In another Maryland jail, a 17-year-old reported adult inmates in his section continually harassed him by throwing urine and excrement into his cell.
There is even violence in schools. Human Rights Watch found that in the United States, children are often victimized because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. According to their 2008 report on child violence in schools, “Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youths who attend public schools were relentlessly harassed and sometimes physically attacked. They were kicked, spit on, cut with knives, strangled, thrown against lockers and dragged down a flight of stairs.”
In at least 65 countries, corporal punishment is permitted as a method of discipline. According to the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, children may be spanked, slapped, caned, strapped or beaten as a result of misbehavior, poor academic performance or sometimes for no reason at all.
In a letter shared with project Juvenile In Justice, a 13-year-old girl in Johannesburg left school, not because she wanted to abandon her education, but because she was gang raped by male classmates and felt unsafe while the boys remained there.
There are even acts of violence against children in orphanages. In some cases, according to Abandoned to the State, adult staff members in orphanages sometimes strike and humiliate children. This report also revealed that some of the punishments included: forcing a smaller child into a small wooden chest to be thrown out of a window or holding a smaller child upside down out of a window. Reports also revealed that some children were electrocuted, some had their heads shoved into a toilet, some boys had their testicles squeezed during interrogation and some were locked in freezers.
In some places like Sierra Leone, children have been murdered, tortured, beaten, raped and enslaved for sexual purposes. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, thousands of children have been recruited by government forces, militias and rebel forces. They were beaten, ill-treated and used as cannon fodder. Some were trained to shoot and became casualties of war.
In Polk County, Florida, eight teenagers beat a 16-year-old girl up and put the video on the web. They thought nothing of what they had done and expressed no remorse. In another instance, a mother taught her children how to steal from J.C. Penny, and yet another shopped online while her child drowned in a tub filled with water. Being forced to assume adult responsibilities, due to a parental addiction to narcotics, works and hopelessness, has violated many of our children. Many children have to grow up with a silent or absent father or a mother who is possessive or depressed because of the absent father and controls the child because he or she can’t control his or her mate. So many acts of violence are perpetrated against the little ones, the powerless and the vulnerable!
There are even acts of violence against children in religious sects. Yes, even in the church! Fondling fathers destroy the innocence of sacred sons. Pedophilic priests pervert the prayers of passionate parishioners. Deacons corner damsels and dare them to expose themselves. Polygamist patriarchs and self-proclaimed procreation prophets on ranches in Texas marry young girls as soon as they reach puberty. These are acts of violence against the powerless and vulnerable. In his research on Satanism, Sexual Abuse and the Church, Dr. Gregory Ried reports that 70% of the sexual abuse against children and adolescents has taken place, if not in church settings, then with Christians who were in a position to do something and did nothing at all. This violence is happening in situations where love, embrace, trust, healing and wholeness are the mega-themes of the institution. In all of these situations, children are being violated, taken advantage of and abused. When will someone present a defense on behalf of the children?
I agree with Human Rights Watch and their recommendations to authorities to deal with these situations. So, of course, we need to investigate violence against children in correctional and detention centers. And we need to institute training programs in the handling and treating of children and their basic rights. And we need to make sure children understand their rights. We should establish effective and confidential complaint mechanisms. We must not allow children to share correctional facilities with adults. We must abolish corporal punishment in schools. We must investigate police brutality and roundups of children. We must establish independent complaint boards.
We must prohibit sexual violence, harassment and other sexual misconduct in schools. We must endorse legislation to protect students from harassment and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. We must scrutinize incidents of abuse of children in orphanages and bring to justice their predators. We have to shield children from being recruited as soldiers, and ensure their protection in refugee camps.
We must teach our children that everybody who smiles in their face is not their friend. We must let them know that some people are predators and act irresponsibly. It is our job to provide a defense for the children.
But, along with that, we must share John Marks’ declaration for powerless dependents. Written around 70 CE, to a group of disciples, who were praying for power, it states,
“And if anyone offend, one of these little ones who believes in Me, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck.” (Mark 9:42 KJV)
Jesus becomes the protector of the powerless and the vindicator of the vulnerable. The Greek word here for offend is scandalize, which means to “cause to sin, cause to fall in sin or to entrap or entice and to go astray.” When we perpetuate the aforementioned institutions, we become the “anyone.” When we see this violence and remain silent we become the “anyone.” When we initiate this violence from our positions of influence, we become the “anyone.” And this text invites those “anyones” to become entangled with a millstone and be thrown into the sea.
Jesus teaches the disciples who desire positional power, influence, rank and responsibility to be caring. Implying that we must be looked upon as the least of them to be the looked upon as the greatest among them. A child was called to His side and became the illustration of those who follow Christ; He must be concerned for all, even the lowest of this society. In following Christ, there must be a concern for those devalued and disenfranchised.
Jesus teaches the disciples to be careful, for with the same power to lead comes the ability to mislead. Be careful in your conduct, be meticulous in your manners, be provident in your posture, be disciplined in your demeanor and be watchful in your ways.
Lastly, Jesus shares with His disciples the call to be Christ-like, to live in peace with one another. Be the peacemaker. When the uproar happens, find your place of tranquility. Instead of bad blood, promote brotherhood. Instead of agitation, build fraternization and instead of violence, choose the non-violent approach.
As followers of Christ we must be caring, careful and Christ-like. It is the child’s only defense.
CHAPTER TWO
A Child’s Revival
Focal Passage: Luke 8:40-56
40 So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. 41 And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. 43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped. 45 And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?” When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” 46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. 48 And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” 49 While He was still speaking, someone came from