Child protection
Threats to children Information on the level of child rights violations such as hazardous child labour, trafficking or sexual exploitation is scanty due to the sensitive nature of such trends. However, the available evidence, gathered through various surveys and studies, paints a worrying picture. As many as 35 per cent of women who participated in a 2004 Ministry for Women and Social Action study reported having been beaten, mostly by their husbands and male relatives. The study concluded that the cultural acceptance of gender-based violence was a major cause of domestic violence. Case studies suggest that there are high levels of sexual harassment and exploitation in the school system. In a 2004 Youth Profile commissioned by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and UNICEF, 20 per cent of girls reported that sexual abuse was a problem in schools. A Save the Children (Norway) study in 2003 revealed that at least 25 per cent of all prison inmates in Nampula, Sofala and Maputo provinces were under 18. The prison system does not afford child detainees with protection in line with international standards for juvenile justice and protection of child rights. Many children in conflict with the law are extremely vulnerable to abuse and violence. Protection of children that have been orphaned is another critical area. There are around 1.6 million orphans in Mozambique and their ranks are growing as a result of HIV and AIDS. Among children who was lost both parents, 60 per cent have lost them to the AIDS pandemic. Many of the children that have been orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS are the ones most likely to be stigmatised, to work in exploitative situation and to be at risk of child trafficking and exploitation, violence, abuse and neglect. In Mozambique, only six per cent of children under five have a birth certificate and millions of children remain at risk because they do not have social protection. Birth registration contributes to reducing children’s vulnerability. The proof of age afforded by a birth certificate offers a degree of protection to a child from a range of age-related abuses such as early marriage, child sexual exploitation, hazardous child labour and military recruitment.
Expanding the protective environment Significant progress has been made in developing a comprehensive legal framework for the protection of children, such as the Children’s Act and a national Plan of Action for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children. However, the reach of services for children that are at risk of violence, abuse and exploitation is limited. The Government is being supported by UNICEF and other partners to test different models of protection and service delivery for the most vulnerable children and to scale up successful interventions. UNICEF and other partners also support the implementation of the Children’s Act and the establishment of a national coordinating body that will oversee the implementation of the Act. Separate children’s sections in provincial courts are being set up. Community-based surveillance systems that monitor, report and help prevent child abuse and gender-based violence are being expanded. UNICEF supports these mechanisms, which include a number of activities such as forming reference groups at school level comprised of provincial and district authorities, parents, educators, learners, community leaders and civil society representatives. Complementary to surveillance systems, a community awareness raising programme on the prevention of violence, abuse and exploitation is carried out through the use of community theatre. Women and children have recourse to Centros de Atendimento (help centres) across the country that help rehabilitate victims of violence and abuse. A comprehensive centre will be set up in each province with centre-based and outreach programmes. A key strategy in improving the protection and care of children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS is to ensure that the national Plan of Action for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children is implemented. UNICEF is helping reinforce the capacity of the Ministry for Women and Social Action to better plan, deliver and monitor services for vulnerable children, their families and communities under the framework of the plan of action. Tested models of service delivery and social protection, including birth registration, are being used to expand and reinforce a national child protection programme that prevents children from falling prey to harmful child labour, trafficking, child marriage and other forms of abuse and exploitation.
|
