Blog

Last July, I reported on Mozilla’s roll out of its Firefox HTML-based operating system for smartphones. Mozilla’s innovative approach has enabled the first mobile device to be run completely on web technologies. This low-cost smartphone promises to expand global access to smart devices, make a huge contribution to the open-source movement, and create new entrepreneurial opportunities for developers around the world to meet local needs.

Six months later, what has been the impact of the Firefox OS smart phone? Now in 14 countries, the Firefox OS is running on three different devices, and there are thousands of apps on the Firefox Marketplace.

Last summer, Telefónica launched the ZTE Open powered by Firefox OS in Spain, followed by launches in Columbia and Venezuela. According to Telefónica, as reported in Venture Beat in November, Firefox OS accounts for 12 percent of their smart phone sales in Venezuela, and 9 percent in Colombia.

In addition to the ZTE Open, new devices running on Firefox OS include the Alcatel One Touch Fire and the LG Fireweb. Availability varies by market.

Since the summer, these phones have hit the market in Poland, Greece, Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay.

Developers in these places are leveraging the open platform to drive innovation and economic opportunity at the local level. Firefox OS offers developers flexible payment options and seamless portability of apps (and user information) across different operating systems. Examples of local apps on the Firefox Marketplace include the following:

• Peru: Guia Desatres, Peru Cookbook, OLX

• Columbia: Gol Caracol, El Tiempo

• Venezuela: Globovision, Cinex Movil, Ultimas Noticias, Tu Descuenton, Lider en Deportes

• Brazil: UOL, OLX, Decolar, GuiaMais, BOL, dieta e Saude, Editora Globo, Galinha Pintadinha, Kekanto, Vivo Chat

• Mexico: Media Tiempo, Quien, El Universal, Chilango, M3

• Poland: Tablica, Sport.pl, Pogoda and WP.pl

According to Jay Sullivan, COO of Mozilla, “We built Firefox OS as part of Mozilla’s mission to put the power of the Web in people’s hands and offer the best Web experience possible. We’re happy to see Firefox OS gain momentum with partners launching new devices in new markets and developers around the world being inspired to innovate.”

Mozilla’s global mobile revolution is underway.

As our learnings from 2013 illustrate, much progress has been made over the past year with respect to inclusive urban planning and poverty alleviation. But there is still much more to do in 2014. Some cities in the URB.im network will begin work on large-scale “greening” initiatives, such as Cali‘s ambitious Green Corridor project or Jakarta‘s plans to expand green areas by 30 percent. Other cities are experiencing a surge in citizen participation: online activism is transforming urban spaces in São Paulo, and popular protest in India has led to promising reforms that are expected to reduce political corruption. What will it take for initiatives such as these to succeed and grow, and what challenges will confront them? Read on to learn more, and then add your thoughts to the discussion below.

Eliana Barbosa, Coordenadora da Rede em São Paulo

Sem dúvida há muito que esperar para São Paulo em 2014. A abertura da copa, as mudanças na mobilidade, a aprovação do plano diretor, o dilema do mercado imobiliário — será uma bolha? — todas as questões acima poderiam ser tópicos para discutir no ano que vem.

Entretanto, o fato extraordinário em 2013 que pode mudar o modo como vivemos a cidade é o seguinte: As pessoas estão provocando mudança. Muito foi dito sobre as manifestações de junho e seu impacto no que diz respeito a conscientização política, cidadania, participação e o surgimento de uma nova geração de ativistas. Nota-se cada vez mais o surgimento de grupos independentes transformando o espaço da cidade com suas próprias mãos e meios.

De acordo com a pesquisa “Ativismo Online: 2013 o ano do Brasil,” esse foi o ano que mostrou aumento histórico dessa forma de ativismo no país. Campanhas de sucesso foram capazes de mudar micro-realidades, chamando atenção para causas locais. Ao contrário das caras campanhas mundiais das grandes organizações — como a Greenpeace e o WWF — a tendência atual se refere à escala do cotidiano. Habitantes descobriram nas petições online um canal para participação popular.

Interessante o fato de que as causas relacionadas ao planejamento urbano ganharam mais impacto. Foram capazes de alterar decisões institucionais através de pedidos específicos, pressionando as autoridades locais. Um exemplo interessante é a petição organizada pelo coletivo Ocupe & Abrace, que conseguiu evitar a derrubada de 30 árvores para a implementação de corredores de ônibus na zona oeste.

O que nos leva a outro tópico digno de nota para o próximo ano: os Coletivos. É impressionante a quantidade de coletivos relacionados a mobilidade, espaços públicos e cultura que se formaram nos últimos anos. Coletivos são grupos de pessoas que, através de uma causa ou interesse em comum, juntam-se agindo para mudar a letargia da participação pública pelos meios oficiais. A Cidadania e o Direito à Cidade revigoram-se com essas nova forma de olhar a cidade. De muitos exemplos interessantes, destaco três:

Baixo Centro, com seu delicioso slogan “As ruas são para dançar,” começou como um grupo de produtores culturais ao redor do Minhocao, promovendo, através de financiamento coletivo, eventos e intervenções urbanas nos espaços públicos na região.

O movimento Boa Praça é um grupo que se reúne com o objetivo de revitalizar as praças da zona oeste da cidade. Apenas em 2013 eles trabalharam em dez praças, através de eventos abertos, nos quais pessoas podiam plantar árvores, construir mobiliário urbano e compartilhar um picnic numa praça local, o que — na “cidade dos muros” — já é uma grande conquista.

Recentemente, um grupo decidiu transformar um estacionamento em Parque Público. Terreno marcado como parque desde o Plano Regional de 2004, a área nunca foi desapropriada. Em novembro o lote foi comprado pela maior incorporadora da cidade, para o desenvolvimento de um empreendimento de uso misto. Após apelar para a prefeitura, sem sucesso, o Grupo Parque Augusta começou trabalhar na área, criando uma programação diária de atividades, que culminou num festival para 4000 pessoas. O Parque Augusta tornou-se, pelas mãos dos próprios habitantes, uma realidade.

Como outras organizações, esses coletivos são abertos, não-institucionalizados e horizontais, Organizados virtualmente, promovem atividades culturais financiadas coletivamente, chamando atenção para os debates urbanos, promovendo mudanças reais em lugares específicos da cidade. Tudo feito apesar da vontade política, das verbas públicas e da burocracia que envolve os canais formais de participação.

Eliana Barbosa, São Paulo Community Manager

No doubt there is a lot to look forward to in 2014 with respect to the city of São Paulo. The World Cup, changes in the transportation system, the new Master Plan, the ongoing real estate dilemma (is it a bubble, is it not?) are all topics to be discussed in the coming year.

Yet something remarkable occurred in 2013 that will change the way we experience the city: people are taking action. A lot has been said about the protests in June and their impact on political awareness, citizenship, participation, and the rise of a new generation of activists. Remarkably, we can see more and more grassroots organizations acting to transform spaces of the city with their own hands and their own funds.

Online activism

According to “Online activism: 2013 the year of Brazil,” Brazil showed the biggest increase in online activism in 2013. Campaigns successfully changed micro-realities, bringing awareness for local causes. Residents discovered online petitions as a channel to participation on a neighborhood scale.

Interestingly, urban planning causes gained greater impact, changing institutional decisions with focused requests, pressuring the local authorities. An interesting example is the petition created by the group Ocupe & Abrace, which was able to prevent 30 trees from being chopped down in order to create a bus corridor.

Coletivos

An impressive number of grassroots organizations working in transportation, public space, and urban culture have emerged in the last couple of years. Called “coletivos”, they are groups of people united by a common cause, working to change the lethargy in which public participation officially happens. With these lenses, citizenship and the Right to the City take on fresh and exciting new meanings. The following are three interesting examples from São Paulo:

Baixo Centro, with the wonderful slogan “Cities are made for dancing,” started as a cultural producer’s group acting in Minhocao, and promotes crowdfunded culture festivals, urban interventions, and traditional parties in public spaces.

Movimento Boa Praça is a group of neighbors aiming to revitalize the public squares of the western zone of the city. In 2013 alone they refurbished ten squares during events in which people could plant trees, construct urban furniture, and share a picnic in a given public space — which in São Paulo is quite an accomplishment.

Recently, a group decided to create a public park — Parque Augusta — out of an empty lot. Marked as a park in the Regional Plan of 2004, the area was never expropriated. Last November, the city’s largest real estate company bought the area to develop a mixed-use complex. After unsuccessfully appealing to the mayor, the Parque Augusta group began to “officially” promote daily activities in the “park.” Parque Augusta was suddenly, by the hands of its inhabitants, a reality.

These initiatives are open, non-institutional, and run by horizontally-organized and “online-based” groups that promote and finance cultural activities, bringing awareness of public spaces and urban debates, and promoting real change in places of the city. This is all done without the local authorities’ will or funds, and without traditional, formal channels of participation.

Jorge Bela, Gestor Comunitario de Bogotá

Hay muchas cosas positivas que esperar para el año 2014 en Colombia. Se prevé que el crecimiento económico siga siendo vigoroso, al tiempo que las conversaciones de paz pueden acabar con un conflicto armado que ha durado ya varias décadas. Estas circunstancias presentan un escenario sin precedente para aliviar los problemas de pobreza y desigualdad que sufre el país. Bogotá y Cali, las dos ciudades que seguimos en este blog, tienen iniciativas en marcha que pueden ofrecer soluciones concretas a estos dos problemas. Sin embargo, la incertidumbre es también elevada, tanto a nivel nacional como local. Por un lado, los resultados de las conversaciones son inciertos. Por otro, las elecciones presidenciales que se celebrarán en su primera vuelta en mayo también resultarán en una ralentización de la administración central. Aunque se espera que Juan Manuel Santos ganes la reelección, cualquier cosa puede suceder en la política colombiana, y un cambio en la presidencia puede decelerar aún más el ritmo de las reformas.

En Bogotá hay varias iniciativas en marcha en el sector del transporte público. Los planos para el metro están entrando en la última fase de los estudios geológicos, que estarán terminados a lo largo de 2014, lo que permitiría que en 2015 se adjudicara la construcción de la mega obra. En la superficie se está avanzando en la ampliación del sistema de Transmilenio por una avenida aún por definir. 200 autobuses híbridos empezarán a circular por la Avenida 7ª, sustituyendo a las contaminantes busetas privadas. Si a esto sumamos la reciente inauguración del Transmilenio a Soacha, 2014 puede ver una mejora significativa en los problemas crónicos de transporte público en la capital colombiana, aunque aún serán necesarios ingentes esfuerzos en esta área para llegar a tener el sistema que necesita una ciudad tan grande y extendida.

Por otro lado, el plan para revitalizar el hermosos pero descuidado Centro Histórico continúa avanzando. La administración está trabajando en los protocolos necesarios para llevar a buen puerto estos planes. Para lograrlos se está contando con la ayuda de expertos internacionales de la región, así como de agencias multilaterales. Se espera que su definición termine a lo largo del año, lo que permitiría que las obras de mejora se completaran a lo largo del 2014.

En diciembre, sin embargo, la oficina del Procurador General de la República ordenó la destitución del Alcalde de Bogotá, Gustavo Petro, por supuestas deficiencias en la transferencia del servicio de basuras de concesionarios privados a la Ciudad. La decisión puede ser recurrida y el Sr. Petro ha asegurado que la combatirá tanto con acciones legales como con movilizaciones populares. El diferendo legal y político en el que está inmersa Bogotá añade un elevado grado de incertidumbre al futuro de las iniciativas actualmente en marcha.

En Cali el alcalde Rodrigo Guerrero goza de considerable apoyo político y popular, lo que trae mayores perspectivas a su plan urbano más ambicioso: el Corredor Verde. Sin embargo, Guerrero está sujeto a la misma limitación de mandatos que el resto de los alcaldes colombianos, y que prohíben la reelección consecutiva. Cuatro años es un plazo demasiado corto para acometer un proyecto de esta envergadura, por lo que se hace imprescindible generar el mayor apoyo posible a la iniciativa como mecanismo para garantizar su continuidad a largo plazo. Con este fin a lo largo del 2014 se dará inicio a proyectos piloto relacionados con el Corredor a los que daremos cumplido seguimiento en este blog.

Finalmente, el 7 Foro Urbano Mundial tendrá lugar en Medellín de 5 al 11 de abril de 2014. Se espera que el Foro atraiga más de 10.000 participantes, incluyendo jefes de estado, alcaldes, gobernadores, académicos, profesionales y representantes del sector público. El Foro ya está atrayendo la atención de los medios de comunicación colombianos. El lema del Foro, Equidad Urbana en el Desarrollo — Ciudades para la Vida, sin duda tendrá una resonancia especial en Colombia. El Foro, y su resonancia internacional, servirán como incentivo y como inspiración para las ciudades de Colombia.

Jorge Bela, Bogotá Community Manager

There is much to look forward in 2014 in Colombia. Economic growth is expected to remain strong, and the decades-old armed conflict could be close to its end if the peace conversations now underway are ultimately successful. These circumstances bring an unprecedented opportunity for the country to tackle poverty and rampant inequality. Bogotá and Cali, the two Colombian cities covered on this platform, are working on major initiatives that could have a significant impact on these fronts. However, uncertainty is also quite high, both at the national and local levels. For one, the results of the peace conversations are far from certain. Furthermore, Presidential elections, to be held in mid-year, imply a slowdown of central government activity for most of the year. Although Juan Manuel Santos is expected to win re-election handily, anything can happen in Colombian politics, and a change at the top would also bring the processes of reform to a temporary halt.

In Bogotá, several major initiatives related to mass transportation are underway. Plans for the subway system are reaching their final stages as geological studies are being undertaken on the proposed path of its first line. The engineering studies should be finished in the course of 2014, which would enable the construction of the system to be formally awarded in 2015. Above ground, the Transmilenio surface is to continue its expansion through a still undefined major avenue, while 200 hybrid buses are scheduled to run on 7th Avenue, replacing aging and highly polluting private mini-buses. Together with last week’s inauguration of the Soacha line, these Transmilenio initiatives would bring significant relief to the perennial transportation woes that plague the capital, although much work remains to be done to bring Bogota’s public transportation system up to the level needed for a city of its size.

The plan to revitalize the beautiful but largely dilapidated historic center also continues to advance. City Hall is in the process of defining the protocols that would allow these plans to come into effect. In order to do so, Bogotá is seeking technical advice from regional experts, as well as from multilateral organizations. The protocols are expected to be finalized well before the end of 2014, allowing for actual work to start in 2015.

In December, however, the Solicitor General’s office ordered the Major of Bogota, Gustavo Petro, to be ousted from the post over alleged mishandling of the garbage service reforms. The decision can be appealed, and Mr. Petro has vowed to fight it, both legally and by mobilizing people in the street. The legal and political battles surrounding Bogotá now leave serious clouds of uncertainty over the future of the projects currently underway.

In Cali, Mayor Rodrigo Guerrero has wide political and popular support, which brings great hope for the city’s most ambitious urban renewal project: the Corredor Verde. Still, Mayor Guerrero is held to the same strict term limits that apply to all mayors in Colombia: four years with no consecutive reelection. Since a project as complex as the Corredor Verde cannot be undertaken in such a short time, it is essential to garner as much support as possible so that future administrations will continue to pursue the project. In order to do so, Cali is planning to launch pilot projects during 2014, to be completed through 2015. We will follow these pilot projects closely and report on them here on URB.im.

And, of course, the 7th World Urban Forum will be held in Medellin on April 5-11. The Forum, which is expected to attract 10,000 participants including heads of state, governors, mayors, academics, professionals, and members of the private sector, is already receiving significant media coverage. This year’s theme is, significantly, Urban Equity in Development — Cities for Life, which is likely to resonate strongly in Colombia. The Forum will without a doubt serve as an incentive and an inspiration for all Colombian cities.

Priyanka Jain, Delhi Community Manager

For those of us living in Delhi today, let’s start our look at 2014 by admitting that we’re lucky. We don’t live in the city we lived in two years ago, where our political choices were so limited and our collective conscience was in a state of sleepy inertia. If you followed the debates and movements of the year 2013, you know there is still hope for our city. But all of this aside, we still have a problem: water scarcity through corruption, slum rehabilitation, and sexual assaults affect the citizens of Delhi across class, caste, and gender boundaries. Before Delhi progresses up the ladder of livability, the year 2014 will require answers to four big questions.

The Nirbhaya Fund

First, did the horror of a girl who was brutally gang-raped and injured, with a rod shoved inside her genitals, fast-track the reforms for women’s safety? The answer today is a resounding “No.” 94 percent of 2,178 people surveyed in the Times of India poll said that our cities aren’t any safer for women a year after the horrific Nirbhaya gang-rape. On the one hand, we saw the case as a catalyst. It led to the Nirbhaya Act, which increased the quantum of punishment for crimes against women, and to the “One Billion Rising” campaign, which galvanized women from across the world. But the perception of insecurity hasn’t changed. In the 2013-14 Union Budget, GOI announced the Nirbhaya Fund, 10 billion rupees to enhance women’s safety in public spaces. Year 2014 will show the effectiveness of Nirbhaya Fund in changing the perception of safety for women in Delhi.

Debut of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and None of the Above (NOTA) vote option

Second, will the introduction of the None of the Above (NOTA) vote option, and 2011 and 2012 anti-corruption protests, followed by the success of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2013, increase accountability in governance and help cut corruption? A total of 44,000 voters (0.63 percent) exercised the NOTA option in Delhi. The number, when compared to other states — Chhattisgarh (4.6 percent), Rajasthan (1.92 percent), and Madhya Pradesh (1.9 percent) — is quite low. But it has made the politicians more accountable. Another sign of progress is the unprecedented rise of AAP, with 28 seats in the Legislative Assembly elections. It’s most likely that AAP will form the government with the support of congress. But, more importantly, it has shaken up the political order in Delhi and spurred the parties to pass the Lokpal Bill. The Lokpal Bill, armed with the Right to Information Act, will provide the necessary institutions for people to fight corruption effectively.

Setback with Section 377 IPC

On the other end of the spectrum is the reversal in the fundamental rights of Delhi’s citizens with the recent Supreme Court verdict upholding Section 377 IPC, a law criminalizing homosexuality — a ruling that some activists called a “black day” for the LGBT community. It quashed a 2009 Delhi High Court verdict that had decriminalized homosexuality. Free for the last four years, will the LGBT community of India again face sexual assault, harassment, blackmail, and extortion by the police, neighbors, and even family members?

Water scarcity and Delhi’s tanker mafia

Water scarcity is Delhi’s biggest challenge, despite the fact that no other capital in the world has the kind of water availability Delhi has. According to Ashish Kundra, additional chief executive officer at Delhi Jal Board (DJB), Delhi has 670 million gallons per day (MGD) of water supply. The supply would go up to 810 MGD after completion of the Sonia Vihar project. And if divided by the 150 million people who reside in Delhi, it comes to 220 liters per capita per day (almost 11 buckets). DJB says that it loses 50 percent of its water. The speculation is that private suppliers or “water tanker mafia” tap DJB booster stations as well as bore wells in farmhouses located on the outskirts of Delhi, and distribute the water at exorbitant prices. If the above is untrue, where is the remaining 335 MGD of water supply going?

Photo credit: sandeep bisht

Widya Anggraini, Jakarta Community Manager

Bagi kebanyakan orang Jakarta identik dengan kota macet, kota polusi, kota mall atau kota banjir. Sedikit atau bahkan hampir tidak ada yang menyebut Jakarta sebagai kota Hijau. Sebutan ini bukan tanpa alasan mengingat kondisi Jakarta saat ini yang kian macet, polusi udara yang parah, pembangunan yang banyak menyalahi penggunaan lahan dan tingkat urbanisasi yang tinggi dan munculnya kam. Kondisi ini membuat masyarakat merindukan kehadiran ruang terbuka hijau atau taman-taman di pusat kota yang berfungsi sebagai tempat rekreasi, olahraga, serta interaksi sosial. Hal-hal inilah yang menjadi harapan masyarakat di tahun 2014 yang ingin melihat lebih sedikit pembangunan mall dan lebih banyak taman kota. Secara kebijakan, pemerintah telah merespon dengan mengeluarkan undang-undang Penataan Ruang yang secara tegas mengamanatkan bahwa 30% dari wilyah kota berwujud Ruang Terbuka Hijau (RTH). Undang-undang ini kemudian diterjemahkan kedalam sebuah program bernama Program Pengembangan Kota Hijau (P2KH).

P2KH merupakan kolaborasi antara pemerintah pusat, pemerintah kota, masyarakat dan dunia usaha dalam menciptakan kota hijau. Program ini sendiri merupakan tindak lanjut dari 10 Prakarsa Bali dari Forum Sustainable Urban Development (SUD). Kota yang berkomitmen mewujudkan kota hijau dalam kerangka program ini diharuskan menyusun rencana aksi kota hijau (RAKH) yang mulai dijalankan tahun 2012. Sebagai pembagian peran maka dalam hal ini pemerintah pusat wajib memberikan bantuan dan bimbingan teknis, pelatihan dan dukungan program. Untuk pelaksanaan program seperti implementasi fisik, sosialisasi, penjaringan aspirasi masyarakat dan replikasi program menjadi tanggung jawab pemerintah kota bersama dengan masyarakat dan dunia usaha terutama untuk implementasi dan advokasi kegiatan.

Dalam rencana kerja yang telah disusun terdapat dua strategi yang kini pemerintah Jakarta terapkan, yaitu penerusan kondisi sesuai peran Jakarta saat ini dan transformasi fisik serta perubahan perilaku masyarakat yang lebih sadar lingkungan. Dalam hal transformasi fisik dan perlilaku masyarakat telah disiapkan 5 strategi mendasar yaitu:

• Meningkatkan kemampuan tenaga perencana ekonomi lingkungan. Untuk ini sudah dilakukan kerjasama dengan UNDP dan World Bank dalam hal penyediaan training dan workshop terkait isu-isu perubahan iklim.

• Menerapkan program pencegahan meliputi bagaimana menumbuhkan kesadaran masyarakat tentang efek perubahan cuaca. Kegiatan seperti car free day sudah dimulai dan dilakukan tiap hari minggu. Kemudian menggalakkan kegitan Bike to Work untuk mengurangi polusi. Tahun-tahun mendatang Jakarta berharap ada sekitar 30% dari total pekerja akan menggunakan sepeda.

• Mendorong masyarakat untuk lebih aktif dalam program-program perubahan lingkungan (climate change). Dalam hak ini pemerintah akan mendorong para perencana di Dinas Tata kota Jakarta untuk bekerjasama dengan komunitas dalam menciptakan masyarakat yang lebih ramah lingkungan seperti mendorong komunitas membuat lebih banyak taman.

• Menambah jumlah ruang hijau publik. Untuk mengupayakan penambahan ruang terbuka hijau, sejak tahun 2011 telah dibuka lebih banyak ruang hijau dan kini telah mencapai 6% dari target 30%.

• Menambah jumlah kendaraan ramah lingkungan. Pemerintah juga akan terus mengupayakan penambahan fasilitas transportasi ramah lingkungan contohnya MRT yang sedang dalam proses pengerjaan dan transformasi model bis Trans Jakarta yang menggunakan bahan bakar ramah lingkungan dan terintegrasi dalam system transportasi perkotaan.

Dengan demikian di tahun 2014 akan mulai terlihat rintisan berbagai kegiatan yang akan membawa Jakarta menuju kota Hijau (Green City) baik melalui pembukaan lebih banyak ruang hijau, inovasi transportasi ramah lingkungan dan masyarakat yang kiat sadar untuk berperan serta dalam menciptakan lingkungan yang bersih dan hijau.

Foto: Yudho

Widya Anggraini, Jakarta Community Manager

For most people, Jakarta is associated with traffic, pollution, shopping centers, or floods. Rarely do people identify Jakarta as a green city. This is unsurprising considering the city’s increasing traffic jams and air pollution, the rapid land development in violation of city plans, and growing slums. These circumstances have led Jakartarians to long for the presence of green open space or public parks that could function as locations for recreational, exercise, and social activities. This is the hope of Jakarta’s residents for 2014: less shopping malls, more public parks. In terms of city ordinance, the government has responded to the people by passing the Spatial Planning Bill, which strictly states that 30 percent of the city must consist of green open space. This bill then was translated into a project called the Green City Expansion Project (P2KH).

P2KH is a collaborative project between the central government, the city government, local residents, and the business community. The program is a continuation of the Ten Bali Initiatives from the Sustainable Urban Development Forum. Cities that are committed to achieving the green city status within the framework of the program are required to draw up a Green City Action Plan, which Jakarta started in 2012. As a part of the arrangement, the central government provides the cities with technical supervision, training, and program support. The project execution – physical implementation, dissemination, communal feedback, and program replication – is the responsibility of the city government, along with the residents and the business community, especially regarding implementation and advocacy.

The work plan consists of two strategies being implemented by the government of Jakarta: Jakarta’s physical transformation, and raising community awareness about the environment. In terms of physical and communal behavior transformation, five fundamental strategies have been prepared:

• Increasing the capacity of environmental and economic policymakers. This strategy has been conducted in cooperation with the UNDP and the World Bank in terms of providing workshops and trainings about climate change issues.

• Implementing preventive programs, including ways to raise public awareness about the effects of climate change. Events like car-free days have been started and now happen weekly. Biking to work initiatives are promoted to reduce congestion and pollution. In coming years, 30 percent of Jakarta’s workers are expected to commute by bike

• Encouraging the local community to be more active in climate change awareness events. To accomplish this, the government is encouraging policymakers at the Jakarta Urban Planning Agency to collaborate with the community to create a more environmentally-friendly society, for example through the creation of parks.

• Increasing the number of public green spaces. In adherence to the green open space plan, there has been an expansion of green areas since 2011, which has now reached six percent of the city (the target being 30 percent).

• Increasing the number of environmentally friendly vehicles. The government will continue increasing the amount of environmentally-friendly public transport options. Examples include the MRT project and the TransJakarta bus model, which runs eco-friendly fuels.

2014 will therefore witness the expansion of projects that will lead Jakarta towards its goal of being a green city, including through the expansion of green areas, innovations in eco-friendly transportation, and an increasingly aware community to participate in promoting a green society.

Photo: Yudho

Africa’s slums are growing at twice the rate of its cities. By some accounts, sub-Saharan Africa will have upwards of 332 million slum dwellers by 2015. While millions of dollars have been spent improving the conditions in Africa’s urban informal settlements and the lives of the people who live therein, overall these efforts have amounted to little more than a drop in the ocean. Join our six panelists to explore the options for stemming the growth of these sprawling settlements and improving conditions in those slums that already exist: Irene Karanja of Muungano Support Trust (SDI) (Kenya); Claudio Torres of the UN-HABITAT Participatory Slum Upgrading Unit (PSUP) (Kenya); architect, urban planner, and World Bank Municipal Development Program consultant Sara Candiracci (Mozambique); Aditya Kumar of the Community Organization Resource Centre (CORC) (SDI) (South Africa); Jhono Bennett of the University of Johannesburg (South Africa); and Marie Huchzermeyer of the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa).

Executive Director of Muungano Support Trust, a secretariat of the Shack/Slum Dwellers International Federation (SDI) (Kenya)

Over the last 25 years, slum dwellers from cities in Africa have successfully mobilized into collections of Federations of the Urban Poor.

These federations have collected their own financial resources in the form of savings and data pools, creating citywide profiles and extensive slum censuses. Unknown to the world, slum federations have managed to produce a large volume of documented knowledge about themselves that has transformed how the government delivers important services to its poor citizens and how financial instruments can be innovated by financial institutions to serve the needs of the poor.

Using data collected from the profiles and censuses, Muungano Support Trust, a local NGO working with the federation of Kenya, has provided advisory services to the Government of Kenya and the World Bank, in order to help them intervene and provide housing solutions to over 10,000 families in the Kibera and Mukuru areas of Nairobi.

The trust has also worked with university planning schools from the local and international academia community to influence how transforming planning discourse can untrap informal human settlements from the snares of historically rigid city planning standards.

The private sector has grand opportunities to turn urban poor communities into important players within the city. Financial resources from the poor are beginning to challenge and put pressure on the private sector to innovate solutions. Federations have interventions that are facilitating this to happen.

Data collected by communities with the support and technical capacity of organizations such as Muungano Support Trust, shows that there is a missing link that government interventions are not able to fill and development assistance is failing to cover.

Insecurity of tenure remains one of the biggest challenges to improving the lives of slum dwellers in Nairobi. The government needs to release land for human settlement, whether it be public, private, or contested. If this does not happen, development aid will continue to subsidize the costs required for technical services to innovate various kinds of solutions for what are essentially locked scenarios!

Irene Karanja is the founding Executive Director of Muungano Support Trust (MuST), a secretariat of the Slum/Shack Dwellers Federation in Kenya. She is a specialist in participatory research, community organizing and capacity building for the urban poor. For over six years, she has transformed the use of participatory techniques for data collection into a major instrument for planning the upgrading of slums. She has organized a strong constituency of slum dwellers to assume leadership of these settlements through savings groups, housing cooperatives and women’s associations.

Architect, UN-HABITAT Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme (PSUP) (Kenya)

African countries represent the majority of the least developed countries (LCD). Taking into account the fact that in most of these countries, the urban population growth is expanding at a faster pace than the national one, it is important to make three considerations in answering the question: “What will it take to make slum upgrading work in African urban centres?”

Governments should be prepared to ‘give away’. National and local governments should weigh out the costs and risks of perpetuating the status quo and should fulfill the right of adequate housing for all at a pace that copes with the increase in poor urban households. They should prioritise, for example, the free provision of land for the urban poor, in the understanding that there will be no real estate profit and that no particular individual will benefit — a challenging task in a context where African post-independence elites have generally improved their own lives with little regard to equity and social justice.

Strategies for the provision of adequate housing for the urban poor should go beyond market logic. In trying to come up with housing strategies that appeal to investors, the focus has shifted from the upgrading of the slum dwellers’ living conditions to the beautification of particularly degraded areas. This unchaining of a series of transaction costs results in a gentrification process that relocates the problem without giving it a solution. Slum upgrading strategies should strictly be conceived through a human rights approach.

Adequate housing strategies should trigger self-relief dynamics in overcoming poverty. The problem of urban poverty is too big to miss the opportunity to engage concerned communities in devising its solution. The Latin-American slum upgrading experience has demonstrated that giving the right initial impulse to poor urban communities actually encourages a progressive and proactive self-upgrading attitude in slum residents, reducing the need for government funds to improve the living conditions of the urban poor. A strong involvement of the community can also help to reduce the risk of benefiting the wrong people, a common shortfall in superficially planned slum upgrading interventions.

Claudio Torres is an architect with 10 years experience in the field of slum upgrading and housing in an African context. His work has taken him from the slums of Nairobi to settlements in Somaliland and South Sudan where he has worked as an architect, monitoring and evaluation expert, project manager, and construction expert. Torres has worked extensively in Nairobi’s Mathare valley slum with the Italian NGO COOPI, helping to set up an office in the field from which he coordinated a series of different programs. He is currently a consultant for the Participatory Slum Upgrading Program (PSUP), a division of UN-Habitat.

Architect, Urban Planner and Consultant, World Bank Municipal Development Program (Mozambique)

Urbanization in Africa is growing and national governments and local authorities are faced with the challenge of guiding cities’ growth while dealing with other constraints, including limited financial resources; weak institutional, management, and technical capacities; lack of proper urban policies and financial mechanisms to mobilize and regulate investments.

To strengthen the ability of African cities to generate wealth, prosperity, and economic and human development, national governments and local authorities need to define a clear vision for the future of their cities and their informal settlements.

Cities must be seen and treated as complex organisms whose elements are interconnected. Informal settlements should be seen as an integral part of this organism, and not as a “sick body” to be fought. They constitute a precious resource for the city and its population and must be included in the urban grid.

Each and every stakeholder, whether it be the national government, local authorities, civil society, the community, the private sector, or the donor community, have a role to play and must be partners in the development and implementation of this vision for the city. In particular, the active participation of the local community is essential in finding lasting solutions, and to guarantee ownership and sustainability, social cohesion, and integration.

The implementation of comprehensive and integrated improvement plans in informal areas would be ideal; however, it takes a long time and requires considerable financial resources. Considering the constraints in local financial and institutional capabilities, it is preferable to adopt an incremental approach, whereby small-scale interventions are first envisioned and planned in an extensive development plan, and then are carried out gradually through community participation.

Priority must be given to the improvement and provision of infrastructure, basic services, accessibility, safety, and the creation of economic opportunities. Concurrently, special attention should be given to outdoor public spaces, where a vital part of the community’s social, cultural, and economic activities is conducted. Improving these spaces would improve the framework of daily life and bring dignity, beauty, and utility to informal and poor areas with minimal resources.

Sara Candiracci is an architect and urban planner with 10 years experience in the design, management, and implementation of several urban planning and slum upgrading projects in Latin America and Africa with different organizations including UN-Habitat, the Inter-American Development Bank, and various NGOs. She is now working at the Municipality of Maputo, Mozambique, as Urban Planning Advisor for the World Bank Municipal Development Program. She is also conducting her PhD research on the potential use of urban cultural heritage in urban regeneration and planning, considering Maputo as case of study.

Deputy Director, Community Organisation Resource Centre (CORC), an affiliate of Shack/Slum Dwellers International (South Africa)

Over the last 20 years, the South African government has been hailed as having the most progressive housing and poverty policy environments in the continent. Besides making welfare grants available to previously marginalized communities, it has made provisions to provide housing to any citizen earning under R3,500 ($350)/month.

Although more than 2.3 million subsidized homes have been built across the country, the impacts of the housing policy have fallen short. Informal settlements have gone up by 900 percent (from 300 to 2,700) while there are an estimated 2.1 million people on the waiting list for state-subsidized housing.

Realizing the constraints of the housing program, the State has rapidly shifted its emphasis to informal settlement upgrading. New regulatory frameworks like Outcome 8 have been developed to allow for provision of basic services and tenure rights.

While the aims of Outcome 8 and its aligned policies have been well defined, in my view there are still gaps in addressing the bigger issues. Firstly, how incremental informal settlement upgrading is implemented must be defined: are we trying to address tenure rights or basic services, land or housing, dependency on the state or self-reliance through livelihoods? Secondly, there is the manner in which informal settlement upgrading is being rolled out. Currently it doesn’t account for strong community, civil society, and NGO participation, nor does it address the broader issue of project finance, outsourcing, and party politics.

The process of upgrading is about learning and letting go, about making space for communities to innovate with the state, about creating a city-wide network/movement that can change the spatial patterns of the city and strengthen citizenship.

Aditya Kumar is the technical coordinator and deputy director for the Community Organization Resource Centre (CORC), affiliated to Shack/Slum Dwellers International, currently working with informal settlement and backyarder dwellers of South Africa. His previous experience has included post-war reconstruction of Palestinian refugee camps (Lebanon), post-earthquake disaster housing reconstruction (India), affordable and social housing and large urban development projects (Los Angeles and Boston). His work has fostered multi-stakeholder partnerships between local communities, CBOs, government bodies, academic institutions, and International NGOs, with a key focus on strengthening community-driven design, planning, and implementation. The reconstruction of Palestinian refugee camps has also been shortlisted for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

Architect and Lecturer and Researcher, University of Johannesburg

The National Development Plan’s Outcome 8 agreement is behind the South African government’s current shift towards in situ housing upgrading as a means of redevelopment. This goal of upgrading 400,000 informal settlements has been developed under the mandate of the National Upgrade Support Program.

Large-scale construction consortiums are working alongside the government, in collaboration with various planning, architectural, and non-governmental entities on the current Reconstruction & Development Program.

While these initiatives are creating an institutional framework to begin addressing the needs of informal settlement residents in South Africa, there is little focus across the board on training effective practitioners who can play crucial intermediary roles not only in informal settlement upgrading but also in the nation’s spatial redevelopment.

From my experience in this field, it seems that there are a disproportionately small number of practitioners who have the understanding, experience, or empathy required to engage with the dynamics of informal settlement communities and the complexity of working within the social, economic, and political intricacy that exists between grassroots entities and government structures.

A major factor for this condition is related to the lack of opportunities for spatial design practitioners (engineers, architects, planners, etc), to be exposed to these complex environments. As a result, many ‘professionals’, as well as many government officials, often display dangerously simplistic views on how to ‘fix’ the problems at hand.

From my work and experience in academia and the NGO sector, I believe that empathetic spatial design practitioners hold the key position to engage effectively at the ‘community’ level while addressing the larger spatial inequalities of post-apartheid South Africa.

My aim lies in understanding and sharing contextually appropriate training, practice, and precedents through critical engagement with South Africa’s residents of poor and unsafe living conditions in order to further develop this ‘additional role’ for socio-technical spatial design practice.

Jhono Bennett is an architect who works at the University of Johannesburg as a part-time lecturer and Independent researcher, while managing the operations of 1:1 — Agency of Engagement, a non-profit entity which he co-founded to provide a design-based collaborative service between grassroots organizations, professionals, academia, and government.

Masters Program in Housing at the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa)

Internationally, there has been unprecedented focus on ‘slums’ in the new millennium. In southern African cities, informal settlements are certainly a concern, although in Anglophone countries the legacy of British colonial planning has to some extent kept these settlements out of middle-class sight. Where informal settlements have intruded into visible locations, as for instance in Lusophone Luanda, recent efforts have been made to remove these to the city periphery. In South Africa, a somewhat reverse government discourse targeted ‘visible’ informal settlements for ‘in situ upgrading’. This approach was adopted by the high profile N2 Gateway Project in Cape Town, which originally targeted all informal settlements that lined the motorway from the airport to the historical city centre for upgrading. In the years that followed, this project morphed into the Luandan approach — the removal of visible informal settlements. In the Cape Town case, removal was to a controlled decanting camp on the far side of the airport. Yet the public was told that the commitment remained to ‘in situ upgrading’. The term was simply given a new meaning, namely for the state to demolish and then build new housing to modern standard for a different clientele.

With this juxtaposition of informal settlement treatment in Angola and South Africa, I’d like to provoke debate on the core meaning of ‘informal settlement upgrading’ as well as the political uses associated to the meaning. For me, the essence of in situ upgrading is the recognition of two important points. One is that the unevenly developing economies in southern Africa, in the absence of radical change, will not facilitate the replacement of all informal settlements with planned and fully serviced residential developments for the households currently in these settlements. This recognition prevents ‘wishing away’ the reality of urban informality. The other is that informal settlements result out of determination, initiative (often collective), creativity, and complex decisions by poor households. These must be respected and supported where possible.

Marie Huchzermeyer convenes and teaches in the masters programme in Housing at the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand. This base has allowed her to provide support to rights-based struggles from within informal settlement for ‘real’ in situ upgrading. Her recent work includes a 2011 book “Cities With ‘Slums’: From Informal Settlement Eradication to a Right to the City in Africa,” and a comparison with Brazil in a 2004 book, “Unlawful Occupation: Informal Settlements and Urban Policy in South Africa and Brazil.”

Peristiwanya sederhana. Seorang lurah, perempuan dan beragama Kristen, yang baru diangkat, diprotes oleh sekelompok orang yang menganggap bahwa dia tidak tepat memimpin sebuah kelurahan yang mayoritasnya beragama Islam. Peristiwa ini terjadi di Kelurahan Lenteng Agung, Jakarta Selatan, di ibukota Negara Republik Indonesia.

Susan Jasmine Zulkifli, nama lurah Lenteng Agung itu, adalah seorang lurah yang lulus tes sistim seleksi baru yang dibuat oleh pemerintah Jakarta. Susan telah menjadi pegawai negeri sejak awal tahun 1990an. Dia mulai karirnya sebagai staf administrasi junior di kantor BKKBN Makasar, Sulawesi Selatan. Tahun 1997 setelah menamatkan S1 di bidang studi Administrasi Negara di Universitas Indonesia dia pindah ke kantor BKKBN Jakarta. Pada pertengahan 2012 dia diangkat menjadi kepala seksi sarana dan prasaran di kantor kelurahan Senen, Jakarta Pusat.

Pada bulan April 2013 Jokowi memperkenalkan sistim seleksi baru (sistim lelang) untuk memilih pegawai kantor pemerintah Jakarta. Dengan sistim yang baru ini lurah dinyatakan sebagai posisi yang terbuka bagi semua pegawai pemerintah Jakarta asalkan secara administratif mereka memenuhi syarat. Sistim rekruitmen baru ini adalah bagian dari reformasi birokrasi yang digagas oleh Jokowi untuk meningkatkan kapasitas pelayanan publik pemerintah kota Jakarta. Setelah para calon dinyatakan lulus dari persyaratan administratif mereka diwajibkan mengikuti berbagai tes yang bertujuan untuk mengevaluasi kemampuan mereka sebagai seorang lurah. Susan adalah salah seorang calon yang dinyatakan lulus dari seluruh tes sebagai calon kepala desa dan pada bulan Juli 2013 diangkat sebagai lurah di Lenteng Agung, Jakarta Selatan.

Lenteng Agung dan sekitarnya merupakan sebuah wilayah perkotaan yang berkembang secara cepat. Pada awal tahun 1970an wilayah ini merupakan kawasan peri-urban Jakarta dimana Orang Betawi masih merupakan komunitas yang dominan dan umumnya bekerja dalam kegiatan pertanian buah-buahan. Saat ini Lenteng Agung dan banyak wilayah yang pada tahun 1970an merupakan kawasan peri-urban telah menjadi wilayah perkotaan yang padat dan kegiatan pertanian buah-buahan boleh dikatakan telah menghilang. Orang Betawi yang umumnya beragama Islam telah menjadi kelompok minoritas dari sebuah masyarakat urban yang sangat beragam penduduknya.

Meskipun peristiwanya sederhana dan terjadi di tingkat birokrasi paling bawah (kelurahan) namun memiliki arti yang sangat besar secara nasional. Peristiwa ini mencerminkan sebuah masalah yang bersifat fundamental dalam Negara demokratis modern dimana setiap warganegara harus diperlakukan secara setara tanpa melihat latarbelakang jender, sukubangsa dan agama. Birokrasi pemerintahan yang berfungsi sebagai pelaksana kebijakan pemerintah seharusnya menjadi teladan utama dari sifat imparsial dari Negara modern demokratis. Dalam kenyataan, apa yang secara jelas merupakan karakteristik ideal sebuah Negara modern demokratis masih merupakan utopia atau cita-cita yang harus direalisasikan.

Indonesia adalah sebuah Negara baru yang dibangun berdasarkan pengalaman sejarah yang sama dari warganya dan konsesnsus untuk mencapai sebuah masyarakat yang adil dan makmur. Kelahiran Indonesia oleh para bapak dan ibu pendirinya didorong oleh sebuah nasionalisme yang bersifat civic dan bukan didasarkan oleh kesukubangsaan atau agama. Pada tahun 1928 dibawah pengawasan pemerintah kolonial Belanda para pemimpin pemuda telah bersumpah: “Satu Bangsa, Satu Bahasa dan Satu Tanah Air – Indonesia”. Setelah Indonesia merdeka pada tahun 1945 motto Negara Bhineka Tunggal Ika dipatrikan sebagai pengingat bagi seluruh warga tentang realitas keragaman sosial dan budaya namun ditengah perbedaan itu mereka yakin tetap satu.

Sementara peristiwa ini masih berlangsung kita menyaksikan bagaimana isu ini telah berkembang menjadi sebuah kontroversi nasional dimana polemic tentang inklusivitas vs eksklusivitas dari kebangsaan secara publik diperdebatkan. Bagi Jokowi dan Ahok peristiwa ini merupakan sebuah tes bagi kepemimpinan mereka yang dianggap sangat memberikan inspirasi untuk mempertahankan Jakarta sebagai sebuah kota yang inklusif bagi seluruh warganegara Indonesia, tidak perduli apakah mereka berasal dari kelompok mayoritas atau minoritas, berdasarkan identitas yang bersifat religio-cultural.

Foto diambil dari Tempo.co, 28 August 2013.

The event looks very simple. A new appointed sub-district head, a women and a Christian, is rejected by a group of people as she is perceived to be not appropriate to lead a sub-district with a Muslim majority. This event occurred in the Lenteng Agung sub-district, South Jakarta, in the capital city of Indonesia.

Susan Jasmine Zulkifli is the name of this head of the Lenteng Agung sub-district, and is one of the sub-district heads that passed the test under the newly-created recruitment system conducted by the Jakarta city government. Susan has been a government employee since early 1990s. She began her carrier as a junior administrative staff at the local family planning office in Makassar, South Sulawesi. In 1997, after completing her bachelors degree on state administration study program at the University of Indonesia, she moved to the local family planning office in Jakarta. In mid 2012 she moved to the Jakarta local government office and was appointed as the section’s head of infrastructure development at the Senen Sub-District Office in Central Jakarta.

In April 2013 Jokowi introduced a new recruitment system for the Jakarta’s city government employees. Under the new recruitment system, the position of sub-district head is open to all employees of Jakarta city government, as long they pass the administrative requirements. The new recruitment system is part of Jokowi’s larger bureaucratic reform to improve public service capacity of the Jakarta city government. After the candidates pass the administrative test, they must participate in various tests to evaluate their ability as the sub-district head. Susan is one of the candidates that pass all of the requirements and in July 2013, she was appointed as the sub-district head in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta.

Lenteng Agung and its surrounding areas are rapidly growing urban areas. In the early 1970s, it was a peri-urban area of Jakarta where the local Betawi people were the dominant community and they worked mostly in fruit growing agricultural activities. Now Lenteng Agung, as many other peri-urban areas near Jakarta, has become a crowded urban areas where fruit growing and selling activities disappeared. The local Betawi that are predominantly Muslim have become the minority among a diverse urban community.

Although the event is simple and occurred at the lowest level of state bureaucracy (a sub-district), its meaning is indispensable nationally. This event reflects a fundamental notion of modern democratic state that citizens should be treated equally regardless their gender, ethnicity, or religion. The government bureaucracy should be the first example of the impartial character of the modern democratic state. In reality however, what is obviously an ideal characteristic of a modern democratic state remains a utopia.

Indonesia is a newly-created nation that is built based on the shared history and the consensus to achieve a justice and prosperous society. A civic, and not an ethnic or religious nationalism drove Indonesian founding fathers and mothers to create Indonesia. In 1928, under the surveillance of colonial government, Indonesian youth leaders pronounced an oath: one nation, one language, and one country. After independence in 1945, a national motto Unity in Diversity was inscribed as a reminder for all Indonesian about their diverse social and cultural realities yet believe that amidst all differences they are one.

As the event is unfolding, we have seen how this issue has become a national controversy as polemics concerning inclusivity vs exclusivity of nationhood are publicly debated. For Jokowi and Ahok, the event is a real test for the new inspiring leaders in defending their promise that Jakarta is an inclusive city for all Indonesian citizens, no matter whether they come from majority or minority religio-cultural identity groups.

Photo from Tempo.co, 28 August 2013.

Lagos is on the cusp of a radical change in the way the city is organised. Not only is the first light rail being built in the city, thirty years after the idea was first mooted; the government has also recently announced that construction will soon start on the 4th Mainland Bridge, long overdue by many standards. (The three bridges that currently connect Mainland Lagos and the Island were built in the 1890s (Carter), 1960s (Eko) and 1991 (Third Mainland) respectively).

A few years ago I listened to a talk by the designers of that bridge, and was fascinated by how they envisioned it to not only work as a conventional bridge but also a direct stimulant/supporter of economic activity. The design is of a two-level bridge, the upper one for vehicular movement, the lower one for a combination of a tram line, rows of shops and goods vendors, and a pedestrian lane; that idea informed by the realization that modernizing Lagos does not have to happen at the expense of the trademark hustle-and-bustle that gives the city its peculiar character and feel; the things that make Lagos Lagos.

As urban planner Simon Gusah argued at that event, there’s a place in the Lagos we dream of, for street trading – what we need to do is simply properly organize it.

So the idea of bridges that double as market-places – without compromising safety or efficiency – is a good one.

In a Lagos that has stood out in recent years for the ambition of state-led gentrification efforts in recent years (open-air markets have been major targets), it’s heartwarming to hear of the market lighting project being carried out in Alimosho municipal area, by the Lagos State Electricity Board, in partnership with the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).

I recently spoke to one of the architects behind the project, and he told of how the simple fact of lighting up the area (using energy-saving bulbs) had made night markets thrive – people could stay out longer because they felt more secure.

The state government says some traders are reporting as much as a fifty percent increase in sales, on the back of the improved lighting. It’s exciting to see that the government is pushing an initiative that supports open-air night markets. Whether we like it or not, we need to acknowledge that those markets are a significant component of Lagos’ character, and that we need to keep at least some of them open as part of the moral imperative to support the informal economy that in turn supports the lives and livelihood of millions of city residents.

This sort of thinking – that takes the mentality of the informal layers of society into consideration when designing the parameters of the new city – then also needs to inform the design and construction of the new light rail system – the way the stations are designed, the sorts of licenses and permits that will be designed to support commercial activities, etc.

It’s the sort of thinking behind the efforts to transform the Makoko slum settlement without having to displace its traditional inhabitants. It’s the sort of thinking that realizes that pursuing urban development and pursuing the wellbeing of those at the bottom of the economic ladder are do not ever have to be mutually exclusive aspirations.

Photo: Running past Badia is a brand new light rail system, under construction by the Lagos State Government. Photo taken by author.

Transportation infrastructure is a key factor in enhancing economic growth and quality of life. Still, many recent transportation initiatives, by focusing on cars and highways, have favored the rich and the middle class. The following articles explore ways to provide safe, affordable, eco-friendly, and reliable transportation to the poor in the Global South. Read on to learn more, then join the discussion below.

Tariq Toffa, Johannesburg Community Manager

Apartheid policies in South Africa made for ineffective cities. Fragmented and segmented, Johannesburg has an ambivalent relationship with public transport. Historically, more affluent, mostly northern white suburbs were provided with extensive transport infrastructure, such as electric trams (1906-48) and later highways (see Fig. 1). By contrast, the denser and poorer black townships, mostly in the south, were provided with limited and marginalised rail and bus public transport. Yet out of desperate need by being located far away from major industrial and commercial centres, in the 1970s a mini-bus taxi industry emerged, which has grown to serve approximately 72 percent of all public transport users.

Despite a number of post-1994 initiatives, urban transport system problems persist. Recently (2006-2012), in the largest Public Private Partnership yet launched in South Africa, between the Gauteng Provincial Government and Bombela International Consortium, a rapid rail project worth R20 billion (US$ 2 billion) was implemented. The “Gautrain” rapid rail network consists of two spines: one (south-north) linking Johannesburg and Pretoria, and the other (west-east) linking the Sandton business district and OR Tambo International airport. Coupled with this, in 2007 the City began constructing an ambitious Bus Rapid Transit System (BRT) known as the “Rea Vaya” (see Fig. 2).

The new systems address speed, efficiency, and traffic decongestion, as well as problems of safety, facilities, and crime that have affected the taxi industry. Crucially, the BRT in particular improves access of marginalised communities to industrial and commercial centers: firstly linking the townships in the south to Johannesburg’s CBD (phase 1A and 1B), and subsequently linking Alexandra township in the north with Sandton and Johannesburg’s CBD (phase 1C). Together with the Gautrain, it is envisioned as a key catalyst for the city’s Transit Orientated Development (TOD) plan for urban regeneration and economic development at transit hubs. Hence two BRT routes (phase 1B and 1C) will become “corridors” of mixed-use development.

In contrast to the BRT, the Gautrain, in catering purely for the affluent car owner/user, from a social perspective clearly suffers from the criticism of class/mobility-related exclusion; although this could be offset by a BRT system that, unlike the Gautrain where there is no clarity in providing mixed-income residential development around its stations, clearly allows for mixed-income along BRT corridors.

Nonetheless, on the whole, both projects direct growth toward former white group areas which are developed, and not toward new corridor and nodal development in previously underdeveloped areas; and so they also do not remove the burden of excessive and reverse commuting. The terminal infrastructure developments of both projects, too, are located away from the marginal communities’ location.

Other issues include the sustained opposition by some organisations within the taxi industry, which the BRT wishes to absorb, and the high cost of the BRT (R35 million / US$ 3.5 million per km, and at least R7 million / US$ 700,000 per BRT station). It is unclear how much investment was essential for the long-term operational sustainability of the project, and how much could also have been creatively employed for the project to balance other more social priority purposes.

At first glance the Gautrain/BRT initiative appears a master-stroke of integrative urban transport; yet while it is still incomplete and without a full-scale evaluation of its impact, particularly for poor neighbourhoods and travel patterns, from a social perspective, the jury is still out.

Fig. 1: Early twentieth century electric trams (Beavon 2001)
Fig. 2: Historic racial segregation, with new BRT and Gautrain routes (map by author)

Olatawura Ladipo-Ajayi, Lagos Community Manager

Lagos is a small city with a large population. Lagos state is the smallest in Nigeria, with an area of 356,861 hectares of which 75,755 hectares are wetlands, yet it has over 5 percent of the national population, making it the most populous state in the nation. The city is overpopulated and still growing, with a growth rate of 8 percent. This issue causes congestion problems in various facets of city life, but most especially in transportation. Lagos is notorious for its heavy traffic, where a 30-minute journey can take two hours on a weekday. Congestion saps the population of energy, contributes to an unhealthy lifestyle, and generally makes for a less productive workforce.

In 2008, Governor Fashola’s state government introduced the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) scheme through the Lagos Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA) to improve road transport system and ultimately reduce congestion. The new fleet of buses were designed to be more comfortable, and introduced an organised system of public transportation. The pilot BRT transport scheme runs through 22 km of exclusive lanes, providing faster transport at affordable prices for commuters. Since its inception, a lot of positive impact has been recorded. Highlights recorded by the World Bank include:

• Reduction in time and money spent by poor households on travel from 90 minutes and 150 Naira in 2003, to 23 minutes and 100 Naira in June 2009.

• Money spent by poor households on public transportation was reduced from 17 percent of all spending in 2003 to 11 percent in June 2009.

• Average pilot bus route waiting time at terminal was reduced from 20 minutes in 2003 to 10 minutes in June 2009.

Significant progress is being made to solve the problem of public transportation for Lagos residents. Recently, the state Governor Fashola introduced an e-ticketing system to the BRT scheme to create a more efficient and people-friendly transport ticketing system in the city. The system allows for certain groups to pay as low as 20 Naira (approximately 12 cents) for short distance commutes, and allows for purchase of weekly tickets, making public road infrastructure more attractive.

However effective the fleets of buses are, they need to be augmented by more transport alternatives. The city is blessed with waterways and rail tracks — it would be interesting to see how much less congestion on city roads could be achieved if other modes of transportation infrastructure are put in place (the rail system is in the process of being revived). More ferries on the waterways and intra-city rail transport would go a long way in road decongestion. Creating a system with wider reach would produce a system more efficient at reducing road congestion.

The state is aware of the need for alternatives and is partnering with organisations to propose alternative transport infrastructures. The World Bank, joined by the Agence Française de Développement, is working with LAMATA to prepare the Lagos Urban Transport Project 2 to meet some of this demand and to extend the BRT routes. The BRT project extension is expected to be completed by December, 2014. Ultimately, LAMATA plans to expand the BRT system strategically along eight different corridors within the city. Hopefully recorded success does not lead to agencies relaxing their resolve, and that the improvement of the BRT system is a continuous goal of the state government.

Photo credit: Tolu Talabi

Carlin Carr, Mumbai Community Manager

Mumbai’s commuter woes are as oft discussed as scores to the latest cricket match. They are griped about daily and exchanged with fervor. Gridlock, overcrowded trains, non-existent east-west routes dominate the discussion and so do the controversial solutions on the table: sealinks, flyovers, monorails. Transportation activists such as Rishi Aggarwal, a research fellow at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and member of the Mumbai Transport Forum (MTF), says that one of the major issues is that there is no integrated approach to planning, leaving commuters with ad hoc, disconnected systems.

Yet a solution from Chennai offers a comprehensive example for Mumbai on how to move toward sustainable, comprehensive mobility. In August, Shreya Gadepalli, of the Institute for Transportation Development Policy (ITDP), presented her work with a new initiative, the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA), at the ORF to share the progress Chennai has made and how it might apply to Mumbai.

Importantly, CUMTA members include a cross-section of all different government authorities responsible for transportation, centralizing collaborative decision-making to move the organization’s goal forward. And the goal is ambitious: to achieve a modal shift away from car-centric transport to public transport, focusing on walking and cycling as dominant modes.

CUMTA held a workshop in January 2013 to move forward its efforts. The members divided into four working groups, focusing on:

• CUMTA as an agent of change

• Developing an integrated, high quality bus and BRT network for Chennai

• Improving streets and public realm

• Management of road space and travel demand

Since then, the group has already taken important steps to reclaim road space for pedestrians where there was little or none in the past. In fact, a large-scale cycle network strategy is part of the plan. The main cycle path will take advantage of Chennai’s seaside location, stretching for miles up the coast with connecting points to many neighborhoods and the stations along the way. There will be an extensive cycle-sharing program with less than a 300-meter walk to a cycle sharing station in the network.

“We are always keen to learn from New York and London, so for a change, we will learn from Chennai,” says Aggarwal, who has also founded the Walking Project in Mumbai to promote better walking conditions and sidewalks in the city.

One of the biggest achievements from Chennai, says Gadepalli, who emphasizes that there is “nothing on the ground to show right now,” is that there is a consensus from the highest levels in the city on implementing more sustainable approaches: “If you speak to people, there is a sea change in how they perceive things. If you go and ask anyone, the only thing they are talking about these days is how to create better facilities for pedestrians and improving public transport.”

To watch Shreya Gadepalli’s full presentation, click here.

Photo credit: Satish Krishnamurthy

লেখকঃ নিশা কারকি

অনুবাদকঃ নুসরাত ইয়াসমিন এবং ফারজানা নওশিন

বিশ্ব ব্যাংক এক জরিপে বলেছে যে, বাংলাদেশে দরিদ্র (মাথাপিছু আয়২ ডলার) মানুষের সংখ্যা ২৬ শতাংশ কমে গিয়েছে অর্থাৎ যা ২০০০ সালে ছিল ৬,৩০,০০০০০ সেটি ২০১০ সালে কমে ৪,৭০,০০০০০ হয়েছে। যদিও বাংলাদেশের অর্থনৈতিক উন্নতি প্রতি বছর ১% করে বাড়ছে তারপরও গরীব ও মধ্যবিত্তের মধ্যে অর্থনৈতিক বৈষম্য এখনো আছে। এই অর্থনৈতিক বৈষম্যতা মধ্যবিত্ত ও গরীবদের মধ্যে সরকার প্রদানকৃত যানবাহন ব্যবস্থার উপর প্রভাব বিস্তার করে। জনাব মান্নান এর মতে, ঢাকার যানবাহন পরিস্থিতি উচ্চ আয়ের পরিবারের জন্য বেশী প্রযোজ্য এবং সুবিধাজনক। ঢাকায় যেসব পরিবারের নিজস্ব মোটরযান আছে তাদের ৬৬% মানুষেরই আয় ৩০,০০০ টাকার বেশী। অন্যদিকে, নিম্ন আয়ের জনগোষ্ঠীর মোটরবিহীন গণপরিবহন ব্যবহার করার প্রবনতা বেশী। এ কারণে এ সমস্ত যানবাহনে অতিরিক্ত ভীড় থাকে; বিশেষ করে মহিলা এবং শিশুদের জন্য এসব যানবাহন ব্যবহার করা অস্বস্তিকর করে পড়ে। সি.এন.জি, নিজস্ব গাড়ী এবং বাস অতিরিক্ত ব্যবহারের কারণে শহুরে জনগোষ্ঠী গণপরিবহনের মান কমিয়ে দিয়েছে; উপরন্তু, রিকশা এবং বাইসাইকেলেরও মান কমে গিয়েছে।

১৯৬১ অধ্যাদেশে সপ্তম নম্বরের অধীনে বাংলাদেশ রোড ট্রান্সপোর্ট কর্পোরেশন (বি.আর.টি.সি) প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয়েছিল। এটি বাংলাদেশ সরকারের স্বীকৃত পরিবহন কর্পোরেশন যা সকল শ্রেণীর মানুষের জন্য সস্তা এবং আরামদায়ক ভ্রমন ব্যবস্থা প্রদানের জন্য প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয়। বর্তমানে বাংলাদেশে বি.আর.টি.সি এর ১,১১৬ টি বাস পুরো বাংলাদেশে চলাচল করছে কিন্তু এগুলো ৪৭ মিলিয়ন (প্রায় ২৬ শতাংশ) দরিদ্র মানুষের পরিবহন চাহিদা মিটাতে যথেষ্ট নয়।

অনুরূপভাবে, কার্যকরী, সাশ্রয়ী মূল্যে পরিবহন ব্যবস্থা প্রদানের লক্ষ্যে বাংলাদেশ সরকার বিশ্ব ব্যাংকের সহায়তায় ঢাকা নগর পরিবহন প্রকল্প (DUTP) প্রতিষ্ঠিত করেছে। খন্দকার ও রাউসের মতে, ডি.ইউ.টি.পি. ফ্লাইওভার নির্মাণের মাধ্যমে প্রধান সড়কে যানবাহন চলাচলের উন্নতিসাধন করেছে; যদিও বাস্তবে এর দ্বারা পুরুষ যাত্রীগণ, উচ্চবিত্ত মানুষ এবং মোটরগাড়ী-মালিকবৃন্দ প্রধানত উপকৃত হচ্ছে। বস্তুত, নিম্ন আয়ের মানুষ, যাদের যানবাহন ছিল পরিবহন সাশ্রয়ী রিকশা, তাদের ফ্লাইওভার নির্মাণকালীন সময়ে কষ্টভোগ করতে হয়েছিল। ক্ষুদ্র পুঁজিবাদীদের উপর এই প্রকল্পের পর্যাপ্ত বিচার-বিশ্লেষণের অভাবের ফলে দরিদ্র জীবনে ব্যাপক ক্ষতিসাধন হয়েছে।

দরিদ্র এবং মধ্যবিত্ত শ্রেণীর মধ্যে পরিবহন পরিকাঠামোগত ফাঁক কমানোর জন্য বাংলাদেশ সরকারকে গণপরিবহন, যেমন-রেলওয়ে বা স্বল্প দামী পাবলিক বাসের সংখ্যা বৃদ্ধি করতে হবে। সকল প্রকার পরিবহনের সেবা চার্জ যেন সব শ্রেণীর জন্য সহজলভ্য হয় সেদিকে নজর রাখতে হবে। এক বিবৃতিতে ওয়ার্ল্ড ব্যাংক বলে, “পরিবহন বিধি যা মোটরবিহীন-চালিত যানবাহন ব্যবহারের প্রচার চালায় তা সাধারণত সেই জনগোষ্ঠীর সরাসরি কল্যাণ সাধন করে যারা মোটরচালিত যানবাহন ব্যবহারে সামর্থ্য নয়।” তাই সরকারের মোটরবিহীন-চালিত যানবাহন ব্যবহারের প্রতি বিশেষ দৃষ্টি রাখতে হবে। উদাহরণস্বরূপ, রিকশা এবং বাইসাইকেলের উপর থেকে কর সরিয়ে ফেলা বা হ্রাস করা এবং পারকিং এর জন্য খালি স্থান তৈরী করতে হবে। ভবিষ্যতে পরিবহন প্রকল্প গঠনের সময় যেমনঃ ডি.ইউ.টি.পি.(DUTP), দরিদ্রদের উপর নেতিবাচক এবং ইতিবাচক প্রভাব কীরূপ পড়ছে তা পরিকল্পনাকারীকে ও সরকারকে অবশ্যই খেয়াল রাখতে হবে। উন্নয়ন প্রকল্পগুলোর ধনীদের উপকার করার পাশাপাশি সরাসরি দরিদ্রদের জীবনযাত্রার মান উন্নয়ন করা উচিত।

Photo credit: Robert Monestel

Nisha Karki, Dhaka Community Manager

The World Bank has stated that the number of Bangladeshis living in poverty, with a per capita income of less than $2 a day, has declined from 63 million in 2000 to 47 million (26 percent of the overall Bangladeshi population) in 2010. Though Bangladesh has successfully upgraded its economic growth rate every decade by one percent, there is still a huge economic gap between the poor and the middle class. This economic gap causes inequality regarding the transportation facilities provided to the rich and to the poor. According to Md. Shafiqul Mannan, the Dhaka transportation system favors high-income households. Sixty-six percent of the households with private motor vehicles belong to the income group higher than 30,000 BDT. In contrast, low-income groups have a higher tendency to choose non-motorized vehicles (rickshaws and bicycles). Public transportation is usually uncomfortable, crowded, overloaded, and difficult to access for poor women and children. The middle-class use of compressed natural gas-powered auto-rickshaws, private cars and buses has led to a decrease in service and quality of public transportation and non-motorized vehicles, such as rickshaws and bicycles.

Under the ordinance No. VII of 1961, the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) was established as a government corporate transport body to provide cheap and comfortable travel for all groups of people. Currently, there are 1,116 BRTC buses running all over Bangladesh, but this number is not sufficient to provide the desired services for the 47 million poor people who live in Bangladesh.

In order to create efficient, affordable, and sustainable transport, the Bangladesh government, in collaboration with the World Bank, established the Dhaka Urban Transport Project (DUTP). According to Khandoker and Rouse, the DUTP has brought improvements in the flow of traffic along main roads by constructing flyovers. However, the benefits were felt mainly by private bus users and car owners, not the poor. Indeed, lower-income people were excluded since non-motorized vehicles such as rickshaws were banned during the construction period. Lack of careful examination and analysis of the impact of this project on poor stakeholders caused negative impacts on the lives of the poor.

To minimize gaps between the transportation infrastructure for the poor and the middle class, the Bangladesh government needs to increase the number of public transportation options that are less expensive, such as railways or public buses. Ticket prices for all kinds of transportation should be monitored to ensure that they are affordable for all. As the World Bank stated, “Transport interventions that promote the use of non-motorized transport usually contribute directly to the welfare of those people who cannot afford motorized transport.” Therefore, the government needs to provide special attention to the uses and benefits of non-motorized vehicles. For example, taxes on rickshaws and bicycles should be removed or reduced, and free lanes should be created for parking non-motorized vehicles. When designing transportation projects such as DUTP, planners and the government must take into account the effects that these projects will have on the poor.

Photo credit: Robert Monestel

Widya Anggraini, Jakarta Contributor

Many of Jakarta’s residents use Kopaja buses to get around, a 25-seat minibus that is cheap and serves the whole city. Kopaja is owned by a private cooperation established in the 1970s but currently faces a number issues regarding safety, comfort, pollution, and poor maintenance. The government is therefore intervening to integrate Kopaja with the Transjakarta busway system and to rejuvenate the bus conditions. The government is planning to add 1000 Kopaja buses, provide better service, switch to more eco-friendly gas, and subsidize the corporation so that prices remain affordable.

KOPAJA! Siapa orang Jakarta yang tidak tahu tentang Kopaja. Bis ukuran sedang dengan kapasitas 25 orang yang sering digunakan sebagai angkutan umum oleh masyarakat awam. Ia disukai karena murah dengan tarif Rp 3.000, untuk jarak dekat maupun jauh. Kopaja dimiliki oleh perusahaan penyedia jasa angkutan umum bernama Koperasi Angkutan Jakarta yang telah berdiri sejak 1970an. Masyarakat kecil yang tidak mampu membeli kendaraan pribadi cukup terbantu dengan keberadaan Kopaja dan Metromini yang memiliki rute lengkap dan tersebar di Jakarta Pusat, Barat, Utara, Timur dan Selatan meski dengan kompromi kurangnya rasa nyaman. Karenanya saat ini Pemerintah Jakarta melakukan intervensi terhadap keberadaan Kopaja dengan membantu proses peremajaan bis hingga penyediaan subsidi; menyediakan armada bis baru dan integrasi dengan jalur busway Transjakarta.

Sebagai angkutan umum, Kopaja sering mendapat sorotan negatif dikarenakan alasan: Pertama, penumpang Kopaja sering berlebih hingga dua kali lipat sehingga rawan kejahatan seperti pencurian dan pelecehan. Kedua, Kopaja juga dianggap jauh dari aman sebab sering kali alat kemudi dan pengukur kecepatan yang seadanya. Banyak pengemudi mobil pribadi yang merasa terancam sebab cara menyetir sopir Kopaja yang ugal-ugalan dan sering melanggar rambu-rambu lalu lintas dan membahayakan pengguna jalan lain. Ketiga, Kopaja merupakan penyumbang besar polusi perkotaan disebabkan buruknya sistem pembuangan karbon yang cukup membahayakan bagi manusia dan lingkungan.

Mengingat peran strategi Kopaja dalam menyediakan angkutan umum yang murah maka pemerintah DKI Jakarta akan mulai membenahi infrastruktur dan kondisi Kopaja. Untuk saat ini pemerintah DKI Jakarta sedang berupaya mengintegrasikan antara keberadaan Kopaja dan Busway misalnya dengan penggunaan jalur Transjakarta yang cenderung “istimewa” untuk jalur Kopaja. Transjakarta sendiri adalah moda transportasi baru yang mulai berjalan sejak tahun 2004. Keberadaan Transjakarta disambut positif oleh masyarakat sebab ia bebas macet, memiliki kursi yang nyaman, berpendingin, dan relative aman dibanding menggunakan Kopaja meski harga hampir dua kali lebih mahal. Meski demikian Transjakarta belum memiliki jalur sebanyak Kopaja sehingga integrasi Kopaja ke jalur Transjakarta akan sangat membantu dalam memperluas jaringan pelayanan Transjakarta.

Untuk itu, Kopaja yang menggunakan jalur busway haruslah bis-bis yang secara fisik telah sesuai standar yang ditetapkan oleh pihak Transjakarta misalnya dilengkapi dengan AC dan kursi yang lebih nyaman dan mesin yang layak. Untuk saat ini bis yang sudah diintegrasikan di jalur busway adalah Kopaja AC bernomor rute S.13, P20, S13 dan S602. Harga tiket Kopaja AC dibuat sama dengan Transjakarta sehingga penumpang dapat menggunakan tiket yang sama untuk kedua moda transportasi tersebut.

Selanjutnya untuk memperbaiki kualitas Kopaja yang beroperasi di Jakarta, Kopaja berencana secara mandiri akan meremajakan unit-unit bisnya. Sejak Januari hingga Mei 2013 kurang lebih ada 77 unit Kopaja yang sudah tertangani dan masih ada sekitar 1.479 unit Kopaja regular yang belum mengalami perbaikan. Untuk itu Kopaja berencana bekerjasama dengan pemerintah dan berupaya memperoleh subsidi untuk peremajaan bis. Terkait hal tersebut Guberbur DKI Jakarta, Joko Widodo, juga telah menyampaikan inisiatifnya untuk peremajaan Kopaja dengan melakukan uji kelayakan dan mengganti bis-bis yang sudah tidak layak pakai. Jokowi sendiri berjanji akan menambah 1000 unit Kopaja baru di akhir tahun ini untuk meningkatkan pelayanan kepada masyarakat serta mengkonversi Kopaja dengan Bahan Bakar Gas untuk menekan biaya bahan bakar dan mengurangi pencemaran udara.

Foto: XXVIII

Catalina Gomez, Coordenadora da Rede em Rio de Janeiro

Segundo Rio Como Vamos, a insatisfação dos cariocas com a mobilidade e o transporte público da cidade vem crescendo nos últimos anos. A mais recente pesquisa da Rio Como Vamos foi feita em 2013 previamente aos protestos de Junho. Para compreender aquela insatisfação coletiva é importante conhecer melhor as condições do sistema de transporte público da cidade para identificar suas fraquezas e potenciais soluções.

Iniciemos com o metrô. Embora ele tenha sido inaugurado faz quase 35 anos atrás e apresente um atendimento médio de 650 mil pessoas durante um dia útil, ele está subutilizado. Por exemplo, ele tem só 35 estações em quanto o de São Paulo, tem 62 e aquele de Buenos Aires tem 86. Também existem queixas constantes sobre a superlotação, contribuindo a percursos incômodos e inseguros.

A Prefeitura reporta que perto de seis por cento dos passageiros da cidade é transportada pelo metro, enquanto os ônibus transportam 70 por cento da população com uma frota de 9 mil veículos. As vans transportam perto de 17 por cento da população. Mais o principal problema com os ônibus e vans é que eles têm que compartilhar as limitadas ruas com automóveis particulares. Só nos últimos três anos o número de carros na cidade aumentou em 225 mil. Preocupações adicionais incluem a insegurança dos percursos noturnos e os tempos de espera. Especificamente com o novo BRT, embora ele tenha sido bem recebido pelos cidadãos, ainda apresenta desafios de melhora incluindo a redução da superlotação, a falta de ar acondicionado e ventilação e acessibilidade adequada da frota.

Num evento recente do Rio Como Vamos, o Secretario de Transporte, Carlos Osório falou que “2013 será o pior ano para o transito, face às 92 intervenções sendo realizadas”. Aquelas obras temporárias esperam se converter em melhoras de longo prazo para a cidade, incluindo a expansão do metro para a zona sul do Rio, melhoras nos elevadores e outras reformas que favorecem a acessibilidade nas estações do metrô, além da incorporação de novos trens para reduzir os intervalos de serviço. A cidade também vai a implantar um conjunto de câmaras para monitorar em tempo real o sistema de ônibus e garantir mais seguridade durante os percursos noturnos e conseguir identificar problemas recorrentes e soluções pertinentes.

Embora Rio seja considerado uma cidade com um sistema de transporte bem estabelecido e completo, sua infraestrutura e respetiva operação é inadequada. Algumas soluções no curto prazo incluem o desenvolvimento de medidas de manutenção mais eficientes nas estações, trens e ônibus da frota municipal. Outras soluções mais complexas e de logo prazo incluem a redução do uso do carro particular, por meio da incorporação de taxas especiais de uso. Outras ações de longo prazo que precisam ser debatidas mais amplamente incluem o dimensionamento do transporte e a mobilidade do Rio como um tema metropolitano, não municipal. Este debate é chave para assegurar os recursos e o gerenciamento adequado do sistema.

Foto: Severino Silva

Catalina Gomez, Rio de Janeiro Community Manager

According to Rio Como Vamos, the unhappiness of residents about mobility and transportation infrastructure in Rio is on the rise. The most recent research was carried out in 2013, before the June protests started. To explain this collective disapproval, it is worth taking a closer look at the city’s public transportation system to better understand its failures and some of its potential solutions.

Let’s start with the metro. Although it was inaugurated almost 35 years ago and currently serves an average of 650,000 people on a weekday, it is considered to be below its full potential. For example, the system has only 35 stations, while the similar metro system in São Paulo has 62 stations, and the one in Buenos Aires has 86. In addition, there are constant complaints about the long intervals between trains, contributing to crowding, discomfort, and safety concerns both in stations and on the train.

The local government reports that six percent of the city’s total passengers use the metro, while buses, with a fleet of more than 9,000 vehicles, are responsible for carrying 70 percent of them. Vans are another transportation modality that account for almost 17 percent of citizen transportation. The main problem with buses and vans is that they share the limited city roads with an increasing number of passenger cars. In the last three years alone, there were an additional 225,000 new cars on Rio’s roads. Additional concerns regarding buses and vans include safety at night, and overall waiting time. Although the new BRT has been positively received by residents, challenges remain related to overcrowding, lack of proper ventilation, and accessibility.

In a recent event organized by Rio Como Vamos, Carlos Osório, the city’s secretary of transportation, mentioned that “2013 will be the worst year for transit purposes, as there are more than 92 transportation works around the city.” These temporary works are aimed at improving the city’s transportation in the long term, including an ambitious expansion of the metro line towards the city’s southern area, the installation of elevators and other accessibility features in most stations, and the incorporation of new metro trains in order to reduce the intervals of train service. In addition, the city will implement a network of cameras to monitor the provision of bus service in real time, to ensure security during night shifts, and to find and correct recurring service problems.

Even though Rio could be considered to have a well-established and complete transportation system, its current infrastructure and the way it is operated are not enough to ensure that it functions adequately. Some short-term solutions would be to put in place better and more regular maintenance efforts of all stations, trains, and buses from the municipal fleet. Other more complex long-term measures include reducing the use of cars by incorporating fees and other taxes on their users, especially in the city center. Another long-term task that needs to be further explored is moving away from a municipal scope to a metropolitan understanding of mobility and transportation in the Rio area, thereby ensuring proper resource management that takes into account the dimensions and demands of such a complex system.

Photo credit: Severino Silva

Jorge Bela, Gestor Comunitario de Bogotá

Bogotá ha ganado el premio a liderazgo urbano en su categoría de transporte. Los premios, de los cuales este año se celebra su primera edición, son otorgados por el grupo C40 y por Siemens, a través de su fundación Crystal. El premio de liderazgo en transporte busca identificar proyectos o iniciativas que mejoren la situación medioambiental, medidos en términos de fomento de cambio en los modos de transporte y de la reducción de la emisión de gases causantes del efecto invernadero.

Para los conocedores de la situación actual en Bogotá la recepción del premio supone inicialmente una sorpresa. La ausencia de metro y la presencia de busetas sin ningún control de emisiones son dos realidades que saltan inmediatamente a la vista. El sistema Transmilenio, que ha servido de modelo de transporte rápido mediante autobuses a varias ciudades del mundo, se encuentra a tope de su capacidad y los proyectos de ampliación se han visto ralentizados por problemas de corrupción, retrasos y sobrecostes.

Aunque la situación actual dista mucho de ser buena, el premio se ha otorgado a un proyecto actualmente en marcha y que puede redundar en una mejora significativa de la situación medioambiental. En primer lugar, está previsto que 200 autobuses híbridos comiencen a circular por Bogotá a partir del 15 de diciembre. Los buses, marca Volvo, son fabricados en Brasil y ensamblados en Colombia. Podrán circular tanto por los carriles de alta velocidad del Transmilenio como por rutas convencionales, pues tienen puertas a ambos lados. Está previsto que circulen por la Carrera 7º, una de las principales de la ciudad y por la que en la actualidad solo circulan busetas y coches particulares. Una vez que los autobuses híbridos comiencen a circular por esta carrera, sus elevados niveles de contaminación descenderán de forma significativa. Estos buses no necesitan conectarse a la red eléctrica para recargarse.

La segunda iniciativa tomada en consideración para otorgar el premio es el lanzamiento de un programa piloto de taxis completamente eléctricos, es decir, de emisión cero. Este programa piloto contempla hasta un máximo de 50 taxis, de los cuales 12 ya han sido presentados y comenzarán a circular en los próximos días. Para su recarga se están construyendo estaciones de recarga específicas. En Bogotá hay más de 50.000 taxis, un número elevadísimo, sobre todo si consideramos que este modo de transporte es el que genera más gases de efecto invernadero por pasajero de todos los existentes. La hipotética sustitución de un número significativo de los taxis impulsados por gas gasolina a otros eléctricos tendría un impacto considerable.

Aunque no se consideró a la hora de otorgar los premios, Bogotá está finalizando los estudios previos para la construcción del metro y está planificando una ampliación significativa del Transmilenio, sustituyendo de esta forma a las contaminantes busetas. Si todos estos proyectos llegan a buen puerto, en pocos años la situación ambiental de Bogotá mejorará dramáticamente. Esperemos que así sea.

Fotos: Miguel Matus

Jorge Bela, Bogotá Community Manager

Bogotá just won the City Climate Leadership Award for transportation. The award, still on its first edition, is sponsored by the C40 group and Siemens, through its Crystal Initiative. The leadership award in transportation seeks to identify projects or initiatives aimed at improving the environmental quality of the cities for which they are intended. The methodology used to measure such improvement is based on modal shift or the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG).

For anyone familiar with the current situation of transportation in Bogotá the award might come as a surprise. It is striking considering the lack of a metro system and the still widespread presence of small buses (busetas, as locals call them), which seem to be free of any emissions controls, as they spew thick clouds of black smoke. Even if the rapid bus transportation system, Transmileno, has been very successful and even taken as a model by large cities elsewhere in Latin America and Asia, it is now operating at full capacity. Expansion projects have been plagued by corruption, delays, and cost overruns.

Even if the current situation is far from ideal, the award was granted to a project, currently being implemented, with a considerable potential to improve the environmental conditions in Bogotá. The project seeks to introduce hybrid buses and zero emissions taxis by the end of 2013. To this end, 200 hybrid buses have been purchased and are expected to start running in late December. These Volvo buses are built in Brazil and assembled in Colombia, and they do not need to recharge in the grid. They can be used in Transmilenio express lanes as well as in regular streets, as they have doors on both sides. They will first be deployed on a new line that crosses the city from south to north, including a long stretch on 7th Avenue, one of Bogota’s most emblematic. Once the hybrid buses replace the highly polluting minibuses which now serve 7th Avenue, the air quality in the area will improve significantly.

The zero emissions taxi pilot project plans to introduce 50 electric taxis. The first 12 taxis have already been officially presented by authorities and are expected to start operating in the next few weeks. Charging stations are being built in strategic locations, and the first one is already operating. Taxis generate the highest volume of GHG per passenger of all transportation modes, and Bogotá has more than 50,000 of them. The replacement of a significant number of gasoline or natural gas taxis by electric units would have a considerable impact on overall city pollution.

Although it was not taken into consideration for the awards, Bogotá is in the final planning stages for its first metro system. It is also planning to substantially expand the Transmilenio system. These two mega-projects will all but eliminate the highly polluting busetas from most of the city. If all of these projects are successfully implemented, the environmental situation in Bogotá will have improved dramatically. Let’s hope that it does.

Photo credit: Miguel Matus

By Gemma Todd

Data has emerged showcasing the latest trends of our demographic shift — the global population now articulates a ‘youth bulge’. The UN-Population Demographic Profile (2010) show children, and ‘youths’, comprise 1.6bn, and 1.0bn, of the population in less-developed regions. The population is younger; and Sub-Saharan Africa is no exception. Attention is now turning to youths: what young people do, what opportunities they initiate for their families and nations, and what it means to be ‘young’ in the developing world. However, an important caveat requires recognition: the focus has been particularly male-focused. Our understanding of girls, within both public and private spaces, remains limited. Such is the debate in this blog post — if we are now looking at ‘kids’ in the city and development, what are the experiences of girls? What can we learn about the city through an engendered perspective? Fundamentally, who is responsible to grant equal rights? Two models of intervention are discussed be, each using alternative methods to provide rights for girls. However, each acts to reinforce the need to improve our understandings on ‘being’ a girl.

Systemic approaches for safer cities

Researchers have emphasised how cities remain insecure spaces for girls and are now analysing what works. Firstly, intervention has focused on reforming the whole city system. The UNiTE Campaign brought women’s safety in cities onto the global public-sphere. The campaign has changed how city space is viewed, and what girls, and women, have a right to access in cities. In the case of Rwanda, the Safe Cities Program has been launched to enable freedom in public space, which remains masculinised. Eleven percent of women are insulted in public spaces, 17 percent are sexually harassed against their will, and 13 percent have been continuously followed, across Rwanda. Multilateral organisations and global campaigning have played a key role in initiating the development of projects, such as Kigali’s Safe Cities Program. Through building new infrastructure and promoting awareness, Kigali aims to engender its urban planning by reinventing the city, however, is it the desired and necessary fundamentals that are being provided? Therefore, alternatively, community organisations are playing a fundamental role in providing safety for girls and women.

Localism revived: bringing safety into communities

Localist approaches are focusing on specific points and spaces of intervention; encouraging girls to take control of gender inequalities. A good example is Kwa Wazee, in Tanzania, working towards a vision whereby child safety can be realised, accessed. Self-defence classes are being run in the region through community workshops. The workshops have three core features. Firstly, self-defence training and knowledge is provided. Secondly, self-defence skills are put to the test through the practical sessions held. Finally, a sense of community is built. The classes are providing safe and secure space for children — boys and girls — to share stories of insecurity and self-defence for peaceful resolutions. Community members are being empowered to change life insecurities.

Community projects are encouraging girls to take back the city and additionally, technology and storytelling is enabling girls to see the city in a new light. Girl journalism is arising in Africa, reclaiming rights to public space but also the public-sphere. The Zimbabwe Association of Female Photographers is a great association encouraging female photographers to engage with city-life, document it, and allow outsiders to see how city-life is experienced as a woman. A new paradigm has formed. Grass-root schemes provide training initiatives for empowerment and innovative methods for girls to share their stories, each introducing access to rights within the city.

However, can, or should, we be putting more reliance on localism within African cities for girls to claim rights? Can the system of gender inequalities be tackled by introducing innovative projects at a smaller scale?

Photo credit: IPS Inter Press Service

By Kaylin Padovano

The urban data revolution is here. From Abidjan to Mumbai to New York, we are beginning to learn about real-time trends: in traffic, land use, even in illegal cooking oil dumping in cities. City data is almost in surplus, and mayors are bombarded with new information on goods and resources every day. Yet little of this data shows us how a city’s most important resource — its people — are living.

Humans continue to migrate to urban areas faster than fragile city infrastructures can handle. With this migration, the number of urban children living in poverty and exclusion continues to rise. At least one of every four children in the world is estimated to live in urban poverty, and children in slums and informal settlements are ignored or simply not counted by typical data measurements. While cities are overflowing with data on their vehicles, structures and businesses, there is a shortage of data on the most vulnerable people who live in them.

This imbalance needs to change. In response, UNICEF and the Global City Indicators Facility (GCIF) have developed the urban child index: a global measurement tool to track and measure the factors that influence childhood development in our cities. For example: a good start to life, protection from harm, education and quality of life.

“Building an urban child index for all cities to use is the first global step towards recognizing the needs of the world’s one billion urban children,” said UNICEF Director of Policy, Jeffrey O’Malley during a plenary session at October’s United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) Congress in Rabat, Morocco, “This data will lead to more and better quality schools and hospitals, more children registered and immunized, more environmentally healthy cities with reduced child respiratory infections, and safer streets.”

Current data on marginalized urban children is scarce to non-existent, even though they often fare worse than even their poorest rural counterparts. For example, in Bangladesh, the under-five mortality rate in slums is 79 per cent higher than the overall urban rate and 44 per cent higher than even the rural rate.

Even in the United States infant mortality rates in urban areas differ neighborhood to neighborhood, sometimes resulting in rates in predominantly poor, minority neighborhoods that are three times as high as those of their wealthy, white peers.

UNICEF’s urban index addresses these inequalities, and gives mayors a valuable snapshot to inform their budgeting and planning decisions. O’Malley stated, “We need to start with city-by-city data and eventually get down to neighborhood-by-neighborhood to accurately count, make visible, and make improvements for the most marginalized urban children.”

The index is the first of its kind to measure conditions as diverse as nutrition, equity, disaster preparedness and air pollution. Utilizing the wealth of data accessible, it builds a more comprehensive picture not just on the hardware of a city, but how children are actually living.

While most indices focus solely on ranking, UNICEF’s tool also holds leaders accountable for making concrete improvements in their municipalities. At the UCLG congress, Mayor Augusto Barrera of Quito welcomed the call for more and better data on children, saying that lack of informed planning can breed violence and unrest among youth populations and that, “We need to build cities for people.”

There is no stopping the urban data revolution, and UNICEF recognizes that the wealth of information it generates is critical to improving cities globally. However, they call upon the world’s major urban partners to assure that it, like any good revolution, has people at its heart.

Next steps: visit the U-KID Urban Index website, and read the Preliminary Pilot Results. For more information, contact Kerry Constabile, UNICEF Urban Specialist.

In cities around the world, children are at especially high risk for various forms of physical and mental abuse, including neglect, economic exploitation, and sexual violence. Consequently, civil society organizations and governments alike are using a broad range of strategies to ensure that this vulnerable demographic is protected and enabled to thrive. Initiatives include government-run crisis centers for victims of sexual abuse, the creation of stronger legal protections for children, and a campaign to stop corporal punishment in schools. Learn more about these efforts to end violence against children in Chittagong, Mexico City, Mumbai, Accra, Jakarta, and São Paulo, and then join the conversation below.

আনশু আধিকারি, অনুবাদকঃ ফারজানা নওশিন এবং নুসরাত ইয়াসমিন

শিশু অধিকার লঙ্ঘনের দুটি চরম প্রতিমূর্তি শিশুদের উপর যৌন নির্যাতন এবং ধর্ষণ। উভয়ই বাংলাদেশে প্রায়শই দেখা যায় এবং দুটিই গুরুতর সমস্যা হিসেবে চিহ্নিত হয়েছে। “আস্ক ডকুমেন্টেশন ইউনিট” এর একটি পরিসংখ্যানে দেখা যায় যে ২০১৩ সালের জানুয়ারী থেকে সেপ্টেম্বর মাসের মধ্যে বাংলাদেশে ৫৪ টি শিশু, ৭ থেকে ১২ বছরের মধ্যে ১০২ জন অপ্রাপ্তবয়স্ক এবং ৮৬ জন কিশোরকিশোরী ধর্ষিত হয়েছে। বলার অপেক্ষা থাকে না যে, এই পরিসংখ্যান যৌন নির্যাতনে শিকার হওয়া শিশুদের প্রকৃত সংখ্যা প্রকাশ করে না।

যৌন নির্যাতন ও ধর্ষণের এই প্রচলন বন্ধ করার জন্য, বিশেষ করে তরুণীদের উপর যৌন নির্যাতন বন্ধ করার জন্য সরকার পুরো বাংলাদেশে ২০০১ সালে “ওয়ান স্টপ ক্রাইসিস সেন্টার (ও,এস,সি,সি)” প্রতিষ্ঠা করেছে। এই সংস্থাটি বাংলাদেশের বিভিন্ন এনজিও যেগুলো মহিলাদের দ্বারা প্রচালিত হচ্ছে এবং রয়েল ডেনিশ দূতাবাসের তত্ত্বাবধায়নে প্রচালিত হচ্ছে। চট্রগ্রামে ও,এস,সি,সি ধর্ষণ ও যৌন নির্যাতনের শিকার ব্যক্তিদের বিভিন্ন সেবা দিয়ে থাকে; উদাহরণস্বরূপ, স্বাস্থ্য সেবা, বাসস্থান পরিসেবা, সামাজিক সেবা, মানসিক স্বাস্থ্য সেবা, আইন এবং পুলিশ সহায়তা এবং ডি,এন,এ পরীক্ষা করার সেবা দিয়ে থাকে। শিশুরা তাদের সেবার বৃহত্তম গ্রাহক।

ও,এস,সি,সি বিশেষ করে চট্রগ্রাম জেলায় শিশু অধিকার সংরক্ষণে গুরুত্বপূর্ণ ভুমিকা পালন করছে কারণ চট্রগ্রামে প্রচুর গার্মেন্টস কারখানা রয়েছে এবং এটি পাহাড় বেষ্টিত এলাকা যা কোন কোন ক্ষেত্রে শিশু অধিকার লঙ্ঘনের ঝুঁকি হিসেবে কাজ করে। গ্রাম এবং শহরের বস্তি থেকে অনেক শিশু গার্মেন্টসে কাজ করতে আসে যেখানে তারা প্রায়ই যৌন নির্যাতনের শিকার হয়। একই ভাবে পাহাড় অঞ্চলে জমি এবং সম্পত্তির অধিকার নিয়ে বাংলাদেশী অধিবাসী এবং পাহাড়ের আদি জনগোষ্ঠীর সহিংসতায় নিরুপায় শিকার হয় শিশুরা। চট্রগ্রাম রক্ষণশীল সমাজ হওয়ায় ধর্ষণের শিকার এসব শিশুরা সাধারণত লজ্জায় নিজেকেই নির্যাতনের জন্য দায়ী করে এবং সমাজ থেকে বিচ্ছিন্ন জীবনযাপন করে।

চট্টগ্রামের ও.এস.সি.সি. অত্যাবশ্যকীয় সেবা ও আশ্রয় প্রদানের মাধ্যমে ধর্ষণের শিকার শিশুদের একটি দলের জন্য বিশেষভাবে কাজ করে যারা অসুরক্ষিত এবং যাদের অধিকার বা উপলব্ধ সেবা সম্পর্কে কোনো জ্ঞান নেই। ও.এস.সি.সি. চট্টগ্রামের মেডিকেল কলেজ হাসপাতাল গুলোতে আক্রান্ত ব্যক্তিকে যে কোনো প্রকার আবশ্যক চিকিৎসা সেবা প্রদান করে। ও.এস.সি.সি. চিকিৎসা বিশেষজ্ঞদেরকে ডাক্তারি এবং ফরেনসিক পরীক্ষা যাচাই করে দেখার জন্যও অনুরোধ করে। এছাড়াও, প্রত্যেক ও.এস.সি.সি. কেন্দ্রের আইনজীবী ও পুলিশ ব্যবস্থাপনার সমর্থন আছে যাতে কেন্দ্র নিজেই যে কোন সময় ধর্ষণ মামলা দায়ের করতে পারেন।

সংক্ষেপে, যৌন বা ঘরোয়া নির্যাতনের শিকার শিশু (ও বয়স্কদের) এক জায়গায় বিনামূল্যে সকল গুরুত্বপূর্ণ চিকিৎসা ও সামাজিক সেবা প্রদান করাই হচ্ছে ও.এস.সি.সি.র উদ্দেশ্য। এভাবে, ধর্ষণের শিকার শিশুদের স্বাস্থ্যসেবা, বৈধ সহযোগিতা, এবং মানসিক সমর্থন দেওয়া হয় যেন তারা শিশু এবং নারী হিসাবে তাদের অহং জোরদার করতে, ধর্ষণের মানসিক ও শারিরীক আঘাত কাটিয়ে উঠতে, এবং জীবন পুনর্নির্মাণ করতে পারে। এইভাবে, ও.এস.সি.সি. নগরের দরিদ্র পরিবারগুলোকে ন্যায়বিচার চাইতে সাহায্য করে যাদের শিশু যৌন সহিংসতার শিকার। ও.এস.সি.সি. মামলা অনুসরণের পাশাপাশি বৃহত্তর দর্শকের কাছে আদালতের রায় প্রচার করার মাধ্যমে, সমাজে ধর্ষণ সম্পর্কে সচেতনতা তৈরি করে এবং ভবিষ্যতে শারীরিক ও যৌন সহিংসতা প্রতিরোধ করতে সাহায্য করে। ২০০৯ সালের শুরু থেকে এখন পর্যন্ত ও.এস.সি.সি ৮৬৫৩ বাংলাদেশী নারী ও শিশুকে সহযোগিতা প্রদান করেছে।

যখন বাংলাদেশে শিশু যৌন সহিংসতার ইস্যু মীমাংসিত থেকে অনেক দূরে, তখন ও.এস.সি.সি. সাহায্য করে যে কিভাবে শিশুর অধিকার সরকার কর্তৃক প্রবর্তিত প্রোগ্রামের মাধ্যমে সমাধান করা যাবে। চট্টগ্রামের ও.এস.সি.সি. ক্ষক্তিগ্রস্থ শিশুদের ব্যপক মানসিক, আইনগত, এবং স্বাস্থ্যের যত্ন প্রদানের কাজ করে, কিন্তু শিশু ধর্ষণ প্রতিরোধের উপর আরও জোর স্থাপন করতে হবে।

Photo credit: BISAP

Anshu Adhikari, Dhaka Community Manager

Child molestation and rape are the extreme physical embodiment of violations of children’s rights. Both have been recognized as issues in Bangladesh: the ASK Documentation Unit reported that 54 infants, 102 minors between the ages of 7 and 12, and 86 teenagers were raped in Bangladesh between January and September 2013. It goes without saying that this figure does not convey the true number of children affected by rape.

In response to this alarming trend of sexual abuse, especially of young girls, the government of Bangladesh put in place One Stop Crisis Centres (OSCC) throughout the country in 2001. In doing so, it followed the recommendations of the Royal Danish Embassy and many NGOs that work with women’s issues. In Chittagong, the OSCC provides comprehensive support to victims of rape and domestic abuse, including health care, shelter services, social services, psychological counselling, legal and police assistance, and DNA tests. Children are one of their largest demographics of victims.

The OSCC has played a particularly vital role in preserving children’s rights in Chittagong because the Chittagong region is filled with garment factories and is surrounded by the hill tract region: children from villages and urban slums come to work in the garment factories, where they often face mistreatment and sexual abuse. Similarly, in the hill tracts, children often become victims in the violence between Bengali settlers and hill tract ethnic groups, as these groups fight for land and property rights. In the conservative society of Chittagong, self-blame, shame, and isolation due to childhood rape are common.

By providing all essential services and shelter to child rape victims in one accessible location, the Chittagong OSCC works specifically for a group that is extremely vulnerable and that has no knowledge of their rights or the services available. The OSCC operates at the medical college hospitals in Chittagong to give victims access to any required medical services. Medical specialists are also asked to visit the OSCC to perform clinical and forensic examinations. Alongside this medical support, every OSCC has the support of lawyers and a police constable, so that the Centre itself can file rape cases immediately.

In short, the motive of the OSCC is to provide all crucial medical and social services to child (and adult) victims of sexual or domestic abuse free of charge and in one place. As such, victims of molestation and rape are given the health care, legal aid, and psychological support necessary to strengthen their confidence, cope with the trauma of rape, and rebuild their lives. The OSCCs thereby enable poor urban families to seek justice when their children are the victims of sexual violence. Because they follow up with cases and disseminate judicial judgments to larger audiences, OSCCs also create awareness about rape and help prevent physical and sexual violence. Since the beginning of 2009, the OSCC has served 8,653 women and children in Bangladesh.

While the issue of sexual violence directed at children is far from solved in Bangladesh, the OSCC provides an example of how children’s rights can be explicitly addressed through a government-initiated program. Further emphasis must be placed on prevention, but the Chittagong OSCC shows the value of comprehensive psychological, legal, and health care support for child victims of abuse.

Photo credit: BISAP

María Fernanda Carvallo, Gestor Comunitario de Mexico D.F.

En al año 2001 se constituyó la Red por los Derechos de la Infancia en México (REDIM). Es una sinergia de 73 organizaciones que buscan que se adopte la Convención de los Derechos de los Niños en los marcos legales de México y en el diseño de políticas públicas dirigidas a los niños.

Entre los programas de REDIM se encuentran: la construcción de una agenda de políticas públicas sobre la infancia y sus derechos; propuestas para la legislación sobre derechos de la infancia; talleres, materiales de análisis, y producción de conocimiento dirigidos a padres, escuelas, instituciones y a la sociedad en general, y también vigilancia y defensoría de los derechos de la niñez.

En el marco de la difusión de los derechos de la infancia, REDIM lanzó la campaña, “Las niñas también cuentan”, en la que uno de los argumentos centrales es que las mujeres que fueron víctimas de violencia en su infancia, son más propensas a serlo en la etapa adulta. La campaña se llevó a cabo a través de foros así como cápsulas y entrevistas radiofónicas difundidas en el marco del día Internacional Contra la Violencia de Género.

Otra de las campañas, “Infancia sin violencia”, pretende visualizar y medir el fenómeno de la violencia infantil para detenerlo, a través de tres pasos. En primer lugar, difundir la situación actual de la violencia contra los niños a través de un portal web. En segundo lugar, involucrar a las personas para que compartan la información en redes sociales. Finalmente, generar un mecanismo para que la población reporte casos de violencia contra la niñez.

Así mismo, REDIM y UNICEF generaron una iniciativa llamada “10 por la Infancia”. La iniciativa tiene medidas estratégicas para avanzar en la defensa de los derechos de las niñas, niños y adolescentes con el apoyo de las instituciones gubernamentales, congresos locales y federal, y la sociedad civil. En abril del 2013 el Jefe de Gobierno del Distrito Federal firmó el acuerdo para la adopción de los 10 pasos:

1. Garantizar a todos los niños salud y nutrición adecuadas en la primera infancia;

2. Asegurar el acceso a agua potable y alimentos saludables en escuelas;

3. Otorgar actas de nacimiento gratuitas a todos los niños durante el primer año de vida;

4. Garantizar una educación de calidad para niños y adolescentes en el país, especialmente para discapacitados;

5. Garantizar apoyos para que los adolescentes ingresen y terminen la escuela media superior;

6. Abrir espacios de participación para adolescentes

7. Asegurar que los adolescentes cuenten con información y servicios de salud sexual y reproductiva;

8. Impulsar la aprobación de la Ley Federal de Justicia para Adolescentes y su efectiva implementación;

9. Proteger contra la violencia en la familia, la escuela y la comunidad;

10. Presentar una iniciativa de Ley General sobre Derechos de la Infancia y la Adolescencia.

Así mismo, respecto a las acciones de incidencia en política pública, las OSCs participantes han generado diversas propuestas de políticas, además del continuo debate y posicionamiento de las sugerencias a través del proyecto “Por una Ley de Altura”; cuyo objetivo es difundir los contenidos, efectos e impacto de la Ley General de Protección a la Niñez que fue aprobada por la Cámara de Diputados, así como las áreas que requieren reestructurase para la creación de una ley integral para una mejor protección de la niñez.

A través de la labor de la red, se ha logrado ampliar el conocimiento sobre la infancia y sus derechos, fortalecer la capacidad de organizaciones de la sociedad civil, e impulsar mecanismos legales para garantizar el cumplimiento y respeto de los derechos de la infancia.

Foto:

María Fernanda Carvallo, Mexico City Community Manager

The Red por los Derechos de la Infancia en México — REDIM (Network for Children’s Rights in Mexico) was established in 2001. It is a synergy of 73 organizations seeking to adopt the Convención de los Derechos de los Niños (Convention of Children’s Rights) in the Mexican legal framework, as well as in the design of public policies directly related to children.

The REDIM programs include building a public policy agenda about childhood and its rights, proposals for legislation on children’s rights, and workshops for creating awareness amongst parents, schools, institutions, and society about advocacy for children’s rights.

In an attempt to spread the word about children’s rights, REDIM launched the campaign, “Girls Count Too,” in which one of the central arguments is that women who were victims of violence during childhood are more likely to be victims of violence in adulthood. The campaign took place through forums and radio interviews, creating awareness about the International Day Against Gender Violence.

“Childhood without Violence” is a three-step campaign that aims to visualize and measure the phenomenon of childhood violence in order to stop it. First, it spreads the word about childhood violence through an online portal. Secondly, the campaign encourages the public to share information about childhood violence on social networks. Lastly, it creates a mechanism for citizens to report cases of childhood violence.

Furthermore, REDIM and UNICEF have launched an initiative called “10 for Childhood.” The program has strategic measures to advance the rights of children and adolescents with the support of government institutions, local and federal congresses, and civil society. In April 2013, the Head of the Federal District Government signed an agreement for the adoption of the ten points:

1. Ensure the health and nutrition of all young children;

2. Ensure access to safe water and healthy food in schools;

3. Provide free birth certificates to all children during their first year of life;

4. Ensure a quality education for children and adolescents, especially for the disabled;

5. Ensure support for adolescents entering and completing middle and high school;

6. Open participation spaces for adolescents;

7. Ensure that adolescents have information and services related to sexual and reproductive health;

8. Promote the adoption of the Federal Law of Justice for Adolescents and its effective implementation;

9. Protect against violence in families, schools, and communities;

10. Draft the General Law initiative protecting Children’s and Adolescents’ Rights.

With respect to public policy advocacy, participating civil society organizations have generated diverse policy proposals and the project “Por una Ley de Altura” (“For a Height Act”), which aims to disseminate the contents, effects, and impacts of the General Law on Childhood Protection that was passed by the House of Representatives. This law also details the areas that require restructuring in order to create a comprehensive law to better protect children from violence.

REDIM has been successful in expanding on the knowledge about children and their rights; they have also strengthened the capacity of civil society organizations, and promoted legal mechanisms to ensure compliance and respect for children’s rights.

Carlin Carr, Mumbai Community Manager

In February 2010, 12-year-old Rouvanjit Rawla, a student at a prestigious school in Kolkata, committed suicide after being humiliated and caned by his principal. The Rawla incident set off a firestorm of controversy over widespread accounts of corporal punishment in India’s schools — from the most elite institutions to those run by the government. The Ministry of Women and Child Development subsequently banned physical punishment of students, stating of the consequences, “The first violation of the ban will invite up to one year in jail, or a fine of Rs. 50,000 or both. For subsequent violations, imprisonment could be extended to three years with an additional fine of 25,000 rupees,” says an article on the issue. Despite the measures, reports of students continuing to receive harsh physical and verbal abuses from their superiors continue to plague India’s school system.

A study conducted last year by the Parent-Teacher Association United Forum found that 100 percent of the 150 teachers they interviewed had used corporal punishment on their students. “The findings left school principals shocked,” says a Times of India report on the issue. The principals may not have known of the extent of the issue, because few incidents were actually being reported to them, neither by the students nor by the parents. Often, parents supported the idea of punishment by the teachers, stating that the child likely deserved it.

Pratham, one of the country’s leading education organizations, says that violence against children in many forms has been “alarmingly” on the rise. In response, Pratham’s Council for Vulnerable Children has partnered with child’s rights groups and government bodies to launch a campaign in Mumbai called “Children First.” Though still in the works, the initiative plans to tackle violence against children in two phases. The first will focus on “creating safety nets within the community by institutionalizing existing groups like child protection vigilance groups.” This phase will also advocate for policy and legal changes to protect child rights and also raise awareness around the issues. Phase two will tackle public institutions in which children engage on a daily basis, including schools, public spaces and public transport. “We are aiming at strengthening the current action along with starting new initiatives to address the issues of quality care and abuse,” says Pratham.

Meanwhile, Delhi High Court has taken action to protect the city’s children. In July, the court asked city officials to come up with a plan for a “zero tolerance” policy to put an end to abuses against students. The rules are to be framed and put up visibly in all schools. At the same time, teachers will need to undergo training to learn alternative actions to handle students and their classrooms. Some principals have already begun training teachers to discuss issues with students or have them write out what they did wrong.

Schools are meant to be safe spaces, and every child has the right to learn without fear of abuse. India is not alone in the situation; in fact, corporal punishment is still legal in 20 states in the U.S. The New York Times held an online debate on the issue; since hitting is still accepted by some communities, especially in the southern states, the practices continues. What are your thoughts? Should corporal punishment be banned outright? Is there ever a place for it? How has your community handled it?

Photo credit: Satish Krishnamurthy

Felix Nyamedor, Accra City Community Manager

Many of Accra’s street children are migrants from other parts of Ghana who followed others in the name of greener pastures. Other street children were trafficked to the city centre by older people and were left to fend for themselves. These children find ways to survive by engaging in activities ranging from being porters to selling goods on the street. The boys often earn money by shining shoes, pushing trucks, gathering refuse and carrying it to the dump site. Many also trade sex for money. In reaction to these alarming hardships, a number of important organizations are working to give these street children a voice, using a number of different approaches.

The core mandate of the government-owned Osu Children’s Home is to take children from the street and provide them with appropriate care. The goal is to afford them hope for a better future and to fully reintegrate all children admitted into the home into mainstream society. After working with the children, they are reintegrated into their families. Unfortunately, this is the home’s only option, because of lack of funding and challenges in maintaining the home.

The Hope for the Nations organization, which runs the Agape Children’s Home, represents another model. The program rescues children from street life and provides foster parents to care for them. Each child lives in a separate family unit with foster parents and up to six other children. The children interact with the rest of the home’s community on a daily basis, and communication with relatives is encouraged to give support to the children.

Plan Ghana and the Street Children Empowerment Foundation work together to organize events for street children to discuss “streetism,” its causes, effects, and solutions. Child ambassadors meet with street children to discuss these issues and how to partner to end “streetism.” Many street children in Accra have been reintegrated to their families through this process.

A final, education-based model is put into action with The Universal Wonderful Street Academy, which takes children from the streets into classrooms, where they are educated, clothed, and fed with one meal a day at no cost.

These organizations are using a variety of complementary approaches to provide a deserved future for Accra’s street children.

Photo credit: Ojewsika

Widya Anggraini, Jakarta Community Manager

Komisi Nasional Perlindungan Anak melaporkan sedikitnya ada 2.637 kasus kekerasan terhadap anak sepanjang tahun 2012 dan 62 persen diantaranya merupakan kekerasan seksual terhadap anak dimana mayoritas korban berasal dari kalangan ekonomi menengah ke bawah. Tren kasus kekerasan terhadap anak meningkat tiap tahunnya. Tingginya angka kekerasan ini menunjukkan betapa buruknya perlindungan anak dan minimnya kebijakan yang berpihak terhadap anak. Secara nasional, negara merespon dengan mengeluarkan undang-undang perlindungan anak yang menyatakan dengan jelas bahwa negara menjamin dan melindungi anak dan hak-haknya agar dapat hidup, tumbuh, berkembang secara optimal serta mendapat perlindungan dari kekerasan dan diskriminasi. Munculnya Undang-undang ini diikuti oleh keluarnya peraturan standar minimum pelayanan terpadu bagi perempuan dan anak korban kekerasan.

Yang menarik dari standar minimum pelayanan ini adalah kewajiban bagi tiap daerah untuk menyediakan Pusat Pelayanan Terpadu (one stop service) atau PPT untuk korban kekerasan. PPT ini sendiri akan melibatkan rumah sakit, puskesmas, unit pelayanan perempuan dan anak yang berbasis di kantor polisi, lembaga bantuan hukum, trauma center, rumah perlindungan anak (shelter) dan jejaring lain yang dapat membantu proses penyembuhan korban.

Untuk wilayah DKI Jakarta sendiri telah membentuk Pusat Pelayanan Terpadu Pemberdayaan Perempuan dan Anak (P2TP2A). Institusi ini memiliki beragam program dan layanan termasuk Hotline service 24 jam bagi para korban, pendampingan litigasi dan non litigasi, penanganna tahap awal bagi korban, penanganan tahap lanjutan serta pendidikan bagi relawan P2TP2A tentang penanganan korban kekerasan terhadap anak dan perempuan.

Ilustrasinya adalah seperti berikut : korban bisa melapor melalui layanan hotline 24 jam atau datang langsung ke kantor P2TP2A, setelah melalui proses registrasi maka seseorang di P2TP2A akan mencatat laporan dan memberikan masukan sebagai bagian dari rencana intervensi. Bentuk intervensi bermacam-macam tergantung keinginan dan kebutuhan korban serta masukan dari ahli. Beberapa jenis pelayanan yang tersedia adalah (1) pendampingan dan bantuan hukum dengan mitra Unit Perlindungan Perempuan dan Anak di Polda Metro Jaya dan Polres wilayah; (2) pelayanan kesehatan dengan mitra dinas kesehatan melalui rumah sakit dan puskesmas kecamatan; (3) Pelayanan Psikososial diberikan oleh psikolog klinis dari P2TP2A; (4) Pelayanan rumah aman dengan mitra dari DInas Sosial dan Departemen sosial; (5) Pemulangan dan Reintegrasi dengan mitra pemerintah daerah asal korban yang masuk dalam daftar Mitra Praja Utama di 10 provinsi.

Menurut data P2TP2A DKI Jakarta sejak tahun 2007-2012 telah masuk total 7.726 kasus kekerasan yang dikerjakan bersama mitra. Dari total jumlah pelapor, 26 persen merupakan kasus kekerasan terhadap anak. Semua kasus tersebut diterima dan telah ditangani oleh P2TPA bersama mitra. Mengingat kasus kekerasan terhadap anak di jakarta tahun 2012 meningkat dua kali lipat dibandingkan tahun 2010 dengan modus operandi yang kian beragam maka masyarakat diimbau agar tidak segan melapor jika terjadi kekerasan anak sebab kini pelaku kekerasan, terutama kekerasan seksual, kerap adalah keluarga dekat seperti ayah kandung, ayah tiri, paman bahkan guru. Selain itu, P2TP2A juga memiliki relawan di tiap desa dan kecamatan untuk memantau dan melaporkan jika terjadi kekerasan di wilayahnya.

Foto: Wonosobo

Widya Anggraini, Jakarta Community Manager

The National Commission for Child Protection reported at least 2,637 cases of violence against children in 2012 with 62 percent comprising of sexual abuse cases, in which the majority of the victims are from the middle and lower classes. Cases of child violence have seen an upward trend and are increasing each year. This high rate of violence points to the appalling state of child protection and to the lack of policies directed towards it. On a national level, the state has responded by issuing a child protection act which makes clear their guarantee to protect children and their rights in order for them to live, grow, achieve optimal development, and receive protection from violence and discrimination. The emergence of this act was followed by the issuance of minimum integrated service standard policies for women and child victims of violence.

What is interesting about this minimum service standard is the obligation of each region to provide One Stop Service Centers (Pusat Pelayanan Terpadu, or PPT) for victims of violence. The PPT involves hospitals, health centers, women and child service units based in police stations, legal aid, trauma centers, child shelters, and other networks which assist with the victims’ healing process.

In the Jakarta region, a One Stop Service Center for Women and Children (P2TP2A) has been established. This institution has a variety of programs and services, including a 24-hour service hotline for victims, litigation and non-litigation assistance, and handling of the early stages as well as the advanced stages of educating P2TP2A volunteers on women and child victims of violence.

The program works as follows: the victim may make a report via the 24-hour service hotline or go directly to the P2TP2A office after undergoing a registration process, where an associate makes a record of the report and provides input as part of the intervention plan. The form of intervention varies depending on the wants and needs of the victims as well as input from the experts. Some of the types of services available are (1) mentoring and legal assistance in collaboration with the Women and Children Protection Unit in the Jakarta Police institution; (2) health services through the program’s partnerships with hospitals and district health centers, (3) psychological services provided by a clinical psychologist from P2TP2A; (4) home safety services through their partners in Social Services and the Social Department; (5) Return and Reintegration of victims through local government partners.

According to data collected by P2TP2A and their partners, Jakarta recorded a total of 7,726 cases of violence in 2007-2012. Of the total number reported, 26 percent were cases of violence against children. All cases were received and handled by P2TP2A and their partners. Bearing in mind that in 2012, cases of violence against children in Jakarta had doubled since 2010, with an increasingly diverse modus operandi, it is recommended that the community not hesitate to report any instances of child abuse as offenders, especially sexual violence offenders, are often close relatives such as fathers, stepfathers, uncles and even teachers. To help with on-the-ground monitoring, the P2TP2A has volunteers in each village and district to monitor and report any cases of violence.

Photo: Wonosobo

Catalina Gomez, Coordenadora da Rede em São Paulo

Assegurar que as crianças e adolescentes tenham seus direitos assegurados e protegidos de qualquer forma de violência deveria ser uma prioridade de todos os países. Neste sentido, Brasil vem fazendo vários esforços que envolvem a parceria entre o governo e a sociedade civil, nos níveis nacionais e municipais.

Um dos esforços mais importantes no reconhecimento dos direitos das crianças e adolescentes tem sido a aprovação do Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (ECA) em 1990. O ECA é um conjunto de normas que detalham os direitos das crianças e identificam os protocolos de atenção nos casos de violência, delinquência e justiça de menores.

Baseado no ECA, as autoridades brasileiras tem criado uma rede pública de proteção ás crianças e adolescentes de qualquer forma de violência, abuso e negligencia. O ponto focal desta rede é o Conselho Tutelar, uma entidade descentralizada e autônoma, encarregada pela sociedade de zelar pelo cumprimento dos direitos da criança e do adolescente. Segundo a lei, cada município deve ter pelo menos um conselho em funcionamento.

O ECA também detalha que cada Conselho Tutelar esteja conformado por cinco membros eleitos pela comunidade a cada três anos. Os conselheiros são posições pagas que requerem de conhecimento dos direitos das crianças. Aquele arranjo promove a participação da sociedade civil, incluindo líderes comunitários e representantes de ONGs que tem bom conhecimento de suas comunidades e suas necessidades.

São Paulo tem vários arranjos para responder á violência contra as crianças, incluindo 44 Conselhos Tutelares localizados no todo seu território. O mandado destes conselhos é coordenar esforços entre o governo e a sociedade civil em torno aos direitos das crianças. Alguns dos principais órgãos que trabalham na rede são a policia, a Secretaria Municipal de Assistência Social e o Ministério Público.

A cidade também tem 26 Centros de Referencia Especializada da Assistência Social (CREAS), que tem como objetivo providenciar assistência de meia e alta complexidade para as crianças e famílias vitimas de violência e abuso. Para aquelas crianças que tem sido vitimas, os CREAS providenciam conselheiros e referencia a abrigos temporários públicos sem custo.

Bem, temos a rede e a oferta de serviços públicos que atendem casos de violência. Mais existe muito trabalho pela frente. Por exemplo, ainda é preciso gerar uma parceria mais sólida entre o governo e a sociedade civil na prevenção e atenção da violência contra as crianças. Também é uma prioridade treinar, capacitar e conceder pleno reconhecimento aos membros do Conselho Tutelar nas suas funções. Finalmente é preciso gerar maior conhecimento e compreensão sobre as varias dimensões da violência contra as crianças e suas causas para dar respostas mais eficientes e integrais.

Catalina Gomez, São Paulo Community Manager

Ensuring that all children and adolescents have their basic rights met and are protected from any form of violence must be a priority in every country. In Brazil, a number of efforts have been taking place over the years and involve collaboration among government institutions and civil society, both at the national and city levels.

One of the main milestones in recognizing children’s and adolescents’ rights was the approval of the Child and Adolescent Statute in 1990. This statute compiles a series of laws and regulations spelling out the rights of children, as well as identifying the minimum standards and protocols for managing situations of violence, delinquency, and justice for minors.

Based on the statute, Brazilian authorities created a specialized public network for child protection, not only from violence but from any form of abuse or neglect. The main focal point of this network is the Guardian Council (Conselho Tutelar). The Council is a decentralized and autonomous entity that ensures overall compliance with the rights of minors. According to the law, every city must have at least one functioning council.

The law also mandates that each Guardian Council is formed by five elected members of the community for a period of three years. These are paid positions that require specialized knowledge of children’s and adolescents’ rights. Such arrangement promotes civil society representation in Guardian Councils, including community leaders and NGO representatives, who best know the conditions of their own communities, and the challenges faced to ensure children’s and adolescents’ well-being in their neighborhoods.

As Brazil’s biggest city, São Paulo has several initiatives that deal with child violence. To start with, it has not one, but 44 Guardian Councils, which are located throughout the city so they can ensure adequate and localized efforts towards protecting children from violence. The Councils don’t deliver counseling or provide any direct services — instead, they coordinate efforts by government and civil society to prevent and combat child violence in the city. Some of the key actors that support the Council’s work include the police, the municipal secretariat of social assistance, and the public prosecutor.

The city also has 26 Specialized Social Assistance Centers, known as CREAS, which support children and families that have been victims of violence and abuse. For those children, the CREAS provide counseling and references to adequate shelter services from a network of public services, all for free.

The networks are in place, and there is a public supply of specialized services. But let’s face the truth: there are still many challenges ahead in the fight against child violence. First, there is a need for even more collaboration and support among government and civil society organizations to act at the neighborhood level in the prevention of child violence. Secondly, there is a need for more recognition and training for the Guardian Council members, who in many cases are not able to comply with their mandates due to the lack of human and financial resources. Finally, there needs to be greater knowledge and understanding of the various dimensions of violence and their root causes to provide better and more comprehensive responses.

In cities around the world, children are at especially high risk for various forms of physical and mental abuse, including neglect, economic exploitation, and sexual violence. Consequently, civil society organizations and governments alike are using a broad range of strategies to ensure that this vulnerable demographic is protected and enabled to thrive. Initiatives include government-run crisis centers for victims of sexual abuse, the creation of stronger legal protections for children, and a campaign to stop corporal punishment in schools. Learn more about these efforts to end violence against children in Chittagong, Mexico City, Mumbai, Accra, Jakarta, and São Paulo, and then join the conversation below.

আনশু আধিকারি, অনুবাদকঃ ফারজানা নওশিন এবং নুসরাত ইয়াসমিন

শিশু অধিকার লঙ্ঘনের দুটি চরম প্রতিমূর্তি শিশুদের উপর যৌন নির্যাতন এবং ধর্ষণ। উভয়ই বাংলাদেশে প্রায়শই দেখা যায় এবং দুটিই গুরুতর সমস্যা হিসেবে চিহ্নিত হয়েছে। “আস্ক ডকুমেন্টেশন ইউনিট” এর একটি পরিসংখ্যানে দেখা যায় যে ২০১৩ সালের জানুয়ারী থেকে সেপ্টেম্বর মাসের মধ্যে বাংলাদেশে ৫৪ টি শিশু, ৭ থেকে ১২ বছরের মধ্যে ১০২ জন অপ্রাপ্তবয়স্ক এবং ৮৬ জন কিশোরকিশোরী ধর্ষিত হয়েছে। বলার অপেক্ষা থাকে না যে, এই পরিসংখ্যান যৌন নির্যাতনে শিকার হওয়া শিশুদের প্রকৃত সংখ্যা প্রকাশ করে না।

যৌন নির্যাতন ও ধর্ষণের এই প্রচলন বন্ধ করার জন্য, বিশেষ করে তরুণীদের উপর যৌন নির্যাতন বন্ধ করার জন্য সরকার পুরো বাংলাদেশে ২০০১ সালে “ওয়ান স্টপ ক্রাইসিস সেন্টার (ও,এস,সি,সি)” প্রতিষ্ঠা করেছে। এই সংস্থাটি বাংলাদেশের বিভিন্ন এনজিও যেগুলো মহিলাদের দ্বারা প্রচালিত হচ্ছে এবং রয়েল ডেনিশ দূতাবাসের তত্ত্বাবধায়নে প্রচালিত হচ্ছে। চট্রগ্রামে ও,এস,সি,সি ধর্ষণ ও যৌন নির্যাতনের শিকার ব্যক্তিদের বিভিন্ন সেবা দিয়ে থাকে; উদাহরণস্বরূপ, স্বাস্থ্য সেবা, বাসস্থান পরিসেবা, সামাজিক সেবা, মানসিক স্বাস্থ্য সেবা, আইন এবং পুলিশ সহায়তা এবং ডি,এন,এ পরীক্ষা করার সেবা দিয়ে থাকে। শিশুরা তাদের সেবার বৃহত্তম গ্রাহক।

ও,এস,সি,সি বিশেষ করে চট্রগ্রাম জেলায় শিশু অধিকার সংরক্ষণে গুরুত্বপূর্ণ ভুমিকা পালন করছে কারণ চট্রগ্রামে প্রচুর গার্মেন্টস কারখানা রয়েছে এবং এটি পাহাড় বেষ্টিত এলাকা যা কোন কোন ক্ষেত্রে শিশু অধিকার লঙ্ঘনের ঝুঁকি হিসেবে কাজ করে। গ্রাম এবং শহরের বস্তি থেকে অনেক শিশু গার্মেন্টসে কাজ করতে আসে যেখানে তারা প্রায়ই যৌন নির্যাতনের শিকার হয়। একই ভাবে পাহাড় অঞ্চলে জমি এবং সম্পত্তির অধিকার নিয়ে বাংলাদেশী অধিবাসী এবং পাহাড়ের আদি জনগোষ্ঠীর সহিংসতায় নিরুপায় শিকার হয় শিশুরা। চট্রগ্রাম রক্ষণশীল সমাজ হওয়ায় ধর্ষণের শিকার এসব শিশুরা সাধারণত লজ্জায় নিজেকেই নির্যাতনের জন্য দায়ী করে এবং সমাজ থেকে বিচ্ছিন্ন জীবনযাপন করে।

চট্টগ্রামের ও.এস.সি.সি. অত্যাবশ্যকীয় সেবা ও আশ্রয় প্রদানের মাধ্যমে ধর্ষণের শিকার শিশুদের একটি দলের জন্য বিশেষভাবে কাজ করে যারা অসুরক্ষিত এবং যাদের অধিকার বা উপলব্ধ সেবা সম্পর্কে কোনো জ্ঞান নেই। ও.এস.সি.সি. চট্টগ্রামের মেডিকেল কলেজ হাসপাতাল গুলোতে আক্রান্ত ব্যক্তিকে যে কোনো প্রকার আবশ্যক চিকিৎসা সেবা প্রদান করে। ও.এস.সি.সি. চিকিৎসা বিশেষজ্ঞদেরকে ডাক্তারি এবং ফরেনসিক পরীক্ষা যাচাই করে দেখার জন্যও অনুরোধ করে। এছাড়াও, প্রত্যেক ও.এস.সি.সি. কেন্দ্রের আইনজীবী ও পুলিশ ব্যবস্থাপনার সমর্থন আছে যাতে কেন্দ্র নিজেই যে কোন সময় ধর্ষণ মামলা দায়ের করতে পারেন।

সংক্ষেপে, যৌন বা ঘরোয়া নির্যাতনের শিকার শিশু (ও বয়স্কদের) এক জায়গায় বিনামূল্যে সকল গুরুত্বপূর্ণ চিকিৎসা ও সামাজিক সেবা প্রদান করাই হচ্ছে ও.এস.সি.সি.র উদ্দেশ্য। এভাবে, ধর্ষণের শিকার শিশুদের স্বাস্থ্যসেবা, বৈধ সহযোগিতা, এবং মানসিক সমর্থন দেওয়া হয় যেন তারা শিশু এবং নারী হিসাবে তাদের অহং জোরদার করতে, ধর্ষণের মানসিক ও শারিরীক আঘাত কাটিয়ে উঠতে, এবং জীবন পুনর্নির্মাণ করতে পারে। এইভাবে, ও.এস.সি.সি. নগরের দরিদ্র পরিবারগুলোকে ন্যায়বিচার চাইতে সাহায্য করে যাদের শিশু যৌন সহিংসতার শিকার। ও.এস.সি.সি. মামলা অনুসরণের পাশাপাশি বৃহত্তর দর্শকের কাছে আদালতের রায় প্রচার করার মাধ্যমে, সমাজে ধর্ষণ সম্পর্কে সচেতনতা তৈরি করে এবং ভবিষ্যতে শারীরিক ও যৌন সহিংসতা প্রতিরোধ করতে সাহায্য করে। ২০০৯ সালের শুরু থেকে এখন পর্যন্ত ও.এস.সি.সি ৮৬৫৩ বাংলাদেশী নারী ও শিশুকে সহযোগিতা প্রদান করেছে।

যখন বাংলাদেশে শিশু যৌন সহিংসতার ইস্যু মীমাংসিত থেকে অনেক দূরে, তখন ও.এস.সি.সি. সাহায্য করে যে কিভাবে শিশুর অধিকার সরকার কর্তৃক প্রবর্তিত প্রোগ্রামের মাধ্যমে সমাধান করা যাবে। চট্টগ্রামের ও.এস.সি.সি. ক্ষক্তিগ্রস্থ শিশুদের ব্যপক মানসিক, আইনগত, এবং স্বাস্থ্যের যত্ন প্রদানের কাজ করে, কিন্তু শিশু ধর্ষণ প্রতিরোধের উপর আরও জোর স্থাপন করতে হবে।

Photo credit: BISAP

Anshu Adhikari, Dhaka Community Manager

Child molestation and rape are the extreme physical embodiment of violations of children’s rights. Both have been recognized as issues in Bangladesh: the ASK Documentation Unit reported that 54 infants, 102 minors between the ages of 7 and 12, and 86 teenagers were raped in Bangladesh between January and September 2013. It goes without saying that this figure does not convey the true number of children affected by rape.

In response to this alarming trend of sexual abuse, especially of young girls, the government of Bangladesh put in place One Stop Crisis Centres (OSCC) throughout the country in 2001. In doing so, it followed the recommendations of the Royal Danish Embassy and many NGOs that work with women’s issues. In Chittagong, the OSCC provides comprehensive support to victims of rape and domestic abuse, including health care, shelter services, social services, psychological counselling, legal and police assistance, and DNA tests. Children are one of their largest demographics of victims.

The OSCC has played a particularly vital role in preserving children’s rights in Chittagong because the Chittagong region is filled with garment factories and is surrounded by the hill tract region: children from villages and urban slums come to work in the garment factories, where they often face mistreatment and sexual abuse. Similarly, in the hill tracts, children often become victims in the violence between Bengali settlers and hill tract ethnic groups, as these groups fight for land and property rights. In the conservative society of Chittagong, self-blame, shame, and isolation due to childhood rape are common.

By providing all essential services and shelter to child rape victims in one accessible location, the Chittagong OSCC works specifically for a group that is extremely vulnerable and that has no knowledge of their rights or the services available. The OSCC operates at the medical college hospitals in Chittagong to give victims access to any required medical services. Medical specialists are also asked to visit the OSCC to perform clinical and forensic examinations. Alongside this medical support, every OSCC has the support of lawyers and a police constable, so that the Centre itself can file rape cases immediately.

In short, the motive of the OSCC is to provide all crucial medical and social services to child (and adult) victims of sexual or domestic abuse free of charge and in one place. As such, victims of molestation and rape are given the health care, legal aid, and psychological support necessary to strengthen their confidence, cope with the trauma of rape, and rebuild their lives. The OSCCs thereby enable poor urban families to seek justice when their children are the victims of sexual violence. Because they follow up with cases and disseminate judicial judgments to larger audiences, OSCCs also create awareness about rape and help prevent physical and sexual violence. Since the beginning of 2009, the OSCC has served 8,653 women and children in Bangladesh.

While the issue of sexual violence directed at children is far from solved in Bangladesh, the OSCC provides an example of how children’s rights can be explicitly addressed through a government-initiated program. Further emphasis must be placed on prevention, but the Chittagong OSCC shows the value of comprehensive psychological, legal, and health care support for child victims of abuse.

Photo credit: BISAP

María Fernanda Carvallo, Gestor Comunitario de Mexico D.F.

En al año 2001 se constituyó la Red por los Derechos de la Infancia en México (REDIM). Es una sinergia de 73 organizaciones que buscan que se adopte la Convención de los Derechos de los Niños en los marcos legales de México y en el diseño de políticas públicas dirigidas a los niños.

Entre los programas de REDIM se encuentran: la construcción de una agenda de políticas públicas sobre la infancia y sus derechos; propuestas para la legislación sobre derechos de la infancia; talleres, materiales de análisis, y producción de conocimiento dirigidos a padres, escuelas, instituciones y a la sociedad en general, y también vigilancia y defensoría de los derechos de la niñez.

En el marco de la difusión de los derechos de la infancia, REDIM lanzó la campaña, “Las niñas también cuentan”, en la que uno de los argumentos centrales es que las mujeres que fueron víctimas de violencia en su infancia, son más propensas a serlo en la etapa adulta. La campaña se llevó a cabo a través de foros así como cápsulas y entrevistas radiofónicas difundidas en el marco del día Internacional Contra la Violencia de Género.

Otra de las campañas, “Infancia sin violencia”, pretende visualizar y medir el fenómeno de la violencia infantil para detenerlo, a través de tres pasos. En primer lugar, difundir la situación actual de la violencia contra los niños a través de un portal web. En segundo lugar, involucrar a las personas para que compartan la información en redes sociales. Finalmente, generar un mecanismo para que la población reporte casos de violencia contra la niñez.

Así mismo, REDIM y UNICEF generaron una iniciativa llamada “10 por la Infancia”. La iniciativa tiene medidas estratégicas para avanzar en la defensa de los derechos de las niñas, niños y adolescentes con el apoyo de las instituciones gubernamentales, congresos locales y federal, y la sociedad civil. En abril del 2013 el Jefe de Gobierno del Distrito Federal firmó el acuerdo para la adopción de los 10 pasos:

1. Garantizar a todos los niños salud y nutrición adecuadas en la primera infancia;

2. Asegurar el acceso a agua potable y alimentos saludables en escuelas;

3. Otorgar actas de nacimiento gratuitas a todos los niños durante el primer año de vida;

4. Garantizar una educación de calidad para niños y adolescentes en el país, especialmente para discapacitados;

5. Garantizar apoyos para que los adolescentes ingresen y terminen la escuela media superior;

6. Abrir espacios de participación para adolescentes

7. Asegurar que los adolescentes cuenten con información y servicios de salud sexual y reproductiva;

8. Impulsar la aprobación de la Ley Federal de Justicia para Adolescentes y su efectiva implementación;

9. Proteger contra la violencia en la familia, la escuela y la comunidad;

10. Presentar una iniciativa de Ley General sobre Derechos de la Infancia y la Adolescencia.

Así mismo, respecto a las acciones de incidencia en política pública, las OSCs participantes han generado diversas propuestas de políticas, además del continuo debate y posicionamiento de las sugerencias a través del proyecto “Por una Ley de Altura”; cuyo objetivo es difundir los contenidos, efectos e impacto de la Ley General de Protección a la Niñez que fue aprobada por la Cámara de Diputados, así como las áreas que requieren reestructurase para la creación de una ley integral para una mejor protección de la niñez.

A través de la labor de la red, se ha logrado ampliar el conocimiento sobre la infancia y sus derechos, fortalecer la capacidad de organizaciones de la sociedad civil, e impulsar mecanismos legales para garantizar el cumplimiento y respeto de los derechos de la infancia.

Foto:

María Fernanda Carvallo, Mexico City Community Manager

The Red por los Derechos de la Infancia en México — REDIM (Network for Children’s Rights in Mexico) was established in 2001. It is a synergy of 73 organizations seeking to adopt the Convención de los Derechos de los Niños (Convention of Children’s Rights) in the Mexican legal framework, as well as in the design of public policies directly related to children.

The REDIM programs include building a public policy agenda about childhood and its rights, proposals for legislation on children’s rights, and workshops for creating awareness amongst parents, schools, institutions, and society about advocacy for children’s rights.

In an attempt to spread the word about children’s rights, REDIM launched the campaign, “Girls Count Too,” in which one of the central arguments is that women who were victims of violence during childhood are more likely to be victims of violence in adulthood. The campaign took place through forums and radio interviews, creating awareness about the International Day Against Gender Violence.

“Childhood without Violence” is a three-step campaign that aims to visualize and measure the phenomenon of childhood violence in order to stop it. First, it spreads the word about childhood violence through an online portal. Secondly, the campaign encourages the public to share information about childhood violence on social networks. Lastly, it creates a mechanism for citizens to report cases of childhood violence.

Furthermore, REDIM and UNICEF have launched an initiative called “10 for Childhood.” The program has strategic measures to advance the rights of children and adolescents with the support of government institutions, local and federal congresses, and civil society. In April 2013, the Head of the Federal District Government signed an agreement for the adoption of the ten points:

1. Ensure the health and nutrition of all young children;

2. Ensure access to safe water and healthy food in schools;

3. Provide free birth certificates to all children during their first year of life;

4. Ensure a quality education for children and adolescents, especially for the disabled;

5. Ensure support for adolescents entering and completing middle and high school;

6. Open participation spaces for adolescents;

7. Ensure that adolescents have information and services related to sexual and reproductive health;

8. Promote the adoption of the Federal Law of Justice for Adolescents and its effective implementation;

9. Protect against violence in families, schools, and communities;

10. Draft the General Law initiative protecting Children’s and Adolescents’ Rights.

With respect to public policy advocacy, participating civil society organizations have generated diverse policy proposals and the project “Por una Ley de Altura” (“For a Height Act”), which aims to disseminate the contents, effects, and impacts of the General Law on Childhood Protection that was passed by the House of Representatives. This law also details the areas that require restructuring in order to create a comprehensive law to better protect children from violence.

REDIM has been successful in expanding on the knowledge about children and their rights; they have also strengthened the capacity of civil society organizations, and promoted legal mechanisms to ensure compliance and respect for children’s rights.

Carlin Carr, Mumbai Community Manager

In February 2010, 12-year-old Rouvanjit Rawla, a student at a prestigious school in Kolkata, committed suicide after being humiliated and caned by his principal. The Rawla incident set off a firestorm of controversy over widespread accounts of corporal punishment in India’s schools — from the most elite institutions to those run by the government. The Ministry of Women and Child Development subsequently banned physical punishment of students, stating of the consequences, “The first violation of the ban will invite up to one year in jail, or a fine of Rs. 50,000 or both. For subsequent violations, imprisonment could be extended to three years with an additional fine of 25,000 rupees,” says an article on the issue. Despite the measures, reports of students continuing to receive harsh physical and verbal abuses from their superiors continue to plague India’s school system.

A study conducted last year by the Parent-Teacher Association United Forum found that 100 percent of the 150 teachers they interviewed had used corporal punishment on their students. “The findings left school principals shocked,” says a Times of India report on the issue. The principals may not have known of the extent of the issue, because few incidents were actually being reported to them, neither by the students nor by the parents. Often, parents supported the idea of punishment by the teachers, stating that the child likely deserved it.

Pratham, one of the country’s leading education organizations, says that violence against children in many forms has been “alarmingly” on the rise. In response, Pratham’s Council for Vulnerable Children has partnered with child’s rights groups and government bodies to launch a campaign in Mumbai called “Children First.” Though still in the works, the initiative plans to tackle violence against children in two phases. The first will focus on “creating safety nets within the community by institutionalizing existing groups like child protection vigilance groups.” This phase will also advocate for policy and legal changes to protect child rights and also raise awareness around the issues. Phase two will tackle public institutions in which children engage on a daily basis, including schools, public spaces and public transport. “We are aiming at strengthening the current action along with starting new initiatives to address the issues of quality care and abuse,” says Pratham.

Meanwhile, Delhi High Court has taken action to protect the city’s children. In July, the court asked city officials to come up with a plan for a “zero tolerance” policy to put an end to abuses against students. The rules are to be framed and put up visibly in all schools. At the same time, teachers will need to undergo training to learn alternative actions to handle students and their classrooms. Some principals have already begun training teachers to discuss issues with students or have them write out what they did wrong.

Schools are meant to be safe spaces, and every child has the right to learn without fear of abuse. India is not alone in the situation; in fact, corporal punishment is still legal in 20 states in the U.S. The New York Times held an online debate on the issue; since hitting is still accepted by some communities, especially in the southern states, the practices continues. What are your thoughts? Should corporal punishment be banned outright? Is there ever a place for it? How has your community handled it?

Photo credit: Satish Krishnamurthy

Felix Nyamedor, Accra City Community Manager

Many of Accra’s street children are migrants from other parts of Ghana who followed others in the name of greener pastures. Other street children were trafficked to the city centre by older people and were left to fend for themselves. These children find ways to survive by engaging in activities ranging from being porters to selling goods on the street. The boys often earn money by shining shoes, pushing trucks, gathering refuse and carrying it to the dump site. Many also trade sex for money. In reaction to these alarming hardships, a number of important organizations are working to give these street children a voice, using a number of different approaches.

The core mandate of the government-owned Osu Children’s Home is to take children from the street and provide them with appropriate care. The goal is to afford them hope for a better future and to fully reintegrate all children admitted into the home into mainstream society. After working with the children, they are reintegrated into their families. Unfortunately, this is the home’s only option, because of lack of funding and challenges in maintaining the home.

The Hope for the Nations organization, which runs the Agape Children’s Home, represents another model. The program rescues children from street life and provides foster parents to care for them. Each child lives in a separate family unit with foster parents and up to six other children. The children interact with the rest of the home’s community on a daily basis, and communication with relatives is encouraged to give support to the children.

Plan Ghana and the Street Children Empowerment Foundation work together to organize events for street children to discuss “streetism,” its causes, effects, and solutions. Child ambassadors meet with street children to discuss these issues and how to partner to end “streetism.” Many street children in Accra have been reintegrated to their families through this process.

A final, education-based model is put into action with The Universal Wonderful Street Academy, which takes children from the streets into classrooms, where they are educated, clothed, and fed with one meal a day at no cost.

These organizations are using a variety of complementary approaches to provide a deserved future for Accra’s street children.

Photo credit: Ojewsika

Widya Anggraini, Jakarta Community Manager

Komisi Nasional Perlindungan Anak melaporkan sedikitnya ada 2.637 kasus kekerasan terhadap anak sepanjang tahun 2012 dan 62 persen diantaranya merupakan kekerasan seksual terhadap anak dimana mayoritas korban berasal dari kalangan ekonomi menengah ke bawah. Tren kasus kekerasan terhadap anak meningkat tiap tahunnya. Tingginya angka kekerasan ini menunjukkan betapa buruknya perlindungan anak dan minimnya kebijakan yang berpihak terhadap anak. Secara nasional, negara merespon dengan mengeluarkan undang-undang perlindungan anak yang menyatakan dengan jelas bahwa negara menjamin dan melindungi anak dan hak-haknya agar dapat hidup, tumbuh, berkembang secara optimal serta mendapat perlindungan dari kekerasan dan diskriminasi. Munculnya Undang-undang ini diikuti oleh keluarnya peraturan standar minimum pelayanan terpadu bagi perempuan dan anak korban kekerasan.

Yang menarik dari standar minimum pelayanan ini adalah kewajiban bagi tiap daerah untuk menyediakan Pusat Pelayanan Terpadu (one stop service) atau PPT untuk korban kekerasan. PPT ini sendiri akan melibatkan rumah sakit, puskesmas, unit pelayanan perempuan dan anak yang berbasis di kantor polisi, lembaga bantuan hukum, trauma center, rumah perlindungan anak (shelter) dan jejaring lain yang dapat membantu proses penyembuhan korban.

Untuk wilayah DKI Jakarta sendiri telah membentuk Pusat Pelayanan Terpadu Pemberdayaan Perempuan dan Anak (P2TP2A). Institusi ini memiliki beragam program dan layanan termasuk Hotline service 24 jam bagi para korban, pendampingan litigasi dan non litigasi, penanganna tahap awal bagi korban, penanganan tahap lanjutan serta pendidikan bagi relawan P2TP2A tentang penanganan korban kekerasan terhadap anak dan perempuan.

Ilustrasinya adalah seperti berikut : korban bisa melapor melalui layanan hotline 24 jam atau datang langsung ke kantor P2TP2A, setelah melalui proses registrasi maka seseorang di P2TP2A akan mencatat laporan dan memberikan masukan sebagai bagian dari rencana intervensi. Bentuk intervensi bermacam-macam tergantung keinginan dan kebutuhan korban serta masukan dari ahli. Beberapa jenis pelayanan yang tersedia adalah (1) pendampingan dan bantuan hukum dengan mitra Unit Perlindungan Perempuan dan Anak di Polda Metro Jaya dan Polres wilayah; (2) pelayanan kesehatan dengan mitra dinas kesehatan melalui rumah sakit dan puskesmas kecamatan; (3) Pelayanan Psikososial diberikan oleh psikolog klinis dari P2TP2A; (4) Pelayanan rumah aman dengan mitra dari DInas Sosial dan Departemen sosial; (5) Pemulangan dan Reintegrasi dengan mitra pemerintah daerah asal korban yang masuk dalam daftar Mitra Praja Utama di 10 provinsi.

Menurut data P2TP2A DKI Jakarta sejak tahun 2007-2012 telah masuk total 7.726 kasus kekerasan yang dikerjakan bersama mitra. Dari total jumlah pelapor, 26 persen merupakan kasus kekerasan terhadap anak. Semua kasus tersebut diterima dan telah ditangani oleh P2TPA bersama mitra. Mengingat kasus kekerasan terhadap anak di jakarta tahun 2012 meningkat dua kali lipat dibandingkan tahun 2010 dengan modus operandi yang kian beragam maka masyarakat diimbau agar tidak segan melapor jika terjadi kekerasan anak sebab kini pelaku kekerasan, terutama kekerasan seksual, kerap adalah keluarga dekat seperti ayah kandung, ayah tiri, paman bahkan guru. Selain itu, P2TP2A juga memiliki relawan di tiap desa dan kecamatan untuk memantau dan melaporkan jika terjadi kekerasan di wilayahnya.

Foto: Wonosobo

Widya Anggraini, Jakarta Community Manager

The National Commission for Child Protection reported at least 2,637 cases of violence against children in 2012 with 62 percent comprising of sexual abuse cases, in which the majority of the victims are from the middle and lower classes. Cases of child violence have seen an upward trend and are increasing each year. This high rate of violence points to the appalling state of child protection and to the lack of policies directed towards it. On a national level, the state has responded by issuing a child protection act which makes clear their guarantee to protect children and their rights in order for them to live, grow, achieve optimal development, and receive protection from violence and discrimination. The emergence of this act was followed by the issuance of minimum integrated service standard policies for women and child victims of violence.

What is interesting about this minimum service standard is the obligation of each region to provide One Stop Service Centers (Pusat Pelayanan Terpadu, or PPT) for victims of violence. The PPT involves hospitals, health centers, women and child service units based in police stations, legal aid, trauma centers, child shelters, and other networks which assist with the victims’ healing process.

In the Jakarta region, a One Stop Service Center for Women and Children (P2TP2A) has been established. This institution has a variety of programs and services, including a 24-hour service hotline for victims, litigation and non-litigation assistance, and handling of the early stages as well as the advanced stages of educating P2TP2A volunteers on women and child victims of violence.

The program works as follows: the victim may make a report via the 24-hour service hotline or go directly to the P2TP2A office after undergoing a registration process, where an associate makes a record of the report and provides input as part of the intervention plan. The form of intervention varies depending on the wants and needs of the victims as well as input from the experts. Some of the types of services available are (1) mentoring and legal assistance in collaboration with the Women and Children Protection Unit in the Jakarta Police institution; (2) health services through the program’s partnerships with hospitals and district health centers, (3) psychological services provided by a clinical psychologist from P2TP2A; (4) home safety services through their partners in Social Services and the Social Department; (5) Return and Reintegration of victims through local government partners.

According to data collected by P2TP2A and their partners, Jakarta recorded a total of 7,726 cases of violence in 2007-2012. Of the total number reported, 26 percent were cases of violence against children. All cases were received and handled by P2TP2A and their partners. Bearing in mind that in 2012, cases of violence against children in Jakarta had doubled since 2010, with an increasingly diverse modus operandi, it is recommended that the community not hesitate to report any instances of child abuse as offenders, especially sexual violence offenders, are often close relatives such as fathers, stepfathers, uncles and even teachers. To help with on-the-ground monitoring, the P2TP2A has volunteers in each village and district to monitor and report any cases of violence.

Photo: Wonosobo

Catalina Gomez, Coordenadora da Rede em São Paulo

Assegurar que as crianças e adolescentes tenham seus direitos assegurados e protegidos de qualquer forma de violência deveria ser uma prioridade de todos os países. Neste sentido, Brasil vem fazendo vários esforços que envolvem a parceria entre o governo e a sociedade civil, nos níveis nacionais e municipais.

Um dos esforços mais importantes no reconhecimento dos direitos das crianças e adolescentes tem sido a aprovação do Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (ECA) em 1990. O ECA é um conjunto de normas que detalham os direitos das crianças e identificam os protocolos de atenção nos casos de violência, delinquência e justiça de menores.

Baseado no ECA, as autoridades brasileiras tem criado uma rede pública de proteção ás crianças e adolescentes de qualquer forma de violência, abuso e negligencia. O ponto focal desta rede é o Conselho Tutelar, uma entidade descentralizada e autônoma, encarregada pela sociedade de zelar pelo cumprimento dos direitos da criança e do adolescente. Segundo a lei, cada município deve ter pelo menos um conselho em funcionamento.

O ECA também detalha que cada Conselho Tutelar esteja conformado por cinco membros eleitos pela comunidade a cada três anos. Os conselheiros são posições pagas que requerem de conhecimento dos direitos das crianças. Aquele arranjo promove a participação da sociedade civil, incluindo líderes comunitários e representantes de ONGs que tem bom conhecimento de suas comunidades e suas necessidades.

São Paulo tem vários arranjos para responder á violência contra as crianças, incluindo 44 Conselhos Tutelares localizados no todo seu território. O mandado destes conselhos é coordenar esforços entre o governo e a sociedade civil em torno aos direitos das crianças. Alguns dos principais órgãos que trabalham na rede são a policia, a Secretaria Municipal de Assistência Social e o Ministério Público.

A cidade também tem 26 Centros de Referencia Especializada da Assistência Social (CREAS), que tem como objetivo providenciar assistência de meia e alta complexidade para as crianças e famílias vitimas de violência e abuso. Para aquelas crianças que tem sido vitimas, os CREAS providenciam conselheiros e referencia a abrigos temporários públicos sem custo.

Bem, temos a rede e a oferta de serviços públicos que atendem casos de violência. Mais existe muito trabalho pela frente. Por exemplo, ainda é preciso gerar uma parceria mais sólida entre o governo e a sociedade civil na prevenção e atenção da violência contra as crianças. Também é uma prioridade treinar, capacitar e conceder pleno reconhecimento aos membros do Conselho Tutelar nas suas funções. Finalmente é preciso gerar maior conhecimento e compreensão sobre as varias dimensões da violência contra as crianças e suas causas para dar respostas mais eficientes e integrais.

Catalina Gomez, São Paulo Community Manager

Ensuring that all children and adolescents have their basic rights met and are protected from any form of violence must be a priority in every country. In Brazil, a number of efforts have been taking place over the years and involve collaboration among government institutions and civil society, both at the national and city levels.

One of the main milestones in recognizing children’s and adolescents’ rights was the approval of the Child and Adolescent Statute in 1990. This statute compiles a series of laws and regulations spelling out the rights of children, as well as identifying the minimum standards and protocols for managing situations of violence, delinquency, and justice for minors.

Based on the statute, Brazilian authorities created a specialized public network for child protection, not only from violence but from any form of abuse or neglect. The main focal point of this network is the Guardian Council (Conselho Tutelar). The Council is a decentralized and autonomous entity that ensures overall compliance with the rights of minors. According to the law, every city must have at least one functioning council.

The law also mandates that each Guardian Council is formed by five elected members of the community for a period of three years. These are paid positions that require specialized knowledge of children’s and adolescents’ rights. Such arrangement promotes civil society representation in Guardian Councils, including community leaders and NGO representatives, who best know the conditions of their own communities, and the challenges faced to ensure children’s and adolescents’ well-being in their neighborhoods.

As Brazil’s biggest city, São Paulo has several initiatives that deal with child violence. To start with, it has not one, but 44 Guardian Councils, which are located throughout the city so they can ensure adequate and localized efforts towards protecting children from violence. The Councils don’t deliver counseling or provide any direct services — instead, they coordinate efforts by government and civil society to prevent and combat child violence in the city. Some of the key actors that support the Council’s work include the police, the municipal secretariat of social assistance, and the public prosecutor.

The city also has 26 Specialized Social Assistance Centers, known as CREAS, which support children and families that have been victims of violence and abuse. For those children, the CREAS provide counseling and references to adequate shelter services from a network of public services, all for free.

The networks are in place, and there is a public supply of specialized services. But let’s face the truth: there are still many challenges ahead in the fight against child violence. First, there is a need for even more collaboration and support among government and civil society organizations to act at the neighborhood level in the prevention of child violence. Secondly, there is a need for more recognition and training for the Guardian Council members, who in many cases are not able to comply with their mandates due to the lack of human and financial resources. Finally, there needs to be greater knowledge and understanding of the various dimensions of violence and their root causes to provide better and more comprehensive responses.