- An overwhelming majority (86%) of Burkinabè say parents are “sometimes” or “always” justified in using physical force to discipline their children. o The use of physical discipline receives more support among urban residents (90%) and poor citizens (91%) than among their rural and well-off counterparts.
- Two-thirds (65%) of respondents say the use of physical force to discipline children is not very common in their community.
- Most citizens say child abuse and neglect (73%) and out-of-school children (70%) are infrequent problems in their community. o Rural residents and economically disadvantaged citizens are more likely than urban and well-off respondents to see child abuse/neglect and out-of-school children as widespread problems.
- Solid majorities say resources are available in their community to help abused and neglected children (71%), children with disabilities (69%), and children and adults with mental or emotional problems (65%). o Citizens who are poor and those living in rural areas are less likely than their better off and urban counterparts to report that support services for vulnerable children are available in their community.
- More than half (55%) of Burkinabè disapprove of the government’s performance on protecting and promoting the well-being of vulnerable children.
Burkina Faso ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990 and has since implemented a wide variety of policies and programmes to help operationalise its commitment to protecting children’s rights and well-being, with some success. For example, the country recorded a reduction in under-18 marriages among young women from 52% in 2015 to 38% in 2021, an increase in immunisation levels for children, and a reduction in under 5 mortality rates by 74% between 2003 and 2021 (Exemplars News, 2022). The primary school enrolment rate was 74.4% during the 2022/2023 school year, though the completion rate was weaker (54.6%) (LeFaso.net, 2023).
However, issues such as child labour, poverty, and limited access to education continue to affect many Burkinabè children (U.S. Department of Labor, 2023; UNICEF, 2023). In 2018, 47% of children in cotton-producing areas were engaged as labourers, including 26% engaged in hazardous work (International Labour Organization, 2023). Similarly, Burkina Faso is at the centre of a security crisis in the Sahel that has led to the displacement of more than 2 million citizens, 52% of whom are children (UNICEF, 2023).
This dispatch reports on a special survey module included in the Afrobarometer Round 9 (2021/2023) questionnaire to explore Africans’ attitudes and perceptions related to child well-being.
An overwhelming majority of Burkinabè consider it acceptable to use physical force to discipline children, though most citizens say this practice is not very common in their community. Majorities also report that child abuse and neglect and out-of-school children are infrequent problems in their community.
Solid majorities say that resources are available in their community to help abused and neglected children, children with disabilities, and children and adults with mental or emotional problems.
However, more than half of Burkinabè give their government poor marks on protecting and promoting the well-being of vulnerable children.
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