A letter to deputy commissioner about violence of rules
Answers
Answer:
Mr. Sam Inguba
Commissioner of Police
Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary
Dear Commissioner Inguba:
Children have the right to a life free from violence
States have an obligation, enshrined in international law, to protect children from violence. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees the right for children to be free from violence, including “physical and mental violence, injury and abuse, neglect and negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse”. The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which prohibits all forms of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment (Article 3), applies to children as well all as to adults. The case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) regarding violence against children clearly establishes that states have a positive duty to take effective measures to protect children from abuse.
The Council of Europe also adopted the Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence and the Lanzarote Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse.
Violence against children remains widespread
Violence against children is still too often considered socially acceptable and tolerated in Europe today.
After escaping violence in their home countries, in 2016 refugee children have again had to face physical and psychological violence in Europe’s refugee camps, detention facilities or next to closed borders. Migrant children, especially those who travel unaccompanied, are also particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse, trafficking and exploitation. Yet they are often left insufficiently protected by child protection and other public services in countries of transit or refuge.
Perhaps less known is the fate of children affected by the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. During my visit to this country in March 2016, I learnt that in 2015 more than 20 children were killed and 40 were injured as a result of the conflict. About 200 000 of the 580 000 children living in non-government controlled areas, close to the front line, are in need of psychosocial support to alleviate post-traumatic stress disorders. Mines and unexploded ordnance represent a major threat for the safety of these children. More than 215 000 children have also been displaced to other parts of the country and many live in precarious conditions.
In my work over the last four years, I also found that children in state care, especially those in institutions, can be exposed to high levels of violence. In a report I published in 2014 following a visit to Romania, I referred to reported abuses of institutionalised children with disabilities, including “slapping; choking; beatings with fists, knees and a cane; crushing the children’s fingers using a door; sexual abuse; and no access to toilets at night time.”
Children with disabilities, in particular those with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities, whether institutionalised or not, are three to four times more likely to experience physical and sexual violence or neglect according to 2014 UNICEF research. It is clearly an under-reported problem, and children who complain face the risk of seeing their claims not taken seriously because of their disability, as highlighted by the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency in a 2015 report.
Violence in the circle of trust
Armed conflicts, displacement and poverty are far from being the only context for the occurrence of violence. In fact, most violence occurs in different settings of children’s daily life, including their families and close social environment. Thus, the Lanzarote Committee, in charge of monitoring the implementation of the above-mentioned Lanzarote Convention, has focused its first round of monitoring precisely on sexual abuse of children in the circle of trust. In 70-85% of cases of sexual violence on children, perpetrators are known to the child victim.
Violence in the digital environment
Children are increasingly exposed to violence through the Internet. They risk coming into contact with illegal or harmful content, including pornography, and content inciting substance abuse, suicide and other forms of self-harm. The Internet is also used by predators to contact children under false identities with a view to abusing them. Moreover, children can themselves become perpetrators and inflict harm on others, notably by bullying other children on social media.
Violence against children has a high cost for society
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