Torture in [the Slovak Republic] [other countries]
Human Trafficking in [the Slovak Republic] [other countries]
Street Children in [the Slovak Republic] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [the Slovak Republic] [other countries]
 

Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children

In the early years of the 21st Century gvnet.com/streetchildren/SlovakRepublic.htm

Slovak Republic (Slovakia) Slovakia has made significant economic reforms since its separation from the Czech Republic in 1993. Reforms to the taxation, healthcare, pension, and social welfare systems helped Slovakia's economic growth exceeded expectations in 2001-08 despite the general European slowdown. Unemployment, at an unacceptable 18% in 2003-04, dropped to 8.4% in 2008 but remains the economy's Achilles heel. [The World Factbook, U.S.C.I.A. 2009]

CAUTION:  The following links and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in the Slovak Republic. Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false.  No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

*** ARCHIVES ***

The Department of Labor’s 2003 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor

U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 2004

www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2003/slovak-republic.htm

[accessed 22 December 2010]

INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Although official statistics are unavailable, it is believed that fewer Roma than Slovak children attend primary school.

Human Rights Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, March 8, 2006

www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61674.htm

[accessed 22 December 2010]

CHILDREN - The government was committed to children's rights and welfare and the Ministries of Labor and Education oversaw implementation of the government's programs for children. Education was universal and free through the postsecondary level and was compulsory for 10 years, or until the age of 16. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported that the primary school attendance rate was approximately 85 percent.

Most ethnic Slovak and Hungarian children attended school on a regular basis, but Romani children exhibited a lower attendance rate. Although Romani children comprised nearly one‑fourth of the total number of children under 16, they were disproportionately enrolled in schools for the mentally handicapped, despite diagnostic scores that were often within the normal range of intellectual capacity. In certain remedial schools in the eastern part of the country, registered students were nearly 100 percent Roma.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 6 October 2000

www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/slovakia2000.html

[accessed 22 December 2010]

[43] The Committee refers to the dialogue with the State party and notes that the social policies of the State party, in spite of their comprehensiveness, have resulted in the socio-economic exclusion of certain groups of children such as the Roma and children living in the streets and in institutions.

Slovak Republic - Country Specific Information

US Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs

travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1019.html

[accessed 19 July 2011]

[scroll down]

CRIME:  The Slovak Republic has a medium rate of crime. Police forces suffer from a lack of manpower resources and equipment. Local police are not likely to speak English. Western visitors, especially short-term visitors such as tourists and students, are the primary foreign targets of street crime. The majority of street crime is non-violent and ranges from pick-pocketing (particularly in the summer) and purse and cellular telephone snatchings to mugging, armed robbery, shooting, drugging and robbing of unsuspecting victims at nightspots and bars. Most thefts reported by Americans occur at crowded tourist sites (such as Bratislava’s Old Town area) or on public buses or trains. Thieves in the Slovak Republic often work in groups or pairs. In most cases, one thief distracts the victim, another performs the robbery, and a third person hands off the stolen item to a nearby accomplice. Groups of street children are known to divert tourists’ attention so that a member of their group can pickpocket the tourists while they are distracted.

Reports by States

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights CESCR, 29th session, Geneva, 11 to 29 November 2002

olddoc.ishr.ch/hrm/tmb/treaty/cescr/reports/cescr_earlier/CESCR_29.htm

[accessed 19 July 2011]

[scroll down]

SLOVAK REPUBLIC (INITIAL REPORT) - Among the issues the Committee enquired about was the situation of minorities, especially the Roma minority. Although the Committee appreciated numerous programs carried out to improve the situation of Roma minority, to encourage them to participate in education and to integrate them, the Experts were alarmed at discrimination of Roma children in schools and asked for more tolerance and equal treatment to decrease the high rate of illiteracy and dropouts.

All material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, "Street Children – Slovak Republic", http://gvnet.com/streetchildren/SlovakReputlic.htm, [accessed <date>]

Torture in [the Slovak Republic] [other countries]
Human Trafficking in [the Slovak Republic] [other countries]
Street Children in [the Slovak Republic] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [the Slovak Republic] [other countries]