A course on preventing and confronting child violence began this Monday in Havana, sponsored by the French Ministry of the Interior and aimed at Cuban specialists in charge of dealing with these cases.
The program, which will take place over five days, is part of the efforts of bilateral cooperation between Paris and Havana in matters of child protection.
The inauguration was attended by the French ambassador to Cuba, Rafael Trannoy, representatives of the diplomatic mission and senior heads of the Ministry of the Interior (Minint), along with experts and students.
As reported official mediatraining includes Theoretical and practical sessions on the various modalities and manifestations of violence against girls, boys and adolescents registered globally.
Officials from the Directorate of Care for Minors, the Council specialized in this matter, the General Directorates of the National Revolutionary Police and Criminal Investigation, the Technical Directorate of Investigations and the Higher Institute of the Minint Eliseo Reyes “Capitán San Luis” participate.
The course is framed in the preliminary steps for the signing of a cooperation agreement between Cuba and France in the fight against child violencean issue that both parties have identified as a priority within their bilateral relations.
A problem also recognized in Cuba
According to data from UNICEFCuban studies confirm the international trend that identifies adolescence as the period of greatest vulnerability to different types of violence, particularly sexual violence.
A report that systematizes 209 investigations published between 2000 and 2020 details that minors in Cuba can face different forms of abuse.
Among them, they point out violence in the educational and institutional sphere, that exercised between peers, discrimination due to disability, skin color or economic situation, digital violence and that based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Although in recent years policies have been promoted to strengthen child care—such as the creation of Child Care Councils and community programs—specialists warn that making these cases visible and comprehensively addressing them continues to be a challenge.
The cooperation with France, as announced, seeks to strengthen the technical preparation of the forces in charge of preventing and confronting these phenomenaas well as promoting a multidisciplinary approach that combines investigation, protection and support for victims.
