It took Jordan 33 long years to bring its first-ever child rights bill to
light, but the day has finally come for at-risk children to lead a life of
dignity and safety under a proposed law that obliges teachers and doctors,
among others, to report cases of child abuse to authorities.
اضافة اعلان
The issuance of
the draft low for children’s rights for the year 2022 can be described as a
truly pivotal moment for social justice in the country. It is one of 12 laws to
be deliberated upon in Parliament during the extraordinary session slated to
start on July 20.
The bill comes
more than three decades after Jordan’s ratification of the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989 as an international human rights treaty
that guarantees the youths’ right to a healthy childhood. Shortly after, Jordan
signed the convention in 1991.
Because of
delays in translating the convention into a domestic piece of legislation, the
Millennials, born roughly between 1981 and 1994, and a good portion of
Generation Z (1995 to 2012), have already missed out on the protections
included in the draft law.
Child abuse is
an acute problem in Jordan. According to a study published late last year by
UNICEF and the National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA), an alarming 74.6
percent of children experience at least one form of physical violence, not to
mention other forms of abuse. Children make up around 40 percent of the
population, according to 2019 statistics.
Unlike other
pieces of legislation, the children’s rights bill steers away from legal jargon
— with a writing style that is akin to a policy paper of guiding principles. It
offers specific institutions and ministries in the educational, health and law
enforcement sectors a roadmap on ways to treat children with dignity while
having their best interest in mind.
Moreover, the
bill does not shy away from notions that were once taboo in the Jordanian
society. Clause A of Article 46 stipulates that “anyone” can report threats to
a child’s “health or physical and moral wellbeing” to authorities. Clause B, on
the other hand, makes it “obligatory” for service providers in the educational,
health, and social sectors, in addition to labor inspectors, to report such
violations to the relevant establishments. This means that if teachers,
doctors, nurses, social workers and officials who spot child labor fail to
report abuses of children’s rights, they will be fined JD300–JD500, in
accordance with Article 60 of the proposed law.
The same penalty
applies for anyone who exposes children to “negligence, violence, mistreatment,
exploitation”, bodily harm and harsh behavior that “could affect the emotional
and psychological balance of the child” (Article 44, Clause A). Legal guardians
who prevent children in their custody from accessing mandatory education will
also be fined.
In a way, these
stipulations challenge Article 62 of the Penal Code, which exempts parental
disciplinary action from being perceived as a criminal act. More importantly,
it puts an end to social norms that enable predators who betray children’s
trust and commit their crimes against childhood in the name of upbringing or
education.
Unfortunately, witnesses of child abuse are often predisposed to side with the perpetrators in a society that values image and reputation over the actual wellbeing of its most vulnerable.
The child rights
law has the potential of effecting change across a range of sectors and laws,
including those pertaining to cybercrime, health and education. For example, it
emphasizes the right of children to “participate” in the design and
implementation of “entertaining, cultural, artistic, and scientific” programs,
which gives children a voice in crafting extra-curricular activities that
expand their horizons and the confidence to assert themselves at an early age.
All in all, the
bill promises nothing less than a paradigm shift in a society that continues to
keep child abuse cases under wraps. It has the potential to dissipate the
culture of silence and complicity surrounding all forms of violence against
children. Unfortunately, witnesses of child abuse are often predisposed to side
with the perpetrators in a society that values image and reputation over the
actual wellbeing of its most vulnerable.
This said, the
child rights bill is balanced in the way it demonstrates a sensitivity toward
the context of the Jordanian society, including its conservative propensities,
all while pushing the envelope in the areas that need improvement. For example,
it emphasizes the importance of the nuclear family and its reputation, however,
it tactfully gives plenty of room for children to access legal support if their
needs and safety are being compromised, including by their parents and legal
guardians. The wording, however, is drafted in a non-provocative manner to get
those ideas across as delicately as possible.
Back in the
1980s and 1990s such notions were seen as foreign to society; dramas aired on
Jordan TV and wire stories picked up by local newspapers zoomed in on stories
about Western children being snatched away from their families because of an
error in judgement by social workers.
But things are
different now. Al-Ghad News, with its fleet of female reporters, has been
spearheading its own awareness campaign on issues related to violence against
women and children. Jordan News, launched last year, has followed suit
with bold and assertive pro-social justice articles.
One other
interesting feature of the law is its gender-neutrality; the bill makes
repetitive reference to “the child” without ever using the words “boy” or
“girl”. In a phone conversation earlier this week, NCFA Secretary General
Mohammad Miqdadi responded to a question about this particular point by saying:
“A child is a child, … who is entitled to things like health care ‘as a child’,
regardless of whether they are male or female.”
The NCFA is part
of the technical committee that drafted the law, along with the ministries of
education, health and justice, as well as the Public Security Directorate and
UNICEF, among others.
The remarks made
in this article are pertinent to the original draft law they prepared, as
posted on the Legislation and Opinion Bureau’s website for the year 2020.
According to Al-Ghad News, the Cabinet in April approved an amended version of
this bill for 2022, where it removed clauses that made pre-school learning
mandatory education. By the time this article was submitted, the
Cabinet-approved draft was still missing from the bureau’s site.
Adamant on
pursuing child welfare in all its forms, the bill gives the NCFA the mandate
and the tools to follow up on the implementation of the law through “periodic
reports” to be submitted to the Cabinet. It also gives the council the power to
request the support it needs from the relevant authorities to fulfil this
mission.
This will
hopefully ensure the full activation of a well-written law that offers Jordan’s
current and future children a way out of harsh treatment and violence, and,
ultimately, the space they need to dream and flourish.
Ruba Saqr has reported on the environment, worked in the
public sector as a communications officer, and served as managing editor of a
business magazine, spokesperson for a humanitarian INGO, and as head of a PR
agency.
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