Madrid, June 13, 2024.- The Minister of Youth and Childhood, Sira Rego, warned today that child poverty is "a form of violence" against children, a problem that affects a third of boys and girls in Spain. Rego made this statement during the conference Government Initiatives for the Eradication of Violence Against Childhood and Adolescence.
Rego reminded that the child poverty rates in Spain are among the highest in the European Union. "The data indicates that being a girl, boy, or teenager in our country is a difficult task. Our society is not designed with a childhood perspective," she noted.
In response, the minister stressed the need to continue developing the tools provided by the Comprehensive Protection of Childhood and Adolescence against Violence Organic Law (LOPIVI), promoted by the progressive coalition Government.
Rego described the law as "a milestone in the history of Spain, resulting from the support and collaboration of various entities and associations in the country," which has profoundly transformed the paradigm of child protection in Spain. "Just as we have had a debate on violence against women, we need to have a debate on violence against children to expand rights and be a better society," she asserted.
The minister recalled Spain's international commitments to children's rights, especially the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and emphasized the need for laws and policies to reflect this perspective. "In our world, the laws we create are often made without considering children and adolescence," Rego stated.
The head of the Youth and Childhood department also addressed several critical issues the ministry is working on, including child poverty, mental health, and safety in digital environments. On the latter point, the minister highlighted the work being done by a committee of 50 experts to create "a generational agreement for the country to build safe digital environments".
In her speech, Rego also referred to violence in institutional and associative spaces, mentioning the Ombudsman’s report on abuse in the Church as an important path to follow. "Child protection in these spaces must be a priority," she insisted.
Another aspect addressed was vicarious violence, a form of violence that aims to cause suffering to women by harming their children. The minister assured that her department, in coordination with other ministries, is working on a package of measures to combat this issue.
Automatically translated with OpenAI from Spanish