International Child Day - 20 November

Violence against Children
Violence against children includes physical and mental abuse and injury, neglect or negligent treatment, exploitation and sexual abuse. Violence may take place in homes, schools, orphanages, residential care facilities, on the streets, in the workplace, in prisons and in places of detention. It can affect children’s physical and mental health, impair their ability to learn and socialize, and undermine their development as functional adults and good parents later in life. In the most severe cases, violence against children leads to death.

Facts and figures
• Research suggests that 20 per cent of women and 5 per cent to 10 per cent of men suffered sexual abuse as children worldwide.

• In Asia, it is estimated that 60 million girls are missing’ due to prenatal selection, infanticide
or neglect.

• In the Caribbean, 96 per cent of interviewed childcare workers believe that corporal punishment reflects parents “caring enough to take the time to train the children properly.

Arabic Forum