Submitted by crinadmin on
"Mainstream" is a policy meeting favourite, and few discussions of children's rights' place in the overall human rights movement go by without mention of ways to "mainstream" children's rights or bring children's rights "into the mainstream". While this is helpful shorthand within the human rights community, people outside the sector may not be entirely sure what you are advocating for when you say that children's rights should be "mainstreamed". In some concrete contexts, like education, "mainstream" has a clear meaning. For example, lobbying governments to ensure that children with disabilities attend mainstream schools is widely understood as a stance against the segregation of disabled children. Here, bringing children with disabilities "into the mainstream" would involve operating a single school system to educate all children together, providing special services to children with disabilities as needed. In the abstract, though, "mainstreaming" is less well-defined. Telling someone on the street that you are working to "mainstream" children's rights might only get you a confused expression and - if you're lucky - a follow-up question to explain more precisely what you hope to do. If you are writing reports or press releases intended for the general public, then, you should avoid using the word "mainstream" and find another way to explain more clearly what you mean. For example:
Instead of saying that you have started a programme to mainstream children's rights, you should say that you are advocating for governments, international organisations, and human rights bodies to think more about children in all aspects of their work.