In a world where children are often treated as second-class citizens, Sweden shines as the champion of children’s rights.

Listen to the children

THERE is a saying that goes: “Children should be seen and not heard.” But, in Sweden, children have a right to be heard, and their voices are loud and clear. In fact, the child’s perspective is adopted in all decisions and actions that affect children, and the influence and participation of children are ensured in areas such as community- and traffic-planning.

Known as “the country that protects its citizens from the cradle to the grave”, Sweden ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on June 21, 1990. As such, Sweden pledged to follow the provisions of the CRC, the basic message of which is that children must be respected. Even before this, Sweden caused quite a stir internationally in the 1970s, when it became the first country in the world to prohibit the spanking of children.

The idea is that children are not lesser beings, and if you are not supposed hit another adult, then you should not hit children either.

Says the Children’s Ombudsman, Lena Nyberg: “When the law came into force in 1979, there was a very clear legislation whereby it is illegal to use physical punishment against a child. At the same time, we had a big awareness campaign during which we disseminated information to parents. I would say one of the guards against physical punishment is the children themselves, because they know about their rights and they know that parents are not supposed to hit them. And you can also see that grown-ups sometimes tell other grown-ups not to use physical punishment. People’s attitudes have changed and most parents are aware that they have to use other means to discipline their children.”

Respect is a very important word when it comes to dealing with children, and the way we deal respectfully with adults is how we should deal with children. There are other ways of telling children what is right and what is wrong, says Nyberg, and it is better to discuss and have a conversation with the child.

“If the children are too young to understand, then they also wouldn’t understand if you hit them,” she adds. “You have to give them respect in all situations.”

Nyberg agrees that people tend to underestimate children, and that it is wrong to think that children are unable to tell us what they want.

“It’s not just ‘I want a dog’ or ‘I want a toy,’” she says. “They know what they need from a very early age. When you really sit down and discuss with them about what’s important to them in their lives, they know very, very well what they need.

“For example, most of the children say that good parents are the important thing in their lives. Children are also aware of the importance of education, good health, so they are as clever as we are. It’s just that they don’t have the same level of experience.”

And that is why the Children’s Ombudsman goes to schools and youth clubs to listen to children and young adults and hear out their views and opinions.

Three years after the ratification of the CRC, the Swedish Government established the Office of the Children’s Ombudsman to monitor the implementation of the convention. The Children’s Ombudsman is appointed by the government for a term of six years and the Ombudsman’s main duty is “to promote the rights and interests of children and young people” as set forth by the CRC.

Although the Ombudsman does not supervise other authorities or have any influence on individual cases, one of the Ombudsman’s key duties is to participate in debates, promote public interest and influence the attitudes of the decision-makers and the public. Twice a year, responses to questionnaire surveys are obtained through several “contact classes,” and each year, the Ombudsman submits a report to the Swedish Government.

“We are not alone in working for children’s rights,” says Nyberg, who was appointed in 2001. “Save The Children, Unicef, the Red Cross and many other voluntary organisations and NGOs have been working quite hard on the same issues.

“Today, in the legislation in Sweden, we have more of the child’s perspective, such as in family law and also in the Social Acts. What we try to highlight is for children to have the right to be individuals and all the rights of a human being. That’s one of the reasons why we always try to highlight the child’s rights in any discussion of the laws.”

Nyberg says the Ombudsman’s work can be divided into three areas. The first is to be the voice of the children, to speak up for them on a general level.

“We try to listen to children and get information from them,” she explains, “and try to speak out on what they think are the important issues, such as bullying, stress, the environment in school, custody issues. These are four issues we have been working on, because children have told us that they are very important issues.”

Secondly, the Ombudsman promotes the CRC, while the third aim is to monitor how the local and regional level authorities work with the convention. Child-impact assessment is one of the important models used in making decisions that affect children.

“Depending on what the issue is and what decision you are supposed to make, you have to see what the possible solutions are,” says Nyberg. “Then you have to consider the consequences of each solution. Once you can see the consequence of each solution, then you have to choose the solution that is the best for the child.”

She stresses that what is really important is to listen to the child and try to understand her or his views. “The child is not supposed to decide, but the child has to be a part of the decision that is going to be made,” says Nyberg. “So you have to listen and really care about what the child says.”

The problems faced by Swedish children include bullying, depression and increasing psychological problems such as anorexia and suicide. But Nyberg says the successes of Swedish child policy outnumber the problems. Children in Sweden generally have very high living standards.

The welfare environment ensures that all basic amenities and good healthcare are available to them.

In the year that the anti-spanking law came into effect, 60% of children still faced physical punishment, but 20 years later, the number had decreased to 8%.

“We have been working hard on children’s rights, and I would say that compared to other countries, we have achieved a good environment for children,” says Nyberg. “We have almost no children living in the streets. We have no orphanages. A very small number of children live in foster-care homes.”

20 February 2006

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2006/2/20/lifefocus/13128119&sec=lifefocus

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