violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

3Research on the links between socio-economicconditions and violence against children suggestthat efforts are needed to alter the underlyingconditions that put extreme economic,social and emotional stress on families. Greaterattention must be given to supporting familieswho live in communities characterised by highlevels of unemployment, overcrowded housing,rapid population turnover and low levelsof social cohesion.UKRAINE,2005, Sasha, 5, holding a stuffed animal, sitswith his sister Nastya, 4, at a state institution in the village ofKopylov, near Kyiv. Six months earlier, Sasha had witnessed hisfather killing his mother.UNICEF/HQ05-1776. Giacomo PirozziParental loss or separation: Orphanhood,which has increased with the HIV/AIDS pandemic,heightens vulnerability. A study byWorld Vision in Uganda, where an estimated1.7 million children have been orphaned byAIDS, argues that the deliberate stigmatisationsuffered by these children from guardians,teachers and relatives causes psychologicalharm and is itself a form of violence. 140 Placingthese orphans into the homes of extendedfamily or local community is a common andpreferred practice over institutionalisationor the phenomenon of child-headed households;however, community leaders in Ugandareported that corporal punishment was moreviolent and common against orphans thanagainst other children in the household whowere more closely related to adult carers or tothe head of the household. In Zambia, a studyby Human Rights Watch found that orphanswho were taken in by extended family memberswere frequently subjected to sexual violencefrom uncles, stepfathers and cousins. With arate of around 20% cases of HIV infection inthe population, such violence can be deadly.Girls rarely attempted to disclose the abuse:they were too aware of their dependency, and69Violence against children in the home and family