Lifting the veil on child abuse
A U.N. report, released today,
will now make it more difficult to turn a blind eye to the problem.
By Louise Arbour
October 12, 2006
A veil of silence covers violence
against children, yet abuses are so pervasive that no country can
ignore them, and no society can claim to be immune from them.
Despite almost universal acceptance
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, governments' concrete
initiatives to counter such violence have been inadequate. However,
turning a blind eye to this phenomenon or claiming ignorance of its
incidence and implications will now be very difficult. The U.N.'s
"World Report on Violence against Children," released today (www.violencestudy.org),
provides a comprehensive account of the root causes and effects of
the problem. In maintaining that such violence is never justifiable,
it presents a range of measures that could prevent and curb abuses.
The study gathers data from a variety of sources and combines
human-rights, public-health and child-protection experiences to
paint a global picture of this disturbing problem.
It documents that, in 2002, 150
million girls and 73 million boys experienced forced sexual
intercourse and other forms of sexual violence and that more than
100 million girls and women have undergone some form of female
genital mutilation. Of the 218 million children working in 2004, 5.7
million were in forced or bonded labor, 1.8 million were in
prostitution and pornography, and 1.2 million were victims of
trafficking.
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the
independent expert appointed by the secretary-general to direct the
study, concludes that children endure violence in silence and
hopelessness because of shame and fear of retribution, and because
such abuses are sometimes state-authorized and generally socially
approved.
Failure to protect children starts
with those who are directly responsible for their welfare and
security in families, schools, and the communities where they live
and work. Indeed, the study notes, "the majority of violent acts
experienced by children is perpetrated by people who are part of
their lives." But ultimately, the chain of responsibility ends with
states, which, under international human-rights law, have an
obligation to provide an environment in which children can fully
enjoy their rights without fear of abuse and retribution.
The Convention on the Rights of the
Child offers the most comprehensive legal framework to address
violence against children. Its provisions protect them from physical
and mental abuse, injury, neglect, maltreatment and exploitation,
including sexual coercion. The convention obliges governments to act
forcefully to ensure that anyone who has responsibility for the care
of a child, even for a short period, refrain from abusive conduct.
In their national law and practice,
however, many states have carved out exceptions to the convention's
provisions. Some governments are reluctant to interfere in the
private sphere of family life and hold to account those who
perpetrate violence within the "sanctity" of the domestic perimeter.
In many states, legislation addressing violence against children
concentrates on sexual or physical violence, but ignores
psychological violence and neglect. Other countries lack the
security indispensable to effective protection, or the capacity and
structures that give teeth to prevention measures and safeguard
mechanisms.
The imposition of the death penalty
against minors is the most egregious example of state-enforced
abuse. In some countries, less-severe sentences may include
flogging, stoning and amputation. Disciplinary measures that may
amount to cruel, degrading and unusual treatment or punishment are
legal and applied in the penal institutions of at least 77
countries.
In many nations, growing
disparities in income, globalization, migration and pandemics
contribute to a climate of insecurity and strife that - often
disproportionately - affects children's rights. To tilt the balance
toward effective protection, states should translate their
commitments under international human-rights law into policies and
action, assess priorities, stop blaming or ignoring the victims, and
instead punish the perpetrators. To this effect, the U.N. study
provides a wealth of recommendations, including preventive measures
and follow-up mechanisms to ensure that children are not left
unprotected.
More than 3,000 individuals
contributed to this study, including children who, shedding fear and
shame, came forward. They have offered thorough accounts of their
predicament. We should pay heed to their words and needs. After all,
it's they who know best.
Louise Arbour (jdiaz@ohchr.org)
is the U.N. high commissioner for human rights
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