Abstract
The impact of Henry Kempe’s work was not limited to the USA. His landmark article in 1962, inspired people in other countries, for instance, in the Netherlands, to initiate public discussions and to undertake actions for the prevention of child abuse and neglect. In addition, it was Henry’s intention to develop a truly global movement for the protection and treatment of abused and neglected children. Henry was a man with a long-term vision evidenced by the establishment of the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN), the International Journal, and the broadening of “child abuse and neglect” as a form of domestic violence to all other forms of violence against children. From a children’s rights perspective, Henry’s views and practices were well ahead of the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). He was a children’s rights defender “avant la lettre.” Article 19 of that Convention and the General Comment on this article adopted by the CRC Committee in 2011 can be considered as some of the lasting legacies of Henry’s pioneering work.
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Notes
- 1.
The CRC Committee is a group of 18 international experts elected by the States parties to the CRC (art. 43 CRC) in charge of monitoring the implementation of the rights of the child in the States parties to the CRC. These States have to report regularly on progress made and remaining difficulties in implementing the CRC (art. 44 CRC) to the Committee. After a review of this and other information, the Committee issues Concluding Observations with specific recommendation for further actions by the States concerned (Doek 2011).
- 2.
A General Comment is considered to be an authoritative document in which the CRC Committee presents its interpretation of one or more articles of the CRC in relation to a certain theme, e.g., early childhood, adolescent health and development, children with disabilities together with specific recommendations for legislative, social, and other measures the governments of the States parties to the CRC should undertake; for the texts of these General Comments of the CRC Committee, see www2.ohchr.org/bodies/English/comments/. For the need for a General Comment on Violence against Children, see Bennet (2009).
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Doek, J.E. (2013). Henry Kempe’s Legacy: National and International Impact. In: Krugman, R., Korbin, J. (eds) C. Henry Kempe: A 50 Year Legacy to the Field of Child Abuse and Neglect. Child Maltreatment, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4084-6_27
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