Hidden scandal, secret shame : Torture and ill-treatment of children

It is hard to believe that anyone would deliberately torture a child. Yet around the world, girls and boys are being subjected to horrific violence and abuse. Children are tortured because they are caught up in wars and political conflict. Children in custody are vulnerable to ill-treatment by police and security forces, and are often detained in conditions that pose a threat to their health and safety. Many face being beaten or sexually abused by the very adults who are supposed to protect them. The effects of torture on the future life of the child should not be underestimated. They may be felt for generations to come. Hidden scandal, secret shame - Torture and ill-treatment of children draws on many reports of torture of children documented by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations. The victims are children from all regions of the world. Some are the accidental victims of the carnage of war;some have been deliberately targeted by armed forces;some have themselves been forced to take up arms, and to carry out acts of torture. Children are tortured for political activism or alleged criminality, or simply because they are socially marginal;they are targeted because of their identity as well as their beliefs. Dozens of harrowing cases are presented in this report, yet they are no more than the tip of a very large iceberg.