Rosita Wenzl: "In Stuttgart, we think that the town has a role to play, alongside parents, in the education of children"

As one of the tools to be used in the fight against child sexual exploitation, the Council of Europe Convention - Lanzarote Convention - suggests the appointment of a person or body whose task would be to raise the general public’s awareness about sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children.  This is the approach of the City of Stuttgart, Germany, naming Rosita Wenzl as its Commissioner for Children.  In an interview, she emphasizes the need to create a framework in cities which is both protective of and friendly for children.

09.02.2012

How do you see your role as Commissioner for Children?

Since 2003, the City Council, the Administration, and the citizens themselves have greatly contributed to improving living conditions for children and families in Stuttgart.  At the initiative of the Mayor, Dr Schuster, the City has developed an action plan “City for Children” to provide a more child-friendly environment, and published a report that contains an overview of the many projects, initiatives, and measures that have been launched so far.  This initiative has also spurred into being a “Cities for Children” network of European municipalities.

We are also aware however of the difficulties that may arise in daily life. That‘s why we don‘t want to leave the task of raising children to parents alone.  This is even more true as the number of ”incomplete families” – single mothers and fathers – has increased over the past few years.  Thus, we chose a very meaningful device, an African proverb, as a motto for our campaign: ”It takes a whole village to raise a child”.  In order that the city itself can also perceive child-friendliness as a task impacting all levels of society, I have been appointed as Commissioner for Children’s Affairs in the Mayor’s policy office.  As Coordinator, Networker and so often as the “agony aunt”, I’m responsible for all improvements concerning children and families in Stuttgart.

What action do you undertake in assisting those children who are victims of abuse and who come to you for help?

Health and safety for children and adolescents is one of the most important targets of our programme. We want to protect every child and every adolescent from crime and are in contact with many organisations in the City which are aware of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.  Our partnership “safety and security”, which was started in 1997 and which involves various actors – first and foremost the police and civil society – is a good example of how successful it can be to coordinate and bring together different institutions working for the same end.

What kind of cooperation would you consider with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe?

In June 2007 the City of Stuttgart and the Robert Bosch Foundation set up the European network “Cities for Children” to underline the international exchange on the subject of child-friendliness in large European cities, and to provide a European platform for best practices in child-friendly projects and strategies. At present the network comprises 72 cities from 32 countries.

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the City of Stuttgart are partners in this network. The Congress in particular participates in the jury of our annual European Award of Excellence “City for Children” and in the Network’s annual conferences on specific themes.  Conversely, the Network has also been invited to take part in Congress debates, such as the debate on preventing sexual exploitation of children, which took place during the Congress session in October last year. We have disseminated information on the One in Five Campaign to our members and have already received several positive replies.  We look forward to continuing our cooperation in sharing and promoting examples of good practices among municipalities, and raising awareness of the issues involved.