The
situation
In the Russian Federation, children under 5 who are dying from violence and poisoning represent 8% of all under-5 deaths. The under-5 mortality rate is decreasing overall. Deaths due to violence and poisoning are decreasing at a slower rate (2 per 1,000 live births in 2002, UNICEF TransMONEE 2004 database).
Children
under 5 dying from poisoning and violence compared to all
causes,
per 1,000 live births (graph)
Statistics on street children are extremely contradictory and estimates range from 40,000 to 3.5 million in the Russian Federation. In 2001, the Ministry of Internal Affair’s Research Institute estimated that Moscow alone had 33,000 homeless children, an 18% increase over 1999. Many children who live on the streets have living parents and potential housing. A 2001 ILO survey of Moscow street children showed that only 8.9% defined themselves as homeless. Four out of 10 working street children in Moscow do not attend school, even part-time, and reject the idea of secondary education. Street children’s risky lifestyles expose them to alcohol and drug abuse, exploitation and HIV and sexually transmitted infections.
Russia has been a major source, transit and destination country for women and children trafficked for sexual exploitation to and from numerous countries in the Gulf States, Europe and North America. The country has also increasingly become a transit and destination country for labour trafficking, both from neighbouring countries and those of the former Soviet Union.
Regional Consultation for the UN Study on Violence Against Children
Online
resource package (English - French - Russian)
Protecting
children from violence, exploitation and abuse in the CEE/CIS
region
Source: unless specified, UNICEF TransMONEE 2004,
UNICEF press kit. |
