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What Can You Do To Promote The Rights Of The Child?

Families and communities can help to advance the principles set forth by the Convention on the Rights of the Child to ensure that all children get the support that they need and deserve.Here are some things that you can do:

 

  • The first thing that each family has to do is to read and understand the CRC and how it can and must be applied to protect children.

 

  • Hold your government accountable and make sure that responses to the specific needs of children are an essential part of all programmes and budgets.  Ensure that their actions and policies are in the best interests of the child and evaluate their impact on children.

 

  • ​Ensure that all media coverage is sensitive to children, to their rights and developmental stages.

  • ​​Help spread the word online. 

 

  • Help young people develop the skills and self-confidence to remain safe in difficult situations

 

  • Ensure that all children are registered at birth. 

 

  • Ensure that all children in the community attend a child-friendly school full-time and receive an education that is of good quality, equal for all children and free from violence. This can involve changing classroom management (traditionally based on fear, threats, humiliation and physical punishment) to a child-friendly approach that is non-discriminatory and supports cooperative learning.

 

  • Establish safe complaint mechanisms for all forms of violence against children, including sexual violence and abuse, bullying and corporal punishment.

 

  • Support initiatives to prevent and respond to all forms of violence in settings where children live, go to school, play and work.

 

  • Support the expansion of services that are community-based and services for children.

 

  • Respect children. Use positive and non-violent discipline, including respecting the child’s perspective.

 

  • Children and adults should actively and consistently talk to each other, sharing information and ideas in the home, school and community with mutual respect. Listen to, and take seriously, the views of both boys and girls. Ensure that vulnerable children are able to express their opinions and 

Schools Should Be Child Friendly

 

Parents should demand that schools:

 

  • Teach children about their rights. 

 

  • Provide a broad, relevant and inclusive curriculum that aspires to equip children with numeracy and literacy, as well as knowledge in science, the humanities, sport and the arts. Provide opportunities for play consistent with the right to optimal development.

 

  • Ensure that children’s right to express their views is granted and that their views are given due weight. Provide adequate teaching and learning materials.

  • Establish and encourage student participation at all levels. Involve children in the development of relevant school policies.

 

  • Prohibit all forms of violence against children, including physical and humiliating punishment in school and at home. Encourage and train teachers to end physical punishment and introduce strategies for non-violent conflict resolution, and provide effective mechanisms for complaint by children.

 

  • Host lectures, book and poetry readings, or film festivals to explore, celebrate and promote children’s rights. In or around November, display books, magazines and posters on child rights

 

  • Produce street theatre, dance and other popular presentations relating to the Convention created and presented by youth for a variety of audiences. Encourage children to create songs relating to their rights that may be performed together with local celebrities.

 

  • Ensure that all children in the community attend a child-friendly school full time and receive an education that is of good quality, equal for all children and free from violence. This can involve changing classroom management (traditionally based on fear, threats, humiliation and physical punishment) to a child-friendly approach that is non-discriminatory and supports cooperative learning.

 

  • Establish safe complaint mechanisms for all forms of violence against children, including sexual violence and abuse, bullying and corporal punishment.

 

  • Support the reintegration of children who have been victims of any form of violence, including support for psycho-social counselling from trained staff.

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