Raheel asfa

ROLE OF UNICEF ON THE ISSUE OF CHILD ABUSE IN PAKISTAN

BY RAHEELA ASFA*

CHILD ABUSE

Intentional use of physical force or intentional omission of care by a parent or guardian that causes a child to be hurt, maimed, or killed. Child abuse is a relatively common problem in our society, and it takes many different forms. A Project of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology described child abuses can include physical abuse (broken bones, brain injury, bites, and burns), sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and, most commonly, neglect.

TYPES OF CHILD ABUSES

Physical abuse of children includes intentionally inflicted buries, fractures burn and other wounds such injuries collectively are some times referred as the bothered child syndromes.
Some children's are abused emotionally by being repeatedly terrorized. All types of emotional abused may have serious and lasting effects on the child's personality.
A frequent symptom of child neglect is under feeding which is the most common cause of underweight in infancy.

HOW CHILD ABUSES OCCURS?

Most of the child abusers are themselves abused as children. Most of them are simply lonely unloved, immature, depressed and angry. Javed Iqbal is a recent example of such behavior, who kidnapped and abuse children and then murdered them briently.

PARRENTAL BEHAVIOR PATTREN SEEN IN ABUSE:

Projects that provide short-term relief from child-rearing and a range of concrete supportive services to parents have demonstrated that child abuse often occurs when parents are under severe and unremitting stress as a result of events within the family environment over which they have no control. Parents have a lack of concern and detachment about the child and sometimes has unrealistic expectations of child means to be behaviorally more mature, parents themselves may exhibit or have a history of drug or alcohol addiction or psychosis. In Pakistan especially children runaway from their houses due to the cruel behavior of their parents.

Prevention of Abuse

Public concern, especially in the East, about the growing incidence of reported cases of child abuse has led to the introduction of legislation, particularly in the areas of identification of abuse, reporting, and treatment. Prevention efforts are, however, increasing. In order to avoid dividing up families and to solve the problem of child abuse, the major role that social and economic forces play must be better understood. Effective prevention requires a fundamental change in societal values and public priorities in order to alleviate the conditions of poverty, unemployment, inadequate housing, and ill health that are found in the overwhelming majority of abusing families. It is also necessary to place a greater emphasis on the rights of children and the responsibilities of parents towards their children. Both the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are working with the governments of developing nations to reduce their high mortality rates.

UNICEF IN PAKISTAN

UNICEF began its work in Pakistan in July 1947. The major focus was on emergency and relief assistance. Pakistan is a country struggling with the gigantic problems common to a newly emerged nation was preoccupied with other pressing problems. UNICEF provided food supplies, shelter material, and equipment for hospitals to support the rehabilitation efforts for children and women. Along with the provision of essential supplies and equipment, UNICEF became an increasingly effective advocate of children to encourage policies in favor of children and to empower communities and families with knowledge and skills needed for child survival and development. A case study done by Razia Bhatti, In the slums of baldia, a sprawling township on the edge of Karachi, an attempt has been made by UNICEF to reduce child abuse and child sickness by the installation of health classes, lane-cleaning, literacy classes for women, loan funds. UNICEF is hoping to invest $480,000 over the next five years in Karachi for improving the conditions of children.

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), agency of the United Nations (UN) is devoted to the welfare of children. The UN General Assembly established the organization in 1946 to help childrenUNICEF currently has more than 200 offices in 115 developing countries. A network of 34 committees in industrialized nations promotes support for UNICEF programs through fund raising, advocacy, education, and information activities. Total income in 1991 amounted to US$807 million. Income from governments accounted for 73 per cent of this

In 1959 the United Nations adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which affirmed the rights of children everywhere to receive adequate care from parents and the community. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989, attempted to consolidate international law on the basic rights of children to survival, education, and protection from abuse and exploitation.

Child Abuse, intentional use of physical force or intentional omission of care by a parent or guardian that causes a child to be hurt, maimed, or killed.

Prevention of Abuse

Public concern, especially in the West, about the growing incidence of reported cases of child abuse has led to the introduction of legislation, particularly in the areas of identification of abuse, reporting, and treatment. Prevention efforts are, however, increasing. Projects that provide short-term relief from child-rearing and a range of concrete supportive services to parents have demonstrated that child abuse often occurs when parents are under severe and unremitting stress as a result of events within the family environment over which they have no control. In order to avoid dividing up families and to solve the problem of child abuse, the major role that social and economic forces play must be better understood. Effective prevention requires a fundamental change in societal values and public priorities in order to alleviate the conditions of poverty, unemployment, inadequate housing, and ill health that are found in the overwhelming majority of abusing families. It is also necessary to place a greater emphasis on the rights of children and the responsibilities of parents towards their children. to be hurt, maimed, or killed.

Both the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are working with the governments of developing nations to reduce their high mortality rates (by comparison with those of the West).

Parental Behavior Patterns Seen in Abuse