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SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- The past few years have witnessed growing numbers of children and adolescents on the move, alone or with their families, within and across countries. In 2015, children constituted more than half of the total refugee population, and more than 100,000 asylum claims were lodged by unaccompanied or separated children. More often than not, a child's decision to leave home is an escape strategy to secure safety and protection; to reach a safe haven from political instability, conflict, natural disasters, violence and exploitation. For children on the move, especially those who travel unaccompanied or separated from their families, violence infuses daily life and is often part of a continuum. Fear and insecurity are widespread, and impunity prevails. During a recent country visit by the Special Representative, children repeatedly told her that life was unfair and that they saw their neighbourhood as a ghetto of hopelessness, lawlessness and fear.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 139
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative will continue to mobilize support to consolidate those important efforts and in 2015, will place special emphasis on the following topics: ensuring violence against children remains a distinct concern on the global development agenda; reinforcing the protection of children from online sexual abuse; strengthening action for the prevention of violence in early childhood; and promoting the protection of children and adolescents affected by community and armed violence and organized crime.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Concern about the role of ICTs in generating violence against children has been growing in recent years. In 2006, the United Nations Study on Violence Against Children acknowledged that "the Internet and other developments of communication technologies … appear to be associated with an increased risk of sexual exploitation of children, as well as other forms of violence" (A/61/299, para. 77). The third World Congress against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents, held in 2008 in Brazil, reaffirmed that concern.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- Research on gangs in Honduras has shed some light on factors that lead adolescents to join or leave a gang. Joining a gang is more likely for a young person whose parents are absent for economic reasons, including as a result of migration, and for whom no other authority figure has stepped in. In one group studied, gang members who had lost their parents saw the gang as a replacement family. In another group, gang members were far more driven by financial reasons, regarding the leader as the boss of the business. Overall, the most common reasons for leaving the gang were the birth of a first child, concern about damage being caused to family members, the opportunity to move to a different neighbourhood, commitment to the community and having a spiritual experience.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Families
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- That approach has led to the increasing severity of criminal penalties, the lowering of the minimum age of criminal responsibility and criminalization of the lower levels of illegal organizations, where the involvement of marginalized children and teenagers is concentrated. Young offenders tend to be incarcerated in overcrowded detention centres, at times together with adults, risking engagement with criminal gangs which control their communities beyond the prison walls. Rather than enhancing prevention, this leads to greater violence.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Over the past year, significant strides have been made in the process of consolidating regional commitments. In the Americas, the twenty-first Pan-American Child and Adolescent Congress of the Organization of American States on the theme of "Childhood: building environments of peace," hosted by the Government of Brazil, was devoted to the protection of children from violence, including in the context of juvenile justice, and from sexual exploitation. The Congress reiterated the commitment of the continent to using the United Nations study on violence against children as an indispensable reference for action, including securing strong national laws, plans and programmes; mobilizing adequate resources; consolidating data; strengthening awareness-raising initiatives; and greater investment in violence prevention.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- The consumption of alcohol and drugs can affect cognitive and physical function, mental health, self-control and the ability to assess risks. Impulsivity may increase, putting consumers at higher risk of resorting to violence in confrontations. An impaired ability to recognize warning signs in potentially dangerous situations can make them easy targets for perpetrators of violence. Experiencing or witnessing violence can lead to the harmful use of alcohol as a way of coping or self medicating. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) study in 2014, 34.1 per cent of adolescents (15-19 years old) drink alcohol; in the Americas and Europe the numbers rise to 52 per cent and 69.5 per cent respectively. Another WHO report in 2006 indicated that alcohol was a contributor to 26 per cent of the years of life lost to homicide among males and 16 per cent for females.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- Home to socially excluded children and young people, gangs may begin as unsupervised adolescent peer groups, but some become institutionalized in neighbourhoods, ghettos and prisons.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- The drugs trade typically uses children and adolescents for the most dangerous activities, such as monitoring territory, the transport and retail sale of drugs, or theft. Some children may end up being associated with criminal activities, including human trafficking, kidnapping and extortion and contract killings. Boys and girls may participate in human trafficking from an early age, as guides, lookouts or informants. Thereafter, they may be required to take care of safe houses and prevent escapes and later they may be armed and become involved in more dangerous tasks.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- The direct effects of armed violence in the community include physical injuries and psychological harm, as well as deaths. Homicides have a young face. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, homicide claims some 36,000 children under the age of 15 each year (8 per cent of all victims) and about 43 per cent of all homicides are of adolescents and young people aged between 15 and 29. Overall, 40 per cent of homicides are from firearms; however among children and youths killed in the Americas that figure is almost 70 per cent. As regards non-lethal injuries, it is estimated that for every youth homicide, between 20 and 40 young people receive hospital treatment for violence.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 116
- Paragraph text
- The participatory dimension of restorative justice gives adolescents the opportunity to take responsibility in a constructive and forward-looking way and is associated with positive results. In fact, those participating in restorative programmes show fewer tendencies towards antisocial behaviour and lower rates of recidivism. They are also less likely to become involved with gangs and are therefore at lower risk of becoming victims of gun or gang violence, which in many countries is a matter of life or death.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 117
- Paragraph text
- Children are particularly vulnerable to those intertwined forms of violence, both as victims and witnesses. While adolescent boys may be at risk of physical aggression and homicide owing to their participation in street fighting, gang membership, possession of arms and manipulation by organized crime networks, girls are more likely to endure violence in the private sphere, in particular sexual violence, which is often associated with shame, fear and distrust.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Public fear of gang violence and youth crime fuels the perception of children as a danger, rather than as being at risk, and mass media stigmatization helps to foster tolerance of institutionalized violence against them. In turn, that generates societal pressure to criminalize children and adolescents, lower minimum ages of criminal responsibility and impose longer prison sentences.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- Children and adolescents in vulnerable situations are easy targets for transnational crime organizations dealing with stolen vehicles or goods, weapons, drugs, metals or persons. Occupying subordinate roles, the youngsters are seen as disposable labour and exposed to a high risk of violence.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- Younger children are particularly concerned about risks related to the online content they may encounter. As they get older, they become more concerned by contact and conduct risks linked to the use of social networking sites. Adolescents may face unusually high risks of exposure to harmful material and cyberbullying. A considerable proportion of the victims of online sexual abuse are children under the age of 12.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Older persons
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- The process is exacerbated by weak rule of law, poor law enforcement, corruption and a generalized fear of retaliation, resulting in crimes going unreported, low numbers of convictions and a profound sense of impunity. That pattern is particularly serious when children and adolescents are subject to State violence, carried out by law enforcement agents or by private security guards acting with the consent or tolerance of government entities. Enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, torture or arbitrary detention make it particularly hard for those children to access effective child protection mechanisms, seek redress and combat impunity. That only deepens the fear that prevents many victims from reporting violence and increases their lack of confidence in the justice system.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 118
- Paragraph text
- According to UNICEF, one in three adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 worldwide have been the victims of emotional, physical or sexual violence committed by their husbands or partners at some point in their lives. Taking place behind closed doors, incidents of violence are often associated with a culture of silence that inhibits girls from speaking out, from seeking help, accessing justice and bringing perpetrators to justice.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Gender differences also influence how children use ICTs and perceive and respond to online risks. In Europe, boys appear more bothered by online violence than girls, while girls are more concerned with contact-related risks. Teenage girls are slightly more likely to receive nasty or hurtful messages online than teenage boys.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- Adolescent boys are at high risk of homicide because they are more prone to participating in activities such as street fighting, street crime, gang membership and possession of weapons. For girls, the greatest risk is violence from intimate partners.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2014, para. 102
- Paragraph text
- Another emerging concern is the association of children and adolescents with cybercrime. This may include young men's engagement in computer-related financial fraud, or the use of ICTs to facilitate illicit behaviour that may result in violence against themselves or others. For example, in the context of youth gangs, sexual images exchanged on mobile phones may become "currency" for gang members, and mobile phones can be used to exert control over others and the commission of violent acts, including sexual violence. With the increasing engagement of organized criminal groups in cybercrime activities, there is a real risk that young people may become drawn into online criminal activities, driven by bravado, attracted by promises of economic gain, or compelled by threats or coercion.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2014, para. 131
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative will continue to mobilize support to consolidate these important efforts and will address priority areas of concern. They include violence against children as a distinct concern in the global development agenda, prevention of violence in early childhood, and protection of children and adolescents affected by community and armed violence and organized crime.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2013, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Public fear of gang violence and youth crime has generated social pressure for the criminalization of children and adolescents, lower minimum ages of criminal responsibility and longer sentences of imprisonment. This has been accompanied by media stigmatization of children from disadvantaged groups and a culture of tolerance of violence against them. In this process, poor rule of law and weak law enforcement performance, together with public fear of retaliation, lead to sporadic convictions and a deep sense of impunity.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2013, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- The survey was promoted in collaboration with a wide range of partners and informed by research, regional consultations and analytical reviews of violence against children promoted by the Special Representative. It was also supported by international monitoring processes, including the universal periodic review of the Human Rights Council, reporting to human rights treaty bodies and the follow-up to the World Congresses against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents and the Roadmap for Achieving the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour by 2016.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2013, para. 98
- Paragraph text
- The study is guided by international standards and aims to break through the invisibility of violence. Recognizing the cumulative risks of violence faced by girls, adolescents and young women as a result of the convergence of risks associated with ethnicity, gender, age, disability, lack of parental care and other factors, the study reviews positive experiences and offers comprehensive recommendations for accelerating progress and inspiring further debate and action for the protection of indigenous girls and women from violence.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2013, para. 109
- Paragraph text
- Against this background, public fear of gang violence and youth crime has generated social pressure for the criminalization of children and adolescents, together with a call for a lower minimum age of criminal responsibility and longer sentences of imprisonment. This has been accompanied by media stigmatization of children belonging to disadvantaged groups and a culture of tolerance of institutionalized violence against them.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2013, para. 103
- Paragraph text
- Uncertainty associated with displacement, reduced options to escape hardship and pressing needs to secure survival and generate family income are some important factors behind violence, psychosocial distress, sexual abuse and the economic exploitation of children. Weakened protection in times of disaster, such as floods or earthquakes, may increase children's vulnerability to abandonment, sale or trafficking and place adolescents at increased risk of recruitment into gang activity and urban violence.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Poverty
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2013, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- Violence associated with gang violence, including extortion, physical violence, homicides and disappearances, dramatically hamper childhood and adolescent development. It compromises access to education and health services, recreation and social support, and is associated with lower levels of school enrolment and retention, and higher levels of poverty. In turn, deprivation aggravates the risk of increased levels of domestic violence and children's vulnerability.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Poverty
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2013, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- Adolescent boys are at high risk of homicide as a result of participation in violence-prone activities, such as street fighting, street crime, gang membership and possession of weapons. For girls, the incidence of inter-partner violence is particularly high, and in many nations, family-related homicide is the major cause of female deaths.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2013, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative collaborates closely with the Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Youth and is a member of the United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development. This partnership has opened up avenues for promoting the mainstreaming of freedom from violence into initiatives for adolescents, and identifying opportunities for joint actions designed to empower young people and secure their protection from violence.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2012, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- The global survey also builds upon the significant analytical reviews conducted at the regional level, including by the League of Arab States, SAIEVAC, MERCOSUR and Central American countries. It draws upon United Nations and international monitoring processes, including the universal periodic review of the Human Rights Council, reporting to the Committee on the Rights of the Child and other treaty bodies, and the follow-up to the World Congresses against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents and the Roadmap for Achieving the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour by 2016, adopted by The Hague Global Child Labour Conference in 2010.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph