violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

“The children must, at last, play in the open veldt, no longer tortured by the pangs of hunger or ravagedby disease or threatened with the scourge of ignorance, molestation and abuse, and no longer requiredto engage in deeds whose gravity exceeds the demands of their tender years.”Nelson Mandela, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate1IntroductionThe full range and scale of all forms ofviolence against children are only now becomingvisible, as is the evidence of the harm itdoes. This book documents the outcomes andrecommendations of the process of the UnitedNations Secretary-General’s Study on Violenceagainst Children.‘The Study’ is the first comprehensive, globalstudy on all forms of violence against children.It builds on the model of the study on theimpact of armed conflict on children, preparedby Graça Machel and presented to the GeneralAssembly in 1996, and follows the WorldHealth Organization’s 2002 World Report onViolence and Health. 1The Study is also the first United Nations(UN) study to engage directly and consistentlywith children, underlining and reflecting children’sstatus as rights holders, and their rightto express views on all matters that affect themand have their views given due weight.The central message of the Study is that noviolence against children is justifiable, and allviolence against children is preventable. TheStudy reveals that in every region, in starkcontradiction to States’ human rights obligationsand children’s developmental needs,much violence against children remains legal,State-authorised and socially approved. TheStudy aims to mark a definitive global turningpoint: an end to the justification of violenceagainst children, whether accepted as ‘tradition’or disguised as ‘discipline’.There can be no compromise in challengingviolence against children. Children’s uniqueness– their human potential, their initial fragilityand vulnerability, their dependence on adultsfor their growth and development – make anunassailable case for more, not less, investmentin prevention and protection from violence.In recent decades some extreme forms ofviolence against children, including sexualexploitation and trafficking, female genitalmutilation (FGM), the worst forms of childlabour and the impact of armed conflict, haveprovoked international outcry and achieveda consensus of condemnation, although norapid remedy. But in addition to these extremeforms of violence, many children are routinelyexposed to physical, sexual and psychologicalviolence in their homes and schools, in careand justice systems, in places of work and intheir communities. All of this has devastatingconsequences for their health and well-being,now and in the future.Making a realdifferenceA number of linked and profound developmentssuggest that the process and outcomesof the Study are timed to make a real differenceto the status and lives of children.First, recognition of human rights obligationsto eliminate violence against childrenhas intensified with the adoption and almostuniversal ratification of the Convention of theRights of the Child (CRC). The latter underlineschildren’s status as rights holders. Yet, asAn end to violence against children