S.Atlantic : The Necessity Behind Protecting Our Children
Submitted by SARTMA.com (Juanita Brock) 26.12.2004 (Article Archived on 09.01.2005)
A workshop to launch a strategy for child protection in the South Atlantic Overseas Territories was hosted by the Ascension Island Government on 19 December 2004.
THE NECESSITY BEHIND PROTECTING OUR CHILDREN
By J. Brock (SARTMA)
A workshop to launch a strategy for child protection in the South Atlantic Overseas Territories was hosted by the Ascension Island Government on 19 December 2004. Present were representatives, nineteen in total, some of whom were Councillors, from the United Kingdom, Tristan da Cunha, the Falklands, St, Helena, Ascension Island and the British Islands in the Caribbean.
The purpose of the workshop was the initial launch of a four-year process designed to provide the best protection for our children into the coming century. At present, each of the represented Overseas Territories has a measure of Child Protection legislation in place and the process is aimed at strengthening, where needed, that legislation. Legislation was necessitated by the United Nations “Convention on the Rights of the Child” and there is a target of 2007 by which all off the British Overseas Territories have to be in compliance.
There were some concerns about the conference amongst locals on Ascension, who thought that the group could be proposing legislation against the Islands’ licensing laws that permit children to accompany their parents in public houses. This was not the case. To set the record straight, here are some – not all – of the reasons why child protection nowadays is so important.
Child Protection not only covers things like preventing physical and sexual violence against children but it also embraces things like the right to basic education, medical care and living conditions, such as those against illegal imprisonment. Child labour laws are also included. This article will focus in on the above-mentioned areas but it will not be detailed. Lets get started!
Physical Abuse:
Children are not produced for punching, kicking, burning, throwing or swinging by the hair. This sort of behaviour by parents, guardians, or by anybody is unacceptable and, in many societies there are laws in place to cover such behaviour. We read of the horror stories about when social services get it wrong but not much about when they got it right and saved children’s lives. Those lives are saved because the legislation and the means of enforcing that legislation are in place.
Sexual Crimes Against Children:
Children have the right to say NO when someone touches them in an inappropriate place. All too often the person doing the touching has more serious sexual contact in mind. They take advantage of the child’s size and self-actualisation to meet their own needs. It is a crime that goes undetected and one that scars deeply. As with those covering physical abuse, laws governing sexual abuse are in place in the Overseas Territories. The sooner they are adjusted to meet the requirements of the UN Convention, the sooner our children can be better protected against adults and others who would harm them.
The Right to Basic Education:
As with the other areas under discussion, a child’s right to learn how to read, write and do basic arithmetic. Laws in place in the Overseas Territories ensure that there is a legal framework to educate children to a certain standard and to keep them in education for a specified amount of time, or until they reach a certain age. Again, the UN Convention has a standard, which may or may not have been reached at this time. Hopefully it will be reached and enforced by 2007.
Medical Neglect:
Not all of the laws covering the proper medical treatment, such as preventative treatment are the same in each Overseas Territory. There are good reasons to vaccinate children, for example. One has to look at the increased incidence of polio, for example, in areas where the vaccine was thought to be detrimental, to appreciate the positive benefits of vaccination. It would help a lot if the Overseas Territories worked their own ways towards reaching the standards set forth by the UN Convention. The health of the territory’s people in general is better when thought is given to bringing what legislation is in place up to the Convention’s standards and drafting and passing it if there is no legislation in place.
Living Conditions and Illegal Imprisonment:
As with everything else, there are laws in the Overseas Territories that cover the conditions in which to bring up a child. How often and when is the child fed? Are the child’s clothes and bedding clean? Do the children have the opportunity to play outside and to interact with other children? Questions like these must be answered in a positive way for the child’s rights are to be exercised. Also, are there laws in place that prevent children fending for themselves?
Child Labour:
On each territory there is legislation governing the age at which a child can leave school and begin to work for a living. We know that where there are no such laws in place there is a rampant increase in the number of children working. That work can range from garment making to begging on the streets. We are fortunate to have the standards that we do.
It is because we do have laws, need legislation and want to bring those laws and new legislation up to an acceptable standard that the workshop on Ascension took place. Each Overseas Territory has its own way of instituting the proper legislation. This is by no means a detailed article but one that will assure concerned people about the motives behind the workshop that took place on the 19th of December. Each delegate will be writing a report on how the territory they represent will be complying with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Hopefully the process will go smoothly.
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