Children Interests and Welfare - Case Study Example

Protecting Every Child from Harm, Abuse and Exploitation - It Matters Introduction This is an investigative treatise on children’s interests and welfare. The chosen area for the inquiry pertains to crimes, abuses and exploitations committed against children. The paper will likewise comment on the accomplishments of the so-called Every Child Matters programme in London. The issue at hand is very important because abuse, harm or exploitation felt at an early age leaves a mark of stigma and traumatic experience which can both have negative effects in a child, even transcending into adulthood. The chosen social class is the impoverished group while the selected ethnicity is that of African race origin. How Every Child Matters Started? Victoria Adjo Climbié, an African girl, came from Côte dIvoire (also known as the Ivory Coast) in West Africa and was allowed by her parents to go with a great grandaunt supposedly for a bright future somewhere. Instead, she was abused and later on murdered in London by her own guardians in the year 2000. She was just then eight years old. Her death stirred sentiments of uproar leading to a public investigation which found several agencies and officials to be derelict in their duties. The trial judge who heard the case described the collective negligence as blinding incompetence. Had attention been given to the apparent physical signs of abuse committed against the child, the criminal acts of the adult culprits could have been dealt with early and the young tender soul could have been saved. The savage incident became the offshoot of significant changes in child protection awareness. (MURDER OF VICTORIA CLIMBIé. TripAtlas.com. Discover the world. Share your experience. [internet]). The Every Child Matters programme under the Department for Children, Schools and Families was established and the Children Act 2004 was enacted. One of the essence and core of Every Child Matters is that each child in this world has the right to be free from any criminal harm, abuse or exploitation. The youth is the hope of the fatherland and must be cared for and protected from being abused, harmed and exploited. It may however be queried if measures and safeguards are really in place and adequate enough and if child abuse concerns have since been addressed. It may be noted though that child abuse seems to continue as the rallying cry goes on. (Stop Child Abuse Now Rally. September 26, 2009. The Irreverent Buddhist. [internet]). This paper will tackle the issue of child protection with emphasis on the impoverished black children of London. Observations and current perceptions on child abuse will be gathered together with documented experiences based on news reports and equivalent sources. A brief look at the activities of Every Child Matters may likewise be done to appreciate the progress so far gained on crimes and abuses against children. On the basis of these materials, the paper will proceed to analyze the data and information and present some recommendations in the humble attempt to contribute inputs to the worthy cause of protecting children. Explanation Anent this study, the still persistent issue, theoretical background and underpinning way of thinking are that children continue to be abused especially the black impoverished ones. This is a big mistake. All children whether black or white or yellow, Negro or Irish, physically handicapped or not, rich or poor, or whatever, are entitled to be given full protection by the state. The main issue here therefore is that poor kids with African origins are not protected well and sufficiently enough from crimes and abuses. How then can it be said that every child matters when young black people are abused, harmed or exploited? The Every Child Matters programme is tasked to go after the welfare of all children in such ways as to make better their physical well-being, minimize juvenile poverty, mitigate crimes particularly those committed against the young ones, enable parents to study and work with the end in view that the same will finally redound to the benefit of the children, and to help single parents to have jobs so they can have the means to raise their children decently and adequately. (Sure Start Children’s Centres. Every Child Matters. department for children, schools and families. [internet]). But how can this be done when there are even no concrete proof and evidence showing efforts to protect poverty-stricken Negro children from harm and abuse? How then can it be said that every poor black child matters to the government, the mainstream society, the civil organizations and all the other sectors in London or in the United Kingdom? In view of the importance of the issues stated in the preceding paragraph, the proponent of this paper has taken great interest to expound on the whole caboodle. In London, it has to be admitted that the most vulnerable to abuse and exploitation among children are those belonging to poor and racially distinct communities. As a matter of fact, the same statistics is true in the United States and other European territories. This study is important because findings on abused and exploited children are very alarming. In the long run, it will be the society as a whole which will suffer from the menace which these young people will create in some few years from now. If not resolved soon, the problem will equate to a London population with a destructed moral fibre in the future. In a detailed assessment of evidence-based findings, traumatized children become nuisance and perils to public order and public safety. Fundamentally, children have to live, love and nurture their potentials. They need to make known their needs and yearning for protection. Under that process, children must have the respect and caring of the older members in their homes or communities which must, in turn, take them with sincerity, love and honesty. The adults should be around to guide the children in adopting fast to the realities of life. If the basic necessities of children are deprived of them and, worse, they are abused by the old, their self-esteem will be shattered for a long time or maybe forever. These abuses include being beaten, punished, exploited, taken advantage of, manipulated, deceived or neglected. The wounds from those cruelties will make the youth angry and in pain. Children in this kind of atmosphere are naturally restrained from pouring out their grievances making their experiences more unbearable and shocking. The psychological impact will be that they force themselves to keep their sentiments within and forget their ordeals. In the end, they idealize their abusers until they lose any recollection of what they had suffered. Broken from the links of the past, the children will find meaning in their sad encounters by expressing themselves in destructive acts against others and against themselves. They resort to crimes and undesirable behaviours or they find refuge in alcohol, drugs, sex for money or not, psychological confusion and maybe suicide. These are the ugly fruits of abuse and exploitation. On the other hand, people who have their integrity kept intact since when they were young, protected and respected and treated with honesty by their elders or guardians will be responsive, intelligent, emphatic and highly sensitive. They take life with a happy disposition and will not subscribe to the idea of harming others. (Miller, Alice. The Untouched Key. THE CIRCUMCISION REFERENCE LIBRARY. [internet]). The evil effects of child abuse are really devastating and deplorable. It is thus necessary that caring for children and protecting them from the given dangers are made not only the responsibilities and duties of families and individuals but also of governments. Following the guidelines given above which are believed to be within the realm and discipline of psychology, children have to be loved, cared for, protected, treated with honesty, respected and given the maximum opportunity to freely explore and develop their potentials. Within that environment, they become good and effective citizens. They can become honest and scrupulous leaders for the generations after them to follow. There are a lot of abused and exploited poor minority children in London. There is still time to save them. There are still so many people who are willing to care for them and protect them. There is still love in this world. These children deserve them best. An Account of the Investigation A meeting was to take place. It would have good resource persons and convincing visual materials. The venue was inside the House of Lords in one of its committee rooms. For its synopsis, it was reported that an estimated three hundred million children all over the world are victims of violence, abuse and exploitation which includes deplorable systems of child labour in communities, schools and institutions. Young people are abused, exploited and trafficked in international scale. Interestingly in many instances, United Kingdom companies sell the goods coming from the labour of these exploited children. The whole world was therefore being called upon by the United Nations Children’s Fund to act for the care and protection of children who are victims of abuses. Among these are commercial sexual exploitation, human trafficking and labour exploitation. (Child Exploitation & Abuse. GlobalNet21 21st Century Network. [internet]). A publication issued by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Community, or NSPCC for brevity, shows statistics of children abused and exploited. These were narrated by adults who had experienced the maltreatments suggesting in effect awareness and cooperation or support from the readers. (About child abuse and the NSPCC. Key facts and figures. NSPCC. [internet].) One group has also been identified for this noble cause of watching over children, the Child Abuse Prevention Council. (Who We Are. CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION COUNCIL OF LONDON AND MIDDLESEX. [internet]). The message is clear. All sectors show concerns for abused and exploited children. As a matter of fact, the waves of crusades are not only for those who are victimized. The effort is advanced for the youth in general. In effect, it has become unequivocal that children are deemed the pillars of a sustainable future. In the United Kingdom, the welfare of the juvenile is apparently among the priorities of the government, In an innovative move, plans were laid out two years ago which would see that children sleep on time, that they pay attention to their studies, and that their diet habits are healthily enhanced. (Paul Joseph Watson. UK Government To Install Surveillance Cameras In Private Homes. August 3, 2009. PRISONPLANET. [internet]). The schemes were met by criticisms and negative comments coming from certain groups or sectors which emphasize personal freedoms that should be free of state encroachments. It seemed that the idea of preventing harm to children was bad. Despite those contrasts and drawbacks, the programme has been provided sufficient budget. In a straightforward way, the plan in general is to address the abuse and neglect of the juvenile population perpetrated by those who either cause harm or tolerate harm to them, knowingly or unknowingly. (Working Together to Safeguard Children. Department of Health Home Office Department for Education and Employment. p 5. 1999 London. [internet]). The pro-active initiatives and steps for the care and protection of young people are convincingly evident. Yet, facts on abuse and exploitation of black and impoverished children continue to be disturbing. In one account of a chain of incidents in London stated that many black boys between the age of four and seven had become missing or just disappeared. A police operation uncovered a boy’s torso left behind. He was apparently murdered. In about the third quarter of 2001, an estimated three hundred had vanished. Thousands were feared to have mysteriously gone missing. The most possible root was trafficking for child labour and criminal activities. A prior inquiry conducted by the British Broadcasting Corporation showed that people who were owed by black parents held the children for understandable reasons. (Hundreds of children vanishing. One-Minute World News. May 13, 2005. BBC NEWS, [internet]) In another reported commentary, black, Asian and other minority children who are adopted in Britain sometimes end up in the hands of abusive foster parents who have drugs and alcohol problems. It is stated though that adopted children are better off than those in care homes, and that only one out of one hundred care home children attains university level status. It is very much lower than that of the general population which is forty out of one hundred. The number of children in care homes in England and Wales was estimated to be around sixty five thousand. Sadly enough, ethnic minority children are the dominant group in care homes in terms of population. (McVeigh, Tracy. Race dilemma at the heart of our adoption crisis. The Observer. July 6, 2008. Guardian.co.uk. [internet]). A look at the news items on children’s interests and welfare published by the Every Child Matters programme may be a point of interest. (a) The government is set to join families in efforts to end knife crimes. This is a laudable project because it is also focuses on crimes and young people. However, the perpetrators in knife crimes mostly come from the juvenile community. Hence, this is not a crusade to protect crimes committed against children but by children. (b) Another reporter’s item is about teen-agers being prevented from getting involved in gangs. This is another initiative deserving praise but this is also about teen-agers possibly becoming criminals. The issue in this movement is not to protect children from being harmed by criminals but to protect society from young criminals. (c) In yet another effort, prevention of violence against women and girls is the subject. (News. Every Child Matters. department for children, schools and families. [internet]). What about violence against boys? Against black poor boys? Do they not matter? Because there are no programs to prevent violence against them? On that page of ten news items, there is nothing about preventing crimes, labour exploitations and abuses against poverty-stricken black children. Every white child matters. Every brown child matters. Every yellow child matters. All children therefore matter especially in concerns over crimes, abuses and exploitations committed against them. This is a crusade for the good of humanity. The Negro child, the black child and the African child are all human beings. Each one of them matters. Gone are the days of racial barriers. Evaluation The investigation has found out that plans, programmes, schemes, groups, institutions and crusades are in place to care for abused children. On the other side, reports of abuse and exploitation of young people continue to surround and haunt London society. There is one thing absent which is opined to be the most important - prevention. It is as if to say that children start to be cared for and to be protected only after they have already been abused and exploited. This should not be the focus. It should be prevention first. Conclusion and Recommendation The conclusion of this study is that the sectors which are joining hands in the care and protection of children have overlooked or forgotten to do something. And that is the development of designs, systems or ways to prevent children from being abused, harmed and exploited in the first place. Corollary to that, the recommendation of this paper is for the said sectors to immediately act accordingly. Also, the number of children in the custody of care homes must have to be studied further. The issues on their concepts of education must researched a lot more with the end in view of widening and improving their academic attainment. This is being taken into account in view of the finding that only a few of care home children reach the college level of schooling. References About child abuse and the NSPCC. Key facts and figures. NSPCC. [internet]. Accessed March 16, 2010. Available at: Child Exploitation & Abuse. GlobalNet21 21st Century Network. [internet]. Accessed March 16, 2010. Available at: Hundreds of children vanishing. One-Minute World News. May 13, 2005. BBC NEWS, [internet]. Accessed March 16, 2010. Available at: McVeigh, Tracy. Race dilemma at the heart of our adoption crisis. The Observer. July 6, 2008. Guardian.co.uk. [internet]. Accessed March 16. 2010. Available at: ). Miller, Alice. The Untouched Key. THE CIRCUMCISION REFERENCE LIBRARY. [internet] Accessed March 15, 2010. Available at: MURDER OF VICTORIA CLIMBIé. TripAtlas.com. Discover the world. Share your experience. [internet] Accessed March 15, 2010. Available at: News. Every Child Matters. department for children, schools and families. [internet] Accessed March 17, 2010. Available at: ) Paul Joseph Watson. UK Government To Install Surveillance Cameras In Private Homes. August 3, 2009. PRISONPLANET. [internet] Accessed March 16, 2010. Available at: Stop Child Abuse Now Rally. September 26, 2009. The Irreverent Buddhist. [internet] Accessed March 15, 2010. Available at: Sure Start Children’s Centres. Every Child Matters. department for children, schools and families. [internet] Accessed March 17, 2010. Available at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/about/surestart/surestart/> Who We Are. CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION COUNCIL OF LONDON AND MIDDLESEX. [internet] Accessed March 16, 2010. Available at: < http://www.capclm.ca/who_we_are.htm>) Working Together to Safeguard Children. Department of Health Home Office Department for Education and Employment. p 5. 1999 London. [internet] Accessed March 16, 2010. Available at: Read More