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Hurt and abused children in Ethiopia - 2

By Graham Peebles*

Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbidthem not: for of such is the kingdom of God.1

Cultural calamity

Violence towards children is embedded into the

social conditioning of Ethiopia, all too often

mistakenly termed culture, and excused thereby,

In our culture there is a saying that if a female is

not circumcised she will break things. So families

circumcise their children. 14-year-old girl.2 This is

superstitious nonsense and needs to be seen as

such. Within the Ethiopian criminal code many

harmful traditional practices are dealt with and insome detail, crimes committed against Life, Person

and Health through Harmful Traditional Practices.3

This and other articles in the criminal code need to

be consistently implemented and education

programmes enlightening prejudices, freeing

children and indeed parents from such damaging,

ignorant practices need to be initiated throughoutthe country.

Culture, that much misinterpreted, overused term

of convenience, cited so often in the mistreatment

1 Matthew 19, verse 14 King James Bible

2 African Child policy Forum. Violence in Their Own Words

3 Study on violence against schoolchildren. (VASC) Save The Children Denmark & EthiopianMinistry of Education.

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of children, provides no justification for practices

that are instrumental in causing deep hardship and

suffering, to the most vulnerable in society. Cultural

and traditional beliefs deeply rooted in society

sanction violence as a way of disciplining children.In addition, there is no tradition or knowledge of

alternative ways of disciplining children other than

resorting to violent practices. Worse, is the fact that

children remain powerless victims, their viewpoints

and opinions generally ignored, with no formal or

traditional recourse for redress or protection. (Ibid)

Ethiopia has a rich and ancient culture; let it not besoiled by the inclusion of abuse, violence and the

exploitation of its children.

Parents need to be made aware of the effects of

repeated verbal and physical abuse and that

violence towards the child is a criminal offense.Political will and moral responsibility In accordance

with the Governments legal obligations must be

expressed in the enforcement of the law by the

appropriate authorities. Education, deterrents and

platforms of expression plus clear channels of

recourse for children, will together help change

attitudes, curb destructive behavior and empowerthe young.

School daze

There are few corners of childhood in Ethiopia that

are safe it seems. In schools, some take

advantage of their positions and force students to

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engage in sex with them in return for better grades

and other favors. Such instances take place in

primary and secondary schools. 4 Attending school

even becomes a torture then, everyday filled with

uncertainty and the fear of physical violence, verbalinsults or sexual intimidation. We feel like we are

totally at the mercy of our teachers as they beat us

for good or bad reasons. 12-year-old girl. (ACPF)

More than 90% of students were punished by their

teachers, although 70% of teachers were aware of

the negative effects of corporal punishment.5 The

abuse nevertheless continues, one may rightly thenquestion the degree of their awareness.

In a country where literacy rests at 48% school

attendance is crucial. Children trapped and violated

in school as in home, will naturally seek escape,

physical and humiliating punishment in schools isusually implicated with school drop-out. (EPPAC).

Education is a road out of poverty and victimization,

to freedom and justice. Schools should be exciting

centers of self discovery, where the innate potential

of all may be sensed, fostered and realized, not

hostile environments of fear, repression and control,

where prejudices are reinforced and children hurtand humiliated.

Schools are expected to provide safe and

protective environment{s} for students. In this

respect, the FDRE Constitution of 1995 and the

4 ECPAT. Status of action against sexual exploitation of children (AASEC)

5Ending Physical and Humiliating Punishment against children. (EPPAC) Save the ChildrenSweden

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Federal Ministry of Education guidelines discourage

the use of corporal punishment in schools. (VASC)

However sexual and physical attacks persist:male

teachers used their position of authority to influence

female students into having sexual affairs witht h e m . C o m m o n l y , m a l e s t u d e n t s a n d

neighbourhood adolescent boys also perpetrated

sexual violence against female students. (SSBB)

Home, school, community, microcosms of the

society at large, sharing cause and effect, as one

section of society impacts and colours the other.Family sits at the very heart of the community. The

values promoted and expressed, the nature of

relationships within the home and the general

attitudes adopted, condition the community at large.

Teachers who move into the school from a home

where children are violated, physically beaten andsexually mistreated, will inevitably express these

attitudes to their students. The same applies to

adolescent boys loitering outside schools

intimidating and sexually harassing young girls as

the walk to and from school.

Even though corporal punishment in schools isillegal, Children stated that physical and

psychological punishment is very prevalent in

schools and that they experience most forms of

punishment there. Those who inflict such violence

are usually schoolteachers, guards, class monitors

and older boys. I lost my pencil. When the school

director learnt that I was not writing, he beat me

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with a plastic hose. My nose was bleeding and I

went to the clinic. Sixth grade student (ACPF).

Children should be made aware of their Human

Rights, and informed that teachers are breaking the

law when they are physically and verbally violenttowards them. The school and then the criminal

prosecution service should discipline those

teachers, who revert to verbal and physical abuse,

firstly, depending on the severity of the offence.

Encouragingly there are various positive signs of

change highlighted in the STCD report. There aresignificant programme interventions being carried

out by governmental and non- governmental

organisations (NGOs) to address the problem of

physical and humiliating punishment of children.

Most of the activities towards ending corporal

punishment target schools. (EPPAC) With a viewto promoting child participation and to enabling

children to protect their own rights, some NGOs are

engaged in establishing and supporting various

kinds of clubs in schools. (EPPAC)

This is all to be welcomed and should be seen as

steps in the right direction. At the heart of anychange in schools though must be the children and

the teaching staff. Training programmes need to be

delivered to change teaching methods and broaden

teachers understanding of the impact, immediate

and long term, of abuse and violence. In (VAGS)

various recommendations are made, key amongst

these are, Train all teachers in non-violent

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methods of disciplining students. Components,

which make teachers and children aware of the

Human Rights of the Child, need to be developed,

and Establish at a school level a mechanism for

reporting violence and abuse and providingappropriate counseling and support for victims of

violence and abuse.

Let us add to this the recurring theme of inclusion.

Systems of complaint and structures that

encourage participation by children in the running of

schools, e.g. class representatives, regularmeetings with teachers and administrators,

encouraging input into decisions affecting the life of

the school. These and other methods based on

participation, will breach divisions and contribute to

creating vibrant inclusive education environments,

based on respect for al l , tolerance andunderstanding.

Community complicity

Society or community is not an abstract entity

existing separately from the individuals in society.

The individual is the society. We find the samearchaic destructive attitudes to child-care and

parenting seen in families being demonstrated

within the community, distorting the behavior of

adults and older children alike. Gender imbalances

animating negative sociological stereotypes, of

male superiority and female subservience underlie

community sexual violence and intimidation

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experienced by many young girls. Children are

treated as objects within the family and the

community, all too often mens attitudes, old and

young towards girls in particular, reflect this, I

remember a girl who was being harassed by a manwho said he wanted to marry her. She refused. One

day he forcefully took her to his home and raped

her. (ACPF))

The types of physical violence experienced within

the community, mirror those the child is confronted

with at home. Slapping at 54% is the most common,with being hit on the head coming in a close

second. More subtle perhaps is the ridicule and fear

engendering psychological abuse, almost 50%

suffering such attacks. In addition to these physical

atrocities, child abduction, seduction, sexual

harassment and rape all occur within the childscommunity.

The law is clear, Ethiopia has signed all manner of

international relevant treatise and drafted into the

Federal code all agreements, so what is the

approach of the police within the community, the

first point of contact with the judicial system? I wasbeaten by the police for begging. 13-year-old street

boy I was beaten by the police for sleeping on the

sidewalks. 14-year-old street boy (ACPF) Children,

the innocent victims in the home, and school, are at

even greater risk within the community. Those

whose duty it is to protect and nurture the child, the

very source of so much suffering and fear. Children

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[in the survey] stated that all types of sexual

violence including rape, abduction, early marriage,

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and sexual

harassment are prevalent in their communities.

Most of these humiliating and damaging acts arecommitted by male vagrants, older boys, teachers,

traditional doctors and parents. (ACPF)

It truly beggars belief, in a country where Christs

teachings of love and forgiveness as embodied in

Orthodox Christianity dominate so many lives, and

devout dedication to the church is on a levelbordering the fanatical, that the most innocent and

vulnerable are used, abused and violated in their

homes, their schools and the streets in which they

live and play.

--

E: graham@thecreatetrust.org

*Graham is Director of The Create Trust a UK

registered charity. www.thecreatetrust.org

Supporting fundamental social change and the

human rights of individuals in acute need.

http://www.thecreatetrust.org/mailto:graham@thecreatetrust.orghttp://www.thecreatetrust.org/http://www.thecreatetrust.org/mailto:graham@thecreatetrust.orgmailto:graham@thecreatetrust.org