Skip to main content

The plight of children around the world

A six-year-old Nicaraguan girl, a survivor of rape, jumps rope at the Centro de Mujeres Nidia White (Nidia White Women’s Centre), which provides shelter for children and women who have experienced sexual exploitation or other forms of abuse.

Can one be anything but appalled?   A Report issued by UNICEF provides stark details of the plight of children around the world - a scourge which must be eradicated.

"Children worldwide endure 'staggering' physical, sexual, and emotional abuse in their communities, homes, and schools, often at the hands of parents or intimate partners, according to a report released Thursday by UNICEF."

****

"The report, titled "Hidden in Plain Sight," draws on "an unprecedented volume of data" from 190 countries, documenting "the lasting, often inter-generational effects of violence, finding that exposed children are more likely to become unemployed, live in poverty and be violent towards others." Because the data is self-reported, the authors note that actual numbers are likely even higher than the report indicates.

Among the most disturbing findings is the revelation that approximately 120 million girls under the age of 20 worldwide, about one in 10, have experienced forced intercourse or other forced sexual acts, and one in three adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 (84 million) who have ever been married have been victims of emotional, physical or sexual violence committed by their husbands or partners. What's more, close to half of all adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 (around 126 million) believe a husband is justified in hitting his wife under certain circumstances."

****

"The report also shows that one-fifth of homicide victims globally are children and adolescents under the age of 20; that one in three students worldwide report being bullied in school; and about 17 percent of children in 58 countries are subject to severe forms of physical discipline such as being hit on the head or face."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reading the Chilcot Inquiry Report more closely

Most commentary on the Chilcot Inquiry Report of and associated with the Iraq War, has been "lifted" from the Executive Summary.   The Intercept has actually gone and dug into the Report, with these revelations : "THE CHILCOT REPORT, the U.K.’s official inquiry into its participation in the Iraq War, has finally been released after seven years of investigation. Its executive summary certainly makes former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who led the British push for war, look terrible. According to the report, Blair made statements about Iraq’s nonexistent chemical, biological, and nuclear programs based on “what Mr. Blair believed” rather than the intelligence he had been given. The U.K. went to war despite the fact that “diplomatic options had not been exhausted.” Blair was warned by British intelligence that terrorism would “increase in the event of war, reflecting intensified anti-US/anti-Western sentiment in the Muslim world, including among Muslim communities in the
Post a Comment
Read more

An unpalatable truth!

Quinoa has for the last years been the "new" food on the block for foodies. Known for its health properties, foodies the world over have taken to it. Many restaurants have added it to their menu. But, as this piece " Can vegans stomach the unpalatable truth about quinoa? " from The Guardian so clearly details, the cost to Bolivians and Peruvians - from where quinoa hails - has been substantial. "Not long ago, quinoa was just an obscure Peruvian grain you could only buy in wholefood shops. We struggled to pronounce it (it's keen-wa, not qui-no-a), yet it was feted by food lovers as a novel addition to the familiar ranks of couscous and rice. Dieticians clucked over quinoa approvingly because it ticked the low-fat box and fitted in with government healthy eating advice to "base your meals on starchy foods". Adventurous eaters liked its slightly bitter taste and the little white curls that formed around the grains. Vegans embraced quinoa as
Post a Comment
Read more

Climate change: Well-organised hoax?

There are still some - all too sadly people with a voice who are listened to - who assert that climate change is a hoax. Try telling that to the people of Colorado who recently experienced horrendous bushfires, or the people of Croatia suffering with endless days of temps of 40 degrees (and not much less than 30 at night time) some 8-10 degrees above the norm. Bill McKibben, take up the issue of whether climate change is a hoax, on The Daily Beast : Please don’t sweat the 2,132 new high temperature marks in June—remember, climate change is a hoax. The first to figure this out was Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe, who in fact called it “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people,” apparently topping even the staged moon landing. But others have been catching on. Speaker of the House John Boehner pointed out that the idea that carbon dioxide is “harmful to the environment is almost comical.” The always cautious Mitt Romney scoffed at any damage too: “Scientists will fig
Post a Comment
Read more