Www.beds.ac.uk/research/iasr The Council of Europe Campaign to stop sexual violence against children...

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The Council of Europe

Campaign to stop sexual violence against children

http://www.coe.int/t/transversalprojects/children/

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This presentation

• Where the campaign comes from• why look elsewhere?• What can be gained by linking with c of e?• rapporteur’s report• What is happening in Rome?• What are the theoretical principles behind a campaign to

stop sexual violence?• Should young people be involved and how?• What next


Why look elsewhere?

When you go away, its not so much what you see there, but how you return to see familiar surroundings differently

G/local context : policy, economics and theory

Violence against children UN 2006


UN : Violence against children • “Children are at times blamed for what has happened, coerced to keep it a

secret and often stigmatized and marginalised by their families and communities”, (Marta Santos, UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children).

• Situations of armed conflict create a favourable environment for impunity. Sexual violence as a tactic of war and a means to terrorise civilians is used in modern day conflicts.

• .

• Children are the most vulnerable yet they are the least protected.

• Violence against children is preventable. Investing efforts and resources in prevention is the most effective means to reduce violence against children.


G/local context

• Religion, family, community and environment

• Conflict and role of government: ISA and RSA– Poverty (UK 19.5% of children living in

poverty, Sweden 12%) – ISA supported by state– Policy contexts: family courts, small

residential units, early preventative services


G/local context

• Definitions of sexual activity and violence• Age of consent to sexual activity:

– Turkey : 18;

– Cyprus, Ireland: 17;

– Belgium, Finland, UK 16;

– Czech R, Denmark, France, Greece 15;

– Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy 14;

– Spain 13


G/local context

• Age of criminal responsibility: sex offender for life

– Eng, Wales and Nth Ireland: 10– Estonia, Germany Hungry, Denmark, Italy 14– Finland, Norway, Sweden 15– Portugal 16– Poland 17– Belgium 18


Campaign to stop sexual violence against children

The Council of Europe has amongst its major focuses the eradication of all forms of violence against children.

Sexual violence is one of the worst forms of violence/ also remains among the most unreported forms of violence

In most European societies, this is a taboo issue compounded by a culture of silence and denial.


Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse 2007

The protection of children, respect for children’s rights, responding to their views, needs and concerns at the heart ofthis convention.

Child-friendly investigative and judicial procedures where childvictims are well protected,

Article 9 requires states to encourage the participationof children, according to their evolving capacity, in developingand implementing state policies and other initiatives in the fightagainst sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children


Two main aims of campaign• to support the signature, ratification and implementation

of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse;

• to raise public awareness on the extent of sexual violence within the child's circle of trust, how to empower children to break the silence and to find the ways to

prevent and report sexual abuse of children.


Rappertour’s report• Diversity of forms of abuse : different forms of

sexual violence, prevalence within all communities

• Recognition of needs of all age groups: older young people can be victims of abuse

• Child perpetrators are often child victims• UNCRC overrides variations in age of consent

http://www.coe.int/t/transversalprojects/children/News/Vienna/Affiche_Vienna.pdf


Kim Bromley-Derry, chair of Children and Young People's interagency group (CIAG)

in Children and young people now, Dec 09

adolescents are a high risk group. There is a danger that we focus too much on the risk to babies and very young children… a number of services for young people, including youth offending services, tend to come into effect “after the horse has bolted”

Review of LSCBs: under ¼ addressing requirement to protect yp and prosecute abusers (Jago, Pearce et al 2010)


Launch in Rome• Launched in Rome, Italy, 29-30 November 2010, (hosted

by the Italian Ministry for Equal Opportunities)

• To promote the campaign's key messages: – an information pack including child-and family-friendly

leaflets, – brochures, posters, postcards, etc.;– a media pack, containing a TV spot and campaign

material;

– a dedicated website for the campaign.


The Process• Identify countries wanting to take young people

(ratio one young person to one worker)• Identify projects in UK wanting to participate• Planning meeting and follow up activities• The worlds worst trip : risk assessment• Workshop in Rome before presentation• Confidentiality , safety and media strategy• De briefing : Rome and UK


Young People’s involvement• Not victim led: YP as active agents: Youth

advisors• Risk assessment: joint fears and expectations• Scrap books and photo albums• The presentation: only a very small part• Films and poster display• Process not outcome• Debriefing and moving on


What young people want to say• Engagement: relationships • Expectations: penalised if not victims• Expertise: pain, anger and emotion• Time and effort• What they can do:

– training, – art, drama and on line exhibitions,– mentoring, – conference presentations


Theoretical contexts/questions

– ‘Youth’ ‘participation’;

– Is a campaign to stop sexual violence against children a feminist campaign?

– What are the boundaries between education and political action for young people involved?


Young People’s participation

Harts Ladder (1997) : hierarchy of progress

Warrington, 2010, Coleman 2010 :

Bi – directionality’, ‘information management’, ‘partnership’ verses ‘empirical model’

Participation as a process of political action


Sexual Violence: feminism and gender mainstreaming

Should a campaign against sexual violence be led/directed by a feminist perspective, understood by young men and young women?

Should staff ‘teach’ young people : data on prevalence (NSPCC 2010), Barter 2009 findings for eg

Is this relevant to the young women and young man speaking in Rome?


Loosing feminism to Gender mainstreaming:

global communication

Sylvia Walby 2005 : Gender mainstreaming: productive

tensions in theory and practice (international studies in

gender, state and society 12 (3) : 321 - 343:

Gender Mainstreaming: operates through the

velvet triangle: feminist bureaucrats, trusted academics and

organised voices in the women’s movement

Criticised by : Angela McRobbie (2009) The aftermath of feminism

:


The aftermath of feminism• Respectable version of feminism ‘made over’ for

approval by global governance

• Gender mainstreaming keeps intact notions of femininity and masculinity

• Inside gender mainstreaming no critical debate of it as a technocratic tool or of the tensions within feminist, queer or post-colonialist feminist theory (see bell hooks: Outlaw Culture)


What Now?• Find acceptable language with young people• Record the story: newsletter/photo library to be

published • De brief with young people (bi-directionality and

information management)• Form a network to advance the campaign in the

UK• Maintain a discussion group: the nature and role

of feminism within a campaign to stop sexual violence against children?

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