Guaranteeing safe, protective and violence-free environments for children and adolescents is the objective of the new prevention model that UNICEF has just launched: a guide for municipalities. It is the result of almost three years of applied research and social innovation, in which more than 1,500 boys and girls, as well as professionals from ten Spanish municipalities, also participated in a pilot project.
The launch of this tool was carried out within the framework of the VI Congress of Child Friendly Cities, held at the Toledo Conference Center on October 30 and 31 with the participation of more than 400 people.
Representatives of the dozen municipalities that have already applied this new experience attended this event. These are Daganzo de Arriba, Fuenlabrada and Paracuellos de Jarama, in the Community of Madrid; Alcoi, Alzira and Castelló de la Plana in the Valencian Community; and Alovera, Azuqueca de Henares, Puertollano and Toledo in Castile-La Mancha)
Paola Bernal, specialist in childhood policies at UNICEF-Spain, explains elDiarioclm.es that this tool is designed to support technical and multidisciplinary teams of local governments in the prevention of situations of violence and thus guarantee safe and protective environments, promoting “a culture of good treatment”.
The model, under the aegis of the law on the comprehensive protection of children and adolescents against violence, approved in 2021, proposes concrete “strategies and actions” to proactively and preventively address the challenges linked to violence, in promoting the well-being and integral development of girls, boys and adolescents at the local level.
We need municipal councils to have professionals who are aware and trained for this purpose.
Paola Bernal
— UNICEF-Spain
How can we do it? For example, the new tool offers local entities the steps they must follow to develop their own model that responds to their local reality, and provides concrete measures and actions to prevent violence against children.
Basically, the model focuses on creating “safe environments”, although to do this the most important thing is to “first create the conditions of the space”. In infrastructure, it is mainly about adapting physical spaces, with furniture and bathrooms where lighting, adaptability or color are taken care of.
“This is only one element, because town halls must also have professionals who are aware of and trained in this,” adds the expert. Here, UNICEF is mainly aimed at social services, who are most familiar with the legislation, but the guide is also aimed at municipal officials responsible for sports, culture or libraries.
In other words, these protocols must be shared between all professionals so that social services have “eyes and ears” throughout the local community on “any type of suffering and problem that a child may encounter in the place where he or she is found, whatever it is.” at the park, sports center or school.
Some revealing data
According to UNICEF, statistics reveal that children and adolescents experience violence at all stages of their childhood and in a variety of environments, and that it often occurs from trusted people with whom they interact on a daily basis: between 83% and 91% of In Spain, girls, boys and adolescents are victims of violence at different stages of their lives.
Their data also shows that one in three young people could be victims of harassment and, at European level, it is estimated that one in five minors will be victims of sexual abuse before the age of 18. Despite the seriousness of the problem, less than 10% of these cases are reported or notified, reflecting “gaps in the current system”.
These are the reasons why this United Nations organization considers that increasing prevention resources in the public administration services of large municipalities has a long-term impact on the savings of public budgets.
“In addition to the medium and long-term benefits, the municipalities participating in the pilot project have already experienced short-term changes such as an increase in knowledge regarding prevention and detection, which leads to preventive rather than reactive approaches; better coordination of professionals involved in this field; or an increase in the perception of the preponderant role that childhood and adolescence should play,” explains Paola Bernal.
The celebration of the sixth edition of the Child Friendly Cities Congress is an “unbeatable” opportunity to “arrive before the damage caused to children and adolescents,” said Gustavo Suárez Pertierra, president of UNICEF Spain. “Preventing and detecting violence is essential to put an end to the severity of cases. And local entities, which are the administration closest to our children and adolescents, play a fundamental role in promoting the protection of children and adolescents at the local level.
The opening session of the Congress took place in the presence of Carlos Velázquez Romo, mayor of Toledo; Mª Ángeles Espinosa, director of the University Institute of the Needs and Rights of Children and Adolescents; and Luis Martínez-Sicluna, Secretary General of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP).
During the two days of the Congress, experts in violence prevention and children’s rights participated, such as Kendra J. Gregson, regional child protection advisor of the UNICEF Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean; Clara Martínez, professor at the Faculty of Law of the Pontificia Comillas University (ICADE); or José María Vera, executive director of UNICEF Spain.
In addition, dialogue tables were organized during which local professionals who participated in the project shared their experience. Alongside all this, there was also a dialogue between the mayors and four teenagers (Amnah, Pablo, Mariam and Iria) from the children’s councils of Puertollano and Alovera (who participated in the project from which this model was born) .
The preparation of this guide was possible thanks to the grant received by UNICEF Spain within the framework of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, NextGeneration EU, by the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and the 2030 Agenda.
“Violence against children is one of the greatest violations of their rights. This violence causes avoidable damage to girls, boys and adolescents that can have consequences throughout their lives. A personal cost that has effects on the society in which this girl or boy lives. This is why it is essential to act based on prevention and early detection,” concludes the United Nations.
