adminElizabeth B. Mupfumira Correspondent
“VIOLENCE against children occurs every day, everywhere. And while it harms individual children the most, it also tears at the fabric of society — undermining stability and progress.”
The strong statement by UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake illustrates how critical it is for us as a nation to collectively condemn and combat violent acts against the most innocent members of our society, and the need for Government to strengthen systems to protect them.
Violent acts towards children have dire short- and long-term consequences – not only for the children, but for society as a whole.
Still it is alarming to see that too often it goes unnoticed, particularly in societies where the rights of children are stifled or are hidden behind cultural and societal norms.
When children experience violence at a young age, they are likely to grow up thinking violence is normal and acceptable, and are more likely be violent to their own children and members of their communities as well, thus creating a cycle that repeats itself across generations.
Last week, UNICEF launched the “Hidden in Plain Sight: A Statistical Analysis of Violence Against Children”, a report which shows a staggering rise in all forms of violence against children around the world.
According to this report, around six in 10 children between the ages of two and 14 worldwide are subjected to physical punishment by their caregivers on a regular basis; almost one quarter of girls aged 15 to 19 worldwide (almost 70 million) report being victims of some form of physical violence since age; and around 120 million girls under the age of 20 (about one in 10) have been subjected to forced sexual intercourse or other forced sexual acts at some point in their lives.
In response to the findings in the report, UNICEF has come up with six strategies for countries to combat violence against children.
These strategies are: implementing laws and policies that protect children, promoting and providing support services for children, helping children and adolescents manage risks and challenges, changing attitudes and social norms that encourage violence and discrimination, supporting parents, caregivers and families, and carrying out data collection and research.
Zimbabwe is one of only a handful of countries that has already moved to act by carrying out research and data collection for the purpose of informing decision-makers on the situation of violence against adolescents and young people.
In 2011 the National Baseline Survey on the Life Expectancy of Adolescents by the Zimbabwe Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT). According to the findings in this report, approximately one third of females and one in 10 males aged 18-24 experienced sexual abuse in childhood; while over a third of the respondents experienced physical and emotional abuse by an authority figure.
Nationally, Zimbabwe has a strong legal and policy framework for preventing and responding to sexual abuse and violence against children.
We have already set up social and child protection mechanisms to enhance access to specialised legal, welfare and judicial services which include a network of specialised clinics and Victim-Friendly Courts; as well as ensuring access to basic social services such as education, health care, good nutrition, improved water and sanitation, and birth registration.
Zimbabwe should be lauded for showing global leadership on issues of child abuse through the ratification of relevant international laws, including most recently the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of Children.
It is, therefore, imperative for Government to continue to take this leadership role by leveraging even more resources towards strengthening these existing channels to respond to violence and abuse wherever it might occur.
Abuse against children and young people is a problem that pervades the family unit, education system, the economy, and society in general.
A lot of times the victims are too young or too vulnerable to disclose their experience.
Many of them suffer in silence, until the effects become apparent later on in their lives, at which point it is too late.
It is our collective responsibility to break this cycle by protecting our children.
The writer is a Communications Specialist at UNICEF. For comments and contributions email: [email protected]
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