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	End Violence Against Children by Unicef   End Violence Against Children   Violence against children often goes unseen, unheard and unreported the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said launching a new initiative urging the international community to speak out more forcefully against the scourge, which leaves millions of girls and boys physically and emotionally scarred every year.   “In every country, in every culture, there is violence against children,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “Whenever and wherever children are harmed, our outrage and anger must be seen and heard. We must make the invisible visible.”   The End Violence Against Children initiative builds on growing popular outrage that erupted following horrific attacks against children, such as the October 2012 shooting of then 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai in Pakistan, the fatal shooting of 26 pupils and teachers in Newtown, in the United States in December, and gang rapes of girls in India and in South Africa this year.   The initiative urges people around the world to recognize violence against children, join global, national or local movements to end it, and bring new ideas to focus collective action on this goal.   The need to take urgent action is underlined by alarming numbers on violence against children globally. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some 150 million girls and 73 million boys under 18 years experienced sexual violence and exploitation, and at least an estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked every year, according to a 2005 report by the International Labour Organization (ILO).   Almost half of all children experience some form of physical violence before they reach the age of 8. An estimated 215 million children are involved in child labour of which 115 million are in hazardous work.   Violence inflicts not only physical wounds but leaves mental scars on children, affecting their physical and mental health and compromising their ability to learn and socialize.   The initiative was unveiled today with a video narrated by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Liam Neeson, who leads viewers through scenes depicting invisible violence.   “This is a 15-year-old girl being gang raped,” Mr. Neeson says as the camera pans across an abandoned lot. “Just because you can’t see violence against children doesn’t mean it isn’t there,” he says. “Make the invisible visible. Help us make violence against children disappear. Join us. Speak out.”   A special website and a social media campaign will outline ways for children, parents and communities to take action – such as getting involved, getting informed, organizing events and public discussion forums, supporting child victims of violence and working with global and local UNICEF partners. www.unicef.org/endviolence/   http://www.unicef.org/protection/index.html http://www.unicef.org/protection/57929_58015.html http://www.unicef.org/protection/57929_57985.html   The International Day of Non-Violence, was created to commemorate the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, whose philosophy and message of non-violence has inspired countless individuals and movements for freedom and civil rights.   This day encourages us all to renew commitments to #ENDviolence Against Children as we recognize the millions of children in every part of the world who experience violence on a daily basis – in schools, in communities and in their own homes, often behind closed doors and out of sight – and to consider the presence of violence in the lives of each and every one of us.   We all know someone who has been affected by some form of physical or emotional violence – whether bullying, battering, assault or abuse – and it is all of our responsibility to #ENDviolence against Children.   Violence affects children’s physical and mental health in many ways, both in the short term and in the long term. It impairs their ability to learn and to socialize, and it hinders their transition to adulthood, which can have numerous consequences later in life.   In many cases, violence and abuse against children is practised by someone known to the child, such as a parent, family member, caretaker, teacher, employer or authority figure – and sometimes by other children. Only a small number of incidents are ever reported and investigated, and few perpetrators are held accountable.   We know conclusively that violence against children is not inevitable, nor is it justifiable or tolerable simply because we think it is impossible to avoid or prevent.   There are steps that we can take to prevent violence in a short period of time such as:   • Get informed about violence against children and use what you learn to raise awareness, transform attitudes and encourage others to take action.   • Find other people working on these issues and form a network so you have a bigger voice to speak out against violence and its causes in your own community.   • Report acts of violence so that leaders and policy makers can see and understand its scale, and so you have evidence to demand attention and action ‘to make the invisible visible’.   • Lobby your local and national representatives for effective laws – not just that they are written, but that they are implemented with real accountability!   The #ENDviolence Against Children initiative demonstrates that there are solutions, especially those that come through connecting and engaging with people to tackle the roots causes of violence against children. This effort requires the commitment and involvement of everyone to prevent harm from happening in the first place, and to address it when it does.   http://www.unicef.org/protection/57929_newsline.html http://www.unicef.org/whatwedo/ http://www.unicef-irc.org/video/#video Visit the related web page
	Human rights defender under renewed risk of psychiatric confinement by Front Line Defenders & agencies Kazakhstan   Kazakhstan: Human rights defender Ms Zinaida Mukhortova under renewed risk of psychiatric confinement.   On 13 November 2013, the Appeals Board of the Karaganda regional Court heard the appeal filed by Zinaida Mukhortova"s lawyers against a lower court"s decision to subject the human rights defender to forced psychiatric confinement. During the hearing it emerged that the results of the latest psychiatric tests were not in her favour. This has come as a surprise to Zinaida Mukhortova, given that, after completion of the tests, she had been released from forced psychiatric confinement on 1 November. Zinaida Mukhortova therefore remains at risk of renewed forced psychiatric confinement.   On 9 August 2013, Zinaida Mukhortova was escorted by medical and police staff to a Balkhash psychiatric hospital. The Prosecutor"s retrospective request for her psychiatric confinement was approved by the Balkhash Court of First Instance on 20 August 2013. On 30 September 2013, the human rights defender was transferred to Astana Medical Centre for psychological tests. Following the tests, pn 1 November 2013, she was released after almost three months in forced psychiatric confinement.   Prior to the appeal hearing, on 8 November 2013 two nurses visited Zinaida Mukhortova"s home and told her, through intercom, that she had to go back to the Balkhash hospital on 11 November 2013. Zinaida Mukhortova did not open the door and did not go to the hospital out of fear of being subjected to further forced confinement.   During the appeal court hearing on 13 November 2013, which Zinaida Mukhortova legal representatives attended in her absence, it was disclosed that that the results of the psychological tests conducted in the Astana Medical Centre for Psychological Health were not favourable. The court will continue hearing the case on 3 December 2013.   Legal proceedings on the basis of Zinaida Mukhortova"s alleged mental health problems began in 2011 after she lodged complaints of government interference into judicial proceedings. In September 2012, Zinaida Mukhortova"s sanity and good mental health was certified by an independent medical expert.   Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned about continuing harassment of human rights defender Zinaida Mukhortova. Front Line Defenders calls on the authorities to revoke the decision on her forced psychiatric confinement and to ensure her safety and security.   http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/24246 http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/news   * Front Line Defenders was founded in Dublin in 2001 with the specific aim of protecting human rights defenders at risk, people who work, non-violently, for any or all of the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Front Line Defenders aims to address the protection needs identified by defenders themselves.   Front Line Defenders promotes strengthened international and regional measures to protect human rights defenders including through support for the work of the UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders. Front Line Defenders seeks to promote respect for the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.   http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/SRHRDefenders/Pages/Declaration.aspx   Human Rights Defenders Resources   Who is a Human Rights Defender?   People who, individually or collectively, work peacefully on behalf of others to promote and defend internationally recognised human rights… In many countries they face considerable personal risk because they stand up for the rights of others against powerful interests (Front Line Defenders).   Human rights defender” is a term used to describe people who, individually or with others, act to promote or protect human rights. Human rights defenders are identified above all by what they do and it is through a description of their actions and of some of the contexts in which they work that the term can best be explained (UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders)   Human rights defenders expose violations and campaign for redress for victims. They are the people who on their own or with others take action to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights for all. Human rights defenders take peaceful action and believe everybody has equal rights.   Human Rights Defenders Resources   This site contains a compilation of resources, tools and materials developed by a diverse range of organizations and institutions to support the work of human rights defenders (HRDs) and reinforce their security. Information featured below includes: general information on international standards and mechanisms, personal and digital security, organizational resources, information for HRDs working on specific issues or regions, legal resources and tools and sources of funding for HRD protection and defense.   http://sos.escr-net.org/resources Visit the related web page
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