BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: It is appropriate and timely for all relevant authorities to join hands to come up with the National Standards for Child Protection or the National Framework for Child Protection, Borneo Bulletin reported.
The issue of child victimisation continues to be rampant involving innocent children. Thus, the effort to organise child protection seminars is right and should be conducted on an ongoing basis so as to raise public awareness on the issue of child victimisation.
Persecution of children is a violation of human rights and it is a social ill that needs to be addressed immediately. If left unchecked, the social development goals to ensure the well-being of the community will be affected.
“We can no longer tolerate child abuse. Our responsibility and role must be carried out, particularly through mobilisation, in order to overcome this problem.”
Deputy Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Datin Paduka Hjh Adina binti Othman pointed this out in her speech yesterday during a Child Protection Seminar held in conjunction with International Family Day.
“We have heard of many cases of child abuse occurring here. It is becoming widespread. In most cases, the abuse is committed by the victim’s parents.”
According to a report from the World Health Organisation, about 80 per cent to 95 per cent of children suffer from various forms of abuse in their own home every year. A total of 53,000 children die as a result of corporal abuse each year.
Approximately 150 million girls and 73 million boys under the age of 18 years are sexually abused, 218 million children work as labourers, with over 126 million of them working in dangerous environments.
A total of 1.8 million children are involved in pornography, and 1.2 million are victims of trafficking.
A study also found that among the causes of child abuse are stress faced by working parents, financial problems and domestic crises. Its effects include the victim suffering from physical injury, health problems and being traumatised – resulting in mental and emotional disorders such as fear, depression and low self-esteem.
The trauma will leave a bad impression on the victim during his lifetime. He may also become withdrawn, aggressive or passive, and is likely to commit the same act on his children or family members when he has a family of his own, Datin Paduka Hjh Adina explained.
She stressed that the well-being, welfare, growth and development of children remain a priority in this country.
Brunei Darussalam is a member of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Article 19 of the Convention states that the government must take steps to protect a child from all forms of abuse, neglect and violence committed by his parents or guardians.
The government, through relevant ministries, has taken steps to ensure that the rights of children in Brunei are protected. Several laws have been enacted to ensure the rights of children and to protect children from various forms of violence, abuse and exploitation.
The laws include the Births and Deaths Registration Act, Compulsory Education Order, Order Compulsory Religious Education, Women and Girls Protection Act, Children and Young Persons Act 2006, Islamic Family Law 1999, the Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Act and the Trafficking and Smuggling of Persons Act 2004.
The success of policies and programmes to address the problem depends on strong cooperation and commitment of all parties involved. The approach taken must also be a holistic one, covering aspects of prevention, intervention and rehabilitation.
“I urge that together we can increase awareness and educate the public about this problem so that the incidents of violence can be reduced,” she said.