FREE FROM VIOLENCE HELP KIDS STAY SAFE IN

FREE FROM VIOLENCE! HELP KIDS STAY SAFE IN STATE-RUN RESIDENTIAL INSTITUTIONS IN KAZAKHSTAN • BECAUSE sociological research reveals that the environment can be powerful in shaping youth behaviors, including deviant and criminal behaviors • BECAUSE many children that grow up in institutions suffer years of abuse at the hands of the “starshaki” • BECAUSE sometimes the violence was used to punish children; while at other times it appears the violence was more random and unpredictable, for unforeseen reasons • BECAUSE staff regularly locked children in small places and rooms in order to lock them away and isolate them from other children for several hours to days • BECAUSE children’s fear of other children and staff in the institution is a major concern because it demonstrates that the attitudes and actions of some children and staff in the institution threatens children’s sense of safety and security in the institution; thus, creating an unpredictable and unsafe environment for children to live and grow up in • BECAUSE children who are victims of abuse and neglect are typically at increased risk of running away from home • BECAUSE among the 997 children surveyed, 8. 5% reported they purposely hurt themselves because they were unhappy or sad. More specifically, 8. 1% of children in orphanages, 5. 4% in shelters, and 12. 4% in institutions of education for children with deviant behavior engaged in self-harm ACT NOW!!!