Child poverty and the girl child

Living in a state of poverty which infers living below a certain income level and being deprived the right to access basic needs – information, health care, education housing, sanitation, hygiene, adequate and nutritious food, freshwater - has a disproportional impact on children, who are physically more vulnerable to the effects of these deprivations (CEPAL, UNICEF, 2012).

As stated by the CEPAL/ UNICEF study, ‘poverty when present during childhood, demonstrates a lack of the exercise and title of rights, and in effect the negation of citizenship’. Addressing it is not only vital for child survival but also for ensuring child well-being and child well-becoming. The study revealed that 56% of children in lower and middle income Latin American countries experienced one or more severe deprivations. In a separate section it highlights the gender perspective of child poverty and describes the contribution of the inter- generational reproduction of the gender division of labour, especially concerning key themes such as child labour and school desertion, to girl child poverty (CEPAL, UNICEF, 2012).

In Latin America, as in many parts of the world, girl child labour commonly involves domestic activities that are often unremunerated. Such work is often disruptive to their education (if not a complete obstacle) and when outside of the home, exposes them to different forms of mistreatment and abuse. This situation, argues the paper, also contributes to the development of an occupational pattern whereby the care of others becomes the natural and almost exclusive responsibility of girl children (CEPAL, UNICEF, 2012).

There is increasing discussion of the need to focus on children as a specific vulnerable group, who have a right to have their voice listened to, be involved in measuring their own well-being using subjective measures and as a result, be the unit of analysis in such assessments. However, within this campaign it is easy to forget the specific needs of sub-groups such as girl children, who face in effect double vulnerability due to their age and gender and, for whom current campaigns and measurements may not be sufficient to ensure their well-being and well-becoming. 

Analysis of the effect of girl child labour on inter-generational poverty infers another element of the interdependence of the well-being of girl children and that of their mothers’. Although household and time use activities change over time, women’s use of time is different to that of men’s (Stiglitz, Sen, Fitoussi 2009) and in this respect, their well-being influences that of their children. Consequently the economic autonomy and decision making power of women/mothers, has an influence on a girl child’s chances of not living in poverty and being inserted into a more equal world (CEPAL, UNICEF, 2012).

The application of non monetary indicators to track girl’s and women’s time use which reveal the activities undertaken and opportunities missed can help to build evidence of the need to address gender inequalities and barriers to opportunities - which commence from a young age - as well as how to address them and help to contribute to breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty.

Minujin A, 2012, Global Child Poverty and Well-Being: Measurement, Concept, Policy and Action,

Stiglitz, Sen, Fitoussi 2009, Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress, http://www.stiglitz-sen-fitoussi.fr/documents/rapport_anglais.pdf

UNICEF, CEPAL, 2012, Pobreza Infantil en America Latina y el Caribe, Santiago

May update from Wellbeing Wales

The month of May. Dreaded by parents, teachers and children alike. Up and down the country, swarms of school and university students will be settling down to sit exams. GCSE's, AS levels, A-levels, undergraduate, postgraduate- the list goes on. All struggling to obtain those all important qualifications in a world where having the majority of the alphabet after your name does not guarantee a job, a secure career or personal wellbeing. And it seems that the current and future wellbeing of today's students is playing on the minds of the media and educational worlds alike.

With government proposals to keep children in education until they are 18 due to begin in the next academic year, the findings of Manchester Universities study certainly makes for interesting parallel reading. The study analysed 14,000 school leavers of the 1940's when the leaving age was raised from 14 to 15. The participants were split into two groups- those who left school before the 1947 age increase and those who were made to stay on an extra year.

Through extensive cognitive tests and questionnaires the survey revealed that although those who remained in school an extra year were more likely to have 'better mental abilities in old age', the study found there to be no ' "statistically significant" effect on wellbeing or quality of life'. It is hard to predict whether or not the findings would be the same for today's school leavers, but it does raise some interesting points. For today's youth, staying on into further education is fast becoming the only option in a world where educational merit is valued above skilled trade and creative ability. The lack of trade apprenticeships and on-the-job training means that children are increasingly finding their worth being defined by means of their educational attainment, rather than their individual skills and abilities. Perhaps the real focus should not be on forcing children to stay within the educational system for longer, but reimagining our industry and shaping it to utilise the skills of all our young people, not just the academically gifted. Only when young people feel a sense of worth and an ability to contribute to society will they truly feel a greater sense of wellbeing.

And it seems that it is not only school leavers who are under scrutiny. Education expert, Dr Richard House, claims that children would do better in life should they be allowed to start school at a later age. Condemning the current system of starting children on the educational treadmill from the age of 5, Dr House calls for the end of the 'adultification' of young children. Drawing attention to how the UK has one of the earliest school starting ages in Europe, Dr House claims that 'the evidence is now quite overwhelming that such an early introduction to institutional learning is not only quite unnecessary for the vast majority of children, but can actually cause major developmental harm, and at worst a shortened lifespan.' House's sentiments echo those of Professor Greg Broooks who, in 2009, advised that formal schooling should be started two years later than the current starting age of 5. However, it is House's proposition that children from deprived and disadvantaged backgrounds should continue to enter education at a younger age because they would 'benefit from such early interventions', that is likely to cause the most controversy. Assuming that children from deprived backgrounds are not benefiting from informal education is a dangerous assumption to make and House's comments risk widening the class divide even further.
And it seems it's not just the children who are the topic of concern. The Guardian reports how Christine Gilbert, former head of Ofsted, believes we are facing a teaching time bomb with growing 'widespread disillusionment in schools despite the level of teacher professionalism being "better than ever" '. Her comments come after teaching union, the NASUWT, reveals that almost half of its 230,000 members have considered resigning in the last year alone amid ' a collective crisis of confidence in the profession'. Impossible targets, poor working conditions, dilapidated buildings and weakening disciplinary abilities have left over one third of their members feeling as if they are not respected as professionals.

There is undoubtedly a huge problem facing our education system. Whereas there may be conflicting views as to how to remodel the system, it is essential that the wellbeing of both teachers and pupils remain the focus of any restructure. Creating a culture of wellbeing and respect is essential to ensuring that both teachers and students grow and meet their potential in education and life.

Week in Review

Hello, glad you could join us for the Wikiprogress week in review - a handful of headlines that have caught our eyes over the last week. You can find all news articles and blog posts on the progress community in the Wikiprogress Community Portal.

On progress
The New Economics of Happiness (The Atlantic 23.05.2012)
This week the OECD released an updated version of the Better Life Index, an initiative that measures progress based on various components of well-being including income, housing and life satisfaction.
See more and contribute to the Wikiprogress media review of the Better Life Index update

On the GFC and well-being
Economic Crisis Has Lasting Effect on Wellbeing Worldwide (Gallup 25.05.2012)
Since the 2008 economic meltdown, Gallup’s well-being studies have shown that on average around 1 in 4 adults worldwide have consistently rated their lives are ‘thriving’. However, the percentage of people rating their lives as ‘suffering’ has increased and stayed relatively high.
See more and contribute to the Wikiprogress article on well-being

On urbanisation
The Path to Riches is Paved Through Cities (China Daily 25.05.2012)
China has 690 million urban dwellers, that’s 51.3% of China's total population. The recent urban transition has been referred to by Joseph Stiglitz as one of the two main forces shaping the world in the 21st century. In 2012, China’s urbanisation landmark will have even more significance for the global economy.
See more and contribute to the Wikiprogress article on urbanisation

On gender equality
While Men Go Drinking, Women Go Fishing (IPS 22.05.2012)
The decline in water levels as a result of climate change has created new opportunities for women living in Genda Village, Zambia. The decreased water levels of the local river has meant these women are now able to fish, something that was too dangerous previously.
See more and contribute to the Wikigender article on gender equality in Zambia

We hope you will tune in the same time next week. In the meantime, if anything interesting passes your desk that you would like to see in the next Wikiprogress week in review, please tweet it to us @Wikiprogress or post it on our Facebook page.



Yours in Progress,
Philippa Lysaght

The role of children in measuring their own well-being

Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, states that a ‘child who is capable of forming his or her own views (has) the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child’ (OHCHR).

The application of subjective indicators to measure child well-being have somewhat been inspired by this article in the CRC and their usage has been the subject of much debate. Relying on children to effectively communicate and capture their own sense of well-being has been seen as problematic and arguments against it are commonly based on two main points. Firstly, adults know better than children and as a result they don’t need to be consulted and secondly, children are not capable of articulating their feelings (The New Economics, 2009). Also as stated by the OECD, little is known about the policy amenability of child measures of subjective well-being (OECD, 2009).

The applicability of these arguments does depend on the age of the child. Whilst for very young children they may be valid, evidence shows that children slightly older than preschool age do know what is important to them and that therefore they can provide insightful information that is relevant and important for policy development. Additionally the world of children today is very different to that of the adults who care for them or who comment on their well-being and therefore it may equally be argued that their perceptions are not wholly relevant (The New Economics, 2009).

Children’s perceptions of life and how they feel do differ from those of adults who may be more conditioned or influenced by experiences over the years. In this regard, it is pertinent that measurements take this into consideration and the inclusion of positive as well as negative indicators in child subjective well-being measurements, which allow for assessment of well-being and ill-being, could be argued to be more appropriate and less directive of results.

References

OECD, 2009, Doing better for children, Chapter 2 ‘Comparative Child Well-being across the OECD’, http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/19/4/43570328.pdf

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm#art5

The New Economics, 2009, A guide to measuring children’s well-being, http://www.neweconomics.org/publications/guide-measuring-children%E2%80%99s-well-being

Week in review

Hello, glad you could join us for the Wikiprogress week in review - a handful of headlines that have caught our eyes over the last week. You can find all news articles and blog posts on the progress community in the Wikiprogress Community Portal.

On food security
African Growth Depends on Food Security (Associated Press 16.05.2012)
According to the 2012 African Human Development Report released by the UNDP this week, nearly 218 million people on the continent are undernourished and 55 million children are malnourished, a figure that is projected to rise.
See more and download the 2012 African Human Development Report

On gender equality
Tunisia’s Revolution is Just the Beginning (IPS Gender Wire 09.05.2012)
Tunisia is perceived as having a very progressive family code, and Tunisian women are considered the most liberated in the region. However, this could all change with the Salafists clamouring for a return to a more ‘traditional’ society.
See more and contribute to the Wikiprogress article on the Arab Spring

On social capital
New Paradigm Needed To Ensure Global Job Creation (Scoop 17.05.2012)
The UN has stressed the importance of establishing a new paradigm for growth that ensures social inclusiveness and job opportunities. In his address to the General Assembly, Ban Ki-moon said, “It is time to recognize that human capital and natural capital are every bit as important as financial capital.”
See more and contribute to the Wikiprogress article on Social Capital

On China
Economic Growth Sows Unhappiness (in some cases) (NY Daily News 15.05.2012)
A report released by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal this week has found that despite considerable economic growth over the last 20 years, people in China report an equal decline in their subjective well-being.
See more and contribute to the Wikiprogress article on Progress in China

In the Spotlight: Canadian Index of WellBeing Online Discussion
The CIW online discussion has generated a wide variety of comments from a diverse group of users.  Dr. Bryan Smale, Director of the CIW, posted a response to questions and issues raised so far and discussed the future challenges faced by the CIW and larger measuring progress community.
See more and contribute to the CIW Online Discussion

We hope you will tune in the same time next week. In the meantime, if anything interesting passes your desk that you would like to see in the next Wikiprogress week in review, please tweet it to us @Wikiprogress or post it on our Facebook page.

Underlying discrimination against women stopping progress on gender equality and development

A girl who is married early and then begins child rearing early is not likely to finish her education, which then limits her employment opportunities. Her lower status in the family will not only affect her own well-being but also that of her children. If she then finds herself in an abusive relationship, this means she will have little access to economic resources inside the household and her ability to make decisions about her children’s well-being will be diminished. If the bank then requires her husband’s permission to take out a loan or open a bank account she will not be able to start a small business. These pervasive, but often invisible forms of discrimination stop women from fulfilling their full potential and to contribute to their own wellbeing and their countries’ progress.

The OECD Development Centre’s 2012 Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) provides a stock-take of where countries currently stand on discrimination against women. While other measures of gender inequality tell us about gender gaps in education or employment, the SIGI is unique in measuring what drives those gaps, such as women’s status in the family, the legal age to marry, inheritance discrimination, access to credit, and restrictions on right to own land and property.

The results of the SIGI, which was first launched in 2009, show that while there has been promising progress in some aspects of discrimination against women, there is still much more to be done. Areas of progress include the introduction of laws to combat domestic violence, an overall decline in early marriage and some countries showing improvement with respect to missing women. Certain forms of discrimination against women remain widespread. Out of 121 countries covered in the 2012 SIGI, 86 have discriminatory inheritance practices or laws. On average across these countries, around half of women believe domestic violence is justified in certain circumstances. Some countries in South Asia, Central Asia and South-East Asia show strong evidence of missing women due to son bias.

How do the regions compare? Latin America is the top-ranking region in the 2012 rankings. Countries in Latin America generally have strong legal frameworks to promote gender equality in the family and property rights and countries have increasingly introduced laws to combat violence against women. The region has the highest share of women in parliament among developing countries: in 2011, 20% of parliamentarians were women and 12 countries in the region currently have quotas to promote women’s representation in national governments. There is some stand out initiatives in the region. For example, Argentina, the top-ranking country in the 2012 SIGI, has set up a special observatory to monitor discrimination and gender-based violence in radio and television. Venezuela has introduced a law to address gender-based violence that not only includes punishment and prosecution, but also requires that the authorities implement programmes to raise awareness and change attitudes.

Sub-Saharan Africa and Middle East and North Africa show the highest levels of discrimination against women. Many countries have discriminatory laws in relation to marriage and property rights or do not have adequate protection against gender-based violence. In some countries, like Niger or Mali, over half of girls between 15 and 19 are married. However, there is reason to be optimistic. In Rwanda and South Africa, for example, the introduction of political quotas has led to a greater representation of women in politics. South Africa and Morocco are among the countries where the social and legal status of women improved considerably over the past years. South Africa has introduced landmark reforms of inheritance laws, standing apart from the rest of the region. In Morocco, reforms to the Family Code have granted women equal rights in marriage and the country has also introduced quotas to boost women’s political representation.

In the face of mounting evidence that gender equality is crucial for development, economic growth and poverty reduction, we need to sharpen our thinking on how these underlying forms of discrimination can be addressed. While legal reform is an important first step, it is clear that laws alone won’t change the deeply ingrained mindsets that are holding back women and girls from unleashing their full potential. Community mobilization and community awareness is critical and there are examples of innovative programmes such as the Partners in Prevention “Engaging Young Men through Social Media for the Prevention of Violence against Women”, which engages with young people via the use of social media to reach out to boys and men to take action to end gender-based violence in Asia and the Pacific. Economic incentives can also make a difference. India has introduced a cash transfer programme to address early marriage and there is also  theNepal tax incentive which encourages families to share property with their wives, daughters.

At the launch of the 2012 SIGI at the US Department of State  on May 10 2012, Chief Economist Heidi Crebo-Rediker said, in her opening remarks: “We have to move from the anecdotal to the comprehensive. Armed with the facts, we have to explain why, if you care about growth, you must care about women. We have to explain why it matters. (…) That is why Secretary Clinton and the United States support the launch of the OECD’s Social Institutions and Gender Index. We want to study these barriers and identify solutions.”  There is a broad consensus that gender equality matters as a fundamental human right and for poverty reduction and development. Policy-makers and donors must now invest in interventions to transform discriminatory social institutions to enable women and girls to fulfill their aspirations and fully contribute to social and economic life.

Visit

www.genderindex.org

www.wikigender.org

www.oecd.org/dev/gender

The connection between mother and child well-being

On May 13, the second Sunday of the month, many countries throughout the world - Cuba, United States, Australia, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, the Netherlands, Zambia, Honduras and Greece - paid tribute to mothers and their role in society by celebrating Mothers Day.

Despite the diversity of these countries in terms of their culture, languages spoken, history and economic wealth, one common element present within them and the world over is the importance of the role of mothers in children’s development. As documented in the Save the Children report ‘Nutritionin the First 1,000 Days, State of the World’s Mothers 2012’ the quality of children’s lives is dependent on the health, security and well-being of mothers. Providing mothers with access to education, income earning opportunities, maternal and child health care gives them and their children the best chance of survival and quality development.

The report applies a ‘Mother’s Index’ and ranks countries based on results. The index is constituted of a composite of separate objective indices for women’s and children’s well-being - which grouped into the broader areas of women’s health status; educational, economic and political status; children’s well-being - include female life expectancy, under 5 mortality rates, primary and secondary school enrolment, maternity leave benefits and ratios of male to female income earned. 

Applied to 165 countries (43 developed nations, 122 in the developing world) the index revealed stark differences between the situation for mothers in developed countries and those in the developing world with Norway ranked as the best place to be a mother and Niger the worst. The index reveals the severe inequality between countries and the degree to which mothers and their children, can and do, survive and thrive throughout the world.

The results of these objective indices are vital for revealing existing gaps and dangers, specifically related to child nutrition, and effectively focus on women as actors for change. In terms of the other aspects of children’s integral development (cognitive, socio emotional, spiritual and physical), the role of mothers is equally important and subjective as well as objective indicators of well-being are an effective way of measuring this and the situation for mothers and children beyond their mere survival.

Throughout the world mothers are the primary family caregivers and from Manhattan to Kinshasa, their emotional well-being, as well as their physical health, is highly important to the creation of a positive environment for children’s growth and development and therefore their long term well-being. Scientific studies show that children who grow up in a positive environment tend to have greater mental and emotional health throughout the course of their lives. Additionally, the maintenance of positive emotions during early childhood has an effect on self esteem and behaviour (Reynolds, 2007 & Stark 2002).

The application of subjective indicators such as those employed in the Canadian Index of Well-being - living standards, time use, community vitality, democratic engagement, and leisure and culture – would help to better ascertain how they feel about themselves, their lives, responsibilities as caregivers and their capacity to fulfil them. Such an approach would allow for insight into barriers that may hinder women’s well-being and the development of their children, for example the burden of caregiver responsibility that they carry and how without support opportunities for income generation, furthering education and free time for mothers are impeded affecting their economic, emotional and physical well-being and, their ability to breastfeed and the societal and cultural attitudes towards breast feeding.

Such detail can help to identify where greater supports are required for the benefit of mothers and in turn that of their children.

Reynolds, A., J. Temple, S. Ou, D. Robertson, J. Mersky, J. Topitzes y M. Niles (2007). Effects of a Preschool and School-Age Intervention on Adult Health and Well Being: Evidence from the Chicago Longitudinal Study. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, March 30, 2007, Boston, MA.

Stark, I. (2002). Engaging and Supporting Parents and Providers throughout A Continuum of Children´s Mental Health Services. Child Care Bulletin, spring (25), p. 7.

Week in review

Hello, glad you could join us for the Wikiprogress week in review - a handful of headlines that have caught our eyes over the last week. You can find all news articles and blog posts on the progress community in the Wikiprogress Community Portal.

Spotlight:  Canadian Index of Wellbeing Online Discussion
Have your say and be a part of the conversation shaping the future of measuring what matters. The discussion focuses on the next phase of the progress movement and seeks contribution from all interested individuals and organisations.
See more and have your say on the  Canadian Index of Wellbeing Online Discussion

Human Development Report release
Asia-Pacific Human Development Report (UNDP)
The Asia-Pacific Human Development Report “One Planet to Share: Sustaining human progress in a changing climate” is a reminder for us all that if climate change is managed in a coordinated way, it will unravel human progress now and in the days to come.
See more and contribute to the Wikiprogress article on the Human Development Index

On Rio+20
Linking the development and environmental agendas (ODI Report release)
A new ODI background note “Separated at birth, reunited in Rio? A roadmap to bring environment and development back together”  sets out to explain why reconciling the two agendas has been so difficult at a practical level, and suggests how Rio+20 could start to bridge the gaps between the two.
See more and contribute to the Wikiprogress article on sustainable development

On big data
How social media is being used by the UN to spot crises (UN Global Pulse)
In this video, Robert Kirkpatrick from the UN Global Pulse team explains how the social media revolution has opened up a significant amount of data that can be analysed to see signs of change and therefore enable us to respond to disaster quickly, rather after the fact.


On gender equality
The OECD Development Centre's 2012 Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) was launched yesterday in Washington. The SIGI is an innovative measure of underlying discrimination against women for over 100 countries. While other indices measure gender inequalities in outcomes such as education and employment, the SIGI focuses instead on the underlying drivers of these inequalities and reflects changes in laws or practices.
See more on methodology, country rankings by visting the new website www.genderindex.org and follow the discussion on Twitter using #SIGI2012

We hope you will tune in the same time next week. In the meantime, if anything interesting passes your desk that you would like to see in the next Wikiprogress week in review, please tweet it to us @Wikiprogress or post it on our Facebook page.


Yours in Progress,
Philippa Lysaght

CRC and governments delivering on commitments: Australia’s National Children’s Commissioner

New Zealand, Britain, Sweden and Norway each have one and last week it was announced that by the end of 2012, Australia will have a National Children’s Commissioner. Sitting within the Australian Human Rights Commission, the National Commissioner’s role will be to promote the rights, well-being and development of children and young people in Australia. The Commissioner will raise awareness of issues affecting children, undertake research and education programs and monitor the Government’s legislation, policy and programs relating to children’s rights, well-being and development (Attorney General for Australia, 2012).

The responsibilities of the National Commissioner are in line with the General Measure of Implementation (GIM) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states the importance of establishing co-ordinating and monitoring bodies to ensure that all children enjoy all rights of the Convention (UNHCR, 2003).

The Convention on the Rights of the child is the most ratified treaty in the world. Yet this strong show of commitment by governments is not always reflected in action. In many countries, some of the rights set out in the Convention are yet to be incorporated into national legislation meaning that although the commitment has been made at an international level, there is no legal instrument at a national level to ensure its implementation.

In Australia assessments of the quality of child well-being have shown some poor results, despite the country being a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, developed, wealthy and peaceful with low levels of poverty.

Drawing on a UNICEF IRC 2007 publication, ‘Child poverty in perspective: an overview of child well-being in rich countries’, in 2008 UNICEF Australia partnered with the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) to develop a unique report card on the wellbeing of young Australians. With the absence of internationally-agreed upon indicators of child well-being, the CRC is an ideal source of guidance and was applied in both studies to assess the situation for children. In the Australia study eight dimensions of child well-being were used for analysis:

1. Material well-being
2. Health and safety
3. Educational well-being
4. Relationships
5. Behaviours and risks
6. Subjective well-being
7. Participation
8. Environment

The findings of the report revealed that Australia’s progress was behind that of many other developed nations in some indicators. Indigenous Australian babies were found to have the lowest birth weight in the OECD and Australia ranked 20^th of 27 countries for infant mortality. Teenage pregnancy rates were significantly higher than the OECD average and those for Indigenous young Australians were the highest in the OECD. School achievement for Indigenous young Australians was in the bottom 10% with only two other countries achieving lower scores, Mexico and Turkey (ARACY, 2008).

These results are indicative of how achieving and maintaining child well-being can be a complex process. The presence of peace, economic prosperity, social protection and welfare and, regulatory frameworks are all important factors that contribute to an environment conducive to promoting the well-being of children. However, other strategies are required to ensure delivery on commitments and that the specific needs of disadvantaged populations are met.  

The assurance of children’s well-being requires a holistic and multidimensional approach and coordination across ministries and between actors to ensure the social, physical, nutritional, cognitive and emotional developmental needs of children of all ages, living in all different contexts, are met. Additionally, the implementation of initiatives requires monitoring and evaluation and the measurement of progress to ensure accountability and the effective use of resources.

The move by the Australian government to prioritise children and their needs through the nomination of a National Commissioner demonstrates recognition of the importance of children’s rights and well-being and is a hugely positive step towards achieving progress in these areas and improving the situation for all children in Australia.

Wikichild Consultant

Hannah Chadwick

Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY), 2008, the ARACY Report Card on the Well-being of Young Australians: Technical Report, ARACY, CanberraAustralian Research

Attorney General for Australia, 2012, Gillard Government to establish National Children's Commissioner, Media Release 29.04.2012, (Accessed 07.05.2012), Available at:  http://www.attorneygeneral.gov.au/Media-releases/Pages/2012/Second%20Quarter/29-April-2012---Gillard-Government-to-establish-National-Childrens-Commissioner.aspx?zbrandid=2039&zidType=CH&zid=2771439&zsubscriberId=504179093&zbdom=http://aracy.informz.net 

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), 2003, GENERAL COMMENT No. 5 (2003), General measures of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (arts. 4, 42 and 44, para. 6), (Accessed 08.05.2012), Available at: http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/898586b1dc7b4043c1256a450044f331/3bba808e47bf25a8c1256db400308b9e/$FILE/G0345514.pdf 

Save the Children Australia, 2010, National Children's commissioner: Our Position, Policy, Research and Advocacy Department, (Accessed 07.05.2012), Available at: http://www.savethechildren.org.au/resources/position-papers/national-childrens-commissioner.html 

UNICEF IRC, 2006, The General Measures of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, (Accessed 07.05.2012), Available at: http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/415