DO NOT BEAT CHILDREN!

Azerbaijan is going to ban any physical punishment of children under 14. This news has been spread by the Committee on Social Policy of Milli Maclis [parliament]. In particular, this department has explained that a new law - "On protection of children from physical punishment" - has been drafted to this effect. 

… and three years' arrest 

The new law contains provisions to protect children from corporal punishment in families, orphanages, kindergartens, schools and juvenile prisons. Its main purpose is to protect children from any type of physical pressure at police stations, in society and in the family.

Under the new law, the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Violations will be amended to entail prosecution. One can talk here about different fines, administrative and criminal penalties up to imprisonment for terms up to three years. The new law will be tabled at Milli Maclis during the ongoing session. If people's deputies approve the draft law, it will hold criminally liable even parents for submitting their children to corporal punishment. Not to mention the fact that they may be stripped of parental rights. 

In Azerbaijan, violence against children is not a large-scale and progressive problem. Nonetheless cases of child abuse not only by parents but also others do happen and the R+ magazine has repeatedly pointed out to them. This is why the adoption of the law "On protection of children from physical punishment" is important and timely today in all respects. The World Health Organization's (WHO) definition of child maltreatment includes all forms of physical and emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse and neglect. According to the WHO, violence against children is a global problem with serious lifelong consequences. According to WHO data, approximately 20 per cent of women and 5-10 per cent of men report being sexually abused as children; 25-50 per cent of all children report being physically abused. 

According to research findings, any forms of child abuse increase the likelihood of many chronic diseases. The most authoritative works in this area include the large-scale study Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) conducted by the US national Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The survey revealed correlations between violence or neglect experiences and an increased incidence of chronic diseases, risk behaviour and shortened life expectancy. Children who have experienced neglect or physical abuse are more likely to have psychiatric problems or disorders of attachment. 

Violence against children is banned by a number of international instruments and national laws. Many countries have social services to identify cases of child abuse and neglect. According to the Interior Ministry of Azerbaijan, the level of child abuse here is two-five times lower than in other CIS states. According to statistics, 40 per cent of crimes against children in this country are domestic incidents. In order to identify cases of child abuse the ministry is working closely with the NGO Legal Aid Clinic for Juveniles and children's rehabilitation centres. This work is done not only with violence victims but also with their parents. In addition, the Interior Ministry has been running a twenty-four-hour helpline for more than four years now. It is meant to provide psychological support to children who are or may become victims of violence. Formerly the service was available only in Baku but now it covers the whole of Azerbaijan. Child protection also envisages setting up an effective system for preventing violence against children. It involves not only the helpline and crisis centres but also other social services. But reality says these measures are not enough for our children to be fully protected from abuse. Something more is needed. 

Thus, according to the WHO's official position, the most efficient means for preventing child abuse are multisectoral programmes to support parents and teaching them child care and upbringing skills. Such programmes involve, in particular, nurses visiting parents and children at home to support, train and provide them with information as well as group sessions for parents where they are taught parenting skills and expand their knowledge of child development and positive child treatment strategies. 

The WHO also recommends special programmes to prevent sexual abuse of children by informing them at school about their ownership rights to their body and by training them to recognize threatening situations, to refuse seniors and tell a trustworthy adult about an incident. 

The law must act! 

In his interview with R+, Nazir Quliyev, director of the Legal Aid Clinic for Juveniles, said that the issue of child abuse has loomed large for a long time. Back in 2009, the Council of Europe recommended that its member states should enact appropriate legislation to protect the rights of children exposed to violence. In Azerbaijan, the subject of child abuse is also quite acute. It is not just about physical coercion but also psychological and sexual pressure. The expert is certain that one cannot speak about the efficiency of the law to be approved in Azerbaijan until its enforcement mechanism is in place. 

"A very important precondition for such a law to work is to have special shelters (temporary refuges) to which a child subjected to domestic violence can turn. After all, if a child has undergone violence in the family and called the helpline, relevant bodies must have real opportunities to help the child by providing them with a place to stay, lawyers and officials to represent their interests. If there are no such structures, the child facing violence the second time will not call the helpline anymore," Quliyev said. 

Then social services must come into play and carry out relevant proceedings. After that, a commission will decide how safe it is for the child to stay in the home where they underwent violence. 

"Deprivation of parental rights certainly does not mean that the child may not stay on in their parents' home. Speaking figuratively, there will just be someone to watch over the child's interests and guarantee their safety. Apart from this, it is also necessary to create rehabilitation centres to which victims of domestic violence could turn," the expert said. 

According to Quliyev, a great role should be assigned to local executive bodies in providing proper monitoring and education. The expert believes that children should remain under protection after age 14 because teenagers are not always able to stand up for themselves and competently defend their rights. 

Child abuse must have no place in normal society. In this matter, a lot depends on society which must be prepared to fight against this phenomenon.