I-Newswire.com (press release)
July 28 2005

Armenia joins global campaign to stop violence against children

UNICEF, Council of Europe and representatives of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Labor and Social Issues and State Police
called today for immediate action to put an end to violence against
children.

(I-Newswire) – `In Armenia we need to give the issue of violence
against children in homes, schools and other places in their
community the visibility and public attention this deserves,’ Sheldon
Yett, UNICEF Representative in Armenia said, addressing a round table
organized on the heels of the Regional Consultations on Violence
Against Children held in Ljubljana on 5-7 July 2005. `It is essential
that polices and procedures are in place to help prevent violence
against children, support child victims and strengthen reporting,
referral and response mechanisms.’

Studies in many countries have repeatedly shown that victims of
physical abuse during childhood have an increased risk of becoming
violent offenders themselves.

`Violence against children can occur everywhere, in every family and
in every society. In Armenia, as in almost all countries, it is
often a hidden problem that is vastly under-reported,’ Yett said

A 2003 UNICEF Armenia survey found that poor living conditions,
unemployment and the psychological stress of poverty had resulted in
an increase in the number of cases of abuse and neglect not only in
the family but also in schools and children’s institutions.

The study revealed that in many families slapping and beating are
perceived as a `means of upbringing’. In many children’s institutions
as well as in schools corporal punishment is still a common practice.

The Ljubljana conference was hosted by the Government of Slovenia
and organized in close consultation with UNICEF, WHO the Council of
Europe, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the
NGO Advisory Panel on the UN Study on Violence Against Children. The
consultation is one of nine worldwide that will feed into a major
study mandated by the UN General Assembly on Violence Against
Children.

Representatives of 40 countries as well as 24 child delegates
participating in the Regional Consultations in Ljubljana adopted a
final document called `Ljubljana Commitment’. By adopting this
document, the Government of Armenia and other countries in the region
pledged to take immediate steps to tackle the problem of violence
against children in their respective countries and to adopt measures
to prevent such cases from happening in future.

For more information, please contact:

Emil Sahakyan, UNICEF Armenia, esahakyan@unicef.org