Among the most valuable: children
- Written by Yenny Torres
- Published in Opinion
- Hits: 38
Photo: UNICEF Cuba
Social media echoed instantly. The news was broadcast on TV. When the victim is a child, repudiation multiplies. The particular fact is not our object of analysis; whether it was accidental or not, the mental state of the aggressor and the mother, the process in short, is the responsibility of the investigation and justice bodies.
However, we will approach in legal matters and the right to infants and adolescents, and the crime of other acts contrary to the integral development of minors, which by the limited possibility of reaction to danger and little ability to distinguish between good and evil, are easily manipulated and require greater protection.
The UN General Assembly approved the Geneva Declaration in 1924 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 (adopted by Cuba in 1990), constituting the greatest achievement of the 20th century in the field of children's rights on a global scale. However, these texts are constantly violated.
In Cuba, laws and government actions aimed at offering them a better future began in 1959 and are a priority policy, endorsed in the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba. In order to establish this protection in a more comprehensive manner, various institutions and bodies were involved. They are responsible for warning of the signs our children show of being targets of acts of violence and addressing them in the least harmful way for the child.
Law 156/2022, the "Family Code," is one of the most comprehensive laws currently in Cuban society, as it governs the principles of family development and the best interests of children and adolescents. It also establishes the right for children to grow up in an environment of happiness, love, understanding, and full enjoyment.
Law No. 143/21, on Criminal Procedure, also provides for the protection of minors who are victims of criminal acts. Just one week after its approval, the Code of Childhood, Adolescence, and Youth is also enacted.
The Penal Code regulates crimes against sexual liberty and integrity, families, and the comprehensive development of minors in Title XVI (sexual assault, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and abuse, statutory rape, incest) and Chapter III (corruption of minors, other acts contrary to the comprehensive development of minors).
Generally, the extent of domestic or school violence is not accurately or timely known because both perpetrators and victims hide it. The latter do not protest for fear of reprisals from the aggressors or their families, they do not report it because they do not know their rights, they do not know that the authority conferred by being a parent or teacher does not permit hitting and insulting, or because they do not know who to report it to.
Fear of parents, distrust of adults, anxiety, poor academic performance, aggression, distraction, or withdrawal are obvious manifestations. In this context, when some leave their minor children in the care of others due to migration, it is essential to keep an open eye. In our society, acts against children and adolescents are repudiated by the majority; protecting them is a duty and an obligation, for the present and the future, for their happiness.
