Children throughout the world are at risk of violence in nearly every aspect of their lives-in their homes, in schools, on the street, at work, in institutions and in detention. In many cases, they are beaten, tortured, sexually abused or even murdered by the very individuals responsible for their care. In response to this global scandal, in November of 2001 the UN General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to conduct an in-depth study on violence against children. This request followed a recommendation for such a study from the Committee on the Rights of the Child, based on two days of general discussion on violence against children held in 2000 and 2001.

Aim of the Study
The Committee stated that the study should be as "thorough and influential" as the groundbreaking 1996 study on children and armed conflict conducted by Mrs. Graça Machel. In December of 2002, the UN Secretary General appointed Paulo Sergio Pinheiro as his independent expert to conduct the study.
The goals of the study are the following ones:

Scope of the Study
The Committee recommended that the study should cover violence against children within the family and in the home, in schools, in care or residential institutions both State and private ones, in work situations, in the streets, in detention facilities and prisons, and also examine violence coming from the police and the use of capital and physical punishment.
The Committee recommended that violence should include all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, including sexual abuse, bullying in schools, and corporal punishment.

Defining "Violence"
The concept of violence reflected in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, especially in articles 19, 34 and 37, other human rights treaties and human rights instruments such as the 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women will also inform the study. In accordance with article 19 of the Convention and the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, violence, for the purpose of the study, will include:

"all forms of physical or mental violence, injury and abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse"

The study will also be underpinned by the general definition of child abuse agreed by the experts participating in the WHO Consultation on Child Abuse Prevention in 1999:

“child abuse or maltreatment constitutes all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power.”

The settings
By 'settings' we refer to subsections, or areas of study in which violence may occur.

1. Violence in the home and family
Includes physical, psychological and sexual violence.

2. Violence in schools and education settings
This includes violent and humiliating discipline, physical, emotional, and sexual violence and harassment, and bullying in special schools (including military schools) and mainstream schools

3. Violence in institutions
Includes violence in alternative care situations such as orphanages, foster and other care homes, NGO shelters, and institutions for disabled children and young people.

4. Violence in the community and on the streets
Including children in conflict with the law, gang violence and children and young people involved in organised crime, but not "war" situations. Also includes private security guards, death squads and vigilants, as well as harmful traditional practices.

5. Violence in work situations
Includes children in domestic work, trafficking (for forced labour and sexual exploitation), commercial sexual exploitation, (includes sex tourism), and child labour in hazardous conditions.

Preparation of the Study
During the past three years, the Independent Expert and his work team have drawn on submissions from a variety of sources, including the responses to a formal questionnaire for governments, as well as official statistics and other data and information, reports from States parties under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, expert group meetings, conferences, summits and reports from non-governmental organizations. In order to gain contributions to the Study, a call for public submissions was made in mid-2004. In addition, nine regional consultations were held throughout the world during early 2005, and a range of national processes fed into these. The information provided by children will be an important source of information. Children and young people took part in various elements of these processes.
The Study has been supported by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.

Launching of the Study
The UN Study on Violence Against Children will be presented on 11 October 2006 before the Third Committee of the General Assembly (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee), by the independent expert. This event will have the collaboration of UN Agencies, Civil Society organizations and children representatives. At the same time, different events will be held in New York: roundtables, press conferences and a exposition of children’s contributions around the world.

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