The Question of Childrens Rights - Essay Example

?Introduction The question of children’s rights continue to press among those in society, specifically because of the relationships to the limitations with children in society as well as the complexities with rights children should have. The issues which relate to this are based on the determination that children are also citizens that are in a given country. However, they are sociologically excluded into a category which doesn’t have a voice or rights within a culture or political structure. The UN has noticed that this has led to other complications, all which cause children to go under a specific set of social controls that don’t provide a strong future for the child. The rights which are based on this include a question of how many rights children should have and whether this is applicable within society. While there are questions of children’s rights, others are also questioning the social structure of given areas which currently protects children who don’t have the rights. The dichotomy of children’s rights then becomes the main question between those who are looking at the place of children in society and the flexibility which should be included with the rights of children. This paper will explore the association between children’s rights within society as well as how this is related to the amount of children’s rights that should be distributed. The focus of protection and security, as well as the association with the development of children both has to be considered in regards to the needs of children in school, society and in the household. While equal participation can provide children with a stronger voice for security, there is also the need to change this according to the specific levels of development among children. Sociology of Childhood The sociology of children is one which is known as a unique phenomena in society. Children are divided into a sub – group within society, specifically because of biological differences and age. This is furthered by differences that are associated with the level of development of children. While there are noted differences with the biological development, psychological associations and overall progress of children, the sociological differences are only from the age differences that determine the rights of children. From this perspective, the sociological components are based only on the understanding and definitions of society, as opposed to the capabilities and rights which children should have as citizens within society (Archard, 2004: 25). This creates the main difference between children and their rights, which shows a level of injustice over children and the abilities that they don’t have in terms of acting as responsible citizens within society because of social labels. The concept of childhood is one which has altered through sociological associations throughout time. Historical records note that the ideal of childhood has changed in different cultures and in various time frames. The idea of childhood is then implied throughout time and distinguishes rights based on the social needs of a given time frame. When a child is developed in a specific way, such as through education or work, then it becomes a reflection on what is needed within society as well as how this relates to the specific conditions of a given region. The idea of childhood then becomes related to a social construction which is based on age, gender, biological differences and the amount of knowledge which an individual has about the world. The social makeup of a child and the demographic differences then remain the only division in society, some which changes the roles which children play within society (Archard, 2004: 25). The differences associated with children and the social role which is taken is further implied with the expected participation in which children have within society. It is known that there are multidimensional participation processes that construct the role of a child in society and the expectations that are associated with this. The participation is based on the concept of participation as a way of empowering children or social controls which are expected within society. These each navigate and change the process which children move through in a given time frame and alter the rights that a child has in a given society at different time frames. It can be noted that children are not the only group which this occurs to. There are other marginalized groups which are controlled or empowered, specific to biological and social differences, such as gender differences (Shier, 2010: 24). The definitions of what it means to be a child in sociological perspectives then questions how much participation children should have within society. The different roles which children play show that it is only the social determinations which divide differences between adults and children. However, children are not given the right to act as participants with society or to act with certain rights as active citizens. If the environment and conditions doesn’t provide a conducive situation, then children are subjected to the conditions because of the demographic and social differences. The children, while subjected to the social expectations, have limited to no rights in participating and in becoming recognized as citizens within a given society. The question which is linked to the social limitations with children then leads to questions on how many rights children should have as active participants within society (Jans, 2004: 27). Even though there are specific relationships to children becoming active citizens and participants, most in society don’t recognize this as a consideration within society. For instance, when looking into politics, children are limited in the responses and the ability to become a voice within society. The group of people then is unable to make changes while being forced into specific work conditions or educational concepts within society. At the same time, political and social change becomes one which most children are unable to become involved with. The debate which has arisen is whether children are capable of being active citizens in areas such as politics, specifically because of age and experience as well as the lack of education and development among the social group. However, when looking at other initiatives, it has been found that children can act as participants within society politically and through other means, which alters the social components and relationships to those that are looking into children’s rights (Cairns, 2001: 347). The overall viewpoint of the sociological implications of children within society then divides into two areas. The first is based on the development of children, specifically with the understanding that the child is not biologically developed and doesn’t have the same educational levels as adults in society. If children have the same rights as adults, then it could lead to difficulties and complications with overall functions in society. However, the welfare of children is often at risk because of the lack of rights which they have. It has been noted that a lack of education, being forced into labor and abuse which occurs within the household are some of the main factors that are altered because of the lack of rights of children within society. These two relationships to children’s rights and the sociological implications then lead to questions about what the role of children in society should be and what the association of this is to those that are looking at ways in which children can be given the rights necessary to change the overall functions within society. Definition of Children’s Rights Within Society The sociological differences that are created have led to several questions about the rights which children should have and how this alters their specific relationship in society. Twenty years ago, a convention was held by the UN which established that every child should have protection, security and rights granted to them. This was specific to the child labor, unfair educational practices and divisions of children’s rights within society. While this began as an act against children with labor, it has led into questioning of how much a child should be included in political and social process. There are several viewpoints which continue to affect children, specifically in relation to political policies and the implementation of viewpoints within society. However, children’s voices are often disregarded with these concepts and the best interests of the child in terms of welfare and protection are not looked into. This creates a dichotomy with the idea of children’s rights and the inability to grant a voice or participation among children who desire to have the involvement within society (Zermatten, 2010: 483). The concept that the UN created in terms of protection and security within society is one which has led to three main concepts that are now defining the idea of children’s rights. This is inclusive of provision, protection and participation. The provision and protection are based on rights of children in terms of labor, use of children within specific countries, lack of educational rights and other basic human rights that are often not granted to children. The participation is one which is based on the ability for children to have a voice about the matters which affect them instead of creating policies which may have a negative effect on the children. It is noted that children are often disregarded in terms of participation, which specifically changes the amount of protection or provision which can be given to the children because critical situations can’t be determined outside of how the child perceives what is occurring. The result is that the civil, social and political rights are hampered while human rights are still not given to children. Instead, a sense of control over the social components in society are the main concepts and disregards the needs which children have and policy makers can’t issue without being a part of the situation which children are in (Quennerstedt, 2010: 619). Not only were the policies created for basic human rights at an international level. It was recognized that the basic UN policy was dedicated to the protection of children and the needs which were a part of society. In return, this would change some of the main problems associated with society. For instance, the violation of basic human rights to children who were forced into the workforce or in other systems also led to a lack of health that could be maintained among children. As a result, this begins to affect and upset others in society, including adults, specifically because of the public health that is not available to the children. The lack of rights to the children then leads to complexities with health, options for adults and the overall functions that are included within society. The policies that are implemented by the UN; however, are not able to help with this overall structure until the basic human rights of children are recognized within localities, as well as what the harm is of not having the right polices maintained for the children within various societies (Waterston, Goldhagen, 2006: 176). The main definitions of human rights that have begun to affect children have led into the way in which participation is based on exclusion in more than one way. Children who don’t have as many rights within society are also known to be involved with socially disadvantaged places within society. Economic barriers and poverty, social exclusion and a lack of resources are the main reasons why children’s rights are violated throughout the world. This also limits the abilities for children to ask for protection and guidance and doesn’t provide a structure for children to participate with the life experiences which are developed from the lack of resources available. The lack of children’s rights, while based on the absence of basic human rights, could also be altered with the concept of participation. If children begin to gain the right of being included within society, then it will help to change the associations with needs for protection and security while offering international development within the community that helps to alter the drastic problems within various regions, as well as the protection which children need (Tisdall, 2006: 23). The concept of human rights among children and the definition which has been placed internationally is one which then holds specific questions about what the rights of children should be and how this relates to humanitarian practices. The UN has recognized the need for this to change, specifically because of the practices and associations with abuse and mistreatment of children in society. However, the noticed issues also lead to questions of how many policies should be put into place with misunderstandings of the relationship which children should have with this and how it will affect them within society. Those interested in defining the rights of children then have a relationship which is established between the humanitarian acts and practices as well as the question of how much participation is too much for children in a given society. Empirical Research on Children’s Rights There are several areas which have examined children’s rights and the lack of social participation in society. It has been found that the lack of participation of children in society is one which is based on beliefs and practices in society. However, the protection and the need for children to participate to ensure this protection are often ignored. The UNCRC is the main focus group which ensures protection and participation of children, specifically by stating that children are subjected to reliance on adults for welfare. This leaves children as not having the needed rights if other adults choose a different role. It is believed that participation would be inclusive of speaking, consulting and thinking about actions which could be taken for children and their rights. The main concept is to create a process that includes all voices in society and which helps to determine how outcomes will affect the welfare of society at large, including all affected groups. From this main component have been several who have developed groups such as Every Parent Matters and CRAE, both which are interested in creating groups where children can participate and allow their voice to be a part of the social understandings of the time (Alderson, 2000: 80). An example of this particular concept is related to the anti – smacking campaigns which have taken place in various regions. In the past, there has been a focus on getting parents and others who are smacking their child to stop the behaviors and to alter the focus. However, it hasn’t been until recent years that the alteration has changed focus from the actions of parents to the rights of children. The question raised is based on how children don’t have rights within society because of the violent behaviors which are accepted by adults and which are widespread throughout society. However, it has been found that most children don’t have an understanding of their rights in terms of violent behavior in the household while the perspectives of children are often overlooked within society. The discipline to change the anti-smacking is one which then requires parents recognizing that the child has the right to not be smacked within their household because of the abuse which is involved with this (Brownlie, Anderson, 2006: 479). Another application which shows that the concept of children’s rights should be a part of the social understanding is from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children and the responses which this has received. The strategy was based on giving children certain rights in terms of humanitarian acts and focused specifically on children who were not able to determine specific aspects within society and instead were mistreated. Child labor, educational hindrances and other lacks of rights from the family were some of the main aspects which were associated with this. The concept of children’s rights have since then gone through several levels of changes, all which are based on learning to implement different needs of children and to change the amount of protection which can be provided to children. By doing this, there is the ability to alter the assistance required for those who are disabled, living in the streets and for gender differences in children that often limit the capabilities of those in society. The problem associated with this is that the recognition of the needs of these rights isn’t followed by strategies or implementation with those that are in society (Freeman, 2000: 277). Another example which shows the limitations, as well as the efforts which are being made comes from children workers in various countries, such as Vietnam. In various countries, children are forced to work because of problems within the family or from the economic conditions of the area. The problem relates to deeper issues within the cultural and social structure as well as the difficulties with the economics in the area. From one perspective, this is recognized by the UN with the focus on bringing rights to the child within different countries. However, there isn’t any international aid or strategies that approach the livelihood of children in these countries and the conditions which they are in that forces them into the workforce at an early age and which stops them from being able to develop through educational rights and protection. The local region is unable to understand what is meant by children’s rights because of the social structure and leaves the UN pressures to change the social status of children in society to one which becomes a gap between the global initiatives and the social structure that governs a specific region (Burr, 2002: 49). Another example which shows the gap between the ideal of children’s rights and the social structure comes through concepts such as school uniforms. From one perspective, this violates the idea of children’s rights because of the association with not having the right to wear different types of clothing freely and the implications of how children are forced into a sense of social control within a given region. However, the local and regional debates show how the concept of children’s rights in this arena would lead to problems with violence, lack of protection and social exclusion which may occur among children. The social standards which are expected from the other side then lead to a question of how many rights children should have and how this would translate into other aspects of society. The result is a question of issues surrounding childhood, including how much protection a child should have and what the environment should be for the freedom of children within society (Bodine, 2003: 43). The differences that are noted from current research show that the ideal of children’s rights is limited by the social implications within a given society. In the past, the rights of children were depicted by the social standing and the needs of the community. This is continuous with today’s structure, specifically which has implemented protection and regulations for children in terms of education and family. However, this component is based on the sociological placement of children from biological differences. In some countries, the concept of rights is also disregarded because of welfare and social status within the community. Each of these examples shows that, while children’s rights is being included in the discussions and policies of the UN, the welfare of children remains the same, all which is dependent on the social structure and cultural needs within a given locality. The idea of rights then becomes limited because of beliefs and systems of various communities. Social Policy in the UK There are several examples that are shown not only in various communities, but also in relevance to the UK and the expectations that are associated with this society. In a recent interview (Drakeford, 2009: 247), several children were interviewed in a Wales school. The objective was to see how informed the children were of political issues as well as what they believed their participation should be. Overall, it was noted that the lack of interest in politics was not defined and most children were uninterested. However, all of the children had noted issues which were relevant to children’s rights and had a voice that pertained to the rights which they believed they should have and the amount of participation which they knew they didn’t have in association with these rights. Most of the children also stated that they knew their views were not heard in relation to others that were in society and that they should be considered alongside others (Drakeford et al, 2009: 247). This particular study in the UK shows that the children in society still see that the rights are not a part of society, even though the political and social agendas are continuing to affect the lifestyle and expectations of those in society. This has created alterations in how children are able to act in society and also limits the amount of protection and concern of children within the UK. The concept of participation in this particular study shows similar affects with other studies that imply the same concerns of children within the UK. It has been noted from a current study (Tholander, 2007: 449), that children are able to learn best with participation. When there are specific political issues involved which are associated with children, they learn best by participating and becoming involved in the process of speaking about the process. Even though this may not determine the end result, children that are able to participate have the ability to express their rights and interests while showing a different perspective from the democratic associations with a given topic. From this perspective, it can be seen that the rights of children become more important because of the ability for children to voice opinions and to allow this to become a main component in the decision making process. The question which this leads to with the UK and other European countries is based on the amount of democracy that is included in the country as well as how participation of students would help to support and enhance this (Tholander, 2007: 449). The continuous dichotomy of children’s rights and the understanding that participation needs to be a component to offer more rights to children is continuing to change the approach which is taken in the UK. The current perspective is one which is showing that the basic rights for children and participation is one which is not practiced. This violates the general humanitarian rights that are a part of every social group and changes the way in which many are able to participate within society. This is followed with the belief that children are subjected to institutional policies and are omitted from the ability to speak out and to agree or disagree with these policies. The UK, as a democratic state has now recognized this as a violation of basic human rights. The promotion now coming from the government is linked directly to the human rights of children and acts against the mistreatment of children in society, specifically by looking into the conditions of those living in poverty or in abusive situations (Reading et al, 2009: 17). The different prospects that are related to basic rights for children in the UK is now leading to a prioritized option for children and the policies associated with assisting children. The rights are inclusive of health, safety, well – being and the ability for children to make positive contributions to society. This began with the Childrens Act in 1989 based on the needed welfare of children in society and has been reinforced by the Equality Act of 2006. This refers to the Every Child Matters Act, which states that every child should have basic rights to a fair education and equality within society, specifically which would initiate positive relationships in the community. The main association is to create an understanding of the child impact as well as to investigate individual cases that may stop children from having basic rights. This includes educational terms which may stop children from progressing as well as family matters that can become a hindrance to children. These policies have led into several systems and policies that continue to be implemented within the government and which are allowing children to act as citizens in the country, as opposed to being dependent on the system that is a part of the UK (Your Rights, 2011: 1). The rights that are included with the impact are based specifically on human rights and children that are in need of welfare through this act. Parental responsibility, divorce, social services, adoption, the criminal justice system, education and children seeking asylum are the main issues presented. Within each of these, the state is recognizing that there need to be specific human rights granted to children in terms of family and schooling, specifically which are based on protection and their welfare. Instead of the policies initiating regulations of how the child should live while moving them into abusive or unfair conditions, there is now a specific set of initiatives to allow the child to participate and change their role in terms of conditions which may be harmful to the child. It is expected that doing this will lower the problems with human welfare while allowing children to have active participation as citizens, specifically that allows them to state what they believe is most needed in a given situation. By constructing these rights, there is the ability to begin changing the complexities and problems that are associated with the welfare of children in the UK (Your Rights, 2011: 1). Conclusion The concept of children’s rights as a humanitarian act in society has created a dichotomy of ideologies among different local groups. The UN has stated that children’s rights need to be implemented, specifically because of the economic and social problems linked to this. This is furthered by the sociological perspective, which shows that children are a different demographic group but should still be treated humanely and with the same number of rights as other groups. These concepts have led to questions over how many rights children should have, what is meant by equal participation and what the capabilities of children are in terms of rights and participation. These different perspectives are altering the ideals of children’s rights and the ability for children to become active members in society with the issues that are most pertinent to the individual and family actions and behaviors that are practiced in various communities. The definition of children’s rights, specifically in regards to participation, is one which could alter the work children have, educational matters, relationships to the household and to the labor force which is forced in various countries. However, defining the limitations to this is as important because of the developmental differences in children and adults. While children should be allowed to participate with their experiences and protection, the concepts which are not understood by children should also be regarded for the correct levels of protection and security among this group of individuals. References Alderson, P. (2000). 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