Save the Children and UNICEF urge an end to all forms of corporal punishmentUNIVERSAL CHILDREN’S DAY Save the Children and UNICEF urge an end to all forms of corporal punishment Islamabad, November 19, 2007: UNICEF and Save the Children are calling for an end to corporal punishment on Universal Children’s Day on Tuesday, November 20th, 2007. This call to action follows on from research that indicates corporal punishment is widespread, especially in disaster affected communities. Every day children suffer physical and verbal abuse at their schools, homes and workplaces. Corporal punishment is often regarded as a culturally acceptable way of disciplining and changing the behaviour of children - however it leaves long term psychological and physical scars. In the wake of natural disasters, such as the 2005 earthquake, children are more vulnerable to this kind of abuse. Research in the earthquake affected area show that prior to the disaster 33 per cent of children reported being victims of corporal punishment. Following the disaster the figure has risen to 94 per cent. Universal Children’s Day marks the date the United Nations Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Pakistan ratified in 1990, condemns all forms of physical and mental violence against the child including injury and abuse. In contradiction to this, Section 89 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC, 1860) allows parents, teachers and other guardians to use corporal punishment as a means to discipline children under 12 years old. UNICEF and Save the Children are working with the Government of Pakistan and AJK to end all forms of violence against children including corporal punishment. Both agencies have facilitated the process of drafting a new Child Protection Policy and are assisting the development of national systems to help children at risk. District Child Monitoring Systems have also been developed in districts in AJK, NWFP and Sindh alongside telephone helplines for children in all provinces that received more than 16,000 calls last year. In conjunction with the Government of Pakistan, Save the Children and UNICEF conducted the first in depth study to explore how widespread corporal punishment is in 2005, to hear from children how their lives are affected and what the alternatives are. Findings from the research include: • All of the 3,582 children interviewed said that they have received corporal punishment There is much work to be done still to eliminate corporal punishment but there have been successes. In 1999 the government of NWFP banned corporal punishment in primary schools. In 2000, the governments of Balochistan and Punjab issued directives to all teachers not to use corporal punishment on children and followed up with disciplinary action against three teachers. This year, also the Sindh Government has sent a directive to all its teachers on the prohibition of using corporal punishment in schools. On Universal Children's Day, UNICEF and Save the Children strongly urge all adults to stop corporal punishment and start disciplining children with love. It is important that we treat our children with respect and patience to ensure a tolerant and child-friendly society.
For more information about UNICEF programmes in Pakistan, please visit the website: www.unicef.org/pakistan For further information, please contact: Antonia Paradela, Communication Officer, UNICEF Sami Malik, Communication Officer, UNICEF Munazza Siddiqui, Media & Communications Coordinator, Save the Children UK Ghulam Qadri, Programme Manager, Save the Children Sweden; Phone: 091-5700987, Mobile: 0345-8561001, Email: ghulamq@sca.savethechildren.se
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