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LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS
Japan court rules on equal inheritance rights
The Supreme Court of Japan has ruled that a law which prescribes lesser inheritance rights to children born of unmarried parents violates the Constitution's prohibition on discrimination. In cases where a deceased person had children born while unmarried as well as children born within marriage, and in the absence of a will, Article 900 of Japan's Civil Code stipulates that a child born to unmarried parents is only entitled to inherit half of the estate to which the child born in wedlock eligible. Advocates have described the policy as “discrimination by birth.”
The issue had been previously addressed in 1995, when the Supreme Court ruled that such different treatment on the basis of the marital status of a child’s parents was justified as it respected the status of legal marriage, while providing protection for children born outside of marriage. In that judgment, however, a minority of judges dissented arguing that the provision was unconstitutional as it unreasonably discriminated against children born out of wedlock. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has raised the discriminatory treatment of children born out of wedlock every time it has reviewed a State report from Japan. Full story.
Lawmaker calls for the denial of child custody for gay parents
In the latest move prompting international criticism of Russia’s treatment of the LGBT community, a lawmaker has proposed a bill that would deny gay parents custody of their children. The draft law seeks to make “nontraditional sexual orientation” a basis for denying custody, placing homosexuality in the same ranks as domestic violence and drug use. Referring to an earlier law in Russia that bans homosexual “propaganda” to children, Alexei Zhuravlev, the author of the bill, said that homosexual "propaganda" should be prohibited not only in the public space "but also in the family." Full story.
However, in 2012 the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) set an important benchmark in its ruling that making a child custody decision based on a parent’s sexual orientation is a violation of international law. The ruling came in relation to Chile’s Supreme Court decision in 2004 to remove a woman’s three daughters from her custody because she was a lesbian, a move which the IACHR ruled was a violation of the mother’s right to equality and non-discrimination. The Chilean Supreme Court had reasoned that Karen Atala’s decision to live with her same-sex partner put the girls in a “situation of risk” which could “psychologically damage” them. Mother and daughters were subsequently separated for eight years. But the IACHR sided with Ms Atala’s claim that her sexual orientation does not determine her function and role as a mother. More on the story.
Venezuela withdraws from regional human rights instrument
Venezuela withdrew from the American Convention on Human Rights this week, a decision first announced in September 2012. Various human rights bodies have urged Venezuela to reconsider its withdrawal, including the IACHR and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Among their concerns over the State’s withdrawal is that it will strip citizens of a mechanism to protect their human rights, leaving them more vulnerable to abuses, and with fewer resources available to defend their rights when they are not recognised or protected inside the country.
Despite Venezuela’s decision, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will continue to receive and process petitions, as well as requests for precautionary measures, and supervise the human rights situation in the country. However, the Inter-American Court will be unable to analyse violations of human rights occurring in Venezuela after 10 September 2013. The Court, however, will continue to have jurisdiction in cases involving alleged human rights violations committed in Venezuela before that date. Therefore, any petitions the Commission may receive after 10 September 2013 which describe possible rights abuses that took place before that date will still be processed. More on the story.
Further Information:
Health survey violates children's right to privacy
In Indonesia, the Education Ministry has criticised officials of the town of Sabang in Aceh province for distributing a “health survey” in a school which asked children to give details about the size of their genitalia and whether they have had erotic dreams. The survey contained drawings of both male genitalia and women’s breasts “from the smallest to the biggest” and asked students aged 11 to 12 to select which one best resembled theirs. “It is totally unnecessary because there is no need to measure the size of students’ genitals for any purpose,” said Ibnu Hamad, a spokesperson for the Education Ministry in Jakarta. Similarly, Indonesia’s National Commission on Child Protection (Komnas Anak) said the survey violated the children’s right to privacy.
UN study looks at male violence against women
A new joint study by UN bodies has looked at the prevalence of and reasons for sexual violence committed by men across Asia-Pacific. The study interviewed some 10,000 men and 3,100 women in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Papua New Guinea (PNG) between 2010-2013, finding that nearly one in four male respondents admit to having raped a woman or girl.
While the prevalence of rape of non-partners was high across all surveyed countries, a higher 46 per cent of respondents admitted to perpetrating sexual violence against partners. The highest rate of partner violence was recorded in PNG (80 per cent of respondents), compared to non-partner violence (27 per cent). The majority of the countries studied have not criminalised marital rape, and PNG has yet to criminalise domestic violence. Unsurprisingly, the majority of male respondents who had perpetrated rape say they had not faced any legal consequences.
Among the motives behind the violence, 73 per cent of male respondents said they felt a sense of sexual entitlement - the belief that men have a right to have sex with women regardless of consent. Fifty-three per cent said they did it for fun. Men who had themselves been victims of abuse were found to be more likely to commit rape than those who were not. Download the study here.
Children removed from sect after police raids
Police in Germany have removed 40 children from a Christian sect in the southern state of Bavaria following reports of “significant and ongoing child abuse” within the community. The children, aged between seven months and 17 years old, are members of the Twelve Tribes sect, which is known to advocate corporal punishment of children, refuses to send its children to mainstream schools, rejects sex education and considers women subservient to men. While the Twelve Tribes has publicly said it “does not tolerate any form of child abuse”, parents of the group, which has around 100 members, have admitted to being instructed to beat their children "with a small reed-like rod which only inflicts pain and no damage". According to initial reports, the children were allegedly hit with the rods on their bare feet, arms and backs. They have been placed with foster families while investigations continue. Full story.
Corporal punishment of children is prohibited in Germany in all settings, including the home. More details here.
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CHILDREN'S RIGHTS WIKI: Spotlight on Cape Verde
In this week's Children's Rights Wiki, we look at the persistent violations of children's rights in Cape Verde: http://wiki.crin.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Cape_Verde
- Physical abuse of children;
- Sexual exploitation of children;
- Corporal punishment;
- Ill-treatment of children by police;
- Detention of children in inappropriate conditions, including with adults and in overcrowded facilities;
- Lack of alternative sentences to detention for children in conflict with the law;
- Trafficking of children;
- Barriers to access to education for children, particularly girls;
- Inadequate reproductive health care and education;
- Inadequate provision to combat HIV and AIDS;
- Child labour.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Genital autonomy: Promoting children's rights in Europe - recent developments
Organisation: Genital Autonomy
Date: 16-17 September 2013
Location: Keele, United Kingdom
More details here.
Mental health: Implementing the suicide prevention strategy
Organisation: Public Policy Exchange
Date: 17 September 2013
Location: London, United Kingdom
More details here.
Exploitation: Child & adolescent health & well-being - safeguarding children from sexual exploitation
Organisation: Public Policy Exchange
Date: 19 September 2013
Location: London, United Kingdom
More details here.
Child rights: Children's Rights and International Law
Organisation: Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch
Date: 23-27 September 2013
Location: Sion, Switzerland
More details here.
Street children: Changing the Game - An interactive summit to develop our responses with street-involved children
Organisation: Street Child World Cup
Date: 23-26 September 2013
Location: Cambridge, United Kingdom
More details here.
Sexual violence: Evidence into action
Organisation: Sexual Violence Research Initiative
Date: 14-17 October 2013
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
More details here.
Violence: 19 Days of Activism - Prevention abuse and violence against children and youth
Organisation: Women's World Summit Foundation
Date: 1-19 November 2013
Location: N/A
More details here.
Participation: Building an inclusive Europe - the contribution of children's participation
Organisation: Eurochild
Date: 13-15 November 2013
Location: Milan, Italy
More details here.
Child rights: Honouring the child, honouring equity
Organisation: University of Melbourne's Youth Research Centre
Date: 15-16 November 2013
Location: Melbourne, Australia
More details here.
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EMPLOYMENT
ECPAT-UK: Head of Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns (Child Exploitation in Travel and Tourism)
Location: London, United Kingdom
Application deadline: 13 September 2013
More details here.
Hague Conference on Private International Law: Coordinator for Intercountry adoption technical assistance programme
Location: The Hague, Netherlands
Application deadline: 15 September 2013
More details here.
Save the Children: Consultancy (Civil Society Organisation expert on Child Sexual Abuse in the Middle East)
Location: N/A
Application deadline: 24 September 2013
More details here.
World Vision UK: Child Rights Policy Manager
Location: London, United Kingdom
Application deadline: 26 September 2013
More details here.
Jargon of the Week: "Illegitimate" children
Legal systems in many countries continue to define children’s status from birth according to the marital status of their parent/s. This policy has its roots in more patriarchal times; and historically has served the purpose of determining a child’s entitlement to inherit, to use the family surname, and more recently, to receive child support.
But if we look at the language used to categorise children, we find that the term “illegitimate” is sometimes employed to describe a child born of unmarried parents. Nowadays the term readily brings to mind negative notions such as inferiority or invalidity. But what’s particularly unpleasant is that by defining a child as “illegitimate”, it’s the child who is assigned with these notions, as if it were she or he who has somehow done something wrong.
Even though similarly outdated and demeaning terms like “unfathered” and “bastard” - which at one point or another were also used in legislation - have been phased out, "illegitimate" nonetheless continues to be used by society, the media, and in some cases, even in legislation.
However, in the same way that it would be deplorable nowadays to describe a human being as invalid, or as a bastard - least of all because of what her or his parents have or haven’t done - no human being should be described as “illegitimate” for the simple reason that no human being is illegitimate.
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