Say Yes, Summer 2006: Editorial

As the first comprehensive worldwide study of the issue, the publication later this year of the United Nations Secretary-General’s landmark Study on Violence against Children will put child protection firmly in the public eye and take us a step closer to building A World Fit for Children.

The mention of an instance of child abuse will typically elicit reactions of shock, outrage or plain disbelief from most of us. So why does violence against children persist? Millions of children across the globe continue to be maltreated daily -- often at the hands of the very people who are charged with their care.

The seeds of violence in society are planted during childhood. From the earliest years, children are liable to experience abusive behaviour within the family, from other children and adults at school and in the community and also as passive consumers of the media. Violence becomes such a pervasive fact of life that very few of us reach adulthood without having become insensitive to some degree to the tragedy that violence against children represents.

Preparation of the Study on Violence Against Children has brought fresh perspectives to child protection initiatives in many parts of the world, galvanising much needed debate on the issue and fuelling ambitious programmes such as the Council of Europe’s Programme to End Violence Against Children.

Turkey joined the debate earlier this year when the Ministry of National Education (MONE) held the First Symposium on Violence and Schools in İstanbul with support from UNICEF. The Symposium represented another stage in the Ministry’s programme to make all schools in Turkey child-friendly. The thorny issue of violence within and without the school gates raised many questions about the nature of bullying, appropriate methods of discipline and how to create a truly protective environment for children that would respect their fundamental right to safety and security at school.

Under our new Country Programme with our partners, everyone at UNICEF is looking forward to helping Turkish ministries consolidate further gains in child protection such as these. By putting an end to violence in schools, the Government will be taking a huge step towards eliminating violence against children in Turkey for good.

Edmond McLoughney
UNICEF Representative, Turkey

PS: We’d very much like to hear readers reactions to this issue, so please feel free to contact us with your comments and suggestions.

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