SOLOMON ISLANDS (Commonwealth Union)_ Significant measures to safeguard children from violence have been started in both Fiji and the Solomon Islands. The programmes in the two Pacific countries come as research in the region reveals that youngsters exposed to violent encounters are more likely to engage in aggressive behaviour during their developmental years.
Data from the region indicate that the toxic stress associated with such common kinds of violence may have a long-term influence on the architecture and chemistry of the developing brain. According to a UNICEF-commissioned assessment, this can impair learning and have an impact on behavioural, social, and emotional functioning as children develop into adults.
However, all is not lost.
Violence prevention has been found in studies to increase health and productivity, reduce expenditure on crisis response, improve children’s developmental and educational outcomes, and prevent crime.
Violence against children has increased in Fiji in recent years. Currently, a campaign to eradicate all forms of violence against children has been put into motion. The campaign is run by Save the Children Fiji and is referred to as the Collective Action to End Violence Against Children in Fiji.
The project’s chief executive, Shairana Ali, told RNZ Pacific that it attempts to address rising child abuse and neglect as well as build safer families. “We’ll give parents the resources and alternative skills they need to discipline their kids in a way that makes them feel safe and loved,” she said in a statement.
Ali claimed that there was a mismatch between children’s needs and parental obligations in Fiji. “One of the most serious concerns we’ve discovered in the communities is that children are being neglected by their parents or caregivers.”
This programme tries to reassert parental responsibility by ensuring that parents recognise that their children are their responsibility and that they spend time with them, ensuring that children are not ignored. “Child neglect is not always deliberate. Parents must prioritise collective family needs, such as putting food on the table, which frequently reduces the amount of time they can spend with their children,” Ali noted.
She stressed, though, that parents must still be accountable for their children.
