Protecting Children from Violence

 

Violence threatens not only the survival and health of children, but also their emotional well-being and prospects for the future. Domestic violence against children is widespread in the region: in Eastern and Central Europe and Central Asia, about half of all children are victims of violent parenting.

In the preceding month, surveys showed that 53 percent of children aged 1-14 years in Kazakhstan, 57 percent in Kyrgyzstan and 66 percent of children from Roma villages in Serbia were subjected to violent discipline at home in the previous month (compared with a Serbian national rate of 43 percent).

Abandoning children and placing children in residential care are also forms of violence, and children brought up in such institutions are considered particularly vulnerable. Research findings suggest that girls who are transferred to institutions or imprisoned are more likely to be victims of sexual and physical abuse than boys.

Violence is rife in schools as well. In Serbia, 69 percent of primary and 74 percent of secondary school students reported having experienced at least one form of gender-based violence. Bullying is also a problem, with nearly 60 percent of children aged 11-15 admitting to bullying others at school at least once in the past two months.

The threat of violence increases during times of emergency, which weaken the ability of families and communities to protect children. Girls are especially at risk of violence during times of emergency.

Growing internet access is fueling new forms of violence against children

As access to the internet expands, child abuse takes on new forms, such as cyber bullying and online sexual exploitation, with devastating, life-changing consequences.

Teens with violence in their lives may see violence as normal. Due to such attitudes, regional rates of violence against intimate partners have become one of the highest in the world. Cultural traditions such as child marriage also increase the risk of violence against girls and young women.

In addition, domestic violence can contribute to a rise in suicide rates in the region, which is also one of the highest in the world: for example, young men in Kazakhstan very often take their own lives.

UNICEF's commitment to combating child abuse is embodied in everything we do, because this fight is everyone's business. We support action to prevent and respond to child abuse across the region, breaking the silence on this latent issue and changing attitudes that still keep it alive.

We help families and communities to prevent violence

In addition to developing the skills of professional workers such as teachers and social workers to identify and address violence, we help families and communities to prevent violence.

We prioritize the elimination of domestic violence against children (including child abandonment) by supporting positive parenting and other activities to develop parenting skills. Our support for home health workers, social workers and all other frontline workers who interact with families includes training in recognizing child abuse and referring children suspected of being abused to appropriate services.

We are also promoting the idea of ​​creating violence-free schools and protecting children from violence in residential institutions and foster families. In addition, UNICEF is working to eradicate child marriage, as a result of which girl brides are often victims of domestic violence and abuse.

We foster the expansion of services that protect against violence, such as child friendly social welfare and justice services, and work to ensure that child victims know where and how to find help.

Practical examples of our work include Our School without Violence program, which aims to keep all students safe and protect children who are victims of violence. Evaluations carried out in Kyrgyzstan and Serbia confirm that thanks to such programs, teachers' awareness is growing, discussion of the problem of violence becomes more open, gender stereotypes are more clearly understood; all of these are important steps towards protecting children from school violence.