Children

1
Childrens Participation

• Perspectives from South Africa
• Sue Moses
• The Childrens Institute, University of Cape Town

2
Background

• SA constitution gives full recognition of
  childrens rights thus in theory children are
  treated as full participants in society and
  legitimate rights bearers.
• The state is obliged to ensure children have the
  opportunity to be heard in matters affecting
  them UNCRC (1995) and African Charter on the
  Rights and Welfare of the Child (2000)
• Legislative and policy reform has been slow,
  meaning that many children continue to experience
  violation of their rights.
• High child poverty two-thirds of children live
  in poor households
• Food security/nutrition 10,3 of children aged 1
  to 9 are underweight
• 43 of children rely on unsafe or distant water
  sources
• 49 do not have access to adequate sanitation
• Class inequality amongst children continues to
  fall along race lines
• Access to effective health, social and
  educational services is limited for those living
  in rural and informal urban settings
• The demography and socio-economic effects of HIV
  and AIDS has increased the vulnerability of very
  poor families and children

3
Background to childrens participation in SA

• History of children as recognised and legitimate
  public actors in South Africas political
  transformation.
• Yet, consultation of children as stakeholders in
  development of programmes or policies remains
  limited and sporadic.
• No attempt to synthesize current knowledge or
  practice.
• SA seems to lag behind other regions in terms of
  debating different forms of participation or
  interpretations of the term, or particular
  considerations of a participatory approach in the
  context of historical and contemporary social and
  economic inequalities.

4
Everyday forms of childrens participation

• Across economic spectrum, the dominant form of
  child participation is in the informal spheres
  e.g. domestic and neighbourhood.
• Little acknowledgement is made within the public
  domain of childrens contributions in these
  spheres, and therefore little attention is paid
  to childrens competence therein, or the
  potential to nurture this in order to improve
  lives of children and families
• Some research is beginning to highlight factors
  that constrain and enable childrens abilities to
  make decisions and act towards their own best
  interests, and be involved in shaping decisions
  within the larger contexts of their families,
  schools, and neighbourhoods.

5
Everyday forms of childrens participation cont

• Factors undermining childrens ability to be
  involved in decision-making (homes and local
  NGOs)
• Power dynamics within hierarchical adult-child
  relationships
• Cultural norms which limit childrens access to
  information e.g. around sex
• Conceptions of childhood (e.g. as time of
  dependence and innocence) and the suitable role
  for children within the home and community
• Strongly gendered roles and socialisation
  processes
• Undervaluing of childrens competence
• Lack of knowledge of the concept and value of
  childrens participation (community buy-in)
• There is cultural diversity in some of the above
  (e.g. suitable roles for children).

6
Everyday forms of childrens participation cont

• Increasing awareness within communities re
  childrens rights is increasing spaces for
  children to be listened to and have their
  opinions respected by adults.
• There are NGOs using participatory methods with
  their child beneficiaries, but lack of
  documentation means it is difficult to determine
  the nature and extent of this.

7
Childrens participation in more formal arena

• Media a few recent attempts, mostly at a local
  level to give children a voice in radio, TV and
  print media
• Research a small collection of research projects
  have adopted an explicitly participatory
  approach. Either narrow focus on specific issues,
  often initiated by outside donors (e.g. Save the
  Children) or longer-term consultative
  ethnographic studies which give children a voice
  in conveying the details of their everyday lives.
• Potential for participatory processes at a local
  level to be a catalyst for increased
  opportunities for child participation and social
  change.

8
Childrens participation in state institutions
and processes

• Mniki and Rosa It is where certain information
  or processes are not readily accessible to
  children that adults should take the initiative
  to create opportunities for sharing information
  and spaces for participation.
• At a policy level, children in theory are
  provided with space to participate in
  decision-making within the educational and legal
  sectors.
• Barriers ideas about childrens competence
  non-child-friendly institutional cultures,
  procedures and structures adult competence in
  listening, hearing and understanding children

9
State institutions and processesPolicy reform
and budgeting

• State initiated consultation
• 1999 children consulted on draft Child Justice
  Bill
• 1999/2000 children consulted on review of the
  Child Care Act
• 2003 children consulted as part of the process
  of formulating a national child labour action
  programme
• State initiated processes limited to
  consultation, initiated by adults and agenda set
  by adult resources and time, and decision-makers
  ideas of where and in what way it is appropriate
  to involve children
• Need to think about why we want to create space
  for participation (i.e. what the desired outcome
  of participation is) in order to be able to
  assess these processes.

10
Policy reform and budgeting cont

• Voluntary sector and research partnerships
• 2001 National Forum on HIV/AIDS (Childrens
  Institute)
• 2001 social security policy development (ACESS)
• Ongoing Dikwankwetla Children in Action
  (Childrens Bill deliberations) (Childrens
  Institute)
• Key additions
• Children provided with opportunity to engage
  decision-makers directly
• Children design and implement advocacy strategies
• Key lessons
• Meeting with decision-makers can raise childrens
  expectations for change as a result of the
  process
• Law reform structures and procedures are not
  child-friendly
• Levels of participation may shift with different
  activities and project phases
• Involvement of adults external to the
  intervention requires awareness-raising around
  childrens agency and rights in general and their
  right to participation in particular (buy-in).

11
Impact of the South African context on the
inclusiveness of child participation

• The context of poverty and inequality
• Interventions are often aimed at addressing
  poverty and inequality and therefore focus on
  previously disadvantaged groups only.
• Previously legitimised notions of us and them
  continue to influence the design of local level
  interventions, thus re-enforcing welfarist
  approaches.
• The implication for participation of the
  inter-dependence of childrens rights, which
  means that children may be unable to realise one
  right without first accessing others. Children
  may be thus be excluded because basic needs are
  not met.

12
Impact of the South African context on
inclusiveness of child participation

• The educational context
• Language policies mean that most non-white
  children are not schooled in their mother-tongue
  with serious consequences for levels of literacy
  amongst this group of children many of whom are
  also marginalised by poverty.
• Civil society participation
• The ethics of providing for childrens
  participation in a context where civil society
  participation in law-making is generally the
  domain of affluent and organised groups. What are
  the responsibilities to raise awareness amongst
  childrens caregivers?
• The political environment
• Policies such as Black Economic Empowerment lend
  a racial dimension to attitudes towards young
  people and their futures and impact on young
  peoples own aspirations and sense of what is
  possible for them in South Africa today.

13
The right to protection vs. the right to
participate

• The two rights often treated as oppositional and
  mutually exclusive in informal and formal arena
• There is a lack of knowledge, experience and
  debate about how to afford children both
  participation and protection.
• Partnering with local organisations is a common
  strategy to ensure on-going support is provided
  to children. This then restricts which children
  can participate to those already accessing
  support, and often to those exhibiting leadership
  skills.
• Learning from participatory research
• Bray and Gooskens (2005) Children are moral
  agents who make decisions to protect parts of
  their selves, frame experience, negotiate
  relationships and difficulties.
• Mniki and Rosa (2006) Must recognise childrens
  agency and competence in dealing with challenges
  and make them aware of potential obstacles they
  will face
• Awareness raising with key adults about
  childrens agency

14
Attitudinal barriers

• Tension between budgeting for participation vs.
  essential services is aggravated by a lack of
  understanding about childrens rights and a
  failure to recognise the value of consultation
  with children for policy and programme design.
• Adult ideas about childrens competence which
  fails to engage with the issue of developing
  autonomy and to recognise the role of the type of
  procedures used to solicit childrens views
• Although it is in everyday spheres that most
  children find opportunities to participate, there
  is a need for greater recognition and
  legitimisation of this participation if we want
  to extend and enhance participation in more
  formal arena. Advocating at this level will help
  to challenge many of the attitudinal barriers to
  do with adult perceptions of child competence and
  child rights and agency which hamper childrens
  involvement in decision-making.