Who cares, wins

Or was it? Those involved in the long struggle to get parliament approval for Child Protection legislation are still battle-weary, despite the obvious gains in their favour.

Kitiya Phornsadja

“I think, for us, the law is extremely important and instrumental in the creation of a protective environment,” says UNICEF child protection officer Kitiya Phornsadja. “But the idea that it is for control over children is not the spirit of the law.”

Given the somewhat lacklustre media coverage of the issue, the general public could be forgiven for thinking that the new Child Protection Act is there to stop kids getting drunk, smoking and involving themselves in all sorts of other anti-social activities. But that was never its intention, nor will it ever be. The law is there to do what its name suggests – protect children. Every clause and article in it has some link to supporting children and adults involved in cases of neglect or abuse. Little of it is punitive because legislation already exists to prosecute such violations.

Along with 191 other countries, Thailand signed up to the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child in 1992, promising adequate protection for its children. Since then, lobbyists and activists have been working alongside the government to provide appropriate infrastructure on top of legislation that will support as well as protect children who are in danger of abuse or neglect.

The resulting Child Protection Act calls for a committee to be established in each province, made up of a multi-disciplinary team of social workers, pediatricians, educators and public prosecutors amongst others. They will work together not only to deal with individual cases as needs be but also to provide support and guidance in order to resolve issues.

This is a major leap forward for Thailand. Sadly, however, it has not been heralded as much as it might have been. Although the Act was over ten years in the making, when it became law on March 30^th, few of Thailand’s citizens were aware of its implications.

Newspapers and other media had earlier caused a storm when the idea of a 10pm curfew was mooted and then subsequently dropped. Ever since, there has been little of note in the papers or on the television which is hardly surprising when you consider that those in charge of promoting the Act, and thus informing the public of their new responsibilities, only began work one month before it was launched. Consequently, the issue has not had much time to make an impact.

Three months down the line, information is steadily trickling into schools and the issue is gaining a little bit more press coverage. Only a little, however, which is a shame because it is now the law for the media to play an active role in promoting child protection issues.

The new Child Protection Act is far-reaching and, if embraced positively, could bring Thailand in line with the developed world when it comes to child safety. It is no secret that heart-wrenching tales of child trafficking and exploitation are relatively common here. When people begin to realise what can be done and start working together, the lives of vulnerable children throughout the country could be transformed.

Under the new Act, all those who come in to contact with children have a duty to inform Child Protection authorities if they have reason to suspect that a child is being abused or neglected. Schools, by their very nature, are on the front line here, so it is imperative that educators and administrators are prepared to deal with situations when they arise.

A whole chapter of the Act entitled “Behaviour Promotion of Pupils and Students” provides guidelines on how schools might follow up on children who systematically break the rules, urging them to find out if the problems are more deeply rooted. Importantly, full protection is guaranteed to those instigating any case and responsibility for the welfare of that child can be handed over to the Child Protection authorities fairly swiftly if needs be.

Sanphasit Koompraphant

One group who have spearheaded the campaign for child protection is the Centre for Protection of Children’s Rights (CPCR). The group’s director, Sanphasit Koompraphant, has worked tirelessly over the years to make the new law a reality and sat on the drafting committee set up by the government. “We have to fight again and again,” he says, “because they [the government] said this law tries to limit or control children. But that is not the point. When children are in danger, someone must try to help and rescue them from that danger – that’s a universal rule.”

Reflecting on how the law will affect schools, Sanphasit suggests that administrators should concentrate on creating a safe environment as a matter of priority. “They have to focus on things like child bullying,” he says. “For example, they should have at least two adults in school before the first child arrives and when the last child leaves. If there is no adult around then when the child is at school, it can be a very dangerous situation.”

Areas where children are vulnerable to abuse by other students or even, on rare occasions, by teachers are also a concern. Places such as student toilets, Sanphasit advises, should be situated in an area where they can be monitored effectively. “If somebody like a male student goes in to the female student toilet then you can intervene,” he suggests. “Some students will use the toilet for smoking or bullying or sexually abusing each other. We should not allow children - or even children and teachers - to be alone in a private place.”

Many student problems in school, of course, arise from problems at home. Anyone who has suffered abuse, be it violent, psychological or sexual, will tell you that the experience is a painful one, often having a lasting impact on the rest of your days. If a teacher is able to spot signs early on that something is not right, their intervention could be tantamount to saving that child’s life. The problem is that educators are understandably wary of involving themselves in emotionally complex issues that are difficult to handle.

“They have been trained in teaching but not in problem solving,” says Sanphasit. “If children drink because of an emotional problem then we have to provide coping-skill training. We also need to develop communication between the children and the parents or care providers. For teachers, if they have some problem dealing with a situation, there needs to be help available from other adults.”

As well as spotting problems and dealing with them, perhaps the overriding duty of educators is to teach children how to help themselves and each other. A high percentage of abuse cases, for instance, are first reported by the friends of the victim. In those cases that go unreported, the suffering continues because the child doesn’t know where to turn for help or is too scared to make an issue out of their predicament.

By empowering children with knowledge of child protection issues, more of these problems will be forced out in the open and then dealt with appropriately. The more cases that are dealt with, the less likely they are to happen in the first place. That’s why it is so important the Child Protection Act is publicised for all it’s worth. ‘Knowledge is Power’ so the saying goes and, in this instance, it couldn’t be more apt.

So what is happening on the ground? The good news is that schemes are being arranged, by organisations such as UNICEF, to train students in communicating children’s rights to their peers. A copy of the Act is also being sent to every school and, soon, all institutions should have child protection themes embedded into their social curriculum.

Provincial child protection committees have also been set up and are taking a lead from successful pilot projects such as the one in Chiang Mai. Out of 8 provinces selected for the pilot, Chiang Mai has probably been the most successful in creating an effective process as well as a strong team.

“In terms of human resources, they have good university people,” observes UNICEF’s Kitiya Phornsadja. “Secondly, the NGOs are quite strong there and they have people in the office of welfare and social development who are very dedicated and interested in making it work. There’s not much turn over. The first person who started it all in 1998 is still there.”

Turnover can be a blight to the workings of any system, so having a consistent and devoted team is a bonus. Phornsadja also notes the support of the Chiang Mai governor, who went on to chair the provincial child protection committee, as being significant.

With the system up and running in Chiang Mai, new initiatives are constantly evolving; the ‘one stop crisis’ scheme being a positive example. “The first point of entry is the police,” Phornsadja explains, “but now you end up having other professionals coming in to confer right away. Alternatively, if the first entry point is the hospital, you have a social worker, police and other relevant child protection people coming to confer and suggest the best solution.

“They have facilities to provide emergency support to children. For example, for children who have been trafficked or rescued, there would be a safe place for them to stay while they are being retained for witnesses. This is the case for foreign children as well. They also have a much better data base on children in their own province, much better communication, either government to government or government to NGO.”

Chartchai Wongsawat

The Child Protection Act has been broadly welcomed by many in the social services sector. Chartchai Wongsawat, a lawyer working in the Legal Aid department at the famous Mercy Centre in Klong Toey, feels the Act could potentially have positive repercussions for everybody. “It’s a must now,” he says of the Act. “It would have been bad if the law hadn’t come at this time. It is a substantial document because it fully supports the work we do and facilitates the work of the child protection officer.”

Wongsawat warns, however, that the government needs to listen more closely to NGO’s and people like him, instead of misunderstanding their good intentions. Training, he says, is crucial to making improvements in the system. “It has to be done quickly, urgently and comprehensively,” he urges. “This law has to be promoted and the government needs to put more focus onto the child protection issue.”

Indeed, the subject of training is central to the future success of child protection in Thailand. Sanphasit Koompraphant of CPCR is currently running around the country delivering lectures to those involved in protecting children. But he laments that his role is not complemented by more hands-on skills training. “What I do I call ‘knowledge training’ but it’s just a lecture,” he points out. “They need to be part of a team, they need a supervisor to show them how to work.”

Lack of substantial information has reportedly hindered the work of some of newer provincial committees and it is clear they are in need of further guidance from the top.

This should come in time. After all, it will take years before the complex components of the Child Protection Act are working in tandem with one another. Mistakes will be made, initiatives changed and people will come and go. But, in the end, it will all depend upon the willingness of the government to properly invest in, promote and steer this important piece of legislation if it is ultimately to be of any use.

Father Joe Maier

Perhaps nobody understands the significance of the Child Protection Act more that Father Joe Maier who heads the Mercy Centre in the slums of Klong Toey. Every day, he and an army of heroic volunteers work with victims of abuse and neglect. They take them in, educate them, nurture and care for them, give them some hope.

“One of the ways to stop abuse of children is to give them pride,” says Father Joe. “Let’s turn this around into a very positive law and help the children of Thailand. If you’re going to use this law to penalise somebody, go whistle in the wind. Forget it. It’s a joke. Only use that in extreme cases. We would hope this law would be used as a tool for improving society and to make this country more child-friendly. Don’t use it as a gun.

“When you talk of children’s law you have to remember that Thailand has come a long way in a short time. It’s quite exciting how far we have come. Now, we need to all join together to help the good guys help the children.”

Amen to that.