One European child in five a victim of sexual abuse
by Paul Russell
The Council of Europe has decided to launch a campaign against sexual violence on children. Maud de Boer Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe announced that in Europe that one in five children is sexually abused during the presentation in Rome of the campaign, titled “One in five. ”
She also called for enhanced international cooperation in the prosecution of criminals. She said that Every day, children are abused, often by people they trust including parents, teachers and authority figures.
Cardinal Renato Martino, former Vatican representative to the United Nations, speaking at the launch of the campaign, expressed the strong encouragement of Benedict XVI for the work against sexual violence against children. While the Catholic Church is facing a severe crisis due to several high profile pedophilia scandals surrounding its clergy, Bishop Martino has highlighted the suffering, clarity, rigor and firmness with which the pope had faced the reality of sexual crime against children.
The campaign aims to teach children ages 4 to 7 years their rights to set limits on how they are dealt with and it is the subject of a series of TV spots, a children’s book, posters and a website (http://www.onnetouchepasici.org).
The Council of Europe has also prepared kits for parents and schools on ways to prevent sexual abuse by carefully selecting teachers and practicing zero tolerance. Maud de Boer Buquicchio hoped that this campaign would inspire countries around the world to tackle the global phenomenon of child abuse and to make sure that international borders were not an obstacle to legal action against criminals.
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