SL kicks off Asia Pacific campaign to end violence against children

By Shannon Jayawardena

An Asia Pacific campaign to end violence against children was kicked off in Sri Lanka this week with multiple stakeholders partnering to address this growing challenge in the region.  

Based on the theme ‘It takes a world to end violence against children’, the campaign is being rolled out across 17 countries in Asia Pacific, highlighting the need to end child marriage, sexual abuse, child trafficking, child labour, physical violence in schools and the home and corporal punishment.

Spearheaded by World Vision, the initiative involves a host of collaborative organisations including the United Nations Population Fund Association (UNFPA). 

The launch in Colombo saw leaders from Sri Lanka’s multiple faiths joining over 120 participants in a bid to examine their role in ending violence against children at a roundtable, while a separate panel featured youth leaders from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar who engaged in intense discussion.

The Chief Guest at the launch, Ministry of Child Affairs Secretary Chandrani Senarathne, said: “Sri Lanka is a Pathfinder country in the global partnership to End Violence Against Children, which was launched as part of a bold new collaborative partnership with key stakeholders including the Government, United Nations agencies, international organisations, civil society, faith groups, the private sector, the media, children and other key stakeholders.”

She also said that violence against children includes all forms of physical, sexual and mental violence, adding: “After all we’re not aiming at reducing violence but actually saying ending violence against children and we believe that it can be done in this generation.”

Guest of Honour Director General of the South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children, (SAIEVAC) Dr. Rinchen Chophel said: “Asia carries the fatal mantle of having one of the world’s highest rates of violence inflicted on children.”

“It is not just the world which must come together but us who are the principal actors,” he added.

Complaints filed against child violence in Sri Lanka in 2014 numbered 10,315 and rose to 10,732 in 2015. However, last year the number of complaints declined to 9,361 but incidents, including those unreported, remain a serious concern.

Around 77% of children undergo violence at school and 87% experience violence at home in Sri Lanka while many other Asian countries face similar challenges. In Asia Pacific, incidents have been on the rise as well. According to the World Vision campaign publication, Asia Pacific has one of the highest rates of violence against children in the world with 64% of children between the ages of two and 17 years having experienced violence over the past years.

World Vision East Asia Region Operational Director Danielraj Selvanayagam said: “If we line up 10 children from Asia Pacific varying from the ages of 2-17, at least six of them are abused.”

In Indonesia, one-third of girls and two-thirds of boys between the ages of eight and 17 suffer violence. Nepal is taking action to prevent child marriage. Seven-tenths of child abuse cases have been reported in Papua New Guinea and online sexual exploitations between the ages of 10 and 14 in the Philippines are on the rise.

As children are not often given a platform from which to speak about their suffering, World Vision gave the opportunity to Bangladeshi Meghla Akter, Filipino Ronnie Hingco, Myanmar Thein Han Ni Htun and Sri Lankan David Jeevathithan Ambalanavaner to speak on behalf of all Asian children.

 “As a young leader I stopped five child marriages in my community, including mine,” said Meghla. She also strongly believes that young leaders can protect children from all sorts of violence for only a child can understand another child’s pain.

Sri Lankan David, who is a resident of Jaffna and a strong child rights advocate, shed light on the violence which occurs on a daily basis in Sri Lanka by saying that “at one point of our lives, my friends and I have all experienced some sort of violence and abuse.”

David said that faith leaders played a key role in his life as it was a reverend who helped him to rise above all his difficulties. He added: “In my experience a lot children want to express themselves and faith leaders should act as counsellors to join hands to eradicate child violence.”

“Every child deserves to grow up happy, healthy, educated, loved and protected. Thereby ending child abuse requires the changing of the hearts and minds of everyone, for it takes a world to end violence against children,” World Vision said. 

Pix by Lasantha Kumara