New Government must ensure safety for every child in Montenegro
As a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Montenegro has committed itself to guaranteeing the right to live in peace and dignity, free from all forms of violence for every girl and boy.
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PODGORICA, 1 JUNE 2023 – In response to the recent cases of peer violence taking place across Montenegro, the United Nations Children’s Fund – UNICEF, the Association of Psychologists, the NGO Parents, the Teachers’ Association and the Union of High School Students in Montenegro are calling upon all political actors to commit to urgently increasing the number of social workers and school psychologists, if selected to form a new government.
As a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Montenegro has committed itself to guaranteeing the right to live in peace and dignity, free from all forms of violence for every girl and boy.
What the new government will do to fight against violence will affect every girl and boy and every resident of this country. Citizens have a chance to influence such decisions by prioritizing children at elections.
Prevention is always the best strategy. UNICEF analysis from 2018 showed that Montenegro’s Centres for Social Welfare need at least 50 additional social workers, who should act as case managers and ensure that services to support children and families at risk are available in their communities.
We are calling upon all political actors to commit, if they are in decision-making positions, to ensuring concrete results in supporting both children and parents, particularly in terms of the availability of social services. This includes the introduction of a minimum package of services for every child and family. These services should include: counselling, family therapy and support in enhancing parental skills.
At the moment, only 73 psychologists support the 120,000 children attending preschools and primary and secondary schools in Montenegro.
We hope to have an adequate number of psychologists in schools in the future, regardless of the number of students attending a particular school, and thus to continuously promote the importance of mental health as a precondition for quality learning and the overall development of children and young people. Also, prevention always has long-term effects as it reduces future expenses related to: medical treatment, legal proceedings, developmental difficulties, family problems, and the like.
The non-governmental organization the Teachers’ Association agrees with the appeal from the Association of Psychologists to urgently increase the number of school psychologists.
We are calling upon all political actors to commit to ensuring safe working conditions for all students and teachers in kindergartens, primary and secondary schools in the upcoming period. Above all, efforts should be made to build new kindergartens and schools and provide the necessary number of professionals in each institution, especially child psychologists, special educators and assistants, which will undoubtedly contribute to reducing peer violence.
To prevent peer violence, children must have the right skills. It is essential to ensure that the “My Virtues and Values” programme for the socio-emotional development of pupils is expanded and implemented in all schools as part of everyday teaching and learning. This programme was introduced into Montenegro’s education system in 2015 with support from UNICEF and the Bureau for Education.
Currently, teams of teachers in over 100 primary and secondary schools are implementing the programme, thus supporting more than 20,000 students to learn to recognize their own and other people’s emotions, to develop tolerance and empathy, and to solve problems without violence.
We are calling upon all political actors to commit to providing all primary and secondary school students with the opportunity to attend the programme of development of social and emotional skills ‘My Values and Virtues’. The young people who have participated in this programme confirm its effectiveness in building a violence-free culture.
UNICEF research from 2018 found that two thirds of Montenegro’s children aged 1 to 14 years had experienced some form of physical punishment and/or psychological aggression from adult household members during the previous month.
For this reason, with UNICEF’s support, parenting support programmes have been introduced in almost half of all Montenegro’s municipalities. The parents who attended the “Caring Families” programme say that they are now managing to resolve issues with their children more easily without violent discipline and that they are facing fewer problems in their children’s behaviour.
Darija Petovic-Bambur from NGO Parents, one of the programme facilitators and supervisors, called upon all political actors to commit the new government to funding parenting programmes and making them accessible to every parent in the country.
Building a violence-free Montenegro starts with every family. The state should support every parent in raising children without violence.
According to the most recent census, children up to 18 years of age make up almost one quarter of Montenegro’s population. In addition to affecting all of them, violence also affects their parents, grandparents, neighbours, teachers, social workers and others working with children, as well as all other residents of the country.
Therefore, what the new government will do to build a violence-free Montenegro affects every person living in Montenegro, with or without the right to vote. For these reasons, the parliamentary election campaigns should address this human rights issue, as it is at the heart of Montenegro’s development.
The United Nations Children’s Fund, known as UNICEF, was established in 1946 and is the world’s leading source of credible data and analysis on children, using evidence to advocate for children and policies that improve their lives.
UNICEF is working with governments and communities in more than 190 countries and territories to support children worldwide to realize their rights and fulfil their potential, from early childhood through adolescence. UNICEF’s work for children is recognized by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
