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"Tough on Crime, Tough on the Causes of Crime"
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Thirty children have died in custody in the UK since 1990. There has never been an enquiry into any of them.

This struck me as particularly poignant in light of the recent focus on youth crime, in particular knife crime. Hardly a day seems to pass without a story about some teenage “yob” having stabbed another young person, of gangs roaming the streets, threatening violence. The government seem desperate, and the public afraid.

But does this really reflect the reality of Britain today?

In 2005/06 301, 860 offences were committed by under-18s. The most common crime was theft and handling. This represented a fall from previous years in crimes committed. And yet convictions rose by 26%. 2,900 young people have been locked up in the past year alone. Children as young as 10 are deemed criminally responsible, an age declared unacceptable internationally.

As Y Care International's Youth Justice in Action report puts it, efforts at rehabilitation or keeping young people out of the criminal justice system are often represented as being “soft on crime”. The results of taking the “hard” approach are appalling. 792 child protection referrals involving children in custody in the past two years. 677 recorded instances of self-harm in 11 months. 8 major injuries in 6 months caused by the use of restraint methods. A young boy choking to death on his own vomit as a result of being restrained, after refusing to clean a sandwich toaster. Why are these stories not in the papers?

http://www.youthjusticeinaction.org/youthjustice

August 26, 2008 | 6:21 AM Comments  0 comments

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Reporting to the Committee on the Rights of the Child
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

“The key to understanding the Children's Rights Convention is to know, accept and internalise that a child is an independent human being, with subjective rights, and with the same entitlement to dignity and respect to personal integrity.” This is a quote from Professor Lucy Smith, one of the people responsible for looking at how well the UK is doing in terms of children's rights.

So do we accept children as independent human beings? Do we afford them the dignity they are entitled to? According to many, the answer is a definite no.

I live in a country where young people are criminalised for meeting in groups and hanging around, that uses dispersal orders and Mosquito devices to chase them away. Where 71% of media stories about young people are negative. Where it is legal to hit a child, but not a dog.

The government are to be inspected this autumn, and these issues will surely be commented upon. The Children's Rights Alliance for England has already made 152 recommendations, at least 100 of which are urgent, to avoid severe criticism from the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Many of these recommendations are things that could be done now by the government, and would send out a clear message that we are a country that respects its children and young people. What would your priorities be? Do you take a rights-based approach in your own work? What can or do you do to make sure children's rights are respected?

June 25, 2008 | 5:54 AM Comments  0 comments



Peer Education with Terrence Higgins Trust
Related to country: United Kingdom

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Things are getting competitive at the South West headquarters of Terrence Higgins Trust. We are in two teams, each lined up facing a bin, a pile of condoms and a plastic penis. We also have a pair of gardening gloves and goggles. Whilst wearing these, each person must manage to get a condom on and off the plastic penis. The first team to finish is the winner, and both teams are desperate to win. When it comes to my turn I put on the goggles and everything goes blurry. I can't find the edge of the condom packet, let alone get it open through the thick gloves. Finally the condom is in the bin, and I pass everything on to a team mate.

This is just one way the Terrence Higgins Trust's South West Young Leaders Board spends its time. It's a fun activity with a serious point; the goggles and gloves are meant to simulate the effects of drugs or alcohol on your ability to make good decisions. At each meeting we talk and debate about a wide range of issues, from contraception, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and abortion, to what makes a good relationship, male and female stereotypes and the law. We receive accredited training in sexual health and leadership skills, and get the chance to influence Terrence Higgins Trust campaigns.

The project also gives other young people the chance to run their own sex and relationships projects. Each regional board is given £5000 to award to local projects run by young people, for young people. A project can be awarded up to £1000 to run training courses, create campaigns, make DVDs or anything else they think will get their message across. So far, the response has been great. We have funded a tour for a forum theatre group, a DVD made by a dance group and a poster and workshop campaign in a youth centre to name a few. The young people I have met have said that they have learnt a lot themselves about sexual health, and that they would like to continue their projects in the future.

The more I learn, the more I realise how little Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) I had at school. This is a common message coming through from young people across the UK. A study by the United Kingdom Youth Parliament of more than 20,000 young people revealed that 40% thought that their SRE was either poor or very poor, whilst a further 33% thought it was average. 55% of all 12-15 year olds, and 57% of girls aged 16-17 had never been shown how to use a condom, demonstrating the huge variation in the way the UK educates its young people. 61% of boys and 70% of girls over the age of 17 said that they had never received any information about personal relationships.

Young people also said that they can do a better job of teaching about sex and relationships, because they are young people themselves, and they know what they need. Judging by the innovative ideas that young people have created through Young Leaders, there can be little doubt that this is true. My vision is that this kind of peer-led education and support continues, so that young people can get the best possible information and guidance in areas of sexual health, relationships and the wider citizenship curriculum. Clearly something has to change in the UK. We have the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Europe, we have the third highest rate of HIV in Europe (after Estonia and Portugal), and other STIs are on the rise - in the South West alone Syphilis has increased by 317% since 2005. Clearly young people are one of the groups most affected by these issues. Clearly they have a role to play in changing this situation for the better.

06 June 2008 EM

June 6, 2008 | 12:20 PM Comments  0 comments





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