Rapid Review on Inclusion and Gender Equality in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia © United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) July 2016 Permission is required to reproduce any part of this publication. Permission will be freely granted to educational or non-profit organizations. To request permission and for any other information on the publication, please contact: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) The Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS) Palais des Nations CH-1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland Tel: +41 22 909 5111 Fax: +41 22 909 5909 Email: [email protected] All reasonable precautions have been taken by UNICEF to verify the information contained in this publication. Suggested citation: United Nations Children’s Fund, Rapid Review on Inclusion and Gender Equality in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, UNICEF, Geneva, July 2016. Cover photo: © UNICEF/UNI114967/Holt 2 I UNICEF 1 Executive Summary .....................................................................................................4 Contents 2 Methodology .................................................................................................................7 3 Children with disabilities .............................................................................................8 3.1 Current situation .......................................................................................................8 3.2 Main child rights violations ..................................................................................... 10 3.3. Key barriers and bottlenecks .................................................................................. 11 4 Children from ethnic and linguistic minorities ........................................................13 4.1 Current situation .....................................................................................................13 4.2 Main child rights violations .....................................................................................15 4.3 Key barriers and bottlenecks ................................................................................... 17 5 Children affected by migration ..................................................................................18 5.1 Current situation .....................................................................................................18 5.2 Main child rights violations .....................................................................................22 5.3 Key barriers and bottlenecks ...................................................................................23 6 Gender-related inequalities that affect boys and girls ............................................25 6.1 Current situation .....................................................................................................25 6.2 Main child rights violations .....................................................................................30 6.3 Key barriers and bottlenecks ...................................................................................32 7 Effects of multiple and overlapping dimensions of equity and social exclusion on the realization of child rights ...................................................33 8 Conclusions .................................................................................................................35 ANNEX: Reference List ...............................................................................................38 Children with disabilities ...............................................................................................38 Children from ethnic and linguistic minorities ..............................................................39 Gender-related inequalities that affect girls and boys ...................................................40 Children affected by migration ......................................................................................42 Rapid Review on Inclusion and Gender Equality in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia I 3 1 I Executive Summary © UNICEF/UN04769/Georgiev cross a broad spectrum of child rights in Central children with disabilities have only recently become Aand Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of more visible. Children affected by migration are an Independent States (CEE/CIS), specific groups of emerging focus area that has become more urgent, children are particularly disadvantaged and hard to reach. among other reasons due to the overall dynamic of These groups of children are not only deprived of their population movements in the region and worldwide. rights but face additional barriers such as discrimination, segregation, stigma and prejudice which puts them at Furthermore, the Rapid Review examines, in extended a disadvantage vis-à-vis their peers in the pursuit and detail, gender-related inequalities affecting girls and boys equal enjoyment of their rights. They often do not appear across the CEE/CIS region.3 Issues related to gender in national statistics and thereby become ‘invisible’ are prominent in the CEE/CIS region, as elsewhere. The and risk being forgotten – by decision makers, service review describes the key barriers and bottlenecks related providers and the general population. to gender equality that currently contribute to some of the observed rights violations and equity gaps for these The aim of this Rapid Review is to provide an overview particular groups of children, and identifies their impact of the main child rights violations and equity gaps on the key strategic result areas of the UNICEF RKLA. in the realization of rights that currently affect these The findings for each of the reviewed groups and aspects specific groups of children:1 children with disabilities, are presented in three parts: current situation, main children affected by migration, and children from child rights violations, and key barriers and bottlenecks. ethnic and linguistic minorities. Each group of children A separate chapter highlights the interconnections is important in its own right – all of them complex and between the different areas. Additionally, the annex heterogeneous and faced with very different challenges. contains reference material, such as bibliographies and While children from ethnic and linguistic minorities have interview lists. been prominent in UNICEF’s Regional Knowledge and Leadership Agenda (RKLA)2 during the past decade, 4 I UNICEF The most common aspects regarding the overall direct or indirect discrimination of children due to findings of this Rapid Review can be highlighted as their belonging to either one or more groups. follows: 1. The term ‘vulnerable children’ is currently used by 5. The existence and effective implementation of UNICEF and other stakeholders in a wide variety legislation is another essential factor that determines of ways, ranging from an indiscriminate ‘the most equal opportunities for the realization of child rights at-risk vulnerable children’ to a breakdown of what for all children. In this regard, a large weakness is is perceived as vulnerable children to include, evident in the fact that many children belonging to for instance, children living in poverty, Roma and the groups reviewed for this study suffer severe Egyptian children, children with disabilities, children difficulties in accessing justice and being protected deprived of parental care and children in conflict by justice systems. with the law. In the absence of a clear and agreed definition, this generic tag poses a challenge in 6. Access to adequately staffed services, facilities understanding how much attention is actually paid to and information is a further element commonly specific groups by national policies and programmes determining child rights violations for children and by UNICEF. reviewed in this study, which is reflected in inadequate adaptation of services, procedures or 2. Children belonging simultaneously to two or more resources that would facilitate access to these groups reviewed for this study are more vulnerable services, or the mere lack of adequate services. to rights violations. Ethnic background, disabilities, gender or migration processes may not always 7. And, finally, the confluence of discriminatory social necessarily determine rights violations or equity norms, ineffective implementation of legislation and gaps per se. However, the multidimensional policies, and limited access to services, facilities nature of vulnerability and the multiplying effects and information results in a lack of accountability of overlapping risk factors make children belonging and responsiveness of duty bearers to ensure that to two or more groups more exposed to rights children from the identified groups can fully realize violations – e.g., trafficked Roma children with visible their rights. disabilities being forced to beg in the streets. This © UNICEF/UN04769/Georgiev intersectionality combines to further exacerbate gender inequality, as, for example, in the case of limited voice, mobility, access to resources and power imbalances that make girls and women with disabilities highly vulnerable to sexual violence. This is especially the case if children grow up in poor socio-economic environments. The multiplier effect of vulnerability seems to perpetuate a vicious circle of exclusion and rights violations for some children – e.g., girls who have escaped domestic violence and resorted to migration through smuggling