Childhood under threat

Childhood under threat

 

Childhood under threat

© UNICEF Uzbekistan/2005

Gulnara and Dilnara at the Sunday school for disabled and non-disabled children, Angren, 2005

Issue

Children in institutions
There are almost 3,600 children currently in orphanages in Uzbekistan and 772 children aged between 0-3 in infant homes (source: Ministry of Public Education). Conditions are generally favourable, but a lack of financial and professional resources, often mean they do not receive an adequate education. Many of the children have been placed in institutions as a result of parental poverty and unemployment, rather than as a result of the loss of parents.

There are more than 130,000 children with disabilities across the country, and 87 institutions for almost 22,300 children with special needs (source: Ministry of Health). However, these figures may well be underestimates as many children with special needs, particularly in rural areas, go unregistered because of the stigma attached to disability.

This stigma often results in disabled children being kept at home, where education is inadequate and opportunities for social integration, severely limited. At best, disabled children are kept in institutions facing a lifetime of isolation and exclusion.

Children in need of protection
There has been an alarming rise in the number of street children (from 2,700 in 2001 to 5,400 in 2003. source: ‘Centre of Social-Legal Assistance’ under the Ministry of Interior). The actual numbers are probably much higher, as not all street children go to these centres. In rural areas, children are often expected to help with manual cotton picking, domestic labour or work in bazaars, thereby preventing attendance at school, during particular times of year. Cases of child trafficking have also been reported. While there are no official statistics on domestic violence and sexual abuse, a UNICEF-assisted study has found that traditionally strict parental control persists, with 37% of parents stating that they use physical punishment to control their children.

Juvenile Justice
Although juvenile crime is relatively low – compared to Kazakhstan and Russia for example – it is rising as a result of young people experimenting with different lifestyles and behaviour, such as abuse of drugs and alcohol. Reductions in welfare privileges and rising unemployment exacerbate the problem.

Under Uzbek law, criminal liability begins from 14 years of age for certain offences such as rape (and age 13 for premeditated murder) and 16 (or 18) years for other offences. Young offenders may receive non-custodial sentences or a custodial sentence in a penal colony, depending upon the crime committed.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern on:
• Reports of children being arrested and held in custody without legal advice
• Children subject to ill-treatment and unlawful investigative methods
• The length of pre-trial detention
• Conditions in detention centres and penal colonies

Drug abuse
Young people in Uzbekistan are becoming increasingly at risk from the easy availability of drugs (notably heroin) as a result of its geographical proximity to Afghanistan. The number of young people, who are injecting drug users (IDUs), has increased over the last decade and UNODC estimates the number of drug users to be anywhere between 65,000 and 91,000.

HIV/AIDS
The number of registered HIV infections rose from 230 in 2000 to more than 3,500 in 2003 (source: Ministry of Health), the majority being IDUs. Most new infections occur in young people under 30 years of age and a growing number of women and girls are being infected.  Although numerically the number is low, there is a threat that the virus could now be introduced into the non-drug using population as a result of unsafe sexual behaviour amongst young people and low awareness levels of HIV/AIDS. A UNESCO study in 2000/1 found that 65.5% of those aged 15-24 years, knew nothing about sexually-transmitted diseases and 79% had little or no knowledge about HIV/AIDS. There are, at present, no government clinics or hospitals, private doctors or pharmacists providing designated services for young people.

In its recent publication “Averting AIDS crises in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: (source: World Bank 2003), the World Bank confirmed that the region is “experiencing the world’s fastest growing HIV/AIDS epidemic” which could have “devastating consequences on health and development in Eastern Europe and Central Asia”. 

There are close links between HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis and increasing levels of the latter in Uzbekistan are a worrying signal of a potentially more significant problem.

© UNICEF Uzbekistan/2005/Matteo Mode

Nigina, Nodira and Diloram at the family-based orphanage in Khorezm

Action

UNICEF and its partners strives to create an alternative approach to institutionalizing children, whilst improving the capacity for families to better care for their children. A recent initiative by the government has been to provide social allowances to families with disabled children. Further work remains to be done at the level of policy development, for example, by strengthening legislation on foster care and adoption. Developments include:

• Encourage in-depth understanding of sensitive areas regarding child protection such as information about the nature and extent of child labour, nature of violence and abuse towards children, child trafficking, disability and the referral of children to institutions.
• Focused advocacy resulting in increased visibility amongst policy-makers for issues concerning vulnerable children.
• Enhanced action on issues of children with disabilities through the establishment of an inter-sectoral coordination committee of organizations concerned with disabilities.
• Joint UNICEF/UNESCO project on inclusive education for children with disabilities, leading to the establishment of Resource Centre on Inclusive Education.
• Establishment of Family Resource Centres for disabled mothers and mothers of children with disabilities, with training and support to participants for implementation and management of income-generating activities.
• Introduction of a community-based approach to de-institutionalization, focusing on capacity building for local families.
• Organization of national level conferences on children without parental care and juvenile justice and preparation of action plans.
• Significant steps towards a change of approach from punishment to prevention, with restructuring of 11 former remand centres as centres for socio-legal assistance and establishment of centres for juveniles by the Prosecutor’s Office.
• Training through the State Academy of Social Construction on juvenile justice issues and CRC, for staff of legislative bodies, teachers, students, young people and staff from hokimiyats (local government) and makhallas (neighbourhoods).

A major area of UNICEF’s work is support of ‘Youth-friendly services’ to give young people the services they need in a friendly, non-judgmental atmosphere. The primary aim is HIV prevention.

The government has opened HIV counselling centres in Tashkent and in regional centres. Those attending the centres receive confidential testing, counseling and advice from specialists, whilst injecting drug users receive free syringes. UNICEF has worked with the youth movement “Kamolot” on HIV prevention, including the development of a mass media campaign to reach around one million young people in 2003 (also supported by UNESCO). Kamolot was also instrumental in developing and testing a Manual on HIV/AIDS, sexually-transmitted infections and substance abuse for young people. The Manual is now being used by 126 young trainers and 72 volunteers in seven Youth-Friendly Health Information Centres. 

UNICEF and the government are exploring ways to encourage young people to influence each other, in the promotion of healthy lifestyles and increased knowledge on HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted illnesses (STIs), substance abuse and reproductive health. Life skills and peer education are vital tools in this undertaking.

Impact

Following the concluding observations made by the Committee for the CRC, the Government of Uzbekistan responded positively. The Department for Family and Child under the Cabinet of Ministers, developed a Plan of Action that aims to strengthen the family, provide support for family-type foster homes and build the capacity of service providers.

The initiatives described above, for example Family Resource Centres in Andijan and Namangan in the Fergana Valley, have benefited large numbers of women in their communities. Not only have they empowered women economically, but they have also allowed the women to keep their children out of institutions.

These centres are important for strengthening families’ capacity to care for their children. Moreover, they provide a supportive environment for poor single and/or disabled mothers, allowing them to communicate with each other and get social support; receive information on their legal rights; develop a greater awareness of proper child care practices. In the future, they will grow into large community centres, where social services can be provided to vulnerable population groups, particularly women and children.

Young people are not only benefiting from the initiatives described above, but are also participating in a way that was not imaginable until now. UNICEF play a very important role in advocating to the government on behalf of young people, whilst introducing practical measures that improve their lives and opportunities.