"Calm not Harm" is the motto of the campaign launched this week by the National Council of Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) in partnership with Egypt's education ministry and in cooperation with UNICEF.

The campaign aims to counter the common use of violence and corporal punishment against children.

It also targets increasing the awareness of caregivers on how to deal with adolescents during the critical age of growth.

It urges parents and teachers to be aware about playing a more positive role in guiding adolescent students by containing them and helping them build their self-confidence, rather than trying to stress them out to create what the campaign described as "typical-answer students" regardless of their individual abilities and interests.

"Calm not Harm" is the third phase of the national campaign “Awladna” to protect children from violence, Azza El-Ashmawy, the NCCM secretary-general said.

The education ministry started the campaign by publishing a video and posts on its official Facebook page about the parents who argue with their children when they speak about their needs.

The published video shows a little daughter complaining about her parents' attitude towards her, wishing they would talk rather than fight with her.

A large number of social media users participated in the campaign by sharing the video, using the official hashtag of the campaign (#CalmNotHarm).

Two weeks ago, Egyptians were shocked by the death of five-year-old Janna, a girl who was reportedly tortured to death by her grandmother in Daqahliya governorate.

Janna died on 28 September at Sherbeen Hospital in Daqahliya governorate, after suffering from severe injuries, including burns in various parts of her body, which led to the amputation of her left leg and eventually her death.

The NCCM's child emergency declared 432 cases of violence against children across in 18 governorates from January to August 2019.

According to Egyptian Child Law 12/1996, it is prohibited to deliberately subject the child to any physical harm and the person who puts a child in danger shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not less than six months.

A number of parliamentary members said they were going to submit amendments to the child law to increase the penalty to 10 years.


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