Almost 100 years ago, the 1916 proclamation called on the Republic to cherish all her children equally. In that time, the children of Ireland have been physically, mentally and sexually abused at home, in school, in state care; they have suffered poverty, illiteracy, ill health, inequality; they have been neglected, abandoned; they have died in state care.
Good news came last month when an opinion poll suggested 62% of adults would vote in favour of a children’s referendum; that left 1% against, and 37% on the fence.
Fergus Finlay of Barnardos, speaking on behalf of the Saving Childhood group said: “There can be no further excuses; government must fulfil the promise they made in 2006 and set a date for a referendum to make sure children’s rights are included at the heart of Irish law.”
In 2006, the Baby Ann case highlighted the need for constitutional change to provide for children’s rights. It involved the struggle between the birth parents and the prospective adoptive parents for custody of a two-year old girl, Baby Ann. It was tragic for all involved but, as Jillian van Turnhout of the Children’s Rights Alliance said at the time: “The child is the greatest loser as her rights were not and could not be taken into account by the Supreme Court.” Due to the absence of constitutional recognition for children’s rights the judges were not permitted to take the child’s best interest into consideration in their judgment.
Following the litany of reports into institutional child abuse, the headlines about children dying in HSE care, the shocking failures of the system in the Kilkenny incest case, momentum has gathered over the past decade for constitutional change to afford children rights of their own. Finally, there is appetite among the public for such change; all that is needed is the political will.
Strengthening children’s rights in the constitution is not about giving children the right to divorce their parents. The UN Convention clearly states a child’s best interests are served by being with their parents wherever possible. But when parents put their children in dangerous situations, the state must be able to take action and provide support.
“Children’s rights are not about driving a wedge between parents and their children,: says van Turnhout. “Parents and children are inextricably linked: you can’t be a parent without having a child. Inevitably, when children’s rights are not acknowledged, it places parents under enormous pressure.”
In the small number of cases where a child is failed by their parent, the state needs to be able to intervene. At the centre of the headline-grabbing abuse cases, custody battles, parental child abduction and adoption cases are vulnerable children who depend on the state to safeguard their rights.
“In reality, children’s voices are largely absent from the legal system where many serious decisions are made about their lives,” solicitor Catherine Ghent said last month. “Strengthening children’s rights will make a very practical difference to children’s lives. We cannot continue to sideline children in processes that affect them; we must begin a new chapter, engaging with children’s views and putting their best interests at the centre of legal processes affecting them.”
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