Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: United Nations campaign "Stop Violence
Against Children. Act Now" launched in Europe.
Family violence claims the lives of four children under the age of fourteen
each day in the European Region - over 1300 every year - according to
World Health Organization (WHO) data. And this is only the tip of the
iceberg, with many thousands more enduring years of violence and abuse
for every child that dies.
"For the survivors, the impact lasts a lifetime," says Dr Marc Danzon, WHO
Regional Director for Europe. "Data confirm that abused children pay a long-
term price as they are more likely to take dangerous risks in their own
lives. This adds to the price our whole society pays with suicides,
depression, drug and alcohol abuse, delinquency, and domestic violence".
This evidence is a prelude to the "Stop Violence Against Children. Act Now"
regional consultation for Europe and central Asia, to be held in Ljubljana,
Slovenia, 5-7 July 2005, hosted by the Government of Slovenia
(http://www.act-now.si). The consultation will tap into the expertise of the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR),
the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), WHO, and the Council of
Europe, while maximizing input from civil society - including children
themselves. It will also feed into next year's study on violence against
children, led by United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, to wipe out
violence and abuse against children.
The United Nations study on violence against children
(http://www.violencestudy.org/r25) will look at the different settings in
which children experience violence, including the home. The place where
they spend up to 90% of their time - the place where they should be
safest - is for too many the most dangerous of all. A UNICEF youth poll in
2001 found that 60% of children in Europe and central Asia say they face
violent or aggressive behaviour at home from parents and caregivers.
"The cosy assumption that children are always safe and protected in their
own homes is called into question by the evidence," said Maria Calivis,
UNICEF Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe, the
Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltics. "The study on
violence against children challenges us to get a true picture of the scale of
the problem but it also presents us with a powerful opportunity to address
it. How can we support families in stress and prevent violence in the first
place? And how can society create an environment that protects children?
These are questions we want to answer."
The consultation will be a key opportunity to answer these questions and
to monitor children's views and perceptions of their experience, which is
the voice of their suffering.
Facts and figures
Accurate and meaningful data on child abuse are hard to come by. Different
cultures have different attitudes about what is, and what is not,
acceptable parenting practice. Official statistics rarely reveal a great deal
about patterns of child abuse. The situation is further complicated by
differing legal and cultural definitions of abuse and neglect between
countries. What is clear is that there is absolute agreement across all
cultures that child abuse is unacceptable.
The death toll of young lives in Europe is part of a global problem that -
according to the 2002 WHO World report on violence and health - claims
about 57 000 victims a year.
In the European Region, WHO records that four children aged 0-14-years-
old are killed every day, or over 1300 every year, as a result of homicides
or assaults.
There are large differences between countries in the Region: child mortality
from homicide is nearly three times higher in the Commonwealth of
Independent States than it is in the European Union.
According to the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, a small group of
countries appear to have an exceptionally low incidence of child deaths
from maltreatment, while others show levels that are four to six times
higher.
Recent research published by the Council of Europe shows that the vast
majority of children throughout Europe have experienced some form of
corporal punishment.
European infants and young children are most likely to be abused in the
home environment. According to a WHO survey, this is the place where
they spend up to 90% of their time.
60% of children in Europe and central Asia say they face violent or
aggressive behaviour at home from parents and caregivers, according to a
UNICEF youth poll in 2001.
Drug and alcohol abuse are among the most common and serious family
problems contributing to violence against children in the home.
Estimates from industrialized countries suggest that between 40% and
70% of men who use physical violence against their partners also use
violence against their children, and that about half of the women who are
physically abused also abuse their children.
The good news is that child deaths from maltreatment appear to be
declining in the great majority of industrialized countries.
The solutions
The study will recall that all countries must enact or repeal their legislation
as necessary in order to prohibit all forms of violence, however slight,
within the family. The different patterns of family abuse must be
addressed. And concrete interventions must be made for different groups
of children according to their age, their vulnerability, and their evolving
capacities as subjects of human rights.
Recent high-profile tragedies involving the fatal abuse of children by
parents and caregivers in Europe have highlighted the need for early
detection and an integrated approach by different sectors such as social
services, health workers, schools and the police, to prevent child abuse in
the so-called "privacy" of home and family. Cases such as the deaths of
Victoria Climbie in the United Kingdom and of two children in France might
have been averted had there been good communication and integration
among these different sectors.
The World report on violence and health outlines some effective solutions
to combat child abuse and neglect, including:
training in parenting - providing parents with information about child
development, and teaching them to use consistent child-rearing methods
and how to manage family conflict; and home visiting programmes -
involving regular visits from a nurse or other health professional to the
homes of families in special need of support with childcare or where there
is an identified risk of child maltreatment.
NOTE TO EDITORS
The United Nations Secretary-General has appointed an independent
expert, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, to lead a global study on violence against
children. The study, rooted in children's right to protection from all forms of
violence, aims to promote action to prevent and eliminate violence against
children at international, regional, national and local levels. The study is a
United Nations-led collaboration, mandated by the General Assembly, to
draw together existing research and relevant information about the forms,
causes and impact of violence affecting children and young people (up to
the age of 18 years). A major report will be published in 2006 and
recommendations presented to the United Nations General Assembly.
Nine regional consultations will pull together regional information on
violence against children in four settings: the home, the community, the
school and state institutions. These will articulate the agenda for action
and contribute recommendations to the study. The regional consultation
for Europe and central Asia will take place in Ljubljana, Slovenia, 5-7 July
2005, and will be hosted by the Government of Slovenia.
For more information, contact:
WHO
Cristiana Salvi
Technical Officer for Communication and Advocacy
WHO Regional Office for Europe
European Centre for Environment and Health
Rome, Italy
Tel.: +39 06 4877543. Fax: +39 06 4877599. Mobile: +39 348 0192305
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.euro.who.int or
http://www.euro.who.int/violenceinjury
UNICEF
Lynn Geldof
Regional Communication Adviser
UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS & Baltics
Geneva, Switzerland
Tel.: +41 22 909 5429. Mobile: +41 79 431 1537
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.unicef.org/ceecis or
http://www.unicef.org/ceecis/media_1223.html
Angela Hawke
Communication Officer
UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS & Baltics
Geneva, Switzerland
Tel.: +41 22 909 5433. Mobile: +41 79 601 9917
E-mail: [email protected]
Soraya Bermejo
Communication Officer
UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS & Baltics
Geneva, Switzerland
Tel.: +41 22 909 5706. Mobile: +41 79 459 2516
E-mail: [email protected]
OHCHR
José Luis Díaz
Press Officer
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Geneva, Switzerland
Tel.: +41 22 917 9242
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.ohchr.org/english/
Council of Europe
Cathie Burton
Press Officer
Council of Europe
Strasbourg, France
Tel.: +33 3 88 41 28 93. Mobile: +33 685 11 64 93
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.coe.int
Government of Slovenia
Lea Javornik Novak
Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Tel.: +381 1 23 91 700
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.gov.si
NGO Advisory Panel
Web site: http://www.childrenandviolence.org
pdf: www.euro.who.int/eprise/main/WHO/MediaCentre/PR/2005/20050315_1