"Need to Protect Human Rights of Children in Childcare Facilities"…Gyeonggi-do Human Rights Commission Recommends 8 Items

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

The Gyeonggi-do Human Rights Commission has recommended that Gyeonggi-do establish human rights-friendly living rule guidelines to protect the basic rights of children in childcare facilities.

On the 19th, the Gyeonggi-do Human Rights Commission announced that, together with Hanshin University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, it conducted a two-month survey from August to September last year targeting 788 childcare facility workers and children under protection in 23 facilities across the province, and recommended eight human rights promotion policies for children in childcare facilities to the Governor of Gyeonggi-do.

According to the main survey results, among 482 children under protection who responded, 36.3% (175) said, "When guests come to the facility (home), my room is shown without my consent," and 16.8% (81) said, "My face or photos were disclosed to the media without my consent."

Additionally, 17.4% (84) responded, "When planning trips or leisure activities at the home, teachers do not decide together with us," and 49.0% (236) said, "Friends are not allowed to visit the facility."

The Gyeonggi-do Human Rights Commission emphasized that, according to the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child, the right of children to express their views, self-determination, and privacy are basic rights, and children, as citizens, should enjoy these fundamental rights.

Furthermore, among facility workers caring for children suspected of having potential disabilities (including physical, mental disabilities, and borderline intelligence), 49.4% (123) answered, "We do not assign tasks considering the child's borderline intelligence, etc.," and 29.3% (73) said, "There is no system to share difficulties or consult regarding care for disabled children" (multiple responses allowed).

Based on these survey results, the Gyeonggi-do Human Rights Commission recommended to the Governor of Gyeonggi-do the following: ▲establishment of human rights-friendly living rule guidelines ▲creation of support systems for caring for children suspected of having borderline intelligence or disabilities ▲strengthening worker expertise through curriculum development to guarantee children's citizenship rights ▲enhancement of support for human rights education programs ▲guidance on relief systems to guarantee the right to file complaints ▲formulation of guidelines to prevent and respond to violence between children or between children and teachers ▲strengthening supervision and guidance to protect personal information.

Masunheung, Gyeonggi-do Human Rights Officer, stated, "We plan to conduct regular surveys to promote the human rights of socially vulnerable groups living in social welfare facilities, including not only children under protection but also the elderly, homeless, and disabled," adding, "We will carefully inspect the human rights situation of facility users and strive to actively resolve human rights issues."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.