(Produced by: Amplify change voice of GBV Coalition Members/August.2019)
Communication is an important skill that parents use to build a positive relationship with their children, it is also defined as the process of transmitting information about ideas, attitudes, emotions or behavior”. Good communication between children and parents build self-esteem as well as the mutual respect between them. Islamic religion demonstrates the building of children’s moral and religious training, and the importance of communication between the parent and children. The parent must not only provide for children education in school and colleges but should also take a personal interest in their studies and encouraging them. The main purpose of this article is to understand what kind of child abuse and neglect are in schools, and how the lack of parents and children communication can result to be abused or neglected.
The communication is the channel between parents and children when this channel is open, the children can confidentially turn to communicate with their parents by asking questions and sharing their common issues. The children will able to speak things around them, and what they see and hear from other people they live with. For the last decades, the school system in Somaliland is increasing, a high number of schools in the private and public sector were developed and established. The Ministry of Education and Science in Somaliland has developed and implemented successful and functioning state policy and legal regulation in basic education, secondary/vocational education, non-formal education, special needs education and higher education in both public and private institution.
However, the poor communication of the children and parents resulted in children to be at risk of harming, the child abuse and neglect is very common in both private and public schools while there are school guidelines. The Physical and humiliating punishments are deep-rooted in Historical and Somali background and a wide of the society accepted as a mean of disciplining the children. Most of the children in schools face physical and humiliating punishment that resulted in the thousands of the children to drop out the schools or become poor educated. Some situations associated with a higher level of risk of abuse or neglect for children in schools, some studies present children are experiences stress from teachers, old youth, and sometimes the bus drivers. The children who are the most risk for child abuse and neglect including young children, children with disabilities and children with challenging behavior. The children who have difficult to communicate with their parents they control their emotions and hide problem they experienced, children get frustrated easily and they didn’t know how to solve their problems, the most cases that happen in the schools related to the child abuse. Building a strong relationship between the parents and children increases the communication between them. Its common in the Somali community, the conversation between the children and parents are limited and this has resulted in children to be experienced child abuse and not able to speak about their problem or concern they are having, the parents didn’t provide a platform to teach their children prevention factors of child abuse, as reported “horrible case happen in somewhere in Hargeisa, disability child was raped by her School driver, and get pregnant” and also some studies presented child rape or sex exploitations are common in schools, and This case shows that more children are at risk and needed to build strong relationship and communication between the children and parents. Child abuse in child rape could happen in any place including homes, public places, and schools. Child abuse didn’t happen only in the outside of the homes, but most cases reported family members are part and abused the children and raped. Therefore, it’s also needed a parent to build commitment for positive relationships with all stakeholders, they work with including, school principals, teachers, and school drivers.
To eliminate child abuse and neglect in schools and homes, parents should build health communication between their children, any children want to have a loving relationship and connection with their parents. To held and build strong relationships with each our children and eliminate the child abuse and neglect, it’s recommended to parents should understand the importance to connect with them, and spend a time with them and encourage from to open up when they need to, parents should avoid lecturing and think about what their children really want and understand how our children will best hear what you have to say next time you speak. Parents should be an active listener when they are speaking with their children and build skills to practices conversation between them, the parent should be asked their children how their schools were and what they meet, the parent should tell positive stories related to the child abuse and how to prevent it.
