| International: Secretary-General’s video message for High-Level Event on Gender-Based Violence and COVID-19 (Press release) |
| United Nations Secretary-General – September 29, 2020 |
| Gender-based violence is a global scourge, and the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating it in all its forms: from domestic violence to sexual abuse, online harassment and increased child marriage. |
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2020-09-29/secretary-generals-video-message-for-high-level-event-gender-based-violence-and-covid-19
| International: Stolen lives: The harrowing story of two girls sold into sexual slavery (May require subscription or free registration) |
| National Geographic – September 28, 2020 |
| The scourge of child sex trafficking has left virtually no country untouched, but some parts of the world have emerged as hubs of this illicit trade. One that has been especially ravaged is the region where Sayeda and Anjali grew up-the Indian state of West Bengal and its neighbor Bangladesh, which once were a single province known as Bengal. Divided by a 1,400-mile international border but bound by a common cultural and linguistic heritage, the two areas share the misfortune of seeing thousands of girls sold into sexual slavery every year. |
| https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2020/10/stolen-lives-harrowing-story-of-two-girls-sold-into-sexual-slavery-feature/ |
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| Nigeria: Why the Child’s Rights Act still doesn’t apply throughout Nigeria (Commentary) |
| Conversation – September 25, 2020 |
| Nigeria adopted the Child’s Rights Act in 2003, giving legal consent to both the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. The country’s constitution states that for an international law to take effect, Nigeria’s legislature must create a national version. But as Nigeria operates a federal system of government, the law does not automatically become applicable in all of its 36 states. |
| https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/266496018/why-the-childs-rights-act-still-doesnt-apply-throughout-nigeria |
| International: As classrooms for half the world’s schoolchildren remain closed, UNICEF and EU urge countries to prioritize schools in re-opening plans (Press release) |
| UNICEF – September 23, 2020 |
| “As schools remain closed for half the world’s students due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are issuing an S.O.S. message urging countries to prioritize schools in their re-opening plans. “The pandemic has exposed and exacerbated deep inequalities in access to schools, quality learning and digital connectivity. It has also exposed weaknesses in our education systems, including inadequate water and sanitation, and lack of preparation to withstand crises. |
| https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/classrooms-half-worlds-schoolchildren-remain-closed-unicef-and-eu-urge-countries |
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| International: COVID-19: Women, girls bear unequal share of pandemic burden, U.N. warns (Includes video) |
| NBC News – September 22, 2020 |
| As the coronavirus pandemic lurches toward its first year mark, one trend has become clear: the disproportionate burden it places on women and girls. Along with the widespread suffering and hardship caused by the virus, Covid-19 risks setting women’s rights back by decades, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Amina Mohammed told NBC News in an exclusive interview. |
| https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/covid-19-women-girls-bear-unequal-share-pandemic-burden-u-n1240681 |
| United Kingdom: Joint inspections of services for children and young people in need of care and protection 2018-2020 (Press release) |
| Care Inspectorate – September 22, 2020 |
| The Care Inspectorate has today published an overview report of joint inspections of services for children and young people in Scotland. Between 2018 and 2020, the Care Inspectorate led a series of joint inspections of services for children and young people in need of care and protection in community planning partnerships across eight areas in Scotland – in partnership with Education Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland. |
| Also: Report: https://www.careinspectorate.com/images/documents/5817/Review%20of%20findings%20from%20inspection%20programme%20for%20CYP%202018%20to%202020.pdf |
| https://www.careinspectorate.com/index.php/news/5819-joint-inspections-of-services-for-children-and-young-people-in-need-of-care-and-protection-2018-2020-5 |
| Australia: Coronavirus kept Victorian students out of class. This is what we know about long-term effects of school closures (Commentary) |
| Today Headline – September 20, 2020 |
| Closing schools has been one response around the world to try to stop the spread of COVID-19. In Australia, states mandated an end to face-to-face learning for some time during the so-called first wave of the pandemic, and schools across Victoria are still closed to most students. Some criticised this strategy, as evidence showed children may not spread the virus as much as adults; others were concerned parents were unable to work from home while also supervising their kids’ schooling. These points are valid, but public debate must also consider the potential long-term costs of school closures. |
| https://todayheadline.co/coronavirus-kept-victorian-students-out-of-class-this-is-what-we-know-about-long-term-effects-of-school-closures/ |
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| International: India’s Nobel laureate fears upsurge in child labour as pandemic shrivels economy (May require free registration) |
| Reuters – September 20, 2020 |
| For four decades Indian Nobel peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi rescued thousands of children from the scourge of slavery and trafficking but he fears all his efforts could reverse as the coronavirus pandemic forces children into labour. “The biggest threat is that millions of children may fall back into slavery, trafficking, child labour, child marriage,” said Satyarthi who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for his work to combat child labour and child trafficking in India. |
| https://www.investing.com/news/economy/indias-nobel-laureate-fears-upsurge-in-child-labour-as-pandemic-shrivels-economy-2301358 |
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| Nigeria: Lagos trains teachers on handling abused pupils |
| Guardian – September 16, 2020 |
| The Head of Service, Lagos State, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola, has charged post-primary school teachers in the state to collectively review processes and procedures that the pandemic has brought to the fore, such as academic curricular, new ideas and innovations and escalation of sexual abuses of children. |
| https://guardian.ng/news/lagos-trains-teachers-on-handling-abused-pupils/ |
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| Bangladesh: Child Protection Risks During COVID-19 |
| UNICEF – September 17, 2020 |
| Children throughout the world face heightened risks to their safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. For 465,000 Rohingya children living in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, the risks are even higher. Prior to the pandemic, serious child protection risks were present in the Rohingya refugee camps, including violence, child labour, child marriage, exploitation and abuse. |
| Also: Child Protection Risks During COVID-19: Rohingya Refugee Response: https://bit.ly/3ksbslK |
| https://reliefweb.int/report/bangladesh/child-protection-risks-during-covid-19 |
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| British Columbia: United Way of the Lower Mainland gives an unprecedented $350,000 to support former foster youth to achieve educational dreams and alleviate COVID-19 financial strain (Press release) |
| United Way of the Lower Mainland – September 16, 2020 |
| United Way of the Lower Mainland is showing local love and significantly increasing its investment in the Youth Futures Education Fund to $350,000 – in addition to $150,000 invested in 2019. Now even more B.C. youth who have aged out of foster government care can thrive at school – and in life. |
| https://bit.ly/3c9nKfQ |
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| Malaysia: Malaysia’s Covid-19 recovery needs to centre on women and girls – UNFPA (Opinion) |
| Malay Mail – September 17, 2020 |
| Tomorrow, Malaysia marks six months of implementing the movement control order (MCO) which has recently been further extended to December 31, 2020 – and we at United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) believe it’s indeed timely to focus on addressing the gender-specific impacts on women and girls which have been coming to the fore time and time again during these past six months. However, when it comes to the wellbeing of Malaysia’s women & girls, global studies are already showing that Covid-19 could set back gender equality gains by a generation. |
| https://klse.i3investor.com/blogs/savemalaysia/2020-09-17-story-h1513528678-Malaysia_s_Covid_19_recovery_needs_to_centre_on_women_and_girls_UNFPA.jsp |
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| Nigeria: 4 Things Nigeria Can Do to Help Out-of-School Children Back Into Education as Schools Reopen |
| Global Citizen – September 16, 2020 |
| Since the onset of COVID-19, millions of children in Nigeria have been stuck at home not learning. For vulnerable and disadvantaged children, the impact has been worse. There is now a real risk that millions of children forced out-of-school by the pandemic won’t ever return. Globally, according to Save the Children, education cuts and rising poverty as a result of COVID-19 could force almost 10 million children out of school forever by the end of this year alone. |
| https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/nigeria-help-out-of-school-children-covid-19/ |
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| International: “Years don’t wait for them”: 5 Things to Do Now to Protect Children’s Rights During Covid-19 (Commentary) |
| Human Rights Watch (HRW) – September 11, 2020 |
| Children around the world face an unprecedented threat to their human rights. Pandemic-related school closures have affected 1.5 billion students, placing children at immediate risk of labor exploitation, hunger, recruitment into armed groups, and, especially for girls, child marriage, and sexual violence. Two decades of gains in reducing child labor and increasing school enrollment are under threat. |
| https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/09/11/years-dont-wait-them-5-things-do-now-protect-childrens-rights-during-covid-19 |
| US: Police misconduct, such as falsifying evidence, is leading cause of wrongful convictions, study finds (Includes video) |
| USA Today – September 15, 2020 |
| Actions by police officers, including witness tampering, violent interrogations and falsifying evidence, account for majority of the misconduct that lead to wrongful convictions, according to a study released Tuesday by the National Registry of Exonerations that focused on the role police and prosecutors play in false convictions in the country. “In a few rape exonerations, the authorities concealed evidence that the complainants had a history of making false rape allegations,” according to the study. “And in at least a dozen child sex abuse cases, police, prosecutors and child welfare workers concealed statements by the supposed victims that they had not in fact been molested.” |
| Also: Report: https://bit.ly/32v8Ayc |
| https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/politics/2020/09/15/police-misconduct-among-leading-causes-false-convictions/5795715002/ |
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| US: Cities Urge Supreme Court to Uphold Anti-Discrimination Protections |
| Well News – September 14, 2020 |
| The U.S. Conference of Mayors and a coalition of leaders from smaller municipalities are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold protections against discrimination in the delivery of government services. In a friend-of-the-court brief filed Monday, the mayors argue that if the foster care agency were to prevail, it would effectively void anti-discrimination statutes across the country and would impair the delivery of services to diverse communities. |
| https://www.thewellnews.com/cities-urge-supreme-court-to-uphold-anti-discrimination-protections/ |
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| International: 5 issues to watch 3 years after Rohingya forced to flee |
| Devex – International Devleopment News – September 10, 2020 |
| It has been three years since more than 730,000 Rohingya from Myanmar were forced to flee following attacks in Rakhine State, and despite some international court proceedings, there hasn’t been much change in their situation, which experts described as “bleak.” “Basically we’re looking at a very very bleak big scenario,” Maung Zarni, a Burmese genocide scholar and human rights activist, told Devex. “That doesn’t mean we all wash our hands and move to a different issue, it only means we plan for less ambitious initiatives like making sure Rohingyas can reorganize their society … and be given a semblance of normalcy.” Here is what you need to know about the situation today based on interviews with Rohingya and human rights experts. |
| https://www.devex.com/news/5-issues-to-watch-3-years-after-rohingya-forced-to-flee-98046 |
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| Pakistan: Rapes of Woman and 5-Year-Old Fuel Outrage in Pakistan |
| New York Times – September 11, 2020 |
| A 5-year-old girl in southern Pakistan was raped, hit on the head and set on fire. Five days later, a woman in the country’s east was dragged from her car and sexually assaulted on a highway in front of her children.The two episodes, which occurred hundreds of miles apart, have prompted protests and an outpouring of rage in a country that critics say has a toxic culture surrounding sexual assaults and child abuse. |
| https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/11/world/asia/pakistan-rape-5-year-old-lahore-karachi.html |
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| AK: New law immediately loops law enforcement into child sexual assault cases |
| KTUU – September 03, 2020 |
| On Tuesday, the way that mandatory reporters of child abuse report possible cases changed. Now, instead of only calling the Office of Children’s Services when mandatory reporters suspect possible sexual abuse, they are required to immediately call the nearest law enforcement agency as well. The new law is called Alaska’s Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting Statute. Signed by Governor Dunleavy in July of 2019, it was enacted on Sept. 1. |
| https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2020/09/04/new-law-immediately-loops-law-enforcement-into-child-sexual-assault-cases/ |
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| CT: Covid-19 left hundreds of foster kids in limbo due to backlog of cases |
| Connecticut Mirror – September 09, 2020 |
| Hundreds of foster children have been in limbo for months waiting for court hearings that, until recently, were suspended because of the pandemic, according to a federal court monitor’s report on the state’s child protection agency. As a result, children waiting for the courts to determine if they can return home or become available for adoption were also unable to see their families during this time because the state Department of Children and Families suspended face-to-face visits, deeming them too risky due to COVID-19. |
| https://ctmirror.org/2020/09/09/covid-19-left-hundreds-of-foster-kids-in-limbo-due-to-back-log-of-cases/ |
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| NV: Child Abuse and COVID-19 (Commentary) |
| University of Nevada, Las Vegas – September 09, 2020 |
| Continued school closures and distance learning have drawn more than the ire of parents and teachers concerned about the impacts to education. Child advocates are worried about the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on youth stuck at home with their abusers. For months, researchers tracking data from across Nevada and the nation have been logging significant dips in child abuse reports – a phenomenon attributed to the lack of face time children are getting with teachers, who are trained to spot potential signs of maltreatment and required by law to report it to authorities. |
| https://www.newswise.com/coronavirus/child-abuse-and-covid-19/?article_id=737711 |
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| OK: Lawton’s Census Week: The impact on Oklahoma DHS (Includes video) |
| TNN – September 09, 2020 |
| The Oklahoma Department of Human Services relies heavily on federal funding. Oklahoma DHS aims to improve the quality of life for the vulnerable, from low income families to foster children. DHS Community Partners, however, will see an immediate impact which is why both Martinez and Ikard continue to push the importance of taking five minutes to fill out the Census. |
| https://www.kswo.com/2020/09/09/lawtons-census-week-impact-oklahoma-dhs/ |
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| PA: State policy changes aimed at making childcare more accessible (Includes video) |
| WHTM – September 09, 2020 |
| The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services unveiled new policy changes, aimed at making childcare more accessible, as parents deal with online and hybrid learning. The Department laid out new requirements for learning pods, which are specifically designed for remote learning. That’s where parents take turns looking after each other’s children during the school day. |
| https://www.abc27.com/news/state-policy-changes-aimed-at-making-childcare-more-accessible/ |
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| TX: Editorial: Not good enough – Foster care is improving in Texas but kids keep dying |
| Laredo Morning Times – September 10, 2020 |
| Texas continues to fail at one of its most basic duties: to protect vulnerable children in state care. U.S. District Judge Janis Jack of Corpus Christi said she will hold Texas health and human services officials in contempt of court for the second time in 10 months over their inability to implement foster care reforms she ordered last year. Speaking at a hearing last week, Jack couldn’t make her distress – or what’s at stake – any plainer. “Children are dying,” she said. |
| https://www.lmtonline.com/opinion/editorials/article/Editorial-Not-good-enough-Foster-care-is-15554912.php |
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| VA: Calls reporting child abuse are down in the Shenandoah Valley during the pandemic |
| WVIR – September 09, 2020 |
| Calls reporting child abuse in the Shenandoah Valley are down during the COVID-19 pandemic according to Shenandoah Valley Social Services Child Protective Services Supervisor Amber Martino. Shenandoah Valley Social Services covers Staunton, Waynesboro, and Augusta County, and according to Martino the biggest drop in calls happened in April. |
| https://www.nbc29.com/2020/09/09/calls-reporting-child-abuse-are-down-shenandoah-valley-during-pandemic/ |
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| US: First-of-its-Kind National Partnership Aims to Redesign Child Welfare Into Child- and Family Well-Being Systems (Press release) |
| Casey Family Programs – September 09, 2020 |
| The U.S. Children’s Bureau, Casey Family Programs, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Prevent Child Abuse America® are partnering to launch a national effort to prove it is possible to fundamentally rethink child welfare by creating the conditions for strong, thriving families where children are free from harm. This first-of-its-kind effort – Thriving Families, Safer Children: A National Commitment to Well-Being – will work across the public, private and philanthropic sectors to assist jurisdictions in developing more just and equitable systems that benefit all children and families and break harmful intergenerational cycles of trauma and poverty. |
| https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-of-its-kind-national-partnership-aims-to-redesign-child-welfare-into-child–and-family-well-being-systems-301126010.html |
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| US: The return to remote learning this fall came with system outages, cyberattacks and other problems (Includes video) |
| CNN – September 09, 2020 |
| For the dozens of school districts forced to kick off the new academic year with online learning, the remote classrooms have come with their own set of challenges. Schools across the country have reported system outages, cyberattacks and other issues that prompted some districts to postpone the first day of class. |
| https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/09/us/us-schools-distance-learning-problems/index.html |
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| US: Feds ban solitary confinement for kids in prison, but state juvenile facilities still use isolation |
| Oregonian – September 08, 2020 |
| Solitary confinement has its roots in the Quakers, a Protestant sect exploring more humane ways to treat criminals in the late 18th century. Quakers used isolation as a means of purification through introspective prayer – a form of penance. The practice has since transformed and been institutionalized throughout the U.S. justice system, including in juvenile facilities as a means of discipline, protection and treatment. Roughly 20% to 26% of youth reported being isolated during their time in juvenile detention. Of these, 87% reported they were isolated for more than two hours, while 53% said it was longer than 24 hours, according to a 2016 report by the federal Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency. |
| https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2020/09/feds-ban-solitary-confinement-for-kids-in-prison-but-state-juvenile-facilities-still-use-isolation.html |
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| US: QAnon, once a fringe conspiracy theory, edges into the mainstream: ‘Things could get much, much worse’ (Includes video) |
| ABC News – September 03, 2020 |
| Some QAnon followers have recently begun targeting Child Protective Services and the foster care system, believing the agencies to be a “front” for child trafficking operations. At least three parents who are allegedly QAnon supporters are facing charges for attempting to take their children from their legal guardians. |
| https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/qanon-fringe-conspiracy-theory-edges-mainstream-things-worse/story?id=72751829 |
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| Australia: Police go back to drawing board to equip officers for child abuse cases |
| Brisbane Times – September 10, 2020 |
| Training programs police officers go through to deal with cases of child abuse will be overhauled by the Queensland Police Service. University of Queensland psychology experts will lead the development of the training programs in partnership with QPS. UQ professor Blake McKimmie, one of the project leaders, said they would use evidence-based and best-practice methods to ensure officers had the best possible training to deal with often delicate and tragic situations. |
| https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/police-go-back-to-drawing-board-to-equip-officers-for-child-abuse-cases-20200909-p55tzy.html |
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| Canada: Ottawa agrees to certify 2 class action lawsuits over the treatment of First Nation children |
| CBC – September 03, 2020 |
| The federal government has consented to the certification of two class action lawsuits over funding for First Nation child welfare services and the state of health services for children on-reserve and in the Yukon. The certification of the class actions sets the stage for what could be an umbrella settlement that could cover the two cases and a separate First Nations child welfare compensation order issued by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, which is facing a judicial review before the Federal Court. |
| https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/feds-first-nation-children-class-action-certification-1.5710717 |
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| International: Child welfare around the world, a UNICEF report |
| Archynewsy – September 03, 2020 |
| The study places Spain in sixth place within a ranking that offers a general analysis of child welfare and which includes 38 countries of the European Union (EU) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD ). The list is topped by the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway, followed by Switzerland and Finland. After Spain, France, Belgium, Slovenia and Sweden complete the top ten places. Chile, Bulgaria and the United States appear at the bottom, while some states such as Mexico or Turkey do not appear in the ranking due to lack of data in some areas. For its preparation, the Unicef Research Office (Innocenti) takes into account several indicators, which are then grouped into three main areas: mental well-being, physical health and capacities for adult life. |
| Also: State of the World’s Children reports: https://www.unicef.org/sowc/ |
| https://www.archynewsy.com/child-welfare-around-the-world-a-unicef-report/ |
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| Liberia: Liberia’s Weah Urges Tougher Measures Against Sex Crimes |
| AFP News – September 09, 2020 |
| Liberian President George Weah on Wednesday called for tougher laws to combat what he said was an “epidemic” of rape of mostly children and young girls. Addressing a conference on the subject, Weah said stronger measures were needed against crimes such as “rape, child marriage, and female genital mutilation, amongst others”. |
| https://www.ibtimes.com/liberias-weah-urges-tougher-measures-against-sex-crimes-3042979 |
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