Submitted by crinadmin on
[HANOI, 3 June 2005] - A Childrenās Forum on Violence against Children,
has heard details about the growing instances of abuse and violence
towards children, as well as children witnessing increasing cases of
domestic violence.
Forty-six children ( 26 boys and 20 girls) ranging in age from 11 to 18
years, coming from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ngai, Hue, Ninh Binh
and Quanh Ninh, participated in the forum jointly organized by the
Committee on Population, Family and Children (CPFC) and UNICEF, in
collaboration with Save the Children Sweden and Plan International.
Participants included street children and children in conflict with the law as
well as school children.
The forum listened to personal experiences related by the children. One
child described how he had been beaten by his drunk father because he
was not earning enough money. He left home and was forced to live on
the street and soon came to the attention of the police. Another child
described how her best friend was forced to have sexual intercourse with
an adult man the same age as her father. The children ranked what forms
of abuse were most common and these were physical abuse, followed by
emotional abuse, bullying and sexual abuse and working in hazardous
workplaces. They also ranked where violence most commonly occurs and
this was in the home, followed by school, on the streets and at work.
āViolence and abuse are unacceptable situations that many children and
adolescents face every day in Viet Nam,ā said Ms Le Hong Loan, Chief of
UNICEFās Child Protection section. āToo often violence and abuse leads
children to live on the street, placing them at high risk of sexual and labour
exploitation, HIV/AIDS and conflict with the law.. The Vietnamese
government is to be congratulated in supporting this forum and
encouraging the active participation of children. This forum will contribute
to raising awareness of the issue, discussing strategies for the prevention
of and responses to violence and abuse as well as developing
recommendations for the global UN study,ā Ms Le Hong Loan continued.
Recommendations from the Childrenās Forum will contribute to a global
United Nations Study on Violence against Children, the first report of its
kind to draw attention to this problem. The study has been driven by
increasing evidence that children are subjected to physical, psychological
and sexual abuse in homes, schools, institutions, on the streets and in the
workplace ā a situation contrary to the principles of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, which advocates that every child has the right to a life
free of violence. *
Two children, Tien Huy Hoang, 14 years and Hoang Thi Hue, 14 years have
been selected, by their peers, to attend the East Asia and Pacific Regional
Consultation on Violence against Children in Bangkok from 14-16 June
2005, along with an adult chaperone, NGOs and government delegates.
This three-day meeting will discuss experience, evidence and research
from countries in the East Asia and Pacific region, along with best practices
and key strategies for prevention, intervention and recovery. The findings
will then be incorporated into the global study being put together in
Geneva and which is due to report in October 2006.
Since 2003, UNICEF, in cooperation with CPFC, Save the Children Sweden
and Plan International, has been working on a number of studies to
assess the extent of violence and abuse of children in Viet Nam. One study
of 2,800 participants (mainly children) in the three provinces of An Giang,
Lao Cai and Hanoi, in 2003, found that physical punishment (beating) was
common at home and at school, as was verbal abuse and bullying and the
witnessing of domestic violence. Sexual abuse, in particular the practice of
older relatives fondling the penises of young boys, was also reported.
In 2005, UNICEF and its partners will continue to:
i) strengthen the child protection reporting system and develop
specialized psycho-social services for children who have been abused or
are at risk of being abused;
ii) support the establishment and training of networks of social
workers and counselors;
iii) build the capacity of government and service providers to
identify and respond to cases of child violence and abuse;
iv) encourage further efforts to raise awareness in the community
and among children and to improve the accountability of local agencies,
communities and families to care for and protect children and young people.
v) Advocate for the Government to develop and pass a single,
coherent law on child abuse and which broadens the definition of child
abuse to include all forms of physical and emotional abuse.
* Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child contains general
provisions against violence/abuse of children: āStates Parties shall take all
appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to
protect the child from all forms of physical and mental violence, injury or
abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation,
including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or
any other person who has the care of the childā.