25/03/10
 The annual full-day meeting on the rights of the child was held on March 9th, during the 13th Session of the Human Rights Council. This day was planned in accordance with the resolution on the Rights of the Child adopted in March 2008 that decided “to incorporate into its programme of work a minimum of an annual full-day meeting to discuss different specific themes on the rights of the child, including the identification of challenges in the realization of the rights of the child, as well as measures and best practices that can be adopted by States and other stakeholders, and to assess the effective integration of the rights of the child in its work.”
The annual full-day meeting included two panel discussions devoted respectively to “manifestation of sexual violence against boys and girls” and to “protecting boys and girls from sexual violence.” Mr. Bacre Ndiaye, director of the Human Rights Council and Special Procedures Division, opened the panel saying that sexual violence is particularly scarring, because “children are hurt mentally and physically by those that they trust, such as parents or teachers.” This type of violence also is the most difficult to recover from as the experience stays with victims throughout their lives. Due to the shame and stigma related to the matter, the issue remains relatively invisible and unreported, making the defenses against it much more difficult. Coerced to keep the issue a secret, children feel embarrassed and lose their sense of dignity; they become marginalized from family and friends. Only one in ten incidents are reported to the police.
Sexual violence has a dramatic impact on children’s lives: development, education, opportunities to participate in society. Also, the physical and psychological impact can be severe: depression, aggressive behavior, unwanted pregnancies, and STDs including HIV. In conflict situations, sexual violence can be used as a weapon to attack the shame and honor of the people, to terrorize and humiliate the population. Juvenile detention centers are extremely dangerous in this regard, as well, and there need to be major reforms to this system in order to prevent sexual abuse. Some causes for the persistence of sexual violence are the following: lack of sound data, impunity (particularly in conflict situations), deep-rooted problems like a lack of education, the invisibility surrounding the issue, and the internet, which has made sexual perversions worse.
In order to fight sexual violence, there needs to be international solidarity, awareness-raising, proper data recovery, education in schools on violence and on sexual education in general, and an aim to reduce the gap between policies and practices. States that have not yet ratified the Convention should ratify it, and all States should involve children in by directing child-led initiatives. Listening to, supporting, and advising children will make them feel less marginalized as a victim. With strong and adequately trained leadership, sexual violence can be erased.
The Permanent Representative of Cuba claimed the rights of most children to be a “mirage.” Despite global efforts to reduce sexual violence, this form of torture or “crime against humanity” is still widely an issue. “Today’s children are the citizens of tomorrow’s world,” spoke the Representative from the Holy See, and we need to nourish them for the development of mankind. “We must work together to fight this issue, as child violence is not inevitable” (Mr. Najat M’jid Maalla, Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography). |
TESTO ITALIANO