In France, one in five children do not eat three meals a day, warns Unicef

Unicef ​​alert on the material and social deprivations of younger generations in France. One in five children do not eat three meals a day in France and more than one in four have suffered physical violence from other children, according to the results of a consultation carried out among 20,000 young people aged 6 to 18 years old by the UN agency, which announces the creation of a child rights observatory.

According to this consultation, the results of which were published Tuesday, November 19 on the eve of International Children's Rights Day, 16.2% of children and adolescents surveyed say they experience material deprivation and 25.7% have access difficulties. to knowledge.

In detail, 22.8% of the children surveyed eat less than three meals a day, 11.9% only eat meat, fish or an egg (or the protein equivalent) once a week (or less often). ). And 11% eat fruits and vegetables only once a week (or less often).

“Protection gap”

Some 7.3% say they never spend time with friends outside of home and school, 10.9% cannot have a party for their birthday or other event, and 7.1% say they never spend time with friends outside of home and school. can never invite friends to where they live.

“These deprivations, often cumulative, generate a profound feeling of exclusion among these children and adolescents, who feel constrained by a deviation from the norm, without necessarily being plunged into absolute distress”notes the UN organization.

Another point noted by Unicef, the “protection gap” with 31.3% of young participants confiding that they have already suffered insults, hurtful teasing, or verbal violence, whether from other children or adults.

Act “urgently”

More than one in four children have suffered physical violence from other children or adolescents (30%) and more than one in ten children are affected by violence committed by adults (13.1%).

In total, 30.6% of young people over 13 years old surveyed indicate that they have already thought about suicide, and 6.2% confide that they have had sexual intercourse when they did not want to, specifies Unicef.

In this context, Unicef ​​urges the government to act “urgently to protect the rights of children and guarantee their development in a fairer society”.

At the same time, the organization announces the creation of a child rights observatory, a digital platform centralizing “reliable statistics” on this issue, in order to enable the development of public policies “more effective” towards the youngest.