CHILD PROTECTION

&
Child Rights

Lecturer:
Abdirahman I. Dirie
(BE, ME, MBA, PhD Candidate
 CHAPTER FIVE
CHILDREN’S RIGHT TO HEALTH AND EDUCATION

Learning Outcome

At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Recognize the importance of children’s rights to education and health.
2. Explain children’s right to education
3. Examine barriers to education in children living in poverty.
 The importance of children’s rights
There are many reasons for singling out children's rights in a separate human rights Convention:

•Children are individuals

Children are neither the possessions of parents nor the state nor mere people-in-the-making; they have equal status
as members of the human family.

•Children start life as totally dependent beings

Children must rely on adults for the nurture and guidance they need to grow towards independence. Such nurture
is ideally found in adults in children's families, but when primary adult caregivers cannot meet children's needs, it
is up to the State as the primary duty bearer to find an alternative in the best interests of the child.

•The actions, or inactions, of the government, impact children more strongly than any other group in society
Practically every area of government policy – from education to public health – affects children to some degree.
Short-sighted policymaking that fails to take children into account hurts the future of all members of society.
 Continue….
•Children's views should be heard and considered in the political process
Children generally do not vote and do not traditionally take part in political processes.
Without special attention to the opinions of children – as expressed at home and in
schools, in local communities, and even in governments – children's views go unheard on
the many important issues that affect them now or will affect them in the future.

•Many changes in society are having a disproportionate, and often negative, impact
on children
Transformation of the family structure, globalization, climate change, digitalization, mass
migration, shifting employment patterns and a shrinking social welfare net in many
countries all have strong impacts on children. The impact of these changes can be
 Continue….
•The healthy development of children is crucial to the future well-being of any society
Because they are still developing, children are especially vulnerable – more so than adults
– to poor living conditions such as poverty, inadequate health care, nutrition, safe water,
housing and environmental pollution. The effects of disease, malnutrition and poverty
threaten the future of children and therefore the future of the societies in which they live.

•The costs to society of failing its children are huge

Social research findings show that children's earliest experiences significantly influence
their future development. The course of their development determines their contribution, or
cost, to society throughout their lives.
 RIGHT TO EDUCATION

• Education is a fundamental human right and essential for the exercise of all other humans, it promotes

individual freedom and empowerment and yields important development benefits, yet millions of children

and adults remain deprived of educational opportunities in the world today for so many different reasons.

“Everyone has the right to education and it shall be free at least in the elementary and fundamental stages

and the administration needs to focus on how they should improve the quality of education.
•United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. When fully implemented, a children's rights
education program consists of both a curriculum to teach children their human rights and a framework
to operate the school in a manner that respects children's rights. Articles 28 of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child require children to be educated about their rights.
•Article 28:

•Article 28 of the UNCRC says that children and young people have the right to education no matter who
they are, regardless of race, gender or disability; if they’re in detention, or if they’re refugees.
 BARRIERS TO EDUCATION CHILDREN LIVING IN POVERTY

• Children living in poverty face many barriers to accessing an education. Some are
obvious — like not having a school to go to — while others are more subtle like the
teacher at the school not having had the training needed to help children learn
effectively.
• A lack of funding for education: Developing countries can’t rely solely on their
financing for education there’s also a need for more foreign aid. Only 20% of aid for
education goes to low-income countries, according to the Global Partnership for
Education (GPE).
• Having no teacher, or having an untrained teacher: Teacher effectiveness is the most
important predictor of student learning; GPE is determined to fight the global teacher
crisis at hand; There aren't enough teachers to achieve universal primary or secondary
education, and many of the teachers that are currently working are untrained. As a
result, children aren’t receiving a proper education; There are 130 million children in
school who are not learning basic skills like reading, writing and math.
• No classrooms: A child cannot learn without the right environment. Children in many
countries in sub-Saharan Africa are often squeezed into overcrowded classrooms,
classrooms that are falling apart, or are learning outside. They also lack textbooks,
 Continue….
• A lack of learning materials: Outdated and worn-out textbooks are often shared
by six or more students in many parts of the world.
• The exclusion of children with disabilities: Even though education is a universal
human right, being denied access to school is common for the world’s
93 to 150 million children with disabilities. In some of the world’s poorest
countries, up to 95% of children with disabilities are out of school. Students with
disabilities have lower attendance rates and are more likely to be out of school or
leave school before completing primary education. They are suspended or expelled
at a rate more than double the rate of their non-special education peers. A
combination of discrimination, lack of training in inclusive teaching methods
among teachers, and a lack of accessible schools leave this group uniquely
vulnerable to being denied their right to education.
• Living in a country in conflict or at risk of conflict: There are many casualties in
any war, and education systems are often destroyed. Children exposed to violence
are more at risk of underachieving and dropping out of school.
Continue….
• Distance from home to school: For many children around the world,
a walk to school of up to three hours in each direction
is not uncommon. This is just too much for many children, particularly
children living with a disability, those suffering from malnutrition or
illness, or those who are required to work around the household.
 Review Questions
• Discuss the importance of children’s rights to education.
• Explain barriers to education facing your children in your country.
• Suggest solutions/recommendations to increase the enrolment of
children in schools.
 CHAPTER SIX
CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Learning Outcome
At the end of the chapter, you should be able to:

 Understand discrimination against children with disabilities as a human rights

issue.
•Identify ways in which the rights of children with disabilities have been promoted
or denied.
•Explain the importance of allowing children with disabilities a voice regarding
issues that involve them.
•Highlight possible strategies to advance the rights of children with disabilities.
•Recognize the interrelation and interdependence of the rights of children with
disabilities and other human rights.
•CHILDREN IN SPECIAL NEED OF PROTECTION
While all children are highly vulnerable and need to be protected, some subgroups of
vulnerable children need extra attention because of their conditions or
circumstances.
Children living outside of family-based care
Children living without the care and supervision of a responsible adult may have
lost or been abandoned by both parents or may have run away from home. Children
in this category who do not find their way to residential care (orphanages) live on the
street or in child-headed households. Children without parental care are more
vulnerable to maltreatment, even if they are placed in alternative family-based care.
• Children in child-headed households usually are living with an older sibling. Although
these children live in a family environment, their poverty is generally extreme, blocking
access to food and basic services. This makes them especially vulnerable to maltreatment.
• UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Preamble:
• Recognizing that children with disabilities should have full enjoyment of all human rights
and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other children, and recalling obligations to
that end undertaken by States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
•Article 3, General Principles: Respect for the evolving capacities of children with
disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their
identities.
•Article 4, General Obligations: In the development and implementation of legislation
and policies to implement the present Convention, and in other decision-making
processes concerning issues relating to persons with disabilities, States Parties shall
closely consult with and actively involve persons with disabilities, including children
with disabilities, through their representative organizations.
 Article 7, Children with Disabilities:

1. States Parties shall take all necessary measures to ensure the full enjoyment of
children with disabilities of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal
basis with other children.
2. In all actions concerning children with disabilities, the best interests of the child shall
be a primary consideration.
3. States Parties shall ensure that children with disabilities have the right to express their
views freely on all matters affecting them, their views being given due weight by their
age and maturity, on an equal basis with other children, and to be provided with disability
and age-appropriate assistance to realize that right.
•Barriers to Children with Disabilities
Before Birth
• Poor maternal health and nutrition
• Poverty
• Inadequate prenatal care
• Prenatal screening and termination of pregnancy
At Birth
• Euthanization
• Denial of appropriate medical treatment
• Risk of rejection by parents
• Institutional placement
After Birth
• Institutional placement
• Isolation in the home and isolation from the community
• Denial of the right to education and many other human rights
• Risk of continual medical treatments, some painful and unnecessary
• Denial of the right to participate in decisions that affect their lives
factors may influence the extent to which a child with a disability is
excluded
 Prejudice and ignorance: negative attitudes and false beliefs are by far the main barriers
in all cultures and contexts;
 Gender: female children with impairments are more likely not to survive, to be
abandoned, to be discriminated against, to be excluded from education, to be deemed un-
marriageable and to be excluded from motherhood and general participation in their
society;
 Poverty: where communities lack access to basic resources, families having members with
disabilities are frequently the poorest and most marginalized. Even the very poorest
families initially try to care for and protect their children, but they often become trapped in
a cycle of poverty and exclusion due to negative beliefs and behaviours and a lack of
information, knowledge, skills, and resources;
Continue…
• Crises: children in particularly difficult circumstances such as natural disasters,
armed conflict, and refugee situations are particularly vulnerable to exclusion.
factors influence the extent to which children with impairments/special needs realize
their rights:
 Attitudes and behaviours of others towards them (e.g., parents, teachers,
neighbours, other children)
 satisfaction of basic needs (e.g., survival, food, shelter, stimulation)
 International and national policies which include or exclude them
 Accessibility of the physical environment (e.g., home, school, community)
 Access to supports for their physical, social, mental, communication, and
personal development (e.g., basic aids and equipment, assistance, health and
education services, access to early childhood care and education).
Child-Centered Approach to Rights Programming

It is important to remember that children with disabilities, like all children, have the right to be active
participants in decisions that affect them. Some key considerations for child-rights programming using a
child-centred approach are:
o Consider children’s best interests;
o Listen to children with disabilities;
o Challenge your own and other's assumptions about the needs and perspectives of children with
disabilities; - Don’t make assumptions about what children with disabilities can and cannot do; -
Don’t make assumptions about the needs and perspectives of children with disabilities (ask them!);
o Value diversity - Consider differences between disabilities and abilities; - Seek to develop the child’s
abilities and competencies;
o Consider the child as a whole and the whole range of his or her development and needs
o Analyze the situation of the child as a whole in its broader context of family and community;
o See children with disabilities as “social actors” who are involved in decision-making.
 The four main aspects of child’s life
Children’s rights cover four main aspects of a child’s life that apply equally to children with disabilities:

the right to survive, the right to develop, the right to be protected from harm, and the right to participate.
 Survival rights: the right to life and to have the most basic needs met (e.g., adequate standard of

living, shelter, nutrition, medical treatment);

 Development rights: the rights enabling children to reach their fullest potential (e.g., education,
play and leisure, cultural activities, access to information and freedom of thought, conscience and
religion);
 Participation rights: rights that allow children and adolescents to take an active role in their
communities (e.g., the freedom to express opinions, the freedom to have a say in matters affecting
their own lives, the freedom to join associations). Respecting a child’s opinion (Article 12) is
especially important as it gives children the right to a voice in all matters concerning them (e.g.,
kinds of treatment for disabled children);
• Protection rights: rights that are essential for safeguarding children
and adolescents from all forms of abuse, neglect and exploitation (e.g.,
special care for refugee children and protection against involvement in
armed conflict, child labour, sexual exploitation, torture, and drug
abuse).
• How would you support a family with a child with disability?
•Support for the Family
 Raise Community Awareness: Dispel myth and stigma associated with
disability.
 Provide Information and Resources: Build the knowledge and skills of family
members, peers, and the community.
 Provide Access to Rehabilitation and Habilitation: Provide access to adequate
medical care and equipment, as well as support and services for children with
disabilities.
 THE CHILD’S RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE
How to Achieve Children’s Participation?
•Social and Political Movements
• Children form their movements and organizations to claim their rights with support from adults;
• Change the power relations between children and adults;
• Enable children to become democratic citizens.
• Human Rights
 Promote children’s civil rights (e.g., expression, thought, information, organization);
 Recognize children as rights holders.
•Child Development
o Develop children’s abilities, confidence, and independence;
o Develop children’s ability to protect themselves;
o Improve children’s locus of control, level of empowerment, and learning.
•Development
 Understand children better;
 Positive Outcomes of Work with Children and Young People with Disabilities

• Recognition of Children as Social Actors

o Parents and community members develop respect for the views and rights of
children with disabilities, thereby increasing their status and voices;
o Children with disabilities are recognized as social actors who make positive
contributions to local communities and society;
o Children with disabilities bring about attitude changes amongst adults, thus
challenging discrimination in the family, school, and community.
•Children as Right Holders
 Children with disabilities are empowered to address violations of rights and claim
their rights;
 Educational performance of children with disabilities is improved;
 Continue….
 Enthusiasm of children with disabilities to address issues for the benefit of their peers and
community is developed;
 Communication, negotiation, and teamwork skills are increased;
 Values, skills, and knowledge of democratic functioning among children with disabilities are
enhanced;
 Girls and boys with disabilities through knowledge of their rights and recognition of the value of
their participation are empowered.
•Working with Children in Program Development
o Opportunities are created for children with disabilities to participate in planning, decision-
making, reporting and legal amendments at different levels of their community and government;
o Children with disabilities can express their perspectives, their understanding of issues, problems,
analysis, solutions, and priorities, which often differ from those of adults.
Children living with HIV