Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Country Response to the Questionnaire on

Violence Against Children
By
The Federal Ministry of Labor and Social
Affairs

Submitted to:
The UN Secretary General’s Independent
Expert on the Study on Violence Against
Children
May 2005

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Table of Contents

List of Acronyms ………………………………………………………..3

Executive Summery…………………………………………………….....4

Preface……………………………………………………………………..9

I. Legal Framework……………………………………………………….10

International Human Right Instruments…………………………....10

Legal Provisions on Violence Against Children…………………...10
Courts Tasked With Addressing Violence Against Children………18
Minimum Age for Sexual Activity, Minimum age for Marriage…..20
Sexual Exploitation of Children…………………………………….21
Reporting Obligations relating to Violence against Children………22
Complaints Procedures……………………………………………..23
II. Institutional Framework and Resources to Address Violence against

Children…………………………………………………………………27

III. Role of Civil Society in Addressing Violence Against Children………30

IV. Children as Actors in Addressing Violence……………………………33

V. Policies and Programmes to Address Violence Against Children………35

VI. Data Collection, Analysis and Research……………………………….39

VII. Awareness, Advocacy and Training…………………………………..46

Reference…………………………………………………………………...48

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List of Acronyms

ANPPCAN African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse
and Neglect
BOLSA Bureau of Labor and Social Affairs
BoE Bureau of Education
CPU Child Protection Unit
CSO Civil Society Organization
CRDA Christian Relief and Development Association
DHS Demographic and Health Survey
EWLA Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association
FDRE Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
FSCE Forum on Street Children – Ethiopia
GO Governmental Organization
IFSO Integrated Family Service Organization
ILO International Labor Organization
MOLSA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs
NCTPE National Committee on Traditional Practices of Ethiopia
NGO Non Governmental Organizations
NPA National Plan of Action
OVC Orphans and Vulnerable Children
PLHA People Living with HIV/AIDS
PTA Parent Teacher Association
SNNPR Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region
WAO Women’s Affairs Office
VAC Violence Against Children
UNCRC United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

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 Executive Summery
The Ethiopian Government has welcomed the global study on violence against children and
is pleased to make its contribution through the submission of this report. The report is
prepared by way of giving response to the questionnaire designed to obtain information
from governments for the UN Secretary General’s global study on violence against
children. The report follows the format of the questionnaire and attempts to give a
comprehensive overview of the existing legal and policy framework in the country as well
as the institutional mechanisms and interventions related to violence against children.

The first part of the report highlights the legal framework related to violence against
children. The welfare of children is a priority concern for the Ethiopian Government. The
ratification of important international and regional instruments like the UN Convention on
the Rights of the Child (CRC), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child,
and the ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of Labor is an expression of this commitment.
Going beyond the acceptance of international and regional standards, there are ongoing
efforts by the government to ensure national laws; policies and practices conform to the
international standards.

In the national setting, the issue of violence against children is addressed by various laws,
policies and programs. First and foremost, the supreme law of the land, which is the
Federal Constitution, provides a sound framework for the protection and promotion of the
rights of children. In addition to domesticating international instruments which Ethiopia
has ratified, the Constitution contains key articles for the pursuit of the rights of the child.
Particularly, article 36 of this Constitution replicates many of the rights in the CRC.

There are many subordinate laws that deal with the different aspects of violence against
children. The Family law, the Penal law, the Criminal Procedure law and the Labor law are
the notable ones. All of these laws have gone through some revision recently, with the
principal objective of making them consonant with progressive standards and constitutional
principles. The old family law that had been in operation in the country since 1960 is being
replace by a new one in many regions (member states) of the Ethiopian Federal Democratic
Republic. The family law that was proclaimed in 2000 by the federal parliament to be
enforceable in the administrative cities of Addis Ababa and Diredawa has served as a
model for the other regional family laws. The family law contains many provisions, which
attempt to ensure that children are not let without guardians and tutors as well as which
require guardians and tutors to ensure the wellbeing and physical and intellectual
development of children entrusted to them.

Similarly, the penal law was revised and the new law that was adopted by the national
parliament on July 2nd 2004 will come into force after it is officiated through formal
publication. The issue of violence against children (VAC) is widely dealt with in this law.
One cannot also fail to mention the labor law that has relevance to the major issue of child
labor. Besides these written and modern laws, there are various customary norms operating
in the country. Legally, customary norms are allowed to operate in so far as they don’t
come in conflict with constitutional principles. Article 34(5) of the Constitution recognizes

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adjudication of disputes relating to personal or family matters in accordance with
customary or religious laws on condition that both parties to such disputes have given their
consent.

Many acts of violence against children are specifically criminalized in the penal law. There
are specific provisions on infanticide, sexual violence, abduction, maltreatment, neglect
and negligent treatment, sexual exploitation of children, as well as trafficking. The revised
penal law has made many positive changes. Some provisions are more elaborated and
clarified. Others that were found to deviate from constitutional standards are canceled
altogether. For instance, the provisions that used to exempt the perpetrator of rape or
abduction from criminal charges if he marries the victim are cancelled. This means rape
and abduction will be prosecuted regardless of the marriage between the offender and the
victim. On the other hand new sets of provisions on harmful traditional practices have been
incorporated. As a result female genital mutilation is now explicitly criminalized.

Another positive change made in the revised penal law is the removal of the provision that
allowed corporal punishment as one form of penalty for commission of a crime. Corporal
punishment is not a valid measure of correction under the amended law. Nevertheless,
corporal punishment in the home is still not outlawed. Infact, it seems some legal defense
is available to parents who inflict corporal punishment on their children. Article 579 of the
revised law that criminalizes maltreatment of minors reserves for the right to administer
lawful and reasonable chastisement. On the other hand, the revised family law (2000) has
moved in the right direction in removing the provision [Article 267, Civil Code 1960] that
empowered legal guardian/s to inflict light bodily punishment on the minors in their care
for the purpose of ensuring the latter’s education. The provision in the revised law reads as
‘ the guardian may take the necessary disciplinary measures for the purpose of ensuring his
up bringing.’[Article 258, the revised family code, proc 213/2000]. Improvements made in
the family law are not limited to restricting corporal punishment. It has for instance raised
the minimum age for marriage of girls from 15 to 18. It is to be noted that the old family
law fixed age of marriage as 15 for girls and 18 for boys.

With respect to legal redress for VAC, penal as well as civil action may be instituted
against the perpetrator of violence. For penal redress, the incident must be reported to the
police who then will make an investigation. Anyone may make a report to the police unless
it is specified in the penal law that the injured party needs to file a private complaint first.
In offences of private nature, the specific articles in the penal law state that the offence is
punishable upon compliant.

Several police stations in major towns and cities have now child protection units who will
handle cases of children as victims or as offenders. After investigation has been carried out
by the police, the prosecution office is responsible for bringing the case before the court.
At present, attempts are being made to improve the court system. A child friendly court
system that deals with VAC has become operational in Addis Ababa since September
2004. The set up of a similar bench in three more regions (Tigray, Oromia and SNNPR) is
underway. For cases of Juvenile offenders-a group that constitutes offenders of ages 9to
15- on the other hand, some benches in Addis Ababa are exclusively assigned to deal with

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them. But in practice, not all cases of children in conflict with the law appear before the
courts. Children reported to the police for minor offences may be referred to community
correction programs. Although this practice has no legal foundation, it is gradually getting
acceptance by the general public as well as by law enforcement bodies. On the other hand,
when juvenile offenders have been tried and found guilty of an offence, they may be
subject to different measures or penalties ranging from supervised education to
imprisonment. Young offenders of this age group shall not be subject to the ordinary
penalties applicable to adults nor shall they be kept in custody with adult offenders. On the
other hand, persons between the ages of 15 and 18 are subject to the ordinary provisions
although judges have discretionary power to use the special provisions applicable to
juvenile delinquents. Also, when imprisoned, such persons are to be kept separately from
adult offenders until attaining the age of majority. Finally, offenders below the age of 18 at
the time of commission of a crime cannot be subjected to capital punishment.

The second part of the report focuses on the institutional framework and resources to
address violence against children. Handling the broad and crosscutting issue of violence
against children is not entrusted to one institution in the country. It is a shared
responsibility between different governmental institutions. Protection of children against
violence is part and parcel of the broader framework of CRC implementation. Thus, the
inter ministerial committee that was formed in 1994 to monitor and guide CRC
implementation is an important structure. The Committee consists of representatives from
the ministries of Health, Education, Information, Justice, Culture and Sports, as well as the
Police Commission and the Prime Minister’s office. The Ministry of Labor and Social
Affairs (MOLSA) chairs the committee, while the Children, Youth and Family affairs
department within MOLSA is the Committee secretariat. There are also CRC committees at
regional, zonal and woreda (local administration) levels. Violence against children is one of
the thematic areas, which the committees are engaged with. The national committee on
child abuse and sexual exploitation is the other committee dealing with major forms of
violence against children. This committee has initiated and overseen the carrying out of
several research and awareness raisng activities related to VAC. Another relevant structure
is the national task force on orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) which is put in place to
deal with the overwhelming problem of unaccompanied children in the country. Outside of
these coordinated efforts, institutions such as the police, the Ministry of Justice, the Child
Affairs department of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, are all tasked with different
responsibilities that address VAC.

The third part attempts to shed some light on the role of civil society in addressing violence
against children. Civil Society Organizations in the country are playing critical role in
awareness raising as well as provision of care. In recent years they are also getting more
involved in research and advocacy activities. However, the fact remains that the sector,
being young and constrained by some factors, is somewhat weak in terms of institutional
capacity, human resources, and coordination.

The fourth part gives some instances of child/adolescent participation in initiatives to

address violence and related issues. Although the participation of children in such matters
has so far been minimal, there are efforts to increase the engagement with children. For

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instance, several children of different age groups were made to participate in the
formulation of the current National Plan of Action (NPA) for children. Another example is
the Addis Girls Forum where a total of 500 schoolgirls selected from 10 schools in the city
participated in a series of consultative meetings in May and June 2004. Discussions
focused on five major issues: HIV/AIDS and communication; sexual harassment in and
around school; sex education in school; openness regarding sex between parents and
children and guidance and counseling service in school. On the basis of the
recommendations that resulted from the process, follow up activities such as trainings to
relevant groups were designed and implemented. The anti Aids Youth Clubs that are based
in or out of schools are again clear instances of adolescent participation. Another case in
point is the recently conducted national consultation workshop with children in relation to
the UN study on VAC. In this workshop organized by the national committee on sexual
abuse and exploitation, concept papers were presented on the basis of which thorough
discussions were conducted with the children. Children were also given the opportunity to
discuss the issues among themselves. At the end of the consultation, the children selected
one boy and one girl to represent them in the regional consultation to take place in
Johannesburg.

The highlight on policies and programs to address violence make the fifth part of the
report. Instruments such as the Developmental Social Welfare Policy (1996) and the
National Plan of Action for Children (2003-2010 and beyond) are briefly described in this
part. Protecting children against abuse, exploitation and violence is one of the major
components of the NPA. With respect to programs, two programs that targeted children in
specifically difficult circumstance stand out as concrete examples. The first program, which
was implemented in the years 1997-2003, had two major project components: relief and
prevention project for street children and support services to children in childcare
institutions. In the first project, children and families were made to benefit. The provisions
included education, health, entertainment, skills training credit services and psychological
counseling. Activities in the second project were aimed at empowering the children in the
institutions in terms of skill and hence economic self-sufficiency. The second project has
been under implementation by the Bureaus of Labor and social affairs in the regions since
1999. The major components of the program are CRC promotion and support to street
children, disabled children and children who are victims of sexual abuse and exploitation.

On the sixth section, researches, statistical and other kinds of reports, which have some
relevance to VAC, are listed and briefly described. The Child Labor Survey Report (2001),
the Survey on the Prevalence and Characteristics of Aids Orphans in Ethiopia (2003), the
Democratic and Health Survey (2000), and the health and health related indicators of the
Ministry of Health are some of the sources that may inform planners and policy makers.
Other resources like the Report on Violence Against Children by African Child Policy
Forum; the studies conducted on Sexual Abuse and Exploitation by the steering committee
against child abuse and sexual exploitation and other subjects are also major contributions
for a better understanding of the problem in the country.

Finally, some examples of advocacy and awareness raising activities by the government are
mentioned. The celebration of international or regional days such as the day of the African

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Child, the Child Labor Day, HIV/AIDS day and Women’s day have served as good
opportunities for carrying out campaigns on the different aspects of VAC. Messages during
these celebrations were communicated through the electronic and print media as well as
using posters and fliers. Outside of these occasions, training programs have also been
conducted for law enforcement bodies, media professionals and school directors.

Preface
The security and welfare of children is a priority concern for the Ethiopian Government
who has welcomed the global study on violence against children. The Government would
like to give its input to the global study by the submission of this report, which is
prepared by way of giving response to the questionnaire designed to obtain information
from governments. The report follows the format of the questionnaire and attempts to
give a comprehensive overview of the existing legal and policy framework in the country
as well as the institutional mechanisms and interventions related to violence against
children. For easy reference, the questions are inserted before the responses.

Working definition of violence: for the UN study, the independent expert Professor
Pinheiro has indicated that he will use a broad definition of violence. Accordingly,
violence against children is defined to include all forms of physical or mental violence,
injury, abuse, neglect and negligent treatment, maltreatment, deprivation and
exploitation, including sexual abuse. In this report, this definition of violence is adopted.

Inputs to the Report: numerous governmental and non-governmental organizations

have provided input to this report. Specifically, all the members of the national sexual
abuse and exploitation committee chaired by the children’s affairs department at the
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs have made immense contribution to the
development and completion of this report. The committee members included
representatives from government institutions as well as civil society such as Forum on
Street Children in Ethiopia (FSCE), the Ethiopian Chapter of African Network for the
Prevention of and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN), the African
Child Policy Forum, Child Aid Ethiopia and from the donor group and UN agencies such
as Save the Children Sweden, Save the Children Norway, Save the children Denmark,
WHO and UNICEF.

Further more, several institutions were visited and interviews were conducted with the
relevant persons. Government institutions who have contributed information to this
report include the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of labor and Social
Affairs, Federal and Addis Ababa Police Commissions, Federal First Instance Court and
Federal Supreme Court Juvenile Justice Project Office.

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I Legal Framework
This part of the questionnaire aims to determine how your country’s legal
framework addresses violence against children, including prevention of
violence, protection of children from violence, redress for victims of
violence, penalties for perpetrators and reintegration and rehabilitation of
victims.

International human rights instruments

1. Describe any developments with respect to violence against children,

which have resulted from your country’s acceptance of international
human rights instruments, including, for example, the Convention on
the Rights of the Child and its optional protocols, the Palermo Protocol
or regional human rights instruments. Provide information on cases
concerning violence against children in which your country’s courts or
tribunals have referred to international or regional human rights
standards.

Ethiopia ratified the UNCRC in 1991. Since then, the government has carried out
numerous activities geared towards ensuring the protection and promotion of the rights
and welfare of children. The Convention was domesticated through a national legislation
(Proclamation No 10/1992) and then translated into 11 nationality languages for
dissemination. Further, other conventions such as the African Charter on the Rights and
Welfare of the Child (ratification proclamation No283/ 2002) and ILO Convention 182
on the Worst Forms of Child Labor were ratified by the government. The children affairs
department within the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is the leading organ to
coordinate and spearhead the translation of the international commitment into concrete
actions and results. This Ministry has counterparts in the regions. Under the supervision
of the Federal and Regional labor and social affairs organs, child rights committees were
set up at all levels to oversee the implementation of the Convention in the country. These
and other committees and structures described in the coming sections of this report
provide the institutional framework for addressing VAC.

In the administration of justice, courts are now frequently citing the principle of ‘best
interest of the child’, which principle is also incorporated in national laws including the
Federal Constitution and the family law.

Legal provisions on violence against children

2. Describe how forms of violence against children are addressed in your

country’s constitution, legislation and subsidiary legislation, and, where
appropriate, customary law.

Ethiopia is a federal republic composed of nine regions and two administrative cities. The
supreme law of the land, which is the Federal Constitution, serves as an accord between

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the regions and the federal government. Accordingly, power is shared between the
regions and the federal government. For instance, while the regions are mandated to
legislate on family law, the Federal Government is empowered to enact the penal and
labor law.

With respect to violence against children, there is no one comprehensive law dealing with
all types and aspects of violence. The management of violence itself is multisectoral.
Thus it is a shared responsibility between diversified laws as well as institutions. A
number of laws address the different forms of violence against children. Being the
supreme law of the land, the Federal Constitution provides the basis for the protection of
children from violence. Firstly, it domesticates all international human right instruments,
which Ethiopia has ratified by stating ‘all international agreements ratified by Ethiopia
are an integral part of the law of the land’. (Article 9(4) of the FDRE Constitution)
Secondly, it has incorporated a specific provision on the rights of children.

Article 36
Rights of Children
1. Every child has the right:
(a) To life;
(b) To a name and nationality;
(c) To know and be cared for by his or her parents or legal guardians;
(d)Not to be subject to exploitative practices, neither to be required nor permitted to
perform work which may be hazardous or harmful to his or her education, health or
well-being
(e)To be free of corporal punishment or cruel and inhumane treatment in schools and other
institutions responsible for the care of children.
2. In all actions concerning children undertaken by public and private welfare institutions,
courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies the primary consideration
shall be the best interests of the child.
3. Juvenile offenders admitted to corrective or rehabilitative institutions and juveniles who
become wards of the State or who are placed in public or private orphanages, shall be
kept separately from adults.
4. Children born out of wedlock shall have the same rights as children born of wedlock.
5. The State shall accord special protection to orphans and shall encourage the
establishment of institutions, which ensure and promote their adoption and advance their
welfare, and education.

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA, 1995

As it can be observed from the above article, the Constitution has reiterated most of the
rights of children recognized in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Other than
the above article, many of the provisions in the human and democratic rights part as well
as the policy objective section are relevant to address the problem of violence against
children.

Examination of the subordinate laws in the country shows that the penal law and its
procedure law are among the relevant legislations to the problem of violence against
children. These laws are presently going through reform. A new law adopted by the
National Parliament on July 2nd 2004 has amended the penal code that had been in force

10
in the country since 1957. The amended law is yet to be officiated through publication in
the formal newspaper-Negarit Gazette. Until then it does not have the force of law due to
which the old law will continue to rule. As concerns the criminal procedure code, an
amending draft has been prepared and submitted to different experts for examination.

The other major law is the family law. Prior to the federalization of the country, there
was one family law found incorporated in the Ethiopian Civil Code of 1960. However,
presently a number of regions in the country have issued their respective family laws as
mandated by the FDRE Constitution. Most of the regions have adopted the model and
content of the family law issued by the federal parliament to be enforceable in the
administrative cities of Addis Ababa and Diredawa. Thus any mention of the family law
herein below shall refer to the revised family law issued by the national parliament unless
stated otherwise. This law that was proclaimed in 2000 contains many provisions which
attempt to ensure that children are not let without guardians and tutors as well as which
lay a duty on the latter to ensure the wellbeing as well as physical and intellectual
development of the children in their care. The law compels the guardian to watch over the
health of the minor, to supervise the social contacts and education of the minor and fix
the residence of the minor. (Articles 257,259,260 and 256 respectively).

Children are protected from economic exploitation by the labor law (Proclamation No.
377/2003). This proclamation that sets the minimum age for work as 14 categorizes
workers of ages 14-18 as young workers. Accordingly, young workers are entitled to
special protective measures. Young workers can work for maximum of seven working
hours per day compared to the 8 working hours for adults. Further, the law prohibits the
employment of young workers for night work, overtime work, and work on weekly rest
days or public holidays. There are also list of work activities not allowed for young
workers.

Other than the above modern laws, there are also diversified customary and religious
norms operating in the country. The legal status of these norms is made clear by article
34(5) of the Federal Constitution which allows adjudication of disputes relating to
personal and family laws in accordance with religious or customary laws on condition
that both parties have consented thereto. According to this constitutional article, the
particulars are to be determined by law. At present, the Sharia law is the only law that
has got formal recognition. The Sharia courts that used to exist before the Constitution
were re-established by a new proclamation. Hence, the Sharia law has jurisdiction over
family and succession cases provided that the disputing parties have given their consent
to such jurisdiction.

3. Provide details of any specific legislative provisions on:

• Prevention of all forms of physical, sexual and mental violence,
injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, and sexual abuse;
• Protection of children from all forms of violence;
• Redress, including compensation, for child victims of violence;
• Penalties for perpetrators of violence against children;
• Reintegration and rehabilitation of child victims of violence.

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 4. Indicate whether any specific legislative provisions address all forms
of violence including physical, sexual and psychological violence,
injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment and sexual
exploitation against children which take place in:
• The family/ home;
• Schools and pre-school care and education (both formal and non-
formal, state and private);
• Military schools;
• Institutions including care, residential, health and mental health;
• The context of law and public order enforcement including in
detention facilities or prisons;
• The neighbourhood, street and the community, including in rural
areas;
• The workplace (informal and formal);
• Sports and sporting facilities.

>Punishable Acts

Infanticide: A mother who intentionally kills her child during her labor or while still
suffering from the effect thereof, is punishable, according to the circumstances, with
simple imprisonment [535 of the amended penal law]

Sexual Violence: This is one area where the amended penal law has incorporated
elaborated provisions. The amended law has introduced minimum penalties in some of
the provisions. In several cases the maximum penalties are also increased. The following
are the categories in the law under which the different forms of sexual violence may fall:

• Rape on a girl child of 13-18 by a person of the opposite sex will result in an
aggravated case punishable with rigorous imprisonment upto 20 years. (Art
623(2)(a). Other than young age of the victim, one of the aggravating
circumstances is the commission of the offence on an inmate of alms-house,
asylum, hospital, any establishment of education, correction, internment or
detention under the supervision or control of the accused person or on a victim
who is dependent on, or is under the direct control or custody of the accused.
• Sexual intercourse with a girl of 13-18 years by a person of the opposite sex
will be punishable with a maximum rigorous sentence of 15 years regardless
of the girl’s consent for the act. (629(1)) The punishment will be aggravated to
20 years in the cases where the victim is the pupil, apprentice or servant of the
offender, or is in any other way directly dependent upon or subordinate to the
offender.
• Any act corresponding to a sexual act with a boy of 13-18 by a person of the
opposite sex is punishable with imprisonment of 3 months to 5 years. (629(2))
• Sexual offence on a female child below the age of 13 is punishable with
rigorous imprisonment of 15 to 25 years. (630(1))
• Any act corresponding to a sexual act on a male child below the age of 13 is
punishable with a rigorous imprisonment of 6 months to 7 years. (630(3))

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 • Any sexual act on a female or male child of age 13-18 by a person of the
same sex shall be punishable with a rigorous imprisonment of 3 to 15 years.
(633(2)(c)
• Any sexual act on a male child below the age of 13 by a person of the same
sex shall be punishable with a rigorous sentence of 5 to 25 years. (634)

Magnitude of Sexual Violence on Children

There are indications that sexual violence is among the commonest forms of violence
faced by children in Ethiopia. In a study undertaken in one public hospital (Yekatit
Hospital), sexual abuse constituted for 74% of the 214 allegedly abused children enrolled
in the study. The children in the study were selected from the 256 children treated at the
hospital from July 2001 to June 2002.
Child Abuse and Neglect Unit, Yekatit Hospital, Addis Ababa

Abduction: Two kinds of abduction are dealt with in the law. One is abducting or
improperly detaining a minor in order to deprive his guardians of his custody. The other
is the age-old practice of abducting a woman-usually a child- with the intent of making
her a wife. In the second case the revised penal law has increased the maximum penalty
from 3 to 7 years. It has also removed the provision that exempted the perpetrator from
his crimes if he marries the victim. This means, the crime of abduction is prosecuted
regardless of marriage between the abductor and the victim.

Maltreatment, Neglect, Negligent Treatment

• A person who neglects, ill-treats, over tasks….. a minor under his custody or
charge is punishable with simple imprisonment upto three months. In cases
where the offence has impaired the health, security, education, physical or
psychological development of the child, the punishment is a minimum of one-
month simple imprisonment. Simple imprisonment under the law ranges from
10 days to 3years. The criminal punishment may be coupled with revocation of
ones’ family right over the victim child. [Amended penal law article 579, article
548 of 1957 penal code]

• Failure to maintain and failure to bring up are offenses punishable under the
existing as well as the amended penal law of the country. [Penal Code of Ethiopia
(1957) articles 625 & 626; Amended Penal Law of Ethiopia (2004) articles
657&658]. In the case of failure to up bring, the court may, in addition to
ordering imprisonment or fine, deprive the offender of his/her family rights.

Exposure or Abandonment of another: under the previous as well as the new law,
abandoning or intentionally exposing and thereby putting the life or health of a person in
ones charge or custody in an imminent danger is punishable with maximum sentence of 5
years.

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Omission to Register the Birth of an Infant: In both the old and the revised laws,
failure to register a new born child in accordance with the law is punishable with fine not
exceeding 500 birr or simple imprisonment upto one month. In the same provisions of the
respective laws, a person who fails to report to the authorities a new born child he/she
has found abandoned is liable to similar punishment.

>Redress, including compensation, for child victims of violence

In addition to the satisfaction that may be derived from the criminal punishment of the
perpetrator of the violence, a victim of violence is entitled to civil redress under the
section of Extra Contractual Liability found in the Civil Code of the country. For
instance, failure to educate or supervise any person under one’s charge is an extra
contractual offence pursuant to article 2052 of the Civil Code. Similarly, a victim of rape
or indecent assault may be awarded ‘fair compensation’ where the perpetrator was
sentenced by a criminal court. [Article 2114(1)]

>Reintegration and rehabilitation of child victims

There is no specific legal regulation for reintegration and rehabilitation of child victims.
However, the five guidelines of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs on Alternative
Childcare Programs have some relevance. With respect to related services, some
government hospitals are currently involved in programs of rehabilitation of child victims
through medical care and counseling. Owing to the shortage of trained human power in
the area of psychiatry, not sufficient numbers of institutions provide services for mental
care. There are NGOs that provide psychosocial support to child victims of violence.

5. Indicate if corporal punishment of children, in any setting, including

in the family, is explicitly prohibited in your legal system. Provide
details of any legal defences available to those who administer
corporal punishment to children, including in the family. Provide
information on penalties applicable to those who administer corporal
punishment to children, including in the family.

School and other institutions of care

The Federal Constitution has explicitly prohibited corporal punishment of children in

schools and institutions. (Article 36(1) (e)) The constitutional principle has found
specific implementation through a directive regarding school administration by the
Ministry of Education. Accordingly, any form of corporal punishment in schools is
prohibited. Education bureaus of regions have followed suit in banning corporal
punishment in schools. Ensuring that the prohibition is not violated is the responsibility
of school administrations and the parent teacher associations (PTAs). PTAs are formed at
school level with the composition of 2:1 ratio of parents and teachers in the school.
Generally, such associations are responsible to ensure that a good learning environment
exists in school. When a PTA has come across an incident of corporal punishment, it is
supposed to carry out an investigation and make a report to the head of the school with a
suggestion of a disciplinary measure against the responsible teacher.

14
The family

Occurrence of Corporal Punishment at home

Out of 1223 interviewed children in one study, only 17(1.4%) stated
that they have never experienced corporal punishment [at home].

A study by the African Child Policy Forum on Violence Against Children (2005)

Corporal punishment in the family is not explicitly prohibited by law. However, the
provision of the old family law [Article 267, Civil Code 1960] that empowered legal
guardian/s to inflict light bodily punishment on the minors in their care for the purpose of
ensuring the latter’s education is removed in the new law. The provision in the revised
law reads as ‘the guardian may take the necessary disciplinary measures for the purpose
of ensuring [the minor’s] upbringing.’[Article 258 of the Revised Family Code, Proc.
213/2000]

Under the penal law, some legal defense is available for parents who inflict corporal
punishment. Article 548 of the law that criminalizes maltreatment of minors reserves for
the right to administer lawful and reasonable chastisement. In the general parts of the law
article 64 lays down the principle that acts required or authorized by law don’t constitute
an offence. Among such list is found ‘acts reasonably done in exercising the right of
correction or discipline’. The amended penal law has not introduced any significant
change to these provisions.

6. Provide information on whether the penal code permits corporal

punishment and/or capital punishment as a sentence for crimes
committed by under 18 year olds.

Corporal punishment: The amended penal law has removed the provision that had
entitled the court to order corporal punishment if it thinks such punishment is necessary
to reform the minor. In this provision of the 1957 law, the limitation on the court was that
such punishment shall be inflicted only with a cane and the number of strokes shall not
exceed twelve to be administered on the buttocks and that only young offenders in good
health shall be subjected to corporal punishment.
Capital Punishment: neither under the existing law nor in the amended law that will
shortly become enforceable shall capital punishment be ordered on minors [Article 118
of the 1957 penal code, article 117 of the amended penal law]

7. Provide details on whether bullying/hazing and sexual harassment

are explicitly addressed by legislation.

There is no specific provision on bullying/hazing

15
 8. Provide information on the way in which harmful or violent traditional
practices, including but not limited to female genital mutilation, child
marriage or honour crimes are addressed in your country.

Considering the fact that significant number of traditional practices that have a harmful
effect on health and safety are committed on girl children (women), the constitutional
provision that obliges the state to ‘enforce the right of women to eliminate the influences
of harmful customs’ is very important. This provision of the constitution further says
‘laws, customs and practices that oppress or cause bodily or mental harm to women are
prohibited.’ Against this constitutional framework, a major progress in legal development
towards the elimination of harmful traditional practices affecting the life, health, and
security of children is the inclusion of provisions dealing with the different forms of
harmful practices in the recently amended penal law. This law has included new sets of
provisions on FGM and other harmful traditional practices.
FGM: The punishable acts are categorized into two. One provision deals with
circumcision in general while another deals with infibulation. Circumcision of a girl of
any age is punishable with a minimum penalty of 3 months or a fine of 500 birr. The
maximum penalty is three years. In the case of infibulation, the penalty is 3-5 years. If
due to the infibulation the victim suffered physical or health damages, the punishment
could go as high as 5-10 years save for a higher punishment in any other relevant
provision of the penal law. As regards the persons subject to punishment, the law targets
principal offenders, instigators, and accomplices. This may refer to the parents, relatives,
neighbors, etc.

Prevalence of FGM
Female Genital Mutilation is one of the many harmful traditional practices
widely occurring in the country. According to the DHS (2000), the
prevalence of the practice is 80 %. The survey indicated that there is
widespread support for the practice. 60% of the women in the survey
supported the continuation of the practice. The mean age of FGM is 3.8.

Other Harmful Traditional Practices around child delivery and infanthood: there
are two provisions in the revised law (articles 564&565) to the effect that whosoever,
intentionally or by negligence caused death, bodily injury or mental harm of a pregnant
or a delivering woman or that of a newly born child as a result of application of harmful
practices such as massaging the abdomen of a pregnant woman, shaking a woman in
prolonged labor, soiling the umbilical cord of a baby, keeping a newly born child out of
sun, feeding it fresh butter, milk teeth extraction, ovulectomy … shall be punishable with
a maximum sentence of 6months to 1 year simple imprisonment.

9. Provide information on the applicability of specific provisions to

address all forms of violence against children to non-citizens and
stateless children, including asylum seekers and displaced children. If
specific provisions do not apply to such children, provide details of
protection offered to them.

16
 No special provisions or laws are applicable to such children. Protections under the
general laws applicable to citizens are also applicable to them.

10.Provide information on any difference in the definition of violence and

the applicable legal framework according to:
• The sex or sexual orientation of the victim and/or of the
perpetrator;
• The age of the victim and /or of the perpetrator;
• The relationship between the victim and the perpetrator,
including, but not limited to infanticide, sexual violence in
marriage, incest and sexual abuse within the family, and physical
chastisement.

As provided in detail in response to questions 3 and 4 above, age and sex of victim make
a difference in the applicable article and hence the definition as well as the penalties to be
applied on the offender.

11.Provide information on any recent comprehensive review of the legal

framework to address violence against children.

A comprehensive review of the legal framework that address VAC has not been done.
However, since the promulgation of the 1994 FDRE Constitution, many laws have been
revisited with the purpose of making these laws consonant with the principles enshrined in
the Constitution. Such laws include the family law, the penal law, and the penal procedure
law. These laws have provisions that deal with VAC. Several of them are elaborated in
some parts of this report.

12.Provide information on any studies and surveys which have been

undertaken to assess the impact of legal measures to address
violence against children.

Information is not available on any study or survey undertaken to assess the impact of
legal measures to address violence against children. There are some small-scale surveys
and studies mostly conducted by civil society organizations.

Courts tasked with addressing violence against children

13.Identify those parts of the court structure in your country tasked with
addressing violence against children. Indicate if your family or
juvenile courts have specific responsibility for this issue.

Children as victims

Until very recently there was no special arrangement within the court system to deal with
cases where children were victims of violence. However, presently, a child friendly system
where a child victim need not personally appear before the formal settings of a courtroom
was set up with the assistance of a Juvenile Justice Project of the Federal Supreme Court.
Thus, there is now one separate bench in Addis Ababa that is connected to a special room

17
through a ‘Close Circuit Television’. The child victim who will be sitting in the special
room is assisted by an intermediary to answer all the questions forwarded from the
courtroom. Hence, he/she can testify freely with out under going any more traumatizes.
The system is also expected to assist the effort to obtain more complete information about
the crime from the child. All pending cases of violence against children that are scattered in
the different courts are being collected so that the special bench can handle them. At the
initial stage of the program, training was given to the persons that were to involve in the
operation of the system. Although the judges have no special training related to violence
against children, they have been exposed to the issues through workshops and seminars.
But generally, the ‘Justice Organs Professionals Training Center’ that was established very
recently has started to provide a course on human rights. Components such as child rights
and women’s rights are planned to be part of such course.

A case of violence can effectively be dealt with only when coordination is ensured between
the different stakeholders, which include the police, prosecution office, the court, medical
institutions as well as institutions that provide social services. Although there is an
ongoing effort to ensure such coordination, it has remained to be one of the major
challenges to the administration of justice in the country. Nevertheless, efforts have
continued from all directions. For instance, the prosecution office has assigned a prosecutor
exclusively for the special bench mentioned above.

According to the project office at the Federal Supreme Court, there is plan to set up a
special system of the kind mentioned above in all the regions of the country. But presently
aside from the one bench in Addis Ababa, the setup in three more regions-Tigray, Oromia
and Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNRP) is underway.

Children as offenders

Under the 1957 Ethiopian Penal Code as well as the amended law, minimum age of
criminal responsibility is 9 years. When an offence is committed by an ‘infant’, appropriate
steps may be taken by the family, school or guardianship authority. Then, those called
‘young persons’ in the penal code are juvenile delinquents between the ages of 9 and 15 at
the time of the commission of the offense. Children in this group are criminally imputable.
However, they shall not be subject to the ordinary penalties applicable to adults nor shall
they be kept in custody with adult offenders. There are special measures and penalties
applicable to this group. Penalties are ordered if the measures have been applied and failed.
These measures include admission to a curative institution, supervised education, oral
reprimand, school or home arrest and commitment to a corrective institution defined as a
special institution for the correction and rehabilitation of young offenders. Penalties on the
other hand include fine and imprisonment. Corporal punishment that was among such
penalties is no more valid under the new law. Thirdly, offenders over the age of fifteen but
under 18 are as a matter of principle subject to the ordinary provisions of the criminal law.
But judges have discretionary power either to mitigate the sentence or use the special
provisions applicable to young offenders. Further, death sentence cannot be passed upon an
offender who has not attained his eighteenth year of age at the time of the commission of

18
the crime. With respect to imprisonment, such person shall be separated from adult
offenders in prison until attaining age of majority.

As regards judicial disposition of cases of children in conflict with the law, there is no legal
provision for the establishment and operation of a special court to entertain such cases.
Thus, neither a separate court nor a division exists at present. Some benches within the
courts in Addis Ababa are exclusively assigned to entertain such cases. But the judges have
no special training and they are not assisted by experts such as a social worker or a
psychologist. In the regions, juvenile cases are ordinarily disposed of with other criminal
cases. This situation is recognized as a problem by the court administration, which has
plans to set up a separate division for cases of children in conflict with the law.

Minimum age for sexual activity

14.Provide information on any legislatively defined minimum age

required for valid consent to sexual activity. Is this age different for
girls and boys? Is this age different in respect of heterosexual and
homosexual activities?

Although it is not legally framed as such, the provisions of the penal law criminalizing
sexual intercourse with minors have, to an extent, such an effect. In the current penal law
(1957) that will shortly be replaced by the amended law, sexual intercourse with a minor
below the age of 15 is punishable with a maximum penalty of 5 years. On the other hand, if
the sexual act is committed with a minor of age 15-18, the punishment is simple
imprisonment . In both cases, the person to be put to punishment is the off age person who
had sexual intercourse with the under age. In article 597 of the 1957 law, it is provided that
the infant or young person seduced or victim of the actions of an adult accused person is
not liable to punishment. It further provides that appropriate measures of re-education and
supervision may be ordered in respect of the infant or young person. In the amended penal
law, some changes are made to the above provisions. The amended articles are presented in
answer to the questions 3 and 4 above. Generally sexual intercourse with a minor entails a
criminal punishment. The amended version of article 597 (which is article 660 in the
revised law) maintains the principle that the infant or young person who was victim of
sexual violence is not liable to punishment. But it has also added that if it was a minor who
committed the offence, the general provisions on infants and young offenders will be
applicable on such minor.

15.Provide information on the minimum age of marriage for women and

men.

In the previous family law that was applicable throughout the country (Civil Code of
Ethiopia, 1960) there was a different minimum age for marriage regarding boys and girls.
For girls it was 15 and for boys it was 18. In addition to this, there was a provision in the
law allowing the Emperor or a person appointed by him to grant age dispensation upto 2
years. In the regions where new family laws are governing, the minimum age of marriage
for girls is now raised to 18. For boys all except one region has the same minimum age as
that of girls. In one region in the country, that is Tigray, the minimum age for boys is 22

19
years. All the laws mandate the Ministry of Justice (Justice Bureau of the regions) to grant
age dispensation of a maximum of 2 years. The legal age of marriage applies to all forms of
marriage: civil, customary or religious. When we look at the penal law, the 1957 penal
code contains provisions that have limited application to early marriage where as the
revised law has incorporated a more direct article. Under this article (647), the conclusion,
solemnization, witnessing or approving of a marriage that doesn’t fulfill the conditions laid
down by the family law is criminally punishable with a maximum sentence of 3 years in
intentional cases. As indicated above, one of such conditions is age.

Occurrence of early marriage

 Marriage of girls in violation of the legal minimum age is widespread

in the country. In the DHS (2000) it is indicated that the median age
at first marriage for all women age 25-49 is 16. However, the DHS
has reported that the median age at first marriage among women in
Ethiopia has risen slowly over the past two decades.

 Impending or threatened forced [and early] marriage was a

significant reason why girls (1 out of 5) migrated from the regions
into Addis Ababa. Most of the girls who fled early marriage in the
rural areas ended up alone, without family members in Addis Ababa.
This was revealed in a study by Unicef; Population Council and
Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture on ‘Adolescent Life in Low
Income and Slum Areas of Addis Ababa Ethiopia’ (2004). One
female adolescent is quoted in the study: My parents were trying to
marry me, but I didn’t want to get married. So I ran away and came
here. My mother has said that I’m not her daughter any more, but I
didn’t want to get married. I wanted to study-that’s why I came.
(Age 17, Migrated from Amhara Region at the age of 11)

Sexual exploitation of children

16.Provide information on legislation and other measures to prevent the

commercial sexual exploitation of children, including through
prostitution and other unlawful sexual activities. Provide details on
means to ensure that child victims of such exploitation are not
criminalized. Provide information on legislation or other measures to
prohibit all forms of sale or trafficking in children, including by their
parents.

Exploiting the prostitution of others directly or by keeping a house for such commerce is
punishable in both the existing and the amended penal law. The punishment is simple
imprisonment and fine. [Article 604 of the 1957 penal code; article 636 of the amended
penal law]

Trafficking in women, infants and young persons to make them engage in prostitution is
punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years and a fine not exceeding
ten thousand Ethiopian birr. The offence becomes aggravated with a penalty of three to ten

20
years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of 20,000 Ethiopian birr when the victim is a minor
in the amended law and below the age of 15 in the existing law.

Trafficking in women or minors for labor purposes is punishable under the amended law
with a rigorous imprisonment of 3 to 20 years and a fine of 50,000 Eth. Birr. The provision
includes internal as well as external trafficking. [Article 600]

Pornography and harmful information

17.Provide information on legislation and other measures to prohibit the

production, possession and dissemination of child pornography. In
particular, please provide information on any controls on
pornography produced and/or disseminated via the internet.

A sexual act or any performance against good morality and behavior in a public place is
punishable with a simple imprisonment of three months to one year or a fine of 1000 birr.
If the offence was committed in the presence of a minor, the punishment increases to a
minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 5years. [Article 640 of the revised law]
Likewise, a person who makes, imports, exports, transports, receives, possesses, displays in
public, offers for sale or hire, distributes or circulates… obscene or indecent writings,
images, posters films or other objects, is punishable with simple imprisonment of not less
than six months and a fine. If such objects were exhibited, delivered or handed over to
underage persons, the penalty is simple imprisonment of not less than one year and a fine
upto ten thousand birr. [Article 641, revised penal law]

18.Provide information on any legislation or guidelines to protect

children from injurious information and material transmitted through
the media, Internet, videos, electronic games, etc.

The above prohibitions are applicable to performances or auditions of the above sort in
theaters, cinema, by projection, radio, video, and television or in any other way. There is
also a special provision for the protection of minors. Offering for sale, lending, giving or
displaying of writings, images or other objects that have the effect of unduly stimulating,
misdirecting… sexual desires in minors, or that arouse …antisocial behaviors in minors is a
criminally punishable act. The incriminating object may be forfeited where appropriate and
the responsible person subject to imprisonment of not less than six months and not more
than three years. [645, revised law]
∗ There is no provision specifically targeting crimes through the Internet. However, most of
the above provisions are broad enough to include such crimes

Reporting obligations relating to violence against children

19.Provide information on legislation, regulations or administrative

directives requiring reporting of all forms of violence against and
abuse of children in all settings to appropriate bodies. If reporting
legislation, regulations or administrative directives exist, please
indicate whether all citizens are required to report, or whether the

21
 obligation falls on certain professional groups only. Provide details of
any sanctions for non-reporting.

In any criminal offence including VAC, justice is set in motion when the commission of an
offence is reported to the police. Any person who has witnessed or heard of the
commission of an offence may make a report to the police. Except in handful of cases
where the law makes reporting mandatory, there is no duty to report a crime to the
authorities. Violence against children is not among the exceptional cases. On the other
hand there are some offences where justice can be set in motion only when the victim or a
person acting on his/her behalf lodges a formal complaint before the police. These are
offences of a private or personal nature. The investigation and prosecution of such kinds of
offences require the prior consent of the injured party. If the injured party is under eighteen
years of age, the right to lodge a compliant shall be exercised by his/her legal
representative. Offenses punishable only upon private complaint are specifically framed
as such in the penal law. The provisions make it clear that whosoever committed the act is
punishable, on complaint, with the specified penalty.

Complaints procedures

20.Provide information on any complaints procedures relating to all

forms of violence against children perpetrated in:
• The family/ home;
• Schools and pre-school care and education (both formal and non-
formal, state and private);
• Military schools;
• Institutions, state and private, including care, residential, health
and mental health;
• The context of law and public order enforcement including in
detention facilities or prisons;
• The neighborhood, street and the community, including in rural
areas;
• The workplace (informal and formal);
• Sports and sporting facilities.

In general, violence against children in any setting including the family, an institution, or
the community is to be reported to the police. According to the provisions of the law,
Police may receive accusation either from the victim child or from any person acting on
behalf of the child. Police may also be informed of the commission of the offence by any
other means. In offences that depend upon a formal complaint however, it is indicated
above that investigation and prosecution can proceed only if the aggrieved person
himself/herself or person/s acting on his/her behalf institutes a formal complaint. If the
aggrieved person is under the age of eighteen, the right to lodge a complaint shall be
exercised only by his/her legal representative.

21.Indicate whether children or persons acting on their behalf can

access these procedures. Indicate whether legal aid is available to
facilitate submission of complaints, and the circumstances in which
legal aid will be available.

22
 Legally, persons acting on behalf of children can access the complaint procedures. But
because the law enforcement machineries are in limited number and with limited resources,
they are not easily accessible to all citizens on equal basis. The handful legal aid services
available in the country are run by civil society organizations. Almost all of such services
are found in the cities and major towns of the country.

22.Describe steps which have been taken to raise awareness of

possibilities to submit complaints about violence against children.

Child protection programs within the police have, from time to time, disseminated
messages through the electronic media. Such messages were aimed at sensitizing the public
about the issue of violence against children and what measures to take when violence is
witnessed or heard of.

23.Provide information on any special procedural or evidentiary rules

which may apply in proceedings with respect to violence against
children.
There are no special evidentiary rules applicable to the cases of VAC. However, the draft
amendment to the criminal procedure code has provided the possibility for such cases to be
heard in camera. Under article 111 of the draft, the cases where trials may be conducted in
camera include sexual offences and cases where children below the ages of 15 will take the
stand.

24.Provide information on the usual outcome of complaints of violence

against children (e.g. compensation, punishment of perpetrators,
perpetrator rehabilitation, family therapy).

When an accusation or a compliant is lodged before the police, investigation is carried out
and the result is sent to the prosecution office who will frame charges and bring the case
before the court. Generally, conviction rate in all kinds of crimes is very law in the
country. The Ethiopian government is continually working to improve the system. Against
this background, in situations where adult offenders are convicted the usual outcome is
imprisonment. Compensation results if there was also a civil suit against the perpetrator.
Cases where there are such suits are few in number and the compensation awarded is
insignificant. In cases where young offenders are involved, minor cases may be referred to
community based correction programs. But in the serious cases, the young offenders are
tried and sent to a correction facility when found guilty.

25.Provide information on the usual outcome of legal proceedings in

which children and juveniles are found guilty of perpetrating violence
(e.g. imprisonment, corporal punishment, community service,
perpetrator rehabilitation, family therapy).

According to the penal law, imprisonment is a last resort for young offenders. At present,
when a young suspect is reported to the child protection units (CPUs) at the police station
for commission of a minor offence, the CPU staff in consultation with the coordinating
office at the police commission may decide to refer the child to the community correction

23
program. However, if the child was reported for a serious offence, he/she should be taken
to the nearest first instance court. The court shall then order the manner of investigation.
When the child is convicted of the crime he/she is charged with, the court may order some
measures or penalties depending on the circumstances. The court order may range from
supervised education or oral reprimand to fine or imprisonment. (Refer to the response for
question no13 for more detail).

The information contained in the following table might shed some light as to the kinds of
measures that may be taken when young suspects are reported to the Child Protection Units
at the police.

24
 Young Offenders Reported to Child Protection Units and Measures Taken( 2000-2002)

Cases and Actions Number of Offenders by City

Addis Ababa Dessie Diredawa Nazareth Total
M F T M F T M F T M F T M F T
Total number of young offenders 2433 423 28 31 64 37 23 15 38 16 42 20 3148 680 3828
reported to the Child Protection Units 56 4 8 8 1 9 3 5
Cases sent to hospitals for ascertaining 1351 255 16 14 28 17 6 5 11 32 8 40 1536 296 1832
medical evidences about their age 06 7 5
Cases sent to court for trial 1049 148 11 82 10 92 29 11 40 21 - 21 1181 169 1350
97
Cases released on bail 850 110 96 9 - 9 2 1 3 5 4 9 866 115 981
0
Cases referred to the Community based 543 110 65 - - - - - - - - - 543 110 653
correction program* 3
Cases immediately released from the 37 23 60 26 45 30 11 98 20 48 12 60 456 178 634
police stations (being under age fro 0 5 1 9
criminal charge, lack of sufficient
evidence for prosecution, arbitrated by
CPU)
Cases whose age was ascertained by 365 63 42 59 9 68 2 - 2 19 4 23 445 76 521
the hospitals 8
Cases referred to Remand home by 100 15 11 - - - - - - 4 - 4 104 15 119
court order 5
Cases released free by the court 26 9 35 - - - - - - 1 - 1 27 9 36
Source: Forum on Street Children –Ethiopia. Advocacy and Child Protection Program: Aims, Activities and Accomplishments, 2003

*The regional police commission, through the coordinating Office for the Child Protection program and the CPUs, decides as to which child
should go to such program. This community based correction program has a defacto rather than a dejure existence. According to the existing
criminal procedure law, all cases of young offenders are supposed to be reported to the courts. However, a common understanding and
acceptance of the approach by all concerned bodies and by the public is gradually developing.

25
 II. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK AND RESOURCES TO
ADDRESS VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN

26.Are there any Governmental authorities, structures and mechanisms,

including at federal, state/provincial, municipal and local level which
are currently responsible for addressing violence against children?

If YES, identify these authorities, structures and mechanisms and

describe how coordination is ensured.
27.Is there a lead Government authority tasked with responsibility for
addressing violence against children?

If YES, provide details.

A number of institutions are working in the area of violence against children. A national
inter ministerial committee was formed in 1994 to monitor and guide CRC implementation.
The Committee consists of representatives from the ministries of Health, Education,
Information, Justice, Finance and Economic Development, Culture and Sports, as well as
the Police Commission and the Prime Minister’s office. Recently, Unicef and CRDA (local
NGO) have also joined the committee. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs chairs the
committee, while the Children, Youth and Family affairs department within MOLSA is the
Committee secretariat. There are also CRC committees at regional, zonal and woreda (local
administration) levels. Violence against children is one of the thematic areas, which the
committees are engaged with. The National Committee on Child Abuse and Sexual
Exploitation is the other committee dealing with major forms of violence against children.
Bringing together representatives from government, non-government and donor groups,
this Committee has accomplished commendable tasks. The following are, in particular, its
achievements:
• Preparation of a National Plan of Action on Sexual Abuse and
Exploitation of Children
• Publication and dissemination of a poster depicting abuse and exploitation
of children
• Translation into Amharic and dissemination of the Declaration and
Agenda for action adopted at a world congress against sexual exploitation
of children in Sweden(1996)
• Finding a more appropriate Amharic terminology for the concept of sexual
abuse and exploitation
• Initiated and oversaw the carrying out and launching of studies that
include the following: Child Prostitution in Ethiopia: Law and Practice;
Health and Psychological aspect of Child Prostitution in Mercato area;
Problem and Trends of Sexual Exploitation of Children in Nazareth Town;
Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation in Shashemene and Dilla Towns ;
Sexual Harassment of School Girls in Nazareth.

26
Another important structure is the national task force on OVC, put in place to deal with the
overwhelming problem of unaccompanied children in the country. The above-mentioned
committees meet periodically to discuss concerns and to initiate and share responsibilities
as well as to measure and evaluate progresses.

Other than the above Committees, the different ministries in the country engage in
activities that in one way or another address the issue of VAC. These include the Ministry
of Health, Ministry of Justice, the Judiciary, the Ministry of Education and also the
Ministry of Information. Education and information ministries play a significant role in
disseminating information and hence creating awareness on the issue so that violence could
be prevented. Also the Ministry of Education is playing a significant role in eradicating
violence in schools. On the other hand, the Ministry of justice as well as the judiciary
enables the victims of violence get civil as well as criminal redresses. Owing to the
decentralization of systems in the country, most of the above ministries have regional
counter parts.

The other institution that is increasingly working on the issue of violence against children
is the police. In recent years, the collaborative efforts of the Police and an NGO (Forum on
Street Children-Ethiopia) have resulted in a set up of child protection program within the
city police commission in Addis Ababa. This program coordinates child protection units
(CPUs) found at sub city levels. The program and the units are staffed by police men and
women as well as by social workers and psychologists. Besides involving in awareness
raising activities, they handle all cases involving children as victims and as offenders.
Presently, the budget for the program is shard between the police and the NGO. However,
police is committed to progressively increase its budgetary allocation to the program. At
this juncture, it should also be mentioned that such units have continued to be established
in the other regions of the country. Currently, limited numbers of police stations in Oromia,
Amhara and Southern regions have such units in operation.

28.Are specific financial and/or human resources allocated by your

country to address violence generally?

If YES, indicate the extent of these allocations.

29.Does your country allocate specific financial and/or human resources

to activities to address violence against children?

If YES, provide details.

The task of addressing VAC is entrusted to different institutions that have in turn designed
multifaceted programs and interventions. Out of the budgets allocated to these institutions,
activities related to VAC take their fair share.

30.Do international or bilateral donors provide resources to your country

for activities to address violence against children?

27
 If YES, indicate the extent of these resources and the way in which they
are used.
Yes bilateral and international donors provide resources. However, comprehensive
information is not available as to the extent of the resources and the way in which such
resources are used.

31.Does your country provide any assistance to other countries’ efforts

to respond to the problem of violence against children?

If YES, provide details.

Information on assistance provided to other countries is not available.

32.If your country has a national human rights institution, such as a

human rights commission or ombudsman, or a child-specific human
rights institution, does it have any role or competence in the area of
violence against children, including receiving complaints?

If YES, provide details.

There are a Human Rights Commission and an institution of Ombudsman in the country.
Although the establishment proclamations were issued in 2000, the offices are only few
months old and have yet to build the capacity to function fully. Up to now, the institutions
have been informing themselves about the experiences of other counties on the one hand
and attempting to collect previous complaints lodged in different institutions on the other.
The establishment legislations provide for the appointment of an ombudsman heading the
children and women affairs within the Ombudsman institution and a Commissioner
heading the Children and Women affairs within the Human Rights Commission. Both
institutions are mandated to receive and investigate complaints within their respective
jurisdictions. Building the capacities of these institutions so that they can take of the ground
remains to be one of the major challenges considering the lack of human and material
resources in the country.

33.Are there any particular parliamentary structures (for example

special committees) to address violence against children?

If YES, provide details.

34.Have there been any recent parliamentary initiatives to address
violence against children?

If YES, please give details.

There are no such particular structures. Nevertheless, the women’s standing committee, the
legal committee and the social standing committee have, on occasions, been engaged in
activities addressing the rights and welfare of the child.
Revision of the penal law is one such initiative to which parliament has made a major
contribution.

28
III. ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN ADDRESSING
VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN
The aim of this section is to elicit information on civil society activities
relating to violence against children.

35.Describe significant civil society initiatives addressing violence

against children in your country, including the types of institutions
involved (such as academic institutions, professional associations,
women’s associations, student associations, community-based
groups, faith-based groups, child and youth-led groups, trade unions,
employer’s organizations, national non-governmental organizations,
international non-governmental organizations) and the major
activities engaged in (including advocacy, awareness raising,
research, prevention, rehabilitation and treatment of children harmed
by violence, provision of services, provision of resources).

The number of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working on child right issues in
general and violence against children in particular has increased over the years. Some of
these organizations have programs specifically targeted to address violence against
children. Others work on broader issues but cover some aspects of VAC in their activities.
Currently there are around 70 organizations working on child right issues out of which 48
are indigenous. Several of them are registered as non-governmental organizations (NGO)
or associations at national or regional (state) level. There are mass based associations like
the youth association and the women’s association that mobilize large number of people.
There are also self-help groups, community based organizations, traditional associations.
Upto now, the majority of these organizations are focused on deliveries of care and
support. However, the extent of engagement of civil society organizations on activities
such as advocacy, awareness raising, and research has increased. In the past few years these
institutions have had clear impacts on sensitizing policy makers and executors about the
necessity of putting in place and enforcing the appropriate laws and policies. This being
said however, civil society engagement in the country leaves a lot to be desired. Because
previous regimes have not allowed much space for CSOs to form and operate freely, such
organizations are barely beginning to flourish in recent times. Much of the activities of
these organizations are not systematically organized. Coordination between them is also
lacking due to which duplication of efforts are sometimes observed.

Space may not allow us to look into each and every intervention by the members of civil
society. Nevertheless, with the purpose of giving an insight, the initiatives and efforts of
some civil society organizations are described below:

Forum on street Children- Ethiopia (FSCE): Besides carrying out advocacy and
awareness raising activities, this NGO has pioneered the establishment of child protection
units (CPUs) in several police stations in the city of Addis Ababa and other regions of the
country. As victims or perpetrators of violence, the Police is the first institution children
come in contact with. This calls for a unit equipped with trained manpower and necessary

29
resources to handle the problem of VAC. Thus, FSC-E first conducted a study and then
established CPUs in collaboration with the federal and Addis Ababa police commissions.
Most of these CPUs are staffed with two police persons (one man and one woman) and a
social worker assigned by FSC-E. Whenever a child appears in the station as victim or
offender, this special unit takes charge of the matter and handles it with care and expertise.
The special unit is also working on community based prevention and treatment programs in
the area of delinquency. Majority of the police officers assigned in the CPUs have been
exposed to the different child right issues through short-term trainings.

The Ethiopian Chapter of African Network for the Prevention of and Protection
Against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANNPCAN): this organization was established in
1990 and is engaged in diversified activities aimed at protecting children against abuse,
neglect and exploitation. It designs and implements advocacy and awareness raising
programs, provides a hot/help line service as well as a psycho-social, medical and legal
support for abused and exploited children. It has also been promoting and supporting child
right clubs in schools.

Child Aid Ethiopia: this is a local NGO that operates in one part of Addis Ababa. Its area
of focus is sexual exploitation of children and works to raise awareness as well as to
support victims and their families.
African Child Policy Forum: this regional organization engages in advocacy, policy
dialogue, institution building and research on child right issues. The organization is
currently in the process of setting up a children legal defense center.
National Committee on Traditional Practices of Ethiopia (NCTPE): NCTPE has made
a significant contribution to the understanding of the magnitude of the problem of harmful
traditional practices in the country. A survey that was conducted by the NCTPE in 1998
has, ever since, been serving as a major source of reference for researchers and planners.

Integrated Family Service Organization (IFSO): this seemingly small organization

accomplishes a commendable task of assisting child victims of sexual abuse by providing
psychosocial support. Currently it is operating only in Addis Ababa.
Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA): this is a non-profit women’s
organization working to promote the rights of women (and girls) through three
interdependent programs which are research and law reform advocacy, public education
and legal aid. Violence against women and children is one of the organization’s focal areas.
In this respect, EWLA has been carrying out legal researches, advocacy activities as well as
free legal assistance to victims of violence.
Prison Fellowship Ethiopia: Although this organization is not primarily child centered, it
has many activities that address the needs of children. In March 2005, the organization
launched a commissioned research on ‘The Conditions of Children in Prison’. The study
looked into the situation of children -young offenders as well as small children staying with
their prisoner mothers. On the basis of the findings of the study, the organization is
planning to carry out intervention programs.

36.Describe the support provided by your Government for these

activities and the efforts made to coordinate civil society and
government initiatives.

30
There are cases where the government disburses fund to civil society organizations for the
execution of projects by the latter. The government also facilitates the smooth operation of
these organizations in many ways. The Children, Youth and Family Affairs department
within the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs endeavors to coordinate civil society efforts
through the CRC, Sexual Abuse and Exploitation committees and the OVC task force.
However, the coordination of Civil Society Activities as well as the systematic evaluation
of their effectiveness has remained to be one of the major challenges for the government.

37.Describe the role played by the media in addressing violence against

children.

Private and Government media are among the major ways with which most child centered
organizations carryout advocacy and awareness raising activities. However, around 85 % of
the population in the country resides in the rural areas, and has only limited access to the
media especially to the electronic one. According to the Demographic and Health Survey
(2000), 86% of women and 73% of men have no exposure to the mass media. On the other
hand, the high level of illiteracy (81 % for women and 60% for men) in the country bars the
print media from being a major means of information dissemination.

Despite all the above mishaps, some programs on violence against children are transmitted
in the electronic media and are having an impact on the general public. Many educative
spot massages are transmitted from time to time with the collaborative effort between the
government and CSOs. Furthermore, MOLSA has a weekly radio program on child right
issues. VAC is one of the recurrent themes on the program.

31
IV. CHILDREN/ADOLESCENTS AS ACTORS IN
ADDRESSING VIOLENCE
This section is designed to extract information on children’s activities to
address violence.

38.Provide information on the involvement and consultation of children

in designing activities, and in implementation and monitoring of
programmes and policies to address violence against them. Provide
details, including ages and other details of the children involved.

Upto now, the involvement and consultation of children in the design of activities and
implementation of programs and policies to address violence against them have been very
limited. There have been however some efforts to involve children. In the process of
preparing the national plan of action, representatives of children have taken part starting
from the inception to the launching of the document. Besides including children and
young persons in the discussion forums, a two days consultation workshop was
conducted primarily for the children. Around 100 children and young persons who
attended the workshop were able to express their views.

While this government response was being prepared, a national consultation workshop
was organized for children drawn from all regions in the country. The workshop which
resulted from the joint efforts of ANNPCAN, Save the Children Sweden, Save the
Children Norway and other members of the National Committee on Child Abuse and
Sexual Exploitation, served as a forum for the children to exchange their views and
perceptions regarding VAC. The head of the Child Affairs Department of MOLSA who
attended the workshop introduced the UN study and the regional consultation to the
children. Also, concept papers were presented on the basis of which discussions were
conducted. The children then selected their representatives to the regional Consultation to
take place in Johannesburg.

Another case of children’s (adolescents) participation was the Addis Girls Forum
initiative put in place through the collaborative efforts of Unicef, the Women’s Affairs
Office (WAO) and the Education Bureau (BoE) of the Addis Ababa City Administration.
A total of 500 school girls selected from 10 schools in the city participated in a series of
consultative meetings in May and June 2004 where discussions focused on five major
issues: HIV/AIDS and communication; sexual harassment in and around school; sex
education in school; openness regarding sex between parents and children and guidance
and counseling service in school. Following the consultative meetings, selected 100 girls
presented the findings to the City Administration during a one day workshop. The
discussions were transmitted in the Ethiopian Television, which helped to raise awareness
among the general public. Furthermore, the resulting recommendations of the sessions
have triggered many positive responses and commitments for action from concerned
bodies. On the basis of the recommendations, the partners (UNICEF, WAO and BoE)
have designed interventions, some of which are already executed. For instance ten
training workshops that extended over 10 days were conducted on sexual harassment and

32
 HIV/AIDS. A total of 3500 teachers were reached in the trainings. A draft school policy
on sexual harassment is also being discussed. There is plan to expand the initiative to
other regions.

In the past few years children or youth clubs based in or out of schools have proliferated
throughout the country. Some of these clubs have accomplished remarkably well in
popularizing child rights issues, scaling up the fight against aids and ameliorating
violence in schools. The anti-aids youth clubs deserve particular mention in view of the
critical role they are playing in the dissemination of information about HIV/AIDS. The
clubs have proved to be more effective not only in terms of reaching the youth population
but also in establishing links with the local community. Means of information
dissemination by the clubs include staging educational theatre, transmissions thought the
mini-medias in school, conducting experience sharing meetings among clubs, actively
participating in campaigns on world Aids day, volunteering for HIV screening, inviting
parents for anti aids programs and also going out to communities with messages. Few
clubs have also been providing care and support to PLHA, visiting on children under
foster care, and reporting incidents of violence against children to the authorities.

39.Describe the involvement, if any, of children in designing special

procedural or evidentiary rules applying in court proceedings with
respect to hearings concerning violence against children. Provide
details including ages and other details of the children involved.

There has not been any systematic involvement of children in the design of procedural or
evidentiary rules applying in court proceedings

40.Describe the amount and type of resources made available to support

children’s participation in activities to address violence against
children.

Amount and type of resources specifically made available to support children’s

participation are not identifiable.

33
 V. POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES TO ADDRESS
VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN
A comprehensive policy for dealing with violence against children is one that addresses multiple
forms of violence against children, that works across the different settings in which violence occurs,
and which includes components for prevention, protection, victim medical, psychological, legal and
social assistance, victim rehabilitation and reintegration, and perpetrator interventions. Such policy
is distinguished from specific programmes that address selected sub-types of violence against
children or its effects in specific populations and settings.

41.Does your Government have a comprehensive policy concerning

violence against children?

If YES, provide details and describe any gender-specific provisions

included in the policy.

There is no comprehensive policy that deals with violence against children. However,
many policies and programs have VAC among their areas of concern. Some of these
documents are described below:

The Developmental and Social Welfare Policy (1996)

Although the general objective of this policy is to create a social condition conducive to a
healthy life and sustainable development that will benefit all members of the society, it
gives a special attention to vulnerable groups of the society identified as children, women,
the youth, the elderly, and the disabled. Concerning the welfare of children, the policy
commits to, among other things, exert efforts to implement all international standards;
eliminate harmful traditional practices with regard to child rearing; extend the necessary
support and incentive to initiatives for the welfare and development of the child; and create
a fertile ground where children in specially difficult circumstances, orphans, abandoned
children, and children with mental and physical disabilities get the necessary assistance. It
also lays down that all effort shall be made to provide protection against child abuse and
exploitation.

Cultural Policy
Abolishing harmful traditional practices is one of the policy objectives. In Ethiopia, the
vast majority of harmful traditional practices are inflicted on women and children.

The National Action Plan For Children (2003-2010 and beyond, MOLSA)

Before embarking upon the presentation of the action plan for the years to come, this
document attempts to expose and analyze the situation of children in the country. It has
clearly acknowledged that the significant majority of Ethiopian children are, by all
standards, found in poor condition. The NPA reviews the achievements and failures of the
preceding program of action for children and women (1996-2000). On the side of

34
achievement, it mentions the influence on national and regional planning processes having
positive impacts such as the increase in the share of the budget for social services as
percentage of total expenditure from 16% to 21.2 %; the increase of potential health service
coverage from 48.5% to 52.4%; increase in school enrollment, etc. In the area of protection
to children, achievements have been registered in assistances extended to children in
especially difficult circumstances such as street children and orphans and in raising
awareness about CRC. On the other hand, manifestations of failure were also highlighted.
Infant, child and maternal mortality rates have remained among the highest in the world. In
the area of education, dropout and repetition rates have not declined. Areas that leave a lot
to be desired were the juvenile justice system and law revision to conform to international
standards.

The present NPA draws from the lessons and experiences of the past program and sets out
to address unmet targets.

Major components of the present national action plan (NPA) are:

• Providing quality education,
• Providing health facilities, clean water, sanitation, food and nutrition,
• Combating HIV/AIDS, and
• Protecting children against abuses, exploitation and violence.

With respect to these components, the NPA has identified targets, strategies, activities as
well as indicators. According to the NPA, the protection of children against abuse,
exploitation and violence involves registration of children at birth, revision of laws, raising
awareness about harmful traditional practices, and the improvement of juvenile justice
system, provision of assistance to children in especially difficult circumstance and the
reduction of child labor. Having the above components in mind however, the NPA makes
it clear that reducing the abject poverty that has reigned in the country is the foundation of
all progress. The priority areas for addressing poverty in the country are: education, health,
water and sanitation, roads, and agriculture and food security.

The implementation of this NPA is the responsibility of a National Children’s Affairs

Steering Committee led by MOLSA. One of the major challenges for the successful
implementation of this NPA is budgetary constraint. A significant portion of the financial
resource needed for the implementation of the NPA is expected to come from donors and
community contribution.

National Plan of Action against Commercial Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of

Children in Ethiopia (2005)

This NPA is in the process of being finalized. It embraces aspects of prevention; protection;
rehabilitation and support. For each aspect, the document has identified the activities to be
carried out, the focal point and partners for the activity and also possible indicators.

National Plan of Action on Orphans and Vulnerable Children (2004-2006)

35
This plan of action identifies five major areas for action: situation analysis, legal and
regulatory frameworks, advocacy and capacity building, monitoring and evaluation and
consultation and coordination. For each area of action, the plan lays down the activities to
be carried out, the responsible organ, implementation steps, time frame and follow-up
requirements.

National Plan of Action for the Establishment and Development of Civil Registration
and Vital Statistics Systems in Ethiopia

Although this plan of action has yet to be endorsed, it has put ambitious goals such as
reaching a registration coverage level of 90% for birth and death registration areas in 5
years time after the endorsement of the plan. At present Ethiopia has no civil registration
and vital statistics system in place. However, a study has been conducted by the Population
and Housing Census Commission Office on what kind of institutional framework and
infrastructure should be adopted in the country. The proposal that has resulted from this
study is awaiting approval.
In view of the fact that a record of civil status serves a wide array of purposes one of which
is better protection of the welfare and rights of the child, scaling up efforts to make the
system up and running is critical.

National Youth Policy (2004)

In the policy, youth is defined to include all persons between the ages of 15 and 29. The
policy aims to enhance the participation of the youth in bringing about democracy and
good governance as well as sustainable development by working in the spirits of tolerance
and partnership. The policy focal areas include democracy and good governance, economic
development, education and training, health, HIV/AIDS, culture and environment.

Health Sector Development Program III

For the first time, the third health sector development program, which is in the making, has
incorporated non-communicable diseases as one of the program targets. Components of
non-communicable disease include mental health and injury caused by violence. When this
program is finalized it is expected to provide a framework on the basis of which the health
care system will give better attention to the complex problem of violence.

Education Act
The ministry of education has prepared a concept note about an ‘education act’ with the
purpose of proposing the introduction of such legislation in the country. The underlining
importance of having such legislation is to ensure comprehensive regulation of educational
standards, learning environments, curriculums, etc.

42.Does your Government deliver, or provide direct support for delivery

by other agencies, of specific programmes aimed at preventing and
responding to violence against children?

• By way of example, the program that addresses children in specifically difficult

circumstance may be mentioned. This program, which was implemented in the
years 1997-2003, had two major project components: relief and prevention project

36
 for street children and support services to children in childcare institutions. In the
first project, children and families were made to benefit. The services extended
included education, health, entertainment, skills training credit services and
psychological counseling. Activities in the second project were aimed at
empowering the children in the institutions in terms of skill and hence economic
self-sufficiency.
• Another project that targeted children is the ‘addressing vulnerability project’. This
project has been under implementation by the Bureaus of Labor and social affairs in
the regions since 1999. The major components of the program are CRC promotion
and support to street children, disabled children and children who had been victims
of sexual abuse and exploitation as well as child labor.

43.Does your Government monitor the impact of these policies and

programmes directed towards violence against children?

If YES, describe the monitoring systems and provide a URL or other

reference where the system and outcomes are described in greater
details.
Monitoring the impacts of policies and programs is one area where an enormous gap is felt.
In a functional review of the Children, Youth and Family Affairs department of the
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs conducted in April 2004, it was revealed that follow-
up on policies and programs by the responsible organs with a view to translate such into
concrete results leaves a lot to be desired. Coordination between partners was also said to
be lacking. However, after the functional review, a commitment was entered between the
stakeholders to improve the situation.

44.Does your Government participate in any internationally coordinated

activities concerning violence against children?

If YES, please provide details.

From time to time, the government takes part in internationally and regionally coordinated
activities or events. A case in point is the participation in the international movement to do
away with sexual abuse and exploitation of children. The government attended the first and
second World Congresses Against Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children held in
Stockholm (1996) and Yokohama (2001) respectively. The participation of representatives
from the government and other non-government organizations in this global movement
resulted in the formulation of a National Plan of Action Against Commercial Sexual Abuse
and Exploitation of Children in Ethiopia.

37
VI. DATA COLLECTION, ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH

This section aims to provide an overview of information systems and

information about violence against children that may be used to inform,
plan and monitor policy, legal and programmatic interventions concerning
violence against children.

45.Over the past five years, has there been any victimization,
epidemiological or other population-based surveys of any forms of
violence against children in your country?

If YES, provide details or references, or attach.

46.Have there been any small-scale or representative interview studies

with parents and children on violent victimisation of children?

If so, please give details.

Below is a list and brief description of surveys and studies conducted by government or
non-governmental organizations.

• Child Labor Survey Report (2001)

This was conducted by Central Statistical Authority, MOLSA, and ILO. Its objective is
to determine the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of children such as
their living and working conditions, and earnings. It is also set out to assess the health,
education and welfare status of working children.
The survey covered 43,601 households from all regions and administrative cities of the
country. Accordingly it has estimated that there were 18,197,783 children in Ethiopia,
accounting for 32.6% of the estimated 55.9 million total population. The majority of the
children live in the rural areas (86.7%) and about 84% were living at least with one of
the parents. The survey revealed that only 38% of the children aged 5-17 years were
attending school (formal and informal) at the time of the survey. As regards work, it
was indicated that about 85% of the country’s children are engaged in either productive
or housekeeping activity during the one-week reference period of the survey. The
majority of the children engaged in productive activity were unpaid family workers.
The average hours worked during the reference week was found to be 32.8 hours…

• Survey on the Prevalence and Characteristics of AIDS Orphans in Ethiopia

(2003).

MOLSA, Italian Cooperation and UNICEF conducted this survey. The survey has
exposed the magnitude and scale of the problem by presenting the prevalence and status
of AIDS orphans in the country. The study covered all regions and city governments of
the country. Its major objective was to determine the prevalence of AIDS orphans and
find out their demographic, psychosocial, economic, health, educational statuses. It has

38
also explored the availability and accessibility of services designed to alleviate the
problems of AIDS orphans. Out of the selected 3883 households with at least one
orphaned child, 2683 had provided data. Qualitative methods were also employed in
the survey. The findings indicate that the national prevalence of Aids orphans in the
country is 15.6%. It was also shown that there was no significant difference in
prevalence rates between major cities (14.69%), small towns (16.67%) and rural areas
(14.77%). The status of aids orphans and that of their families is the other area explored
in great detail by the survey. A comparison was also made with the status of non-aids
orphans. The socio-economic status of most aids orphan families is characterized by
high illiteracy rate of heads of households, low family income and lack of facilities. It
was also shown that a considerable AIDS orphans are living outside of their familial
environment and are faced with environmental, physical and social hazards….

• Demographic and Health Survey (2000)

This is a nationally representative population and Health Survey conducted on 15,367

women of age 15-49 and 2,607men of age 15-49. The survey being the first of such
study for the country, serves to inform policy makers, planners, researchers, etc. It has
numerous information directly or indirectly related to the rights and welfare of the child
in general and VAC in particular.

• Health and Health Related Indicators

This is a yearly report by the Ministry of Health. It provides important information on,
among other things, maternal and child health, as well as disease statistics.

• Orphans and Vulnerable Children Rapid Assessment, Analysis and Action

Planning Report. Ethiopia (OVC-RAAAP)

On the basis of available studies as well as using the results of limited primary
assessment, the report has exposed the magnitude and situation of OVC in the country.
According to the report, the number of OVC in the country is large-4.6 million-and
shows an accelerated growing trend due to the HIV/AIDs epidemic. It is also indicated
that orphans are found in worse situation than other children in terms of well-being
such as school attendance, satisfaction of basic needs, health and psychosocial support.
With respect to the nature and context of the national response to the problem, it has
stated that existing legal provisions are inadequate and also weakly enforced. Support
available from GOs and NGOs are constrained by limited financial and human
resources, competing demands, low institutional capacity and community awareness.
The report acknowledges that some progress is being registered. For instance, a draft
national action plan on OVC was produced at the end of the OVC-RAAAP process. But
it is also noted that there is more to be done….

• Report on Violence Against Children.2005, African Child Policy Forum &Save

the Children Sweden

39
 By gathering qualitative and quantitative information from the study’s target group in
five regions in the country, it aimed at identifying children’s as well as the public’s
view, experience and perception on violence committed against children; the nature and
extent of violence against children and the legal and policy framework to address the
problem. On the basis of the findings of the assessment made, the study had concluded
that children as well as adult informants in the study have comprehensive perception
concerning physical, psychological and sexual violence against children. The study has
also concluded that physical, psychological and sexual violence are widely occurring
resulting in devastating effect on children….

• A Study on Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation in Shashemenae and Dilla

Towns. 2003

This study was conducted under the auspices of the National Steering Committee on
Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children. The study targeted 471 persons belonging
to different groups. On the basis of information collected through different assessments,
the study has revealed that street children and commercial sex workers have very low
educational status and that most come from disrupted and dysfunctional families in the
lowest economic strata. According to the study, both street children and commercial
sexual workers are highly abused and exploited. As regards sexual abuse, 1/3 of the
female street children, 1/10 of the male street children, 1/2 of the child commercial sex
workers, 2/5 of male and female students enrolled in the study were sexually abused….

• Adolescent Life in Low Income & Slum Areas of Addis Ababa Ethiopia
(2004):

This study drew on data collected from over 1000 adolescent boys and girls aged 10 to
19 in the low income and slum areas of Addis Ababa. Over 1/3 of the adolescents in the
study migrated into Addis Ababa from other regions. Both qualitative and quantitative
methods were employed in the study. The study revealed that only 35 % of the boys
and 24% of the girls were living with two parents at the time of the study. A significant
number of the girls (1/5th) came to escape early marriage in their rural homes. 98.2 % of
the boys and 90.4 % of the girls have some time attended school but the mean years of
education for boys were 6.9 and for girls 4.7. In early adolescence, the majority of both
boys and girls are in school. But by middle adolescence, most engage in work activities.
It was found out that more girls than boys have begun working. 12% of the girls in the
sample were domestic workers. They worked an average of 62 hours per week for an
average pay of 14 birr ($1.60) per week. Some of the boys and girls in the study have
experienced harassment and crime. However, girls were more victimized than boys.
Someone of the opposite sex in their neighborhood has groped 4.3 of the boys and 32.2
of the girls. 19% of the boys and 46.9 of the girls were teased and 5.8 of the boys and
7.3 of the girls were robbed in the last year…

• There are some reports produced by CRDA and ANNPCAN (Civil Society
Organizations) on the views of children on child right issues. The workshops were
carried out in 2004 in selected areas (Gonder town, Wolaita Sodo, Shashamane,

40
 Grarjarso) in the regions. The participant children were able to express their
perceptions and views on child right issues. Different kinds of violence such as
child labor, sexual exploitation, and some harmful traditional practices like FGM,
early marriage and abduction were among the points of discussion in all the
workshops.

• The Conditions of Children in Prison (2005)

This study was commissioned by Prison Fellowship Ethiopia, a local NGO working
to improve the situation of prisoners and ex-prisoners. The study covered 20 prisons
from all over the country. The situation of both child offenders and children staying
in prison with their prisoner mothers was assessed. Accordingly, although direct
physical and mental harm was not commonly inflicted on the children, it was
indicated that the children in prison were not enjoying their basic rights such as the
right to adequate food and education.

• Diversion of Children in Conflict with the Law From the Formal System- a case
study of the experiences of Forum on Street Children in Ethiopia (FSC-E) (2005)

This study assesses the community based correction program pioneered by FSC-E.
After highlighting the meanings of relevant concepts and terms, the study goes on to
explain about the program and how it is being implemented. The successes in the
program and the challenges faced by it are also identified in the study.

47.Over the past five years, has your Government conducted or

commissioned any scientific research projects on the problem of
violence against children?

If YES, indicate the subject of this research and where the findings of
these projects may be consulted in more detail.

Please refer to the listed studies above.

48.Have studies or surveys been undertaken into the impact of legal

measures to address violence against children?

If YES, provide details or references, or attach.

Information as to the existence of such studies or surveys is not available

49.Does your Government have a system for formal inquiries into all
child deaths in which it is known or suspected that violence may have
played any part? Provide details.

There is no such formal system of inquiry into all child deaths

41
 50.Are regular (e.g. annual) reports published describing the statistical
profile of the known or suspected violent deaths investigated by the
system?

If YES, what proportion of all homicide deaths are under the age 18?

No regular reports are published on suspected or known violent deaths investigated by the
system. However, the Federal Police Commission maintains a national crime statistics,
which is available for reference for researchers, planners and other interested parties.
Although this statistics has its own limitations, it serves to indicate the scale of the
problem.

Reported Deaths of Children between the ages of 9and 18∗ (National)

1992 Ethiopian 1993 Eth. Cal 1994Eth.cal 1995 Eth. cal

Calendar (Sep.2000- (Sep.2001- (Sep.2002-
(Sep.1999- sep2001) sep2002) sep2003)
sep2000)
No. of %out of No. of %out of No. of %out of No. of %out of
deaths the total deaths the total deaths the total deaths the total
Intentional 182 10.29% 394 6.57% 408 6.62% 240 10.77%
Homicide
Négligent 21 10.76% 12 13.33% 17 27.42% 18 18.18%
homicide
Attempted 347 16.45% 461 13.90% 679 16.80% 480 18.38%
homicide
Accidental death 41 17.22% 17 17.00% 13 15.85% 11 17.74%
Total 591 13.7% 884 9.3% 1117 10.79% 749 14.9%
Source: National Crime Statistics, Federal Police Commission (unpublished)

∗ In the statistics, the age categories of victims start from 9 years. But it was explained that many younger
deaths are possibly included in this age category. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the number of child
deaths caused by violence could be a lot higher than what is indicated in the above figure.

51.If reports on the national profile of known and suspected violent

deaths are published by your Government, indicate how the data is
broken down for the purpose of reporting (check all that apply):

Sex
Age
Ethnicity
Manner of death (homicide,
suicide, undetermined)
External causes of death

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 (firearm, strangulation, etc.)
Geographical location of
incident (address)
Scene of occurrence (home,
school, etc.)
Time and date of incident
Victim-perpetrator relationship
Other:

In the National Crime Statistics of the Federal Police, data for the victim is broken down
by age, sex and type of homicide (Intentional, negligent, accident). For perpetrators, data
is broken down by age, sex, level of education, occupational status, and marital status.

52.Provide the total number of reported cases of violence against

children in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Selected cases of violence against children between the ages of 9and 18 (National)

1992 Ethiopian 1993 Eth. Cal 1994Eth.cal 1995 Eth. cal

Calendar (Sep.2000- (Sep.2001- (Sep.2002-
(Sep.1999- sep2001) sep2002) sep2003)
sep2000)
No % out No %out of No %out of No %out of
the total the total the total the total
Assault and 7243 19.84% 5187 23.23
12118 20.99
11747 19.93%
willful injury
Rape 152 38.48% 338 39.12% 344 36.63% 330 43.82%
[Sexual 829 70.85 1134 76.15% 1313 71.63% 843 77.91%
Outrage]∗
Source: National Crime Statistics, Federal Police Commission (unpublished)
∗ The sexual outrage category provided here is referring to the ‘defilement by force or on
an underage’ classification in the police statistics. That is why the percentage of child
victims is high.

53.Provide the total number of convictions and reported cases for the
various categories of crimes of violence recorded against children in
2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Although, some courts in the country have recently established a data base system, data
entry is at the initial stage due to which the system is unable to process and produce reports
by age of victims or offenders. Thus figures on convicted cases of violence against children
are yet to be made available in the future. However, studies indicate that conviction rate is
very low. In a small assessment of cases at the federal first instance and high court, it was
indicated that conviction rate for all crimes in the first instance court is 11% and in the
High Court 33.1%. [ Desalegn Berhe, 2004. unpublished] For sexual offences, which are
the commonest form of violence faced by Children, the conviction rate goes even lower
because of the difficulty in fulfilling the evidentiary requirements owing to the very private
nature under which the offence is committed on top of the taboo and bias around subject of
sex and sexuality.

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 VII. AWARENESS, ADVOCACY AND TRAINING
This section is aimed at gathering information on any awareness-raising,
advocacy and training activities relating to violence against children which
may have been conducted by your Government.
54.Over the last five years has your Government conducted or
commissioned any campaigns for raising awareness of and
preventing violence against children?

If YES, please describe any recent campaigns, including the settings and
types of violence that were the subjects of the campaigns and the target
audience (general public, caregivers, teachers, etc.).

Campaigns for raising awareness are carried out on different occasions such as on June 12
and 16, which are celebrated as Child Labor Day and Day of the African Child
respectively. On the last day of the African child, ‘birth registration’ was the theme of the
campaign. The major objective of the campaign was to pass the message that birth
registration is the right of every child and all efforts should be scaled up to make it a
reality.

Also world AIDS day in 2004 was celebrated with a focus on girls and women and their
vulnerability to the pandemic because of the violence perpetrated on them. Women’s day
on March 8th 2004 was also celebrated with the theme of violence against women and girls.
These dates have served as occasions to carry out campaigns.

55.How were the campaign messages and information disseminated

(check all that apply)?

Print media yes

Radio yes
Television yes
Theatre Yes
Schools yes
Others Fliers
and
posters

In the child labor day and the day of the African child, there were demonstrations in most
parts of the country in which participated children, advocates and government
representatives. The demonstrators were carrying a placard with messages. Some of the
events were transmitted through the electronic and print media. Furthermore, posters and
fliers were printed and disseminated to the relevant institutions and the wider public. There
were also different kinds of school celebrations. In the world AIDS day, a number of panel
discussions were held.

56.Over the last five years, has your Government provided,

commissioned or sponsored training programmes in the area of
violence against children?

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 If YES, indicate which of the following areas were addressed by the last
such training programmes and which provider groups received training
(check all that apply).

Various governmental bodies give trainings to different target groups on the different
aspects of violence against children. Below are examples of such trainings.

Responsible Target Group Subjects of Date of

Government training training
Body
Ministry of Justice 235 School Child Rights 2003,
directors (Addis under Ethiopian April
Ababa) Law; Violence
against children
and HIV/AIDS
Ministry of 120 Media Child Rights 2002,2003
Labour and Social Professionals
Affairs
Ministry of Justice Police, Prosecutors Women and 2005
and Judges in Addis Child Rights
Ababa, Bahir dar
city, Dessie
Wolisso and
Nazareth towns

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References

Laws, Policies, Action Plans

1. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989
2. FDRE Constitution, Proclamation No. 1/ 1995
3. Penal Law. 1957
4. Revised Penal law.2004
5. Criminal Procedure Code, 1961
6. Civil Code, 1960
7. Revised Family Code Proclamation No. 213/ 2000
8. Labor Law, Proclamation No. 377/2003
9. FDRE, Cultural Policy.1997
10. Developmental and Social Welfare Policy, FDRE, Ministry of Labor and Social
Affairs.1996
11. FDRE, Youth Policy.2004
12. National Plan of Action Against Commercial Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of
Children in Ethiopia (draft).2005
13. MOLSA, Ethiopia’s National Plan of Action for Children: 2003-2010 and
beyond. 2004
14. PHCCO (Population and Housing Census Commission Office) (2003) National
Plan of Action for the Establishment and Development of Civil Registration and
Vital Statistics Systems in Ethiopia (Draft).
15. FDRE (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia) National Plan of Action.
Orphans and Vulnerable Children:2004-2006

Books and Materials

1. Annabel S.Erulkar et al. Adolescent Life in Low Income & Slum Areas of Addis
Ababa Ethiopia. Population Council, Unicef and FDRE Ministry of Youth, Sports
and Culture. 2004
2. FDRE Central Statistical Authority (CSA) .Demographic and Health Survey.
2000
3. CSA, MOLSA, ILO. Ethiopia Child Labour Survey Report. 2001
4. UNICEF, HAPCO & EPHA. National Assessment of Anti Aids Clubs in
Ethiopia. Qualitative& Quantitative Studies. Part One.
5. UNICEF, HAPCO & EPHA. National Assessment of Anti Aids Clubs in
Ethiopia. Inventory Assessment, List of Anti Aids Clubs. Part Two.
6. Henrik Haggstrom et al. (2003) Children’s Rights in Ethiopia. A Situation
Analysis. Save the Children Sweden.
7. FDRE, WFP, UNICEF, USAID& UNAIDS. Orphans and Vulnerable Children
Rapid Assessment. Analysis& Action Planning Report Ethiopia.

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8. FSC-E (Forum on Street Children-Ethiopia)(2003) Advocacy and Child
Protection Program. Aims, Activities and Accomplishments.
9. MOLSA, UNICEF& ITALIAN COOPERATION. Survey on the Prevalence and
Characteristics of Aids Orphans in Ethiopia. 2003
10. NCTPE (National Committee on Traditional Practices of Ethiopia) Old Beyond
Imaginings. Ethiopian Harmful Traditional Practices. 2003
11. Federal Supreme Court Juvenile Justice Project Office. Fitiha Hitsan, a biannual
magazine. Vol. 1, No2
12. MOLSA, Guidelines on Alternative Childcare Programs. 2001
13. African Child Policy Forum, A Report on Violence Against Children.2005
14. FSC-E, Study on Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation in Shashemenae and Dilla
Towns. 2003

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