GMA declares war on child abuse

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has signed Proclamation 1137 declaring “Child Abuse Prevention Year” until October 2007, making the Philippines the first country to issue such a declaration. “It is time to take concrete actions nationwide to stop the threats to the health and welfare of our children,” Mrs. Arroyo said during the launching of the year-long program at the Asilo de San Vicente de Paul in Manila yesterday. Based on recent studies done by the University of the Philippines-Child Protection Unit and the Philippine Resource Network, more than 1.5 million Filipino children live on the streets, begging for food and often engaged in criminal activity with a third being prostituted. Another 3.5 million children from 5 to 17 years old are forced to work despite a legislation outlawing child labor.

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Pipe Creek man gets life for child abuse

A Pipe Creek man who admitted sexually abusing five children has been sentenced to three life terms, plus four 20-year sentences, in what prosecutor Lucy Cavazos called one of the longest sentences handed down in the 216th District Court. John Robben Sr., 33, was due to stand trial in Bandera last Thursday but instead pleaded guilty and was sentenced by Judge Steve Ables. Cavazos said Robbens won't be eligible for parole for 120 years. The three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, which drew the life terms, and four counts of indecency concerned his abuse of three children younger than 8, Cavazos said, adding that Robben admitted during a pre-sentencing investigation to sexually assaulting two other youngsters. .

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US Leads World in Child-Abuse Sites

The United States overwhelmingly leads the world in hosting child abuse Web sites, according to a new survey by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF). The U.K.-based IWF claims over the last decade the U.S. is the source of 51 percent of sites featuring examples of child abuse, followed by Russia (20 percent), Spain (7 percent) and Japan (5 percent). Only 1.6 percent of the reported sites over the same period were traced to the U.K., a reflection of the different policies between the United States and the U.K. In the U.S., law enforcement officials tend to let child-abuse sites exist while conducting an investigation in hopes of not tipping off the site operators that an investigation is under way. The U.K., on the other hand, almost immediately issues a takedown notice when a site is discovered.

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Rwanda: Thousands Denounce Child Abuse

In one week campaign against child abuse, thousands of residents in Muhanga District filled the stadium to denounce the vice, in the province last week. The campaign was organised by African Evangelistic Enterprises (A.E.E); a Christian based organisation in Rwanda. Parents and pupils chanted and displayed out placards reminding all people to protect the children from all sorts of violence and abuse. "We (children) cannot allow any more child abuse. We need a better future. Parents should respect the Rwandan child," pupils from eleven primary schools chanted: "Give the children a right to education, stop child abuse, and protect all vulnerable children." .

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Child Abuse Lawsuit Creates Immigration Waves

(CBS) CHICAGO A child abuse lawsuit aimed at helping illegal immigrants stay in the country is creating some waves. Some people believe the lawsuit in support a Chicago mother and her son misses a critical point, and CBS 2's Rob Johnson reports that others believe it's right on target.The immigration debate has become one of America's most pressing issues. The latest salvo fired came last week with the filing of a class action lawsuit on behalf of children like 7-year-old Saul Arellano, whose mother Elvira is hunkered down in a Humboldt Park church fighting deportation. The suit names President Bush and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, among others, and claims that such deportations are a form of child abuse."They should be able to live in this country with their parents and that is not happening," said Emma Lozano with the Center Without Borders.That strategy, says CBS 2 legal analyst Irv Miller, is a long shot."It's probably not going to be a class action, which is what the mom and the child want it to be to gain the notoriety," Miller said.But UIC child psychiatry professor Dr.

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Researchers find child abuse common in foster families

ELEANOR HALL: As the Victorian Government grapples with a damning report on the abuse of children in foster care, child protection researchers say de-institutionalisation around the nation has failed. Monash University's National Research Centre for the Prevention of Child Abuse says there are hundreds of cases of abuse in foster care every year in Australia, and it's advocating an expansion of Government-run homes to help solve the problem. As Annie Guest reports. ANNIE GUEST: Researchers say states are failing to protect children, demonstrated by increasingly frequent reports of abuse and workers complaining they're unable to cope. Monash University's National Research Centre for the Prevention of Child Abuse wants a national approach including more child protection workers and earlier support for young families.

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Charity urges end to child abuse

Children's charity the NSPCC has urged the Government to introduce a broader range of measures to prevent the sexual abuse of children. The call comes in the same month the Home Office is due to publish its latest reports giving the number of sex and violent offenders supervised in the UK. The annual reports show how many of these offenders in England and Wales are monitored by police and probation officers under 42 local Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPAS). The NSPCC say weaknesses in sex offender management could leave children at risk and the Government needs to ensure agencies act together to protect every child. NSPCC director and chief executive Mary Marsh said: "There is real public concern about how well children are protected from sex offenders in the community and the NSPCC believes the Government is right to tackle this.

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