violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

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