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Summary: The public image of children in the UK
has polarised. They are either
portrayed as 'little angels' or as
'little devils', but are rarely given
the opportunity to challenge these
generalisations. The authors of this
book review the current climate and
suggest how children themselves can be
involved in bringing about a change in
attitudes and practice. "Over the last decade, the public image of children in the UK has
polarised. Sometimes they are portrayed as 'little angels' who need
protecting; at other times as 'little devils' to be feared. Children
and young people themselves are rarely given the opportunity to
challenge these generalisations.
In Realising Children's Rights, a number of youth and younger
children's workers, child rights advisers and academics review the
current climate and suggest how children themselves can be involved
in bringing about a change in attitudes and practice. Together they
spell out why, on the tenth anniversary of the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child in 1999, and as we head into a new century,
securing rights for children under international law is vital.
Chapters in the book cover:
- the current social and legislative context of children's rights,
including the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights.
- involving children in organisations
- children's rights in education and health
- children and environmental change
- refugee children's rights
Realising Children's Rights takes a challenging look at children's
rights and the practical steps that children and young people are
taking to realise them. It will be of interest to policy-makers, to
all professionals who work with children and young people, and to
others concerned with children's rights."
Introduction
Christopher Cuninghame
Research & Development Officer, Save the Children's England Programme
Save the Children and children's rights
Save the Children has a long history of working in the UK to make a
reality of children's rights. Children's rights have been central to
its work since Eglantyne Jebb, the charity's founder, urged the
public to:
Claim certain rights for children and labour for their universal
recognition
(Letter, 1923)
Ever since this statement was made, Save the Children has played a
key role in the development, promotion and implementation of
children's rights within the UK and internationally. Save the
Children's work has led to the implementation of the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) of 1989.
Since the UK Government signed the Convention, in 1991, Save the
Children has promoted activities at local, national and international
levels to ensure that the principles of the Convention are being
observed and developed here in the UK. To this end, it has redefined
its work in the UK and Europe to set itself the goal of becoming the
leading European children's rights agency.
In its UK programme of work, Save the Children continues irs good
record of working with children on a wide range of issues in the
communities in which they live. It has recognised the potential to
benefit many more children by concentrating on developing and
supporting services for children, rather than by providing and
managing them.
This means short-term initiatives, carried out with partner
organisations, providing direct benefit to children and young people
in their communities. It means the promotion and demonstration of
good policy and practice at local and national levels. It means
presenting positive images and examples of what children are saying
and doing, challenging misconceptions, and raising awareness and
understanding of the need to recognise children's rights.
The Doing Rights Conference and beyond
Save the Children wants to increase the participation of children and
young people in all decisions that affect them. At the end of 1997,
it organised a conference called Doing Rights to discuss progress
towards children's rights in the UK. This was an opportunity for Save
the Children to demonstrate how its own work (mainly through examples
from its England programme) highlights the importance of children's
rights and of the CRC, in terms of both public policy and practice
development.
The conference offered a chance to discuss children's rights from
Save the Children's unique perspective across international
boundaries and the traditional divides between rights-based
development work in the UK and that overseas. Speakers from other
influential organisations concerned with children's rights came
together with Save the Children's policy workers and practitioners to
talk about and learn from each other's work.
The same year, 1997, saw the 50th anniversary of the United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Last year, the European
Convention on Human Rights was incorporated into UK law (to come into
force next year). This year, 1999, the UK Government presented its
second report to the UN Committee in Geneva on implementation of the
CRC.
Speakers' contributions considered, or looked ahead to, major issues
such as these. Accounts of Save the Children's project work
illustrated the impetus for change at local levels, among children
and young people, that would lead to recognition of their right to
take part in matters that affect their lives.
A chief purpose of this book is to affirm the relevance of these
contributions to current developments in the UK in relation to the
CRC and children's rights. The original contributions have been
edited and updated to reflect changes that have happened in the past
18 months, and new material has also been added as Save the
Children's programme moves on.
A further aim is to assemble evidence and examples of good practice
for policy-makers, practitioners, academics and others working on
children's rights issues in the UK to consider in developing and
promoting children's rights. The examples from Save the Children's
programme illustrate development processes, learning issues and the
views of the children and young people themselves who have taken part
in projects and other pieces of work.
Structure of this book
The book is in two parts. The first provides a context for children's
rights in the UK. The contributions - mostly written by authors from
outside Save the Children - are concerned with social and legislative
changes. Their aim is to provoke discussion and stimulate debate.
The second part focuses on the work of Save the Children in the UK,
ially within its England programme. It aims to give real insight into
what the Children tries to achieve with children and young people and
how it goes about it. It is mainly written by Save the Children's
practitioners, managers, research and policy workers.
Bob Franklin sets the scene for the book with a commentary on how,
throughout the 1990s, the tabloid press has contributed to children
being blamed social problems in this country. He goes on to show how
such media condmenation has joined with political interests to the
detriment of children in our society
The theme of the social isolation and misrepresentation of children
is built following chapters. Andrew West examines how definitions of
citizenship are manipulated to exclude both children and young people
from real participation. Martin Woodhead looks to international
experience to show how but, unfortunately, still widely used - many
of the Western of child development really are.
Sarah Spencer closes this first part of the book by welcoming the
European iman Rights into the UK canon of law. However, she points
out that a major opportunity to advance children's rights at national
policy levels will be missed if an independent Human Rights
Commission is not set up to promote and support the new legislation.
The second section begins with an overview of how Save the Children
promotes children's rights, highlighting approaches in the UK,
particularly in the England programme. It focuses the attention of
governments, local authorities, children, parents, carers, and others
on necessary and possible action to implement the CRC now that it has
been so widely ratified.
How do practitioners bring about change? The next contributions are
about how Save the Children starts turning policy into practice. Some
key children's rights issues - about involving young children, and
accountability - are discussed in terms of the need for changed
practice. Other chapters describe how children and young people
working with Save the Children are involved in developing their own
media channels and are participating as researchers themselves in
various kinds of research.
Further chapters illustrate a variety of community-based projects
where Save the Children works directly with children on rights issues
so that they gain opportunities to take part. They show how groups of
children and young people can directly influence local authorities -
and many other organisations - over concerns such as education, the
environment and play and leisure.
Comments (made at the end of the Doing Rights Conference) from a
panel of young people end the main part of the book. These are about
how they themselves see the development of children's rights, from
their own experience and from looking at their peers' opportunities.
This rounds off with a summary of the main themes underlying all the
contributions in this book about the opportunities, or otherwise, for
children and young people to participate in the promotion and
development of their rights.
The concluding chapter looks ahead, briefly outlining what
developments are currently taking place in Save the Children's
programme in England, and how the organisation is aiming to take
these forward.
Contents
Introduction
by Christopher Cuninghame
Contexts for children's rights From iittie angels to little devils:
changing concepts of childhood
by Bob Franklin
Children, young people and citizenship
by Andrew West
Understanding child development in the context of children's rights
by Martin Woodhead
Incorporating the European Convention on Human Rights: the impact on
children's rights
by Sarah Spencer
Policy and practice
Introduction to the world of Save the Children in England
by John Errington
From policy towards practice Policy approaches
by Angela Penrose and Bill Bell
Involving children in organisations: accountability
by Allan Siddall
Young children as decision-makers
by Judy Miller
The experience of Children's Express in Newcastle
by Gerry Hunwick
Using Children's Rights
Research and practice
Research methodologies: ideas and ethics
by Bridget Pettitt and Perpetua Kirby
Involving children and young people in planning
by Radhika Howarth, Moni Akhtar and Rubel Ahmed
Health of the Young Nation projec
by Nicola Chapman
Research on educational support needs of young refugees
by Maddy Lewis
Children, services and practice
Birmingham Young People's Consuftation Project
by Christopher Cuninghame
Children's rights in education
by Jeff Mills
Young voices in action: environmental changeby Simon Cale
Summary
From the Doing Rights Conference young people's panel
chaired by Rahman Karim
Some issues and themes from the book
by Christopher Cuninghame
Conclusion
by John Errington
Appendix One:
Summary of key articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child
Appendix Two:
Other relevant Save the Children publications
Appendix Three:
About the contributorsOwner: Christopher Cuninghame (ed.)