- They warn about the increase in cases of violence against girls, boys and adolescents during the period of confinement in Ecuador.
- During the mandatory quarantine, there were: 7 homicides, 10 suicides, 31 cases of rape and 34 of sexual abuse against girls and boys in Ecuador. Alex- Ecuador.
They suggest that states implement public policies that guarantee the rights of children during the post-COVID-19 pandemic.
According to data from the United Nations Children's Fund, 1 in 2 girls, boys and adolescents in urban areas and 8 in 10 in rural areas do not have water and hygiene supplies to avoid the spread of the COVID-19 virus [1]; likewise, only 37% of households have an internet connection; that is, 6 out of 10 girls and boys cannot exercise their right to education during the pandemic. [2]
In this context, the Social Movement for the Defense of the Rights of Children, Adolescents and Youth of Ecuador, in coordination with the initiative #Weaving NetsChildhood, the Parliamentary Group for Children, Adolescents and Youth of the Ecuador National Assembly, the Indoamérica University and Word Vision; Within the framework of the #NiñezPriemero strategy, they held the webinar: "Post-pandemic challenges in Ecuadorian childhood issues."
In the session, the experts spoke about the situation of children and adolescents in Ecuador, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the guarantee of their rights and the need to implement strategies that respond to the problems that worsened during the pandemic.
In this regard, Alex, an adolescent representing the Voz Ayuda Collective and the Advisory Council for Children of Tungurahua, indicated that during the quarantine there were 7 homicides, 10 suicides, 31 cases of rape and 34 of sexual abuse against girls and boys; Therefore, he called on the states to implement public policies that guarantee the rights of children during and after the pandemic. “We have wondered what will become of us after the pandemic (…) children are dying from preventable diseases and they have closed the doors to us to speak and participate; we are afraid that there will be a setback and not an advance on rights issues ”.
Likewise, Amapola Naranjo, Assembly Member, Member of the Parliamentary Group for the Guarantee of the Rights of Girls, Boys, Adolescents and Young People, added that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 250 thousand people among parents or caregivers lost their jobs; Likewise, the 60% of families that live from informal jobs do not have income to cope with confinement, a situation that affects the rights of children. "It is not a question of putting in place a law, deep processes must be carried out, the state must put political will and also a budget to address social problems."
Similarly, Carlos Bergam, Assemblyman of Manabí, added that only the 17% of the population of the rural area has internet access; urged the state and other representatives to propose bills that guarantee free internet access to benefit girls and boys from distant provinces or places; "It is our obligation to promote actions that guarantee the rights of children and adolescents (...) for us, youth is not the future, it is the present of the country."
Similarly, Milton Rocha, Coordinator of the Legal Laboratory of the Indoamérica University, specified that there are no prevention plans with a plurinational and intercultural approach, contingency programs for the area of education and health; strategies to alleviate poverty, participation spaces for children and adolescents or for civil society and the population as a whole, "The look at childhood is not only to say what they can do and what they should do, but childhood also tells us that we are doing well and that we are doing wrong in society."
In this regard, Norberto Liwski, former vice president of the UN Rights Committee, pointed out that before the pandemic, Latin America faced problems of poverty, inequality and violence; situation that tends to worsen with the advance of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In that sense, Liwski stressed the importance of applying public policies that guarantee access to health, food, life and education. "Our girls, boys and adolescents in the region must feel that their daily lives with or without a health emergency are protected by the public policies that governments were obliged to follow when they ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child."
Regarding the above, Juan Martín Pérez García, Coordinator of the #TejiendoRedesInfancia initiative in Latin America and the Caribbean, pointed out that in order to guarantee compliance with children's rights, states must strengthen national protection systems, allocate a budget to children's issues , implement programs for access to education, generate spaces for participation so that the opinion of girls and boys is taken into account, establish mechanisms to fight corruption, among others; "The normality where we come from was based on inequality, on a macho, patriarchal, classist, racist and other culture (...) we have to invest in girls and boys".
Francisco Cevallos, CNII Secretary, also indicated that the pandemic made visible the fragility of health and educational systems, the difficulties that states have in responding to these problems and the ineffectiveness of protection systems; In this sense, Cevallos emphasized the importance of generating comprehensive public policies that address education, health, social protection, emotional care, and human mobility. "This confronts us with a new system for the protection of rights that is close, flexible, that adapts to local realities, of the territories, of the people, that is participatory."
Regarding this last point, Nicolás Arizaga, expert in International Cooperation and Cross-Border Conflicts, specified that the participation of girls and boys is important to generate changes in childhood and adolescence; in addition to conducting an evaluation of current public policies to avoid violating the rights of children again.
Finally, Nicky Bravo, representative of the Social Movement for the Defense of the Rights of Children, Adolescents and Youth of Ecuador, added that the main challenge for states, after the COVID-19 pandemic, is to guarantee the participation of girls and boys. children, for being a right and for becoming the pillar of a change in structure; “The participation of girls and boys has not been guaranteed because most of the spaces are concentrated in cities like Quito, Guayaquil or others; rural sectors do not participate in the construction of regulations; after the pandemic, we must think about what to do to guarantee it ", he concluded.
Watch the broadcast here:
[1] UNICEF/ How to guarantee children's rights in the context of COVID-19.
[2] 2018 ICT Multipurpose Survey Ecuador /
Press contact: Verónica Morales, Regional Communication Officer / [email protected]
About:
#NiñezPrimero is a strategy that provides guidance for the care of children and adolescents in emergency situations.
#TejiendoRedesInfancia, is a project co-financed by the European Union that seeks to contribute to the strengthening and consolidation of a platform for the defense of children and adolescents in 19 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of Children's Rights Mexico AC/ #TejiendoRedesInfancia and in no case should you consider that it reflects the views of the European Union. The video is available in HD, please request it directly.