Child advocacy
Encyclopedia
Child advocacy refers to a range of individuals, professionals and advocacy organizations who promote the optimal development of children. An individual or organization engaging in advocacy
typically seeks to protect children's rights
which may be abridged or abused
in a number of areas.
)
Rights
can be divided into two categories: negative (rights to be free from) and positive (rights to). Children's negative rights are violated when some dangerous or harmful action is taken directly against them.
for those who have already been injured in some way. A child advocate may also seek to ensure that children have access to positive influences or services which will benefit their lives such as education
, childcare
and proper parenting
. Malnutrition is another form of harm-there are many children who go to bed without eating and it is looked over by child welfare or the police.
Another form of child advocacy happens at the policy level and aims at changing the policies of governments or even transnational policies. These advocates do lobbying, policy research, file lawsuits and engage in other types of policy change techniques. Many use Internet based techniques to influence decision makers.
agencies, at national, sub-national or local levels, as independent public bodies promoting and protecting the rights of children. Other child advocates exist in school, community
, and home environments, and work on an individual
, group
or government
al level(s) to protect and nurture children. In most circumstances, mothers, fathers, family and teachers all advocate on behalf of children, although it is well recognized that we all have the ability and responsibility to advocate on behalf of children. In Wales
the Welsh Assembly Government
has set up the National Advocacy Meic helpline which allows children to talk directly to advocates. These independent advocates support and represent the concerns of children.
Eight Canadian provinces, including Ontario
, have an official child advocate whose job it is to protect the interests and welfare of all the children in the province. Within the criminal justice
system, child advocates are concerned with the developmental needs of children and young people, and can play an important role in ensuring due process
rights for young people in conflict with the law
. They can help provide a voice for children and young people, ensure just and humane conditions of custody, and guard the privacy rights surrounding record provisions. They can also work to ensure that the special legal protections assigned to young people are provided with dignity and fairness.
. These multidisciplinary teams are made up of law enforcement officers, child protective service personnel, prosecutors, and advocates. Children who have disclosed abuse are interviewed by a forensic interviewer at such centers. Referrals for medical or mental health
treatment are also made for the child and their family members.
Voices for America's Children
is a national advocacy organization with more than 60 members committed to speaking up for the well-being of children.
The Child Advocate is a national not for profit organization with connections to hundreds of other organizations and resources to address sexual abuse but also many other advocacy needs for children and families. Their goals are to serve the needs of children, families and professionals while addressing mental health, medical, educational, legal and legislative issues.
The multidisciplinary approach
to child abuse
investigations is designed with the intention of reducing the secondary trauma associated with the disclosure and subsequent investigation of abuse.
Child Advocacy Centers are accredited by the National Children's Alliance.
Child Advocacy organizations at the policy level exist at state and national levels and as transnational NGOs. The organizations that they work in vary from smaller organizations at the local level to multinational voluntary organizations concerned about international child rights.
has long advocated on behalf of children through UNICEF, whose position on children was formulated and publicly formalized in the Convention on the Rights of the Child
. The convention sets out a summary of collective ideals and a covenant of commitments to all children on the planet.
for young children. There is also recognition that in most countries, children are not seen as having the full citizenship status which confers certain rights and responsibilities as adults.
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...
typically seeks to protect children's rights
Children's rights
Children's rights are the human rights of children with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to the young, including their right to association with both biological parents, human identity as well as the basic needs for food, universal state-paid education,...
which may be abridged or abused
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
in a number of areas.
Rights
(Also see Children's rightsChildren's rights
Children's rights are the human rights of children with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to the young, including their right to association with both biological parents, human identity as well as the basic needs for food, universal state-paid education,...
)
Rights
Rights
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory...
can be divided into two categories: negative (rights to be free from) and positive (rights to). Children's negative rights are violated when some dangerous or harmful action is taken directly against them.
What child advocates do
One type of children's advocate typically represents or gives voice to an individual or group whose concerns and interests are not being heard. A child advocate will try to prevent children from being harmed and may try to obtain justiceJustice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
for those who have already been injured in some way. A child advocate may also seek to ensure that children have access to positive influences or services which will benefit their lives such as education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, childcare
Childcare
Child care means caring for and supervising child/children usually from 0–13 years of age. In the United States child care is increasingly referred to as early childhood education due to the understanding of the impact of early experiences of the developing child...
and proper parenting
Parenting
Parenting is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood...
. Malnutrition is another form of harm-there are many children who go to bed without eating and it is looked over by child welfare or the police.
Another form of child advocacy happens at the policy level and aims at changing the policies of governments or even transnational policies. These advocates do lobbying, policy research, file lawsuits and engage in other types of policy change techniques. Many use Internet based techniques to influence decision makers.
Where child advocates can be found
Several countries have established Children's OmbudsmanChildren's Ombudsman
The Children's Ombudsman, Children's Commissioner, Child Advocate, Children's Commission or equivalent body is a public authority in various countries charged with the protection and promotion of the rights of children and young people, either in society at large, or in specific categories such as...
agencies, at national, sub-national or local levels, as independent public bodies promoting and protecting the rights of children. Other child advocates exist in school, community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
, and home environments, and work on an individual
Individual
An individual is a person or any specific object or thing in a collection. Individuality is the state or quality of being an individual; a person separate from other persons and possessing his or her own needs, goals, and desires. Being self expressive...
, group
Group (sociology)
In the social sciences a social group can be defined as two or more humans who interact with one another, share similar characteristics and collectively have a sense of unity...
or government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
al level(s) to protect and nurture children. In most circumstances, mothers, fathers, family and teachers all advocate on behalf of children, although it is well recognized that we all have the ability and responsibility to advocate on behalf of children. In Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
the Welsh Assembly Government
Welsh Assembly Government
The Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales. It is accountable to the National Assembly for Wales, the legislature which represents the interests of the people of Wales and makes laws for Wales...
has set up the National Advocacy Meic helpline which allows children to talk directly to advocates. These independent advocates support and represent the concerns of children.
Eight Canadian provinces, including Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, have an official child advocate whose job it is to protect the interests and welfare of all the children in the province. Within the criminal justice
Criminal justice
Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts...
system, child advocates are concerned with the developmental needs of children and young people, and can play an important role in ensuring due process
Due process
Due process is the legal code that the state must venerate all of the legal rights that are owed to a person under the principle. Due process balances the power of the state law of the land and thus protects individual persons from it...
rights for young people in conflict with the law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
. They can help provide a voice for children and young people, ensure just and humane conditions of custody, and guard the privacy rights surrounding record provisions. They can also work to ensure that the special legal protections assigned to young people are provided with dignity and fairness.
Child Advocacy Centers
Child Advocacy Centers are neutral, safe locations where multidisciplinary teams investigate disclosures of child sexual or severe physical abusePhysical abuse
Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.-Forms of physical abuse:*Striking*Punching*Belting*Pushing, pulling*Slapping*Whipping*Striking with an object...
. These multidisciplinary teams are made up of law enforcement officers, child protective service personnel, prosecutors, and advocates. Children who have disclosed abuse are interviewed by a forensic interviewer at such centers. Referrals for medical or mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
treatment are also made for the child and their family members.
Voices for America's Children
Voices for America's Children
-About:Voices for America's Children is a 501 non-profit organization located in Washington, DC. Voices is a U.S. nonpartisan, national organization that advocates for the well-being of children at the federal, state and local levels of government...
is a national advocacy organization with more than 60 members committed to speaking up for the well-being of children.
The Child Advocate is a national not for profit organization with connections to hundreds of other organizations and resources to address sexual abuse but also many other advocacy needs for children and families. Their goals are to serve the needs of children, families and professionals while addressing mental health, medical, educational, legal and legislative issues.
The multidisciplinary approach
Multidisciplinary approach
A multidisciplinary approach to problem solving involves drawing appropriately from multiple disciplines to redefine problems outside of normal boundaries and reach solutions based on a new understanding of complex situations....
to child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
investigations is designed with the intention of reducing the secondary trauma associated with the disclosure and subsequent investigation of abuse.
Child Advocacy Centers are accredited by the National Children's Alliance.
Child Advocacy organizations at the policy level exist at state and national levels and as transnational NGOs. The organizations that they work in vary from smaller organizations at the local level to multinational voluntary organizations concerned about international child rights.
The United Nations
On the international stage, the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
has long advocated on behalf of children through UNICEF, whose position on children was formulated and publicly formalized in the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Convention on the Rights of the Child
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty setting out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children...
. The convention sets out a summary of collective ideals and a covenant of commitments to all children on the planet.
Philosophy
One thing that all child advocates have in common is healthy respectRespect
Respect denotes both a positive feeling of esteem for a person or other entity , and also specific actions and conduct representative of that esteem. Respect can be a specific feeling of regard for the actual qualities of the one respected...
for young children. There is also recognition that in most countries, children are not seen as having the full citizenship status which confers certain rights and responsibilities as adults.