NCJ Number
187523
Journal
Child Abuse Review Volume: 9 Issue: 6 Dated: November-December 2000 Pages: 427-438
Editor(s)
Margaret A. Lynch,
David Gough
Date Published
2000
Length
12 pages
Annotation
An effort is being made to develop indicators to measure the compliance of signature states with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the role of these indicators in the reporting process integral to the Convention is addressed.
Abstract
The Convention is the most extensively ratified human rights treaty in history, and countries that have ratified the Convention are required to submit periodic reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child. To ensure information in these reports is standardized, an effort is underway to identify key indicators to measure children's rights. This effort recognizes the significance of child maltreatment and considers both definitional and practical issues associated with measuring child maltreatment. The effort also considers the need for comparable prevalence data on child maltreatment and the use of child homicide as an indicator of extreme maltreatment. The authors conclude there is no valid measure that allows child maltreatment to be measured globally, but they indicate several positive steps can be taken to promote the awareness and the measurement of child maltreatment. These steps involve the use of such indicators as child mortality rates and completion of primary school education and consider physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. 20 references and 1 table