Children's Rights Massively Violated in Macedonia

The Children's Alternative Report was presented on Thursday in Skopje by the local NGO “Megjashi”, who said that the study shows a massive violation of children's rights.

The survey reveals that 2.3 per cent of the children questioned are subjected to violence every day while half of the children interviewed claim there is daily violence in their schools.

"It is very important to mention that nine per cent of respondents claim there is sexual harassment in schools. We believe that if children really know what sexual harassment means, this number would be quite higher," said Elena Dimitrievska, representative of the Children's Alternative Report before the Geneva-based Committee on the Children’s Rights.

Two-thirds of the children say there is violence on the street, while one-fifth state this occurs every day.

While the majority of the children are aware of their rights, one third claims that their teachers do not respect them.

The survey was done through a questionnaire dispatched to over 2000 elementary and high school pupils in six Macedonian cities.