Violence against children: myth or reality?

Unfortunately only minor part of the Kyrgyz citizens is aware that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has been adopted twenty years ago and the day of its signing is celebrated as the Universal Children’s Day. The day before the organization marked the World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse. There are those who would not make a point of the dates thinking that children are in no danger in Kyrgyzstan. But if to dig a little deeper, horrifying facts would completely change their view of the children problems. Representatives of non-governmental organizations, public funds, independent experts, foreign sponsors, UN rapporteurs raise the issue time and again. But only some of the parliament, ministers and government officials deigned to spend some of their time on consideration of the problem. Meanwhile, Kyrgyz children die of cold, starve to death, are beaten up, abused and humiliated at schools.

Detention center instead of school

Society rarely faced with violence against children in the Soviet time. It happened sometimes that parents spanked their kids, there were mass scuffles at schools, somebody was teased but not on such a scale as in the last years. The present-day situation: underage girls are abused, teenagers are tied up with a rope, beaten up, humiliated, starved to death in orphanages.

Crime is on rise at the schools all over the republic. National and even clan showdowns occur there regularly. Information of Maksim Nikiforov, President of the Public Association Children in Danger, confirms the facts.

It is known, that some of the teachers have introduced voluntary-compulsory fees from two to twenty thousand soms. Frightened children keep silence and the parents are under pressure as far as child should get education somewhere. That all brings up the questions: Does the government care? What are the Education and Science Ministry, social services, Interior Ministry, juvenile affairs inspectors, the prime minister doing? Only in 2009 teenagers committed about 700 crimes. At least 500 underage are placed at the detention centers. Whether the government considers it as normal rate?

Beyond social guarantees

At least 900 thousand teenagers (40 percent of the total number of children in Kyrgyzstan) are in hard economic situation. The officials say they improve conditions for women at maternity hospitals and the childbirth death rate is decreasing. Simultaneously with them, non-governmental organizations voice quite opposite data about increase in fatal outcomes. Whom should we trust?

According to results of UNICEF research, about 40 thousand Kyrgyz children do not attend schools, while as to officials, it is only 1,116 thousands.

Timothy Schaffter, the UNICEF Representative in Kyrgyzstan outlined that children in almost 40 thousand families had no birth certificates, therewith the number of children homes and orphanages’ inmates constantly grew.

It is proved that the main reason of orphanhood is economic factor that is the sphere of the Economic Regulation Ministry’s activity.

Moreover, the number of kids with congenital defects increases, statistics says. The Kyrgyz Health Care Ministry takes measures but they are not enough.

Instead of afterword

There are some figures in conclusion. At least 23 thousand underage go to work daily, while 16 percent of them are subjected to physical abuse. Over 10 thousand kids are officially considered to be homeless. How should we believe our authorities proclaiming bright future of Kyrgyzstan if they do not care of the young generation?