(Convention on the Rights of the Child, articles 19, 20, 32, 37; the Constitution, sections 18, 28, 29)
A child cannot always protect himself/herself. At the same time, it is important that a child is taken care of in any situation with means suitable to his/her age and that his/her safety is guaranteed. A child must be protected from any mental and physical violence, injustice, negligence, careless or cruel treatment or exploitation and sexual or other type of abuse. A child has a right to special protection and help from one’s family, society, local governmen and state.
Protection from violence
A child like an adult has complete right to dignity. Any kind of violence, not mental or physical, targeted towards children is not justified. Therefore a child has the right not to be physically mistreated and to be protected from cruel and humiliating treatment. Mistreatment is considered to be torturing, cruel, inhuman or humiliating treatment or punishment.
Mental violence is considered to be humiliation, insulting, isolation and other activities, which have an impact on the child's mental health. Humiliating effect can also come from punishment, which is expressed in humiliation, creating a feeling of embarrassment, taunting, injustice, threatening, scaring or ridiculing. Children with physical and mental disabilities are extremely vulnerable to mental violence. Humiliating treatment is considered to be physical or mental pain or causing suffering with an aim to humiliate another person.
Physical punishment is one type of mistreatment. Physical punishment is considered to be any punishment where physical strength is used and where the aim is to cause any slight or great pain and discomfort. Physical punishment is considered to be striking or hitting with a tool, but also hair pulling, shaking, throwing, scratching, poking, burning or forced eating. Physical punishment is degrading for a child.
Physical or any other degrading treatment can take place in home, at school or in other places. It does not matter whether the punisher is father, mother, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, school or kindergarten teacher or someone else – physical or other kind of degrading punishment can never be considered acceptable. Degrading and violent (physical and mental) behaviour between children is also unacceptable.
Physical and any other degrading treatment has a negative effect on the child's self-esteem and violates his/her right to physical integrity. A parent should not behave towards a child in a way, which the parent considers to be inappropriate behaviour by others towards the parent.
Nevertheless, physical punishment targeted towards children occurs unfortunately in every country. Physical punishment of children is justified with traditions, raising methods, but also with protecting the rights of the child. It is in the interest of the child to be protected from any type of violence. By applying physical punishment, a parent is making the child afraid of him/her, but does not gain any respect. Besides, physical punishment does not help the child to understand, why the activity is forbidden. Physical punishment only teaches through fear to blindly obey commands and demands of a stronger and bigger person. Children depend on adults and they need protection from violence by adults.
The first country to ban physical punishment of children was Sweden, with a Family Act adopted in 1979.
Adults have a lot to learn on how to punish children. It is necessary to be able to see the incident through the eyes of the child. Usually, a child's aim is not to behave badly. Mistakes are caused by a lack of knowledge and due to the fact that a child cannot assess situations like an adult. Adults do not have the right to treat children degradingly only because children do not understand the world as adults do. Understanding can be increased with words and attitude. To the child, the punishment has to seem fair and in proportion with the done deed. Children desire greatly to be like adults – smart. Let’s give them a chance, learn ourselves and teach right behaviour by setting an example.
The task of adults dealing with children is to protect children both from mental and physical violence. This means that adults must stand up for children and inform about occasions when children have been physically punished, physically and mentally mistreated or if there is a chance or there is a doubt. It is obligatory to inform a child protection official of a local municipality and in case of need to the police about a child in need of help. One should call to the children's helpline 11611 to receive consultation. Received information is forwarded to suitable specialists (the police, child protection officials of local municipalities, etc.).
The Supreme Court has stated in case no 3-2-1-145-01 on 5 December 2001, concerning physical punishment of children, that the law prohibits a method of punishment, which torments the child, causes physical damages or in any other way threatens his/her mental or physical health. In the same decision the court has also stated that guaranteeing the observance of principles of the law is done in the interest of the public.
The general principle states that the best growing environment for a child is in his/her family with parents. A child can be separated from his/her family only if there is serious doubt that the child is mistreated in the family. The European Court of Human Rights has stated in case no 38000(1)/05 R. K., A. K. versus the United Kingdom that a child may be temporarily separated from his/her family and it is permitted if there is a mistreatment doubt.
Protection of children from unsuitable work
The constitution prohibits adult and child forced labour. Children should not be abused to get work done. A child cannot do work that is dangerous to him/her, does not enable him/her to attend school or is hazardous to his/her health and development.
The Employment Contracts Act regulates the working of children. It includes age limits and special conditions regulating children’s work. Depending on the minor’s age, he/she needs to have a permit from a parent or from a labour inspector to work.
Social protection
A child has the right to social protection, including social insurance. If parents cannot provide maintenance to a child due to lack of work, illness, special needs, old age, etc. the child must have economic support from the state.
Therefore the law prescribes various support schemes (e.g. family support) and social services to children and families with children. The state must take care of the child, if his/her parents or other persons responsible are not doing it.
Information on support and services offered to children and families with children by the state can be received from the local city or rural municipality government or from the children's helpline 116111.
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has stated in case no 39948/06 Saviny versus Ukraine that if the local government feels that the parents cannot provide suitable conditions for children, only factual circumstances are not enough to back it up. The local government must definitely prove that the same circumstances give sufficient cause to separate a child from his/her family. This means that the decision to separate a child from his/her family must be based on evidence, which have not been collected only during random visits by the officials of the local government. It is also necessary to have the opinions of doctors and if possible, depending on the age, also the child's opinion. All other alternatives must be considered before a child is separated from his/her family. It might be possible that the situation can be solved with counselling, economic, food or clothes aid. Once the child has been separated from the family, all around support must be continuously provided to the child and to parents, to make it possible for the child to return home. The child must be able to keep in touch with his/her family regularly, while being separated from the family, and children from one family should be kept in the same child care institution, if possible.
The European Court of Human Rights has stated in case no 27751/95 K. A. versus Finland that a better and more suitable growing environment, which the child would have after being relocated to a new family, is not sufficient cause to separate a child from his/her biological parents. Other significant circumstances have to be present to separate a child from his/her parents.
Protection from narcotic and psychotropic substances
Children must be protected from the use of narcotic and psychotropic substances. Legal, administrative, social and educational measures will be used to guarantee this.
It is necessary to have preventive work on the state level to protect children from narcotic and psychotropic substances and to have treatment and rehabilitation for dependent children.
Hodgkin, R.; Newell, P. Implementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of Child. Third ed. Unicef: Geneva 2007, p 249–273, 277–289, 479–498, 547–567.
Verhellen, E. Convention on the Rights of the Child. Estonian Union for Child Welfare: Tallinn, 2000, page 157.)