violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

“We have to wipe their tears and transform their gloomy faces into happy ones.We have to kindle the flame of hope and a better tomorrow in them.”The First Lady of Pakistan, Begum Sehba Pervez Musharraf, 2005 I1the Study reveals, despite this broad acceptanceof the CRC, children in almost all Statesare still waiting for full recognition of respectfor their human dignity and physical integrity,and for adequate investment in actions to preventall forms of violence against them.Second, children themselves are speakingout on this issue and beginning to be heardand taken seriously. Children have testifiedat the nine Regional Consultations held inconnection with the Study about the routineviolence they experience, in their homes andfamilies and also in schools, other institutionsand penal systems, in places of work, and intheir communities. Violence against childrenexists in every State and cuts across boundariesof culture, class, education, income, ethnicorigin and age. Throughout the Study process,children have consistently expressed theurgent need to stop all this violence. Childrentestify to the hurt – not only physical, but‘the hurt inside’ – which this violence causesthem, compounded by adult acceptance, evenapproval of it.Governments need to accept that this is indeedan emergency, although it is not a new emergency.Children have suffered violence at thehands of adults unseen and unheard for centuries.But now that the scale and impact ofviolence against children is becoming visible,they cannot be kept waiting any longer forthe effective protection to which they have anunqualified right.Third, growing recognition of the impact ofviolence on the mental and physical health andwell-being of children throughout their liveshas given new urgency to prevention. Until the1960s there was no significant acknowledgement,even among professionals, of the extentof death, rape and injuries inflicted on childrenby parents and those who have a duty of careor are in positions of trust. The problems ofviolence against children in schools and othersettings had also only been given scant attentionuntil recent decades.Significantly, the expansion of research in theneurobiological, behavioural and social scienceshas generated a much deeper understandingof the significance of childhood experiencesto the development of the brain and the centralrole of early relationships in healthy braindevelopment. 3 This research clearly indicatesthe importance of the child’s positive bond orattachment to parents; it demonstrates thatwhen protective relationships do not exist, exposureto stress in the form of violence can disruptthe developing nervous and immune systems,leading to greater susceptibility to physical andmental health problems. Thus, the opportunityto prevent violence against children promisesto address a host of longer-term problemsthat impose a substantial social and economicburden on the nations of the world.Fourth, there is increased recognition that theprevention of violence against children requirescooperation and collaboration among manypartners. In effect, preventing and responding toviolence against children should be everybody’sbusiness. The Study has benefited from collaborationbetween UN agencies addressing humanrights, child protection and public health, andfrom input from a very broad range of sectors.An end to violence against children