A compilation of extracts from ngo reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child relating to violence against children This document is an annex to the publication

BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA

Europe and Central Asia

Zdravo da ste Banja Luka – English

[…]

has been fully respected in the post-war period either. These issues are well solved in

legislature, but in practice there are a number of problems. Poverty greatly obstructs this

principle’s realization. There is no developed system of recording, monitoring and

protecting children who are physically and mentally abused within and outside their

family. A great number of children have died from mines and are still in everyday

danger, because due to insufficient means only some parts of BiH have been demined. As

of 2001, 348 children had died from mines.5 The Ministry of Education and Culture, as

well as some non-governmental organizations, have organized civilian education on mine

awareness.

[…]

In cases of parental rights abuse or neglect of parental duties and the child’s rights,

to the severance of parental rights have been solved. Problems which families in social

need encounter everyday have led to a great number of cases filed for the severance of

parental rights. In 2003 there were 388 cases18 filed in the FBiH. Measures of rigorous

supervision of parents were proposed along with inspection by social care organizations,

with the aim of bringing about responsible parenthood.

[…]

Due to the activities of non-governmental organizations, the attention of the public and

abuse in the family, school, local community and other environments of children.

is an increase in various kinds of child abuse (physical abuse in the family, on the street

and in school, the neglect of children by parents and disregard of parents’ duties and

different forms of child exploitation). The problem lies in the fact that there are no legal

sanctions for not on-time reported cases of child abuse. It is expected that this will be

dealt with in the new Law on the Protection from Violence in the Family, which

penalizes those who break the rules in the mater of protection from violence (with

pecuniary penalty and penalty of imprisonment).

Protective measures include obligatory treatment, psycho-social treatment, prohibited

access to the victim, removal of the violator from the place of living, and ensuring the

protection of the person exposed to violence. These measures are implemented to prevent

violence and to ensure necessary health protection and the abused person’s safety, as well

as to remove the factors which increase the possibility of abuse.

[…]

members often hide the abuse because of shame and patriarchal prejudice. In such cases

a sensitive approach to the child is very important, especially during the hearing, so that

a harmful effect on the child’s psychological condition is avoided.

40

“A case form my neighbourhood – hitting the child with the hoover, taking off the

[…]

1,236 cases of emotional abuse, 38 cases of sexual abuse and 398 cases of some other

kind of abuse. In total there were 3,040 cases of abuse in the family.

In the whole of Bosnia-Herzegovina, 15% of children claim that they know of a number

of children who are abused in their family, and 33.8% know between 1 and 3 such

children.31

Violence in the family is becoming more and more common, and society is still not ready

to get involved in dealing with this violence adequately. In this respect non-governmental

organizations and their volunteers are a step ahead. . Also, there are more and more

professionals who have been educated through various psycho-social programmes of

support and have received practical training in how to recognize the consequences of

violence, neglect and abuse, as well as how to organize working activities. Foreign and

local NGOs including UNICEF, Soros, ADL local democracy-shelter, Future (Modrica),

Lara (Bijeljina), Associated Women (Banja Luka) and Medika –(Zenica), support these

activities.

According to official statistical data, in the Republika Srpska, the number of children

users jeopardized by their family situation rose from 15,712 in 1999 to 17,063 in 2000,

30 Annual Report of Federal Ministry of Work, Social Policy and Employment, Sarajevo 2003.

31 NGO Report on the state of children’s rights in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2004.

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and to 29,962 in 2001. In 1999 there were 117 neglected and abused children, in 2000

was an increase in the number of children whose development was disturbed by family

circumstances, educationally neglected and abandoned children, children prone to street

vagrancy, children prone to begging, and children prone to prostitution. As for children

prone to committing criminal acts, in 1999 there were 762 cases, in 2000, 628 cases and

in 2001, 674 cases.

[…]

The majority have problems adjusting to the school environment. In school they feel

said that a teacher called him "Gypsy" and he did not like going to school because of that.

The majority of street children are under 14, and most are not from BiH. The children say

they are forced to beg in order to survive. Their earnings sometimes range from 20 to 50

KM per day, but most frequently they earn from 1 to 5 KM per day. Most of them give

part of their earnings to parents or share with the family; one fourth of children

interviewed set aside a certain amount because they are threatened that they will not have

a place to sleep if they do not. For instance, one fourth of children interviewed said that

they are punished if they do not earn enough money. There are indications that a number

of children are victims of organized criminals who exploit children in this way. 20% of

the children said that they were brought to BiH from other countries in an organized way.

According to the records of the police and Centres for Social Work these state institutions

had about 1000 contacts with street children. Their estimations put the number of Roma

children between 37% (according to the Centres for Social Work) and 43% (according to

the police). The rest are Bosniacs or Serbs, depending on the region. Police and

representatives of Centres for Social Work assess that three quarters of these children live

with their parents, which corresponds with children’s reports - 80% said that they do in

fact live with their parents. The basic living conditions of these children are extremely

difficult.

[…]

street through their programmes, but none of these NGOs identify this work as their

major or only activity.

Study results indicate that 29.2% of schoolchildren surveyed know children who cannot

attend school because they have to work to earn money, and 14% know a lot of these

children. 31.2 % know children who do heavy physical work and do not go to school.

Begging is one form of economic exploitation of children in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which

is also confirmed by 22.7% of surveyed schoolchildren.59

[…]

Available data on sexual abuse and exploitation of children in BiH are not at all reliable.

patriarchal environment or covering the shame of the abusers, who are often people close

to these children.

The results of the study “Child Trafficking in Bosnia-Herzegovina”64 also revealed

problems of child trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Data from the

police, border services, IOM and local NGOs show that all involved identified between

100 and 150 children victims, half of whom are from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Most are over

14, and only a few are 10 or under. All those interviewed mentioned girls.

Although the received information does not indicate the existence of an organized market

for child prostitution, many cases of criminal acts regarding sexual abuse remained

unrevealed to institutions and NGOs. This calls for urgent measures which would prevent

the formation of such a market and the spread of the sexual exploitation of children

through prostitution and pornography.

It is disturbing to note that 13.2% of surveyed students know children who have been

sexually abused by adults, 2.7% know children who have been sexually abused by

teachers, and 4.4% know children who have experienced abuse by their peers. 65

[…]

Although the legal framework in Bosnia-Herzegovina does not explicitly deal with

find the existing legal framework sufficient for the protection of children from violence

yet not implemented enough in practice. There are practically no professional codes,

guidelines or instructions related to the work of professionals on the protection of

children from violence.

BOTSWANA

Botswana Council of non-Governmental Organizations – English

there is observable weak enforcement of existing child protection laws despite recommendations in several previous child welfare forums, urging for strengthening of the enforcement of existing child legislation and effective implementation of programs and services

[…]

1. 
   the increase⁴. This is a sure sign that the right to protection against sexual abuse and exploitation is being undermined
   

As a result, different organisations generate their own agency-based data which they use for their own programs’ management. Such data is usually not nationally representative and is not regarded as official data, making it difficult to show national trends and the magnitude of child abuse, neglect and exploitation in Botswana.

[…]

In Botswana, a child is likely to be deprived of a family environment due to a number of factors. These include situations where two parents legally separate or divorce, parent(s) goes to prison, orphanhood, homeless children, street children, child offenders, abandonment and in situations of child abuse and neglect.

The ISPR recognizes the prevalence of child abuse and neglect in Botswana. It also describes the applicable national child protection laws and policies, the achievements and constraints of the various laws and policies in protecting children against abuse and neglect²¹.

[…]

Common among such vulnerable groups of children are a) neglected children needing a safe home away from their home b) neglected children needing that their family be strengthened and supported to better take care of them c) a child needing maintenance from a neglectful parent, often a father d) an orphaned child needing (psychosocial) counseling and the basic necessities of life e) a child in an abusive home f) a child victim of a crime g) a child perpetrator of a crime h) a child in conflict with the law i) a child who is herself a mother, j) an HIV infected and/or affected child, j) a child caring for other siblings l) a child who is sexually abused by another child, m) a child caught up in a dysfunctional family and n) in a cases involving early marriages of children.

Like other vulnerable children, children with disabilities have also been victims of abuse and neglect. Of the 218 reported cases of sexual abuse, 15 (7%) involved children with disabilities. Of these 15 cases, only two convictions were secured and the rest of the cases were either withdrawn or closed for various reasons or acquitted.

[…]

According to the 2003 Botswana Police Annual Report, there is a steady increase in sexual offences, in particular, rape, indecent assault on females, incest and defilement of girls under 16 years. Table 4 below shows the trends in sexual offence in Botswana between 2001 and 2003.

been very effective. For instance out of the 218 reported cases in 2001, 46% were closed for various reasons, 26% sent for trial, 13% convicted and 13% acquitted. The pattern is similar for 2002 where 237 cases were reported to the police. Of these, 40% were closed for various reasons, 27% sent for trial, 13% convicted and 15% acquitted.

The statistics reveals lower percentages of convictions compared to "closed cases due to various reasons". Low convictions and acquittals are likely to be a result of a combination of factors including lack of corroborating evidence, weak investigations, discretionary reporting and withdrawal of cases. Discretionary reporting is a major concern particularly in respect of public healthcare facilities where medical practitioners/health workers are always assisting children under 16 years of age to deliver babies and yet rarely report such cases to law enforcement for appropriate legal action.

[…]

The statistics reveals lower percentages of convictions compared to "closed cases due to various reasons". Low convictions and acquittals are likely to be a result of a combination of factors including lack of corroborating evidence, weak investigations, discretionary reporting and withdrawal of cases. Discretionary reporting is a major concern particularly in respect of public healthcare facilities where medical practitioners/health workers are always assisting children under 16 years of age to deliver babies and yet rarely report such cases to law enforcement for appropriate legal action.