United Nations Secretary General’s Study on Violence Against Children Go to: WHO, UNHCHR, UNICEF Institut fuer Friedenspaedagogik Tuebingen Oktober 2005 Stella Schuhmacher UNICEF NY, Child Protection

Requested by CRC Committe and decided by the GA. Final Report to be submitted to UN General Assembly in Inter-agency collaboration and support (WHO, OHCHR, UNICEF) Based on Convention on the Rights of the Child. Call for meaningful child participation in the Study ” Children are not mini human beings with mini human rights. As long as adults continue to regard children as mini-human beings, violence against children will persist.” Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Independent Expert

What is the scale and nature of violence against children? What do we recommend regarding legislation, policies, and programmes? What will motivate States to fulfill their obligations to children? How can networks and partnerships be more effective? Child delegate at the Middle East and North Africa regional consultation. More than just a study…

Settings approach Home and family Schools and educational settings Institutions (residential care institutions, correctional facilities, etc.) Community (streets, clubs, sport, leisure) Workplaces Cross cutting issues: discrimination, media, trafficking, FGM/C, societal attitudes.

Process Questionnaires for Governments Call for submissions Regional Consultations Expert meetings National and sub-regional consultations Editorial Board

Partners WHO, OHCHR, UNICEF form coordinating committee. UN agencies, CRC Committee and other HR mechanisms. NGOs and civil society – NGO Advisory Panel. Corporate partners. Children and young people.

What is violence? Adolescent (North America) “ Witnessing violence teaches you violence and makes you hate.” Children’s Forum Against the Most Intolerable Forms of Child Labor, Bangkok, 1997 (Desk review South Asia) “We have no time for study and education, no time to play and rest, we are exposed to unsafe working conditions and we are not protected.” “You were not there to protect me as a child, and I’ll live with that damage for the rest of my life. But I vow, as a young person in this society, to put an end to this violence for the next generation. You can stand by me, or you can turn your back.” Young participant (Europe and Central Asia regional report) Youth leader, survivor and street-involved youth (desk review North America) “ They don’t really know that verbal violence is violence.”

Regional Consultation for Europe and Central Asia Slovenia, 5-7 July 2005

“ We the children, declare violence, whether physical [or] psychological … a serious problem in this region; We regret that most laws to protect us are not implemented; We regret that all countries in this region have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, however, still many children suffer from abuse, and from the effects of occupation and war …” (Children, MENA Regional Consultation, June 2005)

“Yes, the consultation opened many doors and mouths too! Something that was unspeakable earlier has now been blurted out by children who led the way in this process. I think this is one of the great benefits of child participation.” (Participant, South Asia Consultation, Pakistan, May, 2005)

Products/Outcomes Final report submitted to the Secretary General and General Assembly end 2006 A more elaborate report/publication (with in-depth information and recommendations) A child-friendly version of the Study report Global Mobilisation of Partners

Challenges Placing violence against children at the centre of achieving the MDG’s. Creating synergy in partnerships – on education, on health, on nutrition, on justice and the law, etc. Implementation at scale. Gathering systematic and reliable data across types of violence and settings.

The Protective Environment Attitudes, traditions, customs, behavior and practices Capacity to protect among those around children Open discussion and engagement with child protection issues Children’s life skills, knowledge and participation Protective legislation and enforcement Services for recovery and reintegration The Right of All Children to a Protective Environment Governmental commitment to fulfilling protection rights Governmental commitment to fulfilling protection rights Monitoring and reporting of child protection issues Monitoring and reporting of child protection issues

Protective Environment and Violence