Noemí Pereda: ”We have to put violence against children at the core of public debate, like it was done with domestic violence“
“We need awareness campaigns on violence against children to show its extension and severe effects it has in life, like it was done with domestic violence”. With these words, Noemí Pereda, director of the Child and Adolescent Victimization Research Group (GReVIA) of the University of Barcelona, was very clear on this issue when she attended the Commission for Family, Childhood and Adolescence Rights in the Senate last week.
Pereda, lecturer of Victimology at the Faculty of Psychology, presented the results of the latest published projects in Spain regarding multiple ways of violence against children and adolescents, and talked about the consequences of this abuse.
“We need awareness campaigns on violence against children to show its extension and severe effects it has in life, like it was done with domestic violence”. With these words, Noemí Pereda, director of the Child and Adolescent Victimization Research Group (GReVIA) of the University of Barcelona, was very clear on this issue when she attended the Commission for Family, Childhood and Adolescence Rights in the Senate last week.
Pereda, lecturer of Victimology at the Faculty of Psychology, presented the results of the latest published projects in Spain regarding multiple ways of violence against children and adolescents, and talked about the consequences of this abuse.
In her appearance you insisted on the creation of an organic law to remove violence against children. Why is this important?
Because we have to put violence against children at the core of public debate, outside the private field. As a society, it is necessary to stop being silence accomplices and be part of the secret that goes with this kind of situations. We cannot treat children like second class people without rights. There are many people who are tolerant with the culture of violence in which we are living and they justify so depicting children as manipulative individuals, who are challenging, difficult and sexualized. It has been proved that these beliefs are false and unscientific. A law regulating violence against children would prevent this problem from happening.
You gave some recommendations to help manage this problem better. Regarding the families, which ones would those be?
Programs promoting positive support when children behave properly, and if their behaviour is not right, a body punishment would not be the solution. It is also important for the social services to create intervention programs for families with a risk of abuse. If they want to make this effective, these programs should start when mothers are pregnant, participating in the creation of the mother-son bond, and not when the family is at risk already.
How can the school take part in this?
It is necessary for the school to work on the rights of children, like it is stated in the international Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified in Spain for more than 25 years, and they should promote the development of prevention programs for specific forms of violence, not only bullying or domestic violence, but also on other ways of violence in which there is a lower awareness, such as sexual abuse.
What role would the University play?
Regarding the professionals, it is crucial for the university to take the responsibility in this problem and to offer specialized training in the prevention and treatment of victims of children violence in education, psychology, medicine and law studies, and all those studies with a more or less direct link with this issue. Also, it is essential to do research in this field and use the necessary resources.
What are the long term consequences of this violence on children?
We have to be aware that the future of this country will be marked by how we treat our children. Children are affected in three basic areas: it damages trust in oneself (which leads to a low self-esteem), it harms trust in others (leading to social and affective difficulties), and it harms trust in the future. Also, some experience of violence which may seem light, get piled up in the childʼs life, and can create multiple psychological problems.