{"id":19208,"date":"2020-07-27T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-27T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/?p=19208"},"modified":"2020-07-27T18:48:21","modified_gmt":"2020-07-27T17:48:21","slug":"19-years-of-unfaltering-commitment-to-childrens-right-to-freedom-from-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/19-years-of-unfaltering-commitment-to-childrens-right-to-freedom-from-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"19 years\u00a0of unfaltering commitment\u00a0to children\u2019s right to freedom from violence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\n\t\n\n
\n\t
\n\t

As the\u00a0<\/b>Global Initiative\u00a0<\/b>to End All Corporal Punishment of Children\u00a0<\/b>prepares to close its doors, we reflect on the\u00a0<\/b>work and success<\/b>\u00a0of the organisation, its unique approach\u00a0<\/b>to advocacy <\/b>and\u00a0<\/b>its<\/b>\u00a0impact in ensuring children in all regions of the world can grow up free from corporal punishment in their homes, schools and communities.<\/b>\u00a0<\/b>We are working with partners to ensure our website and some of our work will continue after we close \u2013 please check our website in the coming months for more information.<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The Global Initiative\u00a0was launched in April 2001 at a side event of the\u00a0then\u00a0UN\u00a0Commission on Human Rights\u00a0\u2013\u00a0now the Human Rights Council.\u00a0It\u00a0was preceded by\u00a0EPOCH (End Physical Punishment of Children) Worldwide \u2013 a loose network of organisations with a similar aim \u2013 and prior to its launch,\u00a0the Global Initiative had gained the support of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC),\u00a0the United Nations Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) and a wide range of influential human rights defenders, including Mary Robinson, then High Commissioner for Human Rights, who spoke at the launch.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Following\u00a0Sweden\u2019s pioneering ban on corporal punishment\u00a0of children\u00a0in 1979, progress towards universal prohibition\u00a0had initially been\u00a0slow, and when the Global Initiative was launched in 2001, 11 states had achieved prohibition in all settings, including the home.\u00a0Progress has since accelerated\u00a0rapidly\u00a0and, by\u00a0July 2020,\u00a060\u00a0<\/a>states<\/a>\u00a0have prohibited all corporal punishment of children\u00a0and a further 28 states<\/a> have 'committed'\u00a0to enacting fully prohibiting legislation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

From its inception, the Global Initiative mapped the status of corporal punishment of children worldwide and maintained\u00a0detailed individual reports<\/a> on every state and territory. These reports\u00a0outline\u00a0the legality of corporal punishment in the major settings of children\u2019s lives \u2013 the home, alternative care, day care, schools and penal systems \u2013 and\u00a0describe\u00a0the legislative reforms needed in order to\u00a0achieve prohibition. They also identify if a government has made a commitment to prohibit, they include abstracts of relevant recommendations by UN and regional\u00a0treaty bodies, and they summarise recent research into the prevalence of, and attitudes towards, corporal punishment in that state or territory.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Over the years, these reports have provided the base \u2013 and authority \u2013 for\u00a0the Global Initiative\u2019s advocacy and technical assistance. Using this information, we were able to\u00a0brief the UNCROC before its examination of every state party report since the beginning of the Committee\u2019s systematic monitoring in 2003, and we analysed the outcomes to identify\u00a0recommendations on corporal punishment.\u00a0We\u00a0subsequently\u00a0also\u00a0began regularly briefing other UN treaty monitoring bodies and regional human rights mechanisms\u00a0(including in particular the\u00a0African\u00a0Committee of\u00a0Experts on the Rights and\u00a0Welfare of the\u00a0Child),\u00a0and\u00a0for\u00a0every state reviewed under\u00a0the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) that had not yet achieved prohibition since its first session\u00a0in 2008.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

An\u00a0independent\u00a0<\/a>evaluation<\/a>\u00a0of the Global Initiative in 2015\u00a0examined the effectiveness of this approach and found\u00a0a six-fold increase in recommendations\u00a0on corporal punishment\u00a0by the Committee Against Torture\u00a0after systematic briefing by the Global Initiative, while recommendations from the Committee on Economic, Social and\u00a0Cultural Rights\u00a0tripled,\u00a0and from the Human Rights\u00a0Committee\u00a0doubled.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Since 2012,\u00a0the Global Initiative\u00a0has also carried out a regular follow-up programme, contacting governments, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and NGOs in states\u00a0that\u00a0receive recommendations to prohibit corporal punishment\u00a0from the various Committees or under the UPR, to encourage them to pursue law reform and to offer technical advice and support.\u00a0We also share draft briefings with NGOs and NHRIs before\u00a0submission, to encourage the submission of briefings at national level and, more importantly, to engage with NGOs and NHRIs on the issue.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Through this and our other work, the Global Initiative has\u00a0grown our global network to\u00a0almost\u00a02,000 partners<\/a>\u00a0across all world regions who support universal prohibition of corporal punishment of children. Through this diverse group of organisations and individuals, we show solidarity, encourage collaboration, learn from each other\u2019s successes and setbacks, and we establish partnerships for sustained activity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

For years, the Global Initiative has supported this network with a comprehensive hub of evidence, targeted advocacy resources and the provision of training\u00a0and\u00a0technical assistance.\u00a0We have supported governments and civil society actors with legal assessments, drafting legislation and strategy development for law reform, advocacy and campaigns to transform attitudes and practices around violence in raising and educating children. Central to this has been learning from the experience of our partners all over the world, enabling us to advise on best practices at all stages of law reform and social norm change.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

In the past 10 years, the Global Initiative has held almost 20 multi-day workshops to support national partners in their journey to end corporal punishment, and has provided remote technical support to countless\u00a0national partners all over the world.\u00a0We have also developed a wide range of\u00a0publications and digital resources\u00a0to support law reform and social norm change. While the Global Initiative will close, our website will live on \u2013 an extensive resource which is now available in seven languages! The website includes our flagship\u00a0FAQ booklets<\/a>, published with Save the Children Sweden, in 16 languages, our\u00a0short guide to law reform<\/a>\u00a0in 3 languages, and 237\u00a0<\/a>country reports<\/a>\u00a0which have been translated into 26 languages (as relevant to the country).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Naturally,\u00a0given the progress in states achieving prohibition or clearly committed to doing so, the Global Initiative\u2019s advocacy\u00a0approach broadened\u00a0in recent years to\u00a0include a greater\u00a0focus on implementation of the legal ban, and how states are eliminating corporal punishment in practice. In particular, the Global Initiative partnered with the Council of the Baltic Sea States on\u00a0\u2018Non-violent Childhoods: Moving on from corporal punishment in the Baltic Sea Region<\/a>\u2019. The project\u00a0resulted in the development of six guidance documents covering a range of topics \u2013 including a step-by-step guide to implementing prohibition \u2013 that were launched at an international\u00a0conference in Stockholm, Sweden, in late 2018.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Since it was launched almost 20 years ago, the Global Initiative has been instrumental in ensuring\u00a0corporal punishment was recognised as a violation of children\u2019s fundamental right to freedom from violence. Its success is evident in the increased coverage of the issue by human rights treaty bodies and special procedures, and culminated in the adoption of the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030<\/a>, with Target 16.2 to end all violence against children and Indicator 16.2.1 on the prevalence of violent discipline in the home.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Recognising the value of collaboration, the Global Initiative has been an active member of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, established to coordinate global efforts to achieve Target 16.2, and has particularly contributed to its CSO Forum and the development of the global #SafetoLearn campaign<\/a>. We also\u00a0contributed to the development of the\u00a0INSPIRE<\/a>\u00a0strategies<\/a> to end violence against children,\u00a0took part in the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in 2019, where the vital importance of ending violence against children was reiterated, and published a range of\u00a0resources\u00a0to support those working towards Target 16.2.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The 2015 evaluation of the Global Initiative found its influence at global level to be \u2018unquestionable\u2019 with success attributed to the reliability and depth of its information, its vision and persistence, and its clear and unequivocal child rights stance on the issue of prohibition. It also found the strategy of briefings to treaty bodies and the UPR process has been \u2018particularly influential\u2019 and found \u2018a clear correlation between inputs from the [Global Initiative], recommendations to states and countries prohibiting\u2019.\u00a0 <\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

A world without corporal punishment is possible \u2013 but it\u00a0will take a global movement of actors to see\u00a0violence in homes, schools and all settings\u00a0fully eliminated.\u00a0The journey is long and requires knowledge and evidence, motivation and above all perseverance.\u00a0You \u2013 our supporters\u00a0all over the world \u2013 are more important than ever. Please sign up to and support the following networks and organisations and continue your vital work and support to achieve our shared mission to end all corporal punishment and promote positive, respectful relationships between adults and children.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>