Children's Rights
Protecting Children from Violence in Sport
UNICEF’s report, Protecting Children from Violence in Sport, finds that the violence children experience in some sport contexts is accepted as “just part of the game”, and the lasting harm to children detracts from the many developmental benefits of sport. Research from Canada and around the world suggests that a stronger commitment to violence prevention is necessary to reduce the exploitation, injury and abuse of children by adults and peers.
The UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre publications improve international understanding of issues relating to children’s rights, generate global debate on child rights issues and facilitate the full implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
There is great value in children’s sport and play. Health, educational achievement and social benefits are just some of the many desirable outcomes associated with organized physical activity. In line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF is a strong advocate of children’s rights to leisure and play and to have their voices heard in the planning and delivery of their sport activities.
It has become increasingly evident, however, that sport is not always a safe, positive space for children. Violence that is illegal in other community contexts is often considered to be acceptable in sport. Children regularly experience verbal, physical and sexual violence perpetrated by adults and peers. Protecting Children from Violence in Sport draws on global research and practice to define the ways different forms of violence affect children, provide examples of both good and poor practice, and make suggestions for sport organizations and other stakeholders to assist them in their violence prevention efforts.
The research finds:
- Violence and injury prevention isn’t embedded in sport delivery systems in a systematic way.
- There are large knowledge gaps, with little empirical data on violence against children in sport and a lack of analysis of the most effective ways to prevent it.
- Action is required on a number of fronts to protect children from violence in sport. These include:
- Stronger policy imperatives in government and sporting organizations, based on the unequivocal rights of children to protection from abuse, exploitation and other forms of violence;
- Improved data collection and knowledge about how violence occurs and the most effective interventions;
- Increased and more consistent education, awareness-raising and training to build a culture of respect;
- Creation and enforcement of ethical guidelines and codes of conduct.
In Canada, sport is regulated and delivered through a number of federal, provincial and territorial policies and institutional arrangements and by a variety of industry and community sport organizations. They are pursuing a number of strategies to address declining participation, barriers to participation, improving school sport, closing the gaps in athlete development, upgrading coaching development, bolstering international competitive success and making ethical issues as well as safety central to sport. Recently, a number of studies have highlighted the high rate of injuries sustained by children in sport, particularly in hockey, that may lead to permanent learning disabilities and other neurological and psychosocial damage. Media reports have exposed the sexual abuse of young players within a culture of control and power exercised by adults in positions of authority. Clearly, there is a problem and clearly, Canada needs to do more to free children in sport from injury, abuse and exploitation.
What Canada needs to do
- There is no comprehensive national strategy for Canada’s children. Canada needs a national children’s strategy or plan, led by the federal government, that includes a coherent child protection framework to safeguard children from all forms of violence, abuse and exploitation.
- There is a growing body of research on children’s exposure to sport related injury but less empirical research on the full range of violence, abuse, exploitation and harm as defined in article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including physical, psychological, emotional and sexual abuse and exploitation, to guide appropriate policy and programmatic interventions in Canada. The Sport Canada Research Initiative should undertake a comprehensive study immediately to contribute to good policy and programme development.
- Building on good practices across Canada, Sport Canada should lead a cross-Canada education and awareness-raising programme for child participants, parents, coaches, sport managers, sport medicine teams and corporate agencies involved in sport to help advance a stronger culture of respect in sport.
- Effective policy and practices are not systematically implemented nor sufficiently enforced through appropriate accountability mechanisms. Federal and provincial departments for sport should set standards for good child protection policy and practice based on an evaluation of what works, and support their adoption and regulation by industry and community sport organizations.
Innocenti Insight: Children in Immigrant Families in Eight Affluent Countries
The new UNICEF Innocenti Insight compares data on the situation of immigrant children in affluent countries including Australia, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Most affluent countries, including Canada, are experiencing a steady increase in the number and diversity of immigrants. In some societies, immigrant children constitute the only growing demographic of the child population. Accordingly, children of immigrant families will become increasingly prominent as workers, voters and parents over the coming years, making their social, economic and civic integration a critical policy consideration.
The report examines the situation of immigrant children over a broad range of dimensions, including family composition, educational background, employment status of parents, housing conditions, school and labour market participation and child poverty. The report indicates some success in the social inclusion and civic integration of children in immigrant families in different countries. It highlights areas in which further improvements are required and calls upon governments to ensure policies that facilitate the full participation of newcomer children by promoting full participation in education and employment, ensuring access to appropriate housing and reducing poverty.
Download the report
Learn more about migration and children
Immigrant children in Canada
The right of the child to be heard
The right of all children to be heard and taken seriously constitutes one of the fundamental values of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (article 12). Since the adoption of the Convention in 1989, considerable progress has been achieved at the local, national, regional and global levels in the development of legislation, policies and methodologies to promote the implementation of article 12 of the Convention - broadly conceptualized as “participation”.
In 2006, the Committee on the Rights of the Child held a day of general discussion on the right of the child to be heard in order to explore the meaning and significance of article 12, its linkages to other articles, and the gaps, good practices and priority issues that need to be addressed in order to further the enjoyment of this right.
General comment 12 arises from the exchange of information which took place on that day, including with children, the accumulated experience of the Committee in reviewing States parties’ reports, and the very significant expertise and experience of translating the right embodied in article 12 into practice by governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community organizations, development agencies, and children themselves.
Read General Comment No. 12 (2009): The right of the child to be heard.
Indigenous Children’s Rights
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is the arm of the Human Rights Council that monitors countries’ implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols. The Committee produces General Comments on specific Convention-related themes to guide this process, based on consultation with governments, UN agencies including UNICEF, and a range of organizations.
In January 2009, the Committee adopted General Comment 11, Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention that provides guidance to States on how to respect the rights of Indigenous children set out in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Read the General Comment now!
Canada’s report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
Under article 44 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child the Government of Canada is obliged as a signatory to report periodically to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on its implementation of the Convention.
Read the General Guidelines for Periodic Reports.
Canada’s two reports since its ratification of the Convention in 1991 received extensive Concluding Observations by the Committee on the Rights of the Child encouraging Canada to take effective policy, legislative, institutional and programmatic actions. The 45 Concluding Observations issued in 2003 highlight the gaps that still need to be addressed in Canada to make children’s rights and well-being a reality- issues echoed in Children: The Silenced Citizens , Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights (April 2007). The next Canadian report due in January 2009 was submitted on November 20, 2009.
Read Canada’s Third and Fourth Reports on the Convention on the Rights of the Child!
UNICEF Canada together with the Canadian Coalition on the Rights of Children (CCRC) called upon Government of Canada to take action on the recommendations from the previous report. Learn more about these recommendations:
Background 1 - Non-Discrimination
Background 2 - Best Interests of the Child
Background 3 - Accountability
Background 4 - CRC and Canadian Law
Background 5 - CRC and Basic Services
Background 6 - Vulnerable Groups
World Report on Child Injury Prevention
Every day more than 2000 children and young people die from an injury which could have been prevented. The World Report on Child Injury Prevention promotes evidence-based injury prevention interventions and sustained investment; presents the current knowledge about the five most frequent causes of unintentional injury – road traffic injuries, drowning, burns, falls and poisoning – and makes recommendations for action.
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Fact sheets
Child-friendly version
Canada
In Canada, unintentional injury remains the leading cause of death for children ages one to 14. Canada ranks 22 out of 29 OECD countries when it comes to preventable childhood injuries and deaths.
Unintentional injuries cost Canada’s health care system approximately $4.2 billion in direct system costs annually, with an additional $4.5 billion in secondary costs. Another $4 billion in direct and indirect health care costs are specifically related to unintentional injuries in children and youth. Given the magnitude of the cost and the loss of productivity related to long-term injuries, Canada needs to increase its measures to prevent child injury. The direct costs to children and families are immeasurable. The opportunity costs are also of major significance: the estimated $12.7 billion in injury related costs would fully fund a national system of quality early child care and education, for example.
What Canada needs to do
Child injuries are preventable by the application of six basic principles: legislation and regulation, enforcement, product modification, environmental modification, supportive home visits, promotion of affordable safety devices, and education.
- Evidence is crucial for sound policy planning and programming: better data collection systems that are linked and comparable across all Canadian jurisdictions; improved surveillance; more community based surveys using standardized protocols; together with more research on the effectiveness of interventions are required;
- Improve the consistency of protective legislation in all provinces including for booster seats, bicycle helmets and ATV and snowmobile safety as recommended by the Canadian Paediatric Society in the report Are We Doing Enough? (see report below);
- Expand the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) to all hospitals across Canada;
- Increase national capacity in child injury prevention by increasing the number and expertise of practitioners and their collaboration with other service providers in health, education and social outreach, and with the media;
- Implement a national child injury prevention plan, as recommended by the Advisor on Healthy Children & Youth in her report, Reaching For the Top (see report below).
Implementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child
UNICEF is mandated to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. Achieving this mission requires concrete actions with direct impact on children.
As part of our effort to help turn words into action, UNICEF has published this Handbook on implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Handbook is intended to advance the efforts of governments, NGOs, and United Nations organizations in making human rights a reality for each and every child in the world.
We believe that the Implementation Handbook is an important tool which will assist UNICEF and its partners in the collective endeavour to promote and protect children’s rights.
Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights report on CRC implementation in Canada
The Senate of Canada adopted a 2007 report Children: The Silenced Citizens – Effective Implementation of Canada’s International Obligations with Respect to the Rights of Children. The Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights was authorized to examine Canada’s obligations under the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; and whether Canada is fulfilling them.
The report draws on testimony from hundreds of domestic and international witnesses. It confirms that Canada’s compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has shortcomings and the federal government must take immediate steps to implement and comply with its obligations under the Convention. It sets out twenty four recommendations for institutional, policy, legal and child development measures.
UNICEF Canada believes that Canada’s legal and institutional arrangements, as a protective and enabling framework for the rights of children, have gaps through which too many Canadian children fall. Ratification was only the first step in the process of compliance, and needs to be reinforced by a range of measures including enabling legislation, a strong national commissioner for children, and the commitment of the federal and provincial governments, so that Canada can equip itself to meet its obligations with more vigour, transparency, and participation.
Read the Government Response to the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights Report.
UNICEF Canada calls for a child friendly budget for Canada
The federal budget reflects a country’s priorities in terms of its vision of itself, its future and its purpose as a country. UNICEF Canada calls for the adoption of a national budget that prioritizes the best interests of Canadian children across all macroeconomic and fiscal policy measures. The volume and use of public resources assigned to ensuring the well-being and protection of children and adolescents are crucial indicators of the consideration governments give to their most vulnerable citizens.
Read UNICEF Canada’s brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance for the 2007 pre-budget consultations.
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