violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

5All donors, whether multi-lateral, intergovernmentalor NGO, should actively support alternatives,through advocacy with Governmentand partners, and support for re-training andsensitisation activity. Where Governments havealready made clear a non-institutional policy forchildren orphaned by HIV/AIDS and othersneeding care, as in South Africa, charities andNGOs should respect the policy and avoidbuilding the kind of facilities which reinforcestigma, social exclusion, discrimination and apoor life start for children who might otherwisehave stayed with family members. 166,167 Donorsthat support juvenile justice reform should alsoensure that they support alternatives to detentionand prevention programmes, rather thanallow aid to be used for the construction ofsecure facilities.More generally, public education is necessaryto change societal attitudes to child care andYEMEN, 1998, Nine-year-old Abdullah Ahmed lies in bedreading in the dormitory at the Centre for Rehabilitationfor Minors, in the old part of Sana’a.UNICEF/HQ98-0996. Giacomo Pirozzicriminalisation, as well as to institutionalisationitself. This is essential to ensure both thatdecision-makers actually take action, and toinform families about non-institutional solutionsfor the care of their children.Alternativesto institutional careSupport for disadvantaged andat-risk familiesWith adequate support services, many parentswho might otherwise abandon a child or resortto institutionalisation can be helped to care forhim or her. Family support can address violencein the home and other factors that are linkedwith children coming into conflict with thelaw. Such services include accessible and qualitybasic health and social services; home visits bysocial workers, visiting nurses or communitybasedsupport groups (mutual support groups,local faith-based groups, etc.); programmes thatteach effective parenting skills; livelihood assistanceto relieve the pressures of poverty; andrespite care to enable parents with serious burdensof care to take a break from time to time.The benefits of keeping children with their familiesare inarguable in terms of their health andhappiness, and the best interests of the child.Furthermore, the cost of supporting families tomaintain their children at home is substantiallylower than institutionalising them.Access to free education (or in some settings,help with school fees) is a means of reducinginstitutionalisation in places where poverty isentrenched, and parents may deposit childrenin institutions in order to obtain an education207Violence against Children in care and justice institutions