violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

“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