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Read the Final Report to the General Assembly:
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Background Information
Children throughout the world are at risk of violence in nearly every aspect of their lives-in their homes, in schools, on the street, at work, in institutions and in detention. In many cases, they are beaten, tortured, sexually assaulted or even murdered by the very individuals responsible for their care. In response to this global scandal, in November of 2001 the UN General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to conduct an in-depth study on violence against children. This request followed a recommendation for such a study from the Committee on the Rights of the Child, based on two days of general discussion on violence against children held in 2000 and 2001.
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General Days of Discussion |
Aim of the Study
The Committee stated that the study should be as "thorough and influential" as the groundbreaking 1996 study on children and armed conflict conducted by Mrs. Graça Machel. In December of 2002, the UN Secretary General appointed Paulo Sergio Pinheiro as his independent expert to conduct the study. The goals of the study are to:
raise international visibility of all forms of violence against children; better understand the causes of the problem and its impact on children, adults and societies; assess existing mechanisms to address violence against children; identify an international action plan to effectively end these abuses.
Scope of the Study
The Committee recommended that the study should cover violence against children within the family and in the home, in schools, in care or residential institutions both State and private, in work situations, in the streets, in detention facilities and prisons, and also examine violence by police and the use of capital and physical punishment.
The Committee recommended that violence should include all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, including sexual abuse, bullying in schools, and corporal punishment.
A partnership
UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights have formed a partnership to support the study. Other UN and UN related bodies are also expected to be involved in the study's preparation, including the ILO, UNESCO, UNIFEM, and others.
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UN Study Settings
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