2.21 BILLION REASONS:
CREATING SAFE
ENVIRONMENTS FOR
CHILDREN AND YOUTH
Peace-Psychology and Protection of
Vulnerable Groups
University of Copenhagen
January 30th, 2009
PRESENTED BY:
Judi Fairholm, National Technical Director
RespectED: Violence & Abuse Prevention
Canadian Red Cross
• How do we protect children?
• How do we address violence?
• How do we build the systems to create and monitor safe
environments for children and youth?
www.redcross.ca/respected
VIOLENCE
The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened
or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a
group or community, that either results in or has a high
likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm,
mal-development or deprivation.
~WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 2002
TYPOLOGY OF VIOLENCE
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 2002
54%
35%
11%
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WHO ESTIMATES OF
GLOBAL VIOLENCE
Homicide rates per 100,000 population:
Boys aged 15-17
9.1
Boys under 1
4.5
Girls under 1
4.3
Girls aged 15-17
3.3
Global average - low income countries
2.6
Global average - high income countries
1.2
WHO REPORTS ON VIOLENCE, AND VIOLENCE
AGAINST CHILDREN, AS CITED BY WAVE TRUST
UNDERSTANDING THE
INFANT BRAIN
• Infant brain acutely vulnerable to trauma
• If early experience fear: stress hormones wash over brain
like acid
• Brains of abused children significantly smaller
– many areas dark on CAT scans (“black hole”)
– limbic system (emotions) 20-30% smaller, fewer
synapses
– hippocampus (memory) smaller
– increased activity in locus coeruleus (hair-trigger alert)
MS CLIPS
WAVE TRUST
UNDERSTANDING THE
INFANT BRAIN
WAVE TRUST
IN DISASTERS
• Hurricane Hugo, South Carolina
• Loma Prieta Earthquake, California
• Hurricane Andrew, Louisiana
• Refugee/Internally Displaced Camps
– West Africa
– Tsunami
– Katrina
– Liberia
– Lakes District
– Haiti
MOST COMMON ABUSE
IDENTIFIED:
S. Sudan, Côte d’Ivoire, Haiti
Forced Sex
Kissing
Touching
Sexual Exploitation
Verbal Abuse
0
10
20
30
40
50
Percentage of Study Participants
60
70
CONSEQUENCES OF
CHILD MALTREATMENT
Psychological & social
outcomes
PTSD
Anti-social behaviour
Reduced empathy
Depression
Anxiety
Eating disorders
Impaired cognitive dev.
Unwanted pregnancy
Obesity
Repeat victimization
Health-risk behaviours
Sexual promiscuity
Sexual violence
Physical violence
Alcohol abuse
Illicit/injecting drug use
Smoking
Other behaviour
problems
Diseases and injuries
Ischaemic heart disease
Diabetes
Stroke
Cancer
Suicide
Homicide
Non-fatal injuries
Chronic bronchitis/emphysema
Asthma
STDs (e.g., HIV)
Hepatitis
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
HUMAN COSTS
• Adults who experienced child abuse were
• 192% more likely to become addicted to drugs
• 103% more likely to become smokers
• 103% more likely to become alcoholics
• 95% more likely to become obese
• 43% more likely to become suicidal
• 80% of female prisoners were victims of childhood physical
or sexual abuse
• Children with a history of sexual abuse are 10X more likely to
attempt suicide and 7X more likely to become addicts
DEVELOPMENTAL TRAJECTORY
OF POWER & VIOLENCE
Elder Abuse
Child Abuse
Marital Abuse
Dating Aggression
CHILD ABUSE
AND/OR
Gang Aggression
BULLYING
Sexual Harassment
Community Violence
Workplace Harassment
© PROMOTING RELATIONSHIPS AND
ELIMINATING VIOLENCE NETWORK, 2007
CASE STUDY:
INTERGENERATIONAL ABUSE
Grandmother & Grandfather
-Emotionally, physically & sexually abused in Residential School
-Grandfather became sexual abuser himself
-Grandmother was killed
Mary
-Neglected by
parents
-Sexually abused
by father
-Stabbed by Lizzie
-Jailed for
murdering partner
Hannah
Lizzie
Peter
-Neglected by
parents
-Sexually abused
by father
-Alocoholism
-Jailed for
stabbing Mary
-Neglected by
parents
-Sexually abused by
father
-Alcoholism
-Jailed for murdering
partner Minnie and
their two children
Ann
Bob
Brad
Mina
Pat
Tom
-Foster
home
-Suicide
-Foster
home
-Suicide
-Foster
home
-Suicide
-Foster
home
-Now
living with
grandfather the
sexual
abuser
-Severe
FASD
-Vandalism
-Jailed for
killing one
classmate
and
seriously
injuring
another
-Neglected by
parents
-Sexually
abused by
father
-Struggled with
alcoholism but
ok now
Daniel
Jane
Billy
-Murdered
by Peter
-Murdered
by Peter
-graduated
from
vocational
school
-worried
about Mina
ECONOMIC COSTS
• Brazil, child abuse accounted for 77% of hospital costs
• Chile, child abuse cost 2% of the gross domestic product
• USA, cost of child abuse is $94 billion/year
• Canada, cost of child abuse is $15 billion/year
ECOLOGICAL MODEL OF
VIOLENCE
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 2002
WHO’S 10 “BEST BUYS” IN
VIOLENCE PREVENTION
1. Increase safe, stable, and
nurturing relationships
between children and their
parents
5. Promote gender equality &
empower women
2. Reduce availability and
misuse of alcohol
7. Improve criminal justice
systems
3. Reduce access to lethal
means
8. Improve social welfare
systems
4. Improve life skills and
enhance opportunities for
children and youth
9. Reduce social distance
between conflicting groups
6. Change cultural norms that
support violence
10. Reduce economic inequality
& concentrated poverty
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
PROTECTIVE FRAMEWORK –
UNICEF 2008
• Gov’t commitments to fulfilling protective rights
• Legislation and enforcement
• Attitudes, traditions, customs, behaviours and practices
• Open discussion/engagement of media and civil society
• Children’s life skills, knowledge and participation
• Capacity of those in contact with children
• Basic and targeted services
• Monitoring
UNICEF, 2008
COMMUNITY: TEN STEPS TO CREATING
SAFE ENVIRONMENTS
FOR CHILDREN & YOUTH
RESPECTED: VIOLENCE & ABUSE PREVENTION
RECOGNIZE VULNERABLE
CHILDREN
• Separated/orphaned
children
• Children with disabilities
• Aboriginal children
• Institutionalized children
• Minority children
• Children/youth in detention
• Infants under 1 year of age
• Adolescents
• Street youth
DEFINE PROTECTION
INSTRUMENTS
• International Instruments
• National Laws: Criminal and Civil
• Human Rights Legislation
• Child Protection Laws
• Organizational Policies
MS CLIPS
PRINCIPLES OF PROTECTION
• Equality, non-discrimination, inclusion
• “Best interests” of the child
• Accountability
• Each child has the
– Right to survival
– Right to protection
– Right to development
– Right to information
– Right to participation
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THE PROTECTION “P’s”
• Policies
• Procedures
• Personnel
• Participants
• Parents
• Premises
• Programs
• Protective Factors
MEETING THE CHALLENGES
• Societal
• Organizational
• Community
• Individual
MS CLIPS
MAINTAIN SAFE ENVIRONMENTS
• Policy review
• Best practices
• Communication
• Monitor and support
• Risk management
• Build internal capacity
MS CLIPS
• Make “safe
environments” a priority
YOU & ME
• Learn
• Prioritize children
• Protect
• No more “observer status”
• Empower others
• Listen
UNICEF, 2008
YOUTH TELL US...
We’re not being heard or believed.
We don’t know what resources there are.
ENOUGH
Enough of gnawing hunger
Enough of rejection
Enough of lost children
Enough of child soldiers
Enough of sexual violence
Enough of children stolen and sold
Enough of broken spirits
Enough of lives denied
MS CLIPS
The quality of a child’s life depends on decisions made
every day in households, communities and in the halls
of government. We must make those choices wisely,
and with children’s best interests in mind. If we fail to
secure childhood, we will fail to reach our larger goals
for human rights and economic develop-ment. As
children go, so go nations. It’s that simple.
CAROL BELLAMY
Photo credit:
Jonathan Barth
www.redcross.ca/respected