'Traditions & Practices'
The Child who sees …. may copy
The Child who 'feels'…. may ‘become’
And the Child of the Child has a legacy given… he can copy and feel and become!
Did you know that seeing animal abuse affects the child ?
Did you know that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has identified these ‘Harmful Effects’ ?
Did you know that there are countries around the world where endemic public animal abuse is seen by many thousands of children because of government ‘practices’?
This is a powerful newly emerging dimension which potentially affects millions... animals & children !
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has identified the effects on children witnessing public animal abuse.
" Right of the child to be protected against all forms of violence
43. Recalling its general comment No. 13 (2011) on the right of the child to be protected against all forms of violence and the Development Program By 2030, the Committee recommends that the State party accelerate the adoption of a comprehensive strategy to prevent and combat all forms of violence against children as part of the overall He also recommends:(...)
f) To redouble efforts to change violent traditions and practices that have a detrimental effect on the well-being of children, including the prohibition of children's access to bullfighting shows or related performances. "
‘The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, or UNCRC, is the basis of all of Unicef’s work. It is the most complete statement of children’s rights ever produced and is the most widely-ratified international human rights treaty in history.’… UNICEF
New research has shown that the ‘Harmful Effects’ identified by the UN Committee, which are caused to the child who witnesses bullfighting, are also experienced by children who witness public abuse of companion animals in societies where violent homeless animal management 'Practices' exacerbate this violence. This affects millions of animals and a potential resultant effect on many thousands of children.
The first study program conducted in this domain and in one of the countries where public animal abuse is endemic, Teesside University study in Romania found that 86.3% of the child subject group had witnessed public animal abuse.
In many nations this ‘experience’ happens where extensive homeless companion animal populations exist and their abuse is proportionate. Please see the following video but exercise caution. You may not wish to see these scenes of violence & abuse but if you feel that you must turn away..... please consider that the children of these lands do NOT have such a choice...they MUST see these things. Would you want this for YOUR child?
The 'Harmful Effects' caused to the child who must see this public violence & abuse, includes a progressive desensitization, an automatic process which protects the child's natural emotional reaction to an empathic 'connection' with another sentient being. This can cause an erosion of empathy so that the child ceases to be empathic & a normalisation of aggression which the child may take into adulthood & enact against people & property.
What happens to the child exposed to extensive public animal abuse :
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At a neurological level, forming the basis for a child’s ‘empathy’ Mirror Neurons were identified suggesting that the child ‘understood’ the intentions and feelings of another sentient being.
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Empathy takes two forms : Cognitive Empathy and Affective Empathy. The latter is the child’s ability to enter into the emotional world of another. To understand feelings, desires, intentions, emotional joy and pain ie the child ‘feels’ what the abused animal is feeling.
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Exposure to violence and abuse against another sentient being with whom the child emotionally identifies, can result in a natural emotional defence mechanism with a progressive de-sensitization to the abuse and with an attendant erosion of Affective Empathy.
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Continual exposure to violence and abuse can result in a normalisation of violence which can then be enacted against people and property as well as animals. In Romania 86.3% of the child subject group had witnessed public animal abuse. Significant correlations were found between animal abusers and violence and abuse of people and property.
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Where significant homeless animal populations exist, diminishment of their social status encourages violence and abuse. Similarly violent homeless animal management strategies further diminish social status and encourage violence.
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OIE, FVE and WHO suggest national neutering programs as the ONLY effective practice to humanely reduce animal numbers and subsequent abuse exposure.
There are countries which now protect the children .....
Morocco
But there are many others where the suffering continues..for Children & Animals
Tunisia Roumanie
Protect the animal to save the child....
Protect the child to save the animal !
