Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: Please note that these recommendations are
not final, comments and suggestions were
made by various delegates, including under
18 delegates, and this will be noted before
the final recommendations are made.
Furthermore, children will be given exclusive
opportunity to comment on the
recommendations.
DAY 3, 16 June – Reporting on group work discussions – recommendations
1. VIOLENCE IN THE HOME AND FAMILY
1. Violence in the home and family includes corporal punishment, child
labour, sexual violence, trafficking, neglect, emotional violence, physical
violence and discrimination (gender and disability). It sets the scene of
many forms of abuse for example trafficking and other forms of commercial
exploitation.
2. Girls are most at risk of sexual violence and physical violence, and boys
are more at risk of physical violence in the home. Other children at risk
include: where there is domestic violence, alcoholism, unwanted children,
broken homes, lack of support from extended families, where both parents
work, poverty and unwanted pregnancy.
3. Cultural practices that include tolerance of violence, lack of parenting
skills, financial pressures, isolation from extended families, attitudes to
women and children, religious and ethnic conflicts, lack of awareness and
information about children's rights, corporal punishment, children
separated from their parents, early marriage.
4. Lack of agreed definitions of key terms (violence, abuse, neglect, etc.),
lack of family and child-friendly procedures for reporting and investigating,
absence of mandatory reporting, fear of reporting, absence of laws, lack of
political will and resources, lack or absence of child protection policies, little
awareness from legislators about child rights, absence of baseline data,
lack of holistic approach on programme development for prevention,
protection and rehabilitation.
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2. VIOLENCE IN INSTITUTIONS
Definition of institution:
- an institution is a residential facility outside parental care where
children are not living with their natural families
- institutions cater to a wide range of children, including those
with special gifts, as well as children with special needs
- institutions include formal and informal community based
alternative care / foster family.
Grounding Principles:
- actions based on existing commitment to CRC, particularly
articles 3, 12 and 25.
- Protection must be for all children! Special action may need to be
taken on the base of particular need, i.e. disability, and minority groups
Principles
- The State has overall responsibility for care and standards.
Community based alternative care such as fostering need to be included in
the consultation
- All efforts should be made in an integrated manner to prevent
wrongful institutionalisation of children.
- Methods of accountability are needed on any process to place a
child in an institution.
Priorities to reduce children’s experience of violence in institutions
- awareness raising of child rights at all levels
- a practical legislative base which leads to implementation of
good standards of care
- monitoring and improvement of practice
- improvement of the service delivery
- child participation affirmed and modeled at each stage
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3. VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS
Recommendations
1. Develop appropriate policies (based on national consultations and
evidence-based research and situation analysis, including
- prevention of violence;
- monitoring and reporting mechanisms (respect confidentiality) in
schools and at national level;
- budget increase to improve quality of education (salaries of
teachers, infrastructures, etc.)
- curriculum that would integrate conflict resolution programmes,
human rights, gender and child rights
2. Develop appropriate legislation that would ban all corporal punishment
in schools, including monitoring systems for effective implementation and
child protection protection policies
3. Conduct pre- and in-service training courses
- for headmasters, teachers, school administrators, peer
counselors, of pre primary, primary and secondary schools
- On child rights for child psychologists, on constructive discipline
methods UNESCO toolkit www.unescobbk.org/ie/toolkit (learning
environment)
4. Awareness raising on child rights at community level, including all
stakeholders in education
5. At regional level: create regional network which includes children, to
give them a voice
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4. VIOLENCE IN WORK SITUATIONS
Recommendations
Better understanding is required: clarity on the concept of violence
Legal advocacy:
- central body to be responsible for the issue of violence against
children in the work place
- strengthening of referral and monitoring systems, child
protection policies
- regulate work places and punish those who violate regulations
Social advocacy:
- public awareness
- orient and train all stakeholders
Services and intervention:
- in recovery, reintegration, prevention, access to services
- ensure children understand how to use and access services
available to them
Research and training:
- on issues such as minority and indigenous children, socio-
economic status of children, etc.
- systematic training for all officials
Priority recommendation:
Participation: share experiences and play meaningful role at all levels
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5. VIOLENCE IN THE STREETS AND IN THE COMMUNITY
Recommendations:
Principles
- first everyone should implement CRC
- acknowledge differences in the region
1. Promote child participation at all levels to prevent violence against
children on the street and in the community. Ex: accountability, monitoring,
reporting, data collection, give them increase access to services of better
quality.
2. Pass laws that clearly define violence, discrimination, and other
protection needs, and effectively implement and endorse them. Address
impunity, corruption in resources and services, create mechanisms for
violations to be reported.
3. Address public’s misconceptions and discrimination against children on
street and marginalised
4. Provide effective violence prevention, protection, and reintegration
services for children and their communities. Target marginalised
communities such as those on the street, migrants, refugees and ethnic
minorities
Finally
Develop country specific indicators on violence to measure profess over
time, that will hold governments accountable nationally and internationally
for progress.
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6. VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW
In relation to CRC
- Article 40
- children should be treated fairly, with dignity, and with respect
for their human rights
Issues
- psychological distress
- lack of respect of children’s rights
- deprivation of liberty
- corporal punishment
- invasion of privacy
- laws and procedures are not child friendly
Recommendations
1. Preventative approaches
- information and education, dispersal and community based
prevention and diversion programmes
- focusing on restorative justice rather than retributive justice
including actions to direct children in conflict with the law towards
appropriate alternatives, e.g. family conferencing
2. Improved legislation
- create comprehensive juvenile justice legislation;
- based on international standards, (CRC, Beijing Rules, Riyadh
Guidelines, Tokyo Rules, JDL’s, etc.) and legislation must explicitly
criminalise violence against children in conflict with the law, including
corporal punishment
3. Implementation of internationally agreed guidelines regarding children’s
deprivation of liberty
- detention of children should be very last resort, and for the
shortest possible time
- time limits for pre trial detention, review conditional release,
good quality care, complaints system, access to information, separate
children from adults
4. Mainstreaming meaningful participation of children
- in preventative stage and when children are involved in the
justice system
- this should including in decision making processes, at all levels in
a sustainable manner for all without discrimination
- stress child’s right to part when they are in custodial care
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7. VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN IN CYBERSPACE
General Recommendations
- Provide education and awareness raising on these issues
- Devise policies and act on them for safe use of new technologies
- Support for young people to identify and act on solutions
- Provide psychosocial resources to children who are harmed
At community level:
- education and awareness
- assistance, training for families, training in schools on safe use
of technologies, training for social workers and counselors, for community
officials, local government regulations
National level:
- enact and harmonise laws to protect
- ensure ministries allocated funding to develop policies
- develop National Plans of Actions
- Codes of conducts, for Internet Service Providers, credit card
companies, telephone companies, software companies, etc.
- Set up hotlines
- Train special units for preventing and addressing issues
- Regulate and monitor internet cafes
Regional
Ensure collaboration and cooperation, research and information sharing