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Violence against children |
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Urgent issues
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Violence against children leaves them scarred – not just physically but also emotionally. Violence does the most damage when it begins to erode children's instincts to love and trust.
The inability of children to protect themselves makes child abuse an extremely emotional subject, and the temptation to condemn the perpetrator is strong. But it is equally important to address the factors that are causing violence in the home, street or community.
What constitutes violence?
Violence ranges from physical through to sexual, emotional or psychological abuse. It also includes neglect or deprivation of basic rights.
Children affected by violence suffer from traumatic stress, issues of trust, low self-esteem and anti-social behaviour.
Seeing people they love affected by violence is also extremely traumatic for children, and can lead to reciprocal violence or suicidal tendencies.
In theory, keeping a child from school or allowing them to take part in potentially hazardous work constitutes violence against them.
This definition means that violence against children is endemic in most Asia-Pacific countries, especially in poor communities.
Violence is linked to poverty
'Hotspots' of child abuse have clear socio-economic indicators, such as high unemployment, a low standard of education, recent community conflict or lawlessness, and poor health services.
In these areas, the struggle with poverty can lead to stress and violence flaring between or within families. It's made worse if alcohol abuse is involved, if legal protection is hard to access, or if the community is unwilling to intervene.
Gender inequality in the community also lessens the ability of women to protect themselves and their children from domestic violence including sexual abuse.
Sometimes violence is used deliberately to intimidate children, especially in exploitative labour situations.
Reducing vulnerability
World Vision works in three ways to stop violence against children:
1. Encouraging education and involvement on the various forms of child abuse. In an informed community, children are more likely to recognise when they are being abused, and adults are more likely to report or intervene in child abuse.
2. Improving lifestyles, including micro-enterprise development for increased family income, gender equality programmes, and better health services including access to counseling and parenting classes.
3. Violence and trauma recovery programmes specifically for children, which include shelter and fostering, counselling, education and vocational training and family reintegration. |
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