The kids aren’t alright. #
In Australia, there are about 5 million children and young people under the age of 18.
One in four children experience child sexual abuse before the age of 18, one in six children live below the poverty line, one in four children are obese, 20 per cent of children are not school ready, suicide is the leading cause of death of young people aged 15-24 and more than 78,000 children receive support for homelessness a year.
Aboriginal children make up 40 per cent of the Aboriginal population, yet educational, health, housing and justice outcomes are far worse than their non-indigenous peers.
What children think and feel about the systems that are supposed to assist them; education, health, justice, poverty, child support and child protection are very rarely considered.
This is having a detrimental impact on children and their wellbeing.
We must do better. We believe that when we value children, their outcomes are better and they can go on to live thriving, happy lives.
Childrens rights and human rights #
Children are fun and playful, curious and think very differently to adults.
Around the world, communities are working to raise the voices of children, calling for adults to listen to children on major issues like climate change, mental health and education. We as adults, who create and manage systems, must honour children’s rights and voices. We can't wait until children become adults, but now, while they are children.
When it comes to issues like climate change, mental health systems, child protection, social media and universal access to quality education, children have a lot to say – we must listen.
Making space for children’s rights ensures that we construct their world ‘with them’, not just ‘to them’. And this will make a better world for everyone.
UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD – THE CHILDREN’S VERSION