Children’s rights are at massive risk of violation because children lack independence from their parents and parental guardians. Therefore, children cannot fully represent their interests and often do not even acknowledge their rights. Thus, society’s responsibility is to address the violations of the children’s rights and ensure their protection. Especially during the crisis, such as coronavirus pandemic, children have suffered from various negative impacts such as the economic slump, high level of unemployment, and high mortality rate across the globe.
Even though children have less severe symptoms in case of contacting coronavirus than other age groups, they still experience significant adverse impacts of the pandemic. Raman et al. (2020) have developed a strategy of protecting children’s rights during the COVID-19 outbreaks to minimize the short- and long-term devastating effects on children’s lives. They call for visibility of children and young people during the pandemic, universal access to quality healthcare for children of all ages, proactive assessment of their families and communities, and recognition of orphaned children. Therefore, it is essential to provide the needed care to the young population during this challenging time because they cannot advocate for their rights themselves.
Universally, both intended and non-intended harm towards children is punished more severely than towards adults. For example, many countries consider a sexual assault of children, especially by people who have reached the legal age of majority, as a more severe crime than a sexual assault of adults. Moreover, the offender is punished not only from the legal perspective but also is subjected to heavy ostracization from society, whereas, for example, adult victims in certain communities are judged more than the perpetrator of the assault.
Human service workers need to pay extra attention to the young population, and they have to perform patience and empathy while communicating with a child. Children are less skillful than adults in expressing their needs and discomfort; therefore, social workers are responsible for representing children’s rights correctly. For example, the human service worker’s responsibility is to identify a child’s unique conditions, such as health conditions, trauma, and other irregular needs that children cannot declare themselves.
In order to raise awareness for children’s rights, it is crucial to conduct and implement policies aimed to provide the needed support for children. Such policies can be applied to specific conditions such as the COVID-19 crisis or humanitarian disasters, or there also policies that represent children’s interest in general. Governments should devote their resources to developing and updating these policies, depending on their results and received feedback. They also need to provide legal and human assistance to enforce them so that children can be protected in various spheres of life, such as at home, school, or in the courtroom.
In conclusion, children require a proper representation of their interests by adults and governmental institutions, especially during times of crisis. They are the most vulnerable social group because not only do they not have autonomy, they are also easily subjected to negative influence and rarely possess comprehensive knowledge about their rights. Moreover, there are also children from poor social-economic backgrounds who are even less protected. Therefore, specific measures need to be applied to ensure the safety of the young population, with the focus on children with special needs or who suffer from painful conditions.
Reference
Raman, S., Harries, M., Nathawad, R., Kyeremateng, R., Seth, R., Lonne, B. (2020). Where do we go from here? A child rights-based response to COVID-19.BMJ Paediatrics Open, 4(1), e000714. Web.