Youth rights refers to a set of philosophies intended to enhance civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights and freedoms that protect individuals from unwarranted action by government and private organizations and individuals and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression for young people. They are a response to the oppression Oppression is the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. It can also be defined as an act or instance of oppressing, the state of being oppressed, and the feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, and anxiety of young people, with advocates challenging ephebiphobia CERD · CEDAW · CDE · ILO C111 · ILO C100 · ILO C169 · Protocol No. 12 ECHR, adultism CERD · CEDAW · CDE · ILO C111 · ILO C100 · ILO C169 · Protocol No. 12 ECHR and ageism CERD · CEDAW · CDE · ILO C111 · ILO C100 · ILO C169 · Protocol No. 12 ECHR through youth participation Youth participation is the active engagement of young people throughout their communities. It is often used as a short-hand for youth participation in any many forms, including decision-making, sports, schools and any activity where young people are not historically engaged, youth/adult partnerships Youth-Adult Partnership is the title of a conscious relationship which establishes and sustains intergenerational equity between young people and adults, and promoting, ultimately, intergenerational equity Intergenerational equity, in the sociological and psychological context, is the concept or idea of fairness or justice in relationships between children, youth, adults and seniors, particularly in terms of treatment and interactions. It has been studied in environmental and sociological settings. In the context of institutional investment.

Contents

History

Further information: History of Youth Rights in the United States First emerging as a distinct movement in the 1930s, the history of youth rights in the United States has long been concerned with civil rights and intergenerational equity. Tracing its roots to youth activists during the Great Depression, youth rights has influenced the civil rights movement, opposition to the Vietnam War, and many other movements

First emerging as a distinct movement in the 1930s, youth rights have long been concerned with civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights and freedoms that protect individuals from unwarranted action by government and private organizations and individuals and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression and intergenerational equity Intergenerational equity, in the sociological and psychological context, is the concept or idea of fairness or justice in relationships between children, youth, adults and seniors, particularly in terms of treatment and interactions. It has been studied in environmental and sociological settings. In the context of institutional investment. Tracing its roots to youth activists Youth activism is best summarized as youth voice engaged in community organizing for social change. Around the world, young people are engaged in activism as planners, researchers, teachers, evaluators, social workers, decision-makers, advocates and leading actors in the environmental movement, social justice organizations, campaigns supporting or during the Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s. It was the longest, most widespread, and deepest depression of the 20th century, and is used, youth rights has influenced the civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. It was accompanied by much civil unrest and popular rebellion. The process was long and tenuous in many countries, and most of these movements did not achieve or fully achieve their objectives. In its later years,, opposition to the Vietnam War The protests gained momentum from the Civil Rights Movement that had organized to oppose segregation laws, which had laid a foundation of theory and infrastructure on which the anti-war movement grew. Protests were fueled by a growing network of independently published newspapers and the timely advent of large venue rock'n'roll festivals such as, and many other movements. Since the advent of the Internet The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet Protocol Suite to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope that are linked by a broad array of electronic and youth rights is gaining predominance again.[citation needed]

Key issues

Of primary importance to youth rights advocates are historical perceptions of young people, which they say are informed by paternalism Paternalism refers to an attitude or a policy reminiscent of the hierarchic pattern of a family based on patriarchy. The term may be used derogatorily to characterize attitudes or political systems that are thought to deprive individuals of freedom and responsibility, only nominally serving their interests, while in fact pursuing another agenda, adultism CERD · CEDAW · CDE · ILO C111 · ILO C100 · ILO C169 · Protocol No. 12 ECHR and ageism CERD · CEDAW · CDE · ILO C111 · ILO C100 · ILO C169 · Protocol No. 12 ECHR in general, as well as fears of children Fear of children, fear of infants or fear of childhood is alternately called pedophobia, pediophobia[citation needed] or pediaphobia. Other age-focused fears are ephebiphobia and gerontophobia. Recognized outcomes of pedophobia include paternalism, adultism, and by extension, ageism and youth CERD · CEDAW · CDE · ILO C111 · ILO C100 · ILO C169 · Protocol No. 12 ECHR.

Youth rights advocates believe those perceptions inform laws Law is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. Laws can shape or reflect politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets. Property law defines rights and throughout society, including age of consent While the phrase age of consent typically does not appear in legal statutes, when used in relation to sexual activity, the age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered to be legally competent of consenting to sexual acts. The European Union calls it the legal age for sexual activities. It should not be confused with the age of, child labor laws The child labor laws in the United States include numerous statutes and rules regulating the employment of minors. According to the United States Department of Labor, child labor laws affect those under the age of 18 in a variety of occupations, right-to-work laws The right to work is the concept that people have a human right to work, and may not be prevented from doing so. The right to work is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized in international human rights law through its inclusion in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, where the right to, curfews The word "curfew" comes from the French phrase "couvre feu" which means "cover the fire". It was used to describe the time of blowing out all lamps and candles. It was later adopted by the Medieval English language as "curfeu", which later became the modern "curfew", drinking age The legal drinking age refers to the earliest age in a country that a person is legally allowed to buy alcoholic beverages, which may be different from the age at which they may be permitted to drink alcohol, especially in the privacy of their home. The legal drinking age varies around the world in general, from countries in Europe where people, driving age Driving is the controlled operation of a land vehicle, such as a car, truck or bus, youth suffrage Youth suffrage, or children's suffrage, is the right to vote for young people and forms part of the broader children's rights movement. Until recently Iran had a voting age of 15; Austria, Brazil, Cuba and Nicaragua have a voting age of 16; and Indonesia, East Timor, Sudan, and Seychelles have a voting age of 17, emancipation of minors Emancipation of minors is a legal mechanism by which a minor is freed from control by their parents or guardians, and the parents or guardians are freed from any and all responsibility toward the child. Until an emancipation is granted by a court, a minor is still subject to the rules of their parents or guardians, minors and abortion Many jurisdictions have laws applying to minors and abortion. These parental involvement laws require that one or more parents consent or be informed before their minor daughter may legally have an abortion, closed adoption Closed adoption is the process by where an infant is adopted by another family, and the record of the biological parent(s) is kept sealed. (Often, the biological father is not recorded—even on the original birth certificate.) An adoption of an older child who already knows his or her biological parent(s) cannot be made closed or secret. This, corporal punishment Corporal punishment is the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable. The term usually refers to methodically striking the offender with an implement, whether in judicial, domestic, or educational settings, the age of majority The age of majority is the threshold of adulthood as it is conceptualized in law. It is the chronological moment when a minor ceases to legally be considered a child and assumes control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thereby terminating the legal control and legal responsibilities of their parents or guardian over and for them. The, and military conscription A military is an organization authorized to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. As an adjective the term "military" is also used to refer to any property or aspect of a military. Militaries often function as societies within societies, by having their own.

There are specific sets of issues addressing the rights of youth in schools, including zero tolerance In the United States and Canada, zero tolerance policies are applied in some schools and other education venues. These have proved controversial in that some of those penalized have claimed that their treatment is egregiously unfair, "gulag schools A behavior modification facility is a residential educational and treatment institution enrolling adolescents who are perceived as displaying antisocial behavior, in an attempt to alter their conduct. As of 2008 there were about 650 nongovernmental, residential programs in the United States offering treatment services for adolescents. Some similar", In loco parentis The term in loco parentis, Latin for "in the place of a parent" or "instead of a parent," refers to the legal responsibility of a person or organization to take on some of the functions and responsibilities of a parent. Originally derived from English common law, it is applied in two separate areas of the law, and student rights Student rights are those rights which protect students, here meaning those persons attending schools, universities and other educational institutions. The level of rights accorded to students, whether legally or by convention, varies considerably around the world in general. Homeschooling Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school. Although prior to the introduction of compulsory school attendance laws, most childhood education occurred within the family or community, homeschooling in the modern, unschooling Unschooling refers to a range of educational philosophies and practices centered on allowing children to learn through their natural life experiences, including child directed play, game play, household responsibilities, work experience and social interaction, rather than through a more traditional school curriculum. Unschooling encourages, and alternative schools An alternative school , is an educational establishment with a curriculum and methods that are nontraditional, or sometimes ultratraditional. These schools have a special curriculum offering a more flexible program of study than a traditional school are popular youth rights issues.

A long-standing effort within the youth rights movements has focused on civic engagement Civic engagement can take many forms— from individual volunteerism to organizational involvement to electoral participation. It can include efforts to directly address an issue, work with others in a community to solve a problem or interact with the institutions of representative democracy. There have been a number of historical campaigns to increase youth voting rights Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise is the civil right to vote, or the exercise of that right. In English, suffrage and its synonyms are sometimes also used to mean the right to run for office , but there are no established qualifying terms to distinguish between these different meanings of the term(s). The right to run for by lowering the voting age A voting age is a minimum age established by law that a person must attain to be eligible to vote in a public election. The vast majority of countries in the world have established a voting age. Most governments consider that those of no age lower than the chosen threshold lack the necessary capacity to independently decide how to cast a vote. The and the age of candidacy Age of candidacy is the minimum age at which a person can legally qualify to hold certain elected government offices. In many cases, it also determines the age at which a person may be eligible to stand for an election or be granted ballot access. There are also efforts to get young people elected to prominent positions in local communities, including as members of city councils A city council is the legislative body that governs a city, municipality or local government area and as mayors This is a list of the youngest mayors in the United States. This list is inclusive of individuals nearest to the age of majority at the time of their election; usually under the age of 25. The people listed here are notable because of the rarity of their age category holding elected office of any type, particularly mayoralships.

Strategies for gaining youth rights that are frequently utilized by their advocates include developing youth programs Youth programs are particular activities designed to involve people between the ages of 10 and 25. Activities included are generally oriented towards youth development through recreation, social life, prevention, intervention, or education. During youth programs participants might be involved in sports, religion, community service, youth activism, and organizations Categories: Lists of organizations | Youth organizations that promote youth activism, youth participation, youth empowerment, youth voice, youth/adult partnerships and intergenerational equity between young people and adults.

Movement

The "youth rights movement", also described as "youth liberation", is a nascent grass-roots movement whose aim is to fight against ageism and for the civil rights of young people - those "under the age of majority", which is 18 in most countries. It is ostensibly an effort to combat pedophobia and ephebiphobia throughout society by promoting youth voice, youth empowerment and ultimately, intergenerational equity through youth/adult partnerships.[1]

Advocates of youth rights distinguish their movement from the children's rights movement, which they argue advocates changes that are often restrictive towards children and youth, and which they accuse of paternalism, pedophobia, and adultism.[citation needed] They point out distinctions between 1970s youth liberation literature and child rights literature from groups such as the Children's Defense Fund.[2]

Organizations in Europe

International youth rights organizations include Article 12 in Scotland and K.R.A.T.Z.A. in Germany. Youth for Human Rights International is an organization formed in 2001. In support of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education from 1995 to 2004, Youth for Human Rights International's first project was to launch a Europe-wide essay writing contest for youth between the ages of eight and eighteen, in coordination with Friends of the United Nations.[3]

Organizations in the United States

The National Youth Rights Association is the primary youth rights organization in the United States, with local chapters across the country and constant media exposure. The organization known as Americans for a Society Free from Age Restrictions is also an important organization. The Freechild Project has gained a reputation for interjecting youth rights issues into organizations historically focused on youth development and youth service through their consulting and training activities. The Global Youth Action Network engages young people around the world in advocating for youth rights, and Peacefire provides technology-specific support for youth rights activists.

Choose Responsibility and their successor organization, the Amethyst Initiative, founded by Dr. John McCardell, Jr., exist to promote the discussion of the drinking age, specifically. Choose Responsibility focuses on promoting a legal drinking age of 18, but includes provisions such as education and licensing. The Amethyst Initiative, a collaboration of college presidents and other educators, focuses on discussion and examination of the drinking age, with specific attention paid to the culture of alcohol as it exists on college campuses and the negative impact of the drinking age on alcohol education and responsible drinking.

Prominent individuals

Youth rights, as a philosophy and as a movement, has been informed and is led by a variety of individuals and institutions across the United States and around the world. In the 1960s and 70s John Holt, Richard Farson, Paul Goodman and Neil Postman were regarded authors that spoke out about youth rights throughout society, including education, government, social services and popular citizenship.

Alex Koroknay-Palicz has become a vocal youth rights proponent, making regular appearances on television and in newspapers. Mike A. Males is a prominent sociologist and researcher who has published several books regarding the rights of young people across the United States. Robert Epstein is another prominent author who has called for greater rights and responsibilities for youth. Several organizational leaders, including Sarah Fitz-Claridge of Taking Children Seriously, Bennett Haselton of Peacefire and Adam Fletcher (activist) of The Freechild Project conduct local, national, and international outreach for youth and adults regarding youth rights.

See also

References

  1. ^ Fletcher, A. (2006) Washington Youth Voice Handbook Olympia, WA: CommonAction.
  2. ^ Axon, K. (n.d.) The Anti-Child Bias of Children's Advocacy Groups Chicago, IL: Americans for a Society Free of Age Restrictions.
  3. ^ http://www.youthforhumanrights.org/watchads/index.html Youth for Human Rights.] Retrieved 9/27/07.

External links

Family rights
Elements Fetal rights · Children's rights · Youth rights · Reproductive rights
Rights movements Children's · Fathers' · Mothers' rights · Parents'
See also Family law · Parental responsibility
Youth empowerment
Elements Evolving capacities · Intergenerational equity · Student voice · Youth-adult partnership · Youth mainstreaming · Youth rights · Youth voice
Types Community youth development · Free school · Positive youth development · Student activism · Student-centered learning · Student rights · Student voice · Youth activism · Youth council · Youth court · Youth engagement · Youth leadership · Youth-led media · Youth movement · Youth participation · Youth philanthropy · Youth service · Youth suffrage · Youth vote
Barriers Adultcentrism · Adultism · Ageism · Fear of youth (ephebiphobia) · Fear of children (pediaphobia)
See also: Index of youth rights-related articles

Categories: Aging | Rights | Social movements | Youth rights

 

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