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Working with the Children's Commissioner |
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Written by Maire McCormack
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Wednesday, 15 November 2006 |
I work for Kathleen Marshall – Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People – whose post was set up by an Act of the Scottish Parliament in 2003 (writes Maire McCormack, CHE graduate).
The Commissioner's key function – as defined in that Act – is to "promote and safeguard the rights of children and young people in Scotland".
Kathleen defines these rights – especially those defined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to which the UK is a signatory – as "promises" made by our government that we would do certain things to make life better for children.
Sometimes adults trivialise these rights. Kathleen doesn't have to argue about them – the promises have been made – she just needs to remind adults of them.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (agreed in 1989 and ratified by our Government in 1991) is divided into 54 articles which can usefully be referred to as “The three ‘P’s” – Provision, Protection and Participation.
- Provision relates to their right to access basic services such as education, health, leisure and play.
- Protection relates to their right to be safeguarded from physical abuse, abduction and sexual and economic exploitation.
- Participation relates to their right take part in decisions affecting their lives and society as a whole.
The UN Convention’s basic philosophy is in its preamble: The child should be fully prepared to live an individual life in society "....in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity".
The Convention acknowledges the integrity and dignity of children of every age. It values childhood as a good in itself, as well as a preparation for adult life. Childhood is not a path to another place – is it is a significant place to be and should be valued as such. As adults we regret that no longer can we stop and take time to "smell the roses".
Kathleen often quotes a young child who entered a competition "If I was Commissioner for Children and Young People". His priority was that everyone should see a duck on a sunny day. How many children get to do that? It's such a simple wish, such an appreciation of the simple things in life that get unnoticed.
There are many issues we are currently dealing with. These include:
- Young people deprived of their liberty: In 2004-2005, 18 children were held in prison in Scotland – most for a short time, but not all. (One child was held for 155 days, another for 65 days). Most were held in Polmont, but Kilmarnock, Cornton Vale, Barlinnie, Dumfries, Edinburgh and Greenock also held under 16s in 2004-5.
- The effect of alcohol and drugs in young people's lives: There has been growth in the number of children affected by their parents' drug misuse and there has been an increase in drug taking parents with some families now in the 3rd generation of drug abusing parents. There are also many "unparented children" and this has huge implications for the rights of children to survival and development.
- There are specific issues for children with disabilities which include moving and handling children with disabilities and the provision of communication aids – the right to a voice.
- There are specific issues for children and young people in the looked after system. Nearly half (45 per cent) of young people aged between 5 and 17 years who were looked after by local authorities in Scotland were assessed as having a mental disorder, according to a report published by the Office for National Statistics in 2004. The National Standards Issued by the Care Commission refer to safety – "the right to enjoy safety but not be overprotected, " practice illustrates otherwise. Residential staff have become increasingly concerned with limits on ordinary activities – such as riding a bike, going to the beach – which are subject to disproportionate health and safety legislation.
- Mental Health issues: A recent report on Child and Adolescent Mental Health tells us that at any one time, about 10 per cent of our children and young people "have mental health problems which are so substantial that they have difficulties with their thoughts, their feelings, their behaviour, their learning, their relationships, on a day to day basis". We also know that when children and young people experience problems, they are not always able to access the help they need when they need it. There is also a huge problem of self-harm and ritalin abuse.
- Asylum issues
There is great concern about the way children are removed from their school or home for the purpose of detention or deportation. There is a climate of fear in schools and children and young people are often distressed by how their friends and families have been treated.
There was a case where a father was released from Yarl's Wood in England but the family detained. The father then had to fight to get back into the detention centre to be with his family. The whole family were later released pending judicial review.
There was also a case of a father being separated from his family – he was not present when the dawn raid took place at the home.
I've been told one story of a child "vomiting in fear" during a dawn raid – and of families allegedly going without food for long periods of time, particularly during the lengthy journey from Glasgow down to Yarl's Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire. I've also heard of children held for days and weeks with their families at Yarl's Wood.
Ministers of religion and head teachers of schools have been distraught to find that families they have known for years have virtually disappeared overnight. One Minister contacted us "just in case" any of the asylum-seeking families in his congregation were taken away suddenly. He wanted to make sure we would have the details at hand – should he need to contact us in an emergency.
These are questions of basic humanity – have we lost the habit of caring as a human imperative? Do we choose not to apply caring values to certain groups?
Perhaps it is simple. We simply need to trust and have faith. We cannot afford to write children off as a wasted generation and we cannot, by our policies and the way we portray them, afford for them to believe that they are our problem. They are not the problem in our society – they hold our future and the answer to the problems. We need to find respect for the inherent dignity of every person of every age. As adults we have to trust in young people's future – and most of all to have aspirations for them.
Link to Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People |
