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Child neglect conference attracts hundreds
• 31 May 2007 •
A DEBATE was held in the Espaço Multiusos de Albufeira (EMA) on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss abused and ill-treated children.
The conference, organised by Albufeira Council, brought together an array of influential people linked to the problem, to an audience of 500 professionals in the fields of medicine, law and psychology. Their aim was to discuss the topic and come up with a solution concerning children's state of health and well-being.
The first speaker who took to the podium was Cláudia Casimiro from the Institute of Social Science with her lecture "Infancy in Danger: Possibilities and the Implementation of Exercising Children's Participation Rights" in which she reminded the audience why we have children. Her speech served as a general introduction to the conference and Mrs Casimiro, who is a sociology post graduate at the University of Lisbon, demystified the presumption that children aren't as victimised today as they used to be.
Cláudia Casimiro said: "Children have never been as important as they are today, owing to the evolution of parents' mentality. Nowadays children should be looked on as a product of their parents’ love. The need to have children to work is no longer necessary. Parents need to acknowledge this and allow their children a greater sense of expression." She added that although the statistics are high with regards to the amount of children born out of wedlock, 80 per cent that are, belong to couples.
Second to the stand was Dr Luís Vilas-Boas, from the Aboim Ascensao Refuge in Faro. The refuge and Dr Vilas-Boas alike work to return children to their homes as and when their living conditions improve. Alternatively, they promote their adoption through the Minors and Family Court and in association with the Department of Social Security.
Mr Vilas-Boas conceded that with the demand to adopt children rising throughout Europe, owing to the increase in infertility, it was a sin to subject children to an environment where they may experience neglect and abuse.
Shortly after, Marlene Lourenço, in her speech: "The Sexual Abuse of Children and Youths", discussed the importance of being able to recognise physical and behavioural symptoms of sexual abuse. She said: "All too often professionals fail to recognise the indications of child abuse." She added: "It's a dynamic complex which needs to be communicated, within which close relatives cannot be ruled out."
The following day Helena Serra from the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Albufeira, spoke about the general theme of the morning, "The Institutionalisation of Children and Youths" and expressed her conflicting beliefs, having raised seven children herself, two of whom are now doctors, one is a lawyer, one a teacher and one a journalist, she now owns two children’s homes herself.
Mrs Serra stated: "I educate and raise the children as if they were my own, I believe that children need to be raised by humans, not a rulebook." |  Return to Top
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