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Summary: Highlights of working group discussions during
the East Asia and Pacific regional consultation
on violence against children. Working groups
included: violence in the home and the family,
in institutions, against children in conflict with
the law, in schools and in cyberspace.
After yesterday’s opening session and presentations, delegates worked in
thematic groups within the following areas: violence against children in the
home and family, in institutions, in conflict with the law, in schools, and in
cyberspace. Each working group was composed of government
representatives, under 18 delegates, NGO and civil society
representatives. The aim of yesterday’s groupwork was to first look at key
issues raised by the working group and answer the following questions:
• how is this form of violence manifested?
• who are the children most at risk and what problems do they
face?
• what are the reasons for this form of violence occurring and
what are the factors that foster and perpatuate them?
• what are the gaps in policy, procedures and systems that allow
the perpetuation of violence?
1. Violence against children in the home and family
Violence in the home takes many different forms, and sets the scene for
many other forms of abuse. Girls are generally most at risk of sexual
violence, and boys are most at risk of physical punishment. In addition to
violence, these children feel unwanted, unloved, under valued and denied
emotional support.
Reasons why this form of violence occurs, includes cultural practices,
tolerance of violence, lack of support, financial pressure, isolation from
extended family, religious and ethnic conflicts, attitudes towards women
and children, etc. Gaps in policies include absence of reporting
mechanisms, fear of reporting for victims, inadequate child protection
policies, lack of political will, lack of awareness of legislators on child
protection issues, no holistic approach on programme development for
prevention.
2. Violence against children in institutions
Violence in institutions manifests itself in the form of physical, sexual,
psychological violence, bullying, forced labour, discrimination, exposed to
substance abuse, children being used for fundraising purposes, being
used in media coverage, etc. Children most at risk are children with special
needs, poor children, very young children, those affected by emergencies
and conflict, ethnic minorities and indigenous children, children infected or
affected by HIV/AIDS. Reasons why children are subjected to this violence
include the closed nature of institutions, lack of accountability; these
children are often seen as low priority, corruption, quick solution for
governments to put children in institutions, lack of child protection policies,
bad decisions to put children in institutions by people who lack
understanding of children’s rights, etc. Gaps are similar to those above,
but also include the lack of standards for institutions and some institutions
keep children there to justify their own existence.
3. Violence against children in conflict with the law
This form of violence can be manifested in the form of physical,
psychological, emotional, and sexual violence. It can take the form of
beatings, torture, deprivation of basic rights, being portrayed in the media
as criminals, etc. It can occur during initial dealings with the police, during
arrest, in pre-trial detention, during trial and after trial. Children most at
risk are those without parental care, especially street children, and illegal
migrant children. Indigenous and ethnic minority children are also
discriminated against and are at higher risk of coming into conflict with the
law. Reasons include lack of accountability, lack of coordination between
lawyers and judges, lack of adherence to the
href='http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/h_comp47.htm'> Beijing Rules
, the
Riyadh Guidelines , as well as other international mechanisms, such
as the CRC. The lack of adequate facilities and staff that are well trained is
also an important issue.
4. Violence against children in schools
Physical punishment is often the only form of discipline teachers know, but
emotional and psychological punishment also occurs, from teachers, other
personnel, but also from peers, such as bullying and fighting. Children
most at risk are vulnerable groups; children affected by HIV/AIDS, children
with learning disabilities, minority and indigenous children, children from
socially and economically disadvantaged groups, children with low
academic achievements, homosexual children, transgendered children
(boys who want to be girls), etc. Factors include high expectations for
success, girls and boys peer pressure, traditional practices, the way
violence is portrayed in the media, sizes of classes, disciplinary measures
in schools that are already abusive. Gaps include lack of parents and
students’ involvement, lack of awareness about the possibility of reporting
cases of violence, lack of knowledge about alternative ways of discipline,
lack of counseling and training for teachers.
5. Violence in cyberspace
Violence in virtual settings include sexual exploitation, abuse, child
pornography, online grooming, trafficking, harassment, intimidation and
bullying. These are manifested in the form of depiction of harm through
online cartoons, digitally altered images, etc. Children most at risk are
pretty much all children with access to the internet and other technologies
(such as mobile phones), although some groups of children are more
vulnerable than others, such as children with low self-esteem, those who
may be distant from their parents, lonely or already exploited. Reasons for
this include the fact that there is a demand for child sexual services and
abusive images, and the anonymity of perpetrators makes it easier for
them. Children are also drawn to new technologies, and the private sector
and computer industry are seen as being exploitative of children’s
curiosity. Massive gaps exist across the board: lack of law enforcement,
jurisdiction, in and through cyberspace, difficult to use existing laws and
put new ones in.
In today’s working group sessions, delegates will be working on drafting
recommendations that will be presented tomorrow to the plenary session,
to be included in the final report for the region.
Highlights of the discussions about violence against children on the street
and the community, as well as in the workplace will be available tomorrow.