La Jornada: Carolina Gómez Mena
- Expert: 35 percent of those younger than 18 are at risk
- We need a comprehensive state policy to promote respectful cohabitation
The expert said that the home, which should provide emotional, nutritional, legal and financial security to children, is the main site of that violence, especially physical and emotional.
According to data from UNICEF, six in 10 children and teenagers in Mexico have directly experienced some form of violence at home or school.
Data from the National Women's Institute shows that abuse perpetuated against children has to do with familial factors and gender.
In the case of boys, physical and severe physical abuse is more likely when they live with other relatives and/or without either a father or mother (22.3 and 30.9 percent, respectively); emotional abuse is more common in homes with a mother and stepfather (61.6 percent); neglect and abandonment is more frequent in homes with a father and stepmother (22.4 percent); and sexual abuse is more prevalent in households with a father and stepmother (7.1 percent).
Statistics on the abuse of girls reveal that physical and severe physical abuse is more likely when they live with other relatives (25 and 20 percent); emotional abuse, negligence and sexual abuse are more frequent in homes with a mother and stepfather (66.3, 10.6 and 15.3 percent, respectively).
Eradicating this abuse, which violates the rights of minors, requires a comprehensive federal family policy to promote cohabitation based on communication and respect; train young people to know how to exercise their rights and fulfill their responsibilities; and encourage healthy relationships between individuals, households and communities, in order to contribute to the development of citizenship, said Solís San Vicente.
"This is a cultural problem caused by a lack of maturity in the population. For this reason, people don't take on their responsibilities having to do with the welfare of children, nor do they have the elements necessary to create an atmosphere of communication, freedom and respect, from the home to the social sphere.
Our children are at risk of abuse. Since they rely entirely on the adults around them, one would hope that those adults would guide them and educate them with love, affection, tenderness, care and dedication. This is complicated by the country's economic situation, which necessitates that both parents support the household, forcing them to delegate care and education to relatives or other caregivers," the ENTS specialist said.Parental neglect affects the development of a child, who may grow up without a sense of boundaries as they enter school and the community as a shy or extremely violent individual.
Physical abuse is the most common manifestation, and is linked to emotional abuse. In Mexico, this has established models of "teaching" children by hitting, shouting and insulting them, since parents don't have the means to communicate or the capacity to express themselves with love and affection.
Because of these mores, the country doesn't measure physical abuse and our hospitals don't keep records of children who are admitted. In the United States, this information is national and there is a federal system to guarantee the welfare of children, she said.