‽istis (re)claims
safety for children (weekending November 21st 2020)
On November
19th 2000, the non-governmental organisation Women's World Summit
Foundation (WWSF)[i]
launched the World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse.
The
WWSF ’19 days’ campaign this year perhaps reminds us of the breadth of the
issue and some of the main sources of danger for children and young people,
some twenty years’ on:
·
Armed conflict
·
Sexual abuse and sexual exploitation
·
Bullying
·
Neglect
·
Child labour
·
Physical punishment
·
The sale of children
·
Pornography
·
Trafficking
·
Sex tourism
·
Harmful traditions
·
Information and computer technology
·
Street children
·
Substance Abuse
·
Malnutrition
·
Abduction
In the
UK this week, the home page of the website for the NSPCC[ii]/National Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (founded in 1884 c. 60 years after
the RSPCA/Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) has
features on:
·
Instagram – the most recorded platform
used in child grooming crimes during lockdown’
·
Police record over 10,000 online chid
sex crimes in a year for the first time
·
Government is at risk of failing babies
and parents during the coronavirus pandemic
·
Contact to the NSPCC helpline about
domestic abuse up by nearly 50%.
In England and Wales, for example: perhaps
consider visiting the website of IICSA/the Independent Inquiry into Child
Sexual Abuse[iii]; reading the reports generated so far or visiting the Truth Project pages that provide an opportunity for victims and survivors to share their experiences
and be respectfully heard and acknowledged, helping to better understand the
long term impact of abuse and to inform recommendations about support needs…
Possibly consider visiting the websites
of your UK Local Children’s Safeguarding Partnership – or equivalent - one in every area and seeking to cover every square inch of the UK with a web and
safety net of statutory, voluntary and community multi-agency protective
services; possibly look at the resources, the processes and procedures, read the
serious case reviews/safeguarding practice reviews[iv]; learn how to make a
referral if you have concerns about the safety and well-being of a child or
young person; seek advice and support…
In England, for example: maybe you
might like to look at the website of the Office of the Children’s Commissioner[v] and consider the
information from the Childhood Local Data on Risks and Needs (CHLDRN) that
aims to provide the most complete picture of the numbers of children at risk in
England (nationally and locally), making available over 100 indicators across
different age ranges and types of risk; perhaps consider reading the recent
report: The children who no-one knows what to do with…
And, across the world, ISPCAN[vi] (The International Society for Prevention of Child
Abuse and Neglect) has a
mission to prevent cruelty to children in every nation, in every form (physical
abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, street children, child fatalities, child
prostitution, children of war, emotional abuse and child labour)
and to bring together a worldwide
cross-section of committed professionals to work towards the prevention and
treatment of child abuse, neglect and exploitation globally.
Every
five years, each country that has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of
the Child[vii]/UNCRC
(that’s all the world’s countries barring the USA), is required to report on
progress in implementing the UNCRC – the reports are all available…[viii]
And yet,
and yet… in the UK, The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) 2019 estimated that one in five adults aged 18
to 74 experienced at least one form of child abuse, whether emotional abuse,
physical abuse, sexual abuse, or witnessing domestic violence or abuse, before
the age of 16 years (that’s c.8.5 million people).[ix]
Wherever you might be, perhaps consider
the effectiveness of the prevention of abuse and the response to children and
young people at risk or in need, or who have suffered or are likely to suffer
significant harm - in your area, country, region… What do your statistics reveal…? And behind the
statistics: real children and young people, real adults who were children and
young people… And if you are worried for
a child or young person or should you need help and support for yourself, there are many, many
services available and the NSPCC helpline is probably a good starting
point[x]…
So,
in your own country, across the world… do we really believe that children and
young people can be safe, that they have a right to be safe? What would the
world have to be like for that to be so; what would we have to be like -
and what would we have to do - for that to be so…?
©
Pistis
NB: further reflections and comments
linked to this week’s theme and past blog
entries to be found on Twitter: replies, retweets (which don’t necessarily
indicate approval, sometimes the very opposite!) and ‘likes’: @Pistis_wonders
[iv]
The national case repository can be found at: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/case-reviews
[vii] https://www.unicef.org.uk/what-we-do/un-convention-child-rights/
https://www.unicef.org.uk/what-we-do/un-convention-child-rights/
[viii]
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/TBSearch.aspx?Lang=en&TreatyID=5&TreatyID=10&TreatyID=11&DocTypeID=29&DocTypeCategoryID=4
