Sunday, 14 April 2013

Are the Rights of Children being Protected in Aotearoa New Zealand?


             

In New Zealand Children’s Rights are being challenged by the high amount of abuse, violence and poverty in our society. Poverty is “The state of being poor and not having enough money to take care of the basic needs, such as food, clothing, warmth and shelter” (Encarta dictionary, nd).  Poverty is a serious social issue in New Zealand and affects everyone in the country.  UNICEF recognizes this by supporting and being a core member of the Every Child Counts coalition.  These reports 1000 days to get it right for every child, and He Ara Hou: The Pathway Forward which highlights the cost of child poverty in New Zealand.

However bullying is one significant part of the abuse and violence within our communities which has an effect on children.   This has recently been highlighted in Hawkes Bay, when a young boy took his own life after suffering from bullying. The victim’s friend reminds the community we have to be more aware of bullying and how this can affect children.  This is a link to the article http://www.hawkesbaytoday.co.nz/news/teenage-voice-say-no-to-bullies/1827391/ .

What is bullying? “ Bullying can be described as offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, an abuse of power that undermines, humiliates or injures the recipient” (Ministry of Business Innovation and employment, n.d).

Bullying takes the rights away from the child to be safe and enjoy their environment.  Bullying can happen anywhere and more than likely your child will be bullied at some stage of their lives. Dr Toni Noble says that “bullying is unacceptable but is more likely to be reported now” (Kidspot.co.nz).  However, ‘cyber-bullying’ is on the increase and this is a reason for the society of New Zealand to be aware and stand up for the rights of children.  If you want to know more about ‘bullying’ and ‘cyber- bullying’ refer to this website http://www.kidspot.co.nz/article+2547+39+Facts-and-figures-about-bullying.htm

 
Louise Marsh, Rob McGee, Shyamala Nada-Raja, Sheila Williams Brief report: state cyber- bullying has a similar impact on traditional bullying. Moreover text bullying seems to be more common and has equal impact, as this can happen anytime and anywhere (2010).

When I read further onto the reports I noticed that youth suicide statistics have been high and the people of New Zealand are fighting back.   I realised that quite often that Bullying has quite a bit to do with Youth Suicide.    One News January 2011 stated in their article, Full UN report on Children’s Rights in NZ, the Government is aware and is committed to reducing the rates of youth suicide.  Through positive improvements and campaigns by the National Action Plan on preventing suicide rates of young people have declined.  Did you know that New Zealand was one of the first countries to develop a national youth suicide prevention strategy?  Here is the link to the article if you would like to read more about this article http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/full-un-report-children-s-rights-in-nz-4004135.

Unfortunately after reading the information about youth suicide I was saddened by the rates and numbers of young people taking their lives.  There are New Zealander’s that are taking the initiative and supporting the youth suicide by using Facebook to Stop youth suicide in New Zealand.  There was a Waikato mental health nurse Kahui Neho who worked with a team from a motor bike club to launch the Riders Against Teenage Suicide (RATS) Green Ribbon Ride campaign (Waikato Times, Feb 2013).  The Ministry of Social Development has a New Zealand Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy Evaluation Phase One and Phase Two. 

Another interesting read on Youth suicide by Dr. Amanda Nickerson http://www.education.com/reference/article/bullying-suicide-facts/

So, where is the help?

The Human Rights Commission works [HRC] alongside the Children’s Commissions Office [CCO] to support children’s rights to personal security, freedom to express themselves  and to enjoy the education system free of abuse and violence in the school environment.  To read further about the analysis report by The Human Rights Commission on School violence, bullying and abuse http://www.hrc.co.nz/hrc_new/hrc/cms/files/documents/01-Sep-2009_14-08-40_Human_Rights_School_Violence_FINAL.pdf (Human Rights Commission, 2009).

 

Likewise, Children’s Rights in New Zealand are supported by using different strategies which in turn collects information which guides government’s actions.  An example is when the Children’s Issues Centre produced the Stocktake Report, February 2004. Children and adults were active participants in this research which aimed to find out if children and young people’s perspectives were heard in New Zealand. This report was then used in a consultation by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner with 150 young people and 150 national decision makers (Human Rights in New Zealand Today, 2013). The Office of Children’s Commissioner (n.d) says

“The Office of the Children's Commissioner advocates for the best interests of all children and young people in New Zealand. The Office of the Children's Commissioner looks to ensure all of their rights are respected and upheld” http://www.occ.org.nz/aboutus/about_the_office_of_the_childrens_commissioner

 Are the rights of young children being protected in New Zealand?

I briefly discussed the implications of Bullying and Youth Suicide and I feel that the rights of the youth are being protected by the New Zealand community as we are aware and taking precautions.

When I think and see the articles of children’s rights I see that a majority of the New Zealand community are trying very hard at protecting our children using different strategies, however there are still children who  needs protecting from harm.  One of the ways that we are protecting children is by recognising that we have a Poverty, abuse and violence issues.

There is a lot of information about these social issues and each one has its own strategies to try minimising the effects on children and their communities. For this blog I have focused more on bullying and only briefly looked at how these other social issues effect the rights of children. Considering the research I have covered I believe that the people of New Zealand do care and are going the extra mile to help the youth and young people to protect themselves and others, reminding us that ‘children have rights’.

 From here I will look at how are the children' s rights being protected in New Zealand.

References:



Dr. Amanda Nickerson,. Bullying and Suicide: Get the Facts. IN Education .com. Retrieved from.  http://www.education.com/reference/article/bullying-suicide-facts/

Facts and figures about bullying.  KIdspot.co.nz, your kids your life. Retrieved from http://www.kidspot.co.nz/article+2547+39+Facts-and-figures-about-bullying.htm


Marsh, Louise ; Mcgee, Rob ; Nada - Raja, Shyamala ; Williams, Sheila. Journal of Adolescence, 2010, 33 (1), p.237-240 [Peer Reviewed Journal] Brief Report: Text Bullying and Taditional Bullying among New Zealand Secondary Students. ISSN 0140-1971, 10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.06.001. Retrieved From: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140197109000797.

Or http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ872508&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ872508   Keywords: Bullying; Text bullying; Adolescents; School

One News Full UN report on children's rights in NZ. Published: 8:42AM Friday January 21, 2011 Source: ONE News Retrieved from: http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/full-un-report-children-s-rights-in-nz-4004135.

Office of the Children's Commissioner. (2004-2008). Retrieved from:  http://www.occ.org.nz/aboutus/about_the_office_of_the_childrens_commissioner

Waikato Times. Making noise to raise youth suicide awareness. Retrieved from:  http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/8364430/Making-noise-to-raise-youth-suicide-awareness
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