Save the Children’s Worldwide Day of Action against Violence 20 October 2008 The vision Save the Children works for: – a world which respects and values each child – a world which listens to children and learns – a world where all children have hope and opportunity The mission Save the Children fights for children’s rights. We deliver immediate and lasting improvements to children’s lives worldwide. Published by Save the Children Sweden on behalf of the International Save the Children Alliance Code No: 10359 ISBN: 978-91-7321-327-1 © 2008 Save the Children Sweden Author: Sharon Owen Project manager: David Ruiz Coronado Graphic Design:Annelie Rehnström Save the Children Sweden 107 88 Stockholm Phone: + 46 8 698 90 00 Fax: + 46 8 698 90 25 Internet: www.rb.se E-mail: [email protected] Contents FOREWORD . .5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . .7 1. INTRODUCTION . .9 2. ACTION AGAINST ALL FORMS OF VIOLENCE . .13 3. ACTION AGAINST CORPORAL PUNISHMENT . .31 4. ACTION AGAINST SEXUAL VIOLENCE . .49 5. LESSONS LEARNED . .59 Save the Children’s Worldwide Day of Action against Violence 3 4 Save the Children’s Worldwide Day of Action against Violence Foreword This report describes the global advocacy campaign activities of the Day of Action against all forms of violence against children, and its impact in more than 30 countries. It brings together the experience of these countries to call upon all governments to urgent- ly commit to end all forms of violence through legal reforms and to build national child protection systems that include the elimination of violence as a priority goal. The Convention on the Rights of the Child forms an international basis for ensuring the rights and protection of children. Yet, in every country of the world, there are children who continue to fear and experience violence. The consequences of that violence can continue throughout their lives, influencing their development, their behaviours and their health. There are no simple solutions, but the Save the Children’s Worldwide Day of Action against violence against children recognizes the importance of incorporating a child protection per- spective across the human rights agenda. This global campaign against violence has poten- tial to make a real positive impact on the lives of millions of children around the world. Let us continue to work together to make this world free from any form of violence against children! Gabriella Olofsson, Chair Save the Children Alliance Task Group on Violence against Children Save the Children’s Worldwide Day of Action against Violence 5 Acknowledgements The Save the Children Worldwide Day of Action against Violence on 20 Octo- ber 2008 is a powerful call from thousands of children across the world to stop the awful violence millions of boys and girls are suffering on a daily basis. This global campaign report is the result of the intensive advocacy work during the cele- bration of the Day of Action event around the globe. Save the Children would like to express its thanks to Sharon Owen for her work on this global report and for her interest in and support of Save the Children’s work on violence against children. In addition, Save the Children would like to give a very special thanks to all the partici- pants, including national key stakeholders, civil societies and NGOs for their enormous work and active campaigns in Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegov- ina, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Kenya, Kosovo, Lebanon, Lithua- nia, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal, Nicaragua, OPT, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Serbia, South Africa, Southern Sudan, Uganda, Uruguay, Viet Nam and Yemen. They form the backbone of the success that Save the Chil- dren Worldwide Day of Action 2008 has achieved. A special thanks to all Save the Children’s Regional and National Focal Points on child pro- tection on violence Staff for their coordination and support. Their continued commitments and hard work mean that Save the Children is today recognised as one of the key actors within the process of the UN Study on Violence against Children by international actors and organizations since 2003. Also, thanks to all Save the Children’s Communications Staff for ensuring that the Day of Action was highlighted in the national and international media through national press releases, websites and radio broadcasts. Finally, special thanks to the thousands of children who were directly involved and who expressed their views freely on this issue of such importance in their lives. Save the Children’s Worldwide Day of Action against Violence 7 8 Save the Children’s Worldwide Day of Action against Violence 1. Introduction The problem of violence against children is high on the agenda of organisations and indi- viduals working with and for children all over the world. It is increasingly on the agenda of governments. More importantly, children themselves are speaking out against it – more often, more confidently, and more effectively. Much of this momentum has been spurred by the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Vio- lence against Children (the UN Study), the first comprehensive global study on violence against children. In each of the nine regional consultations for the study held during 2005, children spoke out against the violence they experience – extreme violence, routine vio- lence, and too often both extreme and routine. This was documented in the final report of the UN Study in 2006, and a series of recommendations made to address it. Save the Children was a leading actor in facilitating the participation of children through- out the UN Study, and in 2006 held the first Worldwide Day of Action against violence against children. The Day of Action provides a focus for the mobilisation of children and young people in all regions to voice their opposition to violence against them and to engage in ways to end it. Specifically, its purpose is: G to generate public awareness of violence against children and the opportunities the UN Study presents for taking action and holding governments to account G to generate national, regional and international media coverage of violence against chil- dren and Save the Children’s recommendations G to mobilise governments to implement the recommendations in the UN Study G to profile Save the Children’s knowledge on good practice for ending violence against children and the organisation’s historic involvement in the UN Study G to maximise children’s meaningful participation, support children to communicate their own recommendations, and promote national and regional follow-up that features chil- dren’s participation. Save the Children has prioritised three forms of violence in its follow-up work on the UN Study: corporal punishment and other inhuman or degrading punishment of children, child sexual abuse and exploitation, and organised violence in the streets. It lobbies for implementation of the UN Study recommendations and promotes comprehensive nation- al child protection systems. Activities undertaken during the 2008 Day of Action largely reflect these priorities. In some countries, the opportunity was taken to challenge all forms of violence against children, highlighting the almost unimaginable range of violent experiences children may experience and the close links between different forms of violence. In some countries, participants campaigned in depth on corporal punishment of children. In others the focus was on sex- ual violence. There has been remarkable progress globally in addressing corporal punishment of chil- dren in the context of the UN Study and its follow-up, and in light of the definitive state- Save the Children’s Worldwide Day of Action against Violence 9 ment of the obligation to enact prohibition in the Committee on the Rights of the Child’s General Comment No. 8 on The right of the child to protection from corporal punish- ment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment (arts. 19; 28, para. 2; and 37, inter alia), adopted in 2006.1 Twenty-three countries now have legislation prohibiting all cor- poral punishment in all settings, including the family home. Governments in many more countries have made a commitment to enacting prohibition, with legal reform already under way. The 2008 Day of Action has given a significant boost to progress towards total prohibi- tion of corporal punishment, with events promoting legal reform in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Kenya, Kosovo, Lithuania, Montenegro, Peru and Serbia. The chal- lenge is to end a form of violence against children that has historically and universally been seen as socially and legally acceptable. Children themselves have been socialised into believ- ing it is a necessary part of growing up. But, as the events described in this report show, persistence in public education and awareness raising, parliamentary lobbying and work- ing in partnership with children, makes change possible. Sexual violence against children, on the other hand, is for the most part readily seen as abhorrent. The challenge is the ever burgeoning forms it may take, as travel and tourism become easier and the internet becomes increasingly sophisticated and accessible. The recent World Congress III against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in Rio de Janeiro, November 2008, documented the increase in the types and extent of sexual vio- lence against children, as well as efforts to address this in national legislation and in inter- national and regional human rights law.2 Campaigning against sexual violence against children was the topic of at least three coun- tries during the 2008 Day of Action. In Ethiopia, the focus was on sexual abuse and exploitation. Action in Uganda highlighted the links between birth registration and sexu- al violence. And the launch of an advocacy campaign against child marriage in Nepal is a reminder that eliminating some forms of sexual abuse – as in eliminating corporal pun- ishment – necessitates breaking down long held beliefs and traditions.