fyi.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [AdHoc_IDC] abuse of children with disabilities
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 17:55:12 +0100
From: gerison <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
To: <[log in to unmask]>
a shocking illustrtion of how far we have to go!!
Cheers
Gerison
PORTUGAL: Green Light to Mistreatment of Disabled Children [news]
[LISBON, 12 April 2006] - In a verdict that shocked human rights and
child advocacy organisations, the bar association and the country's
leading analysts, Portugal's Supreme Court ruled last week that the
corporal punishment of children with mental disabilities in a children's
institution is not illegal.
The first to raise his voice was Humberto Santos, the president of the
Portuguese Association of Disabled Persons (APD), who told the press
Wednesday that he found the Supreme Court's defence of physical
punishment "disturbing and outrageous." Physical punishment is
unacceptable in and of itself, "but is much more alarming and deeply
repugnant when it is defended by a court of law," said Santos.
Late last year, a juvenile court in Setúbal, 40 km south of Lisbon,
convicted a caregiver in a children's home for mistreating children in
her care between 1990 and 2000, and sentenced her to 18 months in
prison. The case, which revealed that she regularly slapped mentally
disabled children and locked them into a dark pantry, caused a public
commotion.
But in the decision it handed down on Tuesday, in response to an appeal
filed by the caregiver, the Supreme Court considered slaps and spankings
not only "legal" and "acceptable," but stated that failure to use these
methods of punishment could even amount to "educational neglect." In
addition, the Court said that locking children into dark rooms is a
normal form of punishment "by any good parent."
One of the children frequently locked in the pantry was a seven-year-old
boy suffering from a severe case of child psychosis. The caregiver also
habitually tied another little boy to his bed, so that he would not
cause disturbances.
The head of the APD said the Supreme Court decision was reminiscent of
"the Middle Ages," and that the Portuguese justice system had committed
"a grotesque violation of human rights" by setting a precedent so that
"others who act in a similar fashion can continue their mistreatment."
Santos added that because of the gravity of the case, it should be
considered by the European Court of Human Rights.
Ana Filgueiras, head of the "Cidadãos do Mundo" Association, which works
on behalf of vulnerable children, told IPS that "the effect of this
outrageous ruling is that citizens will simply be unable to believe in a
legal system that does not recognise a child's right not to be hit, even
in a case in which there is an aggravating factor - that the child is
disabled."
When she lived in Brazil, from 1975 to 1990, Filgueiras was a well-known
activist with the Centre for the Defence of the Rights of Children and
Adolescents, and won several battles against civilian, judicial and
military authorities who were determined to "clean up" Rio de Janeiro of
street children.
"That (victory) would be very difficult to repeat in Portugal, where
civil society has been heavily influenced by the state," said the
activist. "In any civilised country, a disgraceful ruling like this one
would trigger such a wave of indignation that the Supreme Court would
find it very difficult to justify what is unjustifiable."
Similar views were expressed by the bar association, which described the
verdict as "dangerous." Carlos Antunes, a member of the bar
association's human rights commission, said the legal decision is
unacceptable and "extremely serious, because it sets an appalling
precedent and transmits a very dangerous message, which did not come
from just any court, but from the high court itself."
Antunes said the commission was awaiting the complete verdict in order
to take a formal stance on the "very disturbing" decision that gives
people a green light to engage in "criminal mistreatment." When asked
whether the ruling set a legal precedent, the expert said he had "no
doubt that in the future, this decision could be invoked in other cases,
to play down the guilt of those who have mistreated children." The legal
decision "is almost incomprehensible, and completely absurd," Antunes
added.
Lawyer Pedro Biscaia, a member of the same commission, said "this opens
a door to impunity for a series of behaviours that are absolutely
avoidable in our society, where these days we have problems with
aggression against and abuse of minors in institutions and youngsters
from low-income areas."
For his part, Frederico Marques, with the Portuguese Association of
Support for Victims (APAV), said the Supreme Court decision that
corporal punishment of children with disabilities is legal and
acceptable is "foolish."
Marques declined to comment on the ruling in concrete terms, since he
was not entirely familiar with the case. But referring to the treatment
received by the children at the hands of the caregiver, he said that
APAV "repudiates this kind of behaviour." He also said "the verdict
would seem quite senseless, in view of the climate of concern
surrounding the question of the rights of children."
Government officials have not yet pronounced themselves on the verdict.
Cornered by journalists, Minister of Social Welfare José Vieira da Silva
merely stated that in the children's institutions that answer to his
ministry, "physical punishment is strictly prohibited, with no exceptions."
Manuel Coutinho, of the governmental Children's Support Institute,
declined to comment, explaining that he had not yet had access to the
documents. He simply pointed out that "any adult who mistreats a child
faces a possible prison sentence of one to five years."
The Supreme Court ruling also runs counter to the international legal
obligations of Portugal, which ratified the Convention on the Rights of
the Child - legally binding on signatory countries - in September 1990.
Gerison Lansdown
Tel: 00 44 (0) 20 8444 3594
Fax: 00 44 (0) 20 8442 0961
Email: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Address:
30 Ellington Rd
London
N10 3DG
UK
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