Publications

This paper addresses the right of children to be heard in any judicial or administrative proceeding affecting them. It introduces the subject based on examples from the laws and practices of 52 countries around the world. This paper is addressed primarily to child rights advocates, researchers, legal practitioners and other professionals working in the area of children and the law. Further research is needed to document good practices and to complement this introductory, global overview with studies focusing in more detail on different regions or legal traditions and specific types of proceedings.

This paper reviews some of the recent qualitative literature on children's perspectives on economic disadvantage. The idea of asking people who experience disadvantage about their own situations is still a relatively new one in the social sciences, and the idea of asking children about their own perceptions of economic and social disadvantage is even more recent. Nine analyses, all published since 1998, and all of them involving in-depth interviews or group work with children aged between 5 and 17, are examined in detail. Most of these studies develop frameworks based on the 'new sociology of childhood', which emphasises the social construction of childhood and children's agency in the context of child-adult relations. The nine studies cover a number of issues related to economic disadvantage, including exclusion from activities and peer groups at school and in the community; perceptions of 'poor' and 'affluent' children; participation in organized activities outside of school hours; methods of coping with financial hardship; support for parents in coping and in seeking and keeping employment, and aspirations for future careers and lives.

Mindful of the important contribution that young people can make to our understanding of the issues that concern them, in 2005 and 2006 UNICEF arranged for children and young people who had been trafficked while under 18 years of age, to be interviewed in their home countries. Interviews were conducted in Albania, Kosovo, Moldova and Romania. Each of the children and young people described their lives before recruitment, their experiences during exploitation, and how they got away from the traffickers. They also spoke of rebuilding their lives once they were free. The interviews formed part of a broader assessment of strategies to counter child trafficking in the region.

This report builds and expands upon the analyses of Report Card No. 6 which considered relative income poverty affecting children and policies to mitigate it. Report Card 7 provides a pioneering, comprehensive picture of child well being through the consideration of six dimensions: material well-being, health and safety, education, family and peer relationships, subjective well-being, behaviours and lifestyles informed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and relevant academic literature.

Questo rapporto presenta un'estesa analisi della condizione e del benessere dei bambini e dei giovani in 21 paesi del mondo industrializzato. Si pone l'obiettivo di favorire il monitoraggio, di consentire la comparazione e di stimolare il dibattito e lo sviluppo di politiche volte a migliorare la vita dei bambini. Lo studio si pone l'obiettivo di misurare e comparare il benessere dei bambini e dei giovani esaminandolo alla luce di sei parametri diversi: il benessere materiale, la salute e la sicurezza, l'istruzione, i rapporti con la famiglia ed i coetanei, i comportamenti e rischi, e la auto-percezione che essi hanno del proprio benessere.

Este Report Card proporciona un amplio análisis de la vida y el bienestar de niños y jóvenes de 21 naciones del mundo industrializado. Su objetivo es promover la supervisión, permitir comparaciones y estimular la discusión y el desarrollo de políticas que permitan mejorar la vida e los niños, niñas y adolescentes. El informe representa un avance significativo con respecto a títulos anteriores de esta serie que han usado la pobreza de ingresos como una medida indirecta del bienestar infantil general en los países de la OCDE. Específicamente, intenta medir y comparar el bienestar infantil según seis epígrafes o dimensiones diferentes: bienestar material, salud y seguridad, educación, relaciones familiares y entre iguales, conductas y riesgos y percepción subjetiva de bienestar entre los adolescentes.

Ce rapport à la fois exploite et développe les analyses contenues dans le Bilan 6 qui traitait de la pauvreté de revenu relative des enfants ainsi que des politiques en mesure d’y remédier. Le Bilan 7, qui s’appuie sur la Convention relative aux droits de l’enfant ainsi que sur les résultats de la recherche universitaire en la matière, fournit une vue d’ensemble innovatrice du bien-être de l’enfant à travers l’examen de six dimensions: bien-être matériel, santé et sécurité, éducation, relations avec la famille et les pairs, bien-être subjectif, comportements et styles de vie.

Este relatório surge na sequência do Report Card Nº. 6, expandindo as análises nele contidas que consideravam a pobreza relativa de rendimento que afecta as crianças e as políticas para mitigar os seus efeitos. O Report Card 7 proporciona uma visão de conjunto do bem-estar da criança nos países ricos utilizando seis dimensões: bem-estar material, saúde e segurança, educação, relacionamento com a família e os pares, bem-estar subjectivo, comportamentos e riscos, à luz da Convenção sobre os Direitos da Criança e da literatura académica relevante.

В данном выпуске содержится всесторонний анализ жизни и благополучия детей и подростков в 21 промышленно развитой стране. Такой анализ преследует цель оказать содействие мониторингу и дает возможность проводить сравнения и всячески способствовать обсуждению вопросов, касающихся улучшения жизни детей и разработки соответствующей политики.

This report builds and expands upon the analyses of Report Card No. 6 which considered relative income poverty affecting children and policies to mitigate it. Report Card 7 provides a pioneering, comprehensive picture of child well being through the consideration of six dimensions: material well-being, health and safety, education, family and peer relationships, subjective well-being, behaviours and lifestyles informed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and relevant academic literature.