Global Study On Child Poverty And Disparities (PDF) - Social Policy ...

The Act also states that it is based on traditional
values of Vanuatu and on Christian principles
and:
• Recognises that domestic violence of any kind
is not acceptable
• Ensures effective legal protection for the victims
of domestic violence
• Provides for punishment of all persons who
commit acts of domestic violence
Developing and presenting the Family Protection
Bill in Vanuatu was fraught with difficulty.
Once the bill was passed by Parliament it was
considered potentially unconstitutional and was
subject to several hearings in the Supreme Court.
This experience is an example of the challenges
in developing child protection laws while
engaging the legal tradition of customary systems
and customary law. On the positive side, both
customs and law agree that children are special
and worthy of special love, care and attention. On
the other side, certain customary practices are
arguably inimical to the child’s best interests – for
example, requiring children to provide labour and
services to the family or community (UNICEF
2008).
The International Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW) includes articles that affect child
protection. Vanuatu ratified CEDAW in 1995,
and since then a review has been carried out of
how Vanuatu’s legislation aligns with CEDAW.
The review found that Vanuatu laws do not
comply with a number of indicators relating to
the protection of children (especially girls). In
particular, regarding Article 6 (Personal and
Family Law), there is no legislation requiring the
courts to apply CEDAW and the Convention on
the Rights of the Child to domestic family laws,
and no legislation to ensure custody of children
is based on the best interests of the child.
Also, there is only partial compliance with the
prohibition of child marriage.
Child outcomes, disparities and
gender equality
One of the targets identified in the child protection
baseline research is to implement an effective
birth registration system covering 70 per cent
of new births by 2012 (UNICEF, 2009). Vanuatu
has a low rate of registration, with just over a
quarter of all children registered nationally. Rates
of registration vary, with Tafea having the lowest
and Luganville the highest. Children born into
the richest wealth quintiles are more likely to be
registered than those born into poorer families
(40.9 per cent versus 13.3 per cent). Figure
3.5 shows birth registration rates in Vanuatu.
Additional details are provided in Table A1.12 in
annex 1.
Figure 3.5: Birth registration by region (% of all
births)
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
12.5
20.5 20.7
Reasons for not registering births vary (Figure
3.6). In some provinces, travel time and the cost
of registration were cited as the main reasons.
But in Tafea, the province with the lowest rates
of registration, the most common reason cited
was “did not know child should be registered,”
followed by “did not know where to register
children.”
Figure 3.6: Reasons for not registering children
at birth
Source: MICS 2007.
24.0
Early marriage
29.1
Early marriage or child marriage (that is,
marriage before attaining physical and mental
maturity) can affect girls in a number of ways. It
can lead to early pregnancy and deterioration of
health, and it deprives girls of opportunities for
education, skill development and self reliance.
31.5
Tafea Malampa Torba Sanma Shefa Penama Port Vila Luganville Rural Urban Total
Source: MICS 2007.
40%
10% 4% 8%
10%
28%
26.5
43.7
22.6
38.5
25.7
63