December 29, 2010

Together, we can make a difference

As of today, you, together with almost 44,000 other Campaigners for Children have raised your hands to be counted in the effort to stop child abuse in Malaysia.

You make us very proud.

At the Get on Board campaign's official closing event held on the 15th of December, the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development made a pledge to work with UNICEF to undertake a study to better understand child abuse in Malaysia so our country's policies and programmes can be more efficiently adapted to address this crucial issue.

Your support has helped achieve this, and we could not have done it without you.
This is proof that, when people come together, spread the word and take action, anything is possible.

UNICEF will continue to keep www.uniteagainstabuse.my live as an ongoing resource for everyone. Please keep going back to it to learn more, and also share this knowledge with friends!

Violence against children is very real and the damage caused can impact children for a lifetime. Here are some real testimonies from children:

"Once I didn't know how to do my homework, so I asked my teacher for help.
But she didn't help me, she just pulled my ear. She always makes me feel useless."

Boy, 9, Malaysia.

"With these two hands my mother holds me, cares for me, this I love.
But with these two hands, my mother hits me - this I hate"

Girl, East Asia and the Pacific.

"I hate early marriage. I was married at an early age and my in-laws forced me to sleep with my husband and he made me suffer all night. After that whenever day becomes night, I get worried thinking that it will be like that. That is what I hate most."
Girl, 11, married at 5, Eastern and Southern Africa.

We cannot wait for more children to suffer and be scarred for life, some even having their lives cut short. UNICEF is working with the Government of Malaysia to ensure a protective environment for all children free from violence, abuse and exploitation.

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