violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

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