violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

“With these two hands my mother holds me, cares for me, this I love.But with these two hands, my mother hits me – this I hate”Girl, East Asia and the Pacific, 2005 I3IntroductionFamilies, defined widely, hold the greatestpotential for protecting children from all formsof violence. Families can also empower childrento protect themselves. A basic assumptionof the Convention on the Rights of the Child(CRC) is that the family is the natural environmentfor the growth and well-being of allits members – particularly for children – whilethe Universal Declaration on Human Rightsand the International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights and the International Covenanton Economic, Social and Cultural Rightsproclaim the family as being the fundamentalgroup unit of society. The CRC requires theState to fully respect and support families.But families can be dangerous places for childrenand in particular for babies and youngchildren. The prevalence of violence againstchildren by parents and other close familymembers – physical, sexual and psychologicalviolence, as well as deliberate neglect – hasonly begun to be acknowledged and documented.Challenging violence against childrenis most difficult in the context of the familyin all its forms. There is a reluctance to intervenein what is still perceived in most societiesas a ‘private’ sphere. But human rights to fullrespect for human dignity and physical integrity– children’s and adults’ equal rights – andState obligations to uphold these rights do notstop at the door of the family home.State responsibility to respect, protect and fulfillthe rights of children extends beyond its directactivities and those of State agents, and requiresthe adoption of measures to ensure that parents,legal guardians and others do not violatechildren’s rights. It is obliged to put in place aframework of laws, policies and programmes toprevent violence by providing adequate protection,and responding to violence if it occurs.Younger children tend to be more vulnerableto violence in the home. In some industrialisedStates, where child deaths are most rigorouslyrecorded and investigated, infants under oneyear of age face around three times the risk ofhomicide, almost invariably by parents, thanchildren aged one to four, and twice the risk ofthose aged five to 14. 1 While all physical punishmentis degrading, there are other cruel anddegrading and potentially equally damagingnon-physical forms of violence which childrensuffer within the family. These include enduringpersistent threats, insults, name-calling orother forms of verbal abuse, belittling, isolationor rejection. In addition to the direct violence,many children witness violence between adultfamily members, which in itself has seriousconsequences, only very recently recognised.Everywhere that sexual violence has been studied,it is increasingly acknowledged that a substantialproportion of children are sexually harassed andviolated by the people closest to them. Forced sexwithin forced and early marriage is common inmany States. So-called ‘honour killings’ of adolescentgirls, regarded as having breached moralcodes, occur in some countries. Despite legislationand advocacy efforts, female genital mutilationor cutting (FGM) remains widespread: inparts of North and Eastern Africa, over 90% ofgirls undergo this operation, usually at aroundthe age of seven. 2,347Violence against children in the home and family