Protecting children against sexual abuse: conference in Zagreb

27/10/2011

Maud de Boer-Buquicchio

The Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention) is a genuine asset to states for preventing and combating all forms of violation of children’s fundamental rights.

Figures suggest that one in five children in Europe are victims of sexual violence. It is estimated that in 70 to 85% of cases the abuser is someone the child knows. And in 90% of cases, the offences are not reported to the authorities. Given the scale of the problem, the Council of Europe has made the promotion of children’s rights a priority and has committed itself to raising governments’ awareness of the need for effective implementation of the convention and supporting them through regional conferences. The latest conference took place on 27 and 28 October in Zagreb, Croatia.

Opening addresses were given by Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, andTomislav Ivic, croatian Minister of Family, Veterans' Affairs and Intergenerational Solidarity.

Opening speech by Maud de Boer-Buquicchio http://www.coe.int/lportal/web/coe-portal/press/newsroom?p_p_id=newsroom&_newsroom_articleId=683515&_newsroom_groupId=10226&_newsroom_tabs=newsroom-topnews&pager.offset=0
"One in Five" campaign http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode