Introduction:
SEYAJ organization for childhood protection issued this week a report on the violations against children in Yemen in 2009. It is considered the first report done by a local organization on children.
SEYAJ has taken this contribution to protect children in all possible ways as its priority. Therefore, this report is one of the means of children protection, besides many other means pursued by SEYAJ in monitoring and documenting violations and supporting children victims.
The report aims to monitor & document violations and provide indicators of crimes in order to contribute to developing policies and treatments that reduce violence and crimes against children.
The cases that SEYAJ received for violations and crimes against children were 900 cases during their first year of monitoring.
The violations that the report included are murder, arrest, detention, imprisonment, beating, physical tortures, kidnapping, rape, early marriage, sexual exploitation, displacement, neglect, harassment and other violations.
However, SEYAJ analyzed only 257 cases of the total number of monitored cases which it succeed to document and confirm all their details.
In 2009 the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Dr. Amat-alrzaq Ali Hamad revealed that 400 children were smuggled in 2009 as compared to 900 in 2008.
SEYAJ managed to collect information about exploitations of 200 children in Hajja and Al-Hodeida governorates for smuggling and drug trafficking to neighboring countries, most of them are males.
As a result of the fact that illiteracy of mothers in the Yemeni community is around 96% in some areas while it’s 65% among fathers, violence against children will definitely increase.
Dr. Ali Mohammed Mojawar, Yemeni Prime Minister said in his speech in front of partners and friends of Yemen meeting held in London 2009, that more than three million children dropped out of school and half of the population still lack some basic services especially electricity which covers only the needs of 42% of the population while 26% of them have no water services and 32% of the Yemeni families face serious shortages in food.
These numbers are shocking SEYAJ says because it could result in increasing crimes and violence, especially against the vulnerable groups in society, “children and women”.
As SEYAJ did efforts in monitoring, documenting, supporting and issuing this report to see the light, it is certain that there are lacks due to difficulties and obstacles it faced.
Below is a summary of SEYAJ’s first report.

About the 1st report:
Taking a look at the report, we found that illegal detention is at the top of the violations, followed by physical torture, rape, murder, deprivation of rights, child marriage, attempted murder and others.
It could be said that all crimes and violations against children are categorized as follows:
1.life offenses, 87 cases of 257 cases represent 33.85% of all cases:
•33 cases physical torture.
•26 cases murder.
•22 attempted murder.
•2 cases kill threaten.
• 4 other cases.

2.Honors crimes, 68 cases of 257 cases represent 26.46% of all cases:
•29 rape cases.
•13 cases of kidnapping and rape.
•21 kidnapping and attempted rape.
•5 cases of harassment and attempted rape.

3.Freedom crimes, 54 cases of 257 cases represent 21.01% of all cases:
•46 arrest cases, imprisonment and illegal detention.
•7 cases of concealment.
•One case of a child being held as a hostage.

4. Crimes against average rights, 48 cases of 257 cases represent 18.68% of all cases:
•25 cases child marriages.
• 5 cases without identity.
•5 cases forced displacement.
•4 cases neglecting and deprivation.
•3 cases displacement and chase.
•Two cases Falsification of documents.
•Two cases unfair dismissal.
•One case travel ban.
•One case using the name.

*** The low level of awareness of child rights in the Yemeni community and wrong points of view to these rights contributed in the weakness of community participation in protecting child rights and defending them.
Thus SEYAJ noticed that there is a clear lack of care in reporting crimes and abuses against children.

People generally escape from punishment when it comes to crimes against children. This takes place due to the following factors:
1.Lack of parent’s care to report violations against their own children.
2.Lack of community interaction required to advocate victims and their families.
3.Lack of awareness of child rights and ways of protection.
4.Lack of families’ awareness in particular and society in general about the dealing with child victims of violations.
5.Negative awareness about many forms of dealing with a child.
6.Poverty and ignorance of the majority of victims’ parents.
7.Using influence, pressures, threats, mediations and interventions by some state officials and sheiks which impede justice especially in serious crimes that are ignored.
8.The culture of the shame and scandal.
9.The new experience of monitoring, documenting, and providing free legal & psychological support in Yemen.
10.The absence of some national legislation related to child rights and the weaknesses of others.
11.Lengthening of procedures and lack of justice in violent cases against children because of the families’ frustration to go to courts.
12.Lack of qualified security & prosecutor employees even in courts to handle violence cases against children.
13.Lack of courts and special prosecutions to juveniles in many governorates as there are only five specialized courts in Yemen.
14.Child criminals are transferred to other facilities not fit for children.
15.The difficulties to prove many crimes against children especially sexual abuses because of the lack of rehabilitation and technical capabilities.