It has taken me a while to feel able to write a blog about the situation of children from Ukraine during the current war. Even though from the start I felt that I wanted to. The main problem, I think, was that there are just so many aspects to the problems that the children are facing, that it is hard to know where to start. A lot of organisations and individuals have jumped into action and are doing absolutely everything they can to keep Ukrainian children as safe as possible. Unfortunately, under the current circumstances, it feels a lot like trying to carry water in a sieve. However, with many of the basics being addressed, things are starting to crystalise a bit more for me.
Continue reading “Ensuring Help Does Not Harm Ukrainian Children”Category: Blog
The Gap Between Policy and Implementation
When working on transition of care, it is always important to be aware of the legislative and policy framework that exists in the country in question. If there are no frameworks supporting family strengthening, family-based alternative care and prevention of unnecessary separation of children from their families, this is a major obstacle. However, the opposite also happens. In some countries, there are lots of great statements and frameworks in legislation and policy, but actual practical implementation is often slow or practically non-existent.
Continue reading “The Gap Between Policy and Implementation”The Best Interest of the Teenage Mother
Dealing with child marriage, mentioned earlier in blog HERE, is not simple or straightforward when it comes down to the practice. We can all agree that we want to prevent it, but when it has already happened, it can be complicated to know what the best course of action is. This also goes for teenage motherhood, whether this is caused by child marriage, rape, or other causes. It is simple to say that it should not happen and that teenagers are better off not being mothers. That is all quite true. But when you come to the practice of a pregnant teenager, or a teenager with a baby it is not so simple.
Continue reading “The Best Interest of the Teenage Mother”The Results of the DataCare Project
The moment has finally come. Just before Christmas, the technical report and the policy brief of the DataCare Project were ready to be made public. The crown on more than a year and a half of work (not including the preparations, which I was not involved in) on a very ambitious project. It has been a real joy to have been a part of the research team that made it happen.
Continue reading “The Results of the DataCare Project”Child Marriage: Theory and Practice
Internationally there is a wide consensus that child marriage is a harmful practice for girls and that it needs to be eliminated. When you are aware of the risks and consequences to girls, this is not a hard thing to agree with. And a lot of work is being done to put an end to child marriages. In many countries where it has long been a tradition, it is no longer allowed and may even have been made a criminal offence. This all seems very sensible and a sign of progress, from a distance. Until reality comes knocking and everything becomes infinitely more complicated.
Continue reading “Child Marriage: Theory and Practice”Children’s Lives Matter, So Let’s Fix the Contract
Recently, I was giving training on case management to a team working to safely reintegrate institutionalised children into their families. As is usual, the issue of challenging behaviour of the children and where it comes from came up. As we were discussing this, I was suddenly struck by a link to something Trevor Noah – a South African comedian in the US – said so eloquently last year.
Continue reading “Children’s Lives Matter, So Let’s Fix the Contract”UN Day of General Discussion: Children in Alternative Care
Last month, the UN Day of General Discussion took place. Usually, this happens every two years and it was due last year. However, with the pandemic, it got postponed to this year and was held virtually for the very first time. It had been organised by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, and it had been long anticipated by people working in my field. It was considered the next step after the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children.
Continue reading “UN Day of General Discussion: Children in Alternative Care”Three Years Family-Based Solutions, in a New Place
Time to take stock again, as Family-Based Solutions enters its fourth year, as a registered consultancy business this time. Some major changes have taken place in my personal life, which resonate through to Family-Based Solutions. Here I will give you an update on the changes and accomplishments.
Continue reading “Three Years Family-Based Solutions, in a New Place”How to Get Better Data
There is an increasing understanding of the essential need for data on children in vulnerable situations, including children on the move, children in alternative care, children without parental care, and children in poverty. The call for adequate data on the number of children in these situations and the support that is or is not available to them is growing day by day, from a variety of large international organisations – such as UNICEF, Lumos, Eurochild, Hope and Homes for Children and SOS Children’s Villages – as well as from people in academia. The more people start to become interested in data on children in vulnerable situations and start looking around for them, the more obvious it is that there is a serious lack in this area.
Continue reading “How to Get Better Data”Abuse of the ‘Best Interests’ Argument
There are constant loud calls for the need to make sure that Child Rights are integrated into the legislation of every country, and rightly so. Except for the USA, all countries in the world have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, meaning they have committed to upholding Child Rights, something that is only possible if these rights are embedded in national legislation. Therefore it is also right that every time a country takes the step to integrate Child Rights into their legislation – as Scotland did recently – this is applauded and highlighted. However, it turns out that countries claiming to uphold Child Rights and serving children’s best interests is not something that should be taken at face value. Because sometimes these claims are made to defend practices that are not in children’s best interests at all.
Continue reading “Abuse of the ‘Best Interests’ Argument”