Violence, Exploitation, and the Rights of the

Child

Jonathan Todres

Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2 Defining Violence Against Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3 Violence Against Children: Forms and Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.1 Community-Based Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2 Violence in Care Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.3 Structural Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.4 Impact of Violence Against Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4 International Children’s Rights Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.1 General Obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.2 Law on Community-Based Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.3 Law on Violence in Care Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.4 Law on Structural Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5 Improving Responses to Violence Against Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
6 Elevating Respect for Children’s Human Dignity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
6.1 Mainstreaming Children’s Voices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
6.2 Confronting Tolerance of Violence in Law and Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
6.3 Prioritizing Children in Legal Frameworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
7 Moving from Culture of Violence to Culture of Respect for All Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
8 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
9 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Abstract
Violence against children is a global problem. More than half of the world’s
children experienced violence in the past year. Children are subjected to violence
in a broad array of spaces, ranging from illicit enterprises such as child trafficking,
to labor exploitation, to corporal punishment in schools, to maltreatment in the

J. Todres (*)
Georgia State University College of Law, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
e-mail: jtodres@gsu.edu

# Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 1

U. Kilkelly, T. Liefaard (eds.), International Human Rights of Children,
International Human Rights, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3182-3_9-1
2 J. Todres

home. Children’s rights law, including in particular, the UN Convention on the

Rights of the Child, is unequivocal: violence against children is a human rights
violation. This chapter examines children’s rights law’s response to violence
against children. It begins by assessing the nature of the problem of violence
against children, summarizing the prevailing framework on violence against
children and discussing violence’s harmful consequences. It then examines rele-
vant international children’s rights law. Despite this law, progress in preventing
violence against children has been inconsistent. The chapter analyzes key factors
that have limited progress on eliminating violence against children, focusing on
the persistent lack of regard for children among adults and traditional legal
constructs that disadvantage children. This chapter argues that these barriers to
successful implementation of children’s rights law are, in fact, obstacles that
children’s rights law is uniquely situated to overcome. Paying greater attention
to children’s rights law’s capacity to address these and other underlying barriers to
child protection can help secure the realization of every child’s right to live free
from violence and exploitation and to develop to his or her full potential.

1 Introduction

For as long as popular narratives have described childhood as a time of innocence,

children have confronted violence in their day-to-day lives. Today, we know that
more than half of the world’s children experienced violence in the past year (Hillis et
al. 2016). Children are subjected to violence in a broad array of spaces, ranging from
illicit enterprises such as child trafficking, to labor exploitation, to corporal punish-
ment in schools, to maltreatment in the home (Pinheiro 2006b). Children’s rights
law, including in particular, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, is
unequivocal: violence against children is a human rights violation (UNCRC 1989).
This chapter examines children’s rights law’s response to violence against chil-
dren. The first half of the chapter reviews the current state of violence against
children and applicable children’s rights law. It begins by briefly defining violence,
a term that encompasses a breadth of harms. It then assesses the nature of the
problem of violence against children, summarizes the prevailing framework on
violence against children, and reviews violence’s harmful consequences. The chap-
ter next examines relevant international children’s rights law. Although children’s
rights law is directly responsive to the range of harms children suffer, progress in
preventing violence against children has been inconsistent. The second half of this
chapter explores how states can respond more effectively to the problem of violence
against children. It analyzes the challenges that have limited progress on eliminating
violence against children. Two obstacles in particular, the persistent lack of regard
for children among adults and traditional legal constructs that disadvantage children,
have proven to be formidable obstacles to addressing violence against children. This
chapter argues that these barriers to successful implementation of children’s rights
law are, in fact, obstacles that children’s rights law is uniquely situated to overcome.
Greater attention to children’s rights law’s capacity to address these and other
underlying barriers to child protection can help secure the realization of every child’s
Violence, Exploitation, and the Rights of the Child 3

right to live free from violence and exploitation and to develop to his or her full
potential.

2 Defining Violence Against Children

In Article 19, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) defines violence
against children as including “all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or
abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual
abuse” (UNCRC 1989, Art. 19). The Convention’s definition is intentionally broad
and aims to capture “all forms of harm to children” (CRC/C/GC/13 2011, para 4). In
2011, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child adopted a General Comment on
the right to freedom from all forms of violence (CRC/C/GC/13 2011). In General
Comment 13, the Committee emphasizes violence against children is preventable
and that all forms of violence must be addressed (CRC/C/GC/13 2011, para 3). The
Committee also explains that the CRC definition rejects more narrow definitions of
violence consisting of only physical and intentional harm (CRC/C/GC/13 2011, para
4). Such more limited definitions leave many child victims of violence without
adequate protection or recourse to address the harm inflicted upon them. Although
scholars have struggled to clearly delineate the contours of “violence” (de Haan
2008), by adopting an expansive definition, the Convention imposes a broad legal
mandate upon states to enhance protections for children.

3 Violence Against Children: Forms and Impact

Research reveals that more than a billion children have experienced violence or
severe forms of violence in the past year (Hillis et al. 2016). The numbers are even
higher when studies account for children who witness violence in their homes or
communities. In the United States, for example, two-thirds of children report direct
or indirect exposure to violence in the prior year (Finkelhor et al. 2015). As Paulo
Sérgio Pinheiro explained, many forms of violence against children “have long been
recorded, but the grave and urgent nature of this global problem has only recently
been revealed” (Pinheiro 2006a, para 24).
Children are exposed and subjected to various forms of physical, mental, and
emotional violence. Perpetrators include parents, other family members and care-
givers, teachers, employers, law enforcement, peers, and others (Pinheiro 2006b).
International children’s rights scholars and advocates frequently catalog forms of
violence against children by the locale where each occurs. The UN Study on
Violence against Children mapped areas where children are exposed to violence:
the home, schools, care and justice institutions, workplace, and the community
(Pinheiro 2006b). This section briefly examines the various forms and locales of
violence against children through a review of violence in the community, violence in
care settings, and structural violence. Two aspects of these three categories merit
explanation. First, while it is common in children’s rights to distinguish between
4 J. Todres

community-based harms and home-based harms, and legal constructs have long
incorporated and reinforced that public/private divide (Charlesworth et al. 1991), I
believe there is utility in recognizing care settings beyond the home where children
are expected to spend many hours and should receive greater protection – such as
schools and group homes – as more akin to traditional caregiver locales (e.g., homes)
than to community settings like the workplace. In short, we should expect teachers to
act more like caregivers than like employers. Second, it bears noting that there is
overlap in these – or any other – categories of violence. For example, structural
violence against children is intertwined with other categories of violence and indeed
heightens vulnerability to other forms of violence. In addition, some community-
based forms of violence – e.g., labor exploitation or sex trafficking – are also
perpetrated by family members and other caregivers, while perpetrators of violence
in community settings also inflict harm against children that typically is considered
child maltreatment, a harm imposed on children in the private sphere of the home. As
UNICEF reports, “any attempt to ‘categorize’ violence is somewhat of an artificial
undertaking. For one thing, the boundaries between acts of violence tend to become
blurred. . .. Moreover, experiences of violence often overlap” as many children are
subjected to multiple forms of violence (UNICEF 2014, p. 8).

3.1 Community-Based Violence

Children experience a variety of harms in the community, both in and outside of

work settings. Recent attention to children’s rights violations and corresponding
state action has focused on many of these severe forms of violence against children.
Trafficking of children, slavery and debt bondage, use in armed conflict, domestic
servitude, and other forms of child exploitation have been widely condemned and
are the subject of more focused treaties on children’s rights (Pinheiro 2006a; ILO
Convention No. 182 1999; Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of Children
2000; Optional Protocol to the CRC on Children in Armed Conflict 2000).
Trafficking, forced labor, and servitude involving children have been documented
across a breadth of sectors. Such exploitation of and violence against children occurs
in agriculture, construction, domestic service, fishing, forced-begging operations,
forestry, hospitality and tourism, manufacturing, mining, quarrying, restaurants, and
other locales (U.S. Department of State 2013). In these settings, children are
frequently without, or away from, any caregiver and left to navigate challenges
circumstances without assistance. Due to their young age and developmental status,
children are typically more vulnerable than adults in such settings and at greater risk
when exposed to violence in community-based settings (Van Bueren 1995).

3.2 Violence in Care Settings

Children are exposed to and the targets of violence in all care settings, including
homes, schools, child welfare systems, juvenile detention centers, and institutional
Violence, Exploitation, and the Rights of the Child 5

care facilities (Pinheiro 2006b). In each of these settings, adults accept a duty to
provide care for and protect children. Yet these places are also sites of physical,
mental, and emotional violence against children.
In schools and other facilities that care for children – for example, institutional
care facilities and juvenile detention centers – many children experience violence
(Pinheiro 2006b). Corporal punishment remains legal in many countries, and in
countries where it has been abolished, enforcement is uneven. Children also expe-
rience violence at the hands of peers, notably with the prevalence of various forms of
bullying including cyberbullying.
In the home, millions of children globally experience physical, sexual, psycho-
logical, and emotional abuse or witness interpersonal violence among other family
members. The World Health Organization reports that as many as 40 million
children could be abused each year (WHO 2001). The UN Study on Violence against
Children highlights the widespread nature of child abuse, explaining that “[s]tudies
from many countries in all regions of the world suggest that up to 80 to 98 per cent of
children suffer physical punishment in their homes, with a third or more experienc-
ing severe physical punishment resulting from the use of implements.” (Pinheiro
2006a, para 28). Thus, for far too many children, the home, which should be a safe
place for children, is in fact the site of violence and trauma.

3.3 Structural Violence

No discussion of violence against children is complete without mention of the

impact of structural violence. When assessments of violence against children focus
on particular perpetrators or locales, they can miss systemic issues that create the
conditions in which violence flourishes. As Barbara Rylko-Bauer and Paul Farmer
explain:

Structural violence is the violence of injustice and inequity. . ..These [structures] include
broad-scale cultural and political-economic structures such as caste, patriarchy, slavery,
apartheid, colonialism, neoliberalism, as well as poverty and discrimination by race, ethnic-
ity, gender, sexual orientation, and migrant/refugee status. These structures are violent
because they result in avoidable deaths, illness, and injury; and they reproduce violence
by marginalizing people and communities, constraining their capabilities and agency,
assaulting their dignity, and sustaining inequalities. (Rylko-Bauer and Farmer 2016, p. 47)

For example, poverty is identified as a root cause of violence, and conversely

violence is recognized as a root cause of poverty (Office of the Special Representa-
tive of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children 2014, p. 12). A joint
report by UNICEF and the World Bank found that children are disproportionately
affected by poverty and that 385 million children around the world lived in extreme
poverty in 2013 (UNICEF and World Bank 2016). Living in extreme poverty
heightens the vulnerability of children and their families. It pushes both parents
and children into riskier work options in order to survive and increases the likelihood
of children’s exposure to various forms of violence (Ismayilova et al. 2016).
6 J. Todres

Amplifying the impact of structural violence is the interrelated and

interdependent nature of rights (International Commission of Jurists 1997; UN
General Assembly 1986; World Conference on Human Rights 1993). The most
marginalized children often face barriers to the realization of multiple rights simul-
taneously, and their capacity to secure their rights is linked to the rights of their
parents (Todres 2017). Intersectionality theory helps explain the experience of
marginalized children. As Kimberlé Crenshaw states, “Intersectionality simply
came from the idea that if you’re standing in the path of multiple forms of exclusion,
you’re likely to get hit by both” (Thomas 2011, p. 455 [quoting Crenshaw]). It also
means that efforts to address one barrier or another run the risk of leaving individuals
with intersectional identities – or children confronting multiple rights violations –
marginalized in both. (Crenshaw 1991, p. 1244). An intersectionality-informed
perspective (see, e.g., Bond 2003; Crenshaw 1991) can advance understanding of
the unique challenges that children living in marginalized communities confront.
Public health research confirms this understanding; according to the US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, “families and children living in some communities
where there are many risk factors (e.g., high poverty, unemployment, and crime) are
more likely than families and children living in other communities to experience
multiple forms of violence” (Wilkins et al. 2014, p. 3). In addressing violence against
children, states and civil society need to account for the impact of structural violence
and, in particular, its significant consequences for marginalized children who con-
front multiple obstacles concurrently.

3.4 Impact of Violence Against Children

Violence against children has numerous adverse consequences, including negative

impacts on “physical, mental, and reproductive health as well as social and cognitive
development” (Wirtz et al. 2016, p. 2). Furthermore, recent findings from neurosci-
ence, epigenetics, and behavioral science research reveal “generational and trans-
generational effects of early childhood adversity, distress, maltreatment, abuse,
neglect and violence” (Lenzer 2015, p. 289).
The many forms of community-based violence inflict significant, sometimes life-
threatening, harms on children. For example, trafficking of children results in
physical, sexual, and emotional injuries (Todres 2011b). Many child sex trafficking
victims “experience repeated sexual violence (e.g., beating, choking, burning),
sexual assault and gang rape, psychological abuse and manipulation,” and other
harms (Greenbaum et al. 2015, p. 568). As Greenbaum and colleagues report, “As a
result of the intense and prolonged psychological and physical trauma experienced
by victims, many youth experience significant psychological adversity, including
PTSD, major depression, suicidality, anxiety disorder, somatization, aggression, and
oppositional behavior” (Greenbaum et al. 2015, p. 568).
Labor trafficking is similarly violent. Trafficked laborers “frequently suffer phys-
ical injuries, infectious and communicable disease and, not least, post-trauma mental
health symptoms including, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder,
Violence, Exploitation, and the Rights of the Child 7

feelings of low self-esteem and isolation” (Oram and Zimmerman n.d., p. 4). Bales et
al. found that labor trafficking victims suffer physical and mental health injuries and
are frequently malnourished (Bales et al. 2004). Finally, in various labor settings,
beyond direct forms of violence, children also suffer from exposure to harmful toxins
and chemicals in industrial work settings (Oram and Zimmerman n.d.).
Other forms of community-based violence against children – from domestic
servitude to use in armed conflict – subject children to violence that causes physical,
psychological, and social harm.
The harms inflicted on children in the care settings, including the home, are
similarly traumatic, and they have consequences that endure well into adulthood. In
addition to their immediate injuries, children who suffer abuse in the home are at
greater risk of developing physical, psychological, and behavior problems (Molnar
et al. 2001). Findings from the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, which
examined the impact of childhood exposure to abuse and household dysfunction,
show that “the impact of these adverse childhood experiences on adults’ health status
is strong and cumulative” (Felitti et al. 1998, p. 251). The adverse health conse-
quences of child abuse include heightened risk for alcoholism, drug abuse, depres-
sion, and suicide attempt, as well as heart disease, chronic lung disease, and cancer
(Felitti et al. 1998; Dong et al. 2004; Romans et al. 2002; Brown et al. 2010).
As the Committee on the Rights of the Child explains, taken together, “The
human, social and economic costs of [violence against children] are enormous and
unacceptable” (CRC/C/GC/13 2011, para 16). Given the breadth of violence against
children and its significant consequences – for children and their communities –
violence is arguably the most pressing children’s rights issue of our time.

4 International Children’s Rights Law

4.1 General Obligations

There is a well-developed body of international human rights law on violence

against children. Children’s rights law establishes a clear prohibition on violence
against children. Article 19 of the CRC provides the cornerstone of legal protections
against violence. It establishes that:

States parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational
measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse,
neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in
the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s), or any other person who has the care of the child.
(UNCRC 1989, Art. 19)

As the text of the Convention emphasizes, the obligation is not limited to adopting
law and policy that prohibits violence against children. Law is necessary but not
sufficient, and therefore states are obligated to take all appropriate measures to
ensure every child is protected from all forms of violence. Protecting children
8 J. Todres

from all forms of violence foremost means prevention of such harm. Prevention of
children’s rights violations is the ultimate goal of children’s rights law.
In addition to the mandate to prevent violence against children, Article 19(2)
recognizes the reality of children’s experiences and imposes an obligation not only to
prevent harm but to identify those children who suffer violence and respond effec-
tively (UNCRC 1989, Art. 19(2)). This includes ensuring child survivors of violence
receive needed treatment and assistance and that appropriate measures are taken to
ensure the violence does not reoccur. This obligation under Article 19(2) is bolstered
by Article 39’s requirement that states “take all appropriate measures to promote
physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of a child victim of: any
form of neglect, exploitation, or abuse; torture or any other form of cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment” (UNCRC 1989, Art. 39). In assisting child
survivors of violence, states must address all aspects of children’s recovery. The
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women
and Children, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized
Crime provides relevant guidance. Article 6 of the Trafficking Protocol identifies a
range of measures needed for children’s recovery, including housing; counseling and
information, particularly about legal rights; medical, psychological, and material
assistance; and employment, educational, and training opportunities (Trafficking
Protocol 2000, Art. 6).
Importantly, freedom from violence is a civil right (CRC/C/GC/13 2011, para 65),
akin to prohibitions on cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment (see, e.g., UNCRC
1989, Art. 37; ICCPR 1966, Art. 7; ECHR 1950, Art. 3). Therefore, the mandate to
prevent all forms of violence against children imposes an immediate and full
obligation, in contrast to economic, social, and cultural rights for which a state’s
obligations are subject to available resources (UNCRC 1989, Art. 4; see also Alston
and Quinn 1987, pp. 159–160).
Although Article 19 of the Convention is the primary provision on the child’s
right to freedom from violence, additional provisions in the CRC and other treaties
offer related protections. Article 16 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare
of the Child includes a parallel prohibition on violence against children that
expressly covers both maltreatment by caregivers and other forms of violence in
the community (African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Art. 16).
Numerous human rights treaties prohibit the use of torture and cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment (UNCRC 1989, Art. 37; ICCPR 1966, Art. 7; ECHR 1950, Art.
3; African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Art. 5; American Convention on
Human Rights 1969, Art. 5). Many of those international instruments and others also
establish a right to security of person (ICCPR, Art. 9; African Charter on Human and
Peoples’ Rights, Art. 6; American Convention on Human Rights 1969, Art. 7;
ECHR 1950, Art. 5). As the Human Rights Committee explains, “Security of person
concerns freedom from injury to the body and the mind, or bodily and mental
integrity” (Human Rights Committee 2014, para 3). These provisions, as well as
ones discussed below that address specific forms of violence, such as sexual
exploitation, bolster the unequivocal stance of CRC Article 19 – that all violence
against children is a human rights violation.
Violence, Exploitation, and the Rights of the Child 9

4.2 Law on Community-Based Violence

Beyond Article 19’s broad prohibition on violence against children, international

children’s rights law also addresses specific community-based forms of violence
against children. ILO Convention No. 182 Concerning the Prohibition and Imme-
diate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour prohibits all
forms of child slavery (including but not limited to trafficking, debt bondage, forced
labor, and use in armed conflict), sexual exploitation of children, use of children in
illicit activities such as the drug trade, and other work that “is likely to harm the
health, safety, and morals of children” (ILO Convention No. 182 1999, Art. 3). The
CRC prohibits similar forms of violence against children, including economic
exploitation, use in illicit drug trade, sexual exploitation, trafficking, and other
forms of exploitation (UNCRC 1989, Arts. 32–36). Further, two of the Optional
Protocols to the CRC – on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child
pornography and on the involvement of children in armed conflict – further enhance
children’s rights law protections against the worst forms of child exploitation.
Regional human rights instruments focused on children including the African
Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the Council of Europe Conven-
tion on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse also
address various forms of community-based violence. Finally, general human rights
treaties – such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment – also offer protection to children from community-based violence.

4.3 Law on Violence in Care Settings

As noted above, Article 19 of the CRC expressly prohibits child abuse and neglect
by parents and any other caregivers (UNCRC 1989, Art. 19). In care settings beyond
the home, the CRC also insists that children be protected from violence. It estab-
lishes that any child “temporarily or permanently deprived of his or her family
environment” is “entitled to special protection and assistance provided by the
State” (UNCRC 1989, Art. 20). Pursuant to the CRC, states are obligated to “ensure
that school discipline is administered in a manner consistent with the child’s human
dignity and in conformity with the [CRC]” (UNCRC 1989, Art. 28(2)). Finally, in
institutional settings, the prohibition on violence against children remains. For
example, in juvenile justice cases, the CRC mandates that “Every child deprived
of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the
human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his
or her age” (UNCRC 1989, Art. 37(c)). As with community-based violence, numer-
ous treaties beyond the CRC cover violence in care settings. Regional treaties, such
as the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and issue-specific
treaties, including the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children
against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse and the Optional Protocol to the CRC
on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography, cover harms
10 J. Todres

when committed by caregivers. This body of law establishes that, across all care
settings, violence is prohibited and a violation of the rights of the child.

4.4 Law on Structural Violence

The human rights enterprise itself – including children’s rights law – arguably
confronts structural violence, given that it aims to empower individuals (Ely-
Yamin 1993; Yu 2007). As Baird writes, “Greater realisation of human rights has
the potential to empower the disadvantaged and marginalised, and contribute to a
more just, inclusive and fair society” (Baird 2011, p. 257). The CRC empowers
children by establishing their right to participate in decisions that affect their lives
(UNCRC 1989, Art. 12).
Beyond this broader mandate to empower, children’s rights law addresses pov-
erty, discrimination, and inequality directly. Nondiscrimination clauses are a com-
mon feature of human rights treaties. Article 2 of the CRC requires that states parties
ensure rights of the Convention to “each child within their jurisdiction without
discrimination of any kind” (UNCRC 1989, Art. 2). Thus, Article 2 provides a
mandate to ensure that each child’s rights is not violated as a result of racism,
xenophobia, gender-based discrimination, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, or any
other form of discrimination. In addition, the CRC’s nondiscrimination clause
incorporates a unique feature in that it addresses the intergenerational impact of
discrimination. Article 2 of the CRC requires states parties to protect children from
discrimination based on the status of the child’s parents or legal guardians and not
just the status of the child herself (UNCRC 1989, Art. 2). This protection against
discrimination by association can help confront systemic marginalization that per-
petuates vulnerability and cycles of poverty.
Beyond discrimination, children’s rights law addresses other causes of structural
violence including poverty. The CRC requires that states ensure each child’s rights to
survival and development, to an adequate standard of living including food and
shelter, and to access health care and educational opportunities (UNCRC 1989, Arts.
6, 24, 27, 28). Fulfillment of the child’s right to develop to his or her fullest potential
and economic and social rights law together provides the mandate to address poverty
and other systemic issues that marginalize children and leave them vulnerable to
multiple forms of violence.
In its General Comment on the right to freedom from violence, the Committee on
the Rights of the Child has stated that the lack of progress in preventing violence
against children is due in part to states’ “reactive efforts focusing on symptoms and
consequences rather than causes” (CRC/C/GC/13 2011, para 12). The Committee
has frequently highlighted the importance of addressing various forms of structural
violence in its concluding observations to states parties (see, e.g., CRC/C/SRB/CO/
2-3 Serbia 2017a; CRC/C/ZAF/CO/2 South Africa 2016; CRC/C/BRA/CO/2-4
Brazil 2015). As the Committee explains, “[p]revention includes public health and
other measures . . . to target the root causes of violence at the levels of the child,
Violence, Exploitation, and the Rights of the Child 11

family, perpetrator, community, institution and society” (CRC/C/GC/13 2011, para

46).
It is fair to acknowledge that human rights law – including children’s rights law –
focuses primarily on the rights of the individual, and structural violence typically
requires broader strategies to address. Human rights law’s individual-centric con-
struct can lead to overlooking structural violence’s impact on children, but that does
not have to be the case. There are a limited number of exceptions in human rights law
in which group rights are expressly acknowledged. For example, both the Interna-
tional Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on
Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights establish in their respective Article 1 that “[a]
ll peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely
determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural
development” (ICCPR 1966, Art. 1; ICESCR 1966, Art. 1). Although the CRC
speaks of individual rights and does not include any group rights provisions, nothing
prohibits states or child advocates from using the mandate of particular individual
rights – such as the right to an adequate standard of living – to address broader
structural violence issues. In fact, as children’s rights law extends to every child, the
CRC and other international children’s rights laws incorporate a mandate to address
all barriers to the rights of children, including structural ones.

5 Improving Responses to Violence Against Children

Similar to the consensus that violence inflicted on children is a human rights

violation, there is widespread agreement that responses to date have been inadequate
(CRC/C/GC/13 2011; Pinheiro 2006b; WHO 2014).
Research and data on violence against children are still lacking in many countries
(CRC/C/ZAF/CO/2 South Africa 2016; CRC/C/BRA/CO/2-4 Brazil 2015). Related
to that is inconsistency in how violence is defined. As discussed earlier in this
chapter, the CRC definition of violence encompasses a breadth of harmful acts,
from child maltreatment in the home to various forms of violence in the community.
In contrast to the World Health Organization definition – “intentional use of physical
force or power, threatened or actual” (emphasis added) – the CRC’s definition
focuses on the harm to children rather than the intent of the actor (WHO 2014, p.
84). Although the CRC’s articulation of violence offers broader protections for
children, it has not be universally accepted, even among individuals and organiza-
tions that work to address violence against children. A 2014 UNICEF study found
wide variation in definitions of violence used in studies on the topic (UNICEF Child
Protection Monitoring and Evaluation Reference Group 2014). Legal definitions,
and corresponding protections, vary as well (WHO 2014). Broader acceptance of the
CRC definition of violence is critical both to understanding the full impact of
violence on children and to developing measures that are responsive to all children
who are at risk of, or harmed by, violence.
As states look to improve responses to violence against children, they must
acknowledge their dual roles in this area. First, the state has an obligation to ensure
12 J. Todres

that its law, policies, programs, and personnel do not play any role in violence
against children. In many countries, state actors are responsible for violence com-
mitted against vulnerable children and adolescents, including homeless children and
children in state institutions (CRC/C/GC/21 2017b). States must cease to participate
in or tolerate such acts. They must also ensure that there are child-friendly mecha-
nisms in juvenile justice and other state institutions that facilitate children’s access to
justice and help avoid rights violations. The second obligation on states is to
affirmatively protect children from violence. That means ensuring children are not
subjected to violence or maltreatment by other individuals, whether it occurs in
community-based settings or in the home. The UN Committee on the Rights of the
Child and other child rights professionals have long called for training of profes-
sionals who work with or care for children (CRC/GC/2003/5 2003; CRC/C/GC/8
2006). Raising awareness of the harms of violence and empowering individuals with
the tools to respond to children effectively and without violence are essential steps to
reducing the prevalence of violence against children.
Improving understanding of violence, ensuring training of all individuals who
work with children, and other steps must all ultimately be part of a coordinated
national response. Addressing violence is challenging, and national plans of action
can facilitate the development and implementation of comprehensive, coordinated
responses. The Council of Europe Policy Guidelines on Integrated National Strate-
gies for the Protection of Children from Violence offers valuable guidance on how to
develop and implement a comprehensive response to violence against children. It is
based on four operating principles: recognizing the multidimensional nature of
violence; fostering cross-sectoral cooperation and coordination; adopting an inte-
grated, holistic approach; and ensuring multistakeholder participation (Council of
Europe 2009, pp. 11–12). These core principles and the specific steps outlined in the
Guidelines provide a road map for ensuring every child’s right to freedom from
violence.
Such integrated responses are reinforced by the Sustainable Development Goals
framework. Through the Sustainable Development Goals, not only did all states
agree to “[e]nd abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and
torture of children” by 2030 (United Nations 2015, SDG Goal 16.2), they also
agreed to address many other issues that create the conditions in which violence
can thrive. Ending poverty, reducing inequalities, ensuring gender equality, and
other sustainable development goals, if achieved, will help address structural issues
and bolster initiatives to end violence against children.

6 Elevating Respect for Children’s Human Dignity

The widespread nature of violence against children raises important questions for
children’s rights law. If international law clearly imposes a duty on states to prohibit
violence against children, why do such harms remain so prevalent? Building on the
Violence, Exploitation, and the Rights of the Child 13

prior section on responding to violence against children, this section explores in

greater depth several key challenges and corresponding opportunities to strengthen
the international community’s response to violence against children and, ultimately,
reduce the prevalence of children’s rights violations.
As noted in the Introduction, some of the most entrenched obstacles to full
realization of children’s rights – including the public/private divide in traditional
legal frameworks and the lack of full recognition of children’s personhood – are the
very barriers that children’s rights law is structured to address. Of course, overcom-
ing these obstacles requires a meaningful commitment to children’s rights by states
and civil society. That is one of the central tensions in children’s rights: it can tackle
the most significant root causes of the barriers to child well-being but only if
governments and civil society let go of traditional constructs about children and
embrace the value of children’s rights. In light of this tension, children’s rights law’s
greatest power may well lie not in the recognition of any single right but rather in its
broader, transformative message that every child counts. By fostering changes in
adults’ attitudes and behaviors toward children, and empowering children by
insisting on recognition of children’s agency, children’s rights law might make its
most significant contribution to the prevention of violence against children.
Full recognition of each child’s personhood is a critical step in reducing violence
against children – and to the realization of children’s rights more broadly. Today,
certain forms of violence, which would be crimes if committed against adults,
remain legal when perpetrated against children. More broadly, children continue to
be “hidden in plain sight” in that they often are not high priorities for governments or
even on certain agendas. One of the CRC’s central contributions is to elevate the
child and mandate that governments recognize “the dignity and worth of [every]
human person” (UNCRC 1989, preamble). Through its reporting process, the CRC
creates an ongoing monitoring and evaluation mechanism that compels states parties
to focus on progress made in securing the rights and well-being of children subject to
the state’s jurisdiction (UNCRC 1989, Art. 44; Todres 2014).
Children’s rights law demands that adults recognize children as distinct individ-
uals with rights, rather than only as passive beings subsumed within the family.
Acknowledging that each child is a rights holder does not mean devaluing the
importance of the family to that child. Rather it is acknowledgment of what the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirmed: “the inherent dignity and. . .equal
and inalienable rights of all members of the human family” (UDHR 1948,
preamble).
Elevating and ensuring respect for the inherent dignity in every child is essential.
The enforcement of children’s rights law is already doing some of this work, but
governments and civil society need to think creatively about how to achieve full
recognition of every child’s personhood. At a minimum, full recognition of children
as rights holders would mean mainstreaming children’s voices, confronting tolerance
of violence in law and beyond, and prioritizing children in legal frameworks aimed
at addressing violence against children.
14 J. Todres

6.1 Mainstreaming Children’s Voices

The CRC recognizes that children have a right to participate in decisions that affect
their lives (UNCRC 1989, Art. 12). Specifically, Article 12 asserts that:

States parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the
right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child
being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child. (UNCRC 1989,
Art 12)

As the Committee on the Rights of the Child has stated, there is no minimum age for
the right to express one’s views, and a child should not have the burden to prove he
or she is capable of expressing a view (CRC/C/GC/12 2009, paras 20 and 21). Any
child capable of forming a view has the right to express that view. What changes with
age and maturity is the weight given to the child’s opinion.
As evident in many areas in which children have had input, children have
important insights into their own lives and their communities. They have a unique
perspective and understanding of what risks they face and what interventions might
work (Dottridge 2008). Recognizing the value of child participation and children’s
contributions is a critical step in elevating recognition of the human dignity in every
child.
Efforts to confront violence against children will be more successful if adults
partner with children and ensure that youth have a voice in important debates about
their lives and communities. In other words, children and children’s rights need
mainstreaming – that is, children must be consulted and their rights considered at
every stage in the development, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of
law, policy, and programs aimed at confronting violence (Todres 2011a). That means
creating vehicles for children’s participation (ranging from less formal options
including hotlines and reporting processes to formal complaint mechanisms) and
making children and adults aware of the importance of ensuring children opportu-
nities to be heard. Mainstreaming should extend to all political, economic, and social
sectors and not be limited to education and other areas traditionally thought of as
constituting the entire domain of children’s issues.
Mainstreaming of children’s rights and ensuring every child’s right to be heard
can help elevate children’s status. Moreover, it can help advance child-friendly law
and policy that can address persistent forms of violence against children.

6.2 Confronting Tolerance of Violence in Law and Society

The world is a violent place, and, as the data reveal, children bear witness to it daily
and are frequently the target (Hillis et al. 2016). Yet in most societies, there are
attitudes and practices that foster tolerance of, or even encourage, various forms of
violence against children. Recognition of every child’s inherent dignity demands that
societies confront this culture of violence.
Violence, Exploitation, and the Rights of the Child 15

Violence against children is not only tolerated socially; it remains legal in many
countries. Dozens of countries still permit corporal punishment in schools, institu-
tional settings, and juvenile detention facilities (Global Initiative to End All Corporal
Punishment of Children 2016). In these jurisdictions, a critical first step must be to
prohibit such violence against children.
Although it is critical to ensure that violence is not permitted under law, tradi-
tional views that led to or supported such laws must be confronted, otherwise
enforcement of such prohibitions will lag. In care settings, for example, violence is
often tolerated or explained as “good for the child,” as when states still permit violent
acts against children if “reasonable” and done in the context of disciplining a child,
or when bullying is tolerated as a “coming of age” experience that builds character
(Cuddy and Reeves 2014).
In A. v. United Kingdom, the European Court of Human Rights found that UK law
allowing for “reasonable chastisement” failed to adequately protect a child from
abuse by his stepfather (A. v. U.K 1998). The Court held that such punishment rose
to the level of “inhuman or degrading treatment” in violation of the European
Convention on Human Rights (ECHR, Art. 3). Despite this decision, acceptance
of violence as a form of discipline remains deeply embedded in cultural norms,
reflected in part by the fact that as of 2014, corporal punishment was still allowed in
the home under UK law (CRIN n.d.). The slow movement toward ending violence
against children is a reminder of the need to raise awareness not only about the harms
of violence but also about alternative strategies for responding to children that do not
involve violence.
One result of the enduring cultural views that are accepting of violence against
children is that, for millions of children, the home is not the safe space it should be.
Instead it is a site where children experience violence. Historically, international
human rights law – and law generally – has been reluctant to encroach upon the
private sphere of the family. Although states should not interfere with private life
when individuals are not at risk of harm, too often the public/private divide in law
has functioned to disadvantage children, heightening their vulnerability to maltreat-
ment and limiting their access to remedies. This public/private dichotomy in law has
been the subject of significant criticism by feminist legal scholars and others
(Charlesworth et al. 1991, p. 629; Balos 2004; Waisman 2010, pp. 406–407), but
progress has been slow. Children’s rights law adds a significant voice and mandate.
Law has progressed from historical constructs which held that the child is
property of the father (Woodhouse 1992). However, recent high-profile cases, such
as when American football player Adrian Peterson justified beating his child
because, as he said, the abuse he suffered as a child made him into a man (McNeal
2014), remind us that significant work remains to strengthen law and address cultural
views that accept, and even promote, violence against children as for their benefit.
We need to think creatively and thoughtfully about ways to better protect children
from maltreatment in the home, while preserving family autonomy.
Beyond the home, broader societal attitudes that tolerate violence against children
must be challenged. Take the example of child trafficking in the United States.
Although the US government and society as a whole have repeatedly condemned
16 J. Todres

trafficking and sexual exploitation of children and such acts have been criminalized
in the United States, girls are frequently sexualized in popular media (Freeman-
Longo 1997). Research indicates that the sexualization of young girls in the US
media may contribute to a culture that tolerates, and possibly promotes, the violation
of children’s rights (American Psychological Association’s Task Force on the
Sexualization of Girls 2010; Institute of Medicine and National Research Council
2013).
More broadly, the structural issues and root causes of violence against children
are commonly ignored. As the World Report on Violence against Children
explained, violence against children “is often deeply rooted in cultural, economic,
and social practices” (Pinheiro 2006b, p. 6). Across the globe, poverty is too often
tolerated or written off as an unfortunate reality with little, if any, acknowledgment
of the violence it inflicts on children on a daily basis and the long-term consequences
of that violence (Irons 2009). Similarly, deeply rooted gender-based discrimination
inflicts violence through a variety of harmful traditional practices and beliefs. As the
CEDAW and CRC Committees highlighted in a joint general comment, a “well-
defined, rights-based and locally relevant holistic strategy” is required to address
harmful practices rooted in gender-based discrimination and must include culturally
sensitive approaches to confronting underlying social norms (CEDAW/C/GC/31-
CRC/C/GC/18 2014, para 33). Confronting structural causes and entrenched beliefs
and practices is essential to achieving sustainable progress in violence prevention.
And children’s rights law challenges governments and societies to reflect on attitudes
and behaviors that dismiss children’s human dignity or tolerate harmful practices.

6.3 Prioritizing Children in Legal Frameworks

A common response to violence against children is to criminalize it. Although it is

important to hold perpetrators accountable for harming children, legal frameworks
that genuinely elevate children will do more than that. They will help prevent harm
from occurring in the first place. Although lack of political will to implement
children’s rights law and weak enforcement mechanisms are oft-cited flaws in
children’s rights law (Kilkelly 2005), it is important to recognize that children’s
rights law itself does not always reflect an elevated view of the child.
Children’s rights law’s response to child trafficking offers a useful case study.
Adopted in 2000, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child
on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography establishes a
three-pronged mandate to address these forms of violence against children. It
requires states parties to (1) criminalize and prosecute all acts of trafficking and
commercial sexual exploitation of children “whether such offences are committed
domestically or transnationally or on an individual or organized basis”; (2) provide
assistance to victims of these crimes; and (3) develop successful prevention pro-
grams (Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Arts. 3, 8–9). Although this
framework appears structured to address all components of the problem and has
helped spur legal, policy, and programmatic developments in many countries, there
are weaknesses in the treaty’s structure.
Violence, Exploitation, and the Rights of the Child 17

The Optional Protocol’s central limitation is its differential treatment of the

three prongs of action. The criminal law provisions of the Optional Protocol are
mandatory, while the provisions on victim assistance and prevention employ
weaker language. Article 3 of the Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of
Children requires that each state party “shall ensure that, as a minimum” the acts
prohibited by the treaty “are fully covered under its criminal or penal law”
(Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Art. 3). In contrast, Article 8 requires
that states parties “adopt appropriate measures to protect the rights and interests
of child victims. . .at all stages of the criminal justice process” (Optional Protocol
on the Sale of Children, Art. 8(1)). Article 9 provides that “States Parties shall
take all feasible measures with the aim of ensuring all appropriate assistance to
victims of such offences, including their full social reintegration and their full
physical and psychological recovery” (Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children,
art 9). The use of language such as “appropriate measures” and “feasible mea-
sures” weakens the obligations on states and permits states greater latitude in
determining whether their actions are sufficient to meet children’s rights law
obligations.
On prevention, the Optional Protocol requires states parties to “adopt or
strengthen, implement and disseminate laws, administrative measures, social poli-
cies and programmes to prevent the offences referred to in the present Protocol”
(Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Art. 9). Although this provision is
mandatory, its general language fails to provide a clear mandate as to what states
must do, leaving enforcement of this provision uncertain.
The prioritization of punishment of perpetrators over both assistance to survivors
and prevention of such harms to children reflects a weakness in the legal framework.
The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially
Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Trans-
national Organized Crime, which was also adopted in 2000 and applies only to cases
in which the “offences are transnational in nature and involve an organized criminal
group” (Trafficking Protocol 2000, Art. 4), reflects the same prioritization of crim-
inal law components of a response (Trafficking Protocol, Arts. 5–6 and 9). Unsur-
prisingly, many states parties to the Optional Protocol (and the Trafficking Protocol)
have developed criminal justice-centered frameworks to respond to these issues.
Assistance to survivors of child trafficking and related forms of exploitation con-
tinues to suffer from lack of resources, and very little meaningful work has been
done to address the root causes of these forms of exploitation so as to prevent the
harms from occurring in the first place (Todres 2011b). Although it is fair to question
whether internal political pressure and other issues at the national level would have
spurred states to focus on criminal justice responses to child trafficking anyway, one
of human rights law’s most significant potential benefits is its power to be transfor-
mative, spurring states to eschew path dependency in order to secure rights for all.
The weaker provisions on prevention in the Optional Protocol and the Trafficking
Protocol make it more challenging to achieve that goal of elevating the child and
preventing harm to children.
Across all issues, governments and civil society must give greater attention to
advancing law, policy, and programs focused on preventing children’s rights
18 J. Todres

violations. Action to prevent harm is the clearest way to demonstrate recognition of

the inherent dignity in every child.

7 Moving from Culture of Violence to Culture of Respect for

All Children

Improving compliance with children’s rights law is critical to addressing violence

against children. As discussed above, implementation of children’s rights law
requires full recognition of children’s personhood. To create not only more child-
friendly law but also foster more child rights supportive attitudes and behaviors
among adults will require a sustained, integrated commitment to children’s rights
and well-being. Building rights-respecting communities, in which violence against
children does not occur, will necessitate the teaching of tolerance and respect for
human rights of others. In this regard, Article 29 of the CRC may hold one of the
keys to meaningfully advancing children’s rights. It states that education “shall be
directed to . . . the development of respect for human rights . . . and in the spirit of
understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all
peoples. . .” (UNCRC 1989, Art. 29).
Human rights education can play a key role in fostering tolerance and reducing
violence (Howe and Covell 2005). Human rights education encompasses not only
teaching about human rights norms and enforcement mechanisms but also
instructing and learning in a way that respects the rights of students and teachers
and empowering individuals to exercise their rights and respect others’ rights (U.N.
Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training, Art. 2(2)). Human rights
education has been shown to lead to a decrease in harmful behaviors among youth.
For example, in Belgium and Canada, human rights education programs led to a
decrease in bullying because children learned to respect the rights of others and
because it showed children that each had value and encouraged them to “command
respect [from peers] and assert their rights” (Howe and Covell 2005, p. 148). Adults,
too, should be exposed to human rights education and educated on the rights of the
child, as the CRC requires (Article 42), for they are most often the perpetrators of
violence against children and are arguably best positioned to help secure children’s
rights.
Although violence against children demands immediate action, the entrenchment
of attitudes and behaviors that promote violence against children calls for the
simultaneous development of sustainable, long-term solutions. Human rights edu-
cation would appear to be a key component of any sustainable response.

8 Conclusion

In their day-to-day lives, children confront violence in homes, schools, and the
community. Despite this present reality, violence against children is preventable.
To end the various cycles of violence, important steps are needed. Children’s rights
Violence, Exploitation, and the Rights of the Child 19

law provides a framework for addressing violence against children, but it can be
strengthened, including by developing more robust legal frameworks for the pre-
vention of harm to children – at the international, national, and local levels. Aspects
of culture that tolerate or promote violence against children must be confronted
thoughtfully and with sensitivity. Due respect must be given to culture, but that
respect should not mean remaining silent in the face of child suffering. Finally,
governments and civil society need to build from the ground up to create rights-
respecting communities. Human rights education can play an important role.
Ultimately, states must make a genuine commitment to the realization of chil-
dren’s rights, as children’s rights law provides a framework through which societies
can address violence and its root causes. As the Committee on the Rights of the
Child explains, “[a] child rights approach is holistic and places emphasis on
supporting the strengths and resources of the child him/herself and all social systems
of which the child is a part: family, school, community, institutions, religious and
cultural systems” (CRC/C/GC/13 2011, para 59). Though the task of confronting
violence against children is significant, it is a challenge that must be accepted.
Indifference must cease to be an option.

9 Notes

There is a growing body of research on violence against children from a breadth of

disciplines, including anthropology, child development, children’s rights, law, med-
icine, psychology, public health, neuroscience, sociology, and other fields. No list of
resources will capture every available resource. However, the following three enti-
ties offer excellent resources on current research and action on violence against
children: (a) the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against
Children (http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/), which provides information on
the work of the Special Rapporteur, current initiatives to address violence against
children, and links to relevant research reports; (b) the Global Partnership to End
Violence against Children (http://www.end-violence.org/), which provides informa-
tion on its efforts to build a global addressing to violence against children and
includes materials on current strategies for preventing and responding to violence
against children; and the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, which includes a
variety of research reports on violence against children in various countries (https://
www.unicef-irc.org/research/274/).

References
A v. United Kingdom (1998) 2 FLR 959 (ECHR), 23 Sept 1998
African [Banjul] Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, adopted June 27, 1981, O.A.U. Doc.
CAB/LEG/67/3 rev. 5, 21 ILM 58 (1982)
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990) OAU Doc CAB/LEG/249/49
Alston P, Quinn G (1987) The nature and scope of states parties’ obligations under the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Human Rights Q 9:156–229
20 J. Todres

American Convention on Human Rights, Nov. 22, 1969, 1144 U.N.T.S. 123,9 I.L.M. 673 (entered
into force July 18, 1978)
American Psychological Association’s Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls (2010) Report of
the APA task force on the sexualization of girls. American Psychological Association, Wash-
ington, DC
Baird N (2011) To ratify or not to ratify? An assessment of the case for ratification of international
human rights treaties in the Pacific. Melbourne J Int Law 12:249–289
Bales K et al (2004) Free the Slaves & Human Rights Center. University of California, Berkeley.
Hidden Slaves: Forced Labor in the United States, available at http://hrc.berkeley.edu/pdfs/
hiddenslaves_report.pdf. Accessed 15 Dec 2016
Balos B (2004) The wrong way to equality: privileging consent in the trafficking of women for
sexual exploitation. Harvard Women’s Law J 27:137–175
Bond J (2003) International intersectionality: a theoretical and pragmatic exploration of women’s
international human rights violations. Emory Law J 52:71–186
Brown DW, Anda RF, Felitti VJ et al (2010) Adverse childhood experiences are associated with the
risk of lung cancer: a prospective cohort study. BMC Public Health 10:20
Charlesworth H, Chinkin C, Wright S (1991) Feminist approaches to international law. Am J Int
Law 85(4):613–645
Child Rights International Network (CRIN) (n.d.) A v. United Kingdom. https://www.crin.org/en/
library/legal-database/v-united-kingdom-0. Accessed 4 Sept 2017
Council of Europe (2009) The Council of Europe Policy guidelines on integrated national strategies
for the protection of children from violence, available at http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/
sites/default/files/political_declarations/COERecommendationprotectionofchildrenENG.pdf.
Last accessed 2 Sept 2017
Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and
Sexual Abuse, Oct 25, 2007, CETS No 201
Crenshaw K (1991) Mapping the margins: intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against
women of color. Stanford Law Rev 43:1241–1299
Cuddy E, Reeves RV (2014) Hitting Kids: American parenting and physical punishment, The
Brookings Institution, at https://www.brookings.edu/research/hitting-kids-american-parenting-
and-physical-punishment/. Accessed 15 Dec 2016
de Haan W (2008) Violence as an essentially contested concept. In: Body-Gendrot S, Spierenburg P
(eds) Violence in Europe: historical and contemporary perspectives. Springer, New York
Dong M, Giles WH, Felitti VJ et al (2004) Insights into causal pathways for ischemic heart disease:
adverse childhood experiences study. Circulation 110(13):1761–1766
Dottridge M (2008) Young people’s voices on child trafficking: experiences from South Eastern
Europe, (UNICEF Innocenti Research Ctr., Working Paper No. IWP-2008–05), available at
http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/iwp_2008_05.pdf
Ely-Yamin A (1993) Empowering visions: toward a dialectical pedagogy of human rights. Hum
Rights Q 15(4):640–685
European Convention on Human Rights (1950) 213 U.N.T.S. 222
Felitti VJ, Anda RF, Nordenberg D, Williamson DF, Spitz AM, Edwards V, Koss MP, Marks JS
(1998) Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading
causes of death in adults: the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. Am J Prev Med 14
(4):245–258
Finkelhor D, Turner HA, Shattuck A, Hamby SL (2015) Prevalence of childhood exposure to
violence, crime, and abuse: results from the national survey of children’s exposure to violence.
JAMA Pediatr 69(8):746–754. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.0676
Freeman-Longo R (1997) Reducing sexual abuse in America: legislating tougher laws or public
education and prevention. New England J Crim Civil Confinement 23:303–331
Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children (2016) Global progress towards
prohibiting all corporal punishment. http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/assets/pdfs/legal
ity-tables/Global-progress-table-commitment.pdf. Accessed 15 Dec 2016
Violence, Exploitation, and the Rights of the Child 21

Greenbaum J, Crawford-Jakubiak JE, Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect (2015) Child sex
trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation: health care needs of victims. Pediatrics 135
(3):566–574
Hillis S, Mercy J, Amobi A et al (2016) Global prevalence of past-year violence against children: a
systematic review and minimum estimates. Pediatrics 137(3):e20154079
Howe RB, Covell K (2005) Empowering children: children’s rights education as a pathway to
citizenship. University of Toronto Press, Toronto
Human Rights Committee (2014) General Comment No. 35: Article 9 (Liberty and security of
person). U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/GC/35
ILO Convention No. 182 Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of
the Worst Forms of Child Labour, 2133 U.N.T.S. 161 (1999)
Institute of Medicine and National Research Council (2013) Confronting commercial sexual
exploitation and sex trafficking of minors in the United States. The National Academies
Press, Washington, DC
International Commission of Jurists (1997) Maastricht guidelines on violations of economic, social
and cultural rights, Jan 22–26, 1997 (United Nations)
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) U.N. Doc. A/6316
International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (1966) U.N. Doc. A/6316
Irons J (2009) Economic scarring: the long-term impacts of the recession, Economic Policy
Institute, Sept 30, 2009. http://www.epi.org/publication/bp243/. Accessed 15 Dec 2016
Ismayilova L, Gaveras E, Blum A, Tô-Camier A, Nanema R (2016) Maltreatment and mental health
outcomes among ultra-poor children in Burkina Faso: a latent class analysis. PLoS One 11(10):
e0164790. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0164790
Kilkelly U (2005) Strengthening the framework for enforcing children’s rights: an integrated
approach. In: Ensalaco M, Majka LC (eds) Children’s human rights: progress and challenges
for children worldwide. Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Lenzer G (2015) Violence against children. In: Vandenhole W, Desmet E, Reynaert D, Lembrechts
S (eds) Routledge international handbook of children’s rights studies. Routledge, London
McNeal GS Adrian Peterson’s indefensible abuse of A 4-year-old likely violates Texas Law. Forbes,
Sept 16, 2014. http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregorymcneal/2014/09/16/adrian-petersons-inde
fensible-abuse-of-a-4-year-old-likely-violates-texas-law/#e348dc81b8c1. Accessed 15 Dec
2016
Molnar BE, Buka SL, Kessler RC (2001) Child sexual abuse and subsequent psychopathology:
results from the National Comorbidity Survey. Am J Public Health 91(5):753–760
Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, Plan
International, Save the Children International (2014) Why children’s protection from violence
should be at the heart of the post-2015 development agenda: a review of consultations on the
post-2015 development agenda. http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/sites/default/files/publi
cations_final/why_childrens_protection_from_violence_should_be_at_the_heart_of_%20the_
post_2015_development_agenda.pdf. Accessed 9 Dec 2016
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in
Armed Conflict, G.A. Res. 54/263, U.N. Doc. A/RES/54/263 (May 25, 2000)
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child
Prostitution, and Child Pornography, G.A. Res. 54/263, U.N. Doc A/RES/54/263 (May 25,
2000)
Oram S, Zimmerman C (n.d.) The health of persons trafficked for forced labour. Global Eye on
Human Trafficking, 4: 4, at https://www.iom.int/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/
mainsite/projects/showcase_pdf/global_eye_fourth_issue.pdf. Accessed 9 Dec 2016
Pinheiro PS (2006a) Report of the independent expert for the United Nations study on violence
against children, U.N. Doc. A/61/299
Pinheiro PS (2006b) World report on violence against children. United Nations, Geneva
22 J. Todres

Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children,
supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, G.A.
Res. 55/25, U.N. Doc. A/RES/55/25, 2237 UNTS 319 (Nov 15, 2000)
Romans S, Belaise C, Martin J, Morris E, Raffi A (2002) Childhood abuse and later medical
disorders in women: an epidemiological study. Psychother Psychosom 71(3):141–150
Rylko-Bauer B, Farmer P (2016) Structural violence, poverty, and social suffering. In: Brady D,
Burton LM (eds) The oxford handbook of the social science of poverty. Oxford University
Press, New York, pp 47–74
Thomas S (2011) Interview of professor Kimberlé Crenshaw. In: Ralph Lindgren J, Taub N,
Wolfson BA, Palumbo CM (eds) The law of sex discrimination. Cengage Learning, Boston
Todres J (2011a) Mainstreaming children’s rights in post-disaster settings. Emory Int Law Rev
25:1233–1126
Todres J (2011b) Moving upstream: the merits of a public health law approach to human trafficking.
North Carolina Law Rev 89(2):447–506
Todres J (2014) A child rights framework for addressing trafficking of children. Michigan State Int
Law Rev 22:557–593
Todres J (2017) Children’s rights and women’s rights: interrelated and interdependent. In: Ruck M,
Peterson-Badali M, Freeman M (eds) Handbook of children’s rights: global and multi-
disciplinary perspectives. Routledge, New York
U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and U.N. Committee on the
Rights of the Child (2014) Joint general recommendation No. 31 of the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women/General Comment No. 18 of the Committee on
the Rights of the Child on Harmful Practices. U.N. Doc. CEDAW/C/GC/31-CRC/C/GC/18
U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child (2003) General Comment No 5: General measures of
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (arts 4, 42, and 44, para 6) UN Doc
CRC/GC/2003/5 (November 27, 2003)
U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006) General Comment No. 8: The right of the child to
protection from corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment (arts. 19;
28, para 2; and 37, inter alia). U.N. Doc. CRC/C/GC/8
U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child (2009) General Comment 12: The Right of the Child to
Be Heard, U.N. Doc. CRC/C/GC/12, available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/
docs/AdvanceVersions/CRC-C-GC-12.pdf. Accessed 15 Dec 2016
U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child (2011) General Comment No. 13: The right of the child
to freedom from all forms of violence, U.N Doc CRC/C/GC/13 (April 18, 2011)
U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child (2015) Concluding observations on the combined
second to fourth periodic reports of Brazil. U.N. Doc. CRC/C/BRA/CO/2-4
U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child (2016) Concluding observations on the second periodic
report of South Africa. U.N. Doc. CRC/C/ZAF/CO/2
U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child (2017a) Concluding observations on the combined
second and third periodic reports of Serbia. U.N. Doc. CRC/C/SRB/CO/2-3
U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child (2017b) General Comment No. 21 on children in street
situations, U.N Doc CRC/C/GC/21 (June 21, 2017)
U.N. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
G.A. res. 39/46, annex, 39 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 51) at 197, U.N. Doc. A/39/51 (1984)
U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) G.A. Res. 44/25, U.N. GAOR, 44th Sess., Supp.
No. 49, U.N. Doc. A/Res/44/25
U.N. Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training, U.N General Assembly Res 66/137
(adopted 19 Dec 2011)
U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in persons report, 2013., at http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/
tiprpt/2013/. Accessed 9 Dec 2016
UNICEF Child Protection Monitoring and Evaluation Reference Group (2014) Measuring violence
against children: inventory and assessment of quantitative studies. UNICEF Division of Data,
Research and Policy, New York
Violence, Exploitation, and the Rights of the Child 23

United Nations (2015) The 2030 agenda for sustainable development: sustainable development
goals, available at https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs. Accessed 2 Sept 2017
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (2014) Hidden in plain sight: a statistical analysis of
violence against children. UNICEF, New York
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and The World Bank, Ending extreme poverty: a focus
on children, October 2016., available at https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Ending_
Extreme_Poverty_A_Focus_on_Children_Oct_2016.pdf. Accessed 15 Dec 2016
United Nations General Assembly (1986) Indivisibility and interdependence of economic, social,
cultural, civil and political rights, GA Res 41/117, UN Doc A/Res/41/117 (Dec 4, 1986)
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), G.A. Res. 217A, U.N. GAOR, 3d Sess., 1st plen.
mtg., U.N. Doc A/810 (Dec. 12, 1948)
Van Bueren G (1995) The international law on the rights of the child. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers,
Dordrecht
Waisman V (2010) Human trafficking: state obligations to protect victims’ rights, the current
framework and a new due diligence standard. Hastings Int Comp Law Rev 33:385–430
Wilkins N, Tsao B, Hertz M, Davis R, Klevens J (2014) Connecting the dots: an overview of the
links among multiple forms of violence. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Prevention Institute, Atlanta/Oakland
Wirtz AL, Carmen Alvarez C, Guedes CA et al (2016) Violence against children in Latin America
and Caribbean countries: a comprehensive review of national health sector efforts in prevention
and response. BMC Public Health 16:1006. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3562-3
Woodhouse B (1992) Who owns the child?: Meyer and Pierce and the child as property. Wm Mary
L Rev 33:995–1122
World Conference on Human Rights, June 14–25, 1993, Vienna declaration and programme of
action, UN Doc A/Conf 157/24 (Oct 13, 1993)
World Health Organization (2001) Prevention of child abuse and neglect: making the links between
human rights and public health, at https://www.crin.org/en/docs/resources/treaties/crc.28/
WHO1.pdf. Accessed 21 Nov 2016
World Health Organization (2014) Global status report on violence prevention 2014. WHO, Geneva
World Health Organization (2016) INSPIRE: seven strategies for ending violence against children.
WHO, Geneva
Yu PK (2007) Ten common questions about intellectual property and human rights. Ga State Univ
Law Rev 23:709–753