violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

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