Children and domestic violence : Helping families to prevent negative effects. A case in Colombia

A great portion of the Colombian population has been affected by violence, yet one of the most disadvantaged groups in these circumstances is the family and especially children. Poverty, armed conflict, and lack of opportunity... [ view full abstract ]

A great portion of the Colombian population has been affected by violence, yet one of the most disadvantaged groups in these circumstances is the family and especially children. Poverty, armed conflict, and lack of opportunity are among several factors; create dysfunctional families with acute signs of neglected and mistreated children. There are a great number of rules and norms to protect amily and children. In addition there are government agencies seeking protect them, but the action in practice does not cover them all. Therefore, since the citizens have developed private funded programs that seek to implement laws and provide support for children from families with difficulties and that without this intervention, may not have access to food, education, and they could end up homeless.

Objective

This paper seeks to highlight the importance of citizen action to give concrete law enforcement to help families and protect children by providing education services, nutrition and training in order to avoid being involved in crimes.

Method

This exploratory research is based on a case study focused on activities in the Department of Santander in Colombia. It seeks to identify the characteristics of a population of children under 14 and how they are learning to overcome violence in their homes through the work with the support of a group of citizens who seek to aplicacieon the rules to protect the welfare of the population through the provision of various services to prevent enlisting on illegal activities.

Results and Conclusions

This study seeks to characterize the activities carried out by citizens who are organized around crime prevention for children, and how through education, impact the lives of those who have been generated victims of domestic violence. In the same way, this is to generate suggestions for playing this experience elsewhere in Colombia and Latin America.