|
Eighty percent of parents in Poland physically punish their children while only 5 percent admit that a child suffered a physical injury as a result-reveals research carried out by the Nobody's Children Foundation.
This research confirms that individuals beaten during childhood will also use violence as adults against their own children.
The 9th Regional European Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, titled Promoting Interdisciplinary Approaches to Child Protection, was held in Warsaw Aug. 29-31 under the auspices of the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN). The conference was organized by the Nobody's Children Foundation. The meeting focused on issues such as the legal aspects of assistance for children, conditions and methods for interrogating them, sexual abuse of minors, the problem of "street children" and child abuse diagnostics, therapy and prevention. A total of 650 professionals participated in the conference, including physicians, psychologists, social workers, lawyers and sociologists from 76 countries, including 240 Poles and 130 participants from Eastern European countries. The honorary patron of the conference was First Lady Jolanta Kwa¶niewska.
The conference focused on a discussion of ways to prevent violence against children. It was emphasized that the situation of children in Poland is unsatisfactory. Nearly half of Poles condone corporal punishment. Children say that they are called names and humiliated by their parents-according to one-quarter of the surveyed 12-year-olds. Half of the children often feel that they do not meet the expectations of their guardians. Conference participants also admitted that there is an insufficient number of foster families for orphans and abandoned children. As a result, these children are sent to institutions that are unable to ensure their proper development. In some cases the individuals working with children lack indispensable professional knowledge.
"In 2001, the foundation conducted research on a representative sampling of adult Poles concerning their childhood experiences. The research revealed that nearly 80 percent of adult Poles experienced corporal punishment during childhood. Eight percent described it as a frequent occurrence, with physical punishment used as a basic method of child-rearing. Nearly 14 percent were sexually abused before the age of 15," said Dr. Monika Sajkowska, the director of the foundation.
Prof. Danya Glaser of Great Britain pointed to the problem of emotional neglect of children, which includes hostility, severe punishment, parental inaccessibility, making a scapegoat out of one child in a family and involving children in adult problems. Children who grow up under these conditions experience continuous fear, display low self-esteem, are sometimes aggressive or excessively withdrawn, have problems in school and in establishing contacts with their peers. In order to help the child, psychiatrists should start with the parents.
"You need to help them see the situation through the eyes of the child," argues Glaser. "The child believes that he or she is to blame. It is the parents who have to convince the child that this is not so. Then you can get down to modification of family relations and finally psychological assistance for the child."
Alcoholism is a serious problem in families. But some participants at the meeting in Warsaw have a different opinion. "The claim that alcohol is a cause of violence is a myth," said Prof. Kevin Browne from Birmingham University in Great Britain, a child abuse expert for the World Health Organization (WHO). "A man who resorts to violence is aggressive even when sober. Alcohol is often no more than an excuse," Browne added.
Participants at the conference admit that the event was an excellent opportunity for exchanging experiences, establishing contacts and learning new therapeutic and preventive methods. "We used to make the mistake of removing children-who are the victims-from abusive homes. Today, we insist that the individual who should be isolated and treated is the abuser," said Browne.
The Nobody's Children Foundation is a non-governmental organization, founded on the initiative of the association Medecins du Monde. Since 1991, the foundation has provided professional assistance to abused children, their families and guardians, and implemented prevention, research programs and social campaigns, such as Child Under the Umbrella of Law, Evil Touch and Childhood Without Violence.
ISPCAN is an international NGO based in Chicago that supports organizations and individuals working to help abused children.
Child Abuse in Poland
• 80 percent of parents employ corporal punishment
• 80 percent of Poles received punishment in childhood
• 47 percent of Poles accept physical punishment
• 27 percent of 12-year-old children are humiliated by their parents
• 14 percent of adults were sexually abused as children
• 10 percent of adults were beaten often or very often
• 5 percent of parents admit to having severely beaten their own child(ren)
Source: Nobody's Children Foundation
 |
 |
|
|
| send
to a friend |
print
article |
|
|
|
|
Latest News
