violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

“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