United Nations Secretary General’s Study on Violence Against Children Go to: http://www.violencestudy.org 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 2006. Inter-agency collaboration and support (WHO, OHCHR, UNICEF) Based on Convention on the Rights of the Child. ” 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 Call for meaningful child participation in the Study 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? “Witnessing violence teaches you violence and makes you hate.” “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.” Adolescent (North America) Children’s Forum Against the Most Intolerable Forms of Child Labor, Bangkok, 1997 (Desk review South Asia) “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.” Youth leader, survivor and street-involved youth (desk review North America) “They don’t really know that verbal violence is violence.” Young participant (Europe and Central Asia regional report) 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 Governmental commitment to fulfilling protection rights Monitoring and reporting of child protection issues Protective legislation and enforcement The Right of All Children to a Attitudes, traditions, customs, behavior and practices Protective Services for recovery and reintegration Capacity to protect among those around children Environment Open discussion and engagement with child protection issues Children’s life skills, knowledge and participation Protective Environment and Violence