FROM THE FRONTLINE: Interview with Marta Santos Pais

Marta Santos Pais, 58, was appointed to the position of Special Representative to the Secretary General on Violence Against Children in May 2009. Before taking up the post, she held the position of the Executive Director of the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, based in Florence, Italy. Previously, she has worked on the quality of the Rapporteur of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child and has also served as Vice-Chair of the Coordinating Committee on Childhood Policies of the Council of Europe.

How has it gone so far?

I have been encouraged by my time so far because I have seen a lot of international commitment to the issue – both the agenda and the follow-up, as well as the recommendations of the UN Study on Violence Against Children.
What are your priorities in the coming years?

I have three main aims. One, to see the development of national strategies to address violence against children. Two, to see the introduction of legislation to prohibit all forms of corporal punishment of children. And three, to see the development of robust data systems so that this data can be used to overcome any gaps that exist.

When I speak about these things there is very wide and strong support for them. That is not to say that this will be easy, or that it will happen overnight, but I have to be confident.

What do you think is special about the role? Do you think you have the power to make a difference?

I think that the role has unique potential because its grounded in human rights principles, and these are principles that governments have already committed themselves to. My role can help bring together people, communities and agencies that are not talking to each other. I am also able to speak to people at the political level, and talk about good practices.

Is it turning out how you expected?

I hope that the role will become more active and enabled. A lot of time has been taken up so far in getting a team together, getting funding and so on, so I hope that once all this is achieved I can concentrate more on the substantive issues. I’m still in the first six months, so I expect this to happen.

What specific subjects are you planning to address?

I am planning to investigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on violence, as a result of stigma and discrimination – both for those children infected with HIV, and also for the children of family members infected. Children on the move is another focus area, for example those who move with families and also those left behind. Often, just not speaking the language means that such children are confronted with stigma and discrimination.

Thirdly, the impact of technologies. There was the example just last week in my native country of Portugal when a young boy threw himself into a river because of bullying. He has not been found. The issue of, for example, bullying of children with disabilities being recorded on mobile phones, or the rape of girls, is under-researched. But it is important also to look at the positive sides of new technologies, not just the negative.

I will also be looking at violence in sport, because although these subjects have been investigated separately, they have not so much together. For example, with the football World Cup coming up, we are wary of cases of children being brought into situations of violence and abuse, such as sexual exploitation, in previous World Cups.

What do you hope to have achieved by the end of your mandate?

I hope that the mandate will be renewed when it ends in 2012, but before then I hope to be able to celebrate gains in lots of areas. For example, I would hope that three times as many countries will have prohibited all forms of corporal punishment. I also want countries to have adopted national strategies on violence against children. I do not necessarily expect them to be perfect, but it would offer a good grounding to build on. I also hope there will be better data collection and monitoring, so that all the issues are recognised and can be dealt with.

I would also hope, that by 2012, there will be already a follow-up plan in place for the subsequent years.

What has particularly moved you during your experiences in the role so far?

I am always moved by children’s voices, and how much children experience violence in their daily lives, and how they are excluded and do not have their voices taken seriously. Only last week, a child told me how he felt useless. On the other hand, I have also been amazed by the resourcefulness of children in dealing with challenges.