• Violence against children

Violence against children

This work guide attempts to develop strategies and recommendations for incorporating a rights based approach into care programmes for child and adolescent victims of commercial sexual exploitation, thus, enabling a more effective response.

This implies modifying the way in which care programmes have traditionally treated children and adolescents. Several of the programmes developed to date have attempted to improve the health and self-esteem of the victims without eliminating the sexual exploitation as such. Other programmes seem to have mistakenly equated protection with institutionalisation and have recommended the latter as a universal measure without evaluating each victim’s particular situation. Underage persons who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation do not necessarily face the same economic, family and social conditions, and, therefore, require differentiated care.

It is hoped that this document will promote insight into the debate on how to improve care programmes for victims and will be of use to those who, on a daily basis, have the responsibility and opportunity to rescue children and adolescents from this form of economic and sexual exploitation.

The overall conclusions reached by the guide were:

• the need to re-examine our paradigms to consider children and adolescents as social subjects with rights and not recipients of our favours or concessions

• the need to re-examine our myths and prejudices in regard to sexuality, sexual violence and commercial sexual exploitation

• the need to re-examine our myths and prejudices regarding gender-based violence and, in particular, the erroneous idea that the mothers of victims are women who are insensitive to their children’s needs and are our enemies

• the need to coordinate our efforts with those of other institutions, programmes or individuals

• the need to develop and include family preservation mechanisms in our plans and activities

• the need to incorporate a comprehensive approach that meets the wide-ranging needs of the victims.
  

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