Child Protection
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© UNICEF-oPt/2008 |
Children and their families are living in an environment increasingly characterized by violence, poverty, insecurity, physical destruction and the depletion of regular means of support, studies show. The results are proving devastating for children’s development, protection and psychosocial well-being. In 2007, 93 children were killed and 345 injured as a result of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and internal Palestinian violence .
Some 700 children were arrested by the Israeli military; 327 children are currently being detained on the basis of Israeli military orders. Thirty of these are being held in administrative detention, without trial or charges. In total, 5,900 children have been arrested since the beginning of the Intifada in September 20001.
Children suffer from heightened stress and anxiety. A 2007 survey showed that 90 per cent of children were affected by violence, an increase of 13 per cent since 2006. The presence of violence in homes and schools is of particular concern. Just over half of mothers surveyed in a 2006 study said that their children (aged 5-17) had been exposed to violence at school (45.2 per cent) and at home (93.3 per cent).
Children are exhibiting anxiety, poor scholastic performance and aggressive behaviour. Sixty-three per cent of children surveyed in 20072 displayed signs of anxiety, 46 per cent reported poor performance in school and 42 per cent reported aggressive behaviour.
UNICEF and its partners are working to build a protective environment for children. This entails developing a child protection policy framework that strengthens all necessary systems and services, front line workers, monitoring and evaluation systems, activities’ coordination and standards.UNICEF will continue to:
- Support the establishment of a national framework for child protection, thus outlining needed laws, policies, systems and services, and resource needs;
- Promote a culture of zero-tolerance towards abuse, exploitation and violence against children in society;
- Develop children’s knowledge of protection issues and participation in decision making;
- Build the capacity of partners working in child protection, focusing on front line workers such as social workers, police and members of the judiciary;
- Support better parenting classes for 24,000 parents living in violence-prone areas;
- Provide psychosocial support for 100,000 children and train 350 psychosocial professionals and 60 volunteers on crisis intervention, management and referral; and
- Support awareness-raising campaigns on landmine education that reaches 100,000 children and 50,000 parents.
