BURKINA FASO

A UNICEF report published in 2010 states that 83% of children aged 2-14 experienced violent discipline (physical punishment and/or psychological aggression) in 2005-2006. Over 60% experienced physical punishment, while a smaller percentage (38%) of mothers and caregivers thought that physical punishment was necessary in childrearing, and non-violent discipline was also widely used: experienced by 82% of children. More than one child in five experienced severe physical punishment (being hit or slapped on the face, head or ears or being hit over and over with an implement) and 84% experienced psychological aggression (being shouted at, yelled at, screamed at or insulted). Children aged 5-9 were slightly more likely to experience violent discipline than those of other ages: 91% of children aged 5-9 compared to 84% of children aged 2-4 and 87% of children aged 10-14. No significant differences in children’s experience of violent discipline were found according to sex, household size, level of education of adults in the household, or engagement in child labour. 

(UNICEF, 2010, Child Disciplinary Practices at Home: Evidence from a Range of Low- and Middle-Income Countries, NY: UNICEF) 

A study by the African Child Policy Forum in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and Senegal found that hitting, beating and forced hard work were the most prevalent forms of violence against girls, and that most of the physical violence experienced by girls was corporal punishment. The study involved a survey of 3,025 young women (nearly 600 per country) aged 18-24 about the violence they had experienced in their childhood. In Burkina Faso, 91% of respondents had been hit during their childhood, 88% had been beaten, 51% kicked, 51% denied food, 27% choked or burned and 43% forced to do hard work. Parents and close relatives were the most common perpetrators of physical violence.

(The African Child Policy Forum, 2010, Childhood Scars in Africa: A Retrospective Study on Violence Against Girls in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and Senegal, Addis Ababa: The African Child Policy Forum)

According to statistics from UNICEF on violence in the family, in 2005-2006 seventy-one per cent of girls and women aged 15-49 thought that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife under certain circumstances.

(UNICEF, 2009, Progress for Children: A report card on child protection, NY: UNICEF)