World Day for Prevention
of Child Abuse - 19 November ©

2002 Poster

 
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2002 Open Letter

to Coalition Members & Partners marking World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse - 19 November 2002

Creating a culture of prevention

Dear Coalition Members and Partners,

For the third year, the Women's World Summit Foundation WWSF * invites you to organize pertinent activities to mark World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse on 19 November. Last year 149 organizations joined the international NGO coalition created to mark the Day. We thank all those who sent us activity reports which are published on our website.

This year, in order to increase efficiency, we encourage you to not only join the international coalition to mark the Day, but to create national coalitions linking relevant groups and actors. Aim: to foster collaboration and strengthen your community impact, share prevention measures, protection skills and rehabilitation programs, and above all, highlight the new promises made by Heads of State and Government at the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children (UNGASS, New York, May 2002). The key is partnership and you are powerful catalysts for change. No single organisation, by itself, can provide the ongoing research and strategies required to create a culture of prevention. Coalitions outweigh what one individual member cannot achieve, and serve as a platform for focused action by all interested partners; they bring together a range of expertise, enhance the capacity of individual members by sharing knowledge, skills and experiences. Coalitions increase public awareness of the need for effective prevention measures and help mobilize funds for your activities. To help you build coalitions, see instructions on our web site.

Child abuse includes sexual abuse, physical, emotional, medical and educational neglect; child pornography and on-line solicitation, sale of children, using a child as a servant or soldier; hitting, hurting, bullying, ridiculing and manipulating a child, and leaving a child without supervision. You may wish to focus your activities and events on any of these issues and condemn all forms of abuse and violations that endanger the lives of children as stated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Objectives

• Empower NGOs and networks at national and community levels
• Present them the opportunity to organize joint activities for social mobilisation on the World Day
• Increase and disseminate widely education on abuse prevention and protection skills
• Remind Governments regularly of their new promises to "protect children from all forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence" signed at the UN Special Session on Children (May 2002). The World Day provides you an opportunity to remind your Heads of State to walk their talk via the "Walk your Talk" postcard campaign (see Internet: www.woman.ch)
• Strengthen partnerships with your Government for collaborative action and lobby them to declare 19 November a National Day and to use the Day to convey a message to the children about their new commitment to protect them from abuse, exploitation and violence,
• Bring information to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, about violations of concern to his mandate and knowledge of sexual abuse and exploitation in your respective country. To do so, consult www.unhchr.ch/children/rapporteur.htm
• Invite the media (both print and electronic) to help increase awareness about prevention of child abuse and cover regular prevention messages including TV-spots and interviews.

Working Principles

Ensure that the diversity of social, economic and cultural contexts are reflected in all your programs. Declare community ownership and responsibility in all aspects, such as financing, administration, training, etc. Allow children to be involved where appropriate and to have a voice. Assimilate new information and prevention measures without jeopardizing local values and language. Identify organisations and groups that will mark the World Day with you.

Impact Reports

Your impact report is vital to us and we thank you in advance for sending us valuable information and insights into ways you use to prevent child abuse. A summary of reports received is published on the web for others to learn from your participatory approach on how to empower civil society to prevent child abuse.

Educational Briefings

We invite you to continue to use the public briefing "Protecting children from abuse" (courtesy Dr. Sherryl Kraizer) as a regular community education program which can be downloaded (www.woman.ch) or ordered via Email (wdpca@wwsf.ch). For your information, the Geneva Public Education Department (Switzerland) has recently elaborated a new workshop for children aged 7-9 (in French only) "Promotion de la santé et Prévention des abus sexuels" (Email: ssg@etat.ge.ch).

Use of Logo

Permission to reproduce the World Day logo for information purposes is freely granted provided that the names of the organizer and sponsors are mentioned. Permission to use the logo for fundraising purposes requires a written request addressed to WWSF, including event program and budget. WWSF cannot be held responsible for any legal, financial and administrative liabilities which may result from local or national activities organized by coalition members.

Sponsors 2002

WWSF thanks the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and "Vivre Autrement " for their financial contributions, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography for his support.

Organization

The Women's World Summit Foundation WWSF * is the global organizer of the World Day. For correspondence, write to World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse c/o WWSF P.O.Box 143, 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland - Tel: (..41 22) 738.66.19 Fax: (..41 22) 738.82.48 Email: wdpca@wwsf.ch Internet: www.woman.ch (children's section) Bank relations: UBS SA, P.O.Box, 1211 Geneva 20, Account No. 279-C8112823.0

* WWSF, an international, non profit, non-confessional NGO and empowerment/advocacy network (with United Nations ECOSOC and UNFPA consultative status), works for the implementation of women's and children's rights and convenes annual awards and campaigns for rural women and children. WWSF is member of the NGO group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the NGO committee on Unicef, the Children's Caucus, the NGO subgroup on sexual exploitation of children, the NGO working group on girls, CRIN and ISPCAN.
Copyright © 2002 Women's World Summit Foundation

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