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In September, Canada ratified the United Nations' Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.
The Optional Protocol requires States parties to prohibit child prostitution, child pornography and the sale of children through criminal or penal legislation; to enhance international co-operation; to seize and confiscate goods used in the commission of these offences; to develop related public awareness measures; and to implement measures for the rehabilitation of child victims of these offences. Canada has complied with all binding obligations imposed on States parties, addressing these obligations through legislation, programs and policies within federal, provincial and territorial jurisdiction. This includes comprehensive Criminal Code prohibitions protecting children from abduction, kidnapping, abuse and sexual exploitation including child pornography and child prostitution.
“The protection of children is an overriding priority and principle for us,” stated Minister of Justice and Attorney General Irwin Cotler. “It does not stop with our commitments arising from the ratification of the Protocol. We will continue to combat the exploitation of our children - the most vulnerable of the vulnerable - as reflected in two recent legislative initiatives, one relating to the protection of children from all forms of violence and abuse, and the other relating to trafficking in persons.”
The Optional Protocol was adopted by the UN General Assembly on May 25, 2000, and entered into force on January 18, 2002. As of 1 September 2005, there were 99 states party to the Optional Protocol. To view the status of ratification of the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, go to http://www.ohchr.org/english/countries/ratification/11_c.htm
In September, the Canadia Conference of Catholic Bishop’s released its Report of the Special Taskforce for the Review of From Pain to Hope. The Taskforce was charged with looking at the status of sexual abuse prevention within the Church. The report talks candidly about the Church’s past, the resulting deep mistrust and sexual abuse victims' sense of revictimization, and the need to overcome internal resistance and develop stronger prevention and protection policies. It recognized that the protection of children was the highest priority, above protection of clergy, above even protection of the institution of the Church.
The report can be found here: http://www.cccb.ca/Files/TaskForceGroup_A.pdf
Ten Canadian police forces recently adopted one of the most advanced child protection software tools in the world. Police forces in Saskatoon, Durham Regional Police, Saint John,Charlottetown, Hamilton, Regina Police Service, Victoria, York, Halton and Rothesay are now using the Child Exploitation Tracking System (CETS), a software tool developed by the RCMP, the Toronto Police Service and Microsoft Canada Co. to help them more effectively battle online child exploitation.
Officially launched six months ago in Toronto, CETS is a database housed within the RCMP's National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre (NCECC) that serves as an information repository and investigative tool. CETS allows law enforcement agencies to communicate more effectively, regarless of jurisdiction. The concept for CETS originated in January 2003, when an officer from the Toronto Police Service, frustrated by the lack of technology available to help solve these crimes, emailed Bill Gates asking for help. Microsoft has invested more than $4.5 million in the project.
According to an article from the University of Toronto, researchers have learned that children who don't tell anyone about being sexually abused often come from families with specific, similar characteristics.
University of Toronto social work professor Ramona Alaggia, author of the study that appeared in the April-June 2005 issue of Families in Society, conducted in-depth interviews with 20 adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, perpetrated by a family member, who ranged in age from 18 to 65.
Alaggia found they generally came from families with rigid gender roles where fathers headed the household and mothers had little power in the family. Other forms of family violence, such as spousal abuse and physical child abuse, happened in the home. As well, communication was lacking in these homes, with children learning at an early age that some things just weren’t discussed. Finally, social isolation was typical, with either the child or the entire family lacking social supports. Fewer than half had ever tried to disclose the abuse during childhood, leaving Alaggia to stress that it was critical professional cultivate the skills necessary to recognize signs of abuse.
A U.S. study that compared child welfare workers’ reaction to neglect cases involving White and American Indian children found differences in both perception and response. The study examined cases from 1995-99 involving 9,080 American Indian children and 8,628 White children.
In American Indian cases, the usually non-Indian child welfare workers perceived neglect relating to alcohol abuse, violence in the family, and receipt of public assistance while neglect of White children was more often associated with mental or physical problems and inadequate housing. A much higher percentage of American Indian cases resulted in foster care placement or juvenile court petitions, while White families received family preservation services. Researchers concluded that a cultural unfamiliarity may impact workers’ responses. The data suggests that direct participation of Indian nations in child protective investigations, treatment and research is required to ensure appropriate, culturally sensitive responses.
For the complete article “Are They Really Neglected? A Look at Worker Perceptions of Neglect Through the Eyes of a National Data System,” in First Peoples Child and Family Review: A Journal on Innovation and Best Practices in Aboriginal Child Welfare Administration, Research, Policy and Practice (Sept. 2004 issue), available at www.fncfcs.com/pubs/vol1num1/Fox%20pp73-82.pdf.
A study funded by Save the Children Norway examined media reporting on violence and its impact on children in Nicaragua.
Journalists Talk About Media Violence Against Children, conducted in May/June 2005, monitored the characterization of children and youth over 28 days of “red news”—a form of sensational journalism, focused predominantly on violent acts, that is common on Nicaraguan television. This style has reportedly transferred from newspapers, which were also included in the study. The highly competitive nature of such media outlets has led to increasingly shallow and shocking coverage.
Noting that television has a strong influence through its use of immediate, fragmented and repetitive messages, the authors argued that because young people spend a great deal of time in front of the television, it is a significant contributor to their upbringing.
The study found that, in Nicaragua, “Two negative images of children and adolescents prevail in Central American media: of gang members and defenceless victims.” It also identified androcentric and anti-social language used in reporting, and a troubling increase in the use of pejorative terms relating to children and youth. Commentators on some popular stations, they found, sometimes added “vulgar and ironic comments ... to the detriment of the victims.”
This type of content has led to some troubling trends. For example, there is a growing public belief that young people, especially youth gangs, are the main cause of crime, despite the fact that police statistics do not bear this out. More jarring, the high violence content in news seems to lead young people to accept it as natural, even normal. News coverage of violent events now often features young people making faces in the background, apparently having accepted violence as entertaining.
This study aimed to build awareness among journalists, civic and governmental organizations. Authors Patricia Orozco and Dominga Tercero made a number of recommendations relating to media codes of conduct, public information campaigns and the need for more study and a national debate.
Read the ful report here: http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/publications/violence/libro_journalist.pdf
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