In France, one in five children does not eat three meals a day, warns Unicef

Unicef ​​​​warns about the material and social deprivations of the younger generations in France. One in five children does not eat three meals a day in France and more than one in four has suffered physical violence from other children, according to the results of a consultation carried out among 20,000 young people aged 6 to 18 by the agency of the UN, which announces the creation of a children’s rights observatory.

According to this consultation, the results of which were published on Tuesday, November 19, on the eve of the International Day of the Rights of the Child, 16.2% of the children and adolescents surveyed say they experience material deprivation and 25.7% have access difficulties to knowledge.

In detail, 22.8% of the children surveyed eat less than three meals a day, 11.9% only eat meat, fish or an egg (or its protein equivalent) once a week (or less frequently) . And 11% eat fruits and vegetables only once a week (or less frequently).

“Protection gap”

About 7.3% say they never spend time with friends outside of home and school, 10.9% cannot celebrate a birthday party or other event, and 7.1% say they never spend time with friends outside of school. home and school and can never invite friends. where they live.

“These deprivations, often cumulative, generate a deep feeling of exclusion among these children and adolescents, who feel constrained by a deviation from the norm, without necessarily being plunged into absolute anguish”points out the UN organization.

Another point highlighted by Unicef, the “protection gap” 31.3% of the young participants reported having suffered insults, hurtful teasing or verbal violence, either from other children or adults.

Act “urgently”

More than one in four children has suffered physical violence from other children or adolescents (30%) and more than one in ten children is affected by violence committed by adults (13.1%).

In total, 30.6% of young people over 13 years of age surveyed indicate that they have already thought about suicide, and 6.2% are confident that they have had sexual relations when they did not want to, Unicef ​​specifies.

In this context, Unicef ​​​​urges the government to act “urgently protect the rights of children and guarantee their development in a more just society”.

At the same time, the organization announces the creation of a children’s rights observatory, a digital platform that will centralize “reliable statistics” on this topic, in order to enable the development of public policies “more effective” towards the youngest.