Evidence on rampant violence against children worldwide: Hidden in plain sight, Federal Appeals Court Rejects Yeshiva Sex Abuse Lawsuit

"But violence is not inevitable; it can be prevented."

Evidence on rampant violence against children ‘compels us to act’ – UNICEF report
4 September 2014 – Violence against children is universal – so prevalent and deeply ingrained in societies it is often unseen and accepted as the norm – according to new, unprecedented data presented by the United Nations today.

A new UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report, Hidden in plain sight: A statistical analysis of violence against children, draws on data from 190 countries in order to shed light on a largely undocumented issue.

The report found that about two thirds of children worldwide between ages 2 and 14 (almost 1 billion) are subjected to physical punishment by their caregivers on a regular basis. And yet, only about one third of adults worldwide believe that physical punishment of some kind is necessary to properly raise or educate a child....

The data includes new figures on violent discipline - the most common form of violence against children as well as violence against girls - widespread rates of physical and sexual abuse. It also takes a look at homicide rates - a leading cause of death among adolescent boys.

In fact, one fifth of homicide victims globally are children and adolescents under the age of 20, resulting in about 95,000 deaths in 2012, and slightly more than 1 in 3 students between the ages of 13 and 15 worldwide are regularly bullied in school.

“Violence begets violence. We know a child experiencing abuse is more likely to see violence as normal, even acceptable and more likely to perpetuate violence against his or her own children in the future,” UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said.

Perceptions on violence including shocking figures on children’s views and reluctance to report abuse was also reported. Hence, changing attitudes with respect to violence against children starts with knowledge. The report is an opportunity to go into the public domain, and say “now you have to do something,” noted Ms. Bissell....

The effects of violence against children can last a lifetime, as exposure to violence can alter a child’s brain development damaging their physical, mental and emotional health. Violence is also passed down from one generation to the next. But violence is not inevitable; it can be prevented.... http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48639#.VAkiohYXMoE

New global data expose acute prevalence of violence against children: UNICEF

Major findings include:

• Sexual violence: Around 120 million girls under the age of 20 worldwide (about 1 in 10) have experienced forced intercourse or other forced sexual acts, and one in 3 ever-married adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 (84 million) have been victims of emotional, physical or sexual violence committed by their husbands or partners....

• Homicide: One fifth of homicide victims globally are children and adolescents under the age of 20, resulting in about 95,000 deaths in 2012...Among countries in Western Europe and North America, the United States has the highest homicide rate.

• Bullying: Slightly more than 1 in 3 students between the ages of 13 and 15 worldwide are regularly bullied in school....

• Violent discipline: About 17 per cent of children in 58 countries are subject to severe forms of physical punishment (hitting on the head, ears or face or hitting hard and repeatedly)....

• Attitudes towards violence: Close to half of all adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 (around 126 million) believe a husband is justified in hitting his wife under certain circumstances....Data from 30 countries suggest that about seven in 10 girls 15-19 years old who had been victims of physical and/or sexual abuse had never sought help: many said they did not think it was abuse or did not see it as a problem. http://www.unicef.org/media/media_75530.html
 
#ENDviolence against children http://www.unicef.org/endviolence/

Hidden in Plain Sight: A statistical analysis of violence against children http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_74865.html
 
Federal Appeals Court Rejects Yeshiva Sex Abuse Lawsuit
September 4, 2014
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – A New York court has tossed out a $380 million lawsuit claiming at least 34 ex-students of Yeshiva University High School for Boys were abused, some sexually, from 1971 to 1992.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Thursday the statute of limitations had expired. It said the plaintiffs had enough information to take action decades ago.

The lawsuit claimed administrators ignored abuse complaints and said they only learned of an alleged school cover-up in 2012.

The plaintiffs’ attorney Kevin Mulhearn promised to appeal, calling the ruling “intellectually and morally bankrupt.”

The school called the case “trying for all involved.” It said its confidential counseling services remain available for anyone who was harmed....

In the lawsuit, one alleged victim claimed administrators offered him a deaf ear when he said a Judaic studies teacher had sodomized him with a toothbrush, according to a New York Daily News report.

The lawsuit said Finkelstein also targeted children of Holocaust survivors, and “implored these children not to add to their parents’ suffering by telling them about the assaults.”

Mulhearn said the alleged abuse “caused a lifelong devastating impact to a multitude of boys... http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/09/04/federal-appeals-court-rejects-yeshiva-sex-abuse-lawsuit/