Child Rights and Child Protection
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| Creative Exchange had a meeting on Child Rights and Child Protection in December 1999. As a result of that meeting we have agreed to provide guidance to our partners to enable you to adopt best practice in child protection. This Update aims to keep you informed of developments in both child protection and child rights. |
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| Meeting Report |
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| Our December meeting was hosted and chaired by Andrew Hutchinson, Head of Education, Save the Children Fund. Cultural provisions in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child included the right to survival and development, nationality and identity; the right to and responsibility to respect culture, freedom of expression, thought, conscience, religion and beliefs; the right to information and education; and the right to participate in cultural life, play and recreation. But there are other cultural dimensions to child rights beyond these legal provisions: culture is an influential environment which impacts upon lifestyles, attitudes and treatment of children. Cultural expression and creative activity could have a powerful impact on the promotion of child rights. Additionally, in working with children and young people, it was important that arts practitioners followed the convention, particularly in ensuring adequate child protection. Creative Exchange distributed a background paper exploring these issues prior to the meeting. Following case studies and a presentation by Marjory Newman-Williams of UNICEF, the meeting concluded with discussion on child rights issues and child protection, led by Paul Nolan of Save the Children Fund. |
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| Partners' Views |
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| Partners noted comments from David Dravie John, Gambia, which endorsed the role of cultural activities in promoting rights through empowerment and participation. He stressed the need to work with traditional education networks and methods as part of rights promotion. Some partners expressed concern that UNICEF and other intergovernmental agencies were over-reliant on formal models of schooling which did not offer children the maximum potential to develop. Informal methods, such as arts, often achieved this but lacked leadership and backing from intergovernmental agencies. Partners reported difficulties with police checks, which ran the risk of failing to catch non-convicted abusers. Partners were concerned about the need to protect themselves from accusations of abuse by vulnerable clients. They also stressed the need for a balance between protecting children and defending their right to touch and be touched. Children needed to be able to negotiate their level of physical contact with others. This was particularly important with such disciplines as dance, which required high levels of contact. Partners rejected the idea of a Creative Exchange register of organisations and practitioners with adequate child protection. They agreed that collecting and circulating information and best practice was the best way of improving standards. "We need to make our organisations totally unattractive to abusers" said Royston Maldoom. |
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| Best practice for child protection |
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| Clear policies on child protection and improved recruitment procedures may be one of the best forms of defence against child abuse in culture and development projects. Save the Children Fund child protection expert, Paul Nolan, stressed that one of the most effective routes to child protection was "a protective and aware culture within organisations." Creative Exchange partners discussed the need for protection measures following the discovery last year of organised abuse in a circus project with street children. Circulating guidelines, best practice and information was agreed to be the most practical way forward. We are circulating Save the Children Funds' Child Protection policy and code of practice as part of this Update and we would urge partners to adopt this model. |
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| Support Global Campaign, UNICEF urges |
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| Creative Exchange partners and contacts have been urged by UNICEF to support a new movement to improve the lives of children over the next 25 years. At our meeting in December 1999 Marjory Newman Williams, Deputy Director of Programmes at UNICEF's New York Office, applauded the innovative work of Creative Exchange partners in working to address child rights and called for partnership on developing the Global Movement for Children. The GMC has recently attracted the support of Nelson Mandela and Graca Machel. It aims to work from the grassroots upwards to governments and policy-makers. Mrs Newman Williams acknowledged that culture would play a role in achieving the challenge. "So much of what we are trying to overcome is culturally based. We have to understand culture to understand development." Creative Exchange has participated in Civil Society consultation on the Global Movement for Children. Marjory Newman Williams opened her presentation to the forum's meeting in December with a ringing endorsement of partners' activities in the child rights field: "I am humbled by what I have seen because it is truly wonderful" she said. She called on partners to support UNICEF's vision to build better quality of life for the world's children over the next 25 years. Mrs Newman Williams spoke of the need for "a bottom-up surge" which enabled children to participate. It had become clear that inclusive strategies would be a key to achieving the vision. "The development challenges that we face are not sector based, top-down strategies. Those strategies are failing people and it will not change their lives. The trend in the 21st century is about changing the way people see their rights. We are beginning to see that it might mean enabling children and people to act as agents of their own development" said Ms Newman Williams. She also spoke of the importance of the cultural dimension of development: "So much of what we are trying to overcome is culturally based. We have to understand culture to understand development." Urging partners and contacts to support the vision, she called for partnership at all levels of civil society, government and across the UN system. There was a need for a creative approach and a need to create spaces to participate. "The movement should challenge the establishment on the way it thought development worked, and from it should emerge a new agenda for children" she said. UNICEF sets agenda for change The Global Movement for Children will create a common agenda for children over the next generation. It will be a partnership between civil society, governments, UN agencies, youth, the private sector and media. It will involve public figures from all walks of life - including the arts and culture. The initiative has attracted the leadership and support of Nelson Mandela and Graca Machel. UNICEF held a consultation for Civil Society Organisations earlier this year in New York, which Creative Exchange attended. The overall vision of the GMC is to ensure that every child is able to to develop his or her talents and full potential in a climate of peace, equality and respect for human dignity. UNICEF believes that human development gains are possible within one generation if those with power and influence commit to achieving a set of common outcomes. The three principal outcomes are that: 1. All children have a good start to life. 2. They should have an opportunity to complete good quality education. 3. Adolescents have opportunities to fully develop their individual capacities. Creative Exchange submitted the view that culture and creativity were important to the lives and development of children from early childhood, throughout their education, to adolescence, where it helped young people gain confidence, participate and learn new skills. Partners wishing to become involved in the GMC are advised to contact their local UNICEF office. Creative Exchange will provide updates on issues relating to culture and creative opportunities. |
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| Case Studies |
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| Child Protection |
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| The importance of child protection in development rose to prominence last year with the exposure of an organised network of child abuse in an international NGO that was supporting a circus project with street children in Ethiopia. While it was clear that there was a need for better mechanisms of child protection in the development field, it was particularly apparent that cultural projects might be a soft target. There appears to be limited awareness of child protection issues and protection mechanisms in the cultural field. Creative Exchange has been exploring the best way of improving child protection and boosting confidence in our sector. We enlisted the guidance of Save the Children Funds' child protection expert, Paul Nolan. At our December meeting he told partners: "We need to build a protective an aware culture within organisations through recruitment and selection, levels of awareness, a clear policy statement and code of conduct which promote positive working with children. What matters is sending a clear indication that abuse will not be tolerated. Abusers will avoid the organisation like the plague." But he also stressed that it was important to make a consistent response to child protection and ensure that all staff respected the policy both inside and outside work. "It is also what people do beyond what they are paid to do" said Mr Nolan. "It is not acceptable for people to promote SCF during the day and engage in abuse in the home in the evenings. And that goes for other agencies and colleagues that we are working with." |
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| Code of Conduct |
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| Our Commitment to Safeguard Children Save the Children Fund Policy and Code of Conduct Creative Exchange has adopted SCF's Code of Conduct and we would urge partners and contacts, particularly those who work frequently with children, to follow suit. SCF has also produced a set of guidelines on Recruitment and Selection methods which are designed to deter people with abusive tendencies. Creative Exchange has adapted these recruitment guidelines for its own use and has already started implementing it when appointing contractors, project partners and staff. Both these resources will appear on our website shortly, and further information can also be obtained from Paul Nolan at SCF. Other contacts and resources are listed below. |
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| Our values and principles |
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| The abuse and exploitation of children happens in all countries and societies across the world. All child abuse involves the abuse of children's rights. The situation of all children must be improved through promotion of their rights as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This includes the right to freedom from abuse and exploitation. Child abuse is never acceptable and a commitment to children´s rights in general also means a commitment to safeguard the children with whom SCF is in contact. |
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| What we will do |
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| We will meet our commitment to safeguard children through the following means: Awareness: Ensuring that all staff and others are aware of the problem of child abuse and the risks to children. Prevention: Ensuring, through awareness and good practice, that staff and others minimise the risks to children. Reporting: Ensuring that staff and others are clear what steps to take where concerns arise regarding the safety of children. Responding: Ensuring that action is taken to support and protect children where concerns arise regarding possible abuse. In order that the above standards of reporting and responding are met, we will also ensure that it:
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| Child Protection: Code of Conduct |
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It is important for all staff and others in contact with children to:
Staff and others must never:
Staff and others must avoid actions or behaviour that could be construed as poor practice or potentially abusive. For example, they should never:
For further information on child protection issues at Save the Children Fund, contact: Paul Nolan - Child Protection Officer
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| Contacts & Resources |
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| Creative Exchange is member of CRIN - Children Rights Information Network. Contact (fill in details) London has a Children's Rights Commissioner to promote the implementation of Child Rights. Contact Karen Newell Tel: +44 (0)20-7278 4390 http://www.londonchildrenscommissioner.org.uk Safe from Harm - Home Office guidance to voluntary organisations on developing child protection policy. Available free of charge from: Stuart Latham, Home Office Publications Information Unit, London. Tel: +44 (0)20-7273 4473 http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk Our Duty to Care - NGO resource pack of principles and good practice for protection of children. Available from Child Care Northern Ireland Tel: +44 (0)2890-652 713 UNICEF UK has launched a campaign focusing on the plight of children growing up alone. The campaign has three focus points: children growing up in poverty and economic chaos, children living with HIV/AIDS, and children affected by war. UNICEF is calling on NGOs to join forces to raise awareness of these issues, particularly through action and advocacy to fight the global HIV/AIDS emergency. Creative Exchange Partners wishing to support the campaign or help UNICEF in other ways should contact: Jo Bailey, UK UNICEF, 55 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3NB Tel: +44 (0) 207 405 5592 http://www.unicef.org.uk |
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