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The Nordic and Baltic ombudsmen for children convened in Jyväskylä. Photo by Petteri Kivimäki Media release 21 August 2013 The Nordic and Baltic ombudsmen for children urge the Estonian and Lithuanian governments and parliaments to take decisions to ban corporal punishment of children in legislation. Similar measures are expected from the decision-makers of the Greenland self-government area. The Estonian Government has announced its plans to draft a proposal for legislation to ban corporal punishment of children. In Lithuania, the government bill is currently being processed by parliament. "Children need more protection than adults, not less. Nobody is allowed to pull an adult's hair or slap him or her in case of disagreement either," Ombudsman for Children Maria Kaisa Aula comments. Measures to reduce corporal punishment do not stop when the law is passed, the ombudsmen for children point out in their common statement. Even though use of force in upbringing of children is already legally banned in all Nordic countries and Latvia, a small share of parents still approves harsh measures, for example, in the name of ‘showing the limits'. The ombudsmen for children are of the opinion that active campaigning is needed to change these attitudes since even mild violence is known to be harmful to children's growth and development. In all countries, parents need more counselling on how to raise their children using positive methods. But they also need services and support in their often too stressful everyday lives and for potential mental health or substance abuse problems, the statement declares. Children with disabilities or special needs are in a particularly vulnerable situation. Information must be actively disseminated to all parents and immigrants in particular, because in their home countries legislation may allow corporal punishment. Children must also be provided information about their human rights and opportunities to receive assistance when they are exposed to mistreatment. In their meeting, the ombudsmen for children who convened in Jyväskylä also reflected on the rights of indigenous children and youth in their regions. Eva Biaudet, Ombudsman for Minorities, has been reviewing for the UN the opportunities of Sámi youth and the Inuit youth in Greenland to participate and influence. In the meeting, the Nordic ombudsmen for children also prepared their common statement on the circumcision of boys. Preparation of the statement and discussion with the paediatrics' associations still continues in September. At the end of their meeting, the ombudsmen heard personal experiences of children and youth placed in alternative care gathered through the Finnish ‘We Believe in You - You Should too' co-operation project and shared their observations on the use of experience-based knowledge in the development of child welfare services. The experiences of children and youth are not yet heard sufficiently in child welfare. The ombudsmen for children considered it especially important that children and youth are supported in their dreams and that the prejudices they are yet to face in their lives are not fuelled. In all countries, it is necessary to strengthen the professional skills and competencies of social workers and alternative care supervisors on how to encounter children and youth. The Nordic and Baltic ombudsmen for children convened for their first ever joint meeting in Jyväskylä on 19-21 August 2013. The representatives came from the offices of ombudsmen for children in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. and Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia and the self-rule areas of Åland and Greenland. Nordic and Baltic Ombudsmen for Children Urge their Governments to Take Steps to Reduce Corporal Punishment of Children
In other Nordic countries and in Latvia, parents are already legally banned from using corporal punishment as an upbringing method of their children. Even in these countries, there is need for support and education for parents, additional information for children, and regular research on the prevalence of corporal punishment.