Ending the scourge
New action plans commit Asean members to doing more to prevent violence against women and children.
Violence against children and women is an issue of global concern and can occur in any society and all settings, even in the home, which should be the safest place. In East Asia and the Pacific, violence against children is prevalent among all population groups, and results in a heavy economic cost in addition to physical and psychological harm.
Violence is a common experience in the lives of children throughout the region, said Stephen Blight, regional adviser for child protection with the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef ), citing the results of research by Unicef.
The prevalence of violence including physical, sexual and emotional abuse as well as neglect is significant among all population groups regardless of income level, and it has lifelong impacts on the individual.
“The research establishes clear links between childhood experience of violence, and mental disorders later in life, adverse consequences on physical and sexual health, increased risk-taking behaviours among adolescents, and long-term impacts on adult aggression, violence and criminality,” said Mr Blight, who is based in the East Asia Pacific regional office of Unicef in Bangkok.
“Violence against children has high economic costs for society. The annual economic loss due to the impacts of violence against children in East Asia and the Pacific has been estimated at US$209 billion, accounting for 2% of regional GDP. Preventing this violence is thus important for economic development among Asean member states.”
Mr Blight made the comments at the launch of the Asean Regional Plan of Action on Elimination of Violence against Women and the Asean Regional Plan of Action on Elimination of Violence against Children in Bangkok earlier this month.
The two action plans were endorsed by Asean leaders at their summit in Kuala Lumpur in late November. Both plans cover a period of 10 years from 2016 to 2025.
“Violence against children and women can happen in any society, ethnicity, religion and culture, and also in all settings such as a home, a workplace, community and educational institution,” said Maitri Inthrusut, the permanent secretary of Thailand’s Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, who presided over the launch.
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 35% of women around the world experience some form of physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. In most cases, violence against women happens at home and is perpetrated by their own spouses or partners.
In Thailand, Public Health Ministry statistics indicated that almost 24,000 cases of violence against children and women were reported last year, or an average of 66 per day. Many more go unreported.
“The issue is addressed at the international, regional and national levels with relevant laws and obligations in place,” said Mr Maitri. “Domestically, the Thai cabinet announced an annual observance in November to raise awareness through campaigns on the elimination of violence against women and children.”
The regional action plan on violence against children has eight components: prevention, protection, legal frameworks and prosecution, capacity building, research and data collaboration, monitoring and evaluation, as well as regional review and communication.
In the area of prevention, awareness will be raised among all sectors of society of the harmful effects of all forms of violence against children through formal and informal education. An Asean guideline will be established on non-violent approaches to the nurture, care and development of children in all settings.
The action plan also calls for regional guidelines for child protection systems in compliance with international standards, and strengthening national, bilateral and regional mechanisms to coordinate efforts among states and nonstate entities. On the legal side, the plan calls for law reforms to prohibit all forms of violence against children, i ncluding the growing scourge of cyberbullying.
“Progressive efforts to enact national laws and implement related policies have shown a clear commitment from Asean to the prevention and elimination of violence against children,” the action plan report said.
“Despite these initiatives, implementation and progress have been uneven. For instance, a comprehensive legal ban on all forms of violence against children, which is a key component of a comprehensive strategy to safeguard and protect the right of the child to freedom of violence, is not yet in place in all Asean member states.”
A 2012 review of research on violence in the region commissioned by Unicef has shed light on this hidden phenomenon. Credible research estimates the prevalence of physical abuse among boys and girls to range from 10% to 30.3%; sexual abuse from 1.7% to 11.6%; emotional abuse from 31.3% to 68.5%; and child labour from 6.6% to 56%. Furthermore, three out of four children in the region experience violent discipline at the hands of teachers or parents, it added.
The action plan on violence against women also has eight components including a comprehensive national framework that includes effective prevention and response policies and programmes. It also calls for accessible, effective and gender-sensitive complaint mechanisms with investigative and monitoring functions to deal with abuse and harassment in all workplaces.
The legal framework would include gender-responsive national legislation to penalise all forms of violence against women. Training programmes for abusers and perpetrators based on the most effective models would promote good practices related to attitude changes and behaviour modification.
“Even 20 years after the adoption of Beijing Declaration, there has been little improvement in the elimination and rates of violence against women,” the report said. “It is urgent for Asean member states to give priority to the elimination of violence against women.”
Violence against women encompasses but is not limited to physical, sexual, psychological and economic violence occurring in the family. Other forms include early and forced marriage as well as emerging forms such as cyberbullying.
“Diverse groups of women suffer from multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and inequalities, making them especially vulnerable to violence,” the report added. “They include women with disabilities, women living and affected by HIV and Aids, girls, older women, women living in disaster- or conflict-affected areas, stateless women and women trafficked for forced labour or sexual exploitation among others.”
Unicef’s Mr Blight said the regional plan should spur action by Asean nations to draft or update their own laws and policies in line with international standards and increase budgets for social welfare services for families with children. It should also serve as a platform for strengthened inter-country cooperation on child rights and protection.
“The priorities and planned results for the first five years of the plan are clear and substantial. Working together on these, we can make a real difference in protecting children from the scourge of violence in Asean,” he said.
“Diverse groups of women suffer from multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and inequalities, making them especially vulnerable to violence”