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Newsletters - Violence and the Family

 

Summary of Consultation Recommendations

  1. There is an alarming increase in violence against and abuse of children. The Church can no longer keep silent and is challenged to encourage children to speak out when they have been violated, to offer support and counselling to the victims and to deal with the perpetrators.
  2. Ministry to children in the Church needs to be fully recognised and properly funded.
  3. The Church must commit itself to preventive measures relating to violence against children. These include parenting workshops, empowering parents to recognise signs of child abuse and to deal with them, educational programmes for children in church groups and providing activities which make children feel welcome and part of the Church.
  4. Special attention has to be given to girls who suffer more in situations of violence. Girl child education must be a priority in diocesan schools and colleges.
  5. Parents should take full responsibility for the upbringing of their children and not abdicate their responsibility to teachers. The Church should encourage and empower parents to take on the responsibility of sex education for their children.
  6. The Church must challenge cultural practices that dehumanise children, such as child sacrifice, sexual abuse of children for cleansing purposes enhanced by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, unhealthy initiation practices and marrying young girls to older men.
  7. The Church in Africa must speak out against child abduction, child labour and child soldiers and lobby governments to implement the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
  8. The Church should lobby governments on media policies that enhance positive family values. At the same time the responsibility for restricting children�s access to the media should be emphasised in parenting programmes.
  9. Due to the HIV/AIDS pandemi,c the number of orphans and child-headed households is increasing rapidly. The Church should promote community-based programmes for AIDS orphans rather than creating more orphanages.

 

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