Since 2007, ChildFund Alliance and Plan International have been founding members of a global taskforce to advance the way we consider children in emergencies.
This week, two major meetings will take place in Geneva. We will be at the table advocating for the children who will benefit from future Australian Aid responses.
Communities all over the world show amazing resilience when disasters strike. People everywhere spring into action to address the damage done by events like cyclones, earthquakes or armed conflict. It makes perfect sense to address the most dramatic and visible elements of a disaster – like restoring shelter, providing food and ensuring urgent medical care to survivors. But we need also to remember that emergencies can have less visible effects on people, especially children.
Children love routines. They feel the most comfortable when things stay stable and safe. They know what they should be doing and where they should be at different times of the day (brushing my teeth, playing during recess). They like to know where their families are and that they can be with them quickly if needed. Disasters disrupt these routines and make children anxious.
After a disaster, trusted community features like schools can be closed or destroyed, and even the regularity of parents` presence will change as they must work hard to restore their lives, income and homes. Many of the other regular ways that we look after children are also affected. With adults preoccupied with safety, food and income, there can be fewer eyes to monitor children already at increased physical risks from the damaged physical environment.
Unfortunately, these can also be times that people wishing to harm children can take advantage. Children can suffer abuse and violence or be vulnerable to sexual exploitation or unsafe labour. Authorities, police and justice institutions will be busy restoring order, so preventative measures are a low priority. Responses from social welfare systems that are under immense strain can similarly be challenged.
Through our Free From Violence campaign, ChildFund has been a loud advocate amongst those calling for a world where all children are safe and child protection is a global priority.
We celebrated a win for our advocacy late last year when the new 2030 Global Goals for Sustainable Development were announced and included target 16.2 to “End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.”
Today, we celebrate another significant milestone with the launch of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children. Responding to the Global Goals, the Partnership will turn talk into action by advocating for, supporting and funding a coordinated approach to ending violence against children.
Violence against children continues to be an endemic problem, shared by every country in the world. In the past year, as many as 1 billion children globally have experienced physical, sexual or psychological violence. Every five minutes globally, a child dies from violence. We know that a global problem requires a shared solution.
The Global Partnership will build and sustain political will to end violence against children. It will accelerate action by taking a globally coordinated approach, and it will strengthen collaboration between countries and actors.
By pooling resources and expertise, the Global Partnership will accelerate progress towards the 2030 target. The Partnership ultimately aims for commitments from every country on Earth to adopt national legislation, policies and programs to protect children and to achieve this, will support and feature €˜Pathfinder` countries who demonstrate a strong commitment to accelerating efforts to make children safe. Countries that have already initiated steps towards being Pathfinders include Indonesia, Philippines, Tanzania, El Salvador, Mexico, Paraguay, Romania, Sweden and Sri Lanka.
The Global Partnership will promote and fund strategies that are tried and tested through a multi-donor trust fund. Already, £40 million (AUD$70m) to catalyse the fund has been contributed by the UK Government and will be used for actions to address online violence and exploitation of children.
ChildFund has financially and technically supported the Global Partnership from its inception. We will continue our commitment through the ChildFund Alliance to advocate for and support a world where children can be free from violence.
ChildFund will also collaborate with key organisations, governments and the private sector to work with Pathfinder countries, and to encourage more countries €“ including Australia €“ to sign on to the commitments of the Global Partnership.
