UN: Millions of boys are deprived of their freedom

Article here. Excerpt:

'The latest report from the United Nations (UN) on children and liberty reveals that children lose their liberty in prisons; in police custody; in migrant camps; under duress in homes for the disabled; in welfare institutions; and in war camps. Children may be in prison as a result of their own crime or to stay with their mother. Almost no father-child facilities exist in the world’s prisons.

The authors warn against the consequences of deprivation of liberty: the number of mental illnesses in children can increase tenfold in custody. In addition, those affected die on average much earlier than peers who have lived in freedom.

The lead researcher says that “children under all circumstances have to be protected from the traumatic experiences detention settings inevitably create.”

According to professor and human rights lawyer Manfred Nowak, more needs to happen so that children no longer have to live in bondage. The authors of the report refer to the various forms of deprivation of liberty as “structural violence.”

Where there is political will and determination, a report by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) concludes, children’s lives and well-being will improve.'