Biblioteca Digital

The 2010 earthquake in Haiti left the already impoverished country in a state of crisis. As years passed by reconstruction seemed like an unattainable task and violence, crime and poverty where taking away the happiness and hopes of the Haitian people. The destruction of the education system and therefore the weakening of the system meant a condition of ignorance on many topics, being sexual education one of the most affected. When institutions can’t cope the needs of the citizens and there’s a misconception of what sexuality means, sex is then transformed as an exchangeable good. Women, adolescents and girls found themselves in an atmosphere of fear, uncertainty and impunity which normalizes violence in all of its forms, being sexual violence the most relevant one. The work of the Canadian and Haitian Red Cross has been to put in place cultural programs that de-normalize violence and empower young leaders to be agents of transformation in their communities.

This report presents insights on the protection of children from armed violence in the community from the July 2015 consultation in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Violence against Children organized, in collaboration with UNICEF and the Government of Honduras, an international expert consultation in Tegucigalpa. The consultation brought together experts on children’s rights, violence prevention, drugs and arms control, representing United Nations agencies, national governments, independent institutions for children’s rights, civil society, religious leaders, academia, the corporate sector and children and young people.

While there are still many gaps in the data collected on children’s exposure to bullying and on the effectiveness of programmes designed to address it, there is a considerable wealth of information and research that could be shared more widely with all stakeholders. This publication is a contribution to such knowledge-sharing.

Violence against children (VAC) remains a global problem. The health sector has an opportunity and responsibility to be part of the multi-sector collaboration to prevent and respond to VAC. This review aimed to assess the health sector’s response to VAC among Latin American & Caribbean (LAC) countries, particularly as it relates to physical violence, sexual violence, and neglect.