Children’s Rights In - WordPress

2y ago
36 Views
2 Downloads
3.49 MB
56 Pages
Last View : 2m ago
Last Download : 2m ago
Upload by : Abby Duckworth
Transcription

Children’s Rights inAustralia: a scorecard20 November 2019

ContentsIntroduction . 3Australia’s children . 6A nationwide children’s rights framework . 6Children’s voices . 7Civil rights. 9Safety . 11Family life . 13Health . 14Living standards . 17Education, leisure and cultural activities . 19Youth justice . 21Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children . 23Asylum seeker and refugee children . 26Moving forward . 28A blueprint for reform — Key actions . 29Appendix . 412

IntroductionThis scorecard tells the story of how well children’s rights are protected andpromoted across Australia. It tells us where we are doing ok, where we shouldbe doing much better, and where we do not yet know enough to make anassessment of our performance. It is intended to help hold AustralianGovernments to account for the wellbeing of our children, now and into thefuture.This year, 2019, marks the 30th anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of theChild (CRC), the most complete statement of children’s rights ever produced. TheCRC sets out all the basic rights that children need to do well: like having a homeand a family, getting a good education, being able to access quality health care,being safe from harm, and having a voice. It covers all aspects of a child’s life,and makes clear that every child has rights, irrespective of their circumstances,and that as a society we must work together to make sure all children can enjoythem.Australia ratified this treaty in 1990, meaning that Australia has agreed to takeaction to make sure all children in Australia can enjoy their rights.In September 2019, Australia appeared before the United Nations Committee onthe Rights of the Child (the Committee) to answer questions about how it isworking to advance the rights of children in Australia. The Committee providedAustralia with a range of recommendations, called Concluding Observations, toimprove its performance in relation to children’s rights. The ConcludingObservations (2019) called for urgent measures to be taken in order to protectchildren: from violence in alternative care in relation to mental health from environmental damage and climate change who are refugees, seeking asylum and in situations of migration,and in the administration of justice.A summary of the observations made by the Committee on the Rights ofthe Child is included in the appendix.3

4

We have made progress on some issues, with national frameworks agreed to byall Australian Governments that focus on children’s needs. However, generallyprogress on children’s rights occurs on discrete issues and policy areas and failsto take into account the broader inter-connections between issues that reflectthe reality of children’s lived experience.Further, while most Australian children live in safe and healthy environmentsand do well, there are some groups of children whose rights are not adequatelyprotected, which impacts negatively on their wellbeing and ability to thrive. Thisincludes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children with disability,those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and lesbian, gay,bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) children.The lack of action to address children’s rights in a holistic way means that criticalissues fall through the gaps and have received little policy attention in the sevenyears since Australia’s last appearance before the Committee on the Rights ofthe Child in 2012.Without comprehensive legal protection, education and other measures topromote an understanding of human rights and monitor compliance withhuman rights, our government is not fully meeting its obligations to make surethat the human rights of all Australian children are respected, protected andfulfilled.5

Australia’s childrenThere are approximately 5.5 million children living in Australia.Of all children in Australia: over 6% are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (2016)approximately 9% were born overseas (2016)76.5% of children aged under 15 live with couple parents, 13.5% in singleparent families, 4.2% in multiple-family households (2017)70.7% live in major cities, 27% in regional areas and 2.3% in remote areas(2016)47,915 children are living in out-of-home care (2017)around 26,000 children are homeless (2016).A nationwide children’s rights frameworkThe CRC asks that countries put in place comprehensive laws, policies, systemsand plans to realise the promises made to children in the CRC.By and large, in Australia, there are few laws and policies at the national levelthat protect human rights, and specifically children’s rights. There is no nationalplatform from which to advance children’s rights across the domains of the CRC,apart from the activities of the National Children’s Commissioner. For example: The legal protections of children’s rights in Australia are notcomprehensive and do not provide an effective remedy for violations.6

There is no national level coordination of the many policy initiatives thatexist across all governments relating to children.Australia does not have budgeting processes that specifically track theallocation of resources to all children.Across Australia, state and territory Children’s Commissioners/Guardiansand Ombudsmen have independent monitoring powers within their ownjurisdictions. These powers vary and can include oversight of childprotection, out-of-home care, juvenile justice systems, and complainthandling. The National Children’s Commissioner does not have a mandateto monitor or deal with complaints about individual children.There are significant and serious gaps in the data that is collected and ispublicly available on children.Children’s voicesChildren are strong people andthey deserve to be heard(child, 10)Article 12 of the CRC requires governments to ensure that children and youngpeople have the opportunity to participate in decisions that affect them.This is one of the guiding principles of the CRC because having a genuine voiceand being heard is the gateway to claiming all other rights. This right is bothsafeguarding and empowering for children.The participation of children is not a routine part of the development of laws orpolicy in Australia. However, there has been a noticeable trend over recent yearstowards creating mechanisms for the participation of children in a variety ofcontexts.In 2018, the National Children’s Commissioner heard from 22,700 childrenthrough an online national Children’s Rights Poll and consulted in person withapproximately 450 children. Through talking to children about human rights,and their rights in particular, it is clear that rights knowledge strengthenschildren’s agency and capabilities, and also engenders respect for the rights ofothers.7

Children’s Rights PollAdults sometimes think kidsdon’t know things andignore their ideasAll children should be able tohave a say in things thatmatter(child, 10)(child, 11)Growing up in Australia is goodbecause I can have my say and I getto participate in sport and things I like(child, 10)8

Civil rightsUnder the CRC children have rights to identity, such as the right to have theirbirth registered, the right to a name, the right to know who their parents are andthe right to a nationality. The CRC also protects a child’s right to live a life freefrom discrimination and their right to access accurate information in writing,print or other media.Some concerns for children’s civil rights in Australia are: Not all babies in Australia are registered at birth, especially those born toAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents. Birth certificates play animportant role in ensuring that a child has access to education and otherresources.It is not always possible for transgender children in Australia to seek legalrecognition of their gender identity. The inability to change the sex markeron birth certificates can make the experience of attending school, forexample, difficult for transgender children.Children in out-of-home care can experience difficulties in accessingidentity documents, such as birth certificates, proof of Aboriginality, proofof Australian citizenship, and passports.9

Lack of recognition of legal parentage for children born overseas throughsurrogacy can affect the ability of children to access a variety of otherrights relating to citizenship, medical treatment and benefits, inheritance,passports, child support and workers’ compensation entitlements.Australian children and young people experience discrimination on thebasis of their gender, sexual orientation, race, national or ethnic origin,and disability.A range of new legislative measures in response to the threat ofinternational terrorism have the potential to impact negatively onchildren, including changes to the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth)which allow the Australian Government to revoke the citizenship of dualnationals aged 14 years and over if they engage in terrorism-relatedconduct.10

SafetyChildren have the right to be safe and protected from violence and abuse in allaspects of their lives—in their homes, at school, in their online activities and inthe broader community. Children say that the right to safety is the number onepriority for them.While most children in Australia tell us they feel safe, many children experienceunacceptable levels of violence, abuse and neglect. For example: Most violence against children is committed by someone that the childknows, the family being the most common setting. Tragically, every year asmall number of children die at the hands of a family member.Children are frequently witnesses and bystanders of violence in thefamily, commonly violence directed at their mother.1 The family lawsystem could better ensure child safety by adopting a more child-centredapproach.Attitudes that support violence still persist among young Australians.Some groups of children are at greater risk of family violence, abuse andneglect. The need for better national, disaggregated data on children’s11

experiences of family and domestic violence should be a key priority foraction.2Corporal punishment has not been explicitly prohibited in all settings,including homes and all child-related institutions.Some children have been maltreated in the care of institutions such asschools, recreational organisations, residential care, youth detention andimmigration detention. While the harmful effects of institutionalmaltreatment have been brought into stark relief in Australia by the RoyalCommission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2012–2017), there is still much to do to make sure that child-related institutionsare safe for children.Bullying at school, including cyberbullying, remains a major healthconcern.There have been exponential increases in reports of online childexploitation.A small number of children in Australia are victims of child trafficking,slavery or slavery-like practices, including forced child marriage.International surrogacy remains unregulated, highlighting risks of childtrafficking.Some people in Australia have been the victims in childhood of femalegenital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C), with serious lifelong health impacts.12

Family lifeThe CRC emphasises the importance of family to children, stipulating that thereshould be no arbitrary or unlawful interference with family, and this should beprotected by law.Australia needs to support families to care for children, including: improvements in universal support services in the early years, such aspaid maternity leavemaking sure that removing a child from their home and from the care oftheir parent(s) is considered an intervention of last resort across allAustralian statutory child protection jurisdictions, with governmentscommitted to making all efforts to keep children at home with theirfamilies3supporting young people leaving out-of-home caretaking into account Australia’s history of forced removals and forcedadoptions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children whenconsidering the transfer of legal guardianship as an option for anyAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child.13

HealthChildren have a right to the highest attainable standard of health and to facilitiesfor the treatment of illness and rehabilitation.Generally, most Australian children have good health outcomes and access tohealth care. Australia is ranked in the top third of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries for life expectancy at birth, lowyouth smoking rates and low rates of young people drinking alcohol at riskylevels.4 Infant mortality rates decreased between 2006 and 2016, and injurydeaths of children decreased between 2004 and 2016.5However, some children are at greater risk of poorer health outcomes due tofactors including geography, health literacy, culture, social and economiccircumstances, and individual characteristics.6 There are also areas whereAustralia could do better to improve children’s health. For example: It is difficult to gain a clear picture of the prevalence of disability amongchildren because of inconsistent definitions of disability across differentcontexts and jurisdictions and the current incapacity to report reliably onspecific sub-population groups.714

While the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is designed tomake it easier for individuals to access support services, a range of issueshave been raised about the implementation of the scheme in respect ofchildren.8 Also, many people with disability, including children, do notmeet the NDIS eligibility criteria.9A hearing service stream for children newly diagnosed with hearing loss,10established in 2018, only applies to children who attend Hearing Australiafor the first time post-2018. A significant proportion of children are notcovered.11Legislation in Australia still permits the non-therapeutic sterilisation ofchildren with disability.Surveys of children, young people and their families show that mental healthproblems are a significant concern to them. While services such as Kids Helplineand Headspace provide valuable mental health support, there is a shortage ofmental health services. In 2017, suicide was the leading cause of death ofAustralian children aged 5–17, with an increased number of deaths of childrendue to suicide from 2016. Between 2007 and 2017 there were 35,997hospitalisations of children aged 3–17 years for intentional self-harm. While wehave some understanding about suicide and intentional self-harm, there is stillmuch that we do not know.The lack of accurate information about the incidence and prevalence of FetalAlcohol Spectrum Disorder is a serious impediment to developing effectivehealth and policy responses.In 2017–18, one in four (25%) children aged 2–17 were overweight or obese—equating to approximately 1.2 million children and adolescents.12The percentage children on the Australian Immunisation Register fullyimmunised at one year of age is slightly less than most OECD countries.13Although 90% of Australian mothers initiate breastfeeding, only 15% of infantsare exclusively breastfed for the six-month period recommended by the WorldHealth Organisation (WHO).14There is domestic and international concern about involuntary surgery oninfants born with variations in sex characteristics.15 Decision-making aboutmedical interventions for intersex children should be guided by children’s rightto have their best interests taken as a primary consideration, their right to thehighest attainable standard of health and their right to have due weight given totheir views.15

Australian transgender and gender diverse children can now access stage twohormonal treatment without seeking court authorisation, due to a landmarkcourt ruling in Re Kelvin.16 However, the removal of the requirement of courtauthorisation does not extend to children in the out-of-home care or youthjustice systems.17Since 2008, the number of infant deaths (children less than one year of age) hasdecreased. Since 2001, the death rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanderinfants also decreased, but it is still almost twice the rate of all infants.18 There isstill no regular national report on all causes of death for Australian childrenunder the age of 18 years.Although the teenage birth rate is at a historic low, teenagers in rural andremote areas experience young parenthood at four times the rate of theirmetropolitan counterparts.19 Surveys of young people show that contraceptiveknowledge is low.The misuse of drugs and alcohol is a major cause of preventable disease andillness in Australians. Government-funding remains primarily focused on lawenforcement and treatment.20 Lack of data for children under the age of 18years is a significant issue in terms of assessing drug and substance abuse.21The practice of male circumcision is sometimes conducted for non-therapeuticpurposes and infants are unable to give consent, giving rise to human rightsconcerns.22 Better data that distinguishes between therapeutic and nontherapeutic male circumcisions would enhance our understanding of malecircumcision in Australia.16

Living standardsUnder the CRC, every child has the right to a standard of living that is necessaryfor the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development.Governments are required to provide material assistance and supportprograms, such as welfare and housing when necessary.In 2015–16, 17.3% of children under the age of 15 years (739,000—more thanone in six) in Australia were living in households experiencing poverty.23Australia currently lacks an agreed national definition of poverty and a povertyreduction plan.24Homelessness continues to be an issue that affects children in Australia. Itscauses are varied and complex and include domestic violence, a shortage ofaffordable housing, unemployment, mental illness, family breakdown, and drugand alcohol abuse.25Children living in rural and remote areas experience disadvantage across arange of domains. For example:17

Children who live in remote areas are more likely to die due to intentionalself-harm than by other external causes, compared to children who live inmetropolitan areas.26Children from very remote areas were four times as likely as those frommajor cities to be the subject of a substantiation of abuse or neglect afteran investigation of an at-risk notification.27Teenagers

through an online national Children’s Rights Poll and consulted in person with approximately 450 children. Through talking to children about human rights, and their rights in particular, it is clear that rights knowledge strengthens children’s agency and capabilities, and also engenders respect for the rights of others.

Related Documents:

Rights and gendeR in Uganda · 3 Rights & Human Rights Background Rights The law is based on the notion of rights. Community rights workers need to understand what rights are, where rights come from, and their own role in protecting and promoting rights. Community rights worker

A Human Rights Perspective by David Shiman Raising Children with Roots, Rights and Responsibilities: Celebrating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by Lori DuPont, Joanne Foley, and Annette Gagliardi Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights: A Human Rights Perspective by David M. Donahue The Human Rights Education Handbook:

Independent Personal Pronouns Personal Pronouns in Hebrew Person, Gender, Number Singular Person, Gender, Number Plural 3ms (he, it) א ִוה 3mp (they) Sֵה ,הַָּ֫ ֵה 3fs (she, it) א O ה 3fp (they) Uֵה , הַָּ֫ ֵה 2ms (you) הָּ תַא2mp (you all) Sֶּ תַא 2fs (you) ְ תַא 2fp (you

1.1.3 WordPress.com dan WordPress.org WordPress menyediakan dua alamat yang berbeda, yaitu WordPress.com dan WordPress.org. WordPress.com merupakan situs layanan blog yang menggunakan mesin WordPress, didirikan oleh perusahaan Automattic. Dengan mendaftar pada situs WordPress.com, pengguna tidak perlu melakukan instalasi atau

Part 2 - 22 Basic Appraisal Principles Appraisal Institute / American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers / American Society of Appraisers II. Fundamental Land Rights Certain rights accompany land such as air rights, water rights, mineral rights, and oil and gas rights. These land rights together with all the other rights in real .

the CRC in general as well as relating to the protection from child abuse. 2.1 Introduction to International Children's Rights Law 2.1.1 The Origin of Children's Rights Where do children's rights come from? The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. However,

Child Article 42, Children's rights knowledge, Children's rights awareness among children ! Abstract! The 20th of November 1989 has become a historical day for children all around the world. The day when the United Nations established the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the international community agreed upon a commitment to make sure

Black Holes: The Myth of Elusiveness Most of the debate about the existence of black holes that took place during the 20th century was centred around the final states of massive stars. There are good reasons to believe that stars larger than four solar masses cannot avoid complete gravitational collapse. Under these conditions, the ultimate fate of