New survey: Six out of the ten municipalities ill-equipped to face the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child becoming law
The Government wants to strengthen children's rights by making the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) law. But a new study carried out by care provider Humana, in collaboration with the organisation Maskrosbarn shows that six out of ten surveyed municipal social services are poorly prepared for the big reform. Children's Rights Inquiry has made several specific proposals, but the majority of the municipalities are awaiting.
- When the CRC becomes Swedish law, municipalities will have to strengthen their work with children in vulnerable situations. This is a large and complex reform and therefore it is worrying that the majority of municipalities have not even begun reviewing how their own activities will be affected, says Jeanette Johansson-Ånmark, Method-coordinator Child and Youth at Humana.
This spring, the government-appointed Children's Rights Inquiry presented its final report with proposals for measures to be taken when the Convention becomes law. Although the government has not yet worked out a bill with concrete legislative proposals, the investigation presents well-described areas for improvement. It covers everything from education initiatives to improve the competence within the CRC, to information campaigns and adapting operations from a child perspective. An important part of the development will have to take place at the municipal social services which work with children in vulnerable situations.
A total of 131 municipal social administrations within the Humana Child Barometer answered the question on, if the municipality has initiated the process of identifying what actions the municipality needs to take to meet the obligations proposed. Six out of ten surveyed municipalities state that they have not initiated work to identify measures, one tenth answers that they do not know, and three out of ten state that the work has started.
- We daily meet and work with children in vulnerable situations see many times how children's rights are violated. To make the Convention into law is a welcome strengthening of the rights of the child but it will mean a tough adjustment process for many municipalities, says Jeanette Johansson-Ånmark.
For more information contact:
Jeanette Johansson-Ånmark, Method-coordinator Child and Youth, Humana, +46 (0)72-700 86 88,
email jeanette.johansson-anmark@humana.se
Sandra Patel Seropian, Head of advocacy work , Maskrosbarn, +46 (0)73-081 22 03
email sandra@maskrosbarn.org
Caroline Almgren, Project Manager, +46 (0)70-520 26 55, email caroline.almgren@humana.se
Humana is a leading Nordic care company providing services within individual and family care, personal assistance, elderly care and special service housing in accordance with LSS. Humana has more than 16,000 employees in Sweden, Norway and Finland providing care for over 8,000 individuals, and working towards the vision “Everyone is entitled to a good life”. In 2015, Humana’s operating revenue was SEK 5 655 M. The company’s headquarters are located in Stockholm, Sweden. Read more about Humana on humana.se or humanagroup.se