#EndViolence – Results of Anti Violence against Children Campaign Discussed

The world celebrated the day of adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on November 20 and UNICEF summarized the campaign held in Georgia against violence against children. The campaign included discussions, open classes, and meetings with teachers and parents, where the negative results of violence against children were considered. It was noted that a violent attitude towards children is quite frequently seen as a social norm.

Georgia joined the International Child’s Day: “GoBlue” is the slogan of the UN Agency for Children of 2018 and numerous monuments in the capital Tbilisi were lit up in blue. According to the latest studies, child poverty and violence against children remain major challenges for Georgia, as does access to education. Information, gathered in the Ombudsman Apparatus reveals that children remain among the most unprotected groups in the country.

Communication campaign ‘End Violence’ carried out by the UN Agency for Children, with , support of the EU over six months worked to change social norms about violence against children, initiating social dialogue to inform as many people as possible to apply the alternative, positive methods of bringing up children.

As a result of the campaign groups of supporters were created, who continued discussions for further changes. Seven meetings in local communities with more than 200 participants were held throughout Georgia. More than 300 parents engaged countrywide in the discussions, over 200 pupils and 30 schools took trainings about positive disciplinary methods, more than 200 children participated in public debates on the theme of violence, learning ways of the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

“On this day, the UN appeals everyone to ‘Go Blue’, to help unprotected children become worthy of more attention. The aim of our campaign in Georgia was to influence those harmful norms that are connected with violence against children. The right to live is the primary right of children, as is the right to education, the opportunity to develop and live without violence. Although the Georgian government has made particular steps to solve these difficulties, challenges like child poverty still remain,” said Dr. Ghassan Khalil, the Head of UNICEF Georgia.

The issue of children is no longer on the worldwide agenda. So the organization met November 20 with the new campaign, “turn the world blue,” sharing and supporting the ideology of UNICEF. Famous celebrities are engaged in it, signing a petition and calling on world leaders to raise awareness about the problems suffered by children.

“The ‘End Violence’ campaign helped us initiate dialogue in the society about what violence is, but it is important to continue this dialogue until we see a real change,” said Dr. Khalil. “UNICEF is working closely with the government to strengthen the state child protection mechanisms, but the desired change cannot happen without changing public attitudes and norms. There is a need to integrate communication for social change into the state policies and budgets. It is no accident that we are talking about violence on World Children’s Day, a global day of action ‘for children, by children’ to raise awareness for many children that are victims of violence, unprotected and neglected,” he added.