[child-rights] UN Secretary-General's study urges action to stop violence against children

NEW YORK, USA, 12 October 2006 -- One of the most detailed studies of
violence against children ever conducted shows that millions around the
world are being subjected to the worst forms of abuse with little or no
protection.

The UN Secretary-General's Study on Violence against Children, presented
to the General Assembly yesterday, examines the problem in five settings
-- the home, schools, institutions, at work and in the community.

Although there is a chronic lack of data, the report concludes that
violence happens everywhere, is usually inflicted by a person known to the
child and is invariably hidden or left unpunished.

"Children continue to fear and experience violence in every country of the
world," says Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the independent expert
appointed by the Secretary-General to lead the study. "Violence cuts
across all social, cultural, religious and ethnic lines. From extreme
situations such as communities affected by armed gangs to the daily
routine of schools, children face a range of very different forms of
violence."

The study involved thousands of consultations with governments,
non-governmental organizations, experts and most important, children
themselves. Many gave testimonies to the violence they had experienced or
witnessed.

Harry Lopez, 18, works in some of the most violent neighbourhoods in
Caracas, Venezuela. He leads workshops at a local NGO where children and
young people can meet and talk.

"Listening to a child telling me that he cannot come out of his house
because he is afraid that he will be a victim of violence -- that he is
afraid to play in his neighbourhood because this could even mean losing
his life -- these are the ones who have pushed me to work against
violence," he says.

"It's critical that people start to think of violence against children as
an unacceptable reality that needs to be addressed, not as isolated but
tragic occurrences that just happen," notes UNICEF's Chief of Child
Protection, Karin Landgren. "The findings of this report point us in two
directions. They gives us a concrete set of recommendations for states to
act on, and highlight the need for far more research and study."

Professor Pinheiro calls for states to take primary responsibility in
preventing violence against children by providing a robust legal
framework: "That means prohibiting all forms of violence against children
whenever it occurs and whoever is the perpetrator. It also means investing
in prevention programmes to address the underlying cause of violence.

"Children cannot afford for this study to be just another report that
gathers dust on shelves around the world," he adds. "We have a duty to
ensure that children enjoy their right to live a life free from violence."

The full report can be found at: http://www.unviolencestudy.org/

UNICEF Press release