A new report released by UNICEF earlier this week states that, across the world, staggering numbers of children – some as young as 12 months old – are experiencing violence, often by those entrusted to take care of them. The report, titled ‘A Familiar Face: Violence in the lives of children and adolescents’, uses the very latest data to show that children experience violence across all stages of childhood, and in all settings.
The statistics presented in the report are indeed shocking, and warrant urgent action by all stakeholders to end violence and other forms of abuse against children. For example, in relation to violence against young children in their homes, the report states that three-quarters of the world’s 2- to 4-year-old children – around 300 million – experience psychological aggression and/or physical punishment by their caregivers at home; about 6 in 10 one-year-olds in 30 countries with available data are subjected to violent discipline on a regular basis; nearly a quarter of one-year-olds are physically shaken as punishment, and nearly 1 in 10 are hit or slapped on the face, head or ears.
The report adds that, worldwide, 1 in 4 children under age five – 176 million – are living with a mother who is a victim of intimate partner violence.
In relation to sexual violence against girls and boys, the report notes that, worldwide, around 15 million adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 have experienced forced sexual intercourse or other forced sexual acts in their lifetime. Further, in the 28 countries with data, 90 per cent of adolescent girls who had experienced forced sex, on average, said the perpetrator of the first incident was known to them.
As it relates to violent deaths among adolescents, the report states that, globally, every 7 minutes, an adolescent is killed by an act of violence. Latin America and the Caribbean was listed as the only region where adolescent homicide rates have increased; nearly half of all homicides among adolescents globally occurred in this region in 2015.
As stated by UNICEF’s Chief of Child Protection, Cornelius Williams, the harm inflicted on children around the world does tremendous damage: “Babies slapped in the face; girls and boys forced into sexual acts; adolescents murdered in their communities – violence against children knows no boundaries.”
Here, in Guyana, there is a high incidence of physical and sexual abuse of children. The Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) recently reported that, for the year thus far, there have been 424 cases of child sexual abuse reported; with reports indicating the figure might not represent the complete extent of the problem, since the crime is a hidden one which goes unreported in many instances.
While girls are predominately the victims of sexual abuse, there are several cases of boys being sexually and physically abused as well. Just a few weeks ago, a 13-year-old boy was brutally raped and murdered in Berbice. The death of the teen sent shock waves throughout Guyana because of the heinous nature of the crime, and had stirred up discussions at the local and national levels about families’ and communities’ roles in protecting children.
To end violence against children, UNICEF has once more issued quite a few recommendations, which, if taken seriously, could go a far way in protecting our children. Among the recommendations are (1): Adopting well-coordinated national action plans to end violence against children – incorporating education, social welfare, justice and health systems as well as communities and children themselves. (2): Changing behaviours of adults, and addressing factors that contribute to violence against children; including economic and social inequities, social and cultural norms that condone violence, inadequate policies and legislation, insufficient services for victims, and limited investments in effective systems to prevent and respond to violence. (3): Focusing national policies on minimizing violent behaviours, reducing inequalities, and limiting access to firearms and other weapons. (4): Building social service systems and training social workers to provide referrals, counselling and therapeutic services for children who have experienced violence. (5): Educating children, parents, teachers, and community members to recognise violence in all its many forms, and empowering them to speak out and report violence safely. (6): Collecting better disaggregated data on violence against children, and tracking progress through robust monitoring and evaluation.
Children, irrespective of their ethnic, religious, cultural or social backgrounds, deserve to grow up in an environment in which they feel safe and are part of loving and nurturing families.
