Ariticle19Protection from violence
- States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child.
- Such protective measures should, as appropriate, include effective procedures for the establishment of social programmes to provide necessary support for the child and for those who have the care of the child, as well as for other forms of prevention and for identification, reporting, referral, investigation, treatment and follow-up of instances of child maltreatment described heretofore, and, as appropriate, for judicial involvement.
Article 19 provides for the protection of children who are being abused by their parents (legal guardians). “Abuse” as defined in this Article can be categorized into four main types below.
| Physical Abuse | Punching, kicking, hitting, throwing down, violently shaking, burning, drowning, strangling, restraining a room with a rope, etc. |
|---|---|
| Sexual Abuse | Sexual activities with the child, showing sexual acts, touching or causing to be touched genitals, making the child the subject of pornography, etc. |
| Neglect | Confining the child to the house, not feeding the child, leaving the child severely unclean, leaving the child in the car, not taking the child to the hospital even if the child is seriously ill, etc. |
| Mental/Psychological Abuse | Verbal threats, ignoring, discriminatory treatment between siblings, violence against family members in front of the child (domestic violence: DV), abuse toward siblings, etc. |
In Japan, notifying the Child Guidance Center or other authorities of such abuse leads to an investigation and discovery of the abuse.