Up in smoke: the United States of America’s vaping epidemic threatens adolescent futures

Posted on Posted in Children's Rights, Environment, Health

Following rapid growth, e-cigarettes have become the most used tobacco product among youth populations in the United States of America (USA) (Cullen, 2019). Their modern packaging – often shaped like USB flash drives – and multiplicity of artificial flavours appeal to younger demographics (Cullen, 2019). Beyond the glitz and glamour, e-cigarettes have been thrust to […]

Ethnic cleansing and grave violations of children’s rights in Ethiopia’s Western Tigray region

Posted on Posted in Children's Rights, Health, Human Rights, Poverty, violence

Hundreds of thousands of Tigrayans have been silently displaced, abused and scrutinized in atrocious actions played by the Amhara region and the Ethiopian Federal troops where children, women and men not only lost their homes and loved ones but also their dignity and human rights. This ethnic war has caused children in Western Tigray to […]

Safeguarding elite child athletes: a multidimensional challenge

Posted on Posted in Children's Rights, Explotation, Health

At the landmark 2020 International Labour Organisation (ILO) Dialogue Forum on Decent Work in the World of Sport, member states emphasised the need for “special protection” for young athletes, given the intensity of their working environments. With limited consent, young athletes are frequently required to push themselves through extreme physical training, risking serious or chronic […]

How early marriage is negatively impacting maternal health during teenage pregnancies worldwide

Posted on Posted in Child Marriage, Children's Rights, Explotation, Health

In the world, as we know it, marriage stands for a symbiosis of support and understanding. However, the sad reality is that not everyone gets the same chance to make it right. Whilst it is true that forced child marriage practice has decreased over time, we still have a long way to go.  Unfortunate instances […]

Diversity of bodies – intersex children’s rights to self-determine their own bodies

Posted on Posted in Children's Rights, Empowerment, Health, Human Rights, LGBTQ+ Rights

“Medicine and society need to see intersex individuals as natural. I occur in nature and I demand to make my own decisions, the same as any other person. And I demand it for any individual who is born intersex.” – Karen A. Walsh (Davis, 2016) The term “intersex” is an umbrella term that describes bodily […]

Children’s lack of access to pediatric intensive care in rural areas threatens their right to life

Posted on Posted in Health, Poverty

Pediatric intensive care is fundamental in reducing morbidity and mortality globally. In rural areas, the majority of hospitals is lacking designated intensive care units, healthcare staff trained to care for critically ill children, and rapid access to necessary medications, supplies and equipment. Consequently, children in rural areas and other resource-limited settings face increasing barriers to […]

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on child mortality and its collateral damage

Posted on Posted in Health, Poverty, violence

While worldwide child mortality rates – defined as “the annual number of child deaths divided by the total number of births in a given region” (Humanium, n.d.) – are decreasing slowly, the Covid-19 pandemic has cast doubt on the permanence of this trend. The pandemic has also had indirect effects on the lives of many […]

The influence of period poverty on the rights of girls and women around the world

Posted on Posted in Children's Rights, Education, Empowerment, Health

Despite living in a world where there is a constant desire and drive to identify and understand everything, something as basic and inherent as menstruation is still a topic shrouded with misinformation, taboo, and shame. While menstruation is a way of life for millions of girls and women around the world, there are still an […]

Ecocide and its influence on children’s rights

Posted on Posted in Children's Rights, Environment, Health

“The climate crisis is a child rights crisis.” – UNICEF, 2021 According to the Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI), nearly half of the world’s children ‘are at “extremely high risk” of the impacts of climate change.… And it is happening today.’ (UNICEF, 2021, p. 4). ‘Ecocide’ as a concept, and the demands for it to […]

The horrors of Canada’s history: the unmarked indigenous graves

Posted on Posted in Children's Rights, Education, Explotation, Health, Indigenous people, violence

In May 2021, Canada was rocked by the discovery of an unmarked gravesite designated for over 200 indigenous children (Cecco, Michael & Voce, 2021). The burial ground, located on the premises of a former school in British Columbia, is testimony to the country’s historic segregation of indigenous children from mainstream society and the flagrant abuse […]