Children's Rights - Status Of Children Worldwide
Status of Children Worldwide
Despite this progress, there are still many concerns about the status of children worldwide. According to the International Child Saving Alliance and a report by UNICEF, in 1999 650 million children still lived in poverty; 12 million children under age five died every year, many of preventable illnesses; 130 million children, especially girls, had no schooling; 160 million children were malnourished; 250 million children were involved in some type of child labor, often in unsanitary and harsh conditions; and over 300,000 children were estimated to be fighting in armed conflicts throughout the world. Added to this is the fact that, although there has been an increase in global wealth, the gap between the rich and the poor of the world is widening.
These statistics suggest that many children are still not enjoying the rights to basic health and welfare guaranteed in the Convention. Additionally, the Convention has been criticized by some as being culturally narrow and as promoting mainly Western ways of thinking about children and families. For instance, in 1994 Joan Miller asserted that cultures could be divided into those that are primarily rights-based versus those that are more duty-based. In rights-based cultures, individual freedom and personal preference is emphasized whereas in duty-based cultures, which include many Asian societies, fulfilling social obligations to others is more important. Some writers, such as Virginia Murphy-Berman (1996), argue that these types of cultural differences are reflected in variations in how children and families are viewed worldwide. For instance, there are variations worldwide in (1) what is seen as the appropriate distribution of power between parents and children in families, including what type of decisionmaking voice is allowed to children; (2) the degree to which children are encouraged to act on the basis of individual preference versus adhere to social norms and customs; (3) the scope of duty and responsibility family members have for themselves, their immediate and extended families, and their society; and (4) the importance of individual freedom versus family and group loyalties. Murphy-Berman and others suggest that, because of its emphasis on equality of relationships, individual rights, choice, and freedom of expression, the Convention is Western in tone. Other commentators, such as Gary Melton (1996), assert that the Convention is culturally inclusive because it protects the child's rights to a "family environment" and not a specific type of family structure.
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6 months ago
goddessences
and on the other hand, social workers and child protection workers leave abused and/or neglected children or else return such children to appalling conditions and families ill equipped to care for them adequately and the next thing we have is dead children, ie Tajanay Bailey, Baby P and many many many others!!!
Child protection workers are trying to make the best decisions for children at risk or who appear to be at risk, admittedly poor uneducated people are likely to be in the category of at risk families because of poverty, but babies who die at the hands of their carers are most likely to be in poor families... probably due to the stress of poverty and inability to provide adequate child care.
child protection workers are under resourced and over worked, controlled themselves by legislation and supervisors who make the decisions...the public deal with the person on the ground who takes their child but that person is not necessarily the one making the decision about removal, just acting it out on behalf of power and authority above them.
so dont blame child protection workers as it is not fully their responsibility
about 1 year ago
Zelma R. Muhammad » muhammadz_2003 ((at)) yahoo dot com
My child was ripped from me by child protective services in New York City. I have never experienced such brutal, gruesome and cruel acts before in my entire life of 42 years. No explanations,warrents,whereabouts of where they are taking your child, how can you contact him, is he eating, sleeping on the floor, being abused...NOTHING. This is indeed an act against nature, humanity and the human family. How do we sit and allow this. I am new to New York, less than three years, (native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana) and am told that this happens all the time and NOTHING is done about it. If you are falsely accused, as I was, it does not matter, they put your kid in the system, puts them in foster care, and you sometimes never hear from or see them except on their terms. Some children die in the system. Parents are given NO rights at all. All agencies (lawyers, judges, family court, parenting groups, therapists, doctors, social workers, etc.) work together to fight against the PARENT. They pay people 'fostercare agencies' for your child and defraud the government of funding. The more children they 'snatch' out of low-income, minority, non-english speaking or not well educated families by 'force' and fabricated lies of false allegations of child abuse and neglect--the quicker, and the more federal funding they ALL get. This is SICK. DISGUSTING. Sad. very, very sad. I already had three slight strokes and continue to have nightmares about the "removals". I still must endure the abuses, indignities, conspiracies,etc. every day I am forced to live without my child for no fault of my own. How can this be happening? How does this continue to keep happening? Are we not 'civilized' beings capable of 'creating' better methods than these? These 'child rescuers' are disguised as child welfare workers but are truly BEASTS that cold-heartedly RIP up and fragment our families. They are only for the DESRUCTION OF FAMILIES and the DESTRUCTION OF OUR CHILDREN. Please pray that I am rid of them in my life and that my family reunites. Love you.