Children as Citizens Book Launch

Megan Mitchell
National Children’s Commissioner

Children as Citizens Book Launch
University of South Australia
8 August 2014

Check Against Delivery

Introduction

Hello everyone and thank you for having me here. Thank you, Dr Dobson, for the kind introduction. Thank you in particular to Professor Pauline Harris, from the University of South Australia, and Harry Manatakis, Department for Education and Child Development, for inviting me to help celebrate the launch of their book, ‘Children as Citizens: Engaging with the Child’s Voice in Educational Settings’. And, of course, thank you to the University of South Australia, for hosting today’s event.

Before I begin I too would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we meet on today, and pay my respects to elders past and present.
 

Role of the Commissioner

As you know I commenced my appointment as the first National Children’s Commissioner, around 16 months ago, on the 25th of March 2013.

To recap a little on my role, which is set out in the Human Rights Act, my duties are to:

• be a national advocate for the rights and interests of  children;
• embed mechanisms that focus on children’s interests and enable their participation;
• provide national leadership and coordination on child rights issues;
• Promote awareness of the rights of children in Australia;
• Undertake research and educational programs to promote respect for and the enjoyment of children’s rights; and
• Examine laws, policies and programs to determine whether they protect the rights of children.

A key part of the role involves submitting a yearly report to Parliament through the Attorney General Minister.
 

Work so far – The Big Banter

This excellent book we are here to launch takes us on a philosophical and practical journey through the challenges, opportunities and benefits of deep and genuine consultation with children. In doing this it features the voices of hundreds of kids, families and practitioners.
As many of you would know my initial priority in role as National Children’s Commissioner was to conduct my own consultation with children which I called the Big Banter - to hear from children and their advocates about what issues are most important for children, to inform my priorities for action, and to hear about how I could best engage in my future work.

Through this consultation I met with well over 1,000 children face-to-face, and heard from a further 1,300 or so children online and through the post. I’ve also heard from hundreds of children’s advocates like yourselves. The Big Banter officially concluded in September last year and the Children’s Rights Report 2013 has since been tabled in Parliament. I was able to make sure the report reflected the voices of the children I met, a practical demonstration of how children’s voices can be put in front of decision makers.

What I learned from children will not be news for those of you here today: they want to be with their family and with their friends and be safe; they enjoy their freedoms and being able to play, be active and have fun, but they also appreciate fair boundaries and rules. They are particularly concerned about the level of violence, aggression and bullying in the community, and they would like to live in an environment that is free from drugs, alcohol and smoking.

Some children worry that they, or other children, can’t afford to do or have the things they would like, and they want more things to be available for free.

Children also want people to show more respect for one another, and they want to be respected and listened to. And they definitely want to have a say and to have their voice heard. Many children I spoke to also wanted to be more involved in decision making and political processes, and I have no doubt they would be quite capable of this.
 

Convention on the Rights of the Child

As National Children’s Commissioner, the Convention on the Rights of the Child provides the main framework for what I do.

The Convention is the most ratified international human rights treaty in the world. The Convention makes clear that children have the same human rights as adults, but that they also are entitled to special protection because of their unique vulnerabilities as children. By ratifying the Convention in 1990, Australia promised to protect and uphold the rights of children.
 

Article 12

Article 12 of that Convention gives to every child, including very young children, the right to be taken seriously and be heard in matters affecting them. These views should be given weight in accordance with the child’s age and maturity.

Fundamentally, children cannot exercise their rights if they are not recognised, have agency and be heard. This is why Article 12 is one of four guiding principles of the Convention. It recognises that this right is the key to their recognition and active citizenship.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has acknowledged that Australia has put some mechanisms in place for the participation of young people, but that significant gaps remain, in particular for children under 15. This is one of the reasons why the book we are launching is so important, focusing as it does on consultations with younger children mostly between three and eight years old.

The Committee also raised concerns on the inadequacy of mechanisms that enable child participation in the policies and decision-making affecting them in schools in particular. And while I believe this challenge goes well beyond the classroom, apart from the family, teachers and schools play a fundamental role in shaping the behaviours, attitudes, skills and opportunities for young people. Educational settings can be inclusive places that build the capabilities and self-worth of children, or they can exclude and disempower them.

As Children’s Commissioner I am especially interested in how we can promote meaningful participation of children in the decisions and processes that affect them, including at schools. In my 2013 report to Parliament, I made a recommendation that the Government sign on to the Third Optional Protocol to the Convention, on a Communications Procedure. Signing on to this Protocol would allow individual children in Australia to raise concerns, just as adults are able to do, regarding specific violations of their rights across the whole spectrum of rights under the Convention.

This is especially important for children in vulnerable situations, like those involved in care and protection and juvenile justice systems, those subject to family court proceedings, and children with disabilities, where the decisions that are being made have a significant impact on their lives, both immediately and in the long term. I therefore encourage everyone here today, in this 25th Anniversary year of the existence of the Convention, to join with me in advocating for Australia to sign up to and ratify this Protocol.

Being able to be heard, raise concerns, and be taken seriously also acts as a strong safeguarding measure for children. I do not believe we would be having a Royal Commission into sexual abuse against children in institutions today, if those institutions had had the best interests of children at heart, including ways to hear from and respect the views of children, way back in the day.

But hearing from children is not only empowering for them, it helps adults to get things right. Every day, policies, programs and laws are being designed and delivered that impact directly or indirectly on children. As the experts in their own lives, ignoring their experiences and perspectives will invariably lead to interventions that just don’t work for them. On the Banter I was constantly blown away about the wisdom and knowledge that children hold, and no doubt the book’s authors have had this experience too. Children are a rich resource who we need to harness to its fullest. We need to get creative and do all we can to provide platforms for the ‘hundred languages of children’ in a multiplicity of ways such as are described in the book – the written word, music, dance, song, visual arts and games and so on.

Privileging the voice of children, really listening to what they have to say and taking it on board, is a powerful message to children about their value. I have found that realising that they have rights and understanding that what they have to say will be respected is incredibly empowering for children. It’s like they have put on a coat of armour, grown a muscle or two, and stand up that little bit taller. It makes them feel both visible and valued.
 

Barriers to participation

The book we are launching also challenges us to think about the authenticity of our engagement with children, how we can build our listening skills and create a genuine and ongoing dialogue with children. This genuine involvement of children in issues that affect them was a major theme of my first report to Parliament.

While some might scratch their heads and wonder why children should be involved in decision making and how this could happen, it’s not as unreasonable or hard as they may think.

For example, when decisions are being made about an individual child, in certain contexts a legislative requirement to hear the views of children may be an option, as is the case in the family court system and many child protection systems. Other mechanisms might be guidelines, information and education on the benefits of involving children in decisions.

At the policy development level, there are a number of ways that children can be engaged in the process, including through schools and classrooms, youth advisory boards, web and face-to-face consultations on specific issues, targeted focus groups as part of research projects, youth parliaments and forums, as well as working in partnership with community organisations with significant child and youth representation.

Children are particularly vulnerable to having their rights and freedoms abused or restricted, so it is critically important that processes for receiving information about breaches of rights and freedoms should be accessible to children. In particular, we need to make sure mechanisms for resolving complaints and concerns are accessible and available to children.

For example, young people are entitled to full protection under consumer laws and so should have ready access to clear information on things like mobile phone plans and costs. There should be clear and accessible information about the rights of children in their interactions with police and law enforcement officials. Additionally, children should know the laws and their rights in respect to privacy, cyber safety and bullying, how they can be protected from exploitation and abuse, and where they can go to for help.
 

Conclusion

To conclude, the vast majority of the children I have spoken to, let alone adults, are not aware that children have rights. Understanding, listening to, and valuing the views of our children and young people, is crucial to ensuring they can realise their rights and be active participants in society.

This is why I am thrilled to be able to celebrate the launch of ‘Children as Citizens: Engaging with the Child’s Voice in Educational Settings’, a book which reports the research of the ‘Children’s Voices Project’, and signals a change in thinking about how children can influence policy, and shape the development of a more child-friendly space in which to live. As far as I know South Australia is the only state to date that has taken on the challenge to be known as a child friendly state, following the lead of the United Nations Child Friendly Cities Project.  It is my vision that every community and every institution across the country also takes up this challenge – to be child safe and child centred. Finding ways to hear from children and genuinely engaging with them is the most fundamental of all building blocks for this to happen. The book we launch today understands that and as such is sure to be a fantastic resource for people willing to become champions of children’s rights.

Thank you.