Category: Children and Wellbeing

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Spaces, Solidarity, Solutions: Save the Children’s Engagement at Women Deliver 2023

Source: Save The Children

Completed mural at the end of the conference with messages of hope and ambition for women and girls. Christina Gordon/Save the Children

“Nothing for us without us!” Miriam, a 16-year-old girl from Zambia, along with two of her Rwandan peers sat on a stage of feminist researchers and development experts and proclaimed the importance of genuine participation of children in developing and instituting policies that affect their lives.  

The girls’ comments during Save the Children’s side event at Women Deliver provided concrete examples of what the conference sought to achieve: catalyze collective action to advance gender equality, hold leaders accountable, empower the feminist movement, and reframe who leads.   

Save the Children’s conference delegation of 25 staff, nine girl delegates, and three local partner organizations engaged in activities that created space for girls’ leadership, shared strategies for collective impact, and highlighted the work of local and feminist partners.  

Reframing Who Leads: Girls’ Leadership at WD2023 

Nine girls between the ages of 15 and 17 from Indonesia, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Zambia comprised Save the Children’s Girl Delegation. The girls provided remarks and facilitated conversations at numerous events throughout the week, contributing critical perspectives that are often overlooked at international conferences.    

Following the conference, Hasna from Indonesia shared:  

“One of my favorite moments in Women Deliver is the panel where Malala and Stacey Abrams are the speakers. When Stacey said that we girls have power, it boosted my confidence. Her words make me believe that as a child or teenager, we have power, and we are the key to the future.” 

Co-Creating Spaces with Local and Feminist Partners 

Save the Children dedicated space for partner organizations from Rwanda and Tanzania to join the conference and highlight their work in the conference expo: 

  • Ni Nyampinga, a locally-led organization based in Rwanda, uses gender-transformative programmes to provide young people, especially girls and young women, with the skills and knowledge to make informed decisions and reach their full potential. Ni Nyampinga Executive Director Flavia Mutamutega shared detailed information about the organization’s approach with conference participants during Save the Children’s side event. 

  • Haguruka is a Rwandan non-governmental organization that has been at the forefront of the fight for women’s and children’s rights in Rwanda. Haguruka works towards ensuring that women can claim their rights by empowering them and improving access to justice across the country. At Haguruka’s booth, representatives of the organization strengthened their connections with gender equality organizations and activists from around the world.  

  • Vision for Youth (V4Y) is a women- and youth-led organization based in Arusha, Northern Tanzania. V4Y is dedicated to empowering young people aged 15-35 to change their lives for a brighter future. V4Y projects focus on health, economic empowerment, and civic engagement. V4Y representatives shared examples of successful youth-led initiatives in Tanzania at multiple conference events. 

Focusing on Solutions: Save the Children’s Delegation in the Spotlight 

Save the Children uses Gender and Power (GAP) Analysis to examine, understand, and address inequalities that prevent children, their families, and communities from claiming their full and equal rights. Throughout the conference, Save the Children staff and girl delegates shared examples of programmes that address gender and other social inequalities and advocated for child-centered and justice-oriented approaches to advancing gender equality.  

1. Dr. Modupe Taiwo joined the stage with world leaders to share programme results from Save the Children Sierra Leone, including how Save the Children’s work has contributed to a 20% reduction in child, early and forced marriages (CEFMU) in project districts.  

2. During a side event hosted by Save the Children partner Procter and Gamble entitled, “Together We All Lead: A Generation of Action and Impact,” Hasna from Indonesia shared her experiences as part of Save the Children’s “We See Equal” programme. The programme seeks to unlock the potential of women and girls through access to education, business investment and leadership opportunities that ultimately help families, communities and economies thrive.  

3. Three Save the Children girl delegates facilitated roundtable discussions during a side event organized by the Adolescent Girls Investment Plan (AGIP), entitled “Where is the Money? Resourcing Adolescent Girls and Young Feminists.” During the discussions, adolescent girls, young feminist-led organizations, donors, researchers, and civil society organizations identified challenges, innovative solutions, and strategies to make funding more accessible for young feminist-led initiatives.  

4. On the final day of the conference, representatives from the Coalition of Feminists for Social Change (COFEM), Ni Nyampinga, and the ATHENA Network joined Save the Children staff on stage for an event entitled, “Who’s Got the Power? Feminist Approaches to Decolonizing How and What We Know.” Save the Children’s Global Senior Advisor for CEFMU Rahinatu Adamu Hussaini shared how Save the Children uses GAP Analysis to develop knowledge in collaboration with local communities to understand and address the root causes of CEFMU. Three girl delegates also shared their experiences of contributing their knowledge to inform high-level decision-making that affects their lives.  

Looking Ahead: Feminist Futures 

As a result of Women Deliver, Vision4Y Founder and Director Violet Ayoub said following the conference:

“May we break down the hurdles that stand in the way of progress, amplifying the voices of all women, and embracing intersectional feminism with each step forward. Together, we hold the power to reshape the world and create a future where gender equity flourishes.” 

Found this blog inspiring? Learn more about our work in ending child marriage.

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LEBANON: Calls for armed groups to vacate schools in Ein El Helwe Camp

Source: Save The Children

BEIRUT, 18 August 2023 – Armed groups must immediately cease their occupation of schools in Ein El Helwe Palestine refugee camp in the south of Lebanon, said Save the Children, after the facilities were damaged during recent fighting in the camp.  The camp has eight UNRWA schools that normally provide education for up to 6,000 children.   

Over three weeks of violence in Lebanon’s largest refugee camp has forced thousands of people to flee the camp which is home to up to 80,000 people, and many have been sheltering in nearby schools. 

Jennifer Moorehead, Save the Children’s Country Director in Lebanon, said: 

“Schools should be safe places of learning for children and communities and must be free from attacks at all times, including occupation by any armed individual. Learning cannot and should not be put aside in times of crisis; it is crucial to children’s protection, survival and their future.  Schools that are protected save lives. They guard children from injury and exploitation, alleviate the psychological impact of violence by offering routine and stability, provide an avenue for children to reach their full potential and, when conflict sensitive, contribute to peace. All children have the right to a safe education under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention for the Rights of the Child.   

“Attacks on schools and other education facilities are classified as a grave violation committed against children. When schools are used for military purposes, children are unable to access education, the safety of the learning spaces is compromised, and schools are more likely to be targeted for further attacks. In last year’s report on Children in Armed Conflict issued by the UN, four verified cases of attacks on schools in Palestine refugee camps were documented, a significant increase on the [http://previous%20year/]previous year. This is a deeply concerning trend that must be monitored at the highest level and addressed immediately.   

“All parties must uphold and protect the civilian nature of schools, students, and education staff – and refrain from military-related use of educational facilities.”   

Note to editors   

Save the Children is implementing Education and Child Protection Programmes through an existing community centre and with local partners and camp-based volunteers. As an immediate response, Save the Children has started to provide hygiene emergency kits and mattresses to households affected by recent conflicts in the camp through our local partners, Developmental Action Without Borders (NABAA)). Save the Children is also working with Protection partners to provide immediate support to children impacted by the violence through providing training to the existing actors on PFA.   

Save the Children, in collaboration with its partner Nabaa, took proactive measures to address the immediate needs of displaced families in both Miye w Miye Camp and Sirup areas through the distribution of mattresses. In addition, SCI through its partner Nabaa supported the infrastructure in Askalan School to ensure the safety, dignity, and health of the displaced people through Installation of a Ceiling Fresh Air System, implementation of segregated shower mixers in separate toilet facilities for both male and female individuals, installation of additional water tanks, implementation of an Electrical Manual Transfer Switch  and electric water heater in Askalan School, and distribution of Drinking Water Gallons.   

ENDS

For more information, please contact:

Randa Ghazy, randa.ghazy@savethechildren.org / +44 7429 980 655

Out-of-hours: Media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44 7831 650 409

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MEDIA RELEASE: Strong Support For Age-Verification On Porn Sites – Poll

Source: Family First

MEDIA RELEASE

6 September 2023

Strong Support For Age-Verification On Porn Sites – Poll

A new poll has found significant support for pornography sites to have age-verification requirements.

In the independent polling commissioned by Family First NZ and carried out by Curia Market Research, 1,000 respondents were asked “Some people have proposed placing stricter age verification rules on pornography sites on the Internet to ensure children cannot access adult content online. This law would require porn sites to verify someone is 18 or older with a credit card or ID before they can access the site. Do you support or oppose this law?”

Almost 4 in 5 (79%) respondents support a law requiring age verification on porn sites, with just 11% (1 in 10) opposing it.

Females were more supportive than men (84% v 73%), but support was strong across political party affiliation.

A poll in 2017 also found high levels of concern around the effects of online pornography and its link to sexual violence, and the easy access that young people have to offensive material. It also found significant support for action from government and internet providers in terms of filtering and Opt-Out provisions.

“Thanks to the availability, affordability and anonymity of the internet and smartphones, young children are exposed to what used to be referred to as hard-core – but now mainstream – pornography at an alarming rate. Parents are crying out for help,” says Bob McCoskrie, CEO of Family First NZ.

“And the research is revealing the true picture. Youth with greater pornography exposure have been found more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviour at a young age, view women as sex objects and develop attitudes that support violence against women, believe “rape myths” – beliefs that justify or defend rape, have increasingly aggressive behavioural tendencies including increased interest in coercing partners into unwanted sex acts, and experience increased difficulty in developing intimate relationships with partners and decreased erectile function.”

France, Germany, UK, Louisiana and Utah have rolled out age verification systems.

For those who argue against age-verification, we already have age checks on other sites (e.g. Kiwi Access Card and RealMe).

Australian campaigner Melinda Tankard Reist identifies the urgent need for this legislation – both in Australia and also here in New Zealand.

“There are currently no barriers to prevent child from entering rape, sadism, torture porn and incest sites.  As a result of this harmful experiment on the sexual development of children, many are acting out in sexually inappropriate ways, becoming copycat predators… We tell boys to respect girls, but porn – the world’s biggest department of education – teaches them the opposite. They are taught to see sex and aggression as linked. An age verification system would complement other strategies the Government, educational, and community groups are undertaking to help limit harms of explicit content. While not a ‘fix-all’, proof-of-age requirements would provide a much-needed layer of protection for children vulnerable to the predatory porn industry.”

“Today’s pornography teaches boys to be users, to be aggressive, and it tries to persuade girls that they are to be used. Initial studies show that the adolescent brain is more sensitive to sexually explicit material than adult brains. A review of 19 studies found that adolescents who view online pornography are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors and to have anxiety or depression, and more likely to commit sexual violence,” says Bob McCoskrie, CEO of Family First NZ who sponsored a petition to Parliament in 2017.

“Society is starting to catch up with the science on the harms of pornography. There has been an important national conversation around consent and ‘rape culture’. At the same time, there is increasing consumption and availability of online pornography and sexual violence. It’s time we connected the dots.”

The Ministry of Health, in its submission to the Select Committee considering the 22,334-written petition admitted that “the content of pornography has changed significantly over the last 20 years and has become more extreme, deviant and violent.” It also acknowledged that “violence towards women and girls is depicted in 80% of online content. This has a variety of harmful impacts on children and young people’s sexual expectations, attitudes, and behaviour.”

READ THE FULL POLLING RESULTS

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The international community must not turn its back on hungry children in Afghanistan as 2 million people lose food assistance – Save the Children

Source: Save The Children

 Multimedia content available here

KABUL, 6 September 2023 – The United Nations’ World Food Programme has announced it will drop another two million people from food assistance in Afghanistan, as the country faces its third consecutive year of a devastating drought that is putting food and water out of reach, said Save the Children.

Arshad Malik, Save the Children Country Director in Afghanistan, is calling on the international community to uphold their obligations to the people in Afghanistan. He said:

“Children and their families in Afghanistan are at breaking point after years of drought and economic crisis. In a recent survey we conducted in some provinces, three-quarters of children (76.1%) said they were eating less than they were last year, and we found that more and more children are being pushed into unsafe situations like child labour as their families struggle to cope.

“As international governments gather in Brussels next week to discuss Afghanistan , we call on them to uphold their obligations and commitments to the people of Afghanistan.  It is genuinely frightening to think about what further misery these cuts will inflict on children. Now is not the time to walk away.  More funding is needed, not less. Without more money the aid response will be crippled, meaning more hungry, malnourished and sick children.  Time is running out for the children of Afghanistan.  The international community must act to stop  more children being pushed from hunger crisis into catastrophe.”

Children in Afghanistan like one-year-old Shayesta* are already suffering from a drastic lack of food, the result of a deadly combination of climate change and poverty. The drought has caused crops to fail, and most days her family survives on tea and bread.  Shayesta’s mother, Zahida*, told Save the Children:

“She (Shayesta) is very thin and has been ill for 40 days. One day she is fine and then sick for two days. She is very thin and not good. Even though she is weak I don’t want her to die. I am scared. I have already lost one child and I don’t want to lose my second child.”

Save the Children has worked in Afghanistan since 1976, including during periods of conflict, regime change, and natural disasters. It has programs in nine provinces and works with partners in an additional six provinces.

Since the Taliban regained control in August 2021, Save the Children has been scaling up its response to support the increasing number of children in need in areas that were previously inaccessible. Save the Children delivers health, nutrition, education, child protection, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene, and food security and livelihood support. Since September 2021, Save the Children has reached more than 4 million people, including 2.1 million children.

ENDS

* denotes name changed to protect identity

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Multimedia content here

We have spokespeople available in Afghanistan.

For interviews or more information, please contact:

Rachel Thompson, Asia Regional Media Manager: 

Rachel.Thompson@savethechildren.org  (GMT +7)

Emily Wight, Global Media Manager: 

Emily.Wight@savethechildren.org  (Based in London)

For out of hours media requests please email media@savethechildren.org.uk or call +44 (0) 7831 650409

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INDONESIA: Medicine and blankets air lifted to families in remote Central Papua after devastating cold snap

Source: Save The Children

TIMIKA, Indonesia, 5 September 2023 – About 8,000 peopleare in urgent need of food support in remote areas of Central Papua in eastern Indonesia, after large swathes of crops were destroyed by a combination of hailstorms, severe frost and drought linked to the global El Niño phenomenon, said Save the Children.  

The aid agency is working with partners in Puncak, the district most affected by the drought, distributing much-needed blankets, cold-weather clothes and medicines to families impacted by the climate shock.  

Puncak is a mountainous area in Papua which regularly experiences low temperatures but has been colder than usual this year with more days of severe frost.  As the area is extremely remote, aid can only be delivered via airlift. 

The unusual weather has contributed to the deaths of at least six people across Papua – including a baby – since June when, stable crops were severely damaged by hailstorms. The following months brought an unusual lack of rain, along with frosts, which has created food shortages in towns and villages.   

Children and their families are also finding it difficult to access clean drinking water as many natural sources have dried up due to the drought.  

The drought conditions in Papuaare being linked to the global El Niño phenomenon, which started to impact Indonesia in June. Nearly half of the country is expected to see below average rainfall in September, with conditions expected to peak in coming weeks, but the impact of the delayed rainy season will be felt for longer. Rice production across the country has fallen by 1.2 million tonnes or 5% this year.  

Fadli Usman, Humanitarian Director, Save the Children Indonesia, said:  

“Thousands of children urgently need support across Papua. After the hail and drought caused crops to fail, they need food, as well as clothes and blankets to protect them against the cold weather.  We have managed to reach some areas by plane, but there are still people in remote areas that need assistance. 

“Papua is already seeing the impact of El Nino, on top of the effects of the climate crisis. Children in Puncak not only need emergency help now – they need long term, sustainable solutions to protect them from the climate crisis.  

“Save the Children has teams on the ground in Papua providing immediate assistance and is continuing to work with local and national partners. The Indonesian Government is working hard to respond – but more needs to be done to help vulnerable children and their families.’   

Save the Children has been operating in Indonesia since 1976 and works across the country in humanitarian responses and programs linked to education, health and nutrition, child protection, and poverty.  In Puncak, Save the Children is working with local partners to distribute essential supplies, and is assessing the needs of children and their families on the ground in order to plan a further response. 

ENDS  

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We have spokespeople who have just returned from Papua available in Indonesia.   

For further enquiries please contact: 

Please also check our Twitter account @Save_GlobalNews for news alerts, quotes, statements and location Vlogs. 

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Developing a nexus between humanitarian assistance and development response. A social protection example from Colombia

Source: Save The Children

“One day they called me to tell me that I had benefited from the financial aid provided by Save the Children, that call was like a miracle for the whole family because we were going through a difficult time… I bought groceries to share with my daughters and grandchildren.” Patricia*

In the world of international cooperation, we constantly hear from within our organizations as well as from donors and other partners with whom we interact about the need to connect humanitarian aid with development response. However, we rarely find clear examples of how to move from one-off interventions during an emergency to sustainable, scaled-up responses to improve the well-being of our target populations.

During my recent visit to the Save the Children Colombia Office, I was able to witness concrete experiences of this nexus.

Given its proximity to Venezuela, Colombia is home to more than 2.5 million people who have left their country, according to the Inter-agency Coordination Platform for migrants and refugees from Venezuela (R4V), which makes it the country with the largest Venezuelan population in the region, and one of its most important arrival points is the area of La Guajira, as it is part of the border between the two countries.

The humanitarian situation for migrant populations in La Guajira has been going on for more than 4 years, which makes it necessary to think about medium-term and sustainable response strategies. Protracted crises as the Venezuelan migration expose the urgent need to effectively connect both humanitarian and development efforts. Social Protection represents an ideal mechanism to build this nexus, one that strengthens resilience and enables a transition into recovery and development.

Understood as all those public and private programmes that seek to prevent, reduce, and eliminate the socioeconomic vulnerabilities that lead to poverty during the life cycle, social protection acts both in regular times and during emergencies through instruments such as cash and in-kind transfers, social services and temporary employment programmes with the objective of mitigating the effects of shocks, and promoting the development of children and their families.

Under this scenario, in the area of La Guajira, Save the Children Colombia implements cash transfer programmes (CTP) for highly vulnerable migrant families with children, a critical humanitarian assistance to cover their most basic needs, but which is also complemented with other services such as a sexual and reproductive health unit, nutritional counseling, safe spaces for children’s learning, and case management and guidance for families in their migration processes in the country.

Patricia*, a beneficiary of one of the CTPs implemented by Save the Children Colombia and with whom I had the opportunity to talk during my visit, was extremely satisfied with these programmes, as they contributed to her livelihood in a new environment during the most difficult moments of her journey.

Patricia* and her family arrived in Colombia from Venezuela in 2019 seeking better life opportunities. However, the arrival in the country was far from easy, due to the lack of money, social networks and safety nets, and to the fact that their irregular status did not allow them to be formally employed to generate their own means of living. The cash transfer programme allowed them to purchase food, water, medicine and other basic goods for their children upon arrival. 

It was precisely through the case management and migration orientation services that complemented the CTPs that Patricia’s* family was able to benefit from the Temporary Protection Status for Venezuelan Migrants (ETPV), offered by the Colombian government from 2021 to 2022, which allowed them to have a regular migration status in the country. During national identification and registration campaigns, the Save the Children Colombia team accompanied migrant families participating in their CTPs to facilitate the registration process.

Once accessing the ETPV, people could be registered in the Identification System of Potential Beneficiaries of Social Programs (Sisbén), which is the prelude to access social protection and health programs and is one of the most complete and rigorous social registries in Latin America.

Indeed, due to Patricia’s family* vulnerable status, she told us that their Sisbén survey score, based on their socioeconomic characteristics, allowed them to access the Ingreso Solidario, a temporary social protection programme by the national government with the aim of mitigating the impacts of the emergency caused by Covid-19 for poor households.

The programme delivered monthly for almost 3 years the amount of $160,000 Colombian pesos (currently approximately $40 USD) to families whose Sisbén score ranked them as poor or extremely poor and who did not have access to other state programmes, yielding positive outcomes in terms of income, education, and food for the poorest people during the pandemic.

In addition, with their inclusion in the Sisbén, people also become part of the subsidized health regime, the mechanism through which the poorest population in the country, without the capacity to pay, has access to health services offered by the state.

Just as Patricia*, as a result of Save the Children Colombia’s support, many more Venezuelan families participating in La Guajira´s cash transfer programmes have been a concrete and fortunate example of how it is possible to move from one-off humanitarian aid to a scaled and sustainable response through the national social protection system to improve their living conditions.

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MEDIA RELEASE: Ad attacking Luxon OK, but Ad promoting women is Banned

Source: Family First

MEDIA RELEASE

4 September 2023

Ad attacking Luxon is OK, meanwhile an ad promoting women is banned

Family First CEO Bob McCoskrie is stunned that an ‘attack’ advertisement on National leader Christopher Luxon by a union has been allowed to be printed in the NZ Herald as a full wrap-around on the front page, yet an advertisement recently requested by Family First to be printed and asking for a debate around the definition of ‘woman’ and its implication in public policy was cancelled.

“It’s outrageous because the union attack is an unsubstantiated ad hominen personal attack. And secondly, it is designed to pass of as a news headline which will confuse some people. Our advertisement was simply calling for a debate and was within the newspaper and was clearly an advertisement with clear identification of who was publishing it.”

This questionable behaviour of the media (on what it chooses to print or not print) is troubling, especially leading into Election 2023.

“It appears that the media and advertising agents are acting as judge and jury on what the public can see and hear. Where does this place their coverage of the political debate leading up to the General Election. What else are they censoring?”

“Most importantly, are these actions of the legacy media spelling the end of independent civil discourse on controversial social issues?”

At the beginning of July, in a disturbing display of media censorship, the major daily newspapers (NZ Herald, Stuff (The Post and Christchurch Press) and the Otago Daily Times appeared to band together to pull the publication of our full page advertisement at the 11th hour. The advertisement was part of a nationwide campaign asking the simple question “What is a woman?”

Bob McCoskrie is calling on a formal inquiry into the increasing and disturbing level of bias and censorship which is seeping into our media.

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Number of children displaced across sub-Saharan Africa by climate shocks doubled to a record high in 2022

Source: Save The Children

  • The United Nations Africa Climate Week kicks off today in Nairobi with policymakers, practitioners, businesses and civil society meeting to discuss climate solutions ahead of the UN’s Climate Change Conference (COP28)
  • Save the Children staff and children supported by the organisation are attending Africa Climate Week and are available to speak to media.

NAIROBI, 4 September – The total number of children in sub-Saharan Africa displaced within their home countries by climate-induced disasters nearly doubled last year, said Save the Children, as policy makers meet today in Nairobi to discuss solutions to the climate crisis.

Based on analysis of data from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, at least 1.85 million children in sub-Saharan Africa were left displaced within their countries by climate shocks at the end of 2022, compared to one million children left displaced by similar crises in 2021. Some of these children were displaced multiple times, while others only once, but all remained displaced from home at the end of the year, living in camps, with extended family, or other temporary arrangements.

Flooding in Borno state and across other parts of Nigeria led to the country having sub-Saharan Africa’s highest number of new internal displacements due to climate disasters in 2022, with 2.4 million displacements. By the end of the year at least 854,000 people remained displaced by these shocks, including an estimated 427,000 children.

Meanwhile in Somalia, five failed rainy seasons forced about 6.6 million people – or 39% of the population–  into critical levels of hunger, and led to the second highest number of internally displacements at 1.1 million people.

The number of new internal displacements throughout the year across sub-Saharan Africa in 2022 due to such disasters was also three times higher than the previous year, with 7.4 million new internal displacements during 2022 compared to 2.6 million in 2021. This figure includes counts the times people were displaced – sometimes multiples times for one individual – even if they were able to return home by the end of the year.

This is the highest annual number of new displacements from climate disasters ever reported for the region, as the impacts of consecutive climate shocks have begun to sink in and both the resilience of the land and the coping mechanisms of communities become exhausted.

These figures lay bare the stark reality that the rights of children across the region are being eroded at an alarming rate by the impacts of the climate crisis, said Save the Children. Meanwhile, countries on the continent have contributed the least to the crisis, with the smallest share of global greenhouse gas emissions of all the world’s regions.

With the El Niño weather pattern taking hold, causing even more extreme weather events and pushing up global temperatures further, it is likely this figure is only increasing further this year, said the child rights agency.

Falmata*, 13, is from Borno state, northeast Nigeria, where flooding last year forced over 30,000 people from their homes.  She remembers: “On this fateful Friday I was returning from school and I kept hearing “rain is coming, rain is coming”. They gave us sacks to fill up with sand and place them in strategic corners. Suddenly I saw a big wave of water coming with speed towards our houses, everyone was in commotion, and my mum said we should pack our belongings and start running, we tried but we could barely pack enough. We ran to a school close to the house and took shelter with other community members affected by the flood. Our houses were submerged.

“Life has been hard, we got separated from family members and have not heard from them since. We found a small room that has sheltered us but the structure is bad, as it has been spoilt by the rain, the ceilings are leaking, and some parts of the room are open. When I see the clouds, I am scared and it brings back memories of the flood that happened before.”

13–year–old Maryam* and her family are currently living in an IDP camp in Baidoa after fleeing clashes and severe drought in southern Somalia. She said: “We had a small farm which was enough for our family and we have various crops on our farm, but we were forced to leave our farm because of the drought and conflicts.  Now it is difficult for us to get enough food for our family and we don’t have other sources of income. My father is disabled and cannot work. 

“We were told by our parents to leave the village and seek a better life elsewhere.It took us three days to get to a refugee camp in Baidoa.”  

Vishna Shah, Director of Advocacy, Communications, Campaigns and Media for Save the Children’s West and Central Africa Regional Office, said: “Falmata*’s experience with the floods last year is sadly all too common. In Nigeria and across the region, many children are, like, Falmata, terrified. They cling onto survival from one extreme weather event to the next, unsure whether unseasonable rains are a blessing for failing crops or whether they will wash away their homes.

“I am looking forward to seeing children voice their experiences and concerns to leaders at the Africa Climate Summit this week. Children have done nothing to cause this crisis – and they need the international community to deliver on climate finance commitments, including adaptation and loss and damage funding, that factor in children’s unique needs.”

Kijala Shako, Head of Advocacy, Communications, Campaigns and Media for Save the Children’s East and Southern Africa Regional Office, said: “When children lose their homes they lose almost everything: their access to healthcare, education, food, and safety. They also lose the building blocks for mental and emotional stability and wellbeing, like a sense of routine, their friends, and the right to play.

“These figures are enough to bring anyone to a standstill and hopefully will spur leaders at Africa Climate Week to wake up to the experiences of children across the region, acknowledge that the climate crisis is having a disastrous impact on their lives, and act urgently to factor in children’s needs and rights into the much-needed response.”

In the Horn of Africa, El Niño is historically associated with above-average rain during the October to December rainy season. As has been evidenced with rains in recent months, rains on the parched ground following almost three years of drought bring further risks of flooding, displacement, food shortages and disease. Meanwhile, the effects of the exceptionally strong El Niño in 2015-2016 caused drought over large parts of southern Africa, which could happen again this time.

According to a report earlier this year by the Children’s Environmental Rights Initiative, Save the Children and partners, just 2.4% of key global climate funds can be classified as supporting child-responsive activities, despite more than a billion children being at extremely high risk of the impacts of the climate crisis.

Save the Children’s global climate change programming work includes supporting children and their communities in preventing, preparing for, and recovering from climate disasters and supporting global leaders to protect children in emergencies. Save the Children is also actively monitoring forecasts and potential risks across regions and working with partners to help communities anticipate, prepare for and prevent the worst possible impacts.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

  • Save the Children analysed data by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council. The number of internally displaced people (IDPs) by disasters across sub-Saharan Africa was 2 million in 2021 and 3.7 million in 2022.
  • According to the 2022 NRC/IDMC GRID report, in Sub-Saharan Africa, exactly 50% of all IDPs were children, so these figures were halved to find the number of displaced children.
  • As well as immediate emergency relief with objects such as soap, detergent, and clothes, Save the Children supported Falmata* and other children who were displaced from the floods in Nigeria with individual child protection case management support. Save the Children is also running a food assistance programme in their communities which the families benefit from. We run a Child Friendly Centre in the communities that children attend in the evening.

* Name has been changed to protect anonymity

For out of hours media requests please email media@savethechildren.org.uk or +44 (0) 7831 650409

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MEDIA RELEASE: Only 1 in 6 Oppose ‘Three Strikes’ Law – Poll

Source: Family First

MEDIA RELEASE

4 September 2023

Only 1 in 6 Oppose ‘Three Strikes’ Law – Poll

A poll has found that just 16% of New Zealanders oppose bringing back the ‘Three Strikes’ law which was recently repealed by the Labour Government with the support of the Greens and Te Pati Maori.

The nationwide poll of 1,000 New Zealanders was commissioned by Family First NZ and carried out by Curia Market Research. Respondents were asked “Since 2010, New Zealand has had a ‘Three Strikes’ sentencing law for serious violent and sexual offenders who continue to commit offences. This law removed parole eligibility for repeat offenders and imposes the maximum prison term available for the offence committed, for those who offend a third or subsequent time. The law was repealed last year. Do you support or oppose bringing back the Three Strikes Law?”

Only 16% oppose bringing back the law (down from 25% in a similar poll of respondents in 2021).

Two in three Kiwis (65%) support the reinstatement of the law (up from 44% in 2021) and 19% are unsure (down from 31% unsure in 2021).

Support for the law was relatively even across gender and age.

National (72%), Labour (63%), NZ First (93%) and ACT (90%) voters were strongly supportive, and even Green voters were more in support (41%) than opposed (39%). Net support for the law to remain is: National voters +57 (up from +45% in 2022), ACT +85% (up from +40%), Labour +46 (up from +17%) and Greens +2 (down from +7%).

Ironically, the then-Minister of Justice Kris Faafoi when introducing the bill to scrap the law said “the public don’t like this law”.

In a 2018 report, Justice Department officials admitted that “…in comparison with second strikeable offences committed before the law came into effect there has been a drop in the number of second strike offences since the laws implementation.”

“The Labour government had no public mandate for scrapping it, and the evidence suggests that the law was having the desired effect. There had been a dramatic drop from the number of 1st strikes to 2nd strikes and then again to a third strike. Criminals aren’t stupid. They are well aware of the law and its consequences. When the regime was scrapped, the government sent a message that we’re not serious about the It’s Not OK zero-tolerance message on family violence, or zero tolerance on gun violence or sexual violence, in fact violence in general. The Three Strikes law reinforces that we take victimisations seriously,” says Bob McCoskrie, CEO of Family First NZ.

An Official Information Act request at the end of 2018 said that for 2nd and 3rd strikers:

  • they had an average of 42 convictions as an adult. For 3rd strikers, it’s an average of 74 convictions
  • 91% were assessed as being at a high risk of reoffending
  • 56% committed their 2nd strike on bail or parole or while serving a sentence.
  • 40% have a “strike type” conviction from prior to the three strikes regime

“This data indicates that the three strikes regime was accurately targeting the serious recidivist offenders, and that is why there has been such a strong surge of support for the law since we last polled on this issue.”

The nationwide poll was carried out at the end of August and has a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.

READ THE FULL POLL RESULTS

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MEDIA RELEASE: Polls shows growing rejection of gender ideology, especially in schools

Source: Family First

MEDIA RELEASE – 3 September 2023

A new nationwide poll has found significant opposition to gender ideology overall, but especially in schools and in women’s sports. The poll has also found support for a ban on the use of ‘gender affirmation’ chemical & surgical treatment for under-18s.

SUPPORT FOR BAN ON ‘GENDER AFFIRMING’ TREATMENT FOR UNDER-18’s
 A new poll has found that while there is disagreement as to whether gender & sexuality ideology should be taught or banned in primary schools, there is increasing opposition to gender ideology being taught to young children.

The poll has also found support for a ban on the use of ‘gender affirmation’ chemical & surgical treatment for under-18s, and growing support for sports to be based on biological sex, not gender identity.

In the poll of 1,000 New Zealanders commissioned by Family First and surveyed by Curia Market Research, respondents were asked a number of questions around gender ideology and the Relationship and Sexuality curriculum being taught in schools.

GENDER IDEOLOGY IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Only 1 in 10 (10%) think primary age children should be taught they can choose their gender and that it can be changed through hormone treatment and surgery if they want it to be, while three out of four (76%) say they shouldn’t. 14% are unsure or refused to respond.

Opposition to gender ideology in primary schools has grown significantly compared to a similar poll in 2018 where 54% said children should not be taught this, and 35% said they should. That means that support for ‘gender separate from sex’ ideology being taught to primary age children has dropped significantly from 1 in 3 (35%) to just 1 in 10 (10%) in less than five years.

BAN ON PUBERTY BLOCKERS & OTHER ‘GENDER AFFIRMATION’ TREATMENT

The respondents were also asked whether they would support or oppose a ban on puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and physical sex-change surgeries for children under the age of 18 who identify as transgender.

 54% support a ban on ‘gender affirmation’ treatment for under 18s (up from 51% in 2020) and just 27% disagree (similar to 28% in 2020). 19% were unsure.

 Only Green voters were more opposed than supportive. Interestingly, 53% of the younger age group (18-40) were supportive of a ban with only 29% opposing.

SPORTS PARTICIPATION

In terms of sports participation, just 13% of respondents think boys who identify as girls should be allowed automatic access to girls sports teams (dropping significantly from 39% similar poll in 2018 and two in three (68%) disagree (rising significantly from 39% in 2018).

“This polling confirms that the majority of New Zealanders are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the gender ideology curriculum and agenda being rammed down in some schools. It fails to take into account the emotional and physical development of each child and more importantly the values of the families,” says Bob McCoskrie, CEO of Family First NZ.

“There is also considerable anger and disbelief that parents can be kept out of the loop on all of this, and that a child’s social transitioning may be facilitated by the school without parents being informed.”

Family First is calling on the Ministry of Health to ban gender affirmation treatment for under 18s, and to remove gender ideology from the RSE curriculum.

The nationwide poll was carried out at the end of August and has a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.

READ THE FULL POLL RESULTS

For More Information and Media Interviews, contact Family First

WATCH: FAMILY MATTERS: Exposed! The Radical Sexuality & Gender Indoctrination in Schools…