Workshop highlights efforts to improve children’s welfare

A CONFERENCE a imed at addressing issues surroundi ng t he wel fa re of ch i ld ren k icke d of f on Monday i n Phnom Penh.

The three-day conference, co-organised by the Ministr y of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation, United Nat ion s C h i ld r e n’s F u nd (Unicef ) and the World Health Orga nisat ion ( WHO) – featured spea kers representing va r ious orga nisat ions f rom around the region.

T he meet i ng’s at tendees were made up of delegates f rom 21 Asia-Paci f ic cou ntries. They discussed implementing key strategies to end v iolenc e a g a i n s t c h i ld r en across t he healt h, socia l welfare, education, f inance, and judicia l sectors.

Unicef East Asia and Pacific Regional Office director Karin Hulshof said children remained susceptible to violence in their communities and schools – all of which, she thought, supposedly provides protection and a safe place for the “victims” – as well as from the internet.

“One in four children worldwide are abused by their caretakers,” said Hulshof, citing strategic guideline released by WHO in 2016.

A pu bl i c a t i on e nt i t l e d Inspire, comprised seven strateg ies for end i ng v iolence aga i nst ch i ld ren. Each i s u nder pi nned by st rong or promising evidence of success i n h ig h-i ncome cou nt r ies, wit h grow ing ev idence t hat t hey a lso work in low- a nd middle-income countries.

Inspire mentions that up to one billion children have experienced physical, sexual or psychological violence within a year prior to its release, according to a report estimation.

Hulshof applauds Cambodia for being the first country in the region to conduct a comprehensive national survey to address children’s exposure to violence.

The 2013 countrywide survey revealed that more than half the children in Cambodia are physically abused, which caused the government to create child-safety commitments for various ministries.

Social Affairs Minister Vong Sauth said Cambodia had implemented a national action plan to combat violence against children.

“The Cambodian government has adopted a five-year multisectoral and interministerial plan to address violence against children in compliance with international policies and practices,” he said, referring to the long-awaited Action Plan to Prevent and Respond to Violence Against Children which was unveiled last year.

“Cambodia would like to share experiences and good practices in mitigating violence against children. So far, we are leading in the region for having conducted an evidence-based survey to determine the broad scope and impact of this issue,” he said.

However, Saut h ack nowledged t hat t he K i ngdom i s struggling wit h resources in responding to and preventing c h i l d r e n’s e x p o s u r e t o v iolence.

“Cambodia still faces some problems a mid t he i mplementation of the action plan, such as a lack of a systematic me c h a n i s m, low hu ma n capacit y, and limited f inancia l resources to protect t he children,” he said.

He said the full realisation of the plan lies not only with the government but also with every citizen who has responsibilities to children.

“Solving discrimination and abuses of children, under any circumstances, won’t be effective without the engagement of all relevant stakeholders.

“I welcome the engagement of international NGOs, civil society, teachers and parents as they are the potential forces to combat violence against children,” he said.

Last month, the Ministr y of Socia l Af fa irs, Vetera ns a nd Youth Rehabilitation released two roadmaps to reform the Kingdom’s child welfare system i n c ol laborat ion w it h Unicef.