9 July 2015 - Fast-paced technological innovation and widespread accessibility of information and communication technology (ICT) have transformed societies around the world. Children in particular have unprecedented access to computers and mobile technologies, and have in recent decades tended to adopt these from an early age, resulting in ICTs becoming thoroughly embedded in their lives. Although the exploitation of children is not a new phenomenon, the digital age has exacerbated the problem and created more vulnerability to children.
With the aim of gaining a better understanding of the problem and the challenges posed by it, UNODC recently published a Study on the Effects of New Technologies on the Abuse and Exploitation of Children. The document is based on open source research as well as the work of a UNODC Informal Expert Group Meeting on the subject, convened in Vienna in 2013. This meeting brought together experts from international organizations, law enforcement, specialists on the subject and members of academia.
Stop All Forms of Abuse and Violence against Older Persons – OLDER WOMEN - Marking World Elder Abuse Awareness Day” – 15 June 2015
Abuse and violence against older persons has recently gained attention at the international, regional and national levels. Abuse and violence encompass the various forms, practices, perceptions and assumptions that exist in different groups across and within societies. In that sense, it should not only encompass physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, and financial abuse but should extent to exploitation, neglect, abandonment or desertion, among others. Practices of abuse and violence could be the result of social, economic, cultural and political structures that could directly or indirectly lead to the marginalization of older persons by their families and societies. It is global problem that occurs everywhere, regardless of socioeconomic status, in poor and rich families, in developed and developing countries. Therefore, it is important to consider elder abuse as part of a broader objective to improve the conditions of life for older persons and to respect for their dignity.
PARALLEL REPORT BY THE EUROPEAN ROMA RIGHTS CENTRE CONCERNING THE CZECH REPUBLIC
For Consideration by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women at the 63th Pre-Sessional Working Group (27 - 31 July 2015)
Direct Link to Full 2015 Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC)1 submits this parallel report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) for the attention of the Pre-Sessional Working Group, commenting on the Combined Fourth and Fifth Periodic Report of the Czech Republic, submitted under Article 18 of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Convention).
