violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

“Violence against children must stop now. All countries can demonstrate greater proactiveleadership in this area by increasing resources for child protection, ensuring that schools are childfriendlyspaces, increasing community vigilance against violence and eliminating the stigmathat haunts children affected by HIV/AIDS.”Cecilio Adorna, UNICEF Representative, India7Assessing the responsiveness of the child protectionsystem in the former yugoslav republic of MacedoniaA study was carried out in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, using quantitativeand qualitative methods to assess the responsiveness of the child protection systemto violence against children, particularly focusing on formal mechanisms of referral, aswell as mechanisms that promote coordination within the child protection system.Key informants in 277 institutions were interviewed, including persons from socialwork centres, from centres for victims of violence, schools, police stations, hospitals,residential institutions for children without parental care, and detention and correctionalcentres.The pilot study revealed that only a few cases of violence against children had been officiallyreported by service providers in the 12-month period. Also, the findings showedthat there was a lack of official criteria and procedures for recording cases of violence,or an official referral system for use by all institutions dealing with child protection.Furthermore, the findings revealed that the laws and mechanisms for coordinationamong institutions were insufficient, as well as the monitoring and evaluation of thequality of services provided.The assessment provided recommendations for the strengthening of the child protectionsystem, which included strengthening of the legislative framework in order toclearly delineate the responsibilities of various bodies and institutions dealing withchild protection as well as stipulating the conditions of coordination between theseinstitutions; the establishment of coordination mechanisms among institutions dealingwith child protection; the preparation of official guidelines and protocols whichregulate referral of cases and action to be taken; the provision of training for relevantprofessionals on violence against children; and the establishment of new centres forchild victims of violence.327Violence against children in the communityWithout such an assessment, guided by international standards associated with childrights, it is difficult for Governments to discern the key areas requiring action, to make allparts of the system effective and accountable for the quality of the services provided. 244