Child Safety Essay Example
This child safety argumentative essay will focus on some of the threats children are exposed to today. This child safety essay outlines several safety issues that all stakeholders concerned with protecting children should be aware of. UNICEF has been at the forefront advocating for children rights, but more needs to be done if child safety is to be realized. The ongoing wars in Syria, Yemen, CAR, Democratic Republic of Congo, and other war-torn nations, have exposed children to violence, abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and even torture.
Human rights activists have engaged many child safety essay topics to express their displeasure on how the involved governments have failed to protect children from danger. According to the activists, violence and war only provide an environment that is conducive for children trafficking since governments' protective operations are usually destabilized. Children have been trafficked and sold to brothels whereby they are exposed to all forms of negativity, including child prostitution. Other children have been exposed to child labor and even slavery. Unaccompanied children fleeing war and conflict areas also face the risk of violence and exploitation since there is nobody to protect them. Europol reported that at least 10,000 children disappeared after arriving in Europe, and they fear that those children may have landed in the hands of child trafficking syndicates.
Human rights groups have expressed the need to protect children from chaotic environments. In most of the child safety essay topics engaged by children rights groups, they have voiced their concern on the growing acts of violence meted on children around the world. Ideally, ggovernments have a mandate to protect children from any kind of harm regardless of their social status. Moreover, children from marginalized groups are often exposed to harm since the government has not placed their protection as a priority. In addition, human rights statistics reveal that, in every five minutes, a child dies because of violence.
Despite violence condemnation from the United Nations and the international community, the harsh reality is that children still are exposed to violence. The growing violence cases reflect an imbalance and abuse of power. The perpetrators are using their power to inflict pain to their victims (children). The evidence of violence toward children across the continents and cultures cannot be ignored. The violence is often perpetrated with impunity in our homes, community, and institutions.
UNICEF attests that children without parental care are prone to face violence, exploitation, child labor, neglect, and abuse. Ideally, the role of a parent is to protect his or her children from any harm. Children who in past have experienced acts of violence in a homely environment are prone to becoming perpetrators of violence or accept violence as the norm. Therefore, it is important for parents to know that violence begets violence and thereafter it becomes a vicious cycle. But what are the impacts of violence on children?
Impact of Violence on Children
Globally, there is growing condemnation of the violence inflicted to vulnerable children. Many child safety essays have been written to address this issue. In response, the International Child Rights and Development Framework formulated some programs on this subject, which have been adopted by UN member states. The framework has provided child violence prevention measures to make sure that children enjoy the right to live in dignity and integrity. In this section of the child safety essay outline, we touch on some of the causes and impacts of violence on children.
Impact on Cognitive & Behavioral Development
Violence, exploitation, and abuse have a devastating and long-lasting impact on children's psychological and mental health, and this is worth mentioning in this essay about child safety. As reported in many scientific child safety essays, the well-being of children's cognitive and behavioral development is adversely affected. The effect depends on the frequency, nature, severity, and the length of exposure. It is important to understand that the effect is not uniform in all children. Factors like the role within the family, age, gender, personality, and social economic factors determine the extent to which a child will be affected by violence. As demonstrated by UNICEF, children up to a certain degree can remain resilient in the face of violence. Psychological research on children reveals that children tend to adopt coping strategies to remain resilient in such times.
Impact on Performance in School
As we've already mentioned, violence brings about cognitive impairment in children. Since these kids are mentally affected by the violence, they end up performing poorly in school. Mental problems like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicide all affects the child's mental capacity. Depressed children are not in a capacity to concentrate in class since their mind is always disoriented.
Impact on Associations
Failure to address and properly mitigate the impacts of trauma, children often begins to have difficulty forming a trusting relationship. As the situation worsens, they find it hard to cope with the demands of schooling or finding employment. Psychologists confirm that the trauma and stress of violence can impair brain development during childhood. It happens when the traumatic stressors cluster together.
Psychologically, and as revealed in many pieces of essay about child safety, the effects of childhood trauma are long-term, powerful, and recurring, and they go beyond the visible behavioral indicators. Additional effects like developmental delays, emotional problems, cognitive impairment, are high risk. Again, the additional effects depend on other factors like age, gender, and environment. Some children hide all these effects over time and therefore are invisible to a caregiver or a parent if the perpetrator is not a family member.
Finally, some children have higher acceptance of violence or becoming violent and at times, end up passing attributes of violence to their peers and the next generation. To curb the menace, services of professional counselor should be sought or else more damage will be done eventually.
National & International Child Protection Systems
Children's right to protection has been clearly set up by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNRC). Under the convention, Article 19 protects children from all forms of violence, either physical or mental. In addition, the Article protects children from any kind of injury or abuse, neglect, negligent treatment, and exploitation.
The 2006 World Report on violence against children revealed that violence against children is growing day by day. The study provided a clear definition of child violence and came up with measures ought to be undertaken to adequately respond to children violence in all forms of setting. Due to the increasing violence against children, the UN has established Special Representative Office of the UN Secretary-General on violence against children. UN General Assembly in 2009 agreed to embrace guidelines or Alternative Care of Children. Legally, the Alternatives are non-binding but they represent internationally endorsed guidance authority to promote the implantation of UNCRC for children without parental care. The following are some of the preventive approaches.
Preventive Approaches
This section of child safety essay will touch on several preventive approaches which have been embraced to eliminate child violence. First, the guideline advises on the need to prevent and adequately respond to children in both public and private spaces. In addition, the guideline is keen to prevent separation of children from their families unless it is done in the interest of the child.
The other preventive approach the guideline has focused on is to empower families with attitudes, skills, capacities, and tools in order to provide maximum protection to their children. Children cannot be exposed to degrading activities like prostitution if their families are not poor. Statistics show that poverty is one of the factors which have compromised on child's safety, and many child safety essay examples can attest to it. Accordingly, due to poverty, some parents sell their children to child traffickers because they can do nothing to protect and save them. However, if parents are provided with relevant economic skills, ultimately they will be able to provide for their families.
The other preventive approach we will discuss in this child safety essay is the guideline to emphasize the responsibility of the government to provide appropriate support to strengthen families and prevent violence against children. State has a role to play in ensuring the safety of children. If a government enforces laws which prohibit violence, abuse, child prostitution, and child labor against children, the perpetrators will retreat. Governments have enough machinery to crack down any form of violence against children.
In addition, the guideline protects children under alternative care setting from behavior management that constitute torture, cruelty, inhuman or degrading treatment. As per the guideline, the implementers are barred from using force. Also, the guideline prohibits treatment that compromises physical or mental health abuse.
Finally, in a situation whereby violence has occurred, children are given full access to the impartial, effective, and participatory process in order to report or respond to any concern raised. This needed to be mentioned in my essay for child safety.
Challenges In Implementing Legal Frameworks
In many nations in the world, child protection legislations are present but the political will to implement them has been a challenge. Political interests have watered down the need to address child safety. For example, in war-torn nations like Syria and South Sudan, the governments have ignored the need not to involve kids in the violence. Some rebels have been accused of accepting children to be part of their combat without considering that they are minors. Those kids who are actively involved in violent activities, most of them are unaware of psychological and mental tortures they are bringing upon themselves.
In this child safety essay writing, we discuss the socially acceptable and restriction of resources to deliver the child protection services. For instance, some countries have special police unit to deal with child trafficking but you will find that the units are underfunded. Children traffickers have upped their game since they understand the international community is watching their moves. To catch them, local police and Interpol must work together to dismantle the cartels. There are many child safety essay topics on how governmental agencies can liaise together to deliver effective surveillance work. If governments willingly collaborate with the public to get information, child safety will be improved tremendously.
The Government Issue
The problem with the government when it comes to accruing information from the public is that, at times they use force and other unorthodox approaches which help no one. The state oversight role over the institutions legally mandated to increase child safety must be purely professional. In addition, the state must facilitate the training of officials mandated to deal with criminals who are perpetrating child violence. The commitment must be rights-based approach and use tools which positively facilitates their work.
The tradition and social acceptance of corporal punishment is another issue in this section of child safety essay writing, where we focus on efforts made by the UN. For some time UN, committee on the Rights of the Child has a long-standing legal position in regards to corporal punishment. The committee since 2006 has established an obligation on governments to swiftly prohibit and eliminate all forms of corporal punishment. States have been mandated to outline and enforce legislative provisions.
Cultural Practices
Cultural practices like early marriage have negatively affected child safety programs. Communities which support and engage in early marriage practice protect the culprits. Even government officers who come from such communities stay mum about the issues. They fear being labeled misfits and enemy of the community. Some African communities even curse those children who run away from early marriages. In addition, the child's parents disownthe child. Such children when they grow up find it hard to find a husband because they are cursed.
In this child safety essay writing piece, I will discuss how early marriage is deeply rooted in cultural practice in Malian society. Statistics show that more than 60% of girls married are underage. To make matters worse, the girls are cut off from family and friends leaving them without a support system. In situations like this whereby the caregivers and parents are threatening child safety, it is hard for the government to take action.
Unless institutions legally mandated to protect children are vigilant enough, such children will live a life of despair. Early marriage psychologically destroys a child emotionally, psychologically and mentally. Some of them are married to older men who have the same age as their grandfathers.
Unless such communities are educated about the impacts of early marriage, children living in such communities will be always at risk. Civil education can help caregivers and parents to understand their role in their child physical, psychological, and mental health. In children's lives community are important because they provide an immediate environment in which children grow and develop.
If different actors of the community are mobilized to work together and protect children, a more protective, safer, and happier environment will be created. In addition, a community creates a domain at which people share common resources as a significant function in the provision of immediate protective and developmental environment for children. No doubt, a community has a role to play to safeguard child safety.
What Does Mobilizing Communities For Child Safety Involve?
Do you think mobilization is an easy task? No is not and it demands a lot of commitment from all stakeholders. In addition, a lot of money has to been pumped in the program for it to be successful. Community-based child protection approach brings together the central government, local authorities, community-based organization, NGO's, and other interested groups. The combined effort is geared to respond to child abuse, violence, exploitation, and neglect issues. The other mandate discussed in this essay for child safety is that community-based intervention programs are structured to promote an enabling environment that fosters a holistic approach to child protection. Most of the approaches aim to establish long-term and effective solutions because the affected communities are given an opportunity to take part in finding a solution. At long last, the process of change and social transformation is initiated. Community-based child safety interventions are guided by the following principles.
- Developing long-term solutions
- Emphasizing the role of the social and political context play in child safety.
- Using participatory approaches to promote both children and families to define their needs and ways to meet them
- Mutual trust between the communities and external organizations working with them
Conclusion
This child safety argumentative essay has highlighted specific issues--which I believe if all stakeholders agree to solve, children safety will improve tremendously. Everyone has a role to play in order to bring children safety to new levels. Some of the issues discussed in child safety essay example eventually will affect the whole society because soon the affected children will be parents and caregivers.
