Regarding presentation of findings of this research, the Delegation of the Parliament of Montenegro to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the UNICEF Office in Montenegro organised a press conference today in the Parliament of Montenegro, which was attended by numerous media representatives. The following spoke at the press conference: Head of Delegation of the Parliament of Montenegro to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Mr Zoran Vukčević, PhD; Head of the UNICEF Office in Montenegro, Mr Benjamin Perks; Chairperson of the Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms Mr Halil Duković, MD; and Minister for Human and Minority Rights, Mr Suad Numanović, PhD.

In the beginning of the press conference, Mr Slobodan Živković, the UNICEF Social and Economic Policy Officer, presented the results of the research. He pointed out that the research had been conducted in cooperation with the IPSOS Agency in the period January – May 2013, on a representative sample of one thousand Montenegrin citizens. Analysing the obtained results, Mr Živković had shown the views of Montenegrin citizens on the corporal punishment of children, existence of sexual abuse in Montenegro, peer violence, as well as the role of the state and the society in punishing violence against children.

Pointing out that nowadays special attention must be paid to protection of children against violence, Head of Delegation of the Parliament of Montenegro to the PACE Mr Zoran Vukčević presented the fact that in Europe one child in five was a victim of violence, and only 10% of those cases had been legally prosecuted. The MP Vukčević pointed out that Montenegro was dedicated to solving this problem, by joining numerous conventions in this field, primarily the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Nowadays Montenegro is facing insufficiently informed citizens on violence against children, and the research that has been conducted in cooperation with UNICEF is one of the ways to raise awareness of the citizens and influence the state authorities to work more actively on protecting the lives of the youngest.

Chairperson of the Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms Mr Halil Duković, MD, pointed out that the Committee, within implementation of numerous activities in this field, had considered and accepted the Special Report on Child Begging in Montenegro, the Report on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Montenegro, and the Report on Abuse of Children via the Internet in Montenegro, and had forwarded their conclusions on these reports to the competent state institutions. He expressed hope that the results of the research that were presented that day would serve as a starting point for undertaking further activities by the competent state bodies, aimed at preventing and suppressing the problem of violence against children. 

Additionally, he pointed out that the Committee would continue to contribute to affirmation, promotion and protection of human rights and freedoms of all citizens of Montenegro, with special emphasis on the rights of the child.

Head of the UNICEF Office in Montenegro, Mr Benjamin Perks stated that violence was affecting both children and adults every day, leaving psychological consequences on their lives. According to data by the World Health Organisation, 150 million girls and 73 million boys have been exposed to sexual violence, and 1.3 million children today are victims of global trafficking. He pointed out that only a functional educational, social and health system could protect children from violence. Mr Perks expressed belief that the UNICEF campaign would contribute to raising awareness of citizens on the need to address this significant problem.

Minister for Human and Minority Rights, Mr Suad Numanović, PhD said that this research contributed significantly to the efforts of the state to provide a systematic answer to the problem of violence against children, pointing out that the Criminal Code defined violence in the family as a crime. The Government of Montenegro adopted the National Action Plan for Children 2013-2017, under which one of the specific goals was promotion of protection of children from all forms of violence. He also pointed out the insufficiently raised awareness of Montenegrin citizens on the existence of sexual or emotional violence in Montenegro, for which there need to be further efforts on this issue.

In the end of the press conference, a TV video was screened, which had been prepared by the UNICEF within its global campaign against violence against children.