Another year has begun and the opportunity to consider changes we would like to make. What would we like removed from our lives, the life of our family and our society? Central to this process is the courage to look back at the previous year and acknowledge successes and areas that require improvement. This is crucial, particularly in relation to the lives of children.
How Do We Find Out?
On December 28th, an editorial entitled ‘The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: Reflections on Australia’s progress and challenges’ was published by Children Australia, an open-access journal publishing evidence, research and commentary for the child, youth, and family services. The authors and co-editors of the journal are Adjunct Professor Dave Vicary, Associate Professor Tim Moore and Professor Sharon Bessell.
United Nations on The Conventions of the Rights of the Child
2024 marked the 35th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC; United Nations, 1989), ‘the first legally binding international treaty to comprehensively recognise children’s human rights, including their rights to survival, development, protection and participation.’ It provided a universal framework to support children’s wellbeing, dignity and agency and located them as rights-holders rather than passive dependents. Australia ratified the document in 1990.
Have we Made Progress?
The establishment of Children’s Commissioners across states and territories which ensures children’s voices are heard and the first National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children (2009–2020) and Safe and Supported (2021–2031) (Department of Social Services, 2021) reflect the convention’s vision that every child should grow up ‘safe, connected, and supported in their family, community, and culture’. Another positive development is the implementation of Charters of Rights for children in out-of-home care and creation of processes to ensure youth participation.
But there is Much to be Done.
However there is significant room for improvement. These authors’ previous editorial had identified child poverty and the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander children in care, so this one focussed on additional human rights concerns.
Five additional areas were identified. The first of these is termed ‘the missing middle years’ with a recognition that years 12 to 16 are developmentally critical and are often overlooked in policy which needs to extend beyond schools to create child-inclusive communities where children feel valued, safe and connected’.
Youth justice – ‘a system in crisis‘ – remains a key concern where incarceration of children with adults is a major source of trauma and violation of their human rights.
While acknowledging some progress in the area of child abuse and neglect this remains a critical area with rates unacceptably high and gaps in the consistency and quality of services. Attention also needs to be paid to domestic and family violence to better understand dynamics which require different intervention and supports.
Each child should have access to education which allows development of their potential and ‘inadequate support for marginalised children, inconsistent access to quality education and issues with inclusivity hinder progress in this domain.’ Growing absenteeism rates due to mental health challenges, bullying, family instability or disengagement with the education system is a major challenge for the school system.
A final area of concern is climate change which is a key concern for many children and directly impacts their right to survival and highest attainable health standards. Children should be more actively involved in shaping climate policy while national strategies should prioritise sustainability.
What Does this Mean for Practitioners?
It is too easy to draw the boundary for our work around an individual child or their family and fail to appreciate that the symptoms that present inside a child may well represent greater societal challenges. Acknowledging this with the family means it is easier to become clear about where responsibility lies and who should accept this. Engaging a school using the resources of bower(schools) is an example of this where practitioner, school, family, and child work together to resolve a difficulty using the appropriate resources of each. This can equally extend to child protection services, health, disability and corrections. While we may not have direct authority to change policy, engagement of this order acknowledges the rights of children and supports change in a positive direction.
Moore, T., Vicary, D., & Bessell, S. (2024). The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: Reflections on Australia’s progress and challenges. Children Australia, 46(2), 3048. doi.org/10.61605/cha_3048
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