Category Archives: Attitude to Abuse

Tampa Bay Online (TBO.com) has reported:

PINELLAS PARK – A 12-year-old boy, his body battered and burned, was kept in an empty bedroom with no furniture and only a bucket to relieve himself.

Authorities said Friday that if the boy tried to come out of the room, an ironing board propped up against the door would fall, sounding an alert. Pulled out of school last year, he was told to simply read the Bible every day. “This is absolutely the worst child abuse case I’ve seen,” Pinellas Park Police Department Capt. Michael Haworth said Friday. As the boy recovered from his injuries at a hospital, his mother and the man with whom they lived, Reginald Neil Carr, were being held at Pinellas County Jail.

For more please visit here.

This is a story that clearly shows how child abuse is not tolerated by the more civilized socities though it is brushed aside as “simply not true” in more traditional and uncivilized socities. We have to grow up and enter the doors of civilization in Maldives, where we put children’s welfare and rights as a top priority.

The fact that the wrong that is ongoing is reported does not mean that the society is backward or uncivilized. It simply means that the society takes responsibly and acts appropriately in the face of wrong. We take months to attend to children abused in our midst, because they are not the priority.

CAWM would like to remain indepdent. However, the following comment from Anonymous is quite inaccurate and does not reflect the faith of Islam nor of its Prophet Muhammadh (PBUH).

“Islam is perpetuating a large amount of child abuse because Mohammed is the perfect man in the eyes of muslims. He “married” babies and commited child abuse.” Anonymous

Child abuse knows no legal, social or religous boundaries. It is unfortunate that some single out Islam as the culprit (which it is not) in child abuse. It is the conditions that promote child abuse, not any particular religion or faith:

Artcile on Child Abuse in America
Child Abuse statistics USA
Bush reward Child Abuse

The USA is the world’s top democracy. There is no one that can challenge the rights that are accorded to any human in the USA. Yet Abu Ghraib is a reality and Guntanemo Bay is a reality for which the Bush Administration only knows the justifications. We cannot or need not blame the US forefathers for the wrongs that are committed by individuals.

SANTAC reports that President Mandela said:

The Abuse of children has become a question worldwide in various forms. […] One of the problems, as I think and I would like to mention here, is that many of the people who abuse children are parents, uncles and breadwinners and that the wife, although she knows what is happening, does not want to report this matter because it might lead to the arrest of the breadwinner.

And she therefore keeps quiet and the police can not get evidence that the child has been molested. That means, that the children themselves, no matter how young, if they are able to walk and to talk that if the child is molested, she must just walk to the police station and say I have been molested I want to be …. (and need support?).

But we cant succeed even in that if we don’t plan very well. It is necessary, that in every street, in every village, there must be somebody, preferable a child who is a guardian against the abuse of children and to whom children can go and confess. She can then go straight to the police and to report. But there is no use talking about principles without taking practical steps and I am sure, that when we fight against the abuse of children if the Government want the better with the communities, that in every street, there must be a child, who is intelligent, who is brave, who is going to make sure that she knows what is happening in her area and is able to report everything to the police.

[…]

Manila Standard Today reports:

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has signed Proclamation 1137 declaring “Child Abuse Prevention Year” until October 2007, making the Philippines the first country to issue such a declaration. “It is time to take concrete actions nationwide to stop the threats to the health and welfare of our children,” Mrs. Arroyo said during the launching of the year-long program at the Asilo de San Vicente de Paul in Manila yesterday.

Based on recent studies done by the University of the Philippines-Child Protection Unit and the Philippine Resource Network, more than 1.5 million Filipino children live on the streets, begging for food and often engaged in criminal activity with a third being prostituted. Another 3.5 million children from 5 to 17 years old are forced to work despite a legislation outlawing child labor. […]

“The safety of the Filipino child has been and still is being seriously threatened and there is urgent need to remind us of this very important value of protecting the child and preventing abuse. The Filipino people strongly believe that a child is a gift from Almighty God,” Mrs. Arroyo said. […]

Majority of the child abuse cases involved physical abuse, followed by psychological abuse, sexual molestation, forced sex and neglect.

The Philippine policy to protect the rights of children is enshrined no less in Article XV of the 1987 Constitution, which provides that “the State shall defend the right of the children to assistance, in-protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation and other conditions prejudicial to their development.” […]

“Mr. President.
Some of the major challenges before my country today include the geographical severity, diseconomies of scale due to the scattered nature of the population, strains on the family unit due to the erosion of the traditional culture, the high incidence of divorce and rapid urbanization. In addition, the breaking up of families adversely effects the social and psychological development as well as the well being of children and women.

Despite such challenges, we have success stories to tell and positive trends to report in the area of protecting child rights. In our quest for a better future, we have proclaimed a National Vision 2020 in which we have envisaged to educate every child, to provide environments that foster self-confidence and self esteem, to cater for the needs of children with disabilities and to prevent all forms of child abuse. Furthermore. our 6th National Development Plan, reinforces this vision, by planning to review the existing laws on the protection of children and to strengthen enforcement measures. Preparations are underway for establishing appropriate legal and judicial frameworks to deal with children’s issues. By the same token, we have begun to assess the situation of children to identify and target services for vulnerable groups. The creation of an institutional mechanism for providing alternative family care is underway. The emerging issue of adolescent health and well-being will be addressed as a prioriy in the coming years.

We in the Maldives believe that investing in children and generating opportunities for them is the only way to ensure a healthier, wealthier and a happier future for our country. To that end, we are encouraging greater initiative and participation by the private sector and the civil society actors. …”