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UN: one-fifth of murder victims are under 20

By WTOP Staff

TRENTON DANIEL
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — About 120 million girls worldwide have been forced to have sex and one fifth of homicide victims globally are under 20 years old, resulting in 95,000 deaths in 2012, according to a United Nations report released Thursday.

Drawing on data from 190 countries, the report from the U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, notes that children around the world are routinely exposed to physical, sexual and emotional violence ranging from murder and forced sexual acts to bullying and abusive discipline.

The violence “cuts across boundaries of age, geography, religion, ethnicity and income brackets,” UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said in a statement. “It occurs in places where children should be safe, their homes, schools and communities. Increasingly, it happens over the Internet, and it’s perpetrated by family members and teachers, neighbors and strangers and other children.”

UNICEF found that homicide is the leading cause of death among males between the ages of 10 and 19 in several countries in Central and South America, including Panama, Venezuela, El Salvador, Brazil, and Guatemala.

Nigeria, where the Boko Haram terrorist group abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in April and threatened to marry them off, had the largest number of young murder victims, with almost 13,000 deaths in 2012, followed by Brazil with about 11,000, the study found. Among countries in Western Europe and North America, the United States has the highest child homicide rate, it said.

Sexual violence is widespread.

According to the report, about one in 10 girls around the world under 20 years old, an estimated 120 million, have been forced into sex acts, and one in three married adolescent girls, about 84 million, have been victims of emotional, physical or sexual violence committed by their husbands or partners.

UNICEF said the prevalence of partner violence is 70 percent or higher in Congo and Equatorial Guinea and approaches or exceeds 50 percent in Uganda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. In Switzerland, it said a 2009 study found 22 percent of girls and 8 percent of boys aged 15 to 17 had experienced at least one incident of sexual violence, most commonly stemming from interactions on the Internet.

The report showed the impact of violence on children has grown over the last decade and cited a number of reasons why the phenomenon remains largely ignored.

Violence against children in some countries is socially accepted, tacitly condoned or not seen as being abusive, UNICEF said. Victims are too young or too vulnerable to report the crimes, the legal system can’t adequately respond, and child protection services are also scarce.

Susan Bissell, chief of the child protection unit at UNICEF, said “the horrific atrocities that children experience on a daily basis everywhere in the world” demonstrate the urgent need for all countries to put a spotlight on the problem.

Much of the violence against children is perpetrated by the people tasked with taking care of them: Caregivers, peers and partners.

On average, about six in 10 children worldwide, or almost 1 billion, between the ages of two and 14 are regularly subjected to physical punishment.

“We’re not talking about a little smack on the bottom,” Bissell said in an interview in her office. “We’re talking about a blunt instrument, and repeated.”

Only 39 countries worldwide protect children legally from corporal punishment, the report found. Often, the violence goes unreported.

One of the reasons for this is that violence seems normal. Nearly half of all girls worldwide, between 15 and 19, think a husband is sometimes justified in hitting or beating his wife, the report found.

According to UNICEF, slightly more than one-third of students between the ages of 13 and 15 worldwide are regularly bullied in school — and in Samoa, the proportion rises to three-quarters.

In Europe and North America, almost one-third of students aged 11 to 15 report bullying others — and in Latvia and Romania the number rose to nearly 60 percent, UNICEF said.

A separate UNICEF report, also released on Thursday, lays out six strategies to prevent and respond to violence against children. The steps include providing support for families and caregivers in hopes of reducing the risk of violence within the home.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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