CRC/C/FIN/CO/4
(a)
Enhance the measures undertaken to combat all forms of bullying and
harassment, such as improving the capacity of teachers and all those working at
schools and students to accept diversity at school and improve their conflict resolution
skills;
(b)
Pay more attention to children’s well-being in schools, including their
right to have their opinions taken into account and conduct a research on the cause of
their dissatisfaction at schools; and
(c)
Take into account the Committee's general comment No. 1 (2001) on the
aims of education in the implementation of the above recommendations.
Early childhood care and education
56.
The Committee is concerned at the shortcomings of early childhood education, such
as a lack of professionals, a poor staff-child ratio and reported low quality of day care/preprimary education owing to the lack of minimum standards. While welcoming the provision
of morning and afternoon activities for schoolchildren in first- and second-grade elementary
school, the Committee is concerned that municipalities are not required to provide such
activities, making it difficult for parents to balance work and family life.
57.
The Committee recommends that the State party draft a new general act on
early childhood care and education, bringing together all the provisions concerning
early childhood, and strengthening the child rights perspective taking into account the
Committee’s general comment No. 7 (2005) on implementing child rights in early
childhood and on the basis of the European Commission’s Communication on “Early
Childhood Education and Care: Providing all our children with the best start for the
world of tomorrow” (COM (2011 66)) of 17 February 2011. The Committee further
recommends that the coverage and quality of early childhood education programmes
is improved by, inter alia, increasing the number of care staff and improving the staffchild ratio, so that the group sizes are limited and “continuity of care” relationships
are better secured.
F.
Special protection measures (arts. 22, 30, 38, 39, 40, 37 (b)–(d), 32–36 of
the Convention)
Sexual exploitation
58.
The Committee welcomes the adoption of the Act to bring into force the Council of
Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual
Abuse in 2011 and the Act on Measures to Restrict the Distribution of Child Pornography
in 2007. The Committee, however, regrets the absence of a study into sexual abuse and
sexual harassment of children in the digital media (on the Internet). It also regrets that the
process of ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child
on sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography has been slow.
59. The Committee recommends that the State party study the extent of the sexual
abuse and sexual harassment in the digital media, especially on the Internet, and
strengthen its modalities to detect, and punish perpetrators, and adopt the necessary
legal, administrative and policy measures to combat violence in the digital media. It
also recommends that the State party allocate adequate resources and enhance
Government action and coordination in order to combat sexual exploitation of
children, especially on Internet, and ensure that programmes and policies for the
prevention, recovery and reintegration of child victims are in accordance with the
outcome documents adopted at the 1996 and 2001 World Congresses against
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