Report on the coordination and cooperation of integrated child protection systems

Date: 18th August 2015
Category: Protection from abuse or neglect, Disability, Basic Health and Welfare

The 9th European Forum on the Rights of the Child took place in June 2015 and aimed to foster the exchange of good practices, to facilitate connections at inter-sectoral and inter-agency level (both nationally and transnationally), and to promote more effective cooperation and coordination in integrated child protection systems. A report of the Forum is now available.

The number of child victims of violence in the EU remains high. The causes of this persistent violence are manifold. Socially or culturally accepted forms of violence against children constitute deeply entrenched barriers in the EU, where to date, for example, only 19 EU Member States have prohibited corporal punishment of children in all settings.

The prevalence of violence against children warrants concerted efforts to prevent it and ensure full prohibition and elimination. All countries in the EU face national, transnational and crossborder challenges. A background paper for the Forum clarified the EU role and instruments available, taking a child rights approach, to address the protection of children from all forms of violence in the EU.

Forum participants (including Together and Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People) were invited to explore how they (and the EU) can contribute to optimising coordination and cooperation in integrated child protection systems.