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Listen to this29 NOVEMBER
UK
Children's sector leaders have hit out at the lack of additional funding in the Budget to address pressures in schools, social care and youth services.
Outlining the government's economic priorities for the coming year, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond included an additional £2.8bn for the NHS up to 2020, incentives to boost house building and the creation of a homelessness taskforce to tackle rough sleeping in his autumn Budget.
However, the government's failure to address the estimated £2bn funding shortfall in council children's social care spending and significant pressures in the schools budget was criticised by charities, campaigners and sector leaders.
Richard Watts, chair of the Local Government Association children and young people board, said he was "extremely disappointed" with the lack of additional funding for children's services.
He said: "The government has been warned repeatedly that ongoing funding cuts have left councils struggling to provide the support that vulnerable children and families need.
"This vital service is rapidly becoming unsustainable. A further £2 billion funding gap will have opened up in just over two years' time, and this gap is likely to grow even larger unless immediate action is taken to address the growing demand for child protection services.
Alison Michalska, president of the Association of Directors of Children's Services, added: "Local authority budgets have been reduced, on average, by 40 per cent since 2010. We have worked tirelessly to protect our communities from the brunt of these cuts by reshaping our services or finding new ways of working but each budget round gets harder as local authorities look for more and more savings on top of those that have come before.
"We are forced to further reduce services in the very areas we know make an enormous difference to children and their families and can prevent them from reaching crisis point."
Anna Feuchtwang, chief executive of the National Children's Bureau, said the lack of child-focused measures in the Budget had shown the Chancellor had "little concern for the plight of the nation's children".
"Councils across the country are facing increasing demand for children's social care, yet the government has ignored their warnings and done nothing to inject funding into services already cut to the bone," she said.
"Four in 10 councillors responsible for children's social care say that a lack of resources is preventing them from fulfilling their statutory duties to children. We should be stepping in early to help these children and families, but this budget will force councils to provide social care on an emergency basis only."
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said the government had chosen to "ignore evidence of the problems being created by real-terms cuts to education".
"The Chancellor has failed to reverse the real-terms education cuts; failed to provide new money to fully fund all areas of education; failed to level-up funding to address historic underfunding; and failed to guarantee the investment needed for future years," he said.
"With nine out of 10 schools facing real-terms cuts per pupil, the government is telling parents today that their children deserve less than was spent on children in previous years. Schools need £2bn a year extra funding to restore real-terms per pupil funding to 2015/16 levels."
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, added: "School budgets are at breaking point, and the Chancellor has done nothing to alleviate that pressure.
"It will now be impossible for many schools to avoid making redundancies, to continue to keep class sizes at an acceptable level, and to offer a full and rounded curriculum to all pupils.
"It is impossible to claim that this is a Budget which embraces the future when it doesn't contain any new money for schools or young people."
The National Youth Agency (NYA) was left disappointed by the government's failure to find additional resources for youth services.
Leigh Middleton, chief executive of NYA, said: "Youth services have taken a real battering over the past seven years, with expenditure falling by more than 50 per cent.
"It's not surprising that the numbers of young people in the social care system has risen, while youth services have shrunk. The nation needs urgent investment in youth services to prevent further negative outcomes for young people."
Following concerns raised about delays in benefit payments under the government's universal credit system, the Chancellor announced changes that will speed up the system.
However, The Children's Society chief executive Matthew Reed, said the changes are insufficient.
"The six-week waiting period has been plunging families into hunger, destitution and problem debt. Cutting this by a week and extending advance payments – which immediately get families into debt – simply does not go far enough," he said.
"We believe that the longest anyone should have to wait to receive their entitlement to universal credit is two weeks and that, from then on, claimants should get payments weekly if that's what they want."
Alison Garnham, chief executive of Child Poverty Action Group, added: "This should have been the Budget that ushered in much-needed structural reform of universal credit to revive the central promise to strengthen the rewards from work.
"What happens to universal credit will shape the future for children in low-income and just managing families. The budgets of ordinary families will not be fit for the future until the work allowances in universal credit have been restored to support parents who want to bring home higher wages."
The Budget also included plans for the national minimum wage to rise four per cent next April, raising concerns among early years organisations about the ability of childcare providers to absorb the rise in their wage bills.
National Day Nurseries Association's chief executive Purnima Tanuku said: "This Budget has increased the business costs that private, independent and voluntary nurseries must pay and done nothing to alleviate the challenges that the sector is facing.
"The Chancellor has given a clear message that this government is not interested in properly investing in early years and just expects the sector to get on with it while faced with all these increases."
The government also pledged to provide an additional £28m to Kensington and Chelsea Council to pay for mental health support for residents affected by the Grenfell Tower disaster and to regenerate the affected area.
By Derren Hayes
November 2017
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27 NOVEMBER
IRELAND
An inspection by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) has found major and recurring problems with the ability of Tusla foster services in Cork to properly protect children.
The inspection report by Hiqa was critical that the service area had no system in place to ensure children were not placed with foster carers who had open allegations made against them.
The report, published on Tuesday, found a failure of the State’s child and family agency , Tusla, to comply with its own standards, including a failure to investigate relatives before placing a child with them.
In five out of ten cases reviewed by Hiqa inspectors, there was no recorded home visit by foster care services to relatives’ homes before children were fostered there.
The report concluded “as a result, there was no oversight by the fostering department of these families in order to safeguard the children placed”.
In one case, a safeguarding visit to a child placed with relatives did not take place for ten months.
Inspectors also found two cases involving children, placed into relatives care, where the foster care team “was not aware of these placements, or how long those children were placed” there.
Vetting
The review found 87 foster carers did not have up-to-date garda vetting, and 27 relatives acting as foster carers were not garda vetted at all.
The inspection report said a new system for tracking the garda vetting of foster carers set up in the Cork area “was not accurate, reliable or up to date”.
Some 159 foster carers in the service area had not been reviewed by a social worker within the required timeframe of three years. And 42 relative foster carers had not been allocated a link social worker to provide support services.
The inspection was a follow-up from an earlier review of the Tusla Cork foster care services Hiqa carried out in February 2017, which found major non-compliance in five out of eight areas.
A statement from Hiqa on the inspection report said the “findings were similar to those found on the previous inspection, and therefore continued to pose a risk to children placed with the service”.
“Actions which were to be immediately implemented in order to reduce the risks had not been implemented in a timely manner.”
Cork East Labour Party TD Sean Sherlock said “it is simply not good enough that in the nine months since the previous inspection was carried out, major non-compliance issues were identified.”
Mr Sherlock added he was concerned “that some of the urgent actions needed to be taken, did not happen quick enough” following the previous Hiqa review of Cork foster services.
21 November 2017
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22 NOVEMBER
Today, as we mark National Child Day, the Canadian Council of Child and Youth Advocates (CCCYA) is encouraging federal, provincial and municipal governments, and all Canadians, to remember the fundamental rights of children and youth. The CCCYA is an association of children's advocates, ombudsman and representatives from across Canada whose mandates include advancing the rights of children and youth. We are all independent officers of our respective legislatures, and we work to address mutual concerns. Ensuring the rights of all children and youth are upheld is one of our priorities.
Child rights are more than a concept; they are clearly outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), a treaty ratified by the Canadian government in 1991. The UNCRC is based on an understanding of the fundamental worth of all children.
Just because these rights are clearly laid out, however, does not mean everyone is familiar with them – a situation that needs to change. Among its 54 articles, the UNCRC ensures that children have the right to be heard (Article 12) the right to food, clothing and shelter (Article 27), the right to practice one's own culture (Article 30), the right be free from abuse (Articles 19, 34, 35, 36, 37) and the right to health care (Article 24) and education (Article 28).
On National Child Day, we urge everyone to stand up for and actively promote child rights. This is especially crucial in relation to the rights of Indigenous children and youth who continue to be dramatically over-represented in the child welfare system.
Although Canada is doing well in some areas, our governments are clearly falling short with respect to child rights in others, such as informing children and adults about child rights, and including child rights in school curricula. As one youth put it, "Kids and foster parents need to know child rights at an earlier age and what to do about it."
As child advocates, we strive to ensure children and youth are aware of their rights. It is often difficult for a child or youth to recognize when their rights are being violated. That is why we call upon individual Canadians, as well as governments, to make it a priority to be aware of the UNCRC, to take a stand in supporting child rights, and to take action in ensuring the rights of the children and youth in our lives are protected
What does taking action look like? It means taking the initiative to become informed about child rights. It means helping children and youth in our communities to be aware of their rights. It also means speaking up when a child or youth needs help. And it most certainly means expecting governments to comply with the UNCRC, and holding them accountable to do so.
20 November 2017
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20 NOVEMBER
Ahead of the Universal Children's Day on 20 November, Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission, Neven Mimica, Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Dimitris Avramopoulos, Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Marianne Thyssen, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, Christos Stylianides, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Vera Jourova, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Tibor Navracsics, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, and Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Digital Society and Digital Economy made the following statement:
"The rights of the child are human rights. They are indivisible, universal and inalienable. As the European Union, we strive to protect and promote the rights of every child. It is our collective obligation and duty and a principle enshrined in the Treaty of the European Union.
A child is a child first and foremost. Every girl and every boy deserves a childhood and it is our responsibility, institutions and societies at large, to make sure that they are never deprived of this right – no matter their ethnicity, gender, religion, or, sometimes, the challenging living environments. No matter whether inside or outside the EU – no child should be left behind. Every voice should be heard.
Across the world, 16,000 children die every day, mostly from preventable or treatable causes. Every five minutes, a child dies as a result of violence in their homes, schools, and communities. Around the world, girls and boys are victims of sexual abuse, deprived of education and living in poverty. Worldwide, 152 million children are victims of child labour and more than 50 million have migrated or are forcibly displaced today. This is why we are working every day, on all fronts and around the world, to provide long-term, sustainable and positive change for children, to ensure their protection, to end violence against children in emergencies and to provide them with their right to education and offer perspectives for the future. Whilst the EU's efforts are mobilised from the earliest onsets of a crisis – children's rights and protection concern everyone. We will continue working with partner countries, international organisations, non-governmental organisations and civil society.
Through our humanitarian funding we have supported the education of over 4.7 million children in 50 countries. Projects bringing education to almost half a million Syrian children are under way. Through our development cooperation projects in Mauritania, we help to protect and reintegrate domestic child workers. In Colombia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, we are helping children impacted by armed violence. In addition, we have stepped up our action and made the protection of children in migration a top priority across all our actions.
Young people shape economic, democratic and societal change. We need to invest in their future and allow them to determine themselves the best solutions to the challenges ahead. This is why youth is the guiding theme of the upcoming African Union – European Union Summit. We need to ensure young people's political participation and provide them with a platform to be "agenda-setters".
Our children are the most vulnerable citizens in our societies. They are the present and the future of our world. We will stand up to our commitment and leave no child behind."
Background
Worldwide, 152 million children are victims of child labour. Research shows that more than 80% of the children in orphanages are not orphans, but are placed there due to reasons such as poverty, disability, and marginalisation – or because of trafficking. And over 15% of the victims of trafficking in human beings registered in the EU in the period 2012 – 2014 are girls and boys.
Children are particularly vulnerable in conflict and crisis situations. Around the world, more than 50 million children have migrated across borders or been forcibly displaced. To the EU, more than 250,000 children arrived by sea to Greece and Italy in 2015. Out of 600,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, 60% are children, while the United Nations recorded at least 15,500 violations against children in armed conflict in 2016.
The EU is a world leader in providing humanitarian support for children, helping deliver food, water, sanitation, healthcare and protection. In Libya, we are giving special attention to work on school rehabilitation, non-formal education and on providing support to transitional care institutions for unaccompanied and separated children. In Jordan and Nicaragua, we address gender-based sexual violence. The EU's commitment to support the provision of safe, inclusive and quality education in emergencies has reached 6% of the overall humanitarian aid budget in 2017, and will increase to 8% in 2018.
The EU actions at the external front are consolidated in the Guidelines on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child, adopted by the EU Foreign Ministers in June 2017. The Guidelines provide practical guidance to strengthen the promotion and protection of children, support our partner countries in doing so and further strengthen cooperation with international organisations and civil society. Child protection is also a central priority in the European Agenda on Migration. In April 2017 the Commission put forward a set of actions to reinforce the protection of all migrant children at all stages of the process, including access to healthcare, education and legal assistance and a swift determination of their status to provide guardianship or facilitate family reunifications.
In this digital age, the EU is a key player in creating a child-friendly and protective environment in the digital sphere. In 2017, through the Better Internet for Kids Strategy, the EU has supported children to learn, express themselves and critically assess what they discover online in order to become responsible and resilient digital citizens.
19 November 2017
Source: European Commission
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AUSTRALIA
Darwin's notorious Don Dale Youth Detention Centre will shut down within three months as the Northern Territory government attempts to close a dark chapter inside its youth prisons.
The government has also agreed to the immediate closure of Don Dale's high security unit where boys were tear-gassed. The incident was just part of the scandal that sparked the inquiry into child protection and detention.
"This royal commission very much began there and it needs to end there," Chief Minister Michael Gunner said.
The $54 million commission's final report was released on Friday, with the Territory government giving "in principle" support to its recommendation for an Australian-first increase in the age of criminal responsibility from 10 years to 12.
Commissioners Margaret White and Mick Gooda have pushed for a major policy shift favouring rehabilitation and community-led measures over 'tough on crime' solutions.
In response, Mr Gunner has promised the most comprehensive overhaul in Territory history, allocating $50 million towards setting up juvenile justice infrastructure and asking the commonwealth to match it.
The Labor government is yet to commit to recommendations to end the detention of youngsters under 14 years who haven't committed serious crimes, and to stop the use of restraints and isolation for managing behaviour.
The commissioners said systemic failures occurred over many years and were ignored at the highest levels, and Mr Gunner apologised for the stain this left on the Territory's reputation.
"But more than this, I'm sorry for the stories that live in the children we failed," he said. "Youth justice is supposed to make our kids better, not break them."
The lawyer for Dylan Voller, who was infamously put in a spithood and shackled to a restraint chair, said he was locked up in appalling conditions and "forgotten about until it became convenient to demonise" him.
Peter O'Brien said the 20-year-old and other former detainees who had the fortitude to give evidence have been vindicated, while Voller told NITV he feared for some friends who were still serving time.
"These recommendations should be not only for the Northern Territory, but for all states across Australia," Voller said.
Former CLP corrections minister John Elferink, who was sacked over the 2014 gassing incident, told Sky News the three-month timeline to close Don Dale was unrealistic. There was nowhere else to put the 35 kids currently behind bars, he said.
The inquiry made adverse findings against Mr Elferink and another former corrections minister, Gerry McCarthy.
Mr McCarthy rejected the previous Labor government's own expert panel advice that Don Dale needed to be replaced, and is currently serving as Housing Minister.
But Mr Gunner defended his cabinet colleague, stating "If we were to make a judgement call right now on anyone who made a mistake in youth justice, we'd have a very small workforce".
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull hasn't guaranteed any cash for the recommendations, but said they hold lessons for the entire country.
The inquiry believes they'll save nearly $336 million over the next decade if its recommendations are implemented.
National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations chief executive Pat Turner called on Mr Turnbull to "put his money with his mouth is".
"You don't set up a royal commission and then walk away from the implementation," she said.
NT Children's Commissioner Colleen Gwynne said political leadership and bipartisan support is crucial to ensure the report doesn't gather dust.
"We're talking about a 10-year strategy here, this isn't something we're going to fix within this term of government," she said.
17 November 2017
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15 NOVEMBER
CANADA
Ontario has partnered with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library literacy program to provide First Nations children living on-reserve with free books to foster a love of reading and help them reach their full potential.
The Imagination Library is a monthly book service that provides books free of charge, to children up to age 5, who are enrolled in licensed child care centres and child and family programs on-reserve. To date, 36 First Nation communities have signed on to the Imagination Library program, registering 753 children.
The Imagination Library is a non-profit foundation that promotes literacy skills, and a solid foundation of reading and learning. The monthly book service focuses on early childhood learning and encourages positive interactions between parents and their children. It also improves a child's readiness for kindergarten, and sets the foundation for success in school and in life.
Helping children reach their full potential is one of many steps on Ontario's journey of healing and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. It reflects the government's commitment to work with Indigenous partners, and rebuild relationships based on trust and respect with First Nations, Métis and Inuit.
Quick facts
• Ontario has committed $500,000, over two years, to the Dollywood
Foundation of Canada to support the literacy program.
• Research
shows that there are positive relationships between quality early
learning and child care, child development outcomes, and a parent’s
ability to work. This is particularly true for vulnerable children.
9 November 2017
Ministry of Education
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13 NOVEMBER
NEW ZEALAND
Calls from the Children’s Commissioner to ensure that children and the rights of children are at the heart of policy and legislative reform are supported by the Human Rights Commission.
The UNCROC Monitoring Group, which the Human Rights Commission is part of, has today released the Getting It Right – The Children’s Convention in Aotearoa report about how New Zealand is putting the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Children’s Convention) into practice, and where it can do better.
Chief Commissioner David Rutherford says the report’s recommendations gives the Government a clear steer on where to next for children’s rights.
“Key issues such as housing, education, abuse, poverty and bullying in schools continue to have an immense impact on the lives and rights of our youngest New Zealanders and that has to be addressed.
“For too long, policy and legislation has been developed for and about children and young people, without involving them in the process.
“While the new Government has many policies targeted at addressing some key issues, reducing bullying in New Zealand schools does not appear to be an area of focus yet. Education Ministers have recognised for decades that the level of bullying in our schools, compared to other OECD countries, is a disgrace.
“Government programmes announced as the solution in the past have yet to reduce the number of New Zealand students bullied in our schools. We are still amongst the worst in the developed world and we need to do something about that now.
“Until there is a visible reduction in our bullying rates, UN Human Rights bodies will continue to want to know why the introduction of anti-bullying programs, proven to work in New Zealand and overseas, have not been supported by the State.
“International human rights law requires the State to keep student’s safe in our schools. Our domestic law does too. However, the data shows we are failing to do that.
“In March next year, the Committee on Economic, Social and Culture Rights will review New Zealand’s performance on poverty, housing, health, education (including bullying in New Zealand schools).
“This will be the next UN reporting opportunity for New Zealanders concerned about children’s human rights and the Commission will be encouraging young people to make a submission and ensure we all continue to drive change for our Tamariki,” Mr Rutherford says.
You can read the UNCROC monitoring report here
13 November 2017
Press Release: Human Rights Commission
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10 NOVEMBER
USA
Up to $180,000 will be awarded to organizations for peer-driven services focused on ending stigma associated with addiction
The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) today announced the availability of funding to establish or expand services for youth and young adults in recovery from addiction. Up to $180,000 is being made available through a series of mini-grants, which will be administered by the Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene and OASAS.
Up to 15 projects will be awarded up to $12,000 each. This funding is part of the $25.2 million federal State Targeted Response Grant that New York received in early 2017.
"It is critical that we continue our efforts to reach young people affected by this devastating disease," OASAS Commissioner Arlene González-Sánchez said. "This initiative will help ensure that youth and young adults have the support they need, and will give them a voice in their own recovery process. Thanks to Gov. Cuomo's leadership, we are continuing to make strides in preventing substance use disorders and expanding our important recovery services here in New York state."
The mini-grants will be specifically focused on establishing peer-driven services. These include alternative peer groups for youth and young adults, recovery supports and recovery community organizations looking to develop or enhance services, alumni support groups, and activities that promote recovery for youth and young adults in a targeted community.
The initiative is also designed to ensure these projects are youth-driven. Young people in recovery will have the opportunity to help determine how best to utilize this funding, and expand recovery supports and services based on the unique needs of their own communities.
The funding will be awarded through a request for applications, which OASAS is issuing today. It can be viewed here.
9 November 2017
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8 NOVEMBER
Barnardos welcomes the Government’s commitments to improving the situation of our children in Aotearoa New Zealand and says how these commitments are implemented will be crucial.
Today Barnardos published its Briefing to the Incoming Government, ‘An Aotearoa New Zealand every child shines bright | Nga Tamariki.’ The document outlines key priorities for children in Aotearoa New Zealand and details what will be essential for creating a New Zealand that champions all children’s rights and well-being.
The areas highlighted are child safety and well-being, ending child poverty, supporting our most vulnerable children, ensuring quality early childhood education for every child, and listening to and working with children.
Chief Executive Jeff Sanders says Barnardos was heartened to see children’s issues receiving strong attention from all political parties during the General Election campaign. Now it is keen to see follow-through and to partner with Government and other organisations to achieve lasting positive change for children.
“What we’ve made clear in our Briefing to the Incoming Government is that we welcome the commitments made to better addressing the needs and well-being of children in New Zealand. Many of the Government’s policy commitments aren’t going to be simple or quick to achieve, but will require concerted and considered attention.
“However, we are convinced that if Government follows through on its pledge to work closely with NGOs and other partners there’s a real potential to create long-term, sustainable change for children,” says Mr Sanders.
Barnardos is ready to bring ideas and insights from its work with and for children around the country, to help shape child-focused policies and to help implement these in ways that work for children.
“We’re also encouraging the new Government to implement processes to
support children’s participation in the policy and legislative process,
so that children can more directly shape the systems settings that will
affect their lives,” says Mr Sanders.
6 November 2017
Press Release: Barnardos
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6 NOVEMBER
A provincial child advocacy group, with strong roots in Simcoe County, launched at Queen’s Park last week, calling on the province to ensure foster care children do better when they age out of the system.
Jane Kovarikova, a Simcoe-Muskoka Family Connexions board member, speared headed the Child Welfare Political Action Committee.
Kovarikova assembled a team of 13 former foster children who have found success despite the misgivings of the system that raised them.
“They all beat the odds. They didn’t make it because they were lucky,” she said. “They had to fight to be where they are today.”
Simcoe County warden Gerry Marshall is one of the members of the team, which includes lawyers, business people, journalists, therapists and academics.
The action committee’s goal is convince the province to fix a “broken” system so foster children have a brighter future when they age-out at 18.
Last year, Kovarikova, a PhD student at Western University, published a research paper on the foster care system that raised her since she was a six-year-old.
She found Ontario does not systematically track what happens to young people after they leave care, nor study the long-term impact of growing up in the system.
“If you do not study youth outcomes after care, then you cannot know if your policies or reforms are working.”
Available data reveals 10 to 30 per cent become homeless; 75 to 90 per cent draw government benefits and early pregnancy rates are double to quadruple.
Kovarikova said the Oct. 24 Queen’s Park launch allowed her group to get the ear of Michael Coteau, minister of children and youth services.
“We needed to create a public action group to get politicians to make this a priority,” she said. “The minister spoke at our reception and gave us a public commitment.”
Kovarikova said launching the nonprofit group with a provincial election around the corner is part of the game plan.
The action committee wants the province to document outcomes of foster wards and make recommendations to repair the system.
Kovarikova added the committee is looking for former foster children who want to share their stories.
By Rick Vanderlinde
3 November 2017
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3 NOVEMBER
About 300 million, or three-quarters, of the world’s two- to four-year-old children experience either psychological aggression or physical punishment, or both, by their caregivers at home, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a report published Tuesday.
“The harm inflicted on children around the world does tremendous damage,” said UNICEF Chief of Child Protection Cornelius Williams in a press release on the report, titled 'A Familiar Face: Violence in the lives of children and adolescents'.
“Babies slapped in the face; girls and boys forced into sexual acts; adolescents murdered in their communities – violence against children knows no boundaries,” he added.
The report uses the latest data to show that children experience violence across all stages of childhood and in all settings.
About 60 per cent of one-year-olds in 30 countries with available data are regularly subjected to violent discipline. Nearly a quarter of one-year-olds are physically shaken as punishment and nearly one in 10 are hit or slapped on the face, head or ears.
Worldwide, 176 million, or one in four, children under age five are living with a mother who is a victim of intimate partner violence.
The report also finds that around 15 million adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 worldwide have experienced forced sexual intercourse or other forced sexual acts in their lifetime. Only one per cent of adolescent girls who had experienced sexual violence said they reached out for professional help. In the 28 countries with data, 90 per cent of adolescent girls who had experienced forced sex, on average, said the perpetrator of the first incident was known to them.
Data from six countries reveals friends, classmates and partners were among the most frequently cited perpetrators of sexual violence against adolescent boys.
Globally, every seven minutes, an adolescent is killed by an act of violence. In the United States, adolescent boys from African American or black non-Hispanic populations are almost 19 times more likely to be murdered than non-Hispanic white adolescent boys.
Latin America and the Caribbean is the only region where adolescent homicide rates have increased; nearly half of all homicides among adolescents globally occurred in this region in 2015.
The report also says that half the population of school-age children – 732 million – live in countries where corporal punishment at school is not fully prohibited. Three-quarters of documented school shootings that have taken place over the past 25 years in non-conflict countries occurred in the United States.
To end violence against children, UNICEF is calling for governments to take urgent action and support such measures as adopting well-coordinated national action plans; changing adult behaviours; limiting access to firearms and other weapons; educating children, parents, teachers, and community members to recognize violence in all its many forms and report it safely; and collecting better disaggregated data to track progress through robust monitoring and evaluation.
2 November 2017
Press Release: United Nations
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1 NOVEMBER
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released two new tools addressing global violence prevention and child sexual abuse.
Global violence information
WHO has released an interactive website on violence prevention, Violence Info. It provides global and country specific information about child maltreatment, youth violence, intimate partner violence, elder abuse, sexual violence and homicide. For each topic it provides easy to understand infographics and links to research studies on prevalence, consequences, risk factors and prevention and response strategies. It also includes example response programmes and overviews of measurement tools. Under the studies section, it provides visual displays and links to research studies (including on violence against women).
There are country-specific profiles on laws, policies, strategies, programmes and services to prevent and respond to violence.
Clinical guidelines on childhood sexual abuse
WHO has also published new clinical guidelines for healthcare
providers on responding to children and adolescents who have been
sexually abused. The guidelines are focused primarily on frontline
healthcare providers such as general practitioners, nurses,
paediatricians and gynaecologists who provide care to children and
adolescents. They are designed with low- and middle- income countries in
mind, so recommendations can be applied with limited healthcare
resources. The document also identifies areas where there are gaps in
knowledge and need for research including prevalence, longer-term
impacts, understanding a range of service needs (based on race,
ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or
socioeconomic status) and more. For more information see the WHO media
release and the WHO webpage on sexual and reproductive health.
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