press release, 5 April 2001. Available at: http://web.amnesty.org/library/engindex.163 Rojas F (2001). El Servicio Militar Obligatorio enParaguay: Entre la Contestación Social y la Inercia delas Instituciones del Estado Autoritario. Research andEducation in Defense and Security Studies Conference,Centre for Hemispheric Defense Studies, WashingtonDC, 22–25 May (REDES 2001). Available at: http://www.ndu.edu/chds/REDES2001 (Programa, Bloque IV,Panel 2).164 Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers (2005).Submission to the UN Secretary-General’s Study onViolence against Children, with specific reference tochildren in military schools and to children in peacetimegovernment forces. Coalition to Stop the Use of ChildSoldiers.165 Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers (2005).Submission to the UN Secretary-General’s Study onViolence against Children, with specific reference tochildren in military schools and to children in peacetimegovernment forces. Coalition to Stop the Use of ChildSoldiers.166 Presentation by Child Protection Society of Zimbabwe(2002). Cited in: Meeting on African Children WithoutFamily Care: Final Report. Windhoek, 30 November2002.167 Hillman AA, Rosenthal E (2003). Unanswered Cries:Institutionalisation and Violence against Children withDisabilities. One in Ten, 24: 12–14.168 International Save the Children Alliance (2003). ALast Resort: The Growing Concern About Children inResidential Care. London, Save the Children UK.169 Desmond C (2002). The Economic Evaluation of Modelsof Care for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children. Paperprepared for Family Health International, August 2002draft.170 World Bank (1997). Confronting AIDS: Public Prioritiesin a Global Epidemic. Washington DC, World Bank.171 Carter R (2005). Family Matters: A Study of InstitutionalChildcare in Central and Eastern Europe and the FormerSoviet Union. London, EveryChild, pp 34–35.172 Carter R (2005). Family Matters: A Study of InstitutionalChildcare in Central and Eastern Europe and the FormerSoviet Union. London, EveryChild.173 Meeting on African Children Without Family Care(2002). Final Report. Windhoek, 30 November 2002.174 Lakin KC et al. (1998). Decreases Continue in Out-of-Home Placements of Children and Youth with MentalRetardation. Mental Retardation, 36(2): 165–167.175 Habibi G (1999). UNICEF and Children withDisabilities. One-in-Ten, 2(4). UNICEF EducationUpdate.176 Allouche Z (2005). Children Without Parental Care.Submission to the Committee on the Rights of theChild General Day of Discussion on Children WithoutParental Care. The Lebanese Association of SOSChildren’s Villages.177 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2005).Recommendations Following a ‘Discussion Day’ onChildren Without Parental Care. Available at: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/docs/ discussion/recommendations2005.pdf.178 OHCHR et al. (2005). Protecting the Rights of Childrenin Conflict with the Law. Programme and AdvocacyExperiences from Member Organisations of the InteragencyCoordination Panel on Juvenile Justice. SummaryDocument. Inter-Agency Coordination Panel onJuvenile Justice /UNICEF.179 UNICEF (2003). From Perception to Reality: A Study onChild Protection in Somalia. UNICEF Somalia, Ch. 10.180 UNICEF (2003). From Perception to Reality: A Study onChild Protection in Somalia. UNICEF Somalia, Ch. 10.181 OHCHR et al. (2005). Protecting the Rights of Childrenin Conflict with the Law. Programme and AdvocacyExperiences from Member Organisations of the InteragencyCoordination Panel on Juvenile Justice. SummaryDocument. Inter-Agency Coordination Panel onJuvenile Justice /UNICEF.

5182 Martin F, Parry-Williams J (2005). The Right Not to LoseHope. London, Save the Children UK.183 Human Rights Watch (2006). Failure to ProtectChildren in Foster Care: Former Foster Children, NowHomeless in California. Advocacy Paper. New York,Human Rights Watch.184 Mulheir G (2005). De-institutionalisation in Sudan:Preventing Violence Through Transforming Services toChildren and Families. Submission to the Unitd NationsSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children.185 OHCHR et al. (2005). Protecting the Rights of Childrenin Conflict with the Law. Programme and AdvocacyExperiences from Member Organisations of the InteragencyCoordination Panel on Juvenile Justice. SummaryDocument. Inter-Agency Coordination Panel onJuvenile Justice /UNICEF.186 OHCHR et al. (2005). Protecting the Rights of Childrenin Conflict with the Law. Programme and AdvocacyExperiences from Member Organisations of the InteragencyCoordination Panel on Juvenile Justice. SummaryDocument. Inter-Agency Coordination Panel onJuvenile Justice /UNICEF.QuotesIIIIIIIVVSave the Children (2003). One Day in Prison-Feels likea Year: Palestinian Children Tell Their Own Stories.Stockholm, Save the Children Sweden.Youth Human Rights Group (2003). Monitoring HumanRights in Orphanages and Boarding Schools for AbandonedChildren in the Kyrgyz Republic. Bishkek, Youth HumanRights Group, p 13.United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: NorthAmerica, p 42. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.Martin F, Parry-Williams J (2005). The Right Not to LoseHope. London, Save the Children UK, p 37.United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: NorthAmerica, p 41. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.VIUnited Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: NorthAmerica, p 43. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.VII Save the Children (2003). One Day in Prison-Feels likea Year: Palestinian Children Tell Their Own Stories.Stockholm, Save the Children Sweden.VIII Human Rights Watch (1998). The Rest of their Lives :Life Without Parole for Child Offenders in the UnitedStates. New York, Human Rights Watch, p 64.IXXXIL’Observatoire des droits de lenfant de la région océanindien (2006). La violence contre les enfants dans la régionde l’océan indien. Annual Report of the Observatoire desdroits de l’enfant de la région océan indien. Mauritius,l’Observatoire des droits de lenfant de la région océanindien, p 52.United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: Easternand Southern Africa, p 27. Available at:www.violencestudy.org/r27.United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Consultation OutcomeReport: Europe and Central Asia, p 25. Available at:www.violencestudy.org/r27.XII United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Consultation OutcomeReport: North America, p 67. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.229Violence against Children in care and justice institutions

UNICEF/HQ06-0343. Giacomo PirozziPAKISTAN, 2006, (Left-right) Raz Mohammed, 10, Farooq, 8, and Musa, 12, sit on a pile of garbage in Quetta, capital ofthe southern province of Balochistan. They live on the streets and scavenge for food and items to sell.

6Violence against childrenin places of workIntroduction 233Human rights instruments 234Background and context 238The emergence of child labour as a policy concern 238The contemporary campaign against child labour 239Conflict, HIV/AIDS, and economic globalisation 240The importance of a child-centred perspective 241Nature and extent of the problem 241The existing knowledge base 242Types of workplace violence 242Child labour statistics 242Children in certain high-risk work settings 244Child domestic labourers 244Violence of all kinds is common 244Isolation and psychological distress 245Children exploited in the sex industry 245Forced and bonded labour 247Bonded servitude 247Indigenous groups 248Traditional forms of slavery 249Illicit activities 249Children involved in trading drugs 250Factors contributing to violence 251Characteristics of workers and perpetrators 251Workplace characteristics 252Environmental factors 252Responses to violence against children in places of work 253Laws and their implementation 255Labour law enforcement 256Backing for law enforcement within civil society 257231Violence against children in places of work

232Violence against children in places of workUniversal education and life skills 259The participation of children 261Advocacy 262Targeted interventions: Contact, rescue, and rehabilitation 263Contact 264Rescue operations 264Rehabilitation 265Improved data collection 266Action research and monitoring 266Building momentum for change 267A long way to go 267Recommendations 268References 271

6IntroductionOf all the settings where children are exposedto violence, the workplace is among the mostdifficult to address. According to internationalinstruments and most national laws, childrenunder a certain age (usually 15 but sometimeslower; see Table 6.1) should not be in the workplaceat all, let alone in a workplace where theymay be subject to violence. Yet well over 200million children and adolescents do work, atages both below and above the minimum legalage, 1 and many suffer ill-treatment, physical andpsychological violence, verbal or sexual abuse.Violence is a neglected aspect of debates onchild labour; there are little data available,especially for child workers in the informaleconomy where the majority are to be found.Although specific studies are few, a growingbody of information from organisations andfrom children themselves presents a convincingpicture of an acute global problem. Violencetowards working children has only remained‘invisible’ because the direct question is rarelyposed: for example, participants in the Study’sSouth Asia consultation noted that data aresystematically collected on violence againstfemale and other workers, but child workersare ignored. They also commented that valuesand perceptions have served to minimise andeven undermine the issue of workplace violenceagainst children – a comment that appliesequally elsewhere.Addressing violence has also been largelyabsent from explicit efforts to eliminate childlabour, or to reduce its harmful and negativeaspects for those young people who are workinglegally. This is surprising, given that theimage of child labour derives from the brutalitiessuffered by children in 19th century factoriesand mines. 2 Overt or implied violencewas integral to the view of workplace abuse ofchildren informing early campaigns againstchild labour. The effects on children’s physicalgrowth and well-being were among the mostpotent arguments for its elimination.The most obvious response to violence againstchildren in the workplace is to remove themfrom it. However, it is important to recognisethat for many children this is not an easyoption. Programmes to remove children fromviolent workplaces have to ensure that thereasons they are there – economic, social andcultural – are simultaneously addressed, orthey will simply return to them. Unless programmesengage with child workers and theirfamilies and seek to change attitudes, expectationsand prospects, they are not likely toremove children permanently from an exploitativeworking life. 3,4,5,6It is also important not to further violate thewell-being of children who work by penalisingor criminalising them for circumstancesbeyond their control (see also the chapterson violence against children in the communityand in care and justice institutions). 7 Thereduction of violence against children in theworkplace is not achieved by inflicting officialviolence on them, and deepening the stigmatisationthey already endure. Young workershave themselves made a contribution, throughStudy Consultations, to an understanding of233Violence against children in places of work

“Raids are conducted on our work places as part of the government programme to eliminate childlabour, and working children are rounded up like stray dogs. We are pulled out of work, taken awayagainst our wishes and illegally confined. The actual raid experience is very traumatic for us.”Child, South Asia, 2005 Ithe violence they suffer. They report losingtheir self-esteem through being denigrated inthe workplace, and feel similarly denigratedwhen their work is treated as something evil tobe abolished, ignoring their sincere attemptsto contribute to family survival. 8234Violence against children in places of workDespite 150 years of experience in respondingto exploitative and abusive child labour andthe significant progress made in recent yearsin finding ways to remove children from theworst forms of child labour, experience inresponding specifically to violence in workingchildren’s lives is limited. This chapter looksat existing information and programmes in anattempt to open a new window on the workingchild phenomenon.Human rights INSTRUMENTSStandards to regulate child labour were the very earliest international instruments putin place concerning child protection. A Minimum Age (Industry) Convention was firstadopted in 1919 by the newly formed International Labour Organization (ILO), at atime when the employment of children was regarded as a major social issue in Europeand North America. 9 The involvement of children in abusive, forced or violent types ofworkplace was also recognised and addressed by the Forced Labour Conventions No.29 (1930), and No. 105 (1957); and in the 1956 Supplementary Convention on Slavery,which prohibits any practice whereby a child is given or sold by his/her parents tosomeone else for the purposes of labour or exploitation (article 1.d).During the immediate post-colonisation era, the child well-being issues which mainlypreoccupied international organisations and newly-independent Governments werepublic health and education. In 1973, the ILO adopted the Minimum Age ConventionNo. 138 (1973), which put under-age labour back onto the international agenda. Thisaddressed the issue from the perspective of minimum age of employment of childrenand young people in different types of work with some flexibility according to countries’different stages of development.

6Table 6.1 – Minimum ages according to ILO Convention No. 138Category of workGeneral minimum wageIn generalNot less than the age ofcompletion of compulsoryschooling, and in any casenot less than 15 yearsWhere the economyand educationalfacilities areinsufficientlydevelopedNot less than 14 years for aninitial periodLight work 13 years 12 years235Hazardous work18 years (16 years undercertain strict conditions)Source: ILO/IPEC (2004). Global Child Labour Trends 2000–2004. Geneva, International Programme on theElimination of Child Labour, International Labour Organization.18 years (16 years undercertain strict conditions)During the 1980s, the protection of ‘children in especially difficult circumstances’, includingchildren suffering from exploitation, came to the fore. This was due to the emphasisby NGOs on these issues, and the impetus they gave to the articulation of the 1989 UNConvention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Although the Convention later took inthe child survival and development – or public health – agenda, the main driver was childprotection; 10 thus the vision of child rights established in the CRC fully embraced theneed to protect children from exploitative work of all kinds.Exploitative work and the Convention on the Rights of the ChildA specific article in the CRC is devoted to work (article 32). This recognises “the rightof the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any workthat is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be harmfulto the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.” Thearticle goes on to oblige States to “provide for a minimum age or minimum ages foradmission to employment” and other key aspects of a regulatory regime. Other articles>>>Violence against children in places of work

“Preventive action against violence in the workplace affecting children is essential. Start with keepingor getting under-age children out of these situations and allowing them to be or remain in school. Andthere has to be zero tolerance of violence against children wherever they work.”Frans Roselaers, Editorial Board of the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against ChildrenHuman rights INSTRUMENTSthat relate to the exploitation of child labour include article 34 (protection from sexualexploitation); article 35 (protection from trafficking); and article 36 (protection againstall other forms of exploitation).236Violence against children in places of workHowever, the notion of child protection in the CRC goes well beyond non-exploitation.Within its holistic framework for the upbringing, well-being and development ofthe child, the CRC covers a number of rights potentially at risk in cases where childrenwork. These include article 2 (protection against discrimination); article 3 (primaryconsideration given to ‘the best interests of the child’); and article 8, the right toidentity (working children may be denied the use of their own name). There are alsorights to access to health (article 24), education (article 28), and recreation (article 29),which the working child frequently does not enjoy.Certain CRC articles apply to specifics of the working situation, especially when achild is working away from home and is under the control of some adult other thanthe parents. These include article 19 (protection from all forms of physical or mentalviolence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment); article 27 (the right to anadequate standard of living); and article 37 (protection from torture, cruel and degradingtreatment and arbitrary deprivation of liberty). Finally, the rights relating to civicparticipation apply to working children as to others: article 12 (the right to be consulted);article 13 (the right to seek and impart information and views); and article 15(the right to freedom of association).Post-CRC developmentsIn 1992, growing concern with the plight of working children led the ILO to launchthe International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). The eliminationof child labour began to be recognised also as a core labour standard, includingat the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen (1995), and the WTOMinisterial Conference in Singapore (1996). International meetings on child sexualexploitation and child labour took place in Stockholm (1996), Amsterdam (1997),Oslo (1997), and Yokohama (2001).In 1999, the ILO adopted Convention No. 182, the Worst Forms of Child LabourConvention, targeting the most hazardous and exploitative situations in whichchildren are found.

6The purpose of the new Convention was to strengthen the international legal frameworkfor action by focusing more widely than on minimum age of employment. Withits passage, the international profile of activity to tackle child labour reached anunprecedented level. The concept of ‘worst forms’ helped establish global priorities,and directed attention to the impacts of work on children as well as on the type ofwork they perform. A ‘worst form’ is not occupationally defined internationally, butby participating countries for their own context. However, some ‘unconditional worstforms’ are identified as universally outlawed.Taken together, Conventions Nos 138 and 182 set the boundaries of the types of workthat are unacceptable under international standards. These standards express the consensusview that work which falls within the legal limits and does not interfere with thechild’s health and development or prejudice their schooling can be a positive experience.Child labour proscribed under international law falls into three categories: 11• Unconditional worst forms of child labour, which are internationally definedas slavery, trafficking, debt bondage and other forms of forced labour,forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict, prostitution andpornography, and illicit activities.• Work that jeopardises the physical, mental or moral well-being of a child,either because of its nature or because of the conditions in which it is carriedout, known as ‘hazardous work’, which should be defined at the national leveland prohibited for all children under 18 years; hazardous work is defined aswork “which exposes children to physical, psychological or sexual abuse.”• Work that is performed by a child who is under the minimum age specifiedfor that kind of work, and which is thus likely to impede the child’s educationand full development. The minimum working age should not be lower thanthe age for completing compulsory schooling, and normally at least 15 years.However, light work that is not harmful for the child and which does nothinder education may be allowed from 13 years onwards, but only for a limitednumber of hours.237Violence against children in places of workThe adoption of Convention No. 182 created a consensus among international bodiesand NGOs on priorities for ending child labour, beginning with the worst forms.Additional international concern with child sexual exploitation led to two further>>>

‘We all come from the same village in the south. We came to the city to work and have not seen ourfamilies since we left. We pay rent and live together as a group to defend ourselves from thieves.’Shoeshine boys, Eastern and Southern Africa, 2003 IIHuman rights INSTRUMENTSinternational legal developments: the Palermo Protocol on the trafficking of persons,especially women and children (2000); and an optional protocol to the CRC on thesale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (2000). These protocolsare directly relevant to the likelihood of violence against children in situations ofeconomic activity where there is international unanimity that children should not beemployed.238Violence against children in places of workBackground andcontextChildren have always worked. Many formsof child work are a natural part of growingup; traditionally, the child assumed domesticworking responsibilities – carrying water,minding siblings, herding goats, helping parentsat the loom or spindle – at the earliestpracticable age. These activities fused with‘work’ in its economic sense as the child grewolder. Many children in the world today stillwork in family-based activities as part of theinformal economy. Some of this work containsrisk of violence. It may involve childrentaking animals to pasture far from home andbeing exposed to marauders; it may be associatedwith seasonal migration for agriculturalwork, when children accompany their familiesand work in settings where conditions areextremely tough. It may involve them leavinghome for a precarious and unsafe life in town.In some places and among certain classes, castesor ethnic groups, parents place greater value onchildren being employed in economic activitiesthan going to school; 12 this attitude is particularlylikely where the quality and relevance ofthe available schooling is low. In settings witha strong social hierarchy, it may be normal forchildren from a disadvantaged background tobe assigned to work for better-off families at anearly age. Children in such societies are at thevery bottom of the pecking order. They are seenas the property of the family or employer, anddo what they are told. 13The emergence of childlabour as a policy concernThe issue of child labour has had a particulargenesis as a public policy concern. Until theindustrial revolution of the 19th century, workwas seen as being the lot of poor children froman early age. As in much of the developingworld today, children made a working contributionto the family economy. Child labourbecame a public issue when large numbers ofchildren left the relatively protected environmentof the family or family workshop, andbecame exposed to hazardous conditions infactories and mines.

6Though competing interpretations have beenproposed by historians for the decline of childlabour in the industrialisation process of the19th and 20th centuries, an important factorwas the changing ideology regarding childhood.14 In 19th-century Europe, child labourbegan to be viewed as wrong because it violatedthe notion that children had a right tochildhood, and that the State should protectthat right. For the first time came the publicassertion that children had the right not towork, and not to be exposed to dangers, exploitationand abuse in the ‘new’ – organised andindustrialised – workplace. 15PERU, 1996, A boy and a girl carry pumice stones, out of anunderground volcanic mine near the southern city of Arequipa.UNICEF/HQ96-0959. Alejandro BalaguerIn responding to what had become the notoriousphenomenon of ‘child labour’, socialreformers put in place a number of interventionswhich remain in the contemporaryportfolio: public inquiries, minimum age legislation,compulsory education, labour inspectorates,and providing education for workingchildren. The modern campaign has had totake into account a rather different process ofindustrialisation, and the fact that childhoodin many developing societies is constructeddifferently than in westernised settings, withcontinuing expectations that children shouldhelp shoulder family needs and responsibilitiesat an early age. 16The contemporary campaignagainst child labourThe contemporary drive against child labourhas been accompanied by international,academic and NGO attempts to enhanceunderstanding of its dynamics and remedies– although violence as a specific issue has beenneglected. The information generated enablesa picture to be drawn of occupations andworkplaces where violence can be assumed tobe more or less likely to occur.Global estimates indicate that the vast majorityof children’s work (69%) is in the agriculturalsector, followed by 22% in services and9% in industry (see Figure 6.1). 17Many child workers operate within a familysetting, and the informal economy harboursmost child workers across all sectors. Genderplays a significant role in determining the differenttypes of work done by boys and girls;for example, girls predominate in domesticlabour, while boys are heavily represented inmining and quarrying.Although analysis of sending factors showssome cultural drivers, the predominant reason239Violence against children in places of work

“Bihari ustads (masters) punish too much. My second ustad once hung me by the hands and beat me sohard, the stick broke. After that he continued beating me with the shuttle. I left him andworked under a third ustad. This one insulted me and did not pay me regularly.”Boy in sari industry, 15, South Asia, 2001 III240Violence against children in places of workwhy children work is ‘poverty’; this povertymay have been exacerbated by family tragedysuch as the loss of parents, or other economicshock. Children below minimum working ageoften state that they are working because oftheir own or their families’ poverty, and childrendo more work in poorer societies. 18 Sendingtheir children to work instead of to schoolcan be seen as part of a ‘Faustian bargain’ thatpoor parents make for immediate economicgain. 19 Their children’s prospects in life, whichdepend on having an education, matter lessthan immediate family survival.If a child goes out to earn because of acutefamily need, anxieties about personal safetywill be overridden. By definition, the environmentsin which under-age children are sentto work are unsupportive of child rights; thusprotection from physical, psychological orsexual violence (and other forms of harm) isoften ignored. Since the main thrust of childlabour campaigns and programmes has been toremove children from such workplaces for childdevelopmental reasons, addressing the violencein them specifically has not up to now been akey preoccupation, except in the case of sexualexploitation and other forms of work where theoccupation is itself abusive. However, this maynot always be the main source of workplaceviolence.Conflict, HIV/AIDS, and economicglobalisationMany challenges have emerged in recent yearsto compound the problem of child labourand workplace risk. In sub-Saharan Africa, inpost-conflict countries such as the DemocraticFigure 6.1Distribution of working childrenby sector in 2004Agriculture (69%)Services (22%)Industry (9%)Source: ILO (2006). The end of child labour:within reach. Global Report.Geneva, International Labour Organization.Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Rwanda, andSierra Leone, the increased presence of childrenon the streets and open spaces trying tosecure the wherewithal to eat is the outcome ofeconomic devastation (see the chapter on violenceagainst children in the community). 20Another source of household economic ruinis the HIV/AIDS epidemic; in Eastern andSouthern Africa, the loss of parents to AIDS haspushed many children into the informal economyin order to survive. In Ethiopia, the UnitedRepublic of Tanzania and Zambia, ILO/IPECfound a strong co-relation between the epidemicand the entry of orphaned children intooccupations associated with violence such asdomestic work, quarrying and prostitution. 21 InZambia, 47% of children (average age 15 years)selling sex for money had lost both father andmother, and 24% had lost one parent. 22Though globalisation’s specific effects on childlabour are little researched, there are strong

“They take their childhood away from them when they make them work from an early age, strugglingin the streets, they never have time for their own lives. When they should be at school, they must go towork, they can’t play and are traumatized by the insults and the aggressions they suffer everywhere.”Adolescent boys, Latin America, 2005 IV6indications from anecdotal reports that theseare widespread and mainly negative. Theincreasing informalisation of labour in mostregions of the world has seen the growing presenceof all unskilled working people, especiallyyoung female workers, in precarious, vulnerableand low-earning activities. 23 Organisationsinvolved with children working on the streetsreport that numbers are rising, although reliablestatistics are few. 24Economic crises, such as those facing theCommonwealth of Independent States (CIS)in their transition to market economies, areforcing many children into street work andsexual exploitation as a means of survival, andfuelling a growing trafficking industry thatoften brutalises its victims. This picture isrepeated in a number of regions, notably Eastand South Asia and Europe. However, dataspecifically on violence are difficult to find.The importance of a child-centredperspectiveSince the adoption of the CRC, the importanceof a rights-based child-centred perspective onthe phenomenon of working children is nowmore widely recognised and its implicationsbetter understood. The views of children as aninput to projects for the elimination of childlabour have been more actively and systematicallysought. This not only meets their rightto participation, but has a practical purposein that programmes which respect the viewsof working children and acknowledge choicesthey have made in their lives are more likelyto attain their objectives than those wherechildren and their families are seen as passiverecipients of interventions. 25 Greater familiaritywith children’s working environments hasprovided a window onto the brutality and callousnessmany young workers face.As a consequence of their life experience, workingchildren often have a powerful sense of theirown will and capacities; hence the existenceof working children’s organisations in Africa,Asia and Latin America, which undertakeprogramming and advocacy activity to fulfiltheir own agendas, including leaving exploitativeand violent work. Other programmes toend child labour have helped develop groupsin which working children participate, andwhich support their efforts to leave the workplaceand gain education. The views of workingchildren on harmful work tend to coincidewith those of adults, and with those expressedin international conventions. They oppose theexploitation of children, work that inhibitseducation, work that involves long hours forlittle pay, forced labour, and work that endangershealth or morals. They strongly opposephysical, sexual and psychological abuse ofchildren in the workplace. 26Nature and extent ofthe problemMuch of what is known about violence in theorganised workplace is derived from studies inindustrialised countries and among adult workers,where the phenomenon appears to be on theincrease. There has been a tendency to focus onphysical violence. Only recently has the analyticalperspective been extended to embrace verbal,psychological and sexual violence, including241Violence against children in places of work

242Violence against children in places of worksexual harassment, bullying or mobbing (ganging-upon and intimidating another worker). 27The existing knowledge basePrevalence statistics on violence according toworker age group are lacking. In the regulatedworkplace where young workers are legallyemployed, safety codes and standards apply.However, these may not adequately protectyoung workers. They may be reluctant toreport violence against them. Where employmentis under-age and illegal, incidents areeven less likely to be reported.Child labour surveys may not be conducted insuch a way as to elicit the reality of the violenceunder-aged workers experience. 28 In Cambodia,in a 2002 survey of working children, only0.5% of the children indicated that they wereexposed to mental and physical abuse. Thiscontrasted with statements made at a 1997workshop where the children reported widespreademployer violence, including severebeatings, sexual abuse and electric shocks. 29This example illustrates how hard accurateinformation is to obtain.Where children are exploited in the informalsector, the knowledge base is more severelylacking while risks are greatly enhanced.NGOs and human rights organisations haveundertaken qualitative surveys among relativelysmall groups of child workers in ‘dangerous’or violence-prone occupations. Butchild workplaces are notoriously difficult toresearch. The Indian Government is rare inhaving made an effort to identify workplaceviolence and abuse perpetrated on children,and comments that most of it occurs in theinformal workplace where regulation is nonexistentand solid data is lacking. 30Types of workplace violenceThe most common forms of violence againstchildren in the workplace are:• Physical violence, including beatings,kicking, slapping, whipping, scaldingand in extreme cases, even murder;• Psychological (emotional) violenceincluding shouting, scolding, insults,threats, obscene language, bullying,mobbing, isolation, marginalisation,repeated discriminatory treatment;• Sexual violence, including sexualharassment, fondling and rape.The most frequent harm to working children’swell-being from the violence they experienceappears to be low self-esteem resulting fromverbal abuse, humiliation and bullying. 31 Childrenfrequently complain of the lack of respectin the way they are treated; in one study inBangladesh, 84% of working children complainedof insults and other hurtful words. 32The violence working children experience isoften systematic and part of a collective workplaceculture of physical brutality, shouting,bad language, and casual violence includingsexual taunts.Child labour statisticsNew global estimates published by the ILO in2006 indicated that, in 2004, 218 million childrenwere involved in child labour. Of these,more than 60% (126 million) were deemed to

6be in ‘hazardous work’. In the age group 5–14years, 74 million children were working in hazardoussituations. Between the ages 5 and 11,boys and girls tend to be equally representedin both child labour generally and hazardouslabour more specifically. At older ages, boysare more involved than girls (see Figure 6.2).The overall trends show a reduction in childlabour, especially in hazardous work. 33Hazardous work makes up the majority of theworst forms of child labour, and is not permittedfor any child under 18 years of age accordingto ILO Convention No. 182; nor are‘unconditional’ worst forms of child labour,such as bonded labour, forced labour, childprostitution, or engagement in fighting forces.Some 8.4 million children are estimated to beemployed in these forms. Of these, 1.2 millionare victims of trafficking; 5.7 million arein forced or bonded labour; 300,000 childrenare involved in fighting forces; 1.8 million inprostitution and pornography; and 600,000 inillicit activities such as drug trafficking. 34FIGURE 6.2243Children in child labour and in hazardous work by age and sex in 2004Percentage70 Females60Males6261555051 4950 514540383930203862Violence against children in places of work1005-11 12-14 15-17 5-11 12-14 15-17Child labourChildren in hazardous workSource: ILO (2006). The end of child labour: within reach. Global Report. Geneva, International Labour Organization.

“If I broke something or did something badly they would beat me with a shoe or a belt. I couldn’t leavethe house, they would lock the door when they left. When my mother came the last time to visit I told herI wouldn’t stay at that house any more. I said, ‘Either I go with you or I will run away or kill myself ’.”Boy, 14, domestic labourer, North Africa, 2005 V244Violence against children in places of workChildren in certain high-riskwork settingsAmong workers in informal employment, certainoccupations in which violence is a particularrisk as a result of personal, workplaceand/or environmental factors require specialexamination. Children whose occupations areon the street or in other ‘open’ locations arenot specifically examined here, because theirmajor risk is less often occupational than theresult of being beyond the safety of a protectedspace. (See the chapter on violence againstchildren in the community).Child domestic labourersThe taking-in of children from other householdsto perform domestic chores has longbeen seen in many societies as a form of surrogacy,adoption or assisting a child from aless fortunate family. In West Africa, there isa tradition of children migrating from rural tourban areas to work for others as part of theirupbringing. In most of sub-Saharan Africa,exchanges of children between couples withinthe extended family used to be standard formsof mutual support.Today, such practices have become increasinglycommercialised. Millions of childrenlive in the households of others at ever furtherdistances from home, and undertake domesticwork as ‘helpers’ or employees. Althougha small proportion are boys, domestic workis normally consigned to females and is thelargest employment category of girls under 16years in the world. 35 Recruiters and traffickersin many regions supply rural girls from disadvantagedgroups, depressed areas, and neighbouringcountries to feed urban demand fordomestic help in countries all over the world. 36Increasingly, this has become a form of unregulatedemployment and exploitation, even ofservitude. This picture is confirmed by severalrecent studies pointing to the extreme vulnerabilityof child domestic labourers. 37,38,39,40The situation of child domestic labourers isusually considered by their parents to be safesince the child may live in better accommodationthan at home, may eat better, and isare under the care of the employers and familymembers. However, the closed nature of thehousehold, the child’s isolation and the ‘invisible’nature of the employment puts a child atconsiderable risk. Children in domestic labourare at the mercy of the employer and otherhousehold members. Child domestics describethe relationship as often starting well, but laterbecoming intolerant and abusive. 41 Wheresocial stigma towards lower-status groups isentrenched, a female employer may behavewith impunity, subjecting her ‘girl’ or ‘boy’ toimpossible demands, extreme forms of physicalpunishment and serious violence. At the sametime, girls in domestic labour may be preyedon sexually by the men of the household. 42,43Violence of all kinds is commonViolent and abusive behaviour towards childdomestics is much more common thanrealised; this form of child labour first came tothe attention of child labour activists a decadeago, and in several countries has been designateda ‘worst form’ of child labour under ILOConvention No. 182. 44 It includes extremeoverwork (16-hour days are not uncommon);

“I sleep in one room by myself, at night, the male owner of the house knocks at my room, now I am indire straits because I am afraid to report this, I am also afraid that will lose my job. This is becauseI have lost both parents, and I would not like to leave this job.”Girl, 12, domestic labour, 2005 VI6beating, whipping, pulling hair, scalding withwater or an iron, and denial of food. The psychologicalviolence includes shouting, namecalling,insults, threats, and obscene language.The girls are often subjected to sexual harassment,and sometimes rape; pregnancy mayalso lead to their ejection onto the street bythe employer. 45 Physical health consequencescan also arise from lack of food, and failure tolook after injuries or treat sickness.or social peers, not being able to play even withthe employer’s children. 50 Child domestics areoften referred to by a derogatory label or deniedthe use of their own name. In Haiti, the term‘restavèks’ (‘stay withs’) has come to mean someoneunwanted, and is often used as an insult;a restavèk girl may also be called ‘la pou sa’, or‘there for that’, meaning available for sex. 51 Theseexperiences leave children with deep feelings ofinferiority and chronically low self-esteem.Consultations with children in domesticlabour have revealed these high levels of violence.In the Philippines and Peru, almost allchild domestic workers reported that they hadsuffered maltreatment consisting of physicalpunishment, discrimination, humiliation andsexual harassment. 46 In Fiji, eight out of 10domestic workers reported that their employershad sexually abused them. 47 Research in ElSalvador found that 66% of girls in domesticservice reported having been abused, and thatthe threat of sexual advances from employersor visitors was always present. 48 In a local studyin the United Republic of Tanzania, 43% ofchild domestic labourers reported being beaten,insulted, denied food, fined for damages, orforced to remain out of doors. 49 In Nepal, childrenfrequently start work at the age of 8 or 10,and if the employer becomes annoyed with thegirl and abusive towards her, she may arbitrarilytransfer the girl to another household. Suchchildren lose touch with their families entirely.Isolation and psychological distressOne of the most painful experiences for childdomestic labourers is that of being consistentlytreated as an inferior being; of having no friendsFor girls who are dismissed or fall pregnant andare excluded from the household the street andprostitution are likely, as few other options areavailable. 52 Lack of resources, lack of knowledgeabout how to travel or where to go, andthe shame of being ‘spoiled’ 53 prevent themfrom returning home. A report from the UnitedRepublic of Tanzania found that girls arrivingin support centres for sexually exploited childrenhad been thrown out of homes where theywere working as domestics and had been sexuallyabused and ended up on the streets; somewere as young as 10 years old. 54Children exploited in the sex industryThe exploitation of children under 18 in prostitution,in child and adolescent pornographyor sex shows, constitutes prima facie violenceagainst them. 55 Making children performsexual acts or acts with sexual overtones, orproviding a child to someone else to use in anysexual way, is a violation of child rights andcriminalised throughout the world. Childrenof working age have themselves condemnedthis form of earning, speaking of the sex tradeas a criminal activity, not to be confused withother types of work. 56245Violence against children in places of work

“In the seven years I was working, night after night, I thought it was me, that I was wrong.The police would always chase me and social workers called me a pervert.There was no one there to validate that I was victimized.”Child exploited in the sex industry, North America, 2005 VII246Violence against children in places of workAlthough statistics relating to the number ofchildren used in prostitution are broad estimatesand all statistics concerning prostitutionshould be treated with caution, around onemillion children are thought to enter prostitutionevery year. 57 A 13-country study by Savethe Children suggests that child sexual exploitationis increasing, with evidence of growingcriminal activities related to trafficking ofchildren for sexual purposes, exploitation bytourists and travellers, and pornography andInternet-related crimes. 58 In South and EastAsia, around one-third of those used in prostitutionare thought to be under 18; this is, asector where youth are often in demand, andone in which girls appear to be entering at anever younger age, often via work in bars andmassage parlours. The average age of girls fromNepal entering the sex trade dropped from 14–16 years in the 1980s to 12–14 in the 1990s. 59As in the case of child domestic labour, somegirls enter prostitution because traffickers andrecruiting agents promise golden opportunities.In West Africa, from Senegal to Nigeria,thousands of children from destitute familiesare reportedly sent to the Middle East eachyear, many ending up in prostitution. 60 Thetrafficking itself may include violence. Accordingto an investigator into the trade from Albaniato Greece, children described ill-treatmentsuch as being burned with cigarettes, slapped,insulted, and obliged to sleep outside. 61Risk factorsA range of predisposing factors for child sexualexploitation have been identified: violence inthe home and family, including sexual abusefrom husbands of young married girls, whowill not be accepted back by their parents, orexpulsion from the school or workplace. 62,63,64,65The ways children enter prostitution are thereforeintrinsically abusive, and include abandonmentand extreme social stigma. Somechildren are born into the trade in brothel communities,66 or given to priests in ritual formsof sexual slavery, as in the case of devadasi inIndia 67 and trokosi in Ghana. 68 Disability canalso be a risk factor. Some brothel proprietorsin Thailand reportedly seek out girls who aredeaf, calculating that they will be less able toprotest or escape since they will not be able tocommunicate easily with customers or employers.69There is also widespread evidence from everyregion that many girls and boys sell sex on thestreet simply as a survival strategy in exchangefor food, shelter or drugs. 70 In South Africa,where 10,000–12,000 children have lost theircaregivers to HIV/AIDS and are homeless andface stigma, the police estimate that 28,000children are exploited in the sex industry; 25%of those used in prostitution in Cape Town arechildren. 71Additional exposure to violenceThe violence intrinsic to sexual exploitation iscompounded by exposure to additional physicalor psychological violence, to which theyoungest are most vulnerable. According to anILO/IPEC study in Vietnam, 72 12% of childrenused in prostitution said that they hadbeen subjected to torture, beaten up by customers,or by employers/pimps for disobedience;also that they underwent repeated abor-

“I left home because my brother made me go out at two or three in the morning to do thingsI didn’t like doing. He offered me to his friends, to our uncles, to strangers.Then, the day my father tried to abuse me, I left.”Homeless adolescent girl, East Asia and the Pacific, 2005 VIII6tions, even having an abortion in the morningand receiving a customer in the afternoon. InMongolia, 33% of girls exploited in prostitutionindicated that they had been raped. 73 InJamaica, boys in prostitution reported thatthey were “at risk of violence from individualswho abhor homosexuals and think they shouldbe eradicated.” 74In recent years, unknown individuals in Hondurasmade a practice of abducting sexuallyexploited children, torturing and sometimesmurdering the victims. Surviving victimsdescribed how the perpetrators pretended tobe prospective ‘clients’ for sex, then took thevictims to lonely places where they were sexuallyassaulted, tortured, insulted and humiliated.The aggression had the characteristicsof ‘moral’ punishment or collective revengeagainst the bodies of children who weresocially abandoned and excluded – as if thegirls or boys represented the social evil to beeliminated. The abductors taunted their victims:“If you disappeared, nobody would askafter you.” 75Social condemnation is another critical aspectof the violence children in prostitution suffer.Even where deception has been practisedand the work awaiting the child falsely portrayed,the stigma of having been sexuallyactive makes it impossible for the child toreturn home. Young people exploited in thesex industry are often ashamed and are notaware that they are victims of abuse, believingthemselves to blame. An underlying sense ofguilt makes it difficult for them to talk abouttheir exploitation. 76,77Forced and bonded labourChildren in forced and bonded labour representtwo-thirds of children in the unconditionalworst forms of child labour, which by a conservativeestimate amount to 5.7 million childrenworld-wide according to ILO. 78,79 An unknownbut significant proportion are victims of trafficking;most cases are in Asia, but the practiceexists in all regions. Forced and bonded labourare classified as slavery according to the 1956Supplementary Convention on Slavery, andalthough they are universally regarded as criminal,these cases are very rarely prosecuted.The definition of forced labour comprises twobasic elements: work or service exacted underthe menace of a penalty, and work undertakeninvoluntarily. The menace or penalty can takemany forms; its most extreme form involvesphysical violence or restraint, or even deaththreats addressed to the victim or relatives.There can also be a subtler form of menace,for example, threats to denounce illegal workersto the police, or tell village elders aboutgirls forced to prostitute themselves in distantcities. 80Bonded servitudeA bonded child works in conditions of servitudeto pay off debts, which may have beenpassed down through generations. Normally, achild worker is bound to an employer or proprietorin return for a ‘loan’. In areas where thepractice is common, workers are from sociallyinferior groups or castes, have no say overterms of any employment, and their familiesare excruciatingly poor. In this situation the247Violence against children in places of work

248Violence against children in places of workchild is a commodity, and works in conditionstantamount to slavery.Though bonded labour survives elsewhere,much of the problem is concentrated in SouthAsia. India, with its vast population, has thelargest number of children in bonded labour(some estimates suggest that the figure may beas high as 15 million, 81 mostly from the dalitor scheduled caste community). This practicehas long been illegal, and since 1997, undera new Supreme Court injunction, there havebeen efforts to regulate it, bring perpetratorsto justice, and rescue children from servitude.These actions were inspired by strong localactivism. Sector-specific surveys have foundbonded child labour in small-scale mining,brick making, fish processing, gem cutting,carpet weaving, tanneries and fireworks production.Carpet-weaving manufacturers employchildren in conditions of severe bondage, andcoercion is often used for discipline and to curbprotests. 82 According to Human Rights Watchsurveys conducted in the silk industry in UttarPradesh in 1996 and 2003, the level of violencesuffered by children is high. They report thatloom owners abuse the children on a routinebasis; the children are often locked up, andtheir food is far from adequate. 83A similar picture emerges in Pakistan. 84 Feudalsocial structures give landowners power toexact labour from indebted families, and may‘gift’ a bonded servant to another landlord.In Sindh, documentary evidence of murder,sexual assault, kidnapping and physical assaulthas been collected by human rights groups. 85In Nepal, bonded labour involves minoritygroups in the now outlawed kamaiya systemin agriculture. A study which looked into thispractice found that 30% of the children whohad left their employer had done so becauseof ‘harassment or punishment’. 86 In all suchfeudal settings, the writ of law or the assertionof rights are absent. Intimidation, physicalpunishment and verbal humiliation reinforcea deep sense of inferiority and powerlessness.Indigenous groupsIn Latin America, as elsewhere, high levels offorced labour are endured by indigenous peoplesand their children, who typically also facehigh rates of poverty, discrimination and exclusion.People in remote areas are particularlysusceptible to coercive recruitment and debtbondage due to the weak presence of the State.In remote parts of Brazil, children are cheaperto hire and considered more docile. They workin tree-logging, wood-cutting, sugar cane plantations,mining, distilleries, and coal production,all of which are dangerous. 87 Since theyhave been invariably hired deceitfully, theyare indebted and have no chance of returninghome. The intolerable situation of childrenin small-scale gold mining in Madre de Dios,Peru, is well-known to human rights organisationsand the authorities. Around 20% of theminers are 11–18 years old. 88Vulnerability is enhanced by lack of officialidentity. Since they do not register births, indigenouspeople are invisible to national authoritiesand are therefore unable to denounceforced labour or seek redress. In Peru’s remotelabour camps in the Amazon basin, 20,000workers may be in forced labour, many accom-

“At 4:00 a.m. I got up and did silk winding. I only went home once a week.I slept in the factory with two or three other children. We prepared the food there and slept in the spacebetween the machines. If I made a mistake – if I cut the thread – he would beat me.Sometimes [the owner] used vulgar language. Then he would give me more work.”Child, 11, bonded at around age 7 for Rs. 1,700 (US $35), South Asia, 2003 IX6panied by children who are expected to workfor free. 89 According to an ILO study of 19countries in the Latin American region, nearly10% of the total child and adolescent populationaged 5 to 17 is working in worst forms oflabour where violence is routine. 90Traditional forms of slaveryAfrica has the highest incidence of informalchild work, and there is evidence to suggestthat a higher proportion may be ‘forced’than in other regions. 91 However, coercionis mostly related to the importance attachedto kinship and client-ship in economic relations,and to the fact that most people, especiallyin rural areas, do not make their livingin an industrialised, monetised, or standardemployer–worker economy. Distance fromthe modern economy is furthest in mountain,desert or semi-desert environments. Lifeis hard, and coping mechanisms for times ofcalamity well-honed. Kin and client relationshipscan be invoked to demand services fromextended family members and those of lowerstatus; these arrangements may be considered‘natural’ and sanctioned by social and religiousbeliefs. 92Abuse within or perversions of customaryarrangements for the exploitation of childrenoccurs in a few countries of Eastern Africa,such as Ethiopia; but is more extensive inthe Sahelian countries where feudal forms ofgovernance persist. Mauritania and Niger arethe last countries in the world where regularslavery – direct ‘ownership’ of people, not bymeans of commercial trade, but by customaryarrangement – continues, though nominallybanned by law. 93,94 These people are usuallydescendants of slaves, and their degree ofactual ‘slavery’ is locally disputed and opento interpretation. However, a range of servicescan be required of slave descendants, includingchildren, both in the household and in thefields; and they suffer severe limitations ontheir behaviour, rights, and entitlements. 95Children in such families are the property oftheir masters and can be passed on from oneowner to another as ‘gifts’. Girls start workvery young and are at the beck and call of theirmasters, including sexually, and as bearers ofadditional slave children by designated partners.Slavery was only legislatively banned inNiger in 1999, and progress towards its eliminationis slow. A survey conducted in 2004 bya local organisation established that around43,000 men, women and children are stillenslaved. 96 Many of the 11,000 intervieweeshad been subjected to violence, rape, degradingtreatment and threats. Humiliating punishmentscontrolled every aspect of their lives,and prevented them from fleeing.In African countries which have seen a collapseof governance and the rule of law, conditionsarise in which forced labour can flourish,and children be abducted to provide workingservice of some kind. This has included sexualslavery to warlords. 97Illicit activitiesEvery Regional Desk Review undertaken forthe Study recorded the involvement of childrenin activities of a petty or serious criminalnature, mostly on the streets. The Caribbean249Violence against children in places of work

250Violence against children in places of workRegional Desk Review, for example, expressesconcern about a ‘growing population’ of streetchildren in countries like Jamaica and Haitiwho become involved in illicit activities toearn money, including packaging and sellingdrugs, or acting as ‘look-outs’ for both policeand criminals. 98In some countries of Europe and Central Asia,the growing presence of children working onthe streets, and their involvement in illicitactivities including petty theft, begging andprostitution has prompted similar concern. 99In Saint Petersburg, some 10–30% of workingstreet children are involved in illicit activitiessuch as trade in stolen goods and drug trafficking.100In many parts of the world, police assume thatchildren trying to earn money on the street arenecessarily involved in illegal activity, addingto the violence in these children’s lives. In somecountries, such children are legally defined aspotentially deviant or criminalised as outcasts,and the police are entitled to arrest them. 101(Arbitrary and violent arrest for offences suchas vagrancy is covered in the chapter on onviolence against children in care and justiceinstitutions.)Children involved in trading drugsThe trade in drugs has become one of the mostpervasive categories of illicit child labour.In this type of street-based work, violenceor being on the end of violent behaviour iscommon, and drug trading also exposes childrento risks of substance abuse and harm. Astudy in the two regions of Estonia where druguse among minors is common found that themajority of children involved in drug dealingor trafficking are users of cannabis, heroin oramphetamines themselves. 102 Although notaddicted when they start pushing drugs, theysoon experiment with the products they areselling.In Somalia, the trade in khat, a narcotic leaf,is openly practised and is one of the most profitablebusinesses in the country. Working inthe khat trade is sought after by boys, becauseit is the highest-paying form of entrepreneurship.103 In the Philippines, a study found thatnearly 20% of children involved in the drugtrade were hurt or injured in the process, and17% witnessed other children being physicallypunished. 104 Reasons included losing thedrugs, or failing to remit the money to thehandler. About 25% of the children said that ifthey failed to perform well, the consequenceswould be beating, scolding or threats.A study on children in the drug trade in Riode Janeiro is one of the few extensive surveyson children in illegal activities. 105 Since the1980s, increasing numbers of children havebecome involved as the trade has becomemore open, more centred on cocaine, moreestablished in the favelas (poorer city quarters),and more heavily armed. Children aredrawn into the trade through social associationwith dealers on the street and throughthe lack of alternative opportunities. The risein young people’s involvement is reflected bythe dramatic rise in registered convictions(of under 18s) for drug dealing or trafficking– from 110 in 1980, to 1,584 in 2001. Inten-

‘Violence is when children are made to work like animals’.Urban children, Latin America, 2005 X6tional harm and carrying illegal firearms alsorose significantly during this period (see alsothe chapter on violence against children in thecommunity). 106Factors contributingto violenceThe ILO has developed a conceptual frameworkfor analysing violence at work among thegeneral worker population, viewing it as functionof four interrelated factors:• characteristics of the victims• characteristics of the perpetrators• factors in the working environment• risks related to the environmentexternal to the place of work. 107Though not developed with child workers inmind, this framework is helpful in capturinga number of interactive features, includingindividual and social risk factors, the contextin which certain types of work are performed,and individual and social outcomes, and workplacecosts.Characteristics of workersand perpetratorsChildren are by definition more vulnerable toviolence than adult workers due to their generallysmall size, developmental immaturity,and state of dependence. The distance of theemployer in terms of space, social and ethnicaffiliation from the child’s background affectswhether he or she feels responsibility for theyoung worker’s well-being. In addition, girlsare more vulnerable to sexual violence 108 – andchildren with disabilities are at elevated riskof violence. Children are also less likely thanadults to physically resist violence or makecomplaints, making them easy targets. Youngworkers, whether they have attained the legalworking age or not, are usually at the bottomof the workplace hierarchy.Disability may also play a part in violenceagainst working children. In many parts of theworld, for example, there are frequent reports ofchildren with visible disabilities (from congenitaldisfigurements to open wounds) being sentout to earn a living as beggars, often sufferingphysical violence if they do not earn enoughduring their ‘working day’. Such practices arenot only painful, exploitative and humiliatingfor the children, but frequently contribute toworsening their disabilities and underminingtheir health. 109The power relationship of employer overworker exacerbates risk; this power is absolutesince the job is in the boss’s hands. Availableinformation on recorded cases of workplaceviolence against children implies that mostconsists of violence inflicted by employers,since the majority of children work informallyfor ‘employers’, a term that includes anyonewho has a controlling relationship over a workingchild. Perpetrators also include foremen,co-workers, customers, police, and criminalgangs. Vulnerability is enhanced where theworking situation is isolated or illegal; childrenin the sex trade often fall under the controlof pimps or brothel owners.Traditional systems of apprenticeship – in theCaribbean, for example 110 – can also be the251Violence against children in places of work

“No child should have to fight a war or carry heavy loads and neither should a child have to work longhours without pay or be abused or treated unfairly. Children deserve to be treated as equalsin the workplace and those who abuse them should be severely punished. Equality and qualityin the workplace is what the children want.”Child, Eastern and Southern Africa, 2005 XI252Violence against children in places of workcontext of abuse. However, apprenticeship ofthis kind may be the only path out of dire povertyfor young workers trying to obtain skillsin the informal economy. 111 Where apprenticeshipschemes exist in industrialised settings,there are also some reports of abuse. Onestudy in France found that 16% of apprenticesreported physical or verbal violence, 112 and aEuropean Union study in 2000 found that 2%of apprentices were victims of physical violencefrom fellow workers. 113Workplace characteristicsRisks related to the workplace itself vary accordingto whether the working activity takes placein an organised setting, such as a factory or aninformal setting, such as a backroom enterprise;whether the workplace has special characteristicsof remoteness or danger, such as mines,fishing, quarrying, and some types of agriculture;114 whether it consists of a closed environmentsuch as a household; or whether it is partof an illegal activity, such as sexual exploitationor drug dealing. The most extreme examplesof workplace violence against children occurwithin the worst forms of child labour.Scavenging: a workplace full of riskChildren in unsafe working environmentsare at constant risk of violence. Such environmentsinclude glass factories, mining, andplantation agriculture, especially where healthand safety regulations are lax or non-existent.115 Severe injuries can result from dangerousmachinery, guns, accidents, toxic fumesand explosions. All such ill-effects affectyoung and growing bodies and minds morethan those of adults. Reports from a range ofcountries of systemic workplace abuse againstchildren include for example: inhumane conditionsin the cotton industry 116 and unsafeuse of pesticides around agricultural workers,117,118, 119including childrenEnvironmental factorsWhere the environment is itself full of risk,children who work in open spaces are constantlyexposed to violence. In some places,work in the service industries such as restaurantsand shops may expose young workers toarmed robbery or customer aggression. Whenworking children feel constantly threatenedby violence in the environment, they may alsoIn many countries in Asia and Latin America, large numbers of under-age childrenwork on garbage dumps as scavengers. In the Philippines, in Metro Manila’s QuezonCity, thousands of children and their families make a living from dumpsites and live insatellite communities. In 2000, one of the garbage mountains collapsed under torrentialrains, killing between 500 and 1,000 adults and children who were buried in thetrash. Even on a daily basis, injury from truck manoeuvres or sharp objects is common,as is infection from rotting material. 120

6HAITI, 1995, A girl works at the crowded Solomon FoodMarket in Port-au-Prince.learn violent behaviours themselves or becomebehaviourally disturbed, exhibiting sexual orpersonal aggression. 121Work on the street or in transport, shops, barsor hotels based in shanty-town areas known fortheir violence presents special risks to the childreninvolved. Illicit activities such as trade inillegal goods are by their nature conducted inhigh-risk areas where criminal enterprises arepart of the environment. 122Responses to violenceagainst children inplaces of workViolence as a specific issue has not been givenmuch attention by programmes concerningchild labour. A global challenge that emergesfrom the Study, according to the Study’sRegional Consultation in the Caribbean, isUNICEF/HQ95-0674. Nicole Toutounjito make workplace violence against children amore visible issue, and give it a higher prioritywith policy-makers. 123 The Regional Consultationin South Asia similarly observed that theviolence implicit in many working children’ssituations has not been adequately noticed orchallenged.There is nonetheless experience in dealingwith abuse and violence within many existingprogrammes related to child labour. Mostsuch programmes are multi-pronged, addressingeconomic and cultural causes, the promotionof education and alternative occupations,social mobilisation around children’s needsand rights, and advocacy to change attitudestowards the acceptability of child labour.Within such programmes, the violence certainchildren experience in the workplaceshould be better researched and given moreattention.Appropriate responses will depend to a considerableextent on key differences concerning thenature of the work or workplace, and thereforeof the violence within it. These can be groupedas follows:• Worst forms: In the case whereviolence is an integral component ofthe hazardous and exploitative natureof the labour, covered under ILOConvention No. 182, children shouldnot be in the workplace. Therefore,the principal response will be to enablethem to leave it and take up a newcourse of life, with parental, social andState support. This requires a multiprongedapproach, including measures253Violence against children in places of work

254Violence against children in places of workto combat poverty, promote education,and enforce labour regulations. 124• Work in informal settings:Where there is no ‘employment’ ina contractual sense, and where theworkplace is not easy to access orconsists of streets and open spaces,children’s immediate need forprotection from violence may bestbe addressed by programmes whichprovide services such as sheltersand drop-in centres, non-formaleducation, development of life skills toresist sexual advances, peer activitiessuch as sports and recreation, andopportunities to gain qualifications andschooling. 125,126• Children who are working withinthe law: In cases where children andadolescents are working legally, eitherbecause they are undertaking lightwork, or are above the minimum ageof employment, and where they facepotential violence from employers orfrom other workers as an incidentalhazard, efforts can be made to increasetheir protection and reduce theirvulnerabilities and risks.In the case of ‘worst forms’ of child labour, itis not possible to make a distinction betweenreducing violence and eliminating the workingcircumstances, since to focus exclusivelyon violence would imply that children mightbe left in hazardous and exploitative labour ifthe violence alone were stopped. No childrenshould be employed in circumstances andoccupations where they face physical, psychologicalor sexual abuse and suffer risks to theirhealth, safety or morals.However, as already observed, efforts directedat taking children out of the workplace needto be accompanied by measures which eliminatethe economic and social reasons for themto work or earn, or otherwise their removalwill be short-lived. Experience has shownthat, where under-age children are ejectedfrom the formal workplace without provisionsin place for them to re-direct their lives, theyoften end up in more hazardous informal situations.This occurred in Bangladesh in theearly 1990s, following the abrupt dismissalof under-age girls from the garment exportindustry, under the threat of a US boycott ofgoods made with any involvement of childlabour. 127 The range of interventions requiredtherefore includes:• Legislative and enforcement measures,in accordance with the internationalframework encompassed by theCRC and key ILO Conventions;establishment of workplace regulations,inspectorates, and stiff legal sanctionsagainst the employment of under-ageworkers; and crack-downs on criminalactivities involving children, with childrehabilitation.• Programmatic effort with families andcommunities to reduce the need forand likelihood of parents sending boysand girls to work or earn, includingpreventive measures such as povertyreduction, family support, scholarshipfunds or school fee reduction, and

6universal access to basic services,especially quality education.• Interventions to respond directly toworking children’s need to be removedfrom workplaces that expose themto violence, hazard and exploitation,targeted at a wide-ranging audienceincluding employers, parents,community leaders and enforcementofficials.• Advocacy and social mobilisation bycivil society to promote the right ofchildren not to be treated with violencein the workplace, and for all childrento have access to quality education andappropriate preparation for a futureworking life free from exploitation andabuse.Laws and their implementationInternational standards guide national legislativeaction on child labour. All but two countrieshave ratified the CRC and more than 80%of the world’s children now live in countrieswhich have ratified the two key ILO Conventions.Since its adoption in 1999, ConventionNo. 182 has enjoyed a rapid pace of ratification,which in turn has helped to double the rateof ratifications of the Minimum Age Convention,No. 138. 129 This reflects a strong politicalconsensus and significant new momentum onurgent action to eliminate child labour. ManyGovernments have undertaken reviews of theirlegislation, and shown greater resolution inaddressing the many issues involved.There are still major challenges in bringing customarylaw and traditional codes concerning‘work’ and ‘employment’ into conformity withinternational law. One important action at thenational level has been determining the list ofKenya: Addressing work, poverty and education in tandemIn recent efforts to reduce child labour, acknowledgement has been made of the difficultiesfaced by seriously poor families, including those affected by HIV/AIDS. Evenwhere primary school fees have been abolished, some African families still find that theyneed children to supplement the family income by working instead of going to school.In an effort to address this situation, Kenya – with two million working children aged5–17 years – has tried compensating parents for the loss of their children’s economiccontribution; the money is conditional on children attending school. US$ 7–14 permonth per child is given as an incentive to parents of those working in plantations, subsistencefarms and fisheries, as well as for orphans and other vulnerable children. 128255Violence against children in places of work

256Violence against children in places of workhazardous occupations and tasks, and prohibitingthem for all under 18s, as called for underILO Convention No. 182. A recent review indicatesthat this has been an area of high activity;so has legislative action against trafficking andthe involvement of children in prostitution andpornography. However, attention from Governmentsto forced and bonded labour has beenmore modest, and there has been little actionon improving legislation against the use of childrenengaged in illicit activities. 130Labour law enforcementIn many countries, lack of law enforcement,including bringing perpetrators to court, is amore acute problem than that of the nature oflegislation on the statute book. For example, newlaws were passed against bonded labour in India(1976) and Pakistan (1992), but the numbers ofprosecutions and releases of bonded labourers bythe courts show that neither is vigorously prosecuted.In India, the National Human RightsCommission was ordered by the Supreme Courtin 1997 to oversee the enforcement of the 1976Act, and has been able to pressure officials intofreeing and rehabilitating bonded children insome areas, primarily in Uttar Pradesh’s carpetbelt. 131 But the Commission’s resources andpower are limited, and States have been slow tofulfil their obligations. In Pakistan, where finesare far higher than in India, prosecutions havebeen minimal in recent years. 132The South Asian Regional Consultation for theStudy has pointed to the need for a supervisorysystem to ensure effective implementation ofchild labour laws by all entities charged withenforcement throughout the region. Similarly,the East Asia and Pacific Regional Consultationnoted that in general the enforcement ofchild labour laws appears to lag behind otherlegal measures enacted to protect children.Many impediments to the enforcement of lawsexist. One is the lack of an effective and universalbirth registration system, which constrictsenforcement of laws on minimum ageof employment. 133 Another is that the labourinspectorates which helped remove childrenfrom the workplace in industrialising countriesin the West have generally not provedto be as effective in the developing world. 134Although successful in some instances, mostdo not extend their reach beyond organisedurban workplaces, where the minority of childworkers are to be found. Many inspectorsare overwhelmed by their caseloads, short ofresources and means of travel, and poorly paid.Both employers and child workers may resortto pay-offs, and there can also be pressure fromofficial sources not to undertake the kind ofrigorous inspections which might damage theinvestment climate. 135Avenues for legal redress regarding violenceinflicted on working children are almost inaccessibleto them, given their inferior status. Cases ofserious injury, such as burning with a hot iron,and of gross abuse, may attract media attention;in which case employers of children in domesticlabour, for example, are prosecuted, usuallywith NGO assistance. Attempts are also madeby NGOs such as the South Asian Coalitionon Child Servitude to gain for released Indianbonded child workers their legal entitlement toRs. 20,000 (US$ 420) for rehabilitation; but

6such attempts are few and far between. 136 Casesof sexual abuse against working children are alsorarely prosecuted. 137 Moreover, those who championrescued child workers in the courts oftenput themselves at risk from retaliation by vestedinterests.There are specific situations where enforcementhas been effective, with the necessary programmaticand back-up interventions in place, butthese are rare. It can be done, however, in circumstanceswhere the work is exclusive to childrenon the pretext of their small size, manualdexterity or need to learn a skill at a very youngage (as in carpet-weaving or decorative craft).In a closed workplace or occupation, removal ofthe entire child workforce may be practicable.One example is the agreement made with theUnited Arab Emirates (UAE) in May 2005concerning the release and repatriation totheir countries of origin of 3,000 young boysemployed as camel jockeys and stable boys (seebox). This initiative illustrates the complementaryroles that can be played by campaigningand international organisations in bringing anend to the trafficking and employment of childrenin an exploitative occupation.Backing for law enforcement withincivil societyAs noted throughout the Study, law enforcementis problematic in environments whereformal legal, administrative and judicial systemshave little influence over most people’slives. This is the case in areas where childwork is common. Application of the lawrequires popular acceptance and the cooperationof civil society in applying it. Violenceis particularly difficult to outlaw; there is noguarantee in societies where interpersonal violenceis commonly used in dispute resolutionthat a legal prohibition on a practice will betreated with respect, even by those expected toenforce it. Until social attitudes condemn violenceagainst children absolutely and in everycircumstance, the enforcement of laws againstchild labour may inadvertently lead to furtherdiscrimination against working children, forThe long struggle to end the use of boys as camel jockeysThe trafficking of small boys from certain countries in South Asia (Bangladesh andPakistan), and Africa (Mauritania, Somalia and Sudan), for use as jockeys in camelraces in the UAE and other Gulf States (Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia) came underprotest for many years by Anti-Slavery International (ASI). A Bangladeshi NGO calculatedthat nearly 1,700 boys had been trafficked to the Middle East during the 1990sfor this purpose, the vast majority under the age of 10. The boys were tied onto thecamel’s saddles during the races, and often sustained injuries and falls. They were alsofrequently starved before races to reduce their weight, and suffered other forms ofphysical and psychological violence, including occasional sexual abuse.>>>257Violence against children in places of work

The long struggle to end the use of boys as camel jockeysASI was unable to make significant progress until it joined forces with the InternationalConfederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the ILO. In 2001, the ILOpersuaded the UAE to ratify Convention No. 182. This led to a ban in 2002 on the useof camel jockeys aged under 15 and lower in weight than 45 kg. Even then, progresswas slow and some trafficking continued. However, in March 2005 the age limit waslegally revised upwards to 16 years (later to 18), and in May 2005 UNICEF reachedan agreement with the UAE Governments to facilitate the repatriation of the boys totheir countries of origin over a two-year period. Within eight months well over 1,000boys had been identified. Many began to return home to Pakistan and Bangladesh laterin 2005.258Violence against children in places of workThe boys were initially received at special centres, from which they were to be reunitedwith their families if possible. If these were not able to be found, education and reintegrationwithin the society were to be undertaken by care organisations. Other boys,including workers at the stables, were subsequently also returned to Sudan and Mauritania.In all four countries, support was provided to families and communities andpermanent mechanisms set up to help prevent further trafficking or re-trafficking. Thereintegration of the children was subject to monitoring with emphasis on strengtheningcommunity care and creating a supportive environment to prevent discriminationagainst them. 138,139,140example by official persecution of the childrenthemselves on the basis of their stigmatisedsocial status.Some efforts to implement child labour lawswith civil society cooperation have been made.In areas where trafficking is common, communitygroups or community-based watch/vigilance systems have been set up; they mayalso report breaches of child labour legislationand non-attendance of children in school. 141For example, in Benin, village surveillancecommittees backed by the provincial administrationhave helped to reduce the trafficking ofchildren, both by educating families about thedangers of trafficking, and by working withthe police when a child from the village goesmissing. 142 However, a number of lessons werelearned from this programme. 143 It was necessarynot to use fear-inducing messages, butto try to convince people about the harmfulnature of something they currently accepted.Surveillance committees did not functionwell if they were seen as agents of oppressionagainst local families and children.

“She is so young, hardly 8 years old, carrying charcoal, and in school uniform,when asked why she has not gone to school, she says she is working.”Boy, 15, Eastern and Southern Africa, 2005 XII6Universal education and lifeskillsUniversal access to schooling is a key componentof ending child labour. There are manyarguments in favour of making basic educationcompulsory for both boys and girls, includingthe requirement on the State to increase educationalinvestment and impetus to reach theinternational goal of Education For All (see thechapter on violence against children in schoolsand educational settings). The attainmentof this goal is closely related to many others,including poverty reduction, gender equality,and improved maternal and child health.Universal education also has a track record inhelping end child labour. For example, in boththe Indian state of Kerala and in Sri Lanka,progress towards universal education has beenaccompanied by the departure of some childrenfrom full-time work, despite little effortto implement child labour laws. 144It is important to note that schooling and workare not mutually exclusive: going to school doesnot exclude all types of work at all times of dayfor children of working age. Children in manysocieties undertake part-time earning activitiesin order to help pay for schooling expenses, oras a useful part of their socialisation. Studiesin industrialised societies confirm the longtermvalue to the adolescent child of steadypart-time earning during secondary school aspart of their preparation for future adult life. 145However, such working and earning opportunitiesmust be done within boundaries thatsupport, rather than diminish, developmentalopportunities.In many settings, however, working children donot attend school. For this reason, many programmesto end child labour focus on bringingchildren into school, or returning them toschool, as an alternative to work. For example,the Child Workers’ Opportunities Project(CWOP), a large-scale community-based programmein three states of India used a multiprongedstrategy to enable children to leave theworkplace, in which the promotion of schoolgoingwas the prominent strand (see box). InBenin, the Groupe de recherche et d’actions pourle développement humain (GRADH) worksmainly with boys, some as young as seven, whohave been placed by their parents or guardianswith artisans such as car mechanics, carpenters,and masons. The NGO carries out surveys onartisans in collaboration with the artisans’ association,identifying the younger children andthose in especially difficult working conditions.It then arranges formal apprenticeships for theolder children and reinsertion of the youngerchildren into schools, working closely with theMinistry of Labour and the ILO. 146Child workers in their teens are usually veryaware of the disadvantages they face if theyhave not attended school; if practicable, theyusually want to gain education and training,and the future job advantages which theseimply. Even if they continue to work, theytend to seek opportunities in which they maylearn, and raise their status and prospects. 147But where children are totally dependent onstreet-based income to survive, they tend toplace the need to earn at a higher level thantheir need for education, however much theywould like to be able to read and write. 148259Violence against children in places of work

260Violence against children in places of workUniversal attendance at school is difficult toenforce where the quality of education is poor,families and children perceive in it nothing ofadvantage, or teachers are verbally or physicallyabusive. Unless schooling is child-friendly,and adds value in terms of useful learning andqualifications, it can be difficult to attract andretain children from working situations.Schooling itself provides an opportunity forthe promotion of self-protection, non-violenceand peaceful conflict resolution, as do nonformaleducation programmes (see chapter onviolence against children in schools and educationalsettings). Life skills-based educationin both settings, should be made accessible toworking boys and girls whether or not theyare able to quit work, to learn about genderequality, avoidance of coercive or oppressivesituations, sexual behaviour, and the need toadopt non-violence within relationships. Thereduction of gender-based violence, unsafesexual practices, street violence and misogynyrequires challenging dominant forms and perceptionsof masculinity, by reaching out toboys and men. 149Child Workers’ Opportunities Project (CWOP), MaharashtraThis four-year programme in India supported by Save the Children Canada targeted10,000 working children, including 4,000 in two project sites in Maharashtra. Thesechildren were identified during baseline surveys in the 94 intervention communitiescovered by the two local operational NGO partners; the intention was to bring an endto child labour in the communities in question.The strategy centred on shifting children out of work and into school or training, bysimultaneously addressing the reasons why they worked, and by offering them otheropportunities. Working children under 14 were to be enrolled in the formal primarysystem, and those aged 14–18 in vocational training. Community-based non-formaleducation classes, to which all children identified in the survey were invited, were thestarting-point. At the same time, initiatives were made to foster income-generation forwomen in households with working children, and build awareness in the communityto render the concept of child work socially unacceptable. Village education committeeswere established, and communities encouraged to improve school buildings, andto demand high quality teaching and child-friendly behaviour from teachers.Child participation was a fundamental principle in all project activities. Child groupswere set up, in which working and ex-working children participated. Members took on

6Child Workers’ Opportunities Project (CWOP), Maharashtrasuch responsibilities as mentoring children new to the classroom who needed motivationto stay; and in the case of a teacher being lax, drunk, or using violence in class,report the behaviour to the village authorities. Children themselves helped transformattitudes about work and school; in one community they postered every house in thevillage with the message: “No working children, every child in school.”Over the four-year programme, 75% of the 10,000 children gained access to school orvocational training, and 3,000 children left work entirely. Project managers in Maharashtraconcluded that improving educational quality and making schools more childfriendlyis the most important activity, and that if more investment in basic educationis made at state level, the results would be more impressive. The project’s successhas subsequently influenced other projects to end child labour run by state Governments.150,151261The participation of childrenOne of the most important steps towardsenabling children to remove themselves fromexploitative work and abuse in the workplace isto facilitate their participation in programmesdeveloped and carried out on their behalf. Participationshould consist not only of systematicconsultation with children and their familiesfrom the data-gathering stage through programmeimplementation and evaluation, butshould also include enabling them to use theirown considerable powers of agency. 152 Thisincludes organising their own programmeactivities, such as drives to remove childrenfrom exploitative workplaces, as well as advocacyon their behalf. Participatory activitiescan be used to raise awareness of the violenceto which children may be subjected.In a number of settings, NGOs have helpedworking children and non-working childrendevelop their own organisations throughwhich they seek to improve their lives, gainskills and education, enjoy sports and culturalprogrammes, and perform socially usefulactivities. Some have become sophisticatedadvocates: working children’s movements haveformed an international network, and wererepresented at the UN World Summit forChildren in 2002. 153 Many such organisationsprovide young people with an opportunity todevelop and demonstrate qualities of socialresponsibility, taking a lead on issues suchas illegal employment of under-age workers,alcohol abuse in the community, 154 changes inthe law to provide young workers with betterprotection including against sexual abuse, 155rescuing domestic workers from abusivehouseholds, 156 and persuading employers togive their adolescent workers time off for studiesand recreation. 157 For example, in Nicaraguathe National Movement of WorkingViolence against children in places of work

“We have reduced the heavy work that we used to do. We can now say to our family andemployers that this is too much for a child and that it is an adult’s job.We now can negotiate what is and isn’t acceptable.”Teen-aged worker, West and Central Africa, 2004 XIII262Violence against children in places of workChildren and Adolescents (NATRAS) beganin 2003 to work on preventing sexual abuse ofchildren and adolescents, especially of workingchildren. Eighteen of NATRAS’ memberorganisations have participated in a variety ofactivities – from carrying out surveys to directlobbying with municipal officials – aimed atreducing sexual abuse in 13 targeted municipalitiesand at increasing awareness of the issuewithin the society and the State. In all of theseorganisations’ activities, the role of adults islimited to being facilitators and companionsto the young members. 158The opportunities created by children’s organisationsallow participants to gain confidence,self-esteem, leadership and social skills, abroader view of the world and a sense of theirown potential within it. These attributes areessential in overcoming the self-denigrationand deep sense of inferiority felt by many childrenin violent and abusive situations. Theseand other community groups provide a vehiclefor changes in attitudes by children, familiesand communities that enable the children toleave work and go to school instead. In somesettings, ‘poverty’ as a blanket reason for sendingchildren to work melts away when the alternativeof going to school is socially endorsedand backed by community support. 159AdvocacyThe role of advocacy in relation to workplaceviolence against children is two-fold. Onthe one hand, it is necessary to draw policymakers’attention to the abuse children endureand set in motion the development and implementationof appropriate policies, laws, programmesand services; on the other, it is asimportant to challenge the social acceptanceof damaging child work by influencing popularopinion. A transformation in the attitudesand behaviours which condone the presence ofchildren in the workplace is a pre-condition ofchildren’s departure from it on a sustainablebasis. Governments have been loathe to intervenein child labour issues unless confident ofpublic and political support.Children and young people are often their ownbest advocates and should be given a prominentrole as spokespersons on their own behalf,to policy makers, employers, communities,legislators, media and the society at large. Theparticipation of children in the Technical Sub-Council on Child Work in Honduras led tochanges in the National Plan of Action, notablyto include deep-sea fishing as a ‘worst form’ oflabour, because of the possible harm associatedwith it. 160 Many opportunities exist to engagechildren, even those in invisible occupationssuch as domestic labour or child prostitution,in advocacy campaigns. Children can be moreeffective than organisational intermediaries inaddressing police, administration or justice.Theatre, drama and role plays performed bychildren have been used with great success asvehicles for advocacy. 161 Messages can be putacross in a non-blaming way, and actors canfeel free to show incidents of abuse which theywould be unlikely to mention in an interview.Similarly, parents and community memberswho may have not understood the abuse theirchildren are likely to experience if they send

6them away to work are more able to absorb andbelieve that there are real reasons not to do so. 162Parents’ Days at school, local Children’s Daycelebrations, and similar events at the nationallevel can be used to promote awareness of theworst forms of child labour and showcase actionagainst it. The World Day against Child Labourinitiated in June 2002 has adopted a particularaspect of the worst forms of child labour tocampaign against each year; for example, trafficking(2002), child domestic labour (2004),and mining and quarrying (2005).Targeted interventions:Contact, rescue, andrehabilitationTaking action on violence against children, particularlythe worst forms of child labour, requiresthe integration of practical programme interventionswith advocacy, and both types of actionwith data collection. A variety of approachesis possible, depending on the size and type oforganisation undertaking the action, and thesituation to which they are responding.Many NGOs, responding to an emergencyneed such as providing shelter for seriouslyabused and traumatised runaway children,start with a small-scale project such as acentre, and base their service development,data collection and advocacy on that. Wherethey are able to develop a sizeable range of services,they may also provide legal assistance forabused child workers to take their employersto court. Handbooks exist with ‘good practiceprinciples’ for programme interventions insome ‘worst form’ child labour contexts suchas child domestic labour. 164 These interventionslargely constitute secondary prevention,responding to violence as and where it occurs.In contrast, larger-scale programmes initiatedby international organisations often includeprimary prevention measures to avoid violencebefore it takes place.They start with a planning process: they arenot in immediate contact with abused workingchildren. A planning methodology has beendeveloped by ILO/IPEC for ‘Time-Bound Programmes’(TBPs) to eliminate child labour. 165“We’re tired!” – a drama for child domestic workersA playlet entitled Sanayo (“We’re tired” in Wolof) was written by and for girl domesticworkers in Dakar, Senegal, with support from the NGO ENDA Tiers Monde. Inthe playlet, a patronne (employer) takes on a house-girl, and then subjects that girl toabuse in front of her friends for failures of service, food preparation, and other tasks.The friends join in the mockery of the girl, and the patronne’s young daughter accusesher unjustly of stealing. The girl is eventually fired, without receiving her salary. Thisplaylet was performed at a preparatory meeting for the OAU Conference in 1993 onAssisting the African Child. It has since been staged in many locations in Dakar. 163263Violence against children in places of work

264Violence against children in places of workTBPs comprise a package of interventions coveringprevention, withdrawal, rehabilitationand future protection, with which States thathave ratified Convention No. 182 can tackle‘worst forms’ of child labour within a set timeframe.They start with data collection andother actions to create an ‘enabling environmentfor the elimination of the wost forms ofchild labour’. 166El Salvador, Nepal, and the United Republicof Tanzania were the first three countries toimplement TBPs, starting in 2002. Seventeenother countries have since followed suit, severalmore are preparing similar programmes.As an example, the United Republic of Tanzaniaset out to reduce the number of childreninvolved in the worst forms of child labour by75%, and the overall child labour participationfrom the current 25% to less than 10% by2010. Mid-term evaluation found these objectivesto be on course. 167ContactIn spite of the hidden nature of much childlabour, a variety of mechanisms can be used tomake contact with child workers. These includechild-to-child contact in places where youngworkers go at off-duty times. Such places includeparks, churches, temples or mosques, eveningclasses, shops or markets. Several organisations,including those taking part in ILO/IPEC andUNICEF programmes, run awareness-raisingsessions for local leaders, police, householdersand children, in which they learn about reporting,handling cases, the need to avoid violencein removing children from abusive situations,and to retain the cooperation of employers.Hotlines and help-lines have become a wellknowntechnique for enabling children toreport violence against themselves. Someorganisations working to eliminate childlabour have established hotlines for child workersto use. The Kasambahay (domestic worker)programme run by Visayan Forum in the Philippinesoperates hotlines to receive reports ofabuse and facilitate rescue. 168 In Cambodia, alocal NGO organises the distribution of cardswith pop stars’ pictures on the front and telephonenumbers and addresses of centres to contacton the reverse. These are left in places suchas phone booths, bars, markets, and discos. 169However, hotlines are resource-intensive: theyneed to be manned round the clock, by welltrainedpersonnel, and have effective processesfor involving police or emergency services.Rescue operationsEfforts to remove children from workplace violencemay require emergency action. Key stepsin a process of rapid response to emergencycases include: setting up systems to receiveinformation about abuse, including from childrenthemselves via hotlines and drop-in centres;planning the rescue; the rescue operation;post-rescue rehabilitation; and post-rescue legalredress. 170 In removing children from dangerousworkplaces, interventions must ensure thatthe situation of children is not worsened – thattheir physical well-being and self-respect arenot further damaged by the trauma of therescue. 171 Many rescue operations are not properlyprepared nor are the necessary follow-upsupport and services in place, such as healthcare and counselling for women and childrenrescued from the sex industry. 172

6Rescue operation in Athlone, Cape TownIn early 2004, an NGO campaigning against the abuse of domestic servants (Anex-CDW) began to receive referrals from the local police station of girls who had runaway from an agency called ‘Excellent Domestics’. The agency brought girls in fromthe countryside, housed them and found them jobs. When Anex visited the premises,they found appalling living conditions, under-age girls, and cases of workers not givenany pay. They reported their findings to the Department of Labour. A few weeks later,an article in the newspaper about a girl trapped at the agency finally led to action. Theagency was found to be operating illegally and closed. The girls at the premises were alltraumatised and wanted to return to their homes, even when offered skills-training intown. The police and Anex found them shelter and food, and they received free ticketshome. The proprietors of ‘Excellent Domestics’ were taken to court. 173VIET NAM, 1999, A girl selling postcards on the street showsone of her cards to a social worker who works with street childrenin Ho Chi Minh City.UNICEF/HQ99-0878. Roger LemoyneRehabilitationA number of organisations’ primary activity isto remove children from child labour and reintegratethem with their families. The SouthAsian Coalition on Child Servitude (SACCS)has a mission to identify, liberate and rehabilitatechildren in servitude. In India, a numberof human rights organisations attempt togain release of, and rehabilitate children inforced and bonded labour. WAYS in Kampala,Uganda has had notable success in resettlingover 300 former child domestic labourers.They regard counselling of the families inadvance of resettlement and reunification asessential. Whenever possible, children shouldhave access to services that aim to bring themcloser to their family. 174Organisations working with victims of workplaceabuse maintain that it is always importantto contact the family, but not to force thechild to return if she or he does not want to.265Violence against children in places of work

266Violence against children in places of workThis may not be in the child’s best interestsif social stigma and rejection are likely to bethe outcome; or the child will be again sent towork, or re-trafficked. In the case of girls rescuedfrom the sex industry, there is likely to beheavy stigma from families and communitiesto whom they are returned, and they may belooked upon as carriers of HIV. 175 Cases of retrafficking,for example, from Nepal to India,are common.Improved data collectionMuch progress has been made since the mid-1990s in developing methodologies to obtainreliable data on child labour. A major initiativeto improve understanding on the hidden,illegal and often criminal abuse of childrenin the workplace has been through the jointdevelopment by ILO and UNICEF of a RapidAssessment methodology. 176NGOs have played a major role in uncoveringsome of the worst abuses of children in the workplace.For example, Anti-Slavery Internationalled initiatives on children in domestic labour,initially focusing on simple research methodologiesfor local NGOs to use as a basis foradvocacy. 177 Subsequently, an active network ofpractitioner NGOs working in the field of childdomestic labour was developed, and throughthis, consultations were conducted with childdomestics which shed much insight into theviolence and abuse they suffered. Since this is anotoriously difficult group of children to reach,much can be learned from these experiencesabout how to contact invisible child workersand collect data with and from them. 178Much more is known about street children; asthey are visible and accessible, children workingin streets and public spaces have been studiedin a number of settings, and even thoughnumbers are usually estimates, a considerablebody of information about them now exists.Some street child programmes now includecomponents for monitoring, verification andtracking. 179 Far fewer extended surveys havebeen conducted into bonded child labour inSouth Asia, or into traditional forms of slaveryor forced labour affecting children inAfrica and Latin America. Those studies thatexist have mostly been conducted by NGOsand, with some notable exceptions, are relativelysmall-scale. Very little is known aboutviolence within a family work setting (mostlysmall-scale agriculture), which is where mostchildren work.Action research and monitoringEffort has recently been invested in researchmethodologies that aid in designing interventionsor monitoring the impact of existinginterventions in order to improve them. Forexample, action research on boys and girlsinvolved in drug trafficking has been conductedin Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, 180 andBrazil, with an emphasis on collecting dataabout these children that is of direct use indeveloping interventions. One study by IPECon drug use and trafficking in Estonia illustratedthe difficulties of obtaining informationon the experiences of children in extreme situations,concluding: “Violence is one of the fewtopics which young drug users do not want todiscuss with strangers. It seems that the topic

6of violence is taboo, and one interview is justnot enough to build up mutual trust.” 181In recent years, the concept of child labour monitoringhas shifted from monitoring of industriesor organised workplace settings, to monitoringof the children removed from work and providedwith protection services. IPEC has developed a‘tracer’ methodology to assess long-term changes(two years and more after the completion of anintervention) that have occurred in the lives ofworking children as a consequence of the intervention.Impacts examined include educationalstatus, economic well-being, employment,health, and attitudes; working children on thestreets (Turkey), mining (Ecuador), domesticlabour (Uganda), fishing (Indonesia) and traffickedchildren (Sri Lanka). 182 In the informaleconomy, community-based monitoring isincreasingly being used to provide reliable dataand the tracking of working children. All theseinitiatives represent opportunities to identifychildren’s experience of physical and psychologicalviolence, its impact and the necessary stepsto be taken for redress.Building momentumfor changeSince the mid-1990s, a worldwide movementagainst child labour has emerged, in which awide range of protagonists have been active.Manifestations of the momentum behind thismovement are the rapidity at which ILO ConventionNo. 182 has been ratified around theworld, and the success of such initiatives as theGlobal March against Child Labour, which in1998 brought together a network of organisationsto take ongoing action against childlabour. Partners in the movement includeinternational and regional organisations, bilateralagencies, the Inter-Parliamentary Union(IPU), workers’ and employers’ organisations,NGOs, the media, academics, and organisationsrepresenting working children.An important dynamic has been the growingconcern (and consumer action) over corporatesocial responsibility. Action has come largelythrough self-regulation via sectoral alliancesand voluntary codes of conduct to ensure thatmembers of supply chains in globalised manufacturingindustries – garments, footballs,sports shoes, tobacco products – are not usingchild labour. 183 Employers’ organisations in, forexample, Azerbaijan, the Republic of Moldova,Malawi and Uganda, have promoted mediacampaigns against child labour; in Ghana, theyhave been involved in discussions with parliamentarianson a new draft of the Human TraffickingBill. In Brazil, the National Confederationfor Industry (CNI), in collaboration withlocal NGOs, has set up a prevention and rehabilitationprogramme for children in prostitution.In China’s Yunan Province, 74 influentialemployers in Kunming City have called on privatesector managers to comply with child labourlaws and contribute to anti-trafficking efforts,including a street advocacy campaign. 184Trade unions have a long association with effortsto reduce child labour, and are well-placed toact as watchdogs and monitors of violence andabuse within the workplace. However, few tradeunions are operational within the informaleconomy, or in those parts of the worldwide267Violence against children in places of work

“The protection of children involves major financial resources but the life and well-being of millions ofchildren depend on the willingness of governments to put in place the necessary measures.In our view, violence committed against a single child is one instance of violence too many.”Children, Regional Consultation, West and Central Africa, 2005 XIV268Violence against children in places of workworking scene where children facing violenceare most often found. In Bulgaria, trade unioncentres have begun to address the worst formsof child labour and workplaces in the informaleconomy. In the Ukraine, the IndependentTrade Union of Miners (ITUMU) has takenthe lead to end child labour in 500 unregisteredsmall-scale mines as part of an internationallybrokered sector agreement involving bothsides of industry. The agreement was signed onWorld Child Labour Day, 2005.A long way to goDespite increased engagement in child protectionissues by the UN system and NGOs sincethe advent of the CRC, and the new momentumto end ‘worst forms’ of child labour since theratification of ILO Convention No. 182, thereis still a long way to go. There has been a failureto acknowledge sufficiently working children’svaried experience of violence – physical, psychologicaland sexual – and take it fully into accountwhen developing plans and programmes. Thereis still a need give greater weight internationallyand nationally to those forms and situations ofwork that are intrinsically hazardous and violent,especially those in remote, illicit or hiddenlocations. There is also a need to work withtrade unions and employer organisations toimprove protection for the youngest membersof the regular workforce where they are facingmore risks than their older peers.Within organisations working to end childlabour, an enhanced focus on the violence sufferedby child workers may help build renewedmomentum for change.RecommendationsA wide range of measures is needed to addressthe problem of workplace violence against children.The issue has to be tackled as a livelihood,human rights, labour, health and safety,and law enforcement issue, starting with effortsto prevent under-age children from enteringthe workplace in the first place. Support foruniversal access to basic education and actionto end children’s employment in ‘worst forms’of labour are important preventive actions, butactions on a broader front, particularly thoserelated to poverty and family need, are alsorequired.The key departure point has to be a policy ofzero tolerance of violence against children whoare working, whether within the law or outsideit, in organised workplaces or in the informaleconomy. The issue has to be brought out intothe open, and perpetrators of acts of violencetowards children in the workplace broughtto account. Children who are under workingage need to be helped to leave work, receiveeducation and training, and improve their lifechances. Where they are working legally, preventionof violence should be explicitly builtinto the regulation and inspection process,with access of young workers to reporting systems,complaints procedures and the courts.Legislation1. Violence against working childrenshould be condemned. Governmentsshould ensure that the reality that childworkers in many settings, both under- andabove the minimum legal age of employ-

6ment, routinely suffer violence in theworkplace is brought to public attentionand systematically condemned in law andin practice.workforce. Employers, trades unions andlabour authorities should promote zero tolerancetowards those who victimise youngworkers.2. Relevant international legal instrumentsshould be ratified and applied.Governments should harmonise nationallegislation concerning child labour withinternational standards, notably ILOConventions Nos 138 and 182 and theConvention on the Rights of the Child.Legislation should specify enforcementmechanisms and impose penalties that actas an incentive to eliminate ‘worst forms’of child labour as a first priority.Policy and programme development3. Develop national action plans to addresschild labour. Governments should createand implement plans of action to tacklethe many issues connected with childlabour. These plans should be integratedinto national development plans and policies;this should be done with the necessaryrange of partners (including workingchildren’s representatives), appropriateexpertise, and resources. In order to basethese plans on solid evidence, high priorityshould be given to building a knowledgebase about violence against working children(see recommendation 14).4. Tackle violence in the workplace generally.Governments should ensure thatworkplace violence is tackled as a whole,with an emphasis on the special vulnerabilitiesof the youngest members of the5. Set up services for children to reportviolence and escape from it. Governmentsshould ensure that working childrenshould have a means of reporting violenceagainst them to people whom they canhave trust, and who can help them to leavethe workplace or obtain redress. These servicesmay include hotlines so that childrencan summon assistance, and if necessarybe rescued and placed in emergency care.6. Provide services for working childrenand those leaving the workplace. Governmentsshould ensure that workingchildren’s rights to education, health, andsocial services are fully respected. Childrenshould be encouraged and enabledto leave work and attend school or vocationaltraining, by transitional educationprogrammes and other initiatives whichensure that learning is relevant, accessibleand child-friendly. Life skills should bepart of non-formal education for workingchildren.7. Mainstream the participation of workingchildren in the creation and implementationof policies, programmes andservices for their benefit. Governmentsshould ensure that children’s right to, andcapacity for, participation is respected.Working children’s views, energies, creativeskills, and effectiveness in advocacy shouldbe deployed in ways that enable policies269Violence against children in places of work

270Violence against children in places of workand programmes to end child labour to beeffective and sustainable.8. Build the capacity for all who come intocontact with working children. Governmentsshould ensure that the capacity ofprogramme partners, Government agencies,trades unions, employers, police, judiciary,labour inspectorates, NGOs, communityorganisations, children’s groups,and researchers to address violence in theworkplace is enhanced.Enforcement9. Perpetrators of violence against childrenin the workplace should be broughtto account. Governments should ensurethat the impunity frequently enjoyed byemployers of under-age children, andthe perpetration of physical, psychologicaland sexual violence against them, isended by the real prospect of prosecutionand meaningful penalties. Criminal sanctionsagainst the use of children for sex,prostitution or pornography, and againstrecruiters and traffickers of children needto be vigorously enforced.10. Enforcement and judicial proceduresshould be child-friendly. Governmentsshould ensure that in the enforcement oflegislation concerning the removal of childrenfrom workplaces or the prosecutionof employers or co-workers, the rights ofchildren not to suffer further violence,trauma or discrimination are respected.In addition, the principle of ‘best interestsof the child’ needs to be observed in allactions involving child workers.Advocacy and social mobilisation11. Increase public awareness of the damagingeffects of child labour. Governmentsshould ensure that public awareness of theright of all children to be protected fromall forms of violence is increased, and informationabout the risks of violence and itsdamaging impacts on working children aredisseminated to parents, families and communities.Social dialogue should be encouragedaround the concept of decent work,and the value of schooling underlined.12. Enlist the support of the private sectorand civil society. Governments shouldmake efforts to stimulate corporate socialresponsibility to tackle workplace violenceagainst children, including by the adoptionof ethical guidelines in the workplace.In particular, the tourism industry andmedia should be encouraged to campaignagainst sexual exploitation and traffickingof children.Information and research13. Collect data about violence against childrenin the workplace. Given the almosttotal lack of data about violence againstchildren in the workplace, Governmentsshould ensure that all possible means ofcollecting such data are deployed withinprogrammes and services and by specificstudies and surveys. Especially vulnerablechildren should be targeted for research,notably those in home-based, street-basedand illicit work.

614. Interventions should be monitored andevaluated. Governments should ensurethat the impact of interventions is monitoredover a period of time extendingbeyond the conclusion of any intervention,and good practice lessons widely disseminated.References1 ILO (2006). The End of Child Labour: Within Sight.Geneva, International Labour Organization.2 Walvin J (1982). A Child’s World: A Social History ofEnglish Childhood, 1800–1914. London, Penguin Books.3 Tolfree D (1998). Old Enough to Work, Old Enough toHave a Say. Save the Children Sweden.4 Boyden J et al. (1999). What Works for WorkingChildren. Save the Children Sweden and UNICEF.5 Boyden J et al. (1999). What Works for WorkingChildren. Save the Children Sweden and UNICEF.6 Black M (2003). Good Practice in Working Children’sParticipation: A Case Study from CWOP, MaharashtraIndia. Prepared for the Save the Children AllianceTask Group on Children and Work. London, Save theChildren UK.7 Liebel M (2004). A Will of Their Own: Cross-CulturalPerspectives on Working Children. London and New York,Zed Books. Cited in: Bourdillon M (2006). Violenceagainst Working Children. Stockholm, Save the ChildrenSweden.8 Bourdillon M (2006). Violence against WorkingChildren. Stockholm, Save the Children Sweden.9 Boyden J et al. (1999). What Works for WorkingChildren. Save the Children Sweden and UNICEF.10 Black M (1996). Children First: The Story of UNICEFPast and Present. UNICEF, Oxford University Press.11 ILO (2002). A Future without Child Labour. First GlobalReport. Geneva, International Labour Organization.12 Delap E (2001). Economic and Cultural Forces inthe Child Labour Debate: Evidence from UrbanBangladesh. Journal of Developmental Studies, 37(5):1–22. Cited in: Bourdillon M (2006). Violence againstWorking Children. Stockholm, Save the ChildrenSweden.13 Burra N (1995). Born to Work: Child Labour in India.Oxford, Oxford University Press.271Violence against children in places of work

272Violence against children in places of work14 Cunningham H (2001). The Rights of the Child andthe Wrongs of Child Labour: A Historical Perspective.In: Lieten K, White B (Eds). Child Labour: PolicyOptions. Amsterdam, Aksant Academic Publishers,pp 1–11.15 Cunningham H (1995). Child Labour andIndustrialisation. Working Conditions and EnvironmentDepartment Working Paper No. 1. Geneva,International Labour Organization: Cited in: ILO(2006). The End of Child Labour: Within Sight.Geneva, International Labour Organization.16 Bourdillon M (2006). Violence against WorkingChildren. Stockholm, Save the Children Sweden.17 ILO (2006). The End of Child Labour: Within Sight.Geneva, International Labour Organization.18 Fallon P, Tzannatos Z (1998). Child Labor: Issues andDirections for the World Bank. Washington DC, WorldBank.19 Wood G (2003). Staying Secure, Staying Poor:The ‘Faustian Bargain’. World Development, 31(3):455–471.20 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review:Eastern and Southern Africa. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.21 UNICEF (2003). Africa’s Orphaned Generations. NewYork, UNICEF.22 Mushingeh A et al. (2002). HIV/AIDS and Child Labourin Zambia: A Rapid Assessment on the Case of the Lusaka,Copperbelt and Eastern Provinces. Paper No. 5. Geneva/Lusaka, International Programme on the Elimination ofChild Labour, International Labour Organization23 UNRISD (2005). Gender Equality: Striving for Justicein an Unequal World. United Nations Research Institutefor Social Development.24 The Consortium for Street Children (2003). Each Childis Unique. Available at: http://www.streetchildren.org.uk/faq/.25 Black M (2004). Opening Minds, Opening upOpportunities. London, Save the Children UK.26 Declarations of the World Movement of WorkingChildren, Including the Kundapur Declaration, India(1996), the Dakar Declaration, Senegal (1998) andthe Final Declaration of the 2nd Meeting of the WorldMovement of Working Children and Adolescents,Berlin, Germany (2004). Cited in: Bourdillon M(2006). Violence against Working Children. Stockholm,Save the Children Sweden.27 Woodhead M (2004). Psychosocial Impacts of ChildWork: A Framework for Research, Monitoring andIntervention. International Journal of Children’s Rights,12(4): 321–377.28 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: East Asiaand the Pacific. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.29 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Regional Desk Review:East Asia and the Pacific. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.30 Government of India (2005). Country Report on Violenceagainst Children 2005. New Delhi, Ministry of HumanResource Development, Department of Women andChild Development.31 Bourdillon M (2006). Violence against WorkingChildren. Stockholm, Save the Children Sweden.32 Blanchet T (2001). Child Work in a Bihari Camp and inthe Benarasi Sari Industry of Mirpur. Stockholm, Save theChildren Sweden.33 ILO (2006). The End of Child Labour: Within Sight.Geneva, International Labour Organization.34 ILO (2002). A Future without Child Labour. First GlobalReport. Geneva, International Labour Organization.35 LO (1996). Child Labour: Targeting the Intolerable.Geneva, International Labour Organization.

636 Anti-Slavery International (2005). Child DomesticWorkers: A Handbook on Good Practice in ProgrammeInterventions. London, Anti-Slavery International.37 Human Rights Watch (2004). Abuses against ChildDomestic Workers in El Salvador. New York, HumanRights Watch.38 Human Rights Watch (2005). Always on Call: Abuse andExploitation of Child Domestic Workers in Indonesia. NewYork, Human Rights Watch.39 Human Rights Watch (2005). Inside the Home, Outsidethe Law: Abuse of Child Domestic Workers in Morocco.New York, Human Rights Watch.40 Blanchet T (1996). Lost Innocence, Stolen Childhood.Dhaka, University Press Limited.41 Anti-Slavery International (2005). Child DomesticWorkers: A Handbook on Good Practice in ProgrammeInterventions. London, Anti-Slavery International.42 UNICEF (1999). Child Domestic Work. Innocenti Digest,No. 5. Florence, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre.43 ILO/IPEC (2004). Helping Hands or Shackled Lives?Understanding Child Domestic Labour and Responses ToIt. Geneva, International Programme on the Eliminationof Child Labour, International Labour Organization.44 ILO/IPEC (2004). Helping Hands or Shackled Lives?Understanding Child Domestic Labour and Responses ToIt. Geneva, International Programme on the Eliminationof Child Labour, International Labour Organization.45 Blagbrough J (1995). Child Domestic Work in Indonesia:A Preliminary Situation Analysis. London, Anti-SlaveryInternational.46 Anti-Slavery International (2005). Child DomesticWorkers: A Handbook on Good Practice in ProgrammeInterventions. London, Anti-Slavery International.47 Save the Children UK (1996). Kids for Hire: A Child’sRight to Protection from Commercial Sexual Exploitation.London, Save the Children UK.48 ILO/IPEC (2004). Helping Hands or Shackled Lives?Understanding Child Domestic Labour and Responses ToIt. Geneva, International Programme on the Eliminationof Child Labour, International Labour Organization.49 Anti-Slavery International (2005). Child DomesticWorkers: A Handbook on Good Practice in ProgrammeInterventions. London, Anti-Slavery International.50 Anti-Slavery International (2005). Child DomesticWorkers: A Handbook on Good Practice in ProgrammeInterventions. London, Anti-Slavery International.51 Anti-Slavery International (2005). Child DomesticWorkers: A Handbook on Good Practice in ProgrammeInterventions. London, Anti-Slavery International.52 UNICEF (1999). Child Domestic Work. Innocenti Digest,No. 5. Florence, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre.53 Heissler K (2001). Background Paper on Good Practicesto Combat Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children inBangladesh. Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs,and UNICEF Bangladesh.54 ILO/IPEC (2004). Helping Hands or Shackled Lives?Understanding Child Domestic Labour and Responses ToIt. Geneva, International Programme on the Eliminationof Child Labour, International Labour Organization.55 Declaration of the First World Congress againstCommercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. 27–31August 1996, Stockholm. (For a full definition of thecommercial sexual exploitation of children.)Available at: http://www.csecworldcongress.org.56 The 2004 Declaration of the World Movement of WorkingChildren in Berlin. 19 April–2 May 2004, Berlin. Citedin: Bourdillon M (2006). Violence against WorkingChildren. Stockholm, Save the Children Sweden.57 UNICEF (2001). Profiting from Abuse: An Investigationinto the Sexual Exploitation of Our Children. New York,UNICEF.58 Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak Out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys. Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Study on Violenceagainst Children. Oslo, Save the Children Norway.59 International Save the Children Alliance (2004).Mapping Save the Children’s Response to Violence againstChildren in the South Asia Region. Kathmandu, Save theChildren Sweden.273Violence against children in places of work

274Violence against children in places of work60 Association pour le Progrès et la Défense des Droit desFemmes Maliènnes (APDS) et la Fondation FriedrichEbert (2000). La Situation de la Femme Maliènne:Cadre de Vie, Problèmes, Promotion, Organisations. Mali,Association pour le Progrès et la Défense des Droit desFemmes Maliènnes (APDS) et la Fondation FriedrichEbert – Bureau de Mali. Cited in: UNICEF (2000).Domestic Violence against Women and Girls. InnocentiDigest, No 6. Florence, UNICEF Innocenti ResearchCentre.61 Terre des Hommes (2003). The Trafficking of AlbanianChildren in Greece. Terre des Hommes.62 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: LatinAmerica. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org./r27.63 Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak Out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys, Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children. Oslo, Save theChildren Norway.64 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: East Asiaand the Pacific. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org./r27.65 Farid M (1998). Sexual Abuse, Sexual Exploitation andCSEC in Indonesia. Cited in: United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children (2005).Regional Desk Review: East Asia and the Pacific. Availableat: http://www.violencestudy.org./r27.66 International Save the Children Alliance (2004).Mapping Save the Children’s Response to Violence againstChildren in the South Asia Region. Kathmandu, Save theChildren Sweden.67 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: SouthAsia. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org./r27.68 Ameh RK (2001). Lessons from the Ghanaian Anti-trokosiCampaign. Paper prepared for the 1st West AfricanWorkshop on Female Ritual Servitude, February 2001,Accra, Ghana, Simon Fraser University.69 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Summary Report of theThematic Meeting on Violence against Children withDisabilities. 28 July 2005, New York. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org./r18070 Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak Out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys. Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Study on Violenceagainst Children. Oslo, Save the Children Norway.71 Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak Out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys. Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children. Oslo, Save theChildren Norway.72 ILO/IPEC (2002). Vietnam – Children in Prostitutionin Hanoi, Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho: ARapid Assessment. Geneva, International Programme onthe Elimination of Child Labour, International LabourOrganization.73 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: East Asiaand the Pacific. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org./r27.74 ILO/IPEC (2001). Jamaica, Situation of Children inProstitution: A Rapid Assessment. Geneva, InternationalProgramme on the Elimination of Child Labour,International Labour Organization.75 ILO/IPEC (2002). Commercial Sexual Exploitationof Boys, Girls and Adolescents in Honduras. Project forthe Prevention and Elimination of Commercial SexualExploitation of Children and Adolescents in CentralAmerica, Panama, and the Dominican Republic, SanJose. International Programme on the Elimination ofChild Labour, International Labour Organization.76 ECPAT (2003). A Situational Analysis of Child SexTourism in Nepal (Katmandu Valley and Pokhara), byChild Workers in Nepal-Concerned Centre (CWIN).ECPAT International.

677 Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak Out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys. Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children. Oslo, Save theChildren Norway.78 ILO (2005). A Global Alliance against Forced Labour.Global Report under the follow-up to the ILO Declarationon Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, ReportI(B). International Labour Conference, 93rd Session.Geneva, International Labour Organization.79 ILO/IPEC (2002). Every Child Counts: New GlobalEstimates on Child Labour. Geneva, InternationalProgramme on the Elimination of Child Labour,International Labour Organization.80 ILO (2005). A Global Alliance against Forced Labour.Global Report under the follow-up to the ILO Declarationon Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, ReportI(B). International Labour Conference, 93rd Session.Geneva, International Labour Organization.81 Human Rights Watch (2003). Small Change: BondedLabour in India’s Silk Industry. New York, HumanRights Watch.82 ILO (2005). A Global Alliance against Forced Labour.Global Report under the follow-up to the ILO Declarationon Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, ReportI(B). International Labour Conference, 93rd Session.Geneva, International Labour Organization.83 Human Rights Watch (2003). Small Change: BondedLabour in India’s Silk Industry. New York, HumanRights Watch.84 Human Rights Watch (1995). Contemporary Forms ofSlavery in Pakistan. New York, Human Rights Watch.85 Anti-Slavery International (2001). The Enslavement ofDalit and Indigenous Communities in India, Nepal andPakistan Through Debt Bondage. Submission by Anti-Slavery International to the UN Sub-Commission onthe Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.86 ILO/IPEC (2001). Nepal – Bonded Labour among ChildWorkers of the Kamaiya System: A Rapid Assessment.Geneva, International Programme on the Elimination ofChild Labour, International Labour Organization.87 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: LatinAmerica. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.88 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: LatinAmerica. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.89 ILO (2005). A Global Alliance against Forced Labour.Global Report under the follow-up to the ILO Declarationon Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, ReportI(B). International Labour Conference, 93rd Session.Geneva, International Labour Organization.90 ILO (2005). Build the Future, Invest in Childhood.Economic Study of the Costs and Benefits of EradicatingChild Labour in Ibero-America. Executive Summary.Geneva, International Labour Organization.91 ILO (2005). A Global Alliance against Forced Labour.Global Report under the follow-up to the ILO Declarationon Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, ReportI(B). International Labour Conference, 93rd Session.Geneva, International Labour Organization.92 ILO (2005). A Global Alliance against Forced Labour.Global Report under the follow-up to the ILO Declarationon Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, ReportI(B). International Labour Conference, 93rd Session.Geneva, International Labour Organization.93 Anti-Slavery International (2002). Forced Labour inMauritania. Submission to the UN Sub-Commissionon the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights,Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery.Anti-Slavery International. Available at: http://www.antislavery.org/ archive/submission/submission2002-mauritania.htm.94 Anti-Slavery International (2004). Slavery in Niger,Historical, Legal and Contemporary Perspectives. London,Anti-Slavery International and Association Timidria,London.275Violence against children in places of work

276Violence against children in places of work95 ILO (2005). A Global Alliance against ForcedLabour. Global Report under the follow-up to theILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles andRights at Work, Report I(B). International LabourConference, 93rd Session. Geneva, International LabourOrganization.96 Anti-Slavery International (2004). About Timidria.Anti-Slavery International. Available at:http://www.antislavery.org/homepage/antislavery/award/timidriabackground2004.htm.97 ILO (2005). A Global Alliance against Forced Labour.Global Report under the follow-up to the ILO Declarationon Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, ReportI(B). International Labour Conference, 93rd Session.Geneva, International Labour Organization.98 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: theCaribbean. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.99 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Violence in the Community.Regional Desk Review: Europe and Central Asia. Availableat: http:// www.violencestudy.org/r27.100 ILO/IPEC (2000). In-depth Analysis of the Situationof Working Street Shildren in St. Petersburg (2000).Saint Petersburg, International Programme on theElimination of Child Labour, International LabourOrganization.101 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: MiddleEast and North Africa. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.102 ILO/IPEC (2002). Estonia. Children and AdolescentsInvolved in Drug Use and Trafficking: A Rapid Assessment.Geneva, International Programme on the Eliminationof Child Labour, International Labour Organization.Cited in: United Nations Secretary-General’s Studyon Violence against Children (2005). Violence in theCommunity. Regional Desk Review: Europe and CentralAsia. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.103 UNICEF (2003). From Perception to Reality: A Study onChild Protection in Somalia. UNICEF Somalia, Ch. 7.104 ILO/IPEC (2002). Philippines – Children’s Involvementin the Production, Sale and Trafficking of Drugs inCebu City: A Rapid Assessment. Geneva, InternationalProgramme on the Elimination of Child Labour,International Labour Organization.105 Dowdney LT (2003). Children of the Drug Trade:A Case Study of Organised Armed Violence in Rio deJaneiro. Rio de Janeiro, Viva Rio / ISER, 7 Letras. Citedin: Bourdillon M (2006). Violence against WorkingChildren. Stockholm, Save the Children Sweden.106 Dowdney LT (2003). Children of the Drug Trade: A CaseStudy of Organised Armed Violence in Rio de Janeiro. Riode Janeiro, Viva Rio / ISER, 7 Letras.107 Chappell D, Di Martino V (2000). Violence at Work.Geneva, International Labour Organization.108 Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak Out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys. Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children. Oslo, Save theChildren Norway.109 Wonacott P (2004). Qian Qian’s Tale in Beggars’ Village.The Wall Street Journal, 7 December, 2004. Available at:http://www.uoregon.edu/~caps/wonacott.htm#19.110 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: theCaribbean. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27111 ILO (2005). Youth: Pathways to Decent Work.International Labour Conference, 93rd Session. Geneva,International Labour Organization.112 Paoli P, Merllié D (2000). Troisième enquête européennesur les conditions de travail. Dublin, FondationEuropéenne pour l’amélioration des conditions de vie etde travail. Eurofound.113 Paoli P, Merllié D (2000). Troisième enquête européennesur les conditions de travail. Dublin, FondationEuropéenne pour l’amélioration des conditions de vie etde travail. Eurofound.114 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: LatinAmerica. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.

6115 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: LatinAmerica. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.116 The International Crisis Group (2005). The Curse ofCotton: Central Asia’s Destructive Monoculture. AsiaReport No. 93. Bishkek, The International Crisis Group.117 Human Rights Watch (2002). Tainted Harvest: ChildLabor and Obstacles to Organizing on Ecuador’s BananaPlantations, Human Rights Watch. New York, HumanRights Watch. Cited in: Bourdillon M (2006). Violenceagainst Working Children. Stockholm, Save the ChildrenSweden.118 Human Rights Watch (2001). Underage andUnprotected: Child Labor in Egypt’s Cotton Fields. NewYork, Human Rights Watch. Cited in: Bourdillon M(2006). Violence against Working Children. Stockholm,Save the Children Sweden.119 Human Rights Watch (2000). Fingers to the Bone:United States Failure to Protect Child Farmworkers. NewYork, Human Rights Watch. Cited in: Bourdillon M(2006). Violence against Working Children. Stockholm,Save the Children Sweden.120 Racelis M et al. (2005). Making Philippine Cities Childfriendly:Voices of Children in Poor Communities.Innocenti Insight. Manila, Institute of Philippines Ateneode Manila University and Florence, UNICEF InnocentiResearch Centre.121 Save the Children (2004). Planning Working Children’sEducation: A Guide for Education Sector Planners.London, Save the Children UK.122 ILO/IPEC (2000). In-depth Analysis of the Situationof Working Street Children in St. Petersburg 2000.St Petersburg, International Programme on theElimination of Child Labour, International LabourOrganization.123 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: theCaribbean. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.124 ILO (2006). The End of Child Labour: WithinReach. Global Report. Geneva, International LabourOrganization.125 Anti-Slavery International (2005). Child DomesticWorkers: A Handbook on Good Practice in ProgrammeInterventions. London, Anti-Slavery International.126 Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak Out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys. Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children. Oslo, Save theChildren Norway.127 ILO and UNICEF (2004). Addressing Child Labourin the Bangladesh Garment Industry, 1995–2001: ASynthesis of UNICEF and ILO Evaluation Studies of theBangladesh Garment Sector Projects. New York, UNICEFand Geneva, International Labour Organization.128 Mulama J (2006). Spare the Plough, and School the Child.Nairobi, International Press Service. Available at: http://www.ungei.org/SFAIdocs/SFAI_press_clipsMay12.pdf.129 ILO (2006). The End of Child Labour: WithinReach. Global Report. Geneva, International LabourOrganization.130 ILO (2006). The End of Child Labour: WithinReach. Global Report. Geneva, International LabourOrganization.131 Human Rights Watch (2003). Small Change: BondedLabour in India’s Silk Industry. New York, HumanRights Watch.132 ILO (2005). A Global Alliance against Forced Labour.Global Report under the follow-up to the ILO Declarationon Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, ReportI(B). International Labour Conference, 93rd Session.Geneva, International Labour Organization.133 ILO/IPEC (2002). Every Child Counts: New GlobalEstimates on Child Labour. Geneva, InternationalProgramme on the Elimination of Child Labour,International Labour Organization.134 Boyden J et al. (1999). What Works for WorkingChildren. Save the Children Sweden and UNICEF.135 Boyden J et al. (1999). What Works for WorkingChildren. Save the Children Sweden and UNICEF.277Violence against children in places of work

278Violence against children in places of work136 Human Rights Watch (2003). Small Change: BondedLabour in India’s Silk Industry. New York, HumanRights Watch.137 Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak Out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys. Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children. Oslo, Save theChildren Norway.138 Mehmood AS et al. (2005). Camel Jockeys of RahimyarKhan: Findings of a Participatory Research on the Lifeand Situation of Child Camel Jockeys. Pakistan RuralWorkers Social Welfare Organisation, Save the Children(Sweden). Available at: http://gaatw.net/referencetrafficking-reports/camel-jockeysorahimyarkhan16%5B1%5D_0.pdf.139 UNICEF (2006). Former Camel Jockeys Reclaiming TheirLost Childhood. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/pakistan_30655.html.140 Anti-Slavery International (2003). Trafficking andForced Labour of Children in the United Arab Emirates(UAE). Submission to the UN Sub-Commission on thePromotion and Protection of Human Rights, WorkingGroup on Contemporary Forms of Slavery. Anti-SlaveryInternational. Available at: http://www.antislavery.org/archive/submission/submission2003-UAE.htm.141 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: West andCentral Africa. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.142 UNICEF (2002). La traite d’enfants en Afrique del’Ouest : réponses politiques. Florence, UNICEFInnocenti Research Centre.143 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: West andCentral Africa. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.144 Boyden J et al. (1999). What Works for WorkingChildren. Save the Children Sweden and UNICEF.145 Mortimer JT (2003). Work and Growing Up in America.Cambridge, Harvard University Press.146 Prywes M et al. (2004). Costs of Projects for Orphansand Other Vulnerable Children: Case Studies in Eritreaand Benin. Social Protection Discussion Paper Series.Washington DC, World Bank. Available at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/SOCIALPROTECTION/Resources/SP-Discussion-papers/Safety-Nets-DP/0414.pdf.147 Groves L (2004). Good Practice in Working Children’sParticipation: A Case from Senegal. Save the Children.148 Tolfree D (1998). Old Enough to Work, Old Enough toHave a Say. Save the Children Sweden.149 Karlsson L, Karkara R (2006). How to End theViolence. CRIN Newsletter, No. 19. Available at: http://www.crin.org/docs/CRIN_Newsletter_19_Eng.pdf.150 Delap A, Rashid L (2005). Children and Work in SouthAsia: An Analysis of Save the Children’s Experience. Savethe Children South and Central Asia.151 Black M (2003). Good Practice in Working Children’sParticipation: A Case Study from CWOP, MaharashtraIndia. Prepared for the Save the Children AllianceTask Group on Children and Work. London, Save theChildren UK.152 Black M (2004). Opening Minds, Opening UpOpportunities. London, Save the Children UK.153 Miljeteig P (2000). Creating Partnerships with WorkingChildren and Youth. SP Discussion Paper, No. 21.Washington, DC, World Bank, 2000.154 Concerned for Working Children (no date).The Makkala Panchayat Closes Liquor Shops inKeradi Panchayat. Available at: http://www.workingchild.org/interven6.htm.155 Save the Children (2006). Betrayal of Trust - An overviewof Save the Children’s findings on children’s experience ofphysical and humiliating punishment, child sexual abuseand violence when in conflict with the law. Save theChildren.156 Visayan Forum Foundation (2004). Beyond ClosedDoors. A Primer on Child Domestic Labour in thePhilippines. (Cited therein: Activities by SUMAPI, anassociation for domestic workers.) Manila, VisayanForum Foundation.

6157 Asociación Grupo de Trabajo Redes. La Casa dePanchita, Lima, Peru. Available at: http://www.gruporedes.org/.158 Save the Children (2005). Children’s Actions To EndViolence against Girls And Boys. A contribution to theUN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence againstChildren. Save the Children Sweden.159 Black M (2003). Good Practice in Working Children’sParticipation: A Case Study from CWOP, MaharashtraIndia. Prepared for the Save the Children AllianceTask Group on Children and Work. London, Save theChildren UK.160 Black M (2004). Opening Minds, Opening UpOpportunities. London, Save the Children UK.161 ILO (2002). Supporting Children’s Rights throughEducation, Arts and the Media (SCREAM) – Stop ChildLabour Education Pack. Geneva, International LabourOrganization.162 Black M (2002). Child Domestic Workers: Finding aVoice (A Handbook on Advocacy). London, Anti-SlaveryInternational.163 Black M (2002). Child Domestic Workers: Finding aVoice (A Handbook on Advocacy). London, Anti-SlaveryInternational.164 Anti-Slavery International (2005). Child DomesticWorkers: A Handbook on Good Practice in ProgrammeInterventions. London, Anti-Slavery International.165 IPEC (2003). Time-bound Programmes: Manual forAction Planning. Guidebook I–V. Geneva, InternationalLabour Organization.166 ILO/IPEC (2003). Time-bound Programmes: Manual forAction Planning. Guidebook IV. Geneva, InternationalProgramme on the Elimination of Child Labour,International Labour Organization.167 ILO (2006). The End of Child Labour: WithinReach. Global Report, Geneva, International LabourOrganization.168 Visayan Forum Foundation (2004). Beyond ClosedDoors. A Primer on Child Domestic Labour in thePhilippines. Manila, Visayan Forum Foundation.169 Anti-Slavery International (2005). Child DomesticWorkers: A Handbook on Good Practice in ProgrammeInterventions. London, Anti-Slavery International.170 ILO/IPEC (2003). Time-bound Programmes: Manual forAction Planning. Guidebook IV. Geneva, InternationalProgramme on the Elimination of Child Labour,International Labour Organization.171 Bourdillon M (2006). Violence against WorkingChildren. Stockholm, Save the Children Sweden.172 Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak Out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys. Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children. Oslo, Save theChildren Norway.173 Anti-Slavery International (2005). Child DomesticWorkers: A Handbook on Good Practice in ProgrammeInterventions. London, Anti-Slavery International.174 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Consulation OutcomeReport: Eastern and Southern Africa. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.175 Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak Out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys. Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children. Oslo, Save theChildren Norway.176 ILO and UNICEF (2005). Manual on Child Labour:Rapid Assessment Methodology. Geneva, InternationalLabour Organization and UNICEF.177 Black M (1997). Child Domestic Workers: A Handbookfor Research and Action. London, Anti-SlaveryInternational.178 Anti-Slavery International (2005). Child DomesticWorkers: A Handbook on Good Practice in ProgrammeInterventions. London, Anti-Slavery International.279Violence against children in places of work

280Violence against children in places of work179 ILO/IPEC (2003). Facts on Children Working in theStreets. Geneva, International Programme on theElimination of Child Labour, International LabourOrganization. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/publ/download/factsheets/fs_streetchildren_0303.pdf.180 ILO/IPEC (2004). The Use of Children in theProduction, Sale and Trafficking of Drugs: InterventionModels Developed in Indonesia, the Philippines andThailand. Bangkok, International Programme on theElimination of Child Labour, International LabourOrganization.181 ILO/IPEC (2002). Estonia. Children and AdolescentsInvolved in Drug Use and Trafficking: A Rapid Assessment.Geneva, International Programme on the Elimination ofChild Labour, International Labour Organization, p 50.182 ILO (2006). The End of Child Labour: WithinReach. Global Report, Geneva, International LabourOrganization.183 There are many examples of codes covering: garments(1995), soccer ball stitching (1997), tobacco (1999),cocoa (2001) and small-scale mining (2005). See also:code on conduct for tourism: ‘Child-Safe Tourism’ inBrazil, Cambodia, the Dominican Republic, Kenya,Mexico and Tanzania. ILO/IPEC has been a majorsponsor of these sector initiatives. See also ILO GlobalReport (2006).184 ILO (2006). The End of Child Labour: WithinReach. Global Report, Geneva, International LabourOrganization.QuotesIIIIIIUnited Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: LatinAmerica, p 46. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.Bhima Sangha (2005). Submission to the United NationsSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children.Bhima Sangha.UNICEF (2003). From perception to reality: A study onchild protection in Somalia. UNICEF Somalia. Ch. 7, p 11.IVVVIBlanchet T (2001). Child Work in a Bihari Camp and inthe Benarasi Sari Industry of Mirpur. Stockholm, Save theChildren Sweden, p 97.United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: LatinAmerica, p 47. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.Human Rights Watch (2005). Morocco: ‘Hidden’ ChildWorkers Face Abuse. New York, Human Rights Watch.Available at: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/12/21/morocc12278.htmVII United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review:Eastern and Southern Africa, p 25. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.VIII United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: East Asiaand the Pacific, p 49. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.IXXXISave the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys. Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children. Oslo, Save theChildren Norway, p 58.Human Rights Watch (2003). Small change: bondedlabour in India’s silk industry. New York, Human RightsWatch, p 4.United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Consultation OutcomeReport: Eastern and Southern Africa, p 18. Available at:www.violencestudy.org/r27.XII Groves L (2004). Good practice in working children’sparticipation: A case from Senegal. Save the Children.XIII Government of Kenya (2005). Second Periodic KenyaCountry Report on Implementation of the UN Conventionon the Rights of the Child. 11 November 2005, CRC/C/65/Add.39.XIV United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Consultation OutcomeReport: West and Central Africa, p 7. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.

6281Violence against children in places of work

KEYSTONE/AP- Photo/Dolores OchoaECUADOR, 2001, Children attend soccer school at El Juncal, north of Quito.

7Violence against childrenin the communityIntroduction 285Human rights instruments 286Background and context 286Nature and extent of the problem 287Physical violence 287Homicide 287Non-fatal physical violence 290Violence within adolescent intimate and dating relationships 291Sexual violence 292Coerced first sex 292Sexual violence by strangers in the community 293Issues of special concern 294Violence against children living on the street 295HIV and violence in the community 296Violence by police 297Violence by other authority figures 298Violence against sexual minorities 298Violence against child refugees, returnees andinternally displaced persons 299Trafficking of children 300Factors contributing to violence 301Individual and family factors 301Situational factors 302Firearms 302Alcohol 303Physical environment 303Gangs 304Situations of unrest or conflict 307283Violence against children in the community

284Violence against children in the communitySocietal factors 309Urbanisation 309Poverty, inequality and social exclusion 310Responses to violence against children in the community 317Individual and family-level 318Community-level 318Community-level support for education and socialisation 318Community-level situational prevention 321Services for victims of violence 326Societal-level 330Economic opportunity and equality 330Reducing access to alcohol and illegal drugs 330Reducing access to, and demand for weapons 331Reducing exposure to violence in the media 332Children’s participation at all levels 333Data collection and research 333Recommendations 335References 339

7IntroductionNo community is free of violence. However, therisk of encountering violence, both against as wellas by children, is much higher in some communitiesthan in others. In some settings, especiallythose where weapons are in wide circulation,violence has today assumed frightening proportions.These are primarily urban areas in regionswith high levels of poverty, economic disparityand social inequality, sometimes complicatedby ongoing political or economic instability.At the same time, also in relatively wealthy andstable societies, especially where there are clearinequalities, alarming levels of violence againstchildren have been documented.Much of this chapter focuses on older children,particularly those in their teenage years. Childrentend to experience their teenage years as atime of excitement, when they begin independentexploration both of the physical spacesof their community, and of the roles they willassume in adulthood. For some, the daily walkor bus-ride to school, or going out to shop fortheir family, may be their first independentexposure to the community; it may also betheir first exposure to its risks of violence.Communities everywhere are subject to stresseswhich have the effect of reducing the protectionsavailable to children. These include rapidurbanisation, political instability, environmentalinsecurity, and large-scale populationmovement. In some parts of the world, theAIDS epidemic has greatly increased numbersof orphaned children. Many communities havealso had to cope with rising misuse of drugs,alcohol and firearms, increases in traffickingof children for labour or sexual exploitation,and growing exposure to violent and pornographicimages through globalised media andnew information and communications technologies.Yet it is important to emphasise that the communitycan also be a source of protection andsolidarity. Indeed, without the cooperation ofthe community – however it is defined – littlecan be done to stop violence against children.In many minds, the weakening of social andcommunity cohesion in today’s world is at theheart of the violence which threatens so manyyoung lives today. Equally, the building ofchild-friendly communities by supporting thedelivery of basic infrastructure and services,and by offering communities help in buildingor rebuilding positive group values and neighbourhoodsolidarity, is a promising remedy.For the purposes of this chapter, the communityincludes any space used or occupied bychildren other than homes, schools, institutions,and organised workplaces, which arethe subjects of other chapters in the report.However, it must be remembered that thecommunity is not only a physical space, buta social environment. Children are born andgrow up under its framework of behaviours,attitudes, customs and beliefs and are therebysocialised through it to engage with the widerworld, including learning how to deal with thenetwork of relationships and institutions thatprovide the non-familial context of their lives.The issues considered here include physicaland sexual violence, assault by authority285Violence against children in the community

“A paradigm shift is needed. We have the knowledge to prevent violence against childrenfrom occurring. We must do more to balance our investment so that the same level of attention is paidto prevention as to the punishment of perpetrators.”Dr Etienne Krug, Director of the Department of Injuries and Violence Prevention, WHOfigures such as the police, violence associatedwith gangs and traffickers, and the special risksfaced by certain groups such as children livingon the street and those living in camps for displacedpersons. Also examined is violence inthe mass media, including new informationand communications technology.Background andcontextA child’s vulnerability to violence in the communityincreases with age and maturity andincreased contacts with the wider world.Homicide and violence-related injury amongchildren occur in community settings all overthe world, but are more frequent in povertystrickenurban areas characterised by lack ofemployment, poor standards of housing, over-286Violence against children in the communityHuman rights instrumentsProvisions in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the International Covenanton Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Formsof Discrimination against Women, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment and other treaties, in particularregional human rights treaties, apply to violence against children in the community.These address harmful traditional practices, slavery, servitude, torture and cruel, inhumanor degrading treatment and punishment. The Palermo Protocol to Prevent, Suppressand Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children establisheslegal obligations to address trafficking, and the CRC’s Optional Protocol on the Saleof Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography sets out standards relating toprostitution and pornography. 1The obligations contained in these treaties are imposed on States, and only States ortheir agents can commit human rights violations. State obligation for human rightsviolations is incurred if the State or its agents violate the terms of a treaty which theState has accepted. State obligation is also incurred if the State fails to ensure children’srights to protection against violence by permitting such violence, or failing to takeappropriate measures, or to exercise due diligence to prevent, punish, investigate orredress the harm caused by the acts of individuals, groups or entities. Therefore, whereviolence in the community is concerned, States are required to put in place appropriatelaws, policies and programmes to prevent such violence, investigate it if it takes place,ensure that perpetrators are sanctioned and redress the harm which may result.

7crowding and low standards of education andsocial amenities. Young and rapidly growingpopulations – particularly boys – in theseareas may express frustration, anger and pentuptension in fights and anti-social behaviour.Where firearms and other weapons arewidely available, fights are more likely to leadto severe injuries and death. Violence may bemore common in situations where boys areencouraged to exhibit aggressive masculinity,weapons skills, private codes of loyalty andrevenge, and general risk-taking. 2,3,4In many places children – particularly girls –face increased exposure to violence in the communityas they grow older and the domestictasks they are required to perform take themfurther and further away from the household.Many children in rural Africa and Asia reportfeeling threatened or being attacked when theyfetch water, fuel or fodder, tasks which mayrequire walking a considerable distance in isolatedareas. 5,6 Older children may encounterviolence in intimate and dating relationships,peer groups, sports and other recreationalactivities, as well as in the context of religiousgroups, traditional associations, and politicalor social movements.Nature and extentof the problemThe following sections examine the types ofviolence faced by children in the community,including both physical and sexual violence,and violence that occurs within intimate anddating relationships between young people.It also considers groups of children who faceespecially high risks of violence, includingchildren living on the street, young membersof ethnic minorities, children in camps forrefugees or displaced persons, and those victimisedby trafficking or abduction.It should be noted that, in the quantitative datadiscussed below, data are rarely aggregated inways that clearly distinguish children (definedas being under 18 years of age) from adults.More often, data are collected and aggregatedin four-year age groups: 0–4; 5–9; 10–14, and15–19. Sometimes inferences have to be madefrom data covering young people up to the ageof 25.Physical violenceIn countries with reliable data, a sudden, steepincrease in the rates of violent victimisationand perpetration is noted at around the age of15, indicating that a number of factors cometogether at adolescence to make physical violence– including much that is between teenagers– more common. 7 Such violence followsclear patterns in respect of where it occurs,when it occurs, whom it is most likely to affect,and factors (such as alcohol use and economicinequality) associated with its occurrence. Beinghighly predictable, in principle, it is preventablethrough population-level interventions.HomicideThe WHO global burden of disease estimatesfor the year 2002 indicate that 52,904 childrenaged 0–17 years died as a result of homicide.8 Of these child homicide victims, 21,995or nearly 42% were aged 15–17 years, nearly287Violence against children in the community

288Violence against children in the community75% of whom were boys. These global estimatesdo not indicate the settings in whichhomicides occur, but country-level data frompolice statistics, injury surveillance systemsand special studies suggest that a majority ofhomicides in the 15–17-year age group occurin community settings.In some regions, notably in Latin America, thehighest homicide rates of any age group acrossthe population occur among 15–19-year olds.In others, including Africa, Eastern Europe andCentral Asia, homicide rates continue to riseafter the age of 15–19, peaking among youngadults in their twenties, or even later. In everyregion, however, homicide rates in boys aged15–17 are at least three times greater than thoseof boys aged 10–14, while homicide rates in girlsaged 15–17 are nearly twice those of girls aged10–14. This sudden increase in violence in theover-15 age group occurs even in regions withlow overall homicide rates, and implies thatmeasures to curtail violent behaviour are criticalbefore and during the early and mid-teens,to prevent further increases in later years.Over 95% of homicides in 15–17-year oldsoccur in low- and middle-income countries,where the homicide rate for boys aged 15–17years is 9.8 per 100,000 population comparedwith 3.2 per 100,000 for boys in high-incomecountries. Girls in high-income countries havea homicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 population,versus 3.5 per 100,000 for girls in lowandmiddle-income countries. Apart from theUSA, most of the countries with the highestadolescent homicide rates are either developingcountries or those experiencing rapid socialand economic change. The countries withlow rates of adolescent homicide tend to be inWestern Europe or in Asia, while the countrieswith high rates tend to be in the Americas andAfrica (see Table 7.1).The marked variation in homicide rates acrossregions at different levels of social and economicdevelopment mirrors even sharper differencesin homicide rates observed betweencommunities within countries. For instance,provincial and city-level studies from highandlow- to middle-income countries includingBrazil, 9 Colombia, 10 Jamaica, 11 the RussianFederation, 12 South Africa 13 and the UK 14 showthat homicide rates follow a recurrent geographicalpattern of inequity, with homiciderates in the most deprived communities beingmany times greater than in wealthier communities.For instance, in Cape Town, SouthAfrica, just a few kilometres separate shantytowns where male homicide rates exceed 200per 100,000 from wealthier, well-establishedsuburban areas where male homicide rates arefour times less, at around 50 per 100,000. 15Relatively few studies have examined thevictim–perpetrator relationship and the typicalscenarios that underlie homicide in 15–17year olds. Those which have been conductedsuggest that perpetrators are often friends oracquaintances of the victim, and that much ofthis homicidal violence occurs in neighbourhoodsand local hang-outs, and is linked tointer-personal arguments which develop intofights – over girls, possessions, rivalries, brokenloyalties or group codes – and to intoxicationwith liquor or drugs. The availability of fire-

7arms may mean that this violence results inserious injury or death. 16,17,18,19Sex differences in adolescent homicide ratesraise questions about how male socialisation andnorms regarding masculinity contribute to violenceagainst children in community settings.In almost all countries (and with the exceptionof young children whose male/female homiciderates are similar), homicide rates amongchildren are substantially higher among malesthan females. Homicide rates among boys aged15–17 are nearly three times greater than thoseamong girls of the same age. In the Americas,Africa, and Eastern Europe, where some of thehighest adolescent homicide rates are found,the rates among 15–17-year-old boys are two tosix times higher than those among girls of theTable 7.1 – Homicide rates by region for males and females:estimated adolescent homicide rates by UN region, 2002RegionMales(age group, yr)Females(age group, yr)10 – 14 15 – 17 10 – 14 15 – 17All 2.08 9.06 1.49 3.28High-income countries 0.56 3.25 0.40 1.53Low-income countries 2.25 9.75 1.61 3.48Africa 5.09 15.64 4.62 9.45Asia 1.21 3.93 0.69 1.48Australia/New Zealand* 0.41 1.60 0.31 0.48Europe 0.89 5.72 0.75 1.67Latin American & Caribbean 4.01 37.66 1.81 6.50Northern America 1.09 6.37 0.72 1.60Oceania** 2.00 0.13 0.85 2.14289Violence against children in the community* Rate is based on less than 100 cases** Excluding Australia and New Zealand. Rate is based on less than 100 cases.Source: WHO (2006). Global Estimates of Health Consequences Due to Violence against Children. BackgroundPaper to the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children. Geneva, World Health Organization.

same age group. Preliminary data from the Cityof Cape Town and Burden of Disease Unit ofSouth Africa’s Medical Research Council showthat a boy celebrating his 15th birthday in theCape Town informal settlement of Nyangawould have a greater than 1 in 20 chance ofbeing shot dead by the age of 35. 20 Data fromColombia show that a youth celebrating his18th birthday in the Department of Antioquiawould have a greater than 1 in 20 chance ofbeing shot dead by the age of 25. 21Non-fatal physical violenceThe consequences of non-fatal physical violenceoccurring in the community and involvingchildren range from minor to severeinjuries. Severe injuries may require resourceintensiveemergency medical treatment andinpatient care and result in lifelong disabilitiessuch brain damage, paraplegia, or may requireamputation. Additionally, physical fights oftenprecede even more serious forms of violencesuch as homicide.290Violence against children in the communityWitnessing violenceIn addition to those who suffer violence directly, large numbers of children witnessviolence in the communities in which they live (for a discussion on children who witnessdomestic violence see the chapter on violence against children in the home andfamily). A wide range of research has established that children who witness communityviolence are at risk of a variety of psychological, behavioural, and academic problems,as well as difficulty in concentrating, impaired memory, anxious attachments to caregivers,or aggressive behaviour. 22,23,24Much of the pioneering research on children’s exposure to violence in the communityand consequences of such exposure has been carried out in the USA, focusing onurban communities where high levels of violent crime and multiple risk factors arepresent. For example, in a study of 95 ‘high-risk’ boys aged 6–10 in New York City,35% reported witnessing a stabbing, 33% had seen someone shot, 23% had seen a deadbody in their neighbourhood, and 25% had seen someone killed. 25Even when they have not directly witnessed the violence, children can be harmed whenthe victim is someone close to them. In Colombia, a 2001 study of 5,775 children aged12–18 found that 11% of these adolescents reported having had a family member murderedor kidnapped, or receiving a death threat in the past year. This figure doubledfor adolescents residing in Medellin, a city with particularly high levels of gun crime. 26In Jamaica, 60% of 9–17-year-old children reported that a family member had been avictim of violence, and 37% had a family member who had been killed. 27

7Few countries have information systems tomonitor non-fatal violent injuries, and existingsystems typically record only data on violentinjuries with victims presenting at hospitalemergency departments. Data from those sitescannot be compared directly, given the markeddifferences among and within countries in theavailability and accessibility of emergencymedical services. Furthermore, most studiesdo not report their findings using age categoriesthat comply with the definition of thechild in the (CRC) as a person aged between0 and 18 years.Special studies on youth violence occurringamong 10–29-year olds do, however, providesome insight into the magnitude of theproblem. For instance, it is estimated that foreach of the approximately 200,000 homicidesamong youths aged 10–29 years that occurredin the year 2000, around 20–40 victims ofnon-fatal physical violence received hospitaltreatment. 28 In other words, between 4 and 8million young people are treated in hospitalsfor violence-related injuries each year. As withhomicide, rates of non-fatal violent victimisationare substantially higher among males thanfemales; for instance, in Eldoret, Kenya, therewere 2.6 males for every female victim of violencewho received hospital emergency treatment;in Jamaica, the ratio was 3 males perfemale, and in Norway the ratio was between4 and 5 males per female. 29,30,31Studies on non-fatal physical violence leadingto hospital emergency room treatment showthat, as in the case of homicide, rates increasedramatically during mid-adolescence andearly adulthood. 32 33,34,35 Also as for homicide,violence-related injuries leading to hospitaltreatment are sustained largely in the courseof male-on-male violence, with the majority ofthe perpetrators being friends or acquaintancesof the victim, and a large proportion of victimsand perpetrators having consumed alcoholshortly before or during the violent incident.Unlike homicidal violence, however, the largestproportion of non-fatal violent injuries arenot caused by firearms, but by knives, bluntobjects, fists and feet. 36Violence within adolescent intimateand dating relationshipsIntimate and dating relationships with peersof the opposite sex (and, less frequently, of thesame sex) are part of growing up for many adolescents.The forms the relationships take rangefrom simply spending time together and casualdating to more formal courtship and marriage(for partner violence within early marriage,see the chapter on violence against children inthe home and family). Dating is common inindustrialised countries, whereas other culturaltraditions may prohibit relationships betweenboys and girls before marriage. 37The Global School-Based Student HealthSurvey, conducted with students aged 13 to15, collected information on dating violencebetween 2003 and 2005. Preliminary analysisof the data has shown significant levels ofphysical violence within intimate relationshipsin a wide range of countries. Asked if they hadbeen hit, slapped or hurt on purpose by theirboyfriend or girlfriend in the past 12 months,15% of the girls and 29% of the boys in Jordanresponded ‘yes’. This was also reported by 9%291Violence against children in the community

292Violence against children in the communityof the girls and 16% of the boys in Namibia,6% of the girls and 8% of the boys in Swaziland,and 18% of the girls and 23% of the boysin Zambia (see Figure 7.1). 38A 2001 study of intermediate and secondaryschool students in the USA (75% of themunder the age of 18) found similarly high levelsof physical violence, and also psychologicalviolence. It also found that physical violencerarely occurred in the absence of psychologicalviolence, such as name-calling, insults, swearing,and threats of physical violence. 39The International Dating Violence Study,conducted at 31 universities in 16 countriesacross Asia, Latin America, the Middle Eastand North America, found a high prevalenceof physical violence perpetrated by both malesand females against their dating partners (17%to 38% of males and 17% to 48% of females). 40Although this study surveyed young adults(mean age: 22 years), the findings point tothe reality that intimate relationships amongyoung adults and adolescents worldwide arecharacterised by high levels of aggression.Sexual violenceSexual violence against children can have a devastatingimpact on both physical and mentalhealth, and can lead to suicide, HIV infection,or murder of the victim in the case of ‘honourkillings’. 41 Far too often, the violence is carriedout with total impunity for the perpetrator.Coerced first sexFor many adolescents, the first experienceof sexual intercourse is unwanted or activelycoerced; Figure 7.2 shows the prevalence offorced sexual initiation reported in studiesfrom several countries, and illustrates theextent of sexual violence among adolescents.Outside child marriage (see the chapter onviolence against children in the home andfamily), much of this initial sexual coercion isperpetrated by peers, including in the contextof an intimate relationship.Research indicates that the younger the age ofsexual initiation, the more likely that it wascoerced in some way. 42,43,44,45 This is particularlytrue for girls, who face a greater risk of forcedfirst sex than boys. The WHO’s Multi-CountryStudy on Women’s Health and DomesticViolence against Women found that womenreporting first sex before the age of 17 weremore likely to report forced sexual initiationthan women who reported later sexual initiation.Of women who reported first sex prior toage 15, between 11% and 45 % reported thatit was forced. 46In addition to forced sexual initiation, manychildren experience ongoing sexual coercionfrom boyfriends or girlfriends (see Table 7.2).While available studies suggest that physicalviolence in intimate relationships (seeabove) occurs at similar rates for girls andboys, girls are at much greater risk than boysof sexual violence within intimate and datingrelationships. 47 One study of sexual coercionamong young people in Kenya found that forfemales who had experienced sexual coercion,

7FIGURE 7.1Percentage of students whose boyfriendor girlfriend hit, slapped or hurt themon purpose in the last 12 months3020Percentage10068Swaziland(N=7341)FemalesMales916Namibia(N=6367)Source: Analysis provided to the Study by the GlobalSchool-Based Student Health Survey: The World HealthOrganization (http://www.who.int/chp/gshs or http://www.cdc.gov/gshs) for surveys conducted in 2003-5 for Jordan,Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia.1823Zambia(N=2257)1529Jordan(N=2457)boyfriends were the most common perpetrators(51%), followed by husbands (28%) andacquaintances (22%). 48 A study in Thailandfound that 54% of adolescent and young women’sexperiences of forced sexual intercourseoccurred with steady or casual partners, andan additional 27% with acquaintances. 49 TheAustralian Study of Health and Relationshipsfound that most sexual coercion of both malesand females occurred at or before the age of 18.Among women who reported sexual coercion,one-third said that the first experience occurredbetween the ages of 9 and 16, and 40% of menreporting sexual coercion were between theages of 9 and 16 at the first occurrence. 50Sexual violence by strangers in thecommunitySexual violence against children is more commonlyperpetrated by someone known to thechild, either from the family or within thefamily circle, but people outside these circlesalso perpetrate a significant number of sexualassaults on children in many countries. 52 Perpetratorscan include a wide variety of people,some who may have planned the assault. Aselection of available studies shows the rangeand seriousness of sexual violence by peoplethe child did not know. In a survey of SouthAfrican women who reported having beenraped before they were 15 years old, 21% identifiedstrangers or recent acquaintances as theassailant 57 . Chinese college students in theHong Kong Special Administrative Region ofChina reported that 28% of the perpetratorsof sexual abuse were strangers. 58 In Hungary,34% of under-18 girls treated at a hospital293Violence against children in the community

“In all countries children with disabilities continue to experience violence at equal to or higher ratesthan children without disabilities. They are often perceived as not worthy of dignity and respect.We must remember that children with disabilities are first and foremost children. They, like childrenwithout disabilities, must have the right to be free from violence, they too have the right to be respectedand protected. It is our legal responsibility to ensure that this happens”.Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo, Editorial Board of the UN Secretary-General’s Studyon Violence against ChildrenFigure 7.2Rates of forced sexual initiation involving adolescents for the period 1993–1999Cameroon (N=646)3037Caribbean (N=15695) a,b3248Ghana (N=750)521Mozambique (N=1659)New Zealand (N=935) c07719FemalesMalesPeru (N=611)1140294South Africa (N=1975)628Violence against children in the communityUnited Republic of Tanzania(N=892)USA (N=2042)0 10 20 30 40 50PercentageRates are based on those who have had sexual intercourse.a) Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica and Saint Luciab) Percentage adolescents responding that first intecourse was forced or “somewhat” forcedc) Longitudinal study of cohort born in 1972-1973. Subjects were questioned at 18 years of age and again at 21 years ofage about their current and previous sexual behaviourSource: Krug EG et al. (Eds) (2002). World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva, World Health Organizationfollowing sexual assault reported having beenassaulted by a stranger. 59 In some cases, sexualviolence is accompanied by or associated withabduction or trafficking.Issues of special concern7929Reports of violence experienced by specificgroups of children, or particular situations inwhich children seem to be at high risk of violence,were received by the Study. Childrenwith disabilities may be targeted by others inthe community, fuelled by stigma and prejudice.Services that cater well for their needsare still the exception. The vulnerability ofchildren living on the street was stronglyemphasised in Regional Consultations. Physicaland sexual violence by figures of authoritysuch as coaches, religious leaders and teacherswas widely mentioned, although hard data

“It is easy to get beaten if you are a street boy. People can rape you. Men can beat a boy and rape him.There is nothing you can do but run away if you are lucky.”Boy, 12, living in the street, Eastern and Southern Africa, 2005 I7Table 7.2 – Adolescents reporting sexual coercion: selected surveys, 1999 – 2005Countrystudypopulationyearare scarce. In regions with large numbers ofrefugees and displaced persons, concern wasvoiced about the safety of children in campsor dispersed within the community, while contributorsfrom all regions were concerned abouttrafficking, and the plight of children affectedby HIV/AIDS.Violence against children living onthe street‘Street children’ are a large and ill-defined categoryof children. Since the 1980s, analystshave drawn a distinction between childrenon the street and children of the street. 60,61 Arelatively small proportion – less than 10%SamplePercentagereportingforced sexualintercourseSample Age groupsize a (yr)Females MalesChina 51 Hong Kong 1999 8,382 15 – 18 16.9 17.0Kenya 52 Nyeri District 2001 2,712 10 – 24 b 20.8 11.0Nigeria 53 Plateau State 2000 4,218 12 – 21 45.0 32.0Thailand 54 Chiang RaiProvince2001 832 15 – 21 28.1 n/aUSA 55 National 2005 13,953 13 – 18 c 10.8 4.2a) Total number of adolescents in the study. Rates are based on those adolescents who have had sexual intercourse.b) Of the 1753 respondents included in the analysis, about 6% of the males and 30% of the females had never been married.c) High school students grades 9 to 12 reporting on coerced sexual intercourse.– of those visible on the streets have actuallyadopted the street as their habitat. This groupis normally characterised by the term ‘streetchildren’; although the term can be used pejoratively,it is also used by many children andtheir representative organisations, sometimeswith considerable pride.In the past, it was thought that millions ofrootless children lived on the streets in variouscountries of Asia and Latin America. However,research established that many of these childrenactually have functioning families. Nonetheless,there are cities in many regions wherelarge numbers of children have become based295Violence against children in the community

“They treat you badly. You don’t feel like walking in the street, they give you names. They whisperwhen you pass. They take it that when one person in the house is sick, all of you in that house are sick.”Girl, 16, Eastern and Southern Africa, 2003 II296Violence against children in the communityin the street, and who rarely or never go home.In Nairobi, for example, local NGOs estimatenumbers to be as high as 20,000. 62 In China,one countrywide estimate was 150,000, 63 andin Indonesia it was 170,000. 64 The majorityof children living on the street everywhere areboys. 65Discrimination and violence against childrenliving on the street often stems from the stigmaassociated with having no family (of course,many do have families) and with the activitiesthey may have to adopt to survive. Childrenliving on the street everywhere report beingdemonised for activities which – even theyinvolves petty offences – in no way warrant thekind of cruel and gratuitous violence to whichthey are often subjected. 66Murder of children living on the street has beenreported from Colombia, Brazil, Guatemala,and the Philippines. 67 Appalling brutality hasbeen documented in the Haitian capital of Portau-Princewhere the 3,000 children who liveon the streets are frequently targeted by armedvigilantes. 68 The extent of serious human rightsviolations may be much greater than the few andunreliable available figures indicate. Many casesare not reported because of the lack of witnesses,or because victims or their relatives live on thefringes of society, and tend to remain anonymous.The World Organisation against Torturereported that in Ciudad Boliviar, Bogota,Colombia, 850 children and adolescents wereassassinated between 2000–2004, and that 620were abducted between August 2003 and August2004. The national police force was amongthose cited as being responsible for this. 69UNICEF/HQ05-1829. Giacomo PirozziUKRAINE, 2005, Two boys sniff glue in a sewage pipe inthe port city of Odessa.Girls and boys living on the street are vulnerableto sexual abuse from many individuals,including from passers-by and from thosewho offer them shelter. 70 They also risk beingrecruited by pimps and traffickers for sexualand economic exploitation, or having to resortto ‘survival sex’ (sex in exchange for food orshelter). 71HIV and violence in the communityChildren whose parents are ill because of HIV/AIDS or those who have been orphaned by thedisease face psychological violence, stigma anddiscrimination. They may be rejected by theirfriends and schoolmates, as well as at healthcentres. In addition to the grief and loss theyfeel, the estimated 15 million orphans due toAIDS face growing up without adequate bond-

7ing and emotional support from parents. Manyof these children find themselves without familyor extended family support, either because theinitial solution was unsustainable or becausethey had no options available. While there areno meaningful estimates of the numbers or proportionsof children orphaned by HIV/AIDSwho live on the street, there are clear indicationsthat the overall numbers of street children arerising in many sub-Saharan towns and cities,most likely because of the increasing numberof children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. In Brazzaville,Congo, almost 50% of street childrenare orphans. In Lusaka, Zambia, the majorityof children living on the street are orphans. 72Psychosocial trauma can continue even whenorphans move to foster families or to extendedfamilies. They may be treated as second-classfamily members – discriminated against inthe allocation of food, perhaps, or in the distributionof work. Orphans in Zambia havereported a lack of love and a feeling of beingexcluded, as part of outright discrimination.Many of these children are vulnerable toabuse (physical, emotional and sexual) fromextended family members and other membersof their communities, and girls are particularlyvulnerable to sexual abuse. 73Violence by policeThe level of violence against children by policewas rated a serious issue in a number of Governmentresponses to the Independent Expert’squestionnaire 76 , and was a common theme inregional reviews and consultations. Even insocieties where systems of justice are far moredeeply embedded and socially accessible thanin many other parts of the world, police violenceagainst children (or inaction against perpetrators)is rarely investigated. The level ofimpunity such conduct enjoys is an importantreason for its continuation. 77 Without independentmonitoring systems, children have noone to report police violence to, except otherpolice, from whom they understandably fearreprisals. This, combined with the perceptionthat children’s presence on the street equateswith ‘juvenile delinquency’, places many childrenat risk of police violence.Since the 1990s, international human rightsNGOs have drawn attention to police violenceagainst children living and working on thestreet. Studies in Bulgaria, Egypt, Guatemala,Papua New Guinea, Sudan and elsewherereveal widespread brutality, including beatings,sexual assault, and torture. This may takeplace casually on the street; during arrest onthe way to the police station; and subsequentlyin police lock-ups. 78 Kenya reported in its questionnaireresponse to the Study 79 that childrenliving on the street are frequently harassed andarrested by police; they may be charged withloitering or petty offences, and without representationin court, deprived of their liberty foryears in corrective institutions.In Honduras, a total of 59 children and youngpeople under the age of 23 died in detentioncentres between May 2002 and March 2004.Local NGOs allege that 41 of these victimswere extra-judicially executed by agents of theState. 80 Following her visit to Brazil in 2004,Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur onextrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions,297Violence against children in the community

When tradition meets superstitionViolence against children labelled as witches or sorcerers has been documented inmany countries. Reports from West Africa (notably Benin, Cameroon, Gabon, Liberiaand Nigeria) have documented cases of children who have been driven out from theirfamilies, marginalised by society, and subjected to physical violence including torture,sometimes resulting in fatalities. 74 In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, wherechurches specialising in the exorcism of evil spirits have increased in number, accusationsof sorcery are no longer exclusively made against older women living alone (thetraditional target of such charges) but also against children, many of whom swell the30,000 children already living on Kinshasa’s streets. 75298Violence against children in the communityreported that victims of police violence and summaryexecutions tend to be young Afro-Brazilianmales between the ages of 15–19 years, whoare often involved in criminal gangs. 81Violence by other authority figuresWhile police are the authority figures mostoften mentioned in relation to communityviolence against children, it is clear that manyother people with responsibility to superviseor defend children regularly abuse the trustimplicit in their positions. These include sportscoaches, religious authorities, youth club workers,and teachers (the latter are discussed in thechapter on violence against children in schoolsand educational settings).In recent decades, long-held assumptionsabout the purely positive impacts of organisedactivities for children have been shattered byreports of physical and sexual violence againstchildren in sport- and faith-based activities. In1998, studies in Canada and Norway revealedthat over one-third of young athletes had hadnegative and uncomfortable experiences, rangingfrom mild sexual harassment to abuse. ADanish pilot study (1998) also revealed thatabout 25% of athletes under 18 knew about orhad experienced situations of harassment by acoach or trainer. A Norwegian study comparingthe prevalence of sexual harassment in andoutside the context of sport suggests that twiceas many athletes as non-athletes have experiencedsexual harassment from coaches andother authority figures. 82 In the case of faithbasedorgsanisations, information tends to belimited to media reports and systematic datafrom various faiths is seriously lacking.Although these cases do not represent the completespectrum of situations, they are warningsigns that should be taken very seriously.Violence against sexual minoritiesMedia reports, cases documented by humanrights groups, and anecdotal evidence by victimsthemselves indicate that violence againstyoung lesbians, homosexuals, bisexuals and

“At the river we are beaten by the owners of the wells, the women. They shout at us“Why didn’t you come with your own wells from [your own country]?”They beat us with hands but also beat us with bottles and sticks.”Girls, Eastern and Southern Africa, 2005 III7transgendered individuals is widely prevalent,with perpetrators including family members,peers, teachers, clergy and police. 83,84,85Laws outlawing same-sex behaviour whichexist in some countries, as well as stereotypicalattitudes, can encourage violence againstsexual minorities. Discriminatory attitudes arealso ingrained in both traditional and popularculture, in much the same way as attitudesthat accept domestic violence and corporalpunishment.Violence against child refugees,returnees and internally displacedpersonsIt is estimated that there are 19.2 million refugeesand displaced people globally. Althoughwell-run camps can be safe havens for theirinhabitants, physical insecurity can be a seriousproblem in camps and settlements forrefugees and displaced persons, particularly interms of gender-based violence. 86,87,88,89 Manycamps lack secure buildings, good lighting,regular law enforcement, sanctuary for survivorsof attack, and means of reporting andredress. 90,91 Moreover, the traditional assignmentof certain jobs to women and children– notably the fetching of firewood, water andother domestic supplies – creates conditionsof high risk of sexual assault as they carryout these tasks. Communities may be forcedto rely on informal or traditional methods ofsecurity, and where fathers or husbands are notpresent (as is the case for many refugee families,particularly those displaced by war), thisrepresents particular difficulties.In 2006, the United Nations High Commissionerfor Refugees published a study carriedout in 13 countries (Bangladesh, Côte d’Ivoire,Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal,Pakistan, Sierra Leone, the United Republicof Tanzania, Thailand, Yemen and Zambia),including information on violence against childrenin refugee camps. 92 These countries currentlyhave 52 camps and a total population ofnearly one million refugees.Of particular concern was the study’s findingthat a high proportion of crimes and disputesin all the surveyed refugee camps fall under thebroad category of sexual and gender-based violence.Domestic violence – which can includeviolence against spouses, children, and othermembers of the family such as daughters-inlaw– was widespread in all the countries surveyed,and was the most commonly reportedform of sexual and gender-based violence. InSierra Leone for example, domestic violencewas second only to theft as the most pervasivejustice issue arising in the camps.In many cases, little formal protection orredress was available to victims of such violencethrough camp dispute resolution systems,many of which are administered by traditionalelders from among the refugees themselves.For example, the study found that rape of girlsand women often draws only negligible punishments.Some rapists were absolved if theyagreed to marry the survivor, although if thevictim was a minor, a small fine or a minimallength of detention might be imposed. Thestudy cites two examples from one refugeecamp, where men confessed to raping young299Violence against children in the community

300Violence against children in the communitygirls who were described respectively as “onephysically and one mentally handicappedminor.” As punishment, the men received sixmonths detention for crimes which would haveresulted in far lengthier prison terms under thenational law of their host countries. 93Violence may also be perpetrated by peoplein authority or in support positions. A recentreport from Liberia found that girls betweenthe ages of eight and 18, especially from age12 upwards, had been regularly selling sex tocamp officials, humanitarian workers, peaceworkers, and Government employers, usuallybecause of extreme want. 94When dispersed in urban settings, it is muchmore difficult for assistance programmes toidentify, monitor and support displaced persons.They may be hidden among already underserved,poor local populations in shanty townsor scattered over broad, densely populated areaswith limited infrastructure and access.Children who are resettling in their homecountry can also be at higher risk of violence. 95A study of children in Zambia, South Africaand Angola who had been long-term refugeesreported children suffering from violent discriminationbecause of their status both as refugeesand as returnees. 96 This treatment comeson top of the harrowing violence witnessed (orexperienced directly) by many children in theircountry of origin or on the journey to theirhost nation, a problem which was not alwaysaddressed by the services available. However,emerging studies on resilience suggest thatfamily support and having structured educationand recreational activities are importantfor children to recover and regain a sense ofroutine and normalcy. Although many factorscan affect children’s coping mechanisms, culturallyrelevant forms of counselling and specificsupport to restructure the way they thinkabout their experiences and develop positiveskills can be of assistance. 97Trafficking of childrenSince the 1990s, the substantial traffic inhuman beings, including children, withincountries and across international borders hasaroused major international concern. Statisticson trafficking are imprecise, but the InternationalLabour Organization (ILO) estimatedin 2003 that 1.2 million children are traffickedevery year. 98 The phenomenon is complex, andinteracts with poverty, labour migration flows,demand for cheap labour, and perceptions ormisinformation relating to a better life ‘elsewhere’.Where children are not registered, thelack of identification documents compoundsthe trafficking problem in that childrenbecome easy targets for traffickers, and oncetrafficked they are effectively ‘lost’. 99In certain settings, infants are at particularrisk of abduction for trafficking. For example,in Central America there are reports of infantkidnapping for the US adoption market, sometimesdirectly from the hospital shortly afterbirth. 100In some areas, there are reports of youngchildren being trafficked for begging. At theCambodian border, parents sell or lease theirchildren for use as members of begging groupsin Thai venues. 101 Begging in transport hubs,

“My job was to make 2-3,000 beedis (cigarettes) in 24 hours. I didn’t know how to make beedisso they used to beat me up and I was in a lot of pain because of that. I realized they were trying to traffic mesomewhere else so I tried to run away, but they noticed and I was tortured.”Boy, 13, trafficked from Bangladesh to India, South Asia, 2001 IV7car parks and public places is a characteristicof child work in Romania and is ‘exported’through the trafficking of children domesticallyand into other parts of Europe. 102Trafficking may involve abduction, but inmany cases it begins with deception or enticement.For example, many recruiters and traffickersdeal directly with the parents, who maybelieve they are being offered an opportunity toimprove the child’s chances in life, gain a wellpaidjob, and that the child can remit moneyhome to help the family. Once the child is awayfrom the home and the community, however,he or she is vulnerable to many forms of violence.These include physical and sexual abuseexperienced by a significant proportion of victimsduring the course of their voyage, beingheld captive while waiting for ‘job’ placement,and the kind of situations into which they aretrafficked. Such situations range from low-paiddomestic work to prostitution, or labour onagricultural plantations in conditions of servitudeor debt bondage (see the chapter on violenceagainst children in places of work). 103For example, in India, reports of professionaltraffickers recruiting girls from poor villagecommunities in coastal areas suggest that,while the girls’ expectation is of domesticemployment and city life, the reality is entryinto the sex trade in various cities. Traffickerssimilarly operate in Nepal for outlets in India,and in Myanmar for Thailand. Thousandsof children from Bangladesh have been traffickedinto sexual exploitation in Pakistan andthe Middle East, as have teenage girls fromWest Africa into Italy. The trade from EasternEurope into Western European cities is similarlywell documented. 104Victims often face stigma if they manage toescape: because they are viewed as immoral or‘unclean’, girls are often rejected by their familyand community, and may return to a life ofprostitution. A trafficked child is generallyundocumented and often unable to speak thelanguage of the host country, so will have difficultyin finding or reaching home. In manycases, children go home to unchanged socialcircumstances, and so risk being re-trafficked.Where trafficked children are rescued orescape, they may be detained by the police orimmigration authorities, and risk deportationto their country of origin. 105 This has beenreported from countries in every region andtypically occurs without referral either to thecourts or other authorities. Repatriation takesplace without any attention paid to the child’sbest interests or to their right to be consultedwhen making decisions affecting their future.Child victims of trafficking are often treatedas if they were criminals because of their supposedor actual involvement in offences committedas a result of being trafficked, or ofcoercion by their captors, such as theft, prostitution,or illegal immigration.Factors contributingto violenceIndividual and family factorsMany key factors contributing to violenceagainst children are found or begin in the301Violence against children in the community

“When I come out of my house the people point at me and say. Why don’t you stay in, look at you!You cannot walk properly.”Boy, 12, with physical disabilities, South Asia, 2005 V302Violence against children in the communityhome, and have therefore been covered at somelength in the chapter on violence against childrenin the home and family. For the purposesof the present chapter, it is important to pointout that these include individual factors (biologicalmake-up and personal history of boththe child and his or her family members) andrelationship factors (how the child interactswith parents and siblings) which affect thelikelihood that a child will become a victimor perpetrator of violence. For example, childrenwho show early signs of hyperactivityand poor attention span (individual factors),or who grow up with poor parental supervision,parental aggression and harsh discipline(relationship factors), are at a higher risk ofinvolvement in violence either as victims orperpetrators in later years.Many of these factors – as well as the physical andpsychological symptoms that indicate a child’sexperience of violence –may be identifiable bytrained professionals such as teachers, socialworkers or medical staff, but also by members ofthe community. This is particularly true if communitymembers’ awareness of violence againstchildren has been raised by interventions.The important point to draw from this is thatwhile these risk factors are located at individualand family level, it is at community level thatmany of the key preventive interventions andresponses to violence must be delivered. Theseare discussed below in the section on responses.Situational factorsMany years of research and experience confirmthat the presence of several key situational factorsin the community can precipitate violentevents that might not otherwise occur. Threeof the most important are: widespread access tofirearms, alcohol consumption, and the characteristicsof the physical environment. In situationswhere these factors are present, youngpeople who have no prior history of violentbehaviour and who are not continuously violentmay nevertheless react violently, and withserious consequences. A fourth important situationalfactor is the presence of gangs or organisedarmed groups within the community.FirearmsIt is estimated that several hundred thousandpeople die from firearm-related injuries eachyear. A large proportion of these deaths aredue to homicide and suicide. 106 The number ofnon-fatal firearm-related injuries is unknown,but is likely to be many times greater thanthe number of deaths. Adolescents and youngadults are the primary victims and perpetratorsof firearm-related violence in almost everyregion of the world. 107For instance, firearm-related mortality inBrazil has increased significantly for all agegroups since 1991, but death rates due to firearmshave risen the most among children andadolescents aged 10 to 19. In 1991, 55.7% ofhomicides involving 15–19-year-olds werefirearm-related, while in 2000 the proportionamounted to 77%. 108 In the State capitals withthe highest adolescent firearm-related mortalityrates (between 102 and 222 per 100,000),rates are 5 to 11 times those of the overall ratefor all age groups. 109

7AlcoholAlcohol is a known factor in intimate partnerviolence, and children are often directlyaffected by this. Alcohol is also an importantfactor in violence against and by older childrenin community settings. In many societies,alcohol is common in social situations.Young people may use alcohol to bolster theirself-confidence, and their aggression levelsmay increase and escalate to produce violentconfrontations, while impaired physical controland ability to interpret warning signals indangerous situations may make some youngdrinkers targets for perpetrators. 110Patterns of alcohol use by children and youngpeople vary widely among countries, and arepartially determined by wider cultural normsregarding the social acceptability of alcoholconsumption. In general, young peopleare more likely than the older population toengage in heavy episodic drinking, and thereis a growing concern that a youth culture ofalcohol abuse is spreading. 111 The HealthBehaviour in School-Aged Children Studyfound that across 32 European countries,regular alcohol consumption was reported by5% of 11-year-olds, 12% of 13-year-olds and29% of 15-year-olds. More than one-third ofthe children reported having been drunk twiceor more, with boys more likely to use alcoholand report drunkenness than girls in all agegroups. 112Several studies have demonstrated the linksbetween alcohol and violence for adolescents:in Finland, 45% of all violent incidentsreported by 12–18-year-olds involved drinkingon the part of the perpetrator and/orvictim. 113 In the Philippines, where 14% of15–24-year-olds reported physically injuringsomeone through violence in the previousthree months, such violence was significantlyassociated with drinking. 114 Among 10–18-year-olds participating in the CaribbeanYouth Health Survey, having used alcohol inthe last year was significantly associated withweapon-related violence for both males andfemales. 115Studies in Finland, England and Wales andAustralia have shown that levels of alcoholrelatedinvolvement in violence increase withage throughout adolescence and usually peakin the early twenties. 116,117,118Physical environmentThe nature of a community’s physical fabric,its density of settlement and layout, and theavailability of services and amenities supportiveof family well-being, have an importantbearing on social relationships within thecommunity and on whether or not adults andchildren become prey to violence. For example,research on refugees in Africa cites the lackof safety in public spaces as a risk for sexualand gender-based violence, most of it againstgirls. 119,120,121,122The physical design of public spaces candetermine whether they are potential settingsfor violence. Environmental design, such asimproved street lighting, can help preventcrime as well as reduce fear of victimisation. 123Evidence is emerging that improved streetlighting achieves reductions in crime through303Violence against children in the community

304Violence against children in the communityincreased community pride and informal socialcontrol rather than as a result of increased surveillanceand deterrence.Seriously inadequate housing, and overcrowdingwithin both dwellings and neighbourhoodscan have a damaging effect on childnurture. 124,125 Among the most frequent communityhealth concerns related to familyhousing are the inadequate supply of affordablehousing for low-income people and theincreasing spatial segregation of householdsby income, race, ethnicity, or social class intounsafe neighbourhoods. 126 The increasingconcentration of poverty can result in physicaland social deterioration of neighbourhoods,resulting in housing disinvestment, deterioratedphysical conditions, and reduced abilityof formal and informal institutions to maintainpublic order.Forced evictionsRecognition of the right of the child to a standardof living adequate for his or her physical,mental, spiritual, moral and social developmentis set out in article 27 of the CRC,and is fundamental to ensuring children’ssecurity and to protecting them from violence.Adequate housing, along with adequate foodand clothing, is considered to be an elementconstituting the right to an adequate standardof living (article 11 International Covenant onEconomic, Social and Cultural Rights).In its 2005 State of the World’s Children Report,UNICEF reported that more than one out ofevery three children in the developing worldlive in inadequate housing (approximately 640million children). One in five does not haveaccess to safe water (approximately 400 millionchildren). While child homelessness is perhapsthe most visible and dire violation of children’shousing rights, all violations of housing rights,from forced eviction to inadequate housing conditions,have special ramifications for children.While forced evictions are universally detrimentalto all their victims, they have special implicationsfor children. Forced evictions are oftenaccompanied by violence, particularly againstwomen and children who are most likely to beat home when such a procedure is carried out.Evidence suggests that in response to the violence,panic and confusion so often characteristicof forced eviction, many children experiencerecurrent nightmares, anxiety and distrust. Theimpacts on family stability and the emotionalwell-being of children can be devastating, evenwhen evictions are followed by immediate relocation.Children also have recounted increasedincidents of violence within their own homesafter a forced eviction had taken place. 127,128GangsGangs are an important factor in violenceamong and against children in many parts ofthe world. UNICEF Country Offices in thePhilippines, Vietnam, Mongolia and Cambodiaall report worrying levels of gang fights and violentgang initiation practices among some of thepoorest communities, often involving childrenliving on the street. 129 In addition to violencedirected outside the gang, it may also be usedagainst members who fail the gang, refuse tocarry out a leader’s order, or are in breach of itsinternal rules. 130

7Gang membership may be drawn exclusivelyfrom among school students, exclusively fromamong non-school-goers, or from both. Howevertheir membership is drawn, gangs operatingin and around schools can expose studentsand teachers to criminal activity and extremeviolence. Research shows that, in many societies,physical and verbal aggression, includingfighting, is considered a healthy and normalway for boys to prove their manhood and thatexplains, in part, why boys are more inclinedto join gangs than girls and why boys’ gangsenter into aggressive competition with othergangs. 131 However, there are also gangs madeup of girls and, like gangs of boys, they mayalso engage in violence. 132Although gangs of boys on the streets arealmost universally associated – in the public’smind – with violence, crime, and other forms ofantisocial behaviour, it should be rememberedthat children – mostly but not exclusively boys– join gangs for a variety of reasons. In somecases, lack of nurturing and emotional supportat home may prompt young teenagers to seekgang membership; in others, gang affiliationis the only means of achieving economic sufficiencyor feeling safe. In the USA, an ethnographicstudy of immigrant school childrenfrom Mexico and Central America found thatthey joined gangs to find a positive culturalidentity as Latinos when they felt thwarted bynegative stereotypes. 133In addition to adolescent street-based youthgangs, concerns were raised during the Studyprocess about children’s involvement in organisedarmed groups acting outside defined warzones. These include organised crime organisations(including those in the drug trade),ethnic or religious militias, vigilante groups,and paramilitary organisations.A recent study that investigated such groupsin 10 countries (Colombia, El Salvador, Ecuador,Honduras, Jamaica, Nigeria, NorthernIreland, the Philippines, South Africa, andthe USA) found that the average age at whichboys tended to join such groups was 13, withthe exception of Nigeria, where the averagewas 15–16. 134 Alarmingly, however, the ageof gang members appears to be decreasing. 135The study found that children working forarmed groups were directly involved in acts ofviolence, including the murder of fellow groupmembers and non-involved parties. 136Many Governments have tried using repressivelaw enforcement tactics to deal with childreninvolved in organised armed violence (seebox). However, available evidence suggeststhat a focus solely on repression will tend tobe ineffective for several reasons: it does notdeal with the root causes of the problem; thejuvenile justice and penal systems in mostcountries affected by this problem are inadequateand worsen the problem; and armedgroups tend to become more organised andincreasingly violent when faced only withrepressive tactics. 137 Continued pressure frominternational child protection agencies mustbe focused on the eradication of any such legislationthat would place certain minors underharsher legal regimes than others.305Violence against children in the community

Repressive anti-gang policies in Latin AmericaLevels of youth violence are high on the agenda of public debate in Latin America. 138Growing concern with youth violence, particularly that associated with gangs, has ledsome countries of the region to adopt repressive measures and legislative reforms thatnot only contradict human rights principles but that may also have negative effects onthe levels of violence and the organisation of youth gangs.306According to the available data, children are not responsible for the large majorityof crimes of which they are accused, but there is a strong belief that the adoption ofinternational human rights standards protects children (particularly adolescents) fromjustified punishment and is being used as a shield by young criminals. The perceivedsynchronisation between the adoption of human rights standards and the increase incrime in Latin America is sometimes used to undermine important legal advances andeven to question the need for accountability in cases of State violence.Violence against children in the communityThe adoption of security strategies which focus on repressive measures is marked by aharsh rhetoric, the neglect of long-term preventive measures and the lack of data to guideand determine the impact of such strategies. In a visit to Central America, the IndependentExpert was informed about recent legal changes lowering the age of criminalresponsibility and repressively penalising young people for gang membership. The lackof reliable data does not allow an in-depth assessment of the impact of such policies. 139Some of these legal reforms contradicted binding human rights principles relating tochildren, 140 and were subsequently abrogated. For example, the preemptive detentionof adolescents on the grounds of supposed gang membership identified by tattoos orsignals was ruled as being arbitrary in various cases. Large-scale arrests of supposedgang members have also resulted in a significant increase in the population of alreadyextremely overcrowded detention centres, leading to violent conflicts within these institutions.These institutions also expose young detainees to the gang networks, therebyincreasing the internal linkages of gangs and rivalry among opposing groups. 141,142,143Although criminal networks must be dismantled, the rise of violence in Latin America isunlikely to be curbed by harsh security policies. 144 Rather, this requires long-term investmentin a number of policies to reinforce protective factors and limit risk factors. Theidentification of the best strategies to deal with this growing concern is predicated onreliable data and good data collection systems. The success of security measures is alsolinked to the capability of Governments to stop the violence and corruption which mayexist within the security forces, and to ensure access to justice, particularly to the poor.

7Situations of unrest or conflictSome situations in which conflict or unrest areongoing – such as in Northern Uganda andNepal – have exposed children to mass kidnappingand abduction, so they can performas fighters, porters, or be in support positions;girls have been used as sexual slaves. 145,146 Othercountries in which systems of public securityhave broken down in the wake of actual warsuch as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republicof the Congo, and Somalia, have developed a‘semi-formal’ structure in which groups basedon ethnic affiliation compete for authorityover territory, and over lucrative forms of trade(especially drugs), or other resources. Duringturbulent times in Somalia’s southern and centralregions, for example, one of the only ‘jobs’available to young men was in clan militias,without whose protection civilian businessesor aid operations cannot function. These failuresof Governments impact heavily on theircommunities.Violence against children in situations of ongoingconflict – the case of the Occupied PalestinianTerritoryPolitical violence in the community tends to affect the risks of violence in other contextsnot related with the ongoing conflict. More than four decades of conflict havedeeply affected the lives of Palestinian children from the Occupied Palestinian Territory(OPT). Development and human rights indicators for children, who comprise53% (1,954,000) of the total population of the OPT, have deteriorated sharply since thestart of the second intifada (September 2000). For example, in 2005 42.1% (822,634)of Palestinian children were living below the poverty level, 147 and in 2003 data relatedto the psychosocial well-being of Palestinian children indicates that nine out of 10 parentsreport symptomatic traumatic behaviour among at least one of their children. 148The increasing pressure the Israeli occupation has on the lives of those in the OPT,and the renewed and reinforced restrictions on mobility which apply deeply affect relationsbetween and within communities and families, leading to an increase in violenceagainst children in different settings. Addressing the root causes of this violence in theOPT, rather than its symptoms, only requires contextualising the violence within theongoing conflicts.307Violence against children in the community>>>

Violence against children in situations of ongoingconflict – the case of the Occupied PalestinianTerritory308Violence against children in the communityViolence threatens children in the streets, at school, and in the home. While there isa paucity of quantitative data on the OPT related to violence within families and thelarger community, one-fifth of the children surveyed in a qualitative study indicatedthat the number one source of violence in their lives was the family, with communityviolence ranked as being the second most common source of violence. 149 Notably, whenasked to identify the perpetrators and places of violence in their lives, 43% of surveyedPalestinian children reported having experienced violence at the hands of more thanone perpetrator; and almost half of them indicated having experienced violence inmore than one place, including their homes and schools. 150More than 50% of the Palestinian children surveyed affirmed that their parents wereunable to meet their care and protection needs. 151 This sentiment was echoed by theparents themselves, with more than 43% of Palestinian parents feeling that they wereunable to provide adequate protection and care for their children. 152 Studies contextualisingthe root causes of violence in the family found that the combination of lack ofresources in the family and subsequent stress that this places on the family caregivers isa significant predictor of family violence in the OPT. 153At home and in the classroom, adult caregivers have noted signs of increasing angerand aggression among children. 154 In school, teachers have noted higher levels of stress,disobedience, irritation, and reduced concentration and confidence among students. 155Teachers also report an increase in violence between students, particularly boys, whileparents report that children are acting in an increasingly aggressive manner towardsfriends and siblings.Safe areas for childrenThe lack of safe places for children to play and interact seems to be related to theprevalence of various forms of violence that take place in areas marked by conflict.Local-level partnerships between municipalities, NGOs and local authorities havebeen forged under the Child-Friendly Cities initiative in four locations in the OPT:two in the Gaza Strip (Rafah and Gaza City), and two in the West Bank (Jenin andJericho).

7Violence against children in situations of ongoingconflict – the case of the Occupied PalestinianTerritoryThe approach to planning takes into account the need to respond to emergencies,while developing comprehensive protection strategies for children. Participatory needsinclude assessments and workshops involving children: they have been conducted, andtheir results have been fed into City Plans of Action for Children in each location,endorsed by participating institutions.Safe Play Areas have been developed in the most deprived areas of Rafah, Gaza andJenin. Teams of facilitators have been trained to design and conduct weekly extracurricularactivities. Children’s Municipality Councils have been established, wherebychildren are trained as leaders, and they themselves design and implement small projectsto reach larger numbers of children. Activities include fun days, sports competitions,and community campaigns on key issues of concern for children. 156WEST BANK, June 2003, On the road between Ramallah andJerusalem, children wait as their parents try to get permission topass through the Israeli checkpoint.UN-DPI #SHD151)Societal factorsUrbanisationDuring the second half of the 20th century,the process of urbanisation in the developingworld rapidly accelerated. Cities and townsare now home to around half the world’s children.157 In many regions, notably sub-SaharanAfrica, which now contains more urban childrenthan North America, this demographicchange has come about during a period ofpolitical and economic crisis and environmentalpressure. The process of relocation and itsaccompanying social changes, together witha lack of economic opportunity for those inthe lowest educational, lowest skilled andlowest socio-economic groups, has helped tocreate circumstances favouring frustration andunrest, potentially leading to violence.309Violence against children in the community

310Violence against children in the communityAlthough urbanisation has historically beenaccompanied by lower rates of child mortality,increased access to education, and improvementsacross all social indicators, it also hasnegative aspects including poverty, inequality,changes in family structure and the breakdownof social networks – factors that all contributeto violence. 158 Few of the environmentsinhabited by poor urban families are friendlyto children. 159 A high proportion of new arrivalslive in informal (and, in the eyes of thelaw, illegal) settlements. The pace and irregularform of urbanisation has put under severepressure the capacity of municipal authoritiesto provide services and amenities. Much of thehousing in newly urbanised areas is cramped,flimsy, and insecure, while the surroundingenvironment does not offer many opportunitiesfor children to play and interact safely withthe world about them. Outdoor space – whichthey enter at an early age – is often contaminatedby garbage and human waste. 160Poverty, inequality and socialexclusionAround 2.8 billion people today survive onless than US$ 2 a day, 161 of whom almost 50%are children. Poverty alone, however, is a lesssignificant correlate of violence – as measuredby homicide rates – than a combination ofhigh income inequality and poverty. Althoughmore research is needed to fully understand thelinks, emerging findings suggest that wealthiersocieties have lower homicide rates, even wherethere is a large income gap between rich andpoor communities. In societies at a lowerlevel of overall economic development, higherhomicide rates are experienced. It may be thatwealthier societies are able to provide a higherlevel of protection and social support for theirpoor communities than those at a lower levelof overall economic development.Measures of economic inequality are powerfulpredictors of homicide rates of 10-19 year-olds,especially boys, and this association is strongerin countries with lower overall gross domesticproduct (GDP). 162 However, the relationshipbetween absolute poverty (as opposed torelative poverty) and violence is not entirelystraightforward. Growth in GDP is associatedwith lower homicide rates, as mightbe expected, but this effect is in many casesnegated by the economic inequality and socialexclusion that often flourish alongside rapideconomic development and urbanisation. 163Poorer communities and their children appearto be most vulnerable to interpersonal violencewhen exposed to economic and populationchanges that contribute to community disorganisationand, ultimately, to a community’sability to control violent behaviour. Recentresearch has supported the theory that theimbalance between concentrations of affluenceand poverty in the same urban area could bean important predictor of community variationsin interpersonal violence.The social exclusion experienced by lowincomeurban populations in all regions hasbeen exacerbated by trends at the internationallevel. The rapid pace of social and politicalchange, and economic globalisation – theadoption of domestic deregulation, trade liberalisationand privatisation of services, a policy

7paradigm which was introduced in the 1980sand intensified in the 1990s – has had enormousimpacts on society generally, includingon children’s well-being. 164 Although manypeople have benefited from the creation of jobsin export manufacturing industries, betteraccess to information, and some other aspectsof globalisation, the majority of the least welloffhave suffered a widening gap in economicexclusion. Low-income rural people in 60countries surveyed in the World Bank’s 2000Voices of the Poor Study stated that life hadbecome less secure, more marginal, and morethreatened in recent decades. This was dueto the growing precariousness of livelihoods,exclusion from services and institutions, theloss of social cohesion, the higher exposure tonegative influences such as crime and alcohol,powerlessness and humiliation at the handsof authority, constant worry at home and thegreater frequency of family disputes, amongother factors. 165Social exclusion is a problem that is by nomeans confined to countries in the developingworld. A recent UK report estimated thatone million people could be described as beingsocially excluded, and that 5% of the populationwere at risk. The characteristics of socialexclusion were described in similar terms tothose in Latin America: unemployment, discrimination,poor housing, low incomes, poorskills, high crime, ill-health, family breakdown.In the USA, one in four children isliving in poverty, with ethno-cultural minorityfamilies representing a high proportion ofthose at risk, mostly in urban neighbourhoodswith inadequate housing and few resources. 166In view of the strong relationship betweenpoverty, inequality and social exclusion, andviolence against and among children in communitysettings, the urgency of State obligationsto fulfil human rights – especially longneglectedsocial, economic and cultural rights– is clear. Althoug that technological advancesand other resources have never been greater toaccommodate these needs, worldwide there arestill communities where few individuals enjoytheir right to an adequate standard of living,their right to the highest attainable standardof health, their rights to social security, education,participation, and non-discrimination. Inthese communities, violence against childrenflourishes and significant prevention gains willnot be made until these rights are better protected,respected and fulfilled. 167.311Violence against children in the community

Cyber-space and cyber-threats – the challenges ofInternet and communication technologiesAccess to information is a child’s right and has an important role in transmitting newknowledge and facilitating the adoption of life-enhancing pro-social behaviours andvalues. In terms of protecting children, technology has certainly helped in makinginformation and advice more available, for example through ‘child help lines’ (http://www.chiworld.org), and also via the Internet, although the quality is difficult to regulate.Better communication has also increased the potential for protecting children.However, where children’s access to the media and printed images is not appropriatelysupervised by parents or other caregivers, it allows exposure to violent, abusive andpornographic material.312Violence against children in the communityMany contributors to the Study voiced concern that Governments were not doingenough to limit children’s exposure to images of violence and male domination ofwomen and girls on television, films, video games and the Internet, that endorse ideasof violence, verbal aggression and sexism as norms and lower sensitivity to violence. 168A review by the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children found anurgent need to need increase the number of countries with laws in place related toInternet child pornography. 169The specific threats to children from the internet and communications technologies(ICTs) stem from exposure to violent imagery including through video and onlinegames, and also the production, distribution and use of materials depicting sexual violenceand more specifically, child sexual abuse and pornography. While the problems ofexposure have been well documented in industrialised countries, little is known aboutwhat takes place in developing countries. A study in three cities of Pakistan – Karachi,Lahore, and Peshawar – in 2001, showed that many children are exposed to pornographyin Internet cafes. Almost 50% of the children interviewed in the study reportedvisiting pornographic sites, and over 80% could name a number of such sites. Most ofthe children interviewed were from poor neighbourhoods, or were child workers. 170Online solicitation of children or ‘grooming’ (securing a child’s trust in order to drawthem into a situation where they may be harmed) for such purposes is difficult tocurtail in any jurisdiction, let alone across international borders. In addition, the phenomenonof ‘cyber-bullying’ is emerging in tandem with the proliferation of mobilephones. 171 A 2006 survey in the UK showed that more than one in 10 children aged

7between 11 and 15 had been harassed, bullied or victimised by threatening messages,or because someone had published misleading information about them online. Suchactions can be part of complex operations involving the manipulation of photographstaken on mobile phones, and invitations to anonymous users to attack named victimson website forums. 172According to experts, the apparent increasing interest in images of abuse may be associatedwith the way the online environments allow for expression that is not generallytolerated in other environments. 173 For example, in the general climate of lowered inhibitionsprovided by the online environment, users can alter their mood, recreate themselvessometimes with multiple self-representations, validate and justify the exchangeof abusive images with others, challenge concepts of regulation, and disrupt conventionalhierarchies. ECPAT research suggests that children and young people who donot have adequate parental supervision, who suffer from low self-esteem, or who haveno strong mentor in their lives are particularly at risk of negative outcomes related touse of ICTs. 174Media violence may give children unrealistic ideas about violence in real life. Forexample, there is some evidence that watching action films can lead children to believethat the human body is much tougher than it actually is, and to underestimate theserious physical damage that punches and kicks can inflict. It is also suspected thatmedia-instilled ideas about violence and a feeling of being under threat can predisposesome individuals to resort to destructive aggressive behaviour in situations of stressor perceived danger. 175 In addition, it is hypothesised that access to television and theInternet may promote consumer envy, and underline the gap between the lifestyles ofthe haves and have-nots, and thus lead to petty or violent crime. 176313Violence against children in the communityA recent meta-review of scientific studies examined the effects of media violence onchildren up to 18 years of age. It concluded that there is “consistent evidence that violentimagery on television, film and video, and computer games has substantial shorttermeffects on arousal, thoughts, and emotions, increasing the likelihood of aggressiveor fearful behaviour in younger children, especially boys.” The effects are not clear inthe case of older children (including teenagers), or regarding the long-term impacts>>>

Cyber-space and cyber-threats – the challenges ofInternet and communication technologies (ICTs)on any age group. The researchers emphasised the difficulty of determining causation,and that aggression is related to a wide variety of factors. A number of issues remainunresolved, such as the relationship between media violence and crime, and whetherindividuals from violent backgrounds, or who are predisposed to aggressive behaviour,might be more susceptible than others to the effect of watching violent images. Nor ismuch known about violent media imagery’s interaction with mental health problems,or with viewers under the influence of alcohol or drugs. 177314Violence against children in the communityDuring the Regional Consultations convened for the Study, the challenges presentedby ICTs to the safety of children were universally recognised. The Middle East andNorth Africa region underscored the importance of the involvement of the privatesector, including that relating to tourism and transport industries, in partnership withothers in addressing the serious problem of trafficking of women and children, includingin relation to sex tourism. Two types of sexual exploitation of under-18s in relationto tourism are noted by ECPAT International: the minority are sex tourists with a specificinterest in pre-pubescent children (paedophiles); the majority are ordinary touristswho take advantage of the sexual services of children, mostly aged in their mid- orupper teens, who are made available to them. The methods of organising child sextourism have changed over time. Whereas it was initially more common for tourists tomake contact through a brothel or in a well known area of such activity, in recent yearsthe Internet has been used – transforming and multiplying the risks for exploitation ofchildren through tourism. 178While some major companies internationally are now committing themselves to the“Code of Conduct to Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism,”to stop human trafficking, including making the links between HIV/AIDS andtrafficking, Governments need to make sure that a great deal more is done. 179While advances in technology have brought many benefits, efforts to extend these benefitsmore equitably are still needed – protecting children from the negative potentialof technology is a serious challenge. The need for a focus on prevention as an absoluteimperative in addressing child safety and ICTs was a message that was reiteratedthroughout the Study process. Greater attention paid to the prosecution of offenders,

7to increasing the public perception and reality that offenders would be caught was alsoemphasised, along with the need for more effort to be dedicated to diversifying the technologyto protect children. Increasing the protection of children while expanding accessto ICTs was specifically included in the Tunis agenda for the Information Society fromthe World Summit on the Information Society hosted by Tunisia in 2005. The agendareaffirmed the importance of “incorporating regulatory, self-regulatory, and other effectivepolicies and frameworks to protect children and young people from abuse andexploitation through ICTs into national plans of action and E-strategies.” 180From the expert meeting hosted by ECPAT, Bangkok, and also at the Study’s RegionalConsultations in the East Asia and Pacific region and in the Middle East and NorthAfrica region, it was noted that agreement is lacking within and between countries ondefinitions, laws and perceptions of what is acceptable regarding ICTs and their content.181 Some countries allow sexualised images of children within mainstream media,or permit the publication of images of abuse. There is a need for campaigns to supportparents and adults to provide better understanding of ICTs, and the supervisionof children and young people who use them. The vast potential for ICTs to spreadpositive and useful messages, including pubic advocacy and education, is also generallyunder-studied and underutilised. There is also a need for greater attention tostrong international and national standards, and greater cross-border cooperation inthe implementation of these standards (see Table 7.3).315Violence against children in the community

Table 7.3 – Current worldwide Internet usageCurrentInternetpopulationPercentage ofInternetpenetrationNorthern Africa 9,585,000 6.30316Violence against children in the communitySub-Saharan Africa 13,152,000 17Latin America andthe Caribbean74,735,188 14Eastern Asia 150,173,713 11Southern Asia 58,919,000 4South-Eastern Asia 52,752,600 9Western Asia 9,320,085 8Commonwealth ofIndependent StatesOceania 497,550 633,301,700 12Developed countries 569,056,865 59World total 972,828,001 15.20Source: Microsoft (2006). Current Worldwide Internet Statistics and Trends. Submission to theUnited Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children.

“Under the leadership of Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan, and growing from the workof the Arab regional network of ISPCAN, the barriers to discussing and understanding violence againstchildren in our region are crumbling. In addition to excellent work of aawareness-raising and serviceprovision for victimised children, we look forward to expanding our approach to the preventionof violence against children in coming years.”Dr Hussein Abdel-Razzak Al Gezairy, Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, WHO7Responses to violenceagainst children inthe communityAs the challenges facing children are multifaceted,so too are the ways in which communitiescan respond. While much of the researchfocuses on the individual level, an over-emphasison the individual level too often locates theproblem within the child alone rather thanexamining the broader context of family andcommunity, and other relationships. In terms ofthe ecological model, the community facilitatesinteraction on many different levels, and strategiesand services should include attention to thepotential for prevention as well as risks. 182In middle- and high-income countries, somehealth and criminal justice systems have reliableand comprehensive data regarding violentdeaths and injuries dealt with at hospital emergencydepartments. Analysis of these data hasdemonstrated that homicide and non-fatal violentinjury rates in young people (including the15–18-year age group) are particularly sensitiveto changes in societal and community-level riskfactors. These factors include alcohol availability,illegal drug markets, access to firearms, typeand intensity of policing, schooling and employmentopportunities, and economic inequalities.Efforts to prevent violence by and against childrenin community settings have been the subjectof a considerable number of outcome evaluationstudies aimed at providing scientific evidence forprogramme effectiveness. Most of these studieshave been conducted in high-income countries,and few have focused exclusively on childrenand adolescents up to 18 years old. Despite theselimitations, important lessons have been learnedabout the range of policies and interventionsthat can be used by low- and middle-incomecounties to prevent violence against childrenin community settings. Some practical lessonsfrom the field of violence prevention as well aspublic health suggest that:• Not all prevention strategieswork, and certainly not in allcommunities. The evidence baseidentifies a number of strategiesthat appear to be effective, and alarger group that show promise butwhich require more testing. Some areineffective, while others actually appearto make things worse.• Integrated prevention efforts overtime that link the contributionsof different sectors are necessary(if difficult to achieve). Effectiveprevention is most likely through arange of coordinated approaches thatintegrate legal, social, educationaland economic strategies to reducerisk factors and strengthen protectivefactors at the levels of the individual,the family, the community and societywith short- and long-term objectives.• Top-down and bottom-up approachesare both required. Top-downprevention approaches that can influencesociety-wide risk and protective factorsshould be balanced against bottomupapproaches that highlight localneeds and which allocate preventionresponsibility to communities. 183317Violence against children in the community

318Violence against children in the communityWith these lessons in mind, the following sectiondiscusses strategies for preventing violenceagainst children in community settings at fourlevels of the ecological model, namely the individual,family, community and society.Individual and family-levelConsistent with evidence that a significantproportion of adolescent violence is causallyrooted in early developmental experiences,programmes targeted at infants and youngchildren, their parents and others who influencethem during early development have beenshown to be among the most effective in preventingviolence by and among adolescents.More specifically, family-oriented interventionsto change parenting styles (increase predictability,parental monitoring, and decreasenegative parenting methods) and improve relationshipswithin the family (closeness, positivestatements, emotional cohesion and communicationclarity) show strong and consistent evidencefor reducing the risk of children goingon to engage in serious antisocial behaviourand violence. 184 The earlier these programmesare delivered in a child’s life, the greater thebenefits, although significant benefits havealso been demonstrated when programmesare delivered to adolescents who have alreadybeen arrested for violent or delinquent behaviour.185,186 (Also see the chapter on violenceagainst children in the home and family.)Community-levelCommunity-level support foreducation and socialisationMany individual and family-level interventionsare provided in community settings oruse community resources. The following areinterventions which have either proven effectivein some settings, or are thought to havea strong potential in preventing violence bysupporting high-risk children’s education andsocialisation.Reducing truancy and returningdropouts to schoolSchooling provides most children with theirsecond most important source of socialisation(after the family). Research suggests that oneof the most effective means of preventing violenceand crime among certain high-risk childrenis to provide incentives for them to completeschooling, obtain vocational trainingand pursue higher education. Comparisonsof different interventions to reduce youth violenceand crime in the USA have consistentlyfound that providing high school studentswith incentives to graduate was the most costeffectiveintervention. 187,188Programmes in schools are an important strategy,both for divesting schools themselves ofgang culture and interpersonal violence, andalso for preventing violence among youngpeople in the community. In the Caribbean,a nine-country study by the Pan-AmericanHealth Orgsanization (PAHO/WHO) foundthat truancy was one of the strongest risk factorsfor the involvement of young people aged

710–18 in violence. The strongest protective factorswere positive affiliation with school, includingliking the teachers, religious belief, andchurch attendance. 189 The development of suchaffiliation can begin with pre-school enrichmentprogrammes which have been shown tostrengthen bonds with the school and introducechildren early on to the social and behaviouralskills necessary for success in school. 190,191,192,193A few long-term follow-up studies of such programmeshave found positive benefits, includingless involvement in violence and otheranti-social behaviours. 194,195,196 Quality schooling,which embraces learning, support for nondiscrimination,and activities to support childprotection in the community, is an essentialelement in fostering the child-friendly environment(see the chapter on violence against childrenin schools and educational settings).Non-formal learning opportunitiesChildren who are from disadvantaged backgroundsand groups that suffer from discriminationare more likely to be involved inanti-social behaviour, and are also likely to beexcluded from school or drop out early. Community-basedprogrammes can reach out tosuch children and re-introduce them to formaleducation via non-formal or ‘catch-up’ programmes.These can also provide adult mentorsfor children with family problems, whocan do much to redirect such children into asafe, non-aggressive and personally fulfillingdevelopment path. 197Mentoring programmes. These can sometimesmatch high-risk children or young peoplewith trusted and caring adults such as olderpeers, tutors, counsellors, law enforcementofficers or other community members. Suchpositive relationships can improve the child’sschool attendance and performance, decreasethe likelihood of drug use, and repair his orher relationships with parents. 198,199 These programmesmay be particularly valuable for childrenfrom minority groups, or for those fromdifficult circumstances such as refugees anddisplaced persons. 200Programmes with and for children livingon the street. Examples include drop-in centres,shelters, and other places of safety wheretrusted adults, food, washing facilities, educationand skills-building, and other supportmay be available.Many children who attend such centres havesuffered injury or been traumatised by theirlife experience. However, many educationalprogrammes are primarily directed at childrenliving on the street, and aim to assist theirwithdrawal from the street and their accessto school or vocational training. All such programmescan be regarded as helping vulnerablechildren to safety and providing themwith protection from sources of violence, bothin the immediate sense and in terms of futurelife and work opportunities.Sport and youth activities. These activitiesand other structured leisure time are essentialfor child development. Although there is littleresearch internationally on the subject, it iswidely thought that properly supervised, community-basedactivities for children – fromsports and youth clubs to social, cultural andfaith-based groups – can be useful in build-319Violence against children in the community

“I used to think that being a girl I don’t have the right to protest when boys and men misbehave with me.But after joining the child club I came to know that I have all the right to feel safe all the time.I can protect and protest whenever someone tries to harass or abuse me. My body is mine and I have theright to protect it.”Girl, 13, South Asia, 2005 VI320Violence against children in the communitying protective factors such as self-confidenceand developing children’s potential to preventviolence. 201 Children and young peoplemight also be attracted to places where sportand recreational activities are provided alongwith educational activities and programmesto reduce violence. In general, better resultscan be expected where these programmes areimplemented along with other effective strategies,rather than as stand-alone programmes.Research cites several ways in which community-basedactivities can support children’sdevelopment and resilience (e.g. ability toresist pressure to join gangs or engage in peerviolence), including through mentoring andtutoring, fostering identity development, andopportunities to interact with trusted adultsand positive role models. 202,203,204Proper supervision and other measures areimportant in avoiding violence in the contextof youth activities. For example, since the mid-1990s European countries such as France, theNetherlands, Switzerland and the UK havetaken action to increase protection of childrenin sport. In 2000, the Council of Europe’s Committeefor the Development of Sport adopted acomprehensive resolution on preventing sexualharassment and abuse of women, young peopleand children in both recreational and competitivesports. A wide range of measures arepossible, including the adoption of child protectionpolicies and ethical charters; criminalrecord checks of adults in charge(e.g. trainersor coaches); awareness-raising and training ofathletes, parents, coaches and other officials;appointment of child protection officers insports clubs and federations; establishment oftelephone help lines; and research on child protectionin sport issues. 205Life skills-based educationWithin non-formal or formal education programmes,life skills-based education can beeffective in reducing youth violence, especiallyas part of a comprehensive effort. 206,207,208,209,210,211Aimed at enabling children to adopt selfprotectivebehaviours, life skills-based educationcan include a wide variety of topics, forinstance: learning how to avoid unwantedsexual intimacy; gaining practice in formingviews and expressing them; developing problem-solvingand negotiating skills, includingconflict resolution by non-violent means;improving interaction between children andcommunity authorities (including the policeand judiciary), outreaching workers in healthand social affairs, and others the children mayneed to know how to approach. 212,213,214 Suchprogrammes have also yielded positive resultsfor dating violence. 215,216,217,218The Safe Dates Project in the USA is a successfulschool-based intervention that aimedto change attitudes on dating violence withinboth the school and the community. Thisintervention took a holistic approach, includingboth adolescent boys and girls in sessionson the role of gender norms and the positiveformation of intimate relationships. It includedtraining of teachers, community members andparent groups, a 10-week curriculum coveringawareness-raising on healthy and unhealthyrelationships, gender roles, sexual assault,and communications development to prevent

“Violence against children has incalculable costs to present and future generations and it undermineshuman development. We recognize that virtually all forms of violence are linked to entrenched genderroles and inequalities, and that the violation of the rights of children is linked to the status of women.”The African Declaration on Violence against Girls, 2006 VII7dating violence. After four years, significantlyless physical and sexual dating violence perpetrationand victimisation was evident for theadolescents in the intervention group. 219Some life skills-based education programmesare delivered through peer facilitators. Suchprogrammes utilise children and young peopleof the same or older ages as the target groupto deliver programmes designed to improveknowledge, attitudes or behaviours. Whilethe active participation of children and youngpeople is an important principle from a rightsbasedperspective, evidence that programmesfacilitated by peers alone reduce violence isambiguous at best, especially when applied inisolation from other strategies. 220,221 Many ofthese programmes suffer from a lack of adequatesupport, and it appears that the level ofsupport required is high for such initiatives.In addition, peer leaders are constantly ‘agingout’ of their role as they mature and move onto other things.Community-level situationalpreventionPromoting norms and values that promoterespect and peaceful conflict resolutionA large number of efforts are undertaken toprevent violence by and against children in thecommunity through public information or preventioncampaigns aimed at changing communityattitudes, beliefs and norms surroundingthe use of violence. Multi-component preventioncampaigns have been launched to addressyouth violence, gang violence, bullying, andsexual violence. 222,223,224,225,226,227 Campaignscan make the social climate more conducive tochange by breaking taboos and creating publicdebate on issues. However, lasting change tendsto require a combination of efforts beyond campaignsalone. In general, these types of campaignseem to be most effective in increasingknowledge and awareness, as well as in shifts insocial norms concerning some types of violenceand gender relations, and some have led to anincrease in the disclosure of sexual offences. 228But such campaigns, when implemented in isolation,have not consistently led to changes inbehaviour or to a reduction in violence.Police reform and trainingat community levelIn places where police ‘culture’ is extremelynegative and discriminatory against childrenor young people, physical and sexual violence– among other abuses of their human rights– can be a routine occurrence, and entirelyunpunished. Often the violence is not towardsall children but towards certain groups suchas children and young people who are pooror living on the street, refugees, returnees orinternally displaced young persons. In suchcases, police forces need to be sensitised tohuman rights in general, and children’s rightsand protection issues in particular, in the overallcontext of system-wide reforms.With training and motivation, police can takean active part in bringing about positive changein the lives of children instead of being rankedamong their most frequently cited abusers. InMumbai, India, for example, improved relationsbetween the police and children workingin the informal sector has led to employment321Violence against children in the community

“Children are caught between the hate and fury of two groups: local delinquents and police forces (quitea global phenomenon) reinforces the sense of powerlessness in the poorer communities; and amongstyouth, reinforces the idea that the use of violence is acceptable, and again, something quite pervasive.”Nancy Cardia, Editorial Board of the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against ChildrenRaising voices in UgandaOver 1,400 children were involved in research in five districts of Uganda in 2004 and2005. It focused on the various types of violence they experience at home, in schoolsand in the community, how it makes them feel, and their ideas about violence-freechildhoods. Also involved were almost 1,100 adults who provided their perceptions ofpunishment and discipline, mistreatment and how they also feel about the issues. Theresearch fed into an evidence-based advocacy campaign, launched in 2006, directed atprotecting and promoting children’s rights to live free from violence. These efforts wereintended to increase public debate and break down the barriers to taking action. Thecampaign made an important contribution to the Ministry of Education and Sport’sinitiative on banning all corporal punishment in schools in Uganda. 229322Violence against children in the communityfor some older children as assistants in trafficcontrol at peak hours. 230The Consortium for Street Children undertookan international research study into policechild rights training programmes around theworld. It documented training programmesaimed at reducing violence against childrenliving on the street in a large number of countries,mostly under the auspices of NGOs,with cooperation from local authorities andwith some donor support. Having identifieda number of good practices, the Consortiumcompiled a manual for such training. TheConsortium commented: “Widespread, consistent,long-term and sustainable change willonly be possible when child rights and childprotection is formally recognised and includedin official curricula, manuals and collaborativeagreements.” 231However, training police has proved largelyineffective in changing police behaviour,where it is not accompanied by, or reinforcedby, efforts to change attitudes and organisationalculture. 232 In terms of health care providers,training frequently influences changesin knowledge and awareness in the short term,but these changes are difficult to translateinto behavioural change or changes in practice.233,234,235,236 To improve the potential oftraining efforts to reduce violence against childrenthey have to be part of a wider strategy,including law reform and attitudinal change.Other potential ways to prevent police violenceinclude increasing the numbers of women servingas police officers, providing independentcomplaints mechanisms, and improving thepay and status of police officers.Accountability, and access to justiceState violence and corruption are two factorsdirectly associated with violence in communities.Community confidence in localsecurity and justice systems is central to theeffectiveness of public policies. Internationallegal instruments emphasise the importance of

“Religious leaders and communities of faith are well placed to confront violence against childrenand to work to heal its ravages. Religions for Peace helps the world’s diverse religiouscommunities to stand together, pooling their collective moral strengths to stop violenceagainst children in their homes and societies.”Dr William F. Vendley, Secretary General, World Council of Religions for Peace7ensuring accountability and access to justicein the fulfilment of human rights obligations.Community organisations againsttraffickingIn addition to improving training and reforminglaw enforcement generally, and ensuringthat it is functioning in accordance with internationalnorms, it is fundamental to ensureindependent monitoring and thorough investigationin all cases of State violence. Apartfrom being a core human right obligation,ensuring State accountability is crucial inbuilding trust and improving the efficiency ofsecurity policies. Impunity for perpertratorsof police violence against street children oftenallows such abuse to continue. Many policewho commit violence against children arenever investigated or prosecuted. Mechanismsmust be put in place to ensure that police andother security personnel implicated in violenceagainst children are promptly and thoroughlyinvestigated, and held accountable. The establishmentof permanent mechanisms such asombudspersons or civilian review boards toindependently receive and investigate casesof violence by the security forces can provideimportant support to ensure accountability.Special measures are also required to ensureaccess to justice by all communities, particularlythose affected by poverty and high levelsof criminal activity. It is essential to provideaccess to independent and qualified legal assistancewhen required. Mechanisms can also beestablished to facilitate the access of marginalisedgroups to justice: these vary from specialservices within courts to the placement ofspecial services to facilitate the mediation ofsmall conflicts within communities.Community-level activities can be effectiveat preventing trafficking, particularly whenworking in cooperation with law enforcementand other authorities. In East Africa,there has been some success with communitybasedwatch/vigilance systems to prevent thetrafficking of children and breaches of childlabour legislation. For example, in Benin,village committees backed by the provincialadministration have helped to reduce the traffickingof children, both by educating familiesabout the dangers of trafficking and by workingwith the police when a child from the villagegoes missing. 237In southern India’s Andra Pradesh state,another example is the Society to Help RuralEmpowerment and Education (STHREE),which was established in 1998 to address traffickingof women and children from rural areasSTHREE emphasises the role of the community,and has supported the formation ofcommunity-based Self-Help Groups (SHGs),Anti-Trafficking Committees (ATCs), and aHighway Mobile Committee (HMC). When itbecomes known that a woman or girl has beenoffered work outside the community, the localATCs ask for verification of the employer’sname, address and contact number. For thosewomen or children being sent to Kuwait or tothe Gulf, the ATCs try to verify visa status,help educate communities on the verificationof expected payment details and share cases ofvillagers being duped. While the ATCs and theHMC work directly to prevent the trafficking323Violence against children in the community

‘The way to decrease violence is to work together with all our leaders in our village.’Boy, Solomon Islands, 2005 VIII324Violence against children in the communityof girls and women from the region, the SHGswork on the underlying causes of traffickingthrough educational and awareness generationactivities, as well as through providing viablelivelihood options to the community members.An assessment managed by UNICEFin Andhra Pradesh found that the number ofgirls/women trafficked from the project areadecreased between 2000 and 2004. STHREEhas also managed to rescue girls and womenfrom places as far away as Delhi, Pune andMumbai by helping families or ATCs to filecomplaints with the police and by followingup with police and NGO networks in otherStates. 238Other important initiatives to reduce the vulnerabilityof children to being trafficked centreon taking action to fend off the economic pressuresthat face families in difficult situations.In Albania, the Swiss Government Cooperationfor Development funds vocational trainingfor young people at risk of trafficking toequip them with marketable skills so that theycan find work at home. In the countries of theMekong, ILO–IPEC has supported microcreditgrants, vocational training, job placementand small business development for familiesat risk. All of these initiatives reinforcethe coping mechanisms of families and adolescents,and reduce the likelihood that theywill leave to look for dubious work, or fall preyto recruiters exploiting their desire to improvetheir situation. 239Providing safe physical environmentsAs discussed above, there is considerable evidenceof a relationship between the physicalenvironment and violence, particularly inurban settings. A number of measures canbe taken to alter the physical environment ofcommunities in order to reduce the risk of violenceby and towards children. These includeimproved lighting, reducing the number of‘blind’ locations (alleys, underground causeways,etc.) where violence can be perpetratedunseen, and creating safe routes for children ontheir way to and from school and other communityactivities. In locations such as shantytowns and refugee camps, particular emphasisis placed on creating safe routes to communalwater collection, and to bathing and toiletfacilities.At a more fundamental and long-term level,efforts should be made to improve housingand basic infrastructures (schools, health services,etc.) in crowded and squalid urban environments.A variety of approaches are possible.Some experts hold that the most effectiveapproach to dealing with severe overcrowdingin poor urban areas is to de-concentrate housingwhere possible, change local regulations toallow more logical use of space, and improvethe quality of the surrounding environment. 240At the same time, efforts must be made toimprove inadequate neighbourhood facilities,such as lack of places for washing and laundry,lack of toilets, lack of recreation spacesfor children, and lack of community facilitiessuch as day care and team sports.From a political point of view, some of this maybe difficult to accomplish if municipal authoritiesare reluctant to improve ‘illegal’ urbansettlements through fear that this will act as an

7enticement to further rural–urban migration.Considerable advocacy may thus be requiredto inform such authorities about the need forsuch approaches, both from a human rightspoint of view (i.e. the need for decent housingand healthy communities) and as regards theconcrete objective of reducing violence. Advocacymust also be directed at professionals whoadvise the authorities and carry out the work,such as architects, urban planners and engineers,few of whom may be aware of the impactof the living conditions on child development.In this regard, the Child-Friendly Cities Initiative(see box) provides a useful tool for changingattitudes and placing the needs of childrenat the centre of the urban agenda.Creating child-friendly citiesThe Child-Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) was launched in 1996 to act on the resolutionpassed during the second UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) tomake cities livable, and place ‘children first’. The Conference declared that the wellbeingof children is the ultimate indicator of a healthy habitat, a democratic societyand good governance.All children in cities have the right to access basic services and enjoy opportunities fordevelopment. CFCI advocates the adoption of governance approaches and participatoryurban management that promote the realisation of the rights of the youngestcitizens. In line with the CRC, it challenges cities to conceive of themselves, of theservices, amenities and quality of life they provide, in a new way.In practice, the movement for Child-Friendly Cities has seen young citizens take partin municipal decision-making and help planners design “the city they want;” and childsensitivequality indicators have been developed to measure progress against child-orientedgoals. An International Secretariat for Child-Friendly Cities was created in 2000at UNICEF’s Innocenti Research Centre in Florence, Italy.Source: UNICEF (2006). Child-Friendly Cities. Florence, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. Available at:http://www.childfriendlycities.org.325Violence against children in the community

326Violence against children in the communityServices for victims of violenceImproving pre-hospital care systems andemergency medical responses. In contrastto most of the other settings addressed inthis report, violence by and towards childrenin community settings includes a majority ofattacks involving firearms, knives and otherweapons. Such violence therefore gives rise tothe largest proportion of homicides across the0–18-year period of childhood, and accountsfor a significant proportion of long-term physicaland mental disabilities in children whosurvive severe violence-related injuries.Efforts to improve pre-hospital and emergencymedical responses are therefore likely to beparticularly valuable for reducing case-fatalityratios and disabilities due to violence in communitysettings. These should be connected toa range of services to support the physical andpsychological rehabilitation of children oncetheir immediate medical needs have been dealtwith (see box).Recovery, reintegration and rehabilitationservices. When children have been exposedto violent and traumatic events, a variety ofservices may be needed. These may includephysical rehabilitation, counselling services,and social worker follow-up to assist socialreintegration. Where domestic violence, traffickingor sex work is involved, ‘safe houses’or shelters may be necessary; however, it isimportant that these shelters provide for theneeds of the children as well for those of theirmother/caregiver. Making the access points forthese services widely known, especially to vulnerablegroups, is an important aspect of creatingcommunity confidence and also ensuringtimely access. The Thuthuzela Centres ofSouth Africa represent an emerging example ofthe importance of the integration of a range ofrelevant services in the interests of earlier andhigher-quality service to clients.Although it is frequently feared that childrenwho were used in armed groups and whocommitted acts of violence during a conflictmay continue this violence in their communitiesafter the conflict, research suggests thisis not necessarily so. A longitudinal study offormer child soldiers in Mozambique showsthat former child soldiers who are providedrehabilitative services, and are accepted backinto their families and communities, are ableto become productive, responsible and caringadults when they have received the requiredattention by child protection workers at thetime of demobilisation. Important componentsin successful rehabilitation included thecare and role modelling provided by trustedadults, traditional practices such as cleansingrituals, educational opportunities, apprenticeships,income generation projects, and the provisionof seeds and tools. 243

“Violence against children must stop now. All countries can demonstrate greater proactiveleadership in this area by increasing resources for child protection, ensuring that schools are childfriendlyspaces, increasing community vigilance against violence and eliminating the stigmathat haunts children affected by HIV/AIDS.”Cecilio Adorna, UNICEF Representative, India7Assessing the responsiveness of the child protectionsystem in the former yugoslav republic of MacedoniaA study was carried out in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, using quantitativeand qualitative methods to assess the responsiveness of the child protection systemto violence against children, particularly focusing on formal mechanisms of referral, aswell as mechanisms that promote coordination within the child protection system.Key informants in 277 institutions were interviewed, including persons from socialwork centres, from centres for victims of violence, schools, police stations, hospitals,residential institutions for children without parental care, and detention and correctionalcentres.The pilot study revealed that only a few cases of violence against children had been officiallyreported by service providers in the 12-month period. Also, the findings showedthat there was a lack of official criteria and procedures for recording cases of violence,or an official referral system for use by all institutions dealing with child protection.Furthermore, the findings revealed that the laws and mechanisms for coordinationamong institutions were insufficient, as well as the monitoring and evaluation of thequality of services provided.The assessment provided recommendations for the strengthening of the child protectionsystem, which included strengthening of the legislative framework in order toclearly delineate the responsibilities of various bodies and institutions dealing withchild protection as well as stipulating the conditions of coordination between theseinstitutions; the establishment of coordination mechanisms among institutions dealingwith child protection; the preparation of official guidelines and protocols whichregulate referral of cases and action to be taken; the provision of training for relevantprofessionals on violence against children; and the establishment of new centres forchild victims of violence.327Violence against children in the communityWithout such an assessment, guided by international standards associated with childrights, it is difficult for Governments to discern the key areas requiring action, to make allparts of the system effective and accountable for the quality of the services provided. 244

South Africa’s Thuthuzela Care Centres:integrated services for victims of sexual violence328Violence against children in the communityThuthuzela Care Centres provide a ‘one-stop’ integrated response to the high rates ofsexual violence against women and children in South Africa, and are increasingly heldup as examples of good practice. The Thuthuzela model – the word means ‘comfort’ inXhosa – aims to reduce secondary trauma for the victim (i.e. due to police, legal, medicalor other responses), improve perpetrator conviction rates and reduce the lead timefor finalising cases. Its integrated approach to care of rape victimes is one of respect,comfort, restoring dignity on the one hand, and ensuring justice on the other. Victimswho arrive at police stations are no longer required to make statements until they aretransported to the Thuthuzela Centre by specially-trained ambulance staff, where theyare examined by doctors and nurses, receive counselling and are given the opportunityto bath or shower. Then, and only if she is ready, does the victim make a statement.Afterwards she is given transportation home, and a variety of follow-up services arealso offered including HIV testing.The Thuthuzelas are located in public hospitals in communities where the incidenceof rape is particularly high, and work closely with nearby specialised Sexual OffencesCourts staffed by prosecutors, social workers, investigating officers, magistrates, healthprofessionals and police. Although subject to funding difficulties, the centres are makingefforts to become more ‘child-friendly’ with tools such as posters, drawings, and anatomicallycorrect dolls to help prepare children to appear in court, should that becomenecessary. 241 Thuthuzela has improved the process of reporting and prosecuting rape andother sexual offences, and offender conviction rates are increasing. The Government ofSouth Africa is working to scale-up this model to a planned 80 centres by 2010. 242Reporting services. Reporting systems thatare not only available, but accessible to childrenand young people, can be a critical part ofa comprehensive approach to protecting children.Protecting confidentiality and providinga high-quality service are also important. Suchsystems can also provide access or referral, in acoordinated way, to trained professionals andreferral to social workers, or health professionals,or law enforcement, as needed.An increasingly popular mechanism for communitysettings is the child helpline, a phoneservice that links children in need of care andprotection to services and resources. In 2003, itis estimated that about 11.3 million calls weremade to child helplines during that year. Children’sreasons for calling included requests forcrisis intervention, rehabilitation, counsellingor just needing someone to talk to. Approximately9% of the calls were related to abuse

7and violence, while a significant number werefrom children being exploited commercially,including those forced to work as beggars orinvolved in bonded child labour. 245Extending access to helplinesChild Helpline International (CHI) is a global helpline network which was establishedin 2001 and by the end of 2005, comprised 78 network members. The greatest increasein members has been among developing countries. The global network provides supportfor existing helplines as well as for countries interested in initiating them, and hasbeen active in advocating countries to set up such services. In 2005, the Tunis Agendaat the World Summit on Information Society called on every country to have a local,easy to remember, toll-free number for children to call. 247 CHI is also extending itsservices to the Internet by providing an online counselling service called Chiworld(www.chiworld.org). The website is a multilingual gateway to the helpline in membercountries for children who do not choose to use the telephone, but are still in need ofcare and protection (see Figure 7.3). 247Figure 7.3Breakdown of violence reported through ChildHelpLines (globally)BullyingPhysicalSexualNeglect13123362545205067529329Violence against children in the communityEmotionalExposure to violence767312500Other310480 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000Number of children600007000080000Source: ChildHelpLine International (2005). Submission to the United Nations Secretary-General’s Study onViolence against Children. Amsterdam, ChildHelpLine International.

330Violence against children in the communitySocietal-levelSocietal-level interventions can have a significantbearing on whether interpersonal violenceis prevented or reduced, or the extent to whichviolence is tolerated and encouraged. 248 For thisreason, violence prevention among the youngneeds to be factored into ‘macro-level’ decisionmakingareas such as national poverty reductionstrategies, sectoral policies to reduce social vulnerability,policies for local Government reformand administrative decentralisation, the extensionand improvement of services for health,education and community infrastructure, aswell as specific initiatives to advance women’sand children’s rights. The mechanisms wherebysuch policies are adapted and implemented atlocal level via community-based or group-basedapproaches require close attention.Economic opportunity and equalityTwo of the most critical challenges directlyaffecting young people, particularly those inhigh-risk settings, are access to positive livelihoodopportunities and the possibility ofupward mobility by non-criminal means. Ifyoung people feel they have a personal stakein building a safe environment and that theiraspirations are realisable within the law, thepersonal frustration and social tension thatfuel violence may be considerably defused. Aframework of national political, economic andsocial policies therefore needs to be developedwhich prioritises growth, equity and sustainabilityin the harnessing of natural and humanresources, and that replaces or rebuilds thedeficits in social safety and security whichhave emerged. 249There is some evidence that policies that reducethe concentration of poverty in urban areas,for example by improving employment andeducation opportunities, may be effective inreducing violent behaviour by young people. 250For example, in a pioneering study in the USA,young people in families that received rentalsubsidies and assistance to move out of poorneighbourhoods were significantly less likelyto engage in violent behaviour than those whodid not receive this level of support. 251The strong and consistent demonstration of aclose relationship between high levels of economicinequality and increased homicide ratesin adolescents and young adults indicates thatpolicies which reduce economic inequality orminimise its effects may be of great value inpreventing such violence. This appears to beespecially relevant for males, since researchindicates that the relationship between economicinequality and homicide is much strongerin males than in females. 252Reducing access to alcohol andillegal drugsInterventions which reduce access to alcoholor raise its price have been shown to reduceboth levels of consumption and rates of youthviolence within the community. In Diadema,Brazil, the prohibition of alcohol sales after23:00 helped prevent an estimated 273 murders(all ages) over a two-year period. 253 Inparts of the USA, restricting access to alcoholfor underage youths has reduced disorderlyconduct violations among 15–17-year olds. 254Conversely, the end of an anti-alcohol programmethat curtailed the supply of alcohol

7in the mid-1980s, as well as the socioeconomiccrisis that followed the demise of the SovietUnion saw a remarkable increase in homicidesamong Russians under the age of 20 in theearly 1990s. 255,256There is also evidence that programmes whichalter peer drinking habits and other socialnorms can reduce harmful alcohol consumptionlevels among young people, and thus maybe useful in reducing alcohol-related violence.Modifying drinking establishments such asbars and clubs can be effective. For example,improving management and staff practicethrough training programmes, implementingcodes of good practice, and strictly enforcinglicensing legislation creates environments lessconducive to violence. 257,258,259 In wider nighttimeenvironments, the presence of large numbersof intoxicated individuals at the end of thenight increases the potential for violent confrontations.260 Interventions such as provisionof safe late-night transport, improvements tostreet lighting and use of closed circuit televisionhave been shown to help reduce alcoholrelatedviolence around licensed premises. 261A large proportion of the alcohol consumedin many low- to middle-income societies isproduced at home or sold in unlicensed establishments.262 For example, it is estimated that80–90% of South Africa’s liquor outlets areunlicensed. In such settings, increasing theprice of alcohol may be less effective thanother approaches such as legislation on thelegal minimum age for purchase of alcohol,and efforts to regulate liquor outlets.Reducing access to,and demand for weaponsAs described earlier, access to guns and otherlethal weapons are a major factor in homicidesand serious injuries to children in many communities.Interventions to reduce access tosuch weapons include bans on certain types offirearms, waiting periods, gun buybacks, ruleson licensing and registration, stricter policingof illegal possession and trafficking of guns andrules for storing them safely. In many places,there is a growing recognition of the need toalso address the carrying and use of knives.To date, relatively few interventions to reduceaccess to lethal weapons have included evaluationcomponents rigorous enough to allowconclusions to be drawn about their impacton homicide rates, 263 or to specifically identifyimpacts on children. However, examples fromAustralia and Colombia that have been properlyevaluated suggest that reducing accessto and demand for lethal weapons can be aneffective means of preventing violence by andamong children in community setting. 264,265The box that follows describes how a combinationof interventions to prevent the carryingof firearms in public and to reduce alcoholconsumption has helped lower homicide ratesin Cali, Colombia.331Violence against children in the community

Firearms, alcohol, and the prevention of homicides in CaliThe use of evidence-based strategies to reduce situational risk factors is illustratedby the Colombian city of Cali. Between 1985 and 1992, homicide rates in the cityincreased five-fold to reach levels of 100 per 100,000 people. In response, the cityestablished the Development, Security and Peace Programme (DESEPAZ) in 1992 toimplement strategies to prevent violence and improve security among residents.332Violence against children in the communityAn important step was to create a joint-agency surveillance system to identify patternsand determinants of homicide in the city. Among other important source of information,the surveillance data showed that males aged 15–19 years had a homicide rateof 250 per 100,000, that 79% of all homicides were committed using firearms, thatblood alcohol concentrations in 23% of cases far exceeded the legal limit for drivers,and that homicides were clustered in specific areas of the city, particularly the mostimpoverished areas. Homicides were more common during weekends, especially thosecoinciding with bi-weekly pay days.This information informed the development of DESEPAZ prevention policies and programmes,which had the full support of the municipal Government. Among other initiatives,the mayor restricted the hours during which alcoholic beverages could be sold,and prohibited the carrying of guns in public during high-risk weekends, holidays andelection days. Although resource constraints permitted only intermittent application ofthe full-range of interventions, evaluation showed clear signs of success. Homicide ratesfell by 14% when the ban on carrying guns in public was strictly enforced. Between 1994and 1997, the homicide rates in Cali declined by 30%, from 124 to 86 per 100,000.Furthermore, public opinion in Cali shifted strongly from a passive attitude towardsdealing with violence to a vociferous demand for more prevention activities. 266Reducing exposure to violencein the mediaPrevention of violence against childrenthrough the media will require cooperationat the individual and community levels, butalso the development of national strategies.Many contributors to the Study suggested theuse of education campaigns for children andparents to inform them about the issues surroundingviolence in and through the massmedia, and particularly about Internet risksand safe Internet behaviour. Other strategiesspecifically aimed at the Internet include creationof ‘watchdog’ organisations which monitoroffensive websites, and both regulation andself-regulation of the Internet industry. Betterlaw enforcement measures are also called for,including criminal prosecution of people who

“An evidence-based approach to preventing violence against children is essential for long term success.A priority must therefore be to expand this evidence base by supporting scientific studies that measurethe effectiveness of prevention programmes everywhere, but especially in low- and middle-incomecountries where the problem is greatest.”Dr Catherine Le Galès-Camus, Assistant Director-General, WHO7use the Internet to harm children, monitoringof known offenders once they have been prosecuted,programmes to prevent people becomingoffenders, and treatment for offenders. 267Children’s participation at alllevelsResearch has shown that silence is the almost universalresponse of children suffering abuse. 268 Insuch circumstances, special efforts are requiredto make it possible for them to feel safe to discussviolent incidents. Systems of local Governmentcan play a particularly important role inthis regard; whether in the context of centralisedsystems, decentralisation, or privatisation, theyneed to include the views of children and youngpeople. A Council of Europe project on the socialinclusion of young people found that genuinePHILIPPINES, 1997, Children outside the Nayon KabataanRehabilitation Centre for street children and victims of childlabour and physical abuse in Manila.UNICEF/HQ97-0963. Jeremy Horneryouth empowerment was fundamental to developingneighbourhood strategies for violenceprevention. 269 Creating associations or supportgroups for specific groups such as children livingon the street or survivors of child abuse, withthe objective of developing a common identityand solidarity around their own issues, can bean empowering experience. It can be the springboardfor taking action on behalf of their ownagendas, including the promotion of other childrights, and for undertaking joint activity onbehalf of vulnerable peers suffering from domesticabuse, risk of child marriage, discriminationor school exclusion. 270Participation is thus a key principle to beapplied in all efforts to prevent and eliminateviolence to and by children in the community.Data collection and researchAs in all arenas of violence analysed by theStudy, there is an urgent need for better dataand for further research, particularly in developingcountries and regions. Systems need to beput in place in the health and criminal justicesectors to collect and monitor such data, withattention given to the ages and sex of perpetratorsand victims. Data sources include deathcertificates, vital statistics records, medicalexaminers’ reports, hospital records, police andjudiciary records, and self-reported informationfrom victim surveys and special studies.Special priority needs to be given to developingsystems for monitoring deaths and seriousinjuries among children and young people inregions where homicide data are currently lacking.These include Africa, South-East Asia, the333Violence against children in the community

“If you want to know how to paint, you consult a painter; if you want to eat, consult a chef; so if youwant to know about children’s issues, you have to consult young people.”Young person, NGO Advisory Panel to the Study, April 2004Children and young people taking actionIn Europe and Central Asia: UNICEF has been supporting the development of mechanismsfor the expression of children’s views, and their participation as a distinct group withtheir own policy agenda in civil society. In the Republic of Moldova, for examples, LocalYouth Councils have been set up to strengthen their capacities and empower young peoplefor conscious participation in community life. In Azerbaijan, youth centres have beenestablished in areas with high concentrations of internally displaced people, and eventsorganised to promote a dialogue among ethnic groups and the wider community. 271334Violence against children in the communityThe Government of Kenya: In the response to its questionnaire submitted to theStudy 272 , the Government reports that the participation of young people in fosteringpro-social attitudes has been promoted through the development of the NationalYouth Service (NYS); through training of young citizens to engage in ‘tasks of nationalimportance’, such as in reception centres for children living on the street. This is oneexample of a country facilitating the potential of young people to contribute to policydebates and assume a vanguard role in building a secure society. A similar approach hasbeen applied under the UNICEF programme of cooperation in Somalia, where youngpeople participated in training programmes for citizenship and are setting an examplein the renunciation of violence. 273In the Caribbean ‘XChange’– creating a culture of non-violence in the EnglishspeakingCaribbean: This project seeks to create safe and protective environmentsfor children and adolescents in the home, school and community where they can liveand reach their full potential. The project covers seven Caribbean countries: Barbados,Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. UNICEF teamedup with well-known Caribbean entertainer Machel Montano in 2005, to conceptualisethe ‘movement’, using entertainment as an entry point for bringing about positivechange among young people and adults. The campaign uses music, sports, and variousforms of arts to reach and empower adolescents to adopt a positive lifestyle. XChange isa ‘youth-led movement’, and is multilevel, including parenting and building protectiveenvironments in homes, providing health and family life education, peace-buildingand child-friendly school initiatives; building protective communities with adolescentsand young people, improving quality and access of service delivery in relevant institutions,policy development and legislative reform, and advocacy and social mobilisation.Young leaders clearly defined the vision they have for the XChange project. The secondphase will need to reflect this vision by clarifying the role that XChangers will playwithin a clear organisational structure spearheading the initiative. 274

“You were not there to protect me as a child and I’ll live with that damage for the rest of my life.But I vow, as a young person in this society, to put an end to this violence for the next generation.You can stand by me or you can turn your back.”Youth leader, survivor and street involved youth, North America, 2005 IX7Priorities in Action: Building a Europe for and with ChildrenThe Council of Europe’s programme “Building a Europe for and with Children” (2006-2008) comprises two closely linked strands: the promotion of children’s rights and theaction programme “Children and Violence. The programme takes into account thesocial, legal, educational and health dimensions of violence against children, and paysparticular attention to gender perspectives and to vulnerable children.”In the strand focused on promoting children’s rights, the programme will help Statesto devise integrated policies and comprehensive legal frameworks, establish the requisiteinstitutions and structures, develop networks, and produce tools and workingmethods, including involving children and the general public. In 2008, the Councilof Europe will be able to offer member States models of national strategies, as well asinstruments and methodologies, which include all elements that have proved to benecessary and effective for the protection of children’s rights.335The action programme on “Children and Violence” is designed to assist States to implementtheir obligations to the human rights instruments of the Council of Europe andthe Convention on the Rights of the Child. The programme will ensure appropriatefollow-up at pan-European level to the recommendations included in the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children 275Middle East, and some parts of the Americasand Western Pacific, especially poorer countries.Studies are also needed to establish theratio of fatal to non-fatal injuries, classified bythe age of attacker, age and sex of the victim 276 .Without such basic information, it is difficultto map the issue of violence against childrenand adolescents in the community and developeffective preventive response. Research concerningthe interactions between family andcommunity socialisation and exposure to violence,and their full range of effects, is neededfor all age groups, as is research into goodpractice from existing policies, programmes– official and NGO – and laws in areas such asweapons control and victim redress.RecommendationsViolence prevention as a policy aim, especiallyby means other than repression and use ofthe law, needs to be given far more attention.Because the violence-prone adolescent andyoung adult is often the product of influenceswhich begin early in childhood, it is clear thatpolicies which promote child-friendly communitieswill need to focus on all stages of achild’s life from infancy and early childhood,via programmes and services directed at families,day care centres, schools and other socialinstitutions which children attend. Not onlyis this a necessary strategy for fulfilling childrights, but it will have long-term benefits forcommunities and society at large.Violence against children in the community

“We believe that governments and civil societies are all individually and collectively responsible andmutually accountable to ensure that every child lives in a world free from violence.We also believe that governments have the primary responsibility and obligation to take concrete andimmediate action to end all forms of violence against children, particularly girls.”The African Declaration on Violence against Girls, 2006 X336Violence against children in the communityThe fact that different interventions are effectiveover different periods of time serves toemphasise the need for policies and fundingmechanisms that permit a consistent, stableapproach over several years and which addressshort-, medium- and long-term objectives.Decision-makers should therefore be wary ofcalls for immediate responses to specific headline-grabbingincidents and instead work toprovide lasting support for strategies based onempirical findings. 277The following recommendations for the preventionof community-based violence against andamong children are made with reference bothto the concerns expressed by participants in theStudy and to existing knowledge about the determinantsand preventability of such violence.Prioritise preventionHigh-risk individuals and families1. Support efforts to prevent violence in thefamily and home as a means of preventingviolence in the community. Governmentsshould support efforts to strengthenknowledge and skills within familiesregarding child development, non-violentdiscipline and behaviour managementoptions, as well as increasing social safetynets. In the long run this will contribute tothe prevention of violence against childrenin the community (see the recommendationsin the chapter on violence againstchildren in the home and family).2. Support programmes that encourageat-risk children to stay in or return toschool, or to participate in non-formaleducation programmes. Research indicatesthat this can be an effective measureto reduce violence in the community.3. Implement programmes that engageresponsible and trusted adults in thelives of high-risk children. Governmentsshould ensure the implementation ofapproaches such as mentoring programmesthat bring children and responsible adultstogether to learn and benefit from eachother. These programmes can protect childrenfrom violence in their community,especially for families under stress.4. Promote and support local Governmentand civil society initiatives to providesafe recreational and citizenship-buildingopportunities for boys and girls.Sports leagues, faith-based and culturalorganisations, village and neighbourhoodcommittees, women’s groups, and otherscan provide constructive activities for childrenwho might otherwise engage in highriskactivities. Governments should ensurethat the safety of children participating insuch activities is safeguarded by measuressuch as criminal record checks of adults incharge (coaches, group leaders, facilitators,etc.) and formal child protection policies.Immediate and environmental risk factorsin the community5. Reduce demand for and access to alcoholand weapons, such as firearms. Governmentsshould ensure comprehensiveprevention which requires the reduction

7of both supply and demand for these twosalient risk factors in community violence,including through measures such as pricingand regulation reforms, law enforcement,and public education.6. Reduce risk factors in the physical environment.Governments should ensurethat efforts are made in urban rehabilitationinitiatives to make public spaces saferthrough design features such as betterlighting. In addition, urban design shouldinclude safe public places and routes forchildren in and between communities.7. Train law enforcement agents to workwith children, and end impunity ofpolice who abuse the rights of children.Governments should ensure that policeneed to be trained about children’s rightsas well the basics of child development andhow to deal with particular groups such asstreet children or child group members.At the same time supervision of policepractices must be improved, while officerswho abuse children’s rights must be heldaccountable for their actions.8. Increase efforts to both prevent andpunish child trafficking. Governmentsshould ensure that measures range fromprimary prevention (i.e. changing the conditionsthat make children vulnerable totrafficking) to vigorous law enforcementaction against traffickers. Children whoare trafficked or used to traffic drugs andweapons are usually victims themselvesof several violations of their rights, andshould not be re-victimised as criminals.They should be carefully assisted to getout of these situations, with a focus on safeand viable alternatives.Victim services9. Provide improved pre-hospital care andemergency medical services. Improvedpre-hospital care and emergency medicalcan significantly reduce deaths from violenceand improve the outcome of victimsthat suffer non-fatal violent injuries.10. Improve access and quality of supportservices for victims. The impact of violencecan stay with its victims throughouttheir lifetime. Early access to qualitysupport services can help to mitigate theimpact of the event on the victim, includingpreventing longer term consequences suchas becoming a perpetrator of violence.11. Provide effective reporting systems forchildren. Governments should ensure thateffective reporting systems for children areestablished. They allow children who arevictimised to reach trained professionals,who can, if necessary, refer the case tosocial workers, or health professionals, orlaw enforcement. In community settings,these may include child helplines as wellas formal mechanisms such as communityadvocates for children.Societal level12. Invest in social, housing and educationalprogrammes that strengthenfamilies and improve linkages andsocial networks within and between337Violence against children in the community

338Violence against children in the communitydifferent income groups. Governmentsshould analyse the impact of public policieson communities and their children.Local Governments in particular shouldbe encouraged to make violence preventionexplicit in urban rehabilitation schemesand rural development programmes. Governments,and their national and internationalpartners, should strive to integrateefforts on violence against children as akey element of sustainable and culturallysensitive poverty reduction programmes.13. Conduct sustained campaigns in societyat large to promote social normsthat emphasise respect and non-violenceand gender equity. Governments shouldensure that initiatives to instil non-violent,non-sexist norms and values are carried outthrough media campaigns and strong leadershipfrom public figures. Focuses shouldinclude eliminating sexual harassment andrape, and providing alternative models ofmasculinity which do not support violencefrom men and boys.14. Stop the use of mass media and informationtechnologies, including the Internetand electronic games, in violence againstand sexual exploitation of children. Aswell as educating children and parents,Governments should work with the industryto devise global standards for childprotection, undertake research on protectivehardware and software solutions, andfund worldwide education campaigns onsafe use of the new technologies. Governmentsshould also pursue law enforcementapproaches, including criminalising thosewho make, distribute, possess or profitfrom pornography involving children.Build information systems15. Implement civil registration universally,including the registration of births,deaths, and marriages. Governmentsmust ensure free and accessible civil registrationfree certification, and must removepenalties for late registration. The processmust be advocated widely and facilitatedand implemented in cooperation with localGovernment, hospitals, professional andtraditional birth attendants, police, religiousand community leaders, and other partnersin order to ensure universal uptake.16. Establish a national research agenda onpreventing and reducing communityviolence. Governments should developand adequately resource research that willimprove understanding of the protectiveand risk factors for community violence,including low-income communities andthe cultural context. Such a strategy shouldgo beyond descriptive research, to includeevaluations, and more complex research toimprove effective implementation at scale.This should dovetail with efforts to createa multi-layered system of data collection,including improved reporting by existingservices (police, hospital emergency rooms,mortuaries, schools, local health centres,housing authorities, etc.) and populationbasedsurveys to provide disaggregatedinformation about the geographical location,incident characteristics, and victim andperpetrator characteristics for all reportedhomicides and non-fatal violent events.

7References1 See http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/crc/treaties/opsc.htm.2 Martin F, Parry-Williams J (2005). The Right Not to LoseHope. London, Save the Children UK.3 Batmanghelidjh C (2006). Shattered Lives. Childrenwho Live with Courage and Dignity. Jessica KingsleyPublishers.4 Wilson M, Daly M (1997). Life Expectancy, EconomicInequality, Homicide, and Reproductive Timing inChicago Neighbourhoods. British Medical Journal, 314:1271.5 World Vision (2001). Every Girl Counts. Development,Justice and Gender. Girl Child Report, Ontario, WorldVision.6 UNICEF (2003). From Perception to Reality: A Study onChild Protection in Somalia. UNICEF Somalia, Ch. 3.7 WHO (2006). Global Estimates of Health ConsequencesDue to Violence against Children. Background Paper tothe UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence againstChildren. Geneva, World Health Organization.8 WHO (2006). Global Estimates of Health ConsequencesDue to Violence against Children. Background Paper tothe UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence againstChildren. Geneva, World Health Organization.9 Gawryszewski VP, Costa LS (2005). Social Inequalityand Homicide Rates in Sao Paulo City, Brazil. Rev SaudePublica, 39(2): 191–197.10 Cardona M et al. (2005). Homicides in Medellin,Colombia, from 1990 to 2002: Victims, Motives andCircumstances. Rev Saude Publica, 21(3):840–851.11 Lemard G, Hemenway D (2006). Violence inJamaica: An Analysis of Homicides 1998–2002. InjuryPrevention,. 12(1): 15–18.12 Chervyakov VV et al. (2002). The Changing Nature ofMurder in Russia. Social Science & Medicine, 55: 1713–1724.13 Groenewald P et al. (2001). Cape Town Mortality, 2001.Part I: Cause of Death and Premature Mortality. CapeTown, City of Cape Town, South African MedicalResearch Council, University of Cape Town.14 Shaw M et al. (2005). Increasing Inequalities in Riskof Murder in Britain: Trends in the Demographic andSpatial Distribution of Murder, 1981–2000. Health &Place, 11: 45–54.15 Groenewald P et al. (2001). Cape Town Mortality, 2001.Part I: Cause of Death and Premature Mortality. CapeTown, City of Cape Town, South African MedicalResearch Council, University of Cape Town.16 Batalis NI, Collins KA (2005). Adolescent Death: A15-Year Retrospective Review. Journal of Forensic Scence,50(6): 1444–1449.17 Lemard G, Hemenway D (2006). Violence inJamaica: An Analysis of Homicides 1998–2002. InjuryPrevention, 12(1): 15-18.18 Miller TR et al. (2001). Costs of Juvenile Violence:Policy Implications. Pediatrics, 107: 3–10.19 South African Police Service (2003). Annual Report ofthe National Commissioner of the South African PoliceService, 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003. Pretoria, SouthAfrican Police Service.20 Bradshaw D, Renaud P (2006). South African MedicalResearch Council. Personal Communication, June 2006.21 Franco S (2003). A Social-Medical Approach toViolence in Columbia. American Journal of PublicHealth, 93: 2032–2036.22 Garbarino J et al. (1992). Children in Danger: Copingwith the Effects of Community Violence. San Francisco,Jossey-Bass.23 Kliewer W et al. (1998). The Role of Social andCognitive Processes in Children’s Adjustment toCommunity Violence. Journal of Consulting and ClinicalPsychology, 63: 579–584.24 Richters JE, Martinez P (1993). The NIMHCommunity Violence Project: I. Children as Victims ofand Witnesses to Violence. Psychiatry, 56(1): 7–21.339Violence against children in the community

340Violence against children in the community25 Miller LS et al. (1999). Witnessed Community Violenceand Antisocial Behaviour in High-risk, Urban Boys.Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 28(1): 2–11.26 Kliewer W et al. (2001). Exposure to Violence againsta Family Member and Internalising Symptoms inColombian Adolescents: The Protective Effects ofFamily Support. Journal of Consulting and ClinicalPsychology, 69 (6): 971–982.27 Meeks-Gardner J et al. (2003). Perceptions andExperiences of Violence Among Secondary SchoolStudents in Urban Jamaica. Pan-American Journal ofPublic Health, 14(2): 97–103.28 Mercy J et al. (2002). Youth Violence. In: Krug EG etal. (Eds). World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva,World Health Organization, pp 25–56.29 Odero WO, Kibosia JC (1995). Incidence andCharacteristics of Injuries in Eldoret, Kenya. InjuryPrevention, 1: 26–30.30 Mansingh A, Ramphal P (1993). The Nature ofInterpersonal Violence in Jamaica and Its Strain on theNational Health System. West Indian Medical Journal,42: 53–56.31 Engeland A, Kopjar B (2000). Injuries Connected toViolence: An Analysis of Data from the Injury Registry.Tidsskrift for den Norske Laegegorening, 120: 714–717.32 Cheng TL et al. (2002). Assault-injured AdolescentsPresenting to the Emergency Department: Causes andCircumstances. Public Health, 116(1): 15–21.33 Howe A, Crilly M (2000). Violence in the Community:A Health Service View from a UK Accident andEmergency Department. 7(1): 45–49.34 Yacoub S et al. (2006). Violence-related Injuries, Deathsand Disabilities in the Capital of Honduras. Injury,37(5): 428–434.35 Zohoori N et al. (2002). Non-fatal Violence-relatedInjuries in Kingston, Jamaica: A Preventable Drain onResources. Injury Control Safety Promotion, 9(4): 255–262.36 Mercy J et al. (2002). Youth Violence. In: Krug EG etal. (Eds). World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva,World Health Organization, pp 25–56.37 Straus M (2004). Prevalence of Violence against DatingPartners by Male and Female University StudentsWorldwide. Violence against Women, 10(7): 790–811.38 Analysis provided to the Study by the Global School-Based Student Health Survey: The World HealthOrganization (http://www.who.int/chp/gshs or http://www.cdc.gov/gshs) for surveys conducted in 2003–5 forBotswana, Chile (metropolitan area), China (Bejing),Guyana, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Namibia, Oman,Philippines, Swaziland, Uganda, UAE, Venezuela(Lara), Zambia and Zimbabwe (Harare).39 Halpern CT et al. (2001). Partner Violence AmongAdolescents in Opposite-sex Romantic Relationships:Findings from the National Longitudinal Study ofAdolescent Health. American Journal of Public Health,91(10): 1679–1685.40 Straus M (2004). Prevalence of Violence against DatingPartners by Male and Female University StudentsWorldwide. Violence against Women, 10(7): 790–811.41 Mercy J et al. (2002). Youth Violence. In: Krug EG etal. (Eds). World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva,World Health Organization, pp 25–56.42 Abma J et al. (1998). Young Women’s Degree of Controlover First Intercourse: An Exploratory Analysis. FamilyPlanning Perspective, 30(1):12–18.43 Dickson N et al. (1998). First Sexual Intercourse:Age, Coercion, and Later Regrets Reported by a BirthCohort. British Medical Journal, 316:29–33.44 Koenig MA et al. (2004). Coerced First Intercourseand Reproductive Health Among Adolescent Womenin Rakai, Uganda. International Family PlanningPerspectives, 30(4): 156–163.45 Erulkar A (2004). The Experiences of Sexual Coercionamong Young People in Kenya. International FamilyPlanning Perspectives, 30(4): 182–189.46 WHO (2005). Multi-Country Study on Women’sHealth and Domestic Violence. Geneva, World HealthOrganization.47 Straus M (2004). Prevalence of Violence against DatingPartners by Male and Female University StudentsWorldwide. Violence against Women, 10(7): 790–811.

748 Erulkar A (2004). The Experiences of Sexual Coercionamong Young People in Kenya. International FamilyPlanning Perspectives, 30(4): 182–189.49 Allen DR et al. (2003). Sexual Health Risks among YoungThai Women: Implications for HIV/STD Prevention andContraception. AIDS and Behavior, 7(1): 9–21.50 de Visser RO et al. (2003). Sex in Australia: Experiencesof Sexual Coercion Among a Representative Sampleof Adults. Australian & New Zealand Journal of PublicHealth, 27(2): 198–203.51 Wong WC et al. (2004). Correlates of Sexual Behaviourswith Health Status and Health Perception in ChineseAdolescents: A Cross-sectional Survey in Schools. AIDSPatient Care and STDs, 18(8):470–480.52 Erulkar A (2004). The Experiences of Sexual Coercionamong Young People in Kenya. International FamilyPlanning Perspectives, 30(4): 182–189.53 Slap GB et al. (2003). Sexual Behaviour of Adolescentsin Nigeria: Cross-sectional Survey of Secondary SchoolStudents. British Medical Journal, 326(7379): 15.54 Allen DR et al. (2003). Sexual Health Risks among YoungThai Women: Implications for HIV/STD Prevention andContraception. AIDS and Behavior, 7(1): 9–21.55 Eaton DK (2005). Youth risk behavior surveillance– United States, 2005. MMWR Surveill Summ. 55(5):1–108.56 Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak Out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys. Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children. Oslo, Save theChildren Norway.57 Jewkes R et al. (2002). Rape of Girls in South Africa.Lancet, 359: 319–320.58 Tang CS (2002). Childhood Experience of Sexual Abuseamong Hong Kong Chinese College Students. ChildAbuse & Neglect, 26(1): 23–37.59 Csorba R et al. (2005). Characteristics of Female ChildSexual Abuse in Hungary Between 1986 and 2001: ALongitudinal, Prospective Study. Eur J Obstet GynecolReprod Biol, 120(2): 217–221.60 Ennew J (1994). Street and Working Children: A Guide toPlanning. London, Save the Children.61 UNICEF (1997). State of the World’s Children. NewYork, Oxford University Press.62 Human Rights Watch (1997). Juvenile Injustice – PoliceAbuse and Detention of Street Children in Kenya. NewYork, Human Rights Watch.63 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: East Asiaand the Pacific. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.64 Irwanto P et al. (1999). Situation of Street Children in12 Cities in Indonesia. Monograph Report for the AsianDevelopment Bank, TA No. 3043 INO.65 ILO/IPEC (2006). Children Working in the Streets,Factsheet. International Programme on the Eliminationof Child Labour, International Labour Organization.Available at: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/publ/download/factsheets/fs_streetchildren_0303.pdf.66 Wernham M (2004). An Outside Chance: Street Childrenand Juvenile Justice – An International Perspective.London, Consortium for Street Children.67 Presentation by Bernardo Mondragon, Kabataan, DavaoCity. Cited in: United Nations Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children (2005). RegionalConsultation Outcome Report: East Asia and the Pacific.Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.68 Amnesty International (2005). Haiti DisarmamentDelayed, Justice Denied. AI Index: AMR 36/005/2005.London, Amnesty International.69 OMCT (2004). Colombia: Murders and CriminalOrganisation of Children and Girls, Teenagers and YoungMen and Women in Sector of Bogota. Caso COL271004.CC, Derechos del Niño. Geneva, World Organisationagainst Torture.70 Jabeen et al. (2002). Children Working as NewspapersHawkers: A Study of Lost/Kidnapped/Runaway Children.The Situation Analysis of Street Children in Lahore.Department of Social Work–University of Punjab.Submission to the United Nations Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children.341Violence against children in the community

342Violence against children in the community71 Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak Out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys. Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against children. Oslo, Save theChildren Norway.72 UNICEF (2003). Africa’s Orphaned Generations.New York, UNICEF.73 Moletsane R (2003). Another Lost Generation?The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Schooling in SouthAfrica. The International Journal on School Disaffection,Trentham Books.74 UNICEF (2005). Violence against Children in West andCentral Africa. A Concise Appraisal. UNICEF West andCentral Africa Regional Office.75 Human Rights Watch (1995). Violence against ChildrenAccused of Witchcraft in the Democratic Republic ofCongo. New York, Human Rights Watch.76 All responses are available at: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/ study.htm. As of 20 September2006, 135 Member States and one observer hadsubmitted responses.77 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Violence in the Community.Regional Desk Review: Europe and Central Asia. Availableat: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.78 Human Rights Watch (2001). Easy Targets: Violenceagainst Children Worldwide. New York, Human RightsWatch.79 All responses are available at: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/ study.htm. As of 20 September 2006,135 Member States and one observer had submittedresponses.80 59 Youths Murdered in Honduran Jails During MaduroAdministration, 7 April 2004. Available at: http://www.coav.org.br. Cited in: Dowdney LT (2005). Neither WarNor Peace. Rio de Janeiro, Viva Rio / ISER, 7 Letras.81 Victims of Police Violence in Brazil Tend to be Afro-Brazilian Males Between 15 and 19, Says Asma Jahangir,21 April 2004. Available at: www.coav.org.br. Cited in:Dowdney LT (2005). Neither War Nor Peace. Rio deJaneiro, Viva Rio / ISER, 7 Letras.82 David P (2005). Human Rights in Youth Sport: A CriticalReview of Children’s Rights in Competitive Sport. London,Routledge.83 See e.g. Amnesty International (2001). Crimes of Hate,Conspiracy of Silence. London, Amnesty International.84 Human Rights Watch (2002). Human Rights WatchWorld Report. New York, Human Rights Watch85 Human Rights Watch (2001). Hatred in the Hallways– Violence and Discrimination against Lesbian, Gay,Bisexuals and Transgender Students in US Schools. NewYork, Human Rights Watch.86 See e.g. Human Rights Watch (2005). Darfur: WomenRaped Even After Seeking Refuge; Donors Must IncreaseSupport to Victims of Sexual Violence. Human RightsWatch, Press Release. Available at: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/04/11/sudan10467.htm.87 Amnesty International (2004). Lives Blown Apart:Crimes against Women in Times of Conflict. London,Amnesty International Publications.88 Okot AC et al. (2005). Suffering in Silence: A Studyof Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV ) In PabboCamp, Gulu District, Northern Uganda. UNICEF,District Sub-Working Group on SGBV.89 Gardner J, El Bushra J (2004). Somalia, the UntoldStory: The War Through the Eyes of Somali Women.London, CIIR/Pluto Press.90 Ward J (2002). If Not Now, When? Addressing GenderbasedViolence in Refugee, Internally Displaced, and Post-Conflict Settings. The Reproductive Health for RefugeesConsortium.91 Mabuwa R (2000). Seeking Protection: Addressing Sexualand Domestic Violence in Tanzania’s Refugee Camps. NewYork, Human Rights Watch.92 da Costa R (2006). The Administration of Justice inRefugee Camps: A Study of Practice. UNHCR Legaland Protection Policy Research Series, Department ofInternational Protection.93 da Costa R (2006). The Administration of Justice inRefugee Camps: A Study of Practice. UNHCR Legaland Protection Policy Research Series, Department ofInternational Protection.

794 Save the Children UK (2006). From Camp toCommunity: Liberia Study on Exploitation of Children.Monrovia, Save the Children Fund.95 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2006). Summary Report of theThematic Consultation on Violence against Refugee andOther Displaced Children. 25 April 2006, Geneva.Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r180.96 UNHCR (2005). Refugee and Returnee Children inSouthern Africa: Perceptions and Experiences of Violence– A Qualitative Study of Refugees and Returnee Childrenin UNHCR Operations in Angola, South Africa andZambia. Pretoria, UNHCR.97 Smith HE, Akinsulure-Smith AM (2004). A GlobalPerspective on Youth Outreach. In: Clauss-EhlersCS, Weist MD (Eds). Community Planning to FosterResilience in Children. New York, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.98 ILO (2002). A Future Without Child Labour.Geneva, International Labour Organization.99 UNICEF (2005). Trafficking in Human Beings,Especially Women and Children in Africa. InnocentiInsight, 2nd Edition. Florence, Innocenti ResearchCentre.100 The Protection Project of Johns Hopkins UniversitySchool of Advanced International Studies (2002).Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children inthe Countries of the Americas. Cited in: Plaza P (2003).Stop the Traffic! London, UNICEF National Committee.101 UNICEF (undated). Children on the Edge, ProtectingChildren from Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in EastAsia and the Pacific. Bangkok, UNICEF East Asia andPacific Regional Office.102 Kane J (2005). Child Trafficking: The People Involved.International Programme on the Elimination of ChildLabour, International Labour Organization.103 UNICEF (2005). Trafficking for Sexual Exploitationand Other Exploitative Practices. Florence, UNICEFInnocenti Research Centre.104 Boonpala P, Kane J (2002). Unbearable to the HumanHeart: Child Trafficking and Action to Eliminate It.Geneva, International Programme on the Elimination ofChild Labour, International Labour Organization.105 Dottridge M (2004). Kids as Commodities: ChildTrafficking and What to Do About It. InternationalFederation of Terre des Hommes.106 Laurance EJ (2005). Small Arms Research: Where We Areand Where We Need to Go. The HFG Review, pp 3–9.107 WHO (2001). Small Arms and Global Health. Geneva,World Health Organization.108 Peres MFT (2004). Firearm-related Violence in Brazil– Country Report. São Paulo, Centre for the Study ofViolence, University of São Paulo.109 WHO (2006). Global Estimates of Health ConsequencesDue to Violence against Children. Background Paper tothe UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence againstChildren. Geneva, World Health Organization.110 Room R et al. (2003). Alcohol in Developing Societies: APublic Health Approach. Helsinki, Finnish Foundationfor Alcohol Studies and Geneva, World HealthOrganization.111 WHO (2006). Youth Violence and Alcohol, Factsheet.Geneva, World Health Organization. Available at:http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/world_report/factsheets/fs_youth.pdf.112 Currie C et al. (2004). Health Behaviour in School-AgedChildren (HBSC) Study: International Report from the2001/2002 Survey. Health Policy for Children andAdolescents, No 4. Geneva, World Health Organization.113 Mattila VM et al. (2005). Occurrence of Violence andViolence-related Injuries Among 12–18-year-old Finns.Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 33: 307–313.114 Raymundo CM, Cruz GT (2004). DangerousConnections: Substance Abuse, Violence and Sex AmongFilipino Adolescents. Paper presented at the 7thInternational Conference on Philippine Studies, 16–19June 2004, the Netherlands. Available at: http://yafs.com/papers.asp.343Violence against children in the community

344Violence against children in the community115 Ohene S et al. (2005). The Clustering of RiskBehaviours among Caribbean youth. Maternal and ChildHealth Journal, 9: 91–100.116 Mattila VM et al. (2005). Occurrence of Violence andViolence-related Injuries Among 12–18-year-old Finns.Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 33: 307–313.117 Budd T (2003). Alcohol-related Assault: Findings from theBritish Crime Survey. Home Office online report 35/03.London, Home Office.118 Australian Institute of Criminology (2000). AlcoholrelatedAssault: Time and Place. Trends and Issuesin Crime and Criminal Justice, No. 169. Canberra,Australian Institute of Criminology.119 Human Rights Watch (2005). Darfur: Women RapedEven After Seeking Refuge; Donors Must Increase Supportto Victims of Sexual Violence. Press Release. New York,Human Rights Watch.120 Amnesty International (2004). Lives Blown Apart:Crimes against Women in Times of Conflict. London,Amnesty International Publications.121 Okot AC et al. (2005). Suffering in Silence: A Studyof Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV) in PabboCamp, Gulu District, Northern Uganda. New York,UNICEF.122 Gardner J, El Bushra J (2004). Somalia, the UntoldStory: The War Through the Eyes of Somali Women.London, CIIR/Pluto Press.123 Brantingham PL, Brantingham PJ (1991).Environmental Criminology. Prospect Heights, WavelandPress. Cited in: Yuen B (2004). Safety and Dwelling inSingapore. Cities, 21(1): 19–28.124 Leventhal T, Brooks-Gunn J (2000). TheNeighborhoods They Live in: The Effects ofNeighborhood Residence on Child and AdolescentOutcomes. Psychology Bulletin, 126(2): 309–37.125 Diez Roux AV et al. (2001). Neighborhood of Residenceand Incidence of Coronary Heart Disease. New EnglandJournal of Medicine, 345(2): 99–106.126 Massey DS, Denton NA (1993). American Apartheid:Segregation and the Making of the Underclass. Cambridge,MA, Harvard University Press. Cited in: MMWR(2002). Community Interventions to Promote HealthySocial Environments: Early Childhood Developmentand Family Housing. A Report on Recommendationsof the Task Force on Community Preventive Services.MMWR, 55 (No RR-1).127 Bartlett S (2002). Urban Children and the PhysicalEnvironment. Paper presented at the Conference,‘Learning from International Experiences, Creating LocalSolutions’, 11–13 December, 2002, Amman, Jordan.128 Centre for Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE)(2005). COHRE Submission to the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children. Geneva,COHRE.129 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: East Asiaand the Pacific. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.130 Martin F, Parry-Williams J (2005). The Right Not to LoseHope. London, Save the Children UK.131 UNICEF (2003). Finding Our Voices, Gendered andSexual Identities and HIV/AIDS in Education. Nairobi,UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office.132 Alder C, Worrall A (2004). Girls’ Violence: Myths andRealities. Albany, State University of New York Press.133 Katz SR (1996). Where Streets Cross the Classroom:A Study of Latino Students’ Perspectives on CulturalIdentity in City Schools and Neighbourhood Gangs.The Bilingual Research Journal, 20(3/4): 603–631.134 Dowdney LT (2005). Neither War Nor Peace. Rio deJaneiro, Viva Rio / ISER, 7 Letras.135 Dowdney LT (2003). Children of the Drug Trade: A CaseStudy of Organised Armed Violence in Rio de Janeiro. Riode Janeiro, Viva Rio / ISER, 7 Letras.136 Dowdney LT (2005). Neither War Nor Peace. Rio deJaneiro, Viva Rio / ISER, 7 Letras.137 Dowdney LT (2005). Neither War Nor Peace. Rio deJaneiro, Viva Rio / ISER, 7 Letras.

7138 Briseño RL, Zubillaga V (2002). Violence andGlobalisation in Latin America. Current Sociology,50(1): 19–37.139 USAID (2006). Central American and Mexico GangAssessment. Washington DC, USAID Bureau for LatinAmerican and Caribbean Affairs, Office of RegionalSustainable Development.140 For example, El Salvador was asked by the Committeeon the Rights of the Child to abrogate its second Anti-Gang Law and to apply the Juvenile Offenders Act asthe only legal instrument in the area of juvenile justice(CRC/C/15/Add.232).141 Red para la Infancia y la Adolescencia de El Salvador(2004). Informe Ejecutivo de la RIA de El Salvador enel Marco de Reunión con la Comisión Interamericana deDerechos Humanos, Sobre el Tema de Pandillas o Maras.El Salvador, Red para la Infancia y la Adolescencia de ElSalvador.142 Casa Alianza Honduras (2006). Informe de Ejecucionesy Muertes Violentas de Niños, Niñas y Jovenes Durante laAdministración del Presidente Ricardo Maduro – Enero2002 – Enero 2006. Honduras, Casa Alianza Honduras.143 USAID (2006). Central American and Mexico GangAssessment. Washington DC, USAID Bureau for LatinAmerican and Caribbean Affairs, Office of RegionalSustainable Development.144 Arana A (2005). How the Street Gangs Took CentralAmerica. Foreign Affairs, May/June 2005. Council onForeign Relations.145 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Desk Review: South Asia.Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.146 Human Rights Watch (2003). Uganda – Abducted andAbused: Renewed Conflict in Northern Uganda. NewYork, Human Rights Watch.147 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) (2005).Palestinian Children – Issues and Statistics. ChildStatistics Series, No. 8. Palestinian Central Bureau ofStatistics (PCBS).148 Arafat C (2003). Psychosocial Assessment of PalestinianChildren. The Secretariat for the National Plan ofAction for Palestinian Children.149 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) (2004).Child Psychosocial Health Survey. Palestinian CentralBureau of Statistics (PCBS).150 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) (2004).Child Psychosocial Health Survey. Palestinian CentralBureau of Statistics (PCBS).151 Arafat C (2003). Psychosocial Assessment of PalestinianChildren. The Secretariat for the National Plan ofAction for Palestinian Children.152 Arafat C (2003). Psychosocial Assessment of PalestinianChildren. The Secretariat for the National Plan ofAction for Palestinian Children.153 Haj-Yahia MM, Abdo-Kaloti R (2003). The Rates andCorrelates of the Exposure of Palestinian Adolescentsto Family Violence: Toward an Integrative-HolisticApproach. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27(7): 781–806.154 Arafat C (2003). Psychosocial Assessment of PalestinianChildren. The Secretariat for the National Plan ofAction for Palestinian Children.155 Save the Children (2004). Living Behind Barriers– Palestinian Children Speak Out. Save the Children UKand Save the Children Sweden.156 UNICEF (2003). The UNICEF Child-friendlyCities Project. Promoting Better Planning, Services,Opportunities and Protection for Children Living in UrbanAreas. The Child-friendly Cities Database, UNICEFOccupied Palestinian Territories.157 Riggio E (2002). Child-Friendly Cities: GoodGovernance and the Best Interests of the Child.Environment and Urbanization, 14(2).158 Jordan S (2000). Adolescent Violence in Cities from aPublic Health Perspective. Lage, Verlag Hangs Jacobs.159 UNICEF (2002). Poverty and Exclusion Among UrbanChildren. Florence, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre.160 Bartlett S et al. (1999). Cities for Children, Children’sRights, Poverty and Urban Management. UNICEF/Earthscan.161 The World Bank (2001). Attacking Poverty. WorldDevelopment Report 2000–20001, Washington DC,The World Bank.345Violence against children in the community

346Violence against children in the community162 Butchart A, Engström K (2002). Sex- and Age-specificRelations Between Economic Development, EconomicInequality and Homicide Rates in People Aged 0–24Years: A Cross-sectional Analysis. Bulletin of the WorldHealth Organization, 80(10): 797–805.163 Mercy J et al. (2002). Youth Violence. In: Krug EG etal. (Eds). World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva,World Health Organization, pp 25–56.164 Kaufman NH, Rizzini I (Eds) (2002). Globalizationand Children: Exploring Potentials for EnhancingOpportunities in the Lives of Children and Youth. NewYork, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.165 Narayan D et al. (2000). Voices of the Poor: Crying Outfor Change. New York, Published for The World Bank,Oxford University Press.166 Lynch M (2003). Consequences of Children’s ViolenceExposure to Community Violence. Clinical Child andFamily Psychology Review, 6(4): 265–274.167 Cardia N et al. (2002). Homicide Rates and HumanRights Violations in São Paulo, Brazil: 1990 to 2000.Health and Human Rights, 6(2): 14–33.168 Jordan S (2000). Adolescent Violence in Cities from aPublic Health Perspective. Lage, Verlag Hangs Jacobs169 International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children(2006). Child Pornography: Model Legislation and GlobalReview. International Centre for Missing & ExploitedChildren.170 International Save the Children Alliance (2004). MappingSave the Children’s Response to Violence against Children inSouth Asia Region. Kathmandu, Save the Children Sweden.171 ECPAT (2005). Violence against Children in Cyberspace.A Contribution to the United Nations Study on Violenceagainst Children. Bangkok, ECPAT International.172 Microsoft (2006). MSN Cyberbullying Report – Blogging,Instant Messaging and E-mail Bullying Amongst Today’sTeens. Microsoft UK.173 Presentation to the Working Group by Dr Ethel Quayle,Department of Applied Psychology, University CollegeCork, Ireland, and Project Director, COPINE Project.Cited in: United Nations Secretary-General’s Study onViolence against Children (2005). Regional ConsultationOutcome Report: East Asia and the Pacific. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.174 ECPAT (2005). Violence against Children in Cyberspace.A Contribution to the United Nations Study on Violenceagainst Children. Bangkok, ECPAT International.175 Carlsson U (2001). Research, Information andSensitising the Public. In: Arnaldo CA (Ed). ChildAbuse on the Internet: Ending the Silence. Paris, BerghahnBooks/UNESCO.176 Collins J, Rau B (2000). Aids in the Context ofDevelopment. UNRISD Programme on SocialDevelopment, Paper No. 4, Geneva, UNRISD/UNAIDS. Cited in: Commission for SocialDevelopment (2004). A Fair Globalisation: CreatingOpportunities for All. Geneva, International LabourOrganization.177 Browne K, Hamilton-Giachritsis C (2005).The Influence of Violent Media on Children andAdolescents: A Public-health Approach. Lancet, 365:702–710.178 ECPAT (2006). The Changing Face of Child Sex Tourism.Bangkok, ECPAT.179 National Council for Childhood and Motherhood(NCCM) (2006). Report of the Middle East and NorthAfrica (MENA) Regional Consultation on Violence againstChildren Follow-up Consultation, 25–28 March 2006.Egypt, NCCM.180 World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) (2005).Tunis Agenda for the Information Society. Tunis, WorldSummit on Information Society.181 Presentation to the Working Group by Dr Ethel Quayle,Department of Applied Psychology, University CollegeCork, Ireland, and Project Director, COPINE Project.Cited in: United Nations Secretary-General’s Study onViolence against Children (2005). Regional ConsultationOutcome Report: East Asia and the Pacific. Available at:http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.182 Clauss-Ehlers CS, Weist MD (2004). AdvancingCommunity Involvement and Planning to PormoteResilience in Youth from Diverse Communities.In: Clauss-Ehlers CS, Weist MD (Eds). CommunityPlanning to Foster Resilience in Children. New York,Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

7183 Tolan P (2001). Youth Violence and Its Prevention inthe United States: An Overview of Current Knowledge.Injury Control and Safety Promotion, 8(1): 1–12.184 Tolan P (2001). Youth Violence and Its Prevention inthe United States: An Overview of Current Knowledge.Injury Control and Safety Promotion, 8(1): 1–12.185 Yoshikawa H (1995). Long-term Effects of EarlyChildhood Programmes on Social Outcomes andDelinquency. The Future of Children, 5: 51–75.186 Lipsey MW, Wilson DB (1998). Effective Interventionsfor Serious Juvenile Offenders: A Synthesis of Research.In: Loeber R, Farrington DP (Eds). Serious and ViolentJuvenile Offenders: Risk Factors and Successful Interventions.Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications, pp 313–345.187 Greenwood PW et al. (1996). Diverting Children froma Life of Crime: Measuring Costs and Benefits. SantaMonica, CA, The Rand Corporation.188 Fass SM, Pi CR (2002). Getting Tough on JuvenileCrime: An Analysis of Costs and Benefits. Journal ofResearch in Crime and Delinquency, 39: 363–399.189 Blum R, Ireland M (2004). Reducing Risk, IncreasingProtective Factors: Findings from the Caribbean YouthHealth Survey. Journal of Adolescent Health, 35: 493–500.190 Yoshikawa H (1995). Long-term Effects of EarlyChildhood Programmes on Social Outcomes andDelinquency. The Future of Children, 5: 51–75.191 Berrueta-Clement JR et al. (1984). Changed Lives: TheEffects of the Perry Preschool Program on Youth ThroughAge 19. Ypsilanti, High/Scope Press.192 Johnson DL, Walker T (1987). Primary Prevention ofBehaviour Problems in Mexican-American Children.American Journal of Community Psychology, 15: 375–385.193 Schweinhart LJ et al. (1993). Significant Benefits: TheHigh/Scope Perry Preschool Project Study Through Age 27.Ypsilanti, High/Scope Press.194 Berrueta-Clement JR et al. (1984). Changed Lives: TheEffects of the Perry Preschool Program on Youth ThroughAge 19. Ypsilanti, High/Scope Press.195 Johnson DL, Walker T (1987). Primary Prevention ofBehaviour Problems in Mexican-American Children.American Journal of Community Psychology, 15: 375–385.196 Schweinhart LJ et al. (1993). Significant Benefits: TheHigh/Scope Perry Preschool Project Study Through Age 27.Ypsilanti, High/Scope Press.197 Black M (2003). Good Practice in Working Children’sParticipation: A Case Study from CWOP, MaharashtraIndia. Prepared for the Save the Children AllianceTask Group on Children and Work. London, Save theChildren UK.198 Smith HE, Akinsulure-Smith AM (2004). A GlobalPerspective on Youth Outreach. In: Clauss-EhlersCS, Weist MD (Eds). Community Planning to FosterResilience in Children. New York, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.199 Grossman JB, Garry EM (1997). Mentoring a ProvenDelinquency Strategy. Washington DC, United StatesDepartment of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.200 Boothby N et al. (2006) Mozambique Child Soldier LifeOutcome Study: Lessons Learned in Rehabilitation andReintegration Efforts. Global Public Health, 1(1): 87–107.201 Fraser MW et al. (1999). Risk, Protection, andResilience: Toward a Conceptual Framework for SocialWork Practice. Social Work Research, 23(3): 131–143.202 Stewart D, Sun J (2004). How Can We Build Resiliencein Primary School-aged Children? The Importance ofSocial Support from Adults and Peers in Family, Schooland Community Settings. Asia Pacific Journal of PublicHealth, 16 (Suppl.): S37–S41.203 Smith HE, Akinsulure-Smith AM (2004). A GlobalPerspective on Youth Outreach. In: Clauss-EhlersCS, Weist MD (Eds). Community Planning to FosterResilience in Children. New York, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.204 Melendez MC, Tomlinson-Clarke S (2004). Home,School and Community. Catalysts to Resilience.In: Clauss-Ehlers CS, Weist MD (Eds). CommunityPlanning to Foster Resilience in Children. New York,Kluwer Academic Publishers.205 Brackenridge C (2006). Abuse and Violence to Childrenin Sport – International Overview. Submission to the UNSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children.347Violence against children in the community

348Violence against children in the community206 Hawkins JD et al. (1992). The Seattle SocialDevelopment Project: Effects of the First Four Years onProtective Factors and Problem Behaviors. In: McCordJ, Tremblay RE (Eds). Preventing Antisocial Behavior:Interventions From Birth Through Adolescence. New York,The Guilford Press, pp 139–161.207 Farrell AD, Meyer AL (1997). The Effectiveness of aSchool-based Curriculum for Reducing Violence AmongUrban Sixth-grade Students. American Journal of PublicHealth, 87: 979–988.208 Grossman DC et al. (1997). Effectiveness of a ViolencePrevention Curriculum Among Children in ElementarySchool: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of theAmerican Medical Association, 277: 1605–1642.209 Samples F, Aber L (1998). Evaluations of School-basedViolence Prevention Programs. In Elliott DS et al (Eds).Violence in American Schools. New York, CambridgeUniversity Press, pp 217–252. International Journal ofInjury Control and Safety Promotion, 12(2): 93–104.210 Thornton TN et al. (2000). Best Practices of YouthViolence Prevention: A Sourcebook for Community Action.Atlanta, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.211 Farrell AD et al. (2001). Evaluation of Responding inPeaceful and Positive Ways (RIPP): A School-basedPrevention Programme for Reducing Violence amongUrban Adolescents. Journal of Clinical and ChildPsychology, 30: 451–463.212 WHO, UNICEF, World Bank, UNESCO and UNFPA(2003). Skills for Health . WHO’s Information Serieson School Health, Document No. 9. Available at:http://www.who.int/school_youth_health/media/en/sch_skills4health_03.pdf.213 Landgren K (2005). The Protective Environment:Development Support for Child Protection. HumanRights Quarterly, 7: 215–248.214 Dahlberg L, Butchart A (2005). State of the Science:Violence Prevention efforts in Developing andDeveloped Countries. International Journal of InjuryControl and Safety Promotion, 12(2): 93–104.215 Jaffe PG et al. (1992). An Evaluation of a SecondarySchool Primary Prevention Programme on Violence inIntimate Relationships. Violence and Victims, 7: 129–146.216 Foshee VA et al. (2004). Assessing the Long-termEffects of the Safe Dates Program and a Booster inPreventing and Reducing Adolescent Dating ViolenceVictim Organisation and Perpetration. American Journalof Public Health, 94: 619–624.217 Foshee VA (2000). The Safe Dates Program: One-yearFollow-up Results. American Journal of Public Health,90: 1619–1622.218 Wolfe DA (2003). Dating Violence Prevention with AtriskYouth: A Controlled Outcome Evaluation. Journalof Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71: 279–291.219 Foshee VA et al. (2005). The Safe Dates Project:Theoretical Basis, Evaluation Design and SelectedBaseline Findings. American Journal of PreventiveMedicine, 12 (2): 39–47.220 Tolan PH, Guerra NG (1994) What Works in ReducingAdolescent Violence: An Empirical Review of the Field.Boulder, CO, The Center for the Study and Preventionof Violence, Institute for Behavioral Sciences, Universityof Colorado.221 Kellermann AL et al. (1998). Preventing YouthViolence: What Works? Annual Review of Public Health,19:271–292.222 Njovana E, Watts C (1996). Gender Violencein Zimbabwe: A Need for Collaborative Action.Reproductive Health Matters, 7: 46–54.223 Ellsberg M et al. (1997). The Nicaraguan Network ofWomen against Violence: Using Research and Actionfor Change. Reproductive Health Matters, 10: 82–92.224 Hoefnagels C, Mudde A (2000). Mass Media andDisclosures of Child Abuse in the Perspective ofSecondary Prevention: Putting Ideas into Practice. ChildAbuse and Neglect, 24: 1091–1101.225 Soul City Institute for Health and DevelopmentCommunications (2004). Soul City 4 MultimediaCampaign – Impact Evaluations. South Africa, Soul CityInstitute for Health and Development Communications.Available at: http://www.comminit.com/africa/evaluations.hmtl.

7226 Mehrotra A (2000). A Life Free of Violence: It’s OurRight. New York, United Nations Development Fund forWomen.227 Health Resources and Services Administration (2004).Take a Stand. Lend a Hand. Stop Bullying Now!Washington DC, US Department of Health and HumanServices. Available at: http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov.228 Hoefnagels C, Baartman H (1997). On the Thresholdof Disclosure: The Effects of a Mass Media FieldExperiment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 21: 557–573.229 Naker D (2005). Violence against Children: The Voices ofUgandan Children and Adults. Raising Voices and Savethe Children Uganda.230 Ennew J (1994). Street and Working Children: A Guide toPlanning. London, Save the Children. Cited in: BartlettS et al (1999). Cities for Children: Children’s Rights,Poverty and Urban Management. Earthscan /UNICEF.231 Wernham M et al. (2005). Police Training on ChildRights and Protection: Lessons Learned and Manual.Consortium for Street Children, p 31.232 Heise L, Garcia- Moreno C (2002). Violence byIntimate Partners. In: Krug EG et al. (Eds) (2002).World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva, WorldHealth Organization, pp 89–121.233 Friedman LS et al. (1992). Inquiry about VictimisationExperiences: A Survey of Patient Preferences andPhysician Practices. Archives of InternalMedicine, 152:1186–1190.234 Fawcett G et al. (1998). Deteccion y Manejo de MujeresVictimas de Violencia Domestica: Desarrollo y Evaluacionde un Programa Dirigido al Personal de Salud (Detectingand Dealing with Women Victims of Domestic Violence:The Development and Evaluation of a Programme forHealth Workers). Mexico City, Population Council.235 Sugg NK et al. (1999). Domestic Violence and PrimaryCare: Attitudes, Practices, and Beliefs. Archives of FamilyMedicine, 8: 301–306.236 Sanders AB (1992). Care of the Elderly in EmergencyDepartments: Conclusions and Recommendations.Annals of Emergency Medicine, 21: 79–83.237 UNICEF (2002). La traite d’enfants en Afrique de l’Ouest: réponses politiques. Florence, Innocenti Research Centre.238 UNICEF (2005). Trafficking for Sexual Exploitationand Other Exploitative Purposes. Florence, InnocentiResearch Centre.239 Boonpala P, Kane J (2002). Unbearable to the HumanHeart: Child Trafficking and Action to Eliminate It.Geneva, International Programme on the Elimination ofChild Labour, International Labour Organization.240 Bartlett S et al. (1999). Cities for Children, Children’sRights, Poverty and Urban Management. UNICEF/Earthscan.241 Adapted from UNICEF (2006). Thuthuzela CareCentres. UNICEF South Africa. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/southafrica/hiv_aids_998.html.242 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Consultation OutcomeReport: Eastern and Southern Africa. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.243 Boothby N et al. (2006). Mozambique Child SoldierLife Outcome Study: Lessons Learned in Rehabilitationand Reintegration Efforts. Global Public Health, 1(1):87–107.244 Stamenkova-Trajkova S (2005). Results of an InstitutionalAssessment of the Responsiveness of Service Providers toViolence against Children in Macedonia. Skopje, theInstitute for Social Work and Social Policy with supportfrom UNICEF, Skopje Country Office and UNICEFRegional Office for CEE/CIS & the Baltics.245 ChildHelpLine International (2005). Submissionto the United Nations Secretary-General’s Study onViolence against Children. Amsterdam, ChildHelpLineInternational.246 CRIN (2005). WSIS and Children’s Rights. Availableat: http://www.crin.org/resources/InfoDetail.asp?ID=6902.247 ChildHelpLine International (2005). Submissionto the United Nations Secretary-General’s Study onViolence against Children. Amsterdam, ChildHelpLineInternational.349Violence against children in the community

350Violence against children in the community248 Jordan S (2001). Violence and Adolescence in UrbanSettings: A Public Health Approach. PublicationsSeries, Research Unit, Public Health Policy. Berlin,Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung.249 Narayan D et al. (2000). Voices of the Poor: Can AnyoneHear Us? Published for the World Bank. New York,Oxford University Press.250 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2002).Community Interventions to Promote Healthy SocialEnvironments: Early Childhood Development andFamily Housing. MMWR 51: RR-1.251 Ludwig J, Duncan GJ, Hirschfield P. (2001). UrbanPoverty and Juvenile Crime: Evidence from aRandomized Housing-mobility Experiment. QuarterlyJournal of Economics (16): 655–680.252 Butchart A, Engstrom K (2002). Sex- and Age-specificEffects of Economic Development and Inequality onHomicide Rates in 0- to 24-Year-Olds: A Cross-sectionalAnalysis. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 80:797–805.253 Institute for Research and Evaluation (2004). ThePrevention of Murders in Diadema, Brazil: The Influenceof New Alcohol Policies. Calverton, MD, Pacific.Available at: http://resources.prev.org/resource_pub_brazil.pdf.html.254 Wagenaar AC et al. (2000). Communities Mobilisingfor Change on Alcohol (CMCA): Effects of aRandomised Trial on Arrests and Traffic Crashed.Addiction, 95: 209–217.255 WHO (2006). Global Estimates of Health ConsequencesDue to Violence against Children. Background paper tothe UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence againstChildren. Geneva, World Health Organization.256 Ryan M (1995). Russian Report: Alcoholism and RisingMortality in the Russian Federation. British MedicalJournal, 310: 648–650.257 Mattern JL, Neighbors C (2004). Social NormsCampaigns: Examining the Relationship BetweenChanges in Perceived Norms and Changes in DrinkingLevels. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 65: 489–493.258 Graham K et al. (2004). The Effect of the Safer BarsProgramme on Physical Aggression in Bars: Results of aRandomised Controlled Trial. Drug and Alcohol Review,23: 31–41.259 Homel R et al. (2004). Making Licensed Venues Saferfor Patrons: What Environmental Factors Should Be theFocus of Interventions? Drug and Alcohol Review, 23:19–29.260 Bellis MA et al. (2004). Violence in General Places ofEntertainment. In: Pompidou Group (Ed). Violenceand Insecurity Related to the Consumption of PsychoactiveSubstances. Strasbourg, Council of Europe.261 Bellis MA et al. (2004). Violence in General Places ofEntertainment. In: Pompidou Group (Ed) Violence andInsecurity Related to the Consumption of PsychoactiveSubstances. Strasbourg, Council of Europe.262 Room R et al. (2003). Alcohol in Developing Societies: APublic Health Approach. Helsinki, Finnish Foundationfor Alcohol Studies and Geneva, World HealthOrganization.263 Hahn RA et al. (2003). First Reports Evaluatingthe Effectiveness of Strategies for PreventingViolence: Firearm Laws. Findings from the TaskForce on Community Preventive Services. MMWRRecommendations and Reports, 52(RR14): 11–20.264 Loftin C et al. (1991). Effects of Restrictive Licensingof Handguns on Homicide and Suicide in the Districtof Columbia. New England Journal of Medicine, 325:1615–1620.265 Villaveces A et al (2000). Effect of a Ban on CarryingFirearms on Homicide Rates in Two Colombian Cities.Journal of the American Medical Association, 283: 1205–1209.266 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1995).Patterns of Homicide – Cali, Colombia, 1993–1994.MMWR, 44(39): 734–736.267 Stanley J (2001). Child Abuse and the Internet. ChildAbuse Prevention Issues, No. 15, Summer 2001. Availableat: http://www.aifs.gov.au/nch/issues/issues15.html.

7268 Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak Out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys. Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against children. Oslo, Save theChildren Norway.269 Titley G (2004). Young People and Violence Prevention- Youth Policy Recommendations. Budapest, Directorateof Youth and Sport, European Youth Centre.270 Black M (2004). Opening Minds, Ppening UpOpportunities, Children’s Participation in Action forWorking Children and Associated Case Studies. London,Save the Children Alliance.271 UNICEF (2005). Young People’s Participation in theCEE/CIS and the Baltics. Geneva, UNICEF RegionalOffice for CEE/CIS and the Baltics.272 All responses are available at: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/ study.htm. As of 20 September2006, 135 Member States and one observer hadsubmitted responses.273 Black M (2004). Somali Children and Youth: Challengingthe Past and Building the Future. UNICEF Somalia.274 UNICEF (2006). Submission to the United NationsSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children.UNICEF, Regional Office for Latin America and theCaribbean.275 Council of Europe (2006). Building a Europe for andwith children. Council of Europe. Available at:http://www.coe.int/t/transversalprojects/children/.276 Mercy J et al. (2002). Youth Violence. In: Krug EG etal. (Eds). World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva,World Health Organization, pp 25–56.277 Tolan P (2001). Youth Violence and its Prevention inthe United States: An Overview of Current Knowledge.Injury Control and Safety Promotion, 8(1): 1–12.QuotesIIIIIIIVVVIHall J (2003). Inyandza Leyo! Testimonies from AbuseSurvivors. Swaziland. Cited in: United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children (2005).Regional Desk Review: Eastern and Southern Africa, p 26.Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.UNICEF (2003). Africa’s orphaned generations.New York, UNICEF, p 31.UNHCR (2005). Refugee and returnee children inSouthern Africa: Perceptions and experiences of violence– A qualitative study of refugees and returnee children inUNHCR operations in Angola, South Africa and Zambia.Pretoria, UNHCR, p 6.Anti-Slavery International (2001). Golam and Roushan– Trafficked Children. Speeches from the ASI Awardceremony. Available at: http://www.antislavery.org/homepage/antislavery/award/award2001speeches.htmUnited Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: SouthAsia, p 59. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.Save the Children Alliance (2005). 10 Essential LearningPoints: Listen and Speak out against Sexual Abuse of Girlsand Boys, Global Submission by the International Savethe Children Alliance to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children, p 27.VII Africa Child Policy Forum (2006). The AfricanDeclaration on Violence against Girls. SecondInternational Policy conference on the African Child.Addis Ababa, 11 and 12 May 2006, p 1.VIII WorldVision (2005). Strongim pikinini, strongimlaef b’ long famili: enabling children to reach their fullpotential. A contribution to the UN Secretary-General’sStudy on Violence against Children. Milton Keynes,World Vision International, p 7.IXXUnited Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Regional Desk Review: NorthAmerica, p 1. Available at: http://www.violencestudy.org/r27.Africa Child Policy Forum (2006). The AfricanDeclaration on Violence against Girls. SecondInternational Policy conference on the African Child.Addis Ababa, 11 and 12 May 2006, p 2.351Violence against children in the community

Sueraya Shaheen- Cité du TempsEL SALVADOR, 1996, A group of children in a refugee camp in El Salvador

“Violence against children is never justified in any setting or context. States should be in a positionto offer appropriate support to parents, teachers, criminal justice personnel and others who sometimesresort to violence against children. We all have a responsibility to act to eliminate it.”Mehr Khan Williams, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights8The way forwardThe evidence collected for the United NationsSecretary-General’s Study on Violence againstChildren, in line with the clear consensus of itsparticipants, suggests that, although violenceagainst children is widespread, it is preventable,and the world has the resources to effectits elimination. Experts, practitioners, and childrenthemselves agree that violence is not anunchanging, inevitable feature of life, and mustnot be passively accepted as such. Moreover, theStudy has documented the progress made byGovernments as they begin to acknowledge thescale of the problem and respond to the humanrights obligations they have accepted.Governments and a wide range of partnershave come forward with useful and concreteactions to prevent violence against children,reduce its multiple impacts, and advocate forchange. A growing number of action researchprojects, prevention strategies and therapeuticresponses are being implemented and evaluated;this is providing an increasingly solid evidencebase for partners to adapt and improveexisting interventions, and create new ones.As well as specifically protecting the youngestand most vulnerable members of society fromviolence, these actions contribute to the widerobjective of reducing violence for all, as it isclear that interventions focusing on the younghave the greatest potential to reap benefits insociety as a whole.Throughout the Study process, and as evergreaternumbers of participants had their say,a number of issues were raised repeatedly inregion after region. First and foremost was thealarming gap between States’ obligations andcommitments on the one hand, and the realityof children’s lives on the other. As the Studyreport presented to the UN General Assemblynotes, “Member States have already made commitmentsto protect children from all forms ofviolence. However, we must accept – from children’stestimony during the Study process, aswell as from the results of research – that thesecommitments are far from being fulfilled.” 1Much of this state of affairs stems from a lackof leadership by politicians and other decisionmakers.Discussion of the problem has toooften remained muted and vague, allowing thethreshold of acceptable action to stay at a lowlevel, and the linkages between different formsof violence to be overlooked. For the most part,prohibiting and eliminating violence againstchildren lacks adequate political attention. Tobecome a high priority, the elimination of violenceagainst children requires strong politicalleadership and determined advocacy by civilsociety.Strong mechanisms must be put in place atnational, regional and international levels toensure implementation of the Study’s recommendations.Leadership and coordination areequally important at international, regionaland national levels. The implementation ofmost of the recommendations presented inthe Introduction to this report depends on thecapability of Governments to incorporate allrecommendations within current legal instrumentsand public policies, in a coordinatedway. The continuous commitment of humanand financial resources to a broad and systematicframework to reduce and respond to vio-353The way forward

“Too often, we see that legislation is on the books but that many children remain on the marginsof society – not registered at birth, not in school, too poor to see a doctor and, for that,all the more vulnerable to violence and abuse.”Rima Salah, Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF354The way forwardlence against children, integrated into nationalplanning processes, is essential for the successof this endeavour. Stopping violence againstchildren requires not only sanctioning perpetrators,but also transformation of the “mindset”of societies and the underlying economicand social conditions that allow violenceagainst children to thrive.Strong regional support for the implementationof the recommendations is also important.Regional mechanisms can play a significantrole in bridging gaps in technical expertise,sharing best practices and assessing progress.Regional networks established during theStudy process have continued in various formsin each of the regions. For example, in theMiddle East and North Africa, an expandedregional network which includes Governmentrepresentatives and the Arab League is takingaction to implement the Study recommendationsrelated to a range of regional priorities. 2The South Asia Forum, established in 2005 asa result of the Regional Consultation hostedby the Government of Pakistan, has begun toimplement the Study recommendations witha focus on the issues of early marriage, andphysical and psychological punishment. Inaddition, the Council of Europe has launcheda three-year programme, “Building a Europefor and with Children.” This programmetakes into account the various dimensions ofviolence against children in two closely linkedstrands: the promotion of children’s rights,and the action programme “Children andViolence.” 3 In the strand focused on promotingchildren’s rights, the programme will helpEuropean States to set up integrated children’spolicies and comprehensive legal frameworks.The action programme against violence supportsStates in their obligations to ensure theprotection of children, prevention of violence,prosecution of criminals, and participation bychildren.At an international level, it is also expectedthat the UN supports countries in their task ofimplementation, mainstreams the recommendationsof the Study Report to the UN GeneralAssembly (elaborated in this book), and monitorsachievements. The coordination amongthe various UN entities involved in this processis again essential to ensure the continuityof the holistic and multidisciplinary approachsuggested by the Study. Bearing this in mind,the report recommended that a Special Representativefor the Secretary-General’s Studyon Violence against Children be appointed,to provide a focal point and act as a globaladvocate on the issues of violence againstchildren, building on the worldwide momentumgenerated by the Study process and thereport itself. In an effort to accelerate progressat country level, a global Inter-Agency Groupon Violence against Children was establishedin 2005, chaired by UNICEF with the directsupport of OHCHR and WHO. Membershipincludes a range of other UN agencies andNGOs. These efforts should contribute to theUN reform process by increasing coordinationamong existing entities, refining and clarifyingmandates, and increasing the attentiongiven to violence against children across andwithin existing mandates.

“Violence can be prevented... A wide range of positive strategies are available to help societies reduceviolence. These include: training and supporting new parents; helping children learn social skills;assisting communities to control the availability of alcohol; increasing incentives for young peopleto complete their studies; enhancing services for victims of violence; and strengthening policies thatpromote gender, social and economic equality.”The late Lee Jong-wook, Former Director-General, WHO, 20058Ending violence against children is a matter ofurgency. Children cannot afford for this Studyto be merely one more report that gathers duston shelves around the world. Action to implementthe recommendations must begin immediately.The core message of the Study is thatno violence against children is justifiable; allviolence against children is preventable. Thereshould be no more excuses or delays: the problemis out in the open, the obligations of Governmentsare clear, and the means to deal withit are known, affordable, and available.Governments are ultimately responsible forthe protection of children. It is therefore up toGovernments to act now, to fulfil their humanrights obligations and other commitments, toensure the protection of children from all formsof violence. But Governments cannot do thejob alone. All sectors of society, all individuals,share the responsibility of condemning and preventingviolence against children and respondingto the predicament of child victims.REFERENCES1 United Nations Secretary-General (2006). Report ofthe Independent Expert for the United Nations Study onViolence against Children. Promotion and protectionof the rights of children. United Nations GeneralAssembly, Sixty-first session. A/61/299.2 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2006). Outcome Report: Middle Eastand North Africa (MENA) Regional Consultation onViolence against Children: Follow-up Consultation. 25–28March 2006. Egypt, National Council for Motherhoodand Childhood.3 Council of Europe (2006). Building a Europe for andwith Children. Council of Europe. Available at: http://www.coe.int/t/transversalprojects/children/.quotesIUnited Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children (2005). Statement by Childrenand Young People. Young People’s Forum, RegionalConsultation: South Asia, p 3. Available at: www.violencestudy.org/r27.355The way forward“We urge you to activate these recommendations and others made by children in previous consultationsand to involve us when designing actions on violence against girls and boys in each countryand region.”Children’s statement, Young People’s Forum, South Asia, 2005 I

AnnexEstimated homicide rates by regionand income level, 2002Source: WHO (2006). Global Estimates of Health Consequences Due to Violence against Children.Background Paper to the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children. Geneva, World Health Organization.Homicide rate per 100 000 populationUN region income sex 0-17years* 0-4 5-9 10-14 15-17All All Males 2.93 2.09 1.00 2.08 9.06All All Females 1.92 1.99 1.48 1.49 3.28All AllMales &Females2.44 2.04 1.24 1.79 6.25All High income Males 1.45 2.29 0.41 0.56 3.25All High income Females 0.95 1.67 0.44 0.40 1.53All High incomeMales &Females1.21 1.99 0.43 0.48 2.41All Low income Males 3.10 2.07 1.07 2.25 9.75All Low income Females 2.03 2.02 1.60 1.61 3.48All Low incomeMales &Females2.58 2.05 1.33 1.94 6.70Africa All Males 5.85 4.25 2.44 5.09 15.64Africa All Females 5.30 4.07 4.79 4.62 9.45Africa AllMales &Females5.58 4.16 3.60 4.86 12.57Asia All Males 1.53 1.32 0.65 1.21 3.93Asia All Females 0.99 1.29 0.70 0.69 1.48Asia AllMales &Females1.27 1.30 0.68 0.96 2.74Australia/New Zealand All Males 0.99 1.76 0.44 0.41 1.60Australia/New Zealand All Females 0.55 0.75 0.64 0.31 0.48Australia/New Zealand AllMales &Females0.78 1.26 0.54 0.36 1.05Europe All Males 1.74 1.44 0.55 0.89 5.72Europe All Females 1.01 1.30 0.57 0.75 1.67Europe AllMales &Females1.38 1.37 0.56 0.82 3.74Latin America and Caribbean All Males 8.11 1.95 0.98 4.01 37.66Latin America and Caribbean All Females 2.21 1.62 0.67 1.81 6.50Latin America and CaribbeanAllMales &Females5.21 1.79 0.83 2.93 22.33>>>357Annex

Homicide rate per 100 000 populationUN region income sex 0-17years* 0-4 5-9 10-14 15-17Northern America All Males 2.57 3.77 0.56 1.09 6.37Northern America Al Females 1.48 3.01 0.59 0.72 1.60Northern America AllMales &Females2.04 3.40 0.57 0.91 4.04Oceania** All Males 1.74 3.31 0.83 2.00 0.13Oceania** All Females 1.38 2.10 0.74 0.85 2.14Oceania** AllMales &Females1.57 2.72 0.78 1.45 1.08* Age standardized death rate** Excluding Australia and New Zealand358Annex

Notes................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................359................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................NOTES................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................360................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................NOTES................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Notes................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................361................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................NOTES................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................362................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................NOTES................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Notes................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................363................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................NOTES................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................364................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................NOTES................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................