The subject of children’s rights is widely discussed in various forums by experts. Regardless, the big question that remains unanswered is how many people really have a clue let alone understand the specifics of these rights. This ignorance prevail despite efforts by international and local organs e.g. UNICEF to sensitize the public on children’s rights in the simplest language possible. The phrase children’s right has grown to be a cliché with the grand majority of the world population not really getting to study the rights and understanding them, a very sorry situation. We are living at a time when child labor, sexual and physical assault on children, separation of children from their parents, parents forcing decisions on their children among an array of social ills against the rights of the children are rampant. However, very few people seem to understand that these actions are criminal. Most actions that violate children’s rights e.g. corporal punishment are in fact widely considered ethically right by the society begging the question, have we done enough to make the global population understand what pass for violation of children’s rights? Unfortunately even fewer people seem to care about the criminality of these actions. Responsible state and international organs in conjunction with NGOs and scholarly groups must adopt an aggressive and innovative approach towards ensuring every citizen of the world learn, understand and protect the rights of children.
Thesis statement
Children's rights violation that manifest in forms such as sexual abuse, corporal punishment, child trafficking, domicide, being denied fundamental rights such as education and security still manifest in different spaces, an aspect that needs to be worked on to ensure a significant improvement.
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Annotated bibliography
Byrne, K. (2017). Migrant, refugee or minor? It matters for children in Europe. Forced Migration Review, 54, 1-4.
The author addresses the rights of immigrant children in Europe. The author stresses that, regardless of the fact that there are rights that are universally recognized, most of the children that seek asylum in some of the countries in the above continent are denied such rights. Pertinent issues in relation to such rights include education and healthcare. Besides this, employment of their guardians or their family members directly or indirectly affect them to a large extent. The author touches on a few legislations that have been enacted by the EU in a bid to protect this minority group, which is in most circumstances vulnerable to different types of abuse. Examples cited include protection against pornography, child trafficking among others. Regardless of the fact that protection measures have been put in place, there is still a huge gap in terms of effective implementation of such measures to ensure such children are treated in a dignified manner. The trauma they experience as they traverse the continent to seek asylum in the countries they go to is unfathomable. The author also stresses on the need to promote equitable access to different resources as well as protection of such minors. The above source contributes to the solution to children rights protection by stressing on the need to promote as well as ensure the implementation of different laws that protect immigrant children.
Soares, L. G., Depaoli, L. B., Lentsck, M. H., Soares, L. G., Birolim, M. M., & Higarashi, I. H. (2017). Violações por violência de direitos fundamentais de crianças e adolescentes. Revista da Rede de Enfermagem do Nordeste, 18(6), 734-741
Regardless of their nationality, children have fundamental rights. The constitutions of different countries worldwide recognize such rights and their violation attract different penalties according to the laws of the given country. The author cites a few fundamental rights that children should be accorded. Such examples include sports, family, healthcare among others. Although the above are widely recognized, the author states that they are still widely violated in different spaces. To establish the extent to which children, as well as adolescents’ rights, have been violated, the authors present a cross-sectional study that uses different analytical tools to establish the basis of the hypothesis that children’s basic rights have been violated. The results of the test shows that the biggest threat to children’s rights lies within the family and community. Even worse, many cases go unreported, hence, many children continue to suffer as a result. The authors conclude that although there are different types of abuse that minors face, the greatest of them all is sexual abuse, one that manifests in not only the physical form but also psychological. The above article shades light on how although children's fundamental rights are widely known, they continue to be violated.
Freeman, M., & Saunders, B. J. (2014). Can we conquer child abuse if we don’t outlaw physical chastisement of children?. The International Journal of Children's Rights, 22(4), 681-709.
The authors mainly address physical punishment as a pertinent issue that derails the eradication of child abuse. According to the study presented in the article, there is evidence that most adults were subjected to corporal punishment when they were young. The above is, however, declining in recent times. The most common form of punishment, as presented by the authors is that of hitting. They assert that it is a habit that is passed down from one generation to another. The authors further state that children’s opinion about corporal punishment is not sought by many stakeholders. One of the most significant questions with regards to corporal punishment is whether it violates children’s rights. The closest answer to this is the criticism by UN on the countries that still condone the above habit. Other agents such as UNICEF continue to denounce the above practice. Regardless, it is still witnessed in Asia as well as other continents in the world. The authors are of the opinion that corporal punishment is a form of abuse to children and unless outlawed, it is unlikely that child abuse will come to an end. The article contributes to a solution on the violation of children's rights by shedding a light on a few rights that could be easily violated knowingly or unknowingly.
Akesson, B., Basso, A. R., & Denov, M. (2016). The right to home: domicide as a violation of child and family rights in the context of political violence. Children & Society, 30(5), 369-383.
Shelter is a basic need without which, it is difficult for one to survive. The authors of the above article explore domicide as an abuse to children's rights. One of the causes of the above, as cited by the authors is internal conflict. Regardless of the cause, destruction of one’s settlement and their displacement is a traumatic experience to children, one which affects them both physically and emotionally. The authors further distinguish a home and a house as well as relate it to domicide. Often times, politically related parameters play a major role in starring conflict that leaves many children homeless and hence, a violation of their fundamental right results. The constitutional children’s right to a home is universally recognized. However, it is still abused by many, knowingly or otherwise. Due to the knowledge gap that exists about the above, there is need to sensitize individuals to ensure that ignorance about violation of children’s rights of the above form is eradicated. The article contributes to the solution to the issue by stressing on the need to recognize shelter as a basic need as well as a right that children deserve.
Mc Cormick, C. (2013). Monitoring, reporting and addressing child rights and protection violations in ‘non‐listed’countries. Disasters, 37, S121-S138.
The author, in the above article, addresses the effects of political instability on children. Under this, a violation of their rights is discussed in depth. Sexual abuse, separation from their families, being recruited to the army as well as being denied essential basic needs such as education are just but a few injustices that children are made to face in waring regions. While the above are sometimes inevitable, they are a violation of children’s rights. There are legal standards that have been put in place to ensure any violation of children rights during armed conflict is realized. The author cites Israel and Palestine as nation’s whose instability has resulted in the violation of children’s rights. The governments of such nations have however tried to protect minors by pledging to different protection legislatures by agencies such as the UN. The response to abuse of different forms in this region has been low due to a myriad of challenges inherent in these warring nations. Using NRM to gather information is an instrumental way to ensure that evidence of the violation of children rights is established and hence efforts to deal with such are put in place. The article contributes to a solution to the eradication of child abuse by suggesting tools such as NRM that could be used to gather information and make it widely known the extent of violation of children's rights on regions with political instability.
