Violence is a crime against which everyone should fight, and the public taboo that hides this problem must be broken, it was said at the conference "Let's stop violence against children", which is organized with the support of the Telenor Foundation.
The head of the UNICEF Representative Office in Montenegro, Benjamin Perks, indicated that a deep, encouraging and caring relationship with parents is primarily important for a happy life and well-being, especially in the first thousand days of life, from conception to the second year of life.
"Violence and negative childhood experiences, including neglect, emotional, physical or sexual abuse or dysfunctional parenting, undermine that relationship with devastating consequences for each individual victim of violence, their community and society," Perks said.
As he said, negative experiences, violence and neglect are far more present than was ever assumed.
"Up to 40 percent of children grow up with a bad relationship with their parents, and only one fifth of children do not experience any kind of negative experiences in childhood," Perks said.
He pointed out that these negative experiences are often passed on from parent to child in an endless intergenerational cycle of pain, humiliation and despair with severe consequences for society.
"Even the most stubborn economist will tell you that the best investment of public funds is in early development, because on average, for every dollar invested, it brings a return of 17 dollars," said Perks.
According to him, it is increasingly understood that the way in which public policies approach early childhood is probably a better determinant of long-term prosperity and security than approaches in the fields of economics, justice and defense.
"Let's say loud and clear that we will finally break the public taboo that hides this problem and that we will talk about it openly, try to create strong and interconnected services that promote positive parenting and protection from violence and negative experiences throughout childhood, as well as that we will ensure that those who want to harm and exploit children come under the full force of the law," said Perks.
The Deputy Prime Minister for the Political System, Internal and Foreign Policy, Zoran Pažin, stated that the achieved level of children's rights in a society is the most authoritative indicator of the extent to which human freedoms and rights have been achieved.
Pazin recalled that the British writer, Charles Dirkens, said that children in their small worlds in which they realize their existence know nothing so well and feel nothing so strongly as injustice.
"I am convinced that this high-level conference is a step towards justice and forgiveness of injustice," said Pažin.
The head of the cooperation sector in the Delegation of the European Union in Montenegro, Andre Lis, said that no child should be allowed to live in fear, especially in their families.
As he said, the beginning of change comes with a change of consciousness through work with communities and decision makers.
"Violence is a crime against which we must all rise. "Every single person is responsible for changing their perception towards a society that values human rights and protects every individual," Lis said.
Pediatrician Nadine Berk Harris stated that a greater number of negative experiences in childhood lead to poorer health.
"For people who have more than four such experiences, they are 2,2 times more likely to develop heart disease than people with zero such experiences," Berk Harris said.
As she said, children with a score of four or more negative experiences in childhood are 12 times more likely to commit suicide.
The conference is organized as part of the global campaign on protecting children from violence, which Montenegro joined in July 2016.
The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness that non-violent child rearing does not mean encouraging permissive parenting.
Bonus video:
