In conversation with Indah Abayan, Program Officer, Child Rights Coalition Asia. The Coalition for Good Schools is an alliance of practitioners against Violence Against Children in and through Schools (VACiS) in the global south.
In conversation with Indah Abayan, Program Officer, Child Rights Coalition Asia. The Coalition for Good Schools is an alliance of practitioners against Violence Against Children in and through Schools (VACiS) in the global south.
In conversation with Indah Abayan, Program Officer, Child Rights Coalition Asia. The Coalition for Good Schools is an alliance of practitioners against Violence Against Children in and through Schools (VACiS) in the global south.
1. The Coalition for Good Schools plays a crucial role in advocating for children's rights in the region. Could you tell us about the Coalition, its work and how it is addressing the growing menace of violence against children in and outside schools?
The Coalition for Good Schools is an alliance of practitioners against Violence Against Children in and through Schools (VACiS) in the global south. Its primary goal is to enable both tangible and intangible resources to those implementing related initiatives with communities and other stakeholders because their experiences are good source of context-based solutions to stop the perpetuation of violence within and through learning institutions.
Since the establishment of the Coalition globally in 2019, it has been uncovering the complex nature of VACiS by reaching out to practitioners in the global south. For the Asia Regional Hub such uncovering includes the conduct of research to determine its strategic interventions, and webinars and online campaigns to remind stakeholders of the still permeating effects of different forms of violence experienced by children in schools.
2. Additionally, can you share some key challenges you've encountered in promoting child rights and how the Coalition addresses these issues, particularly in the context of the Asia region?
Child Rights Coalition Asia (CRC Asia) became a member of the Asia Hub of the Coalition in 2021. Per CRC Asia’s experience, a key challenge in child rights advocacy is the non-recognition of children’s agency in bringing about solutions to issues that affect children, including VACiS. There is a need for different stakeholders to remember that VACiS do not happen in a vacuum but that its different forms are also linked with other social issues experienced by children in different situations and conditions. Without children’s inclusive and meaningful participation, an intervention for one context/generation is likely to become obsolete or inadequate to respond to child rights issues of children in another context or of the incoming generation.
3. What are the efforts that the Coalition for Good Schools take to ensure the safety of children in schools and how effective they have been so far in ensuring safer environments for children?
The different member organizations of the Coalition are implementing different context-responsive interventions. For CRC Asia, it has been actively promoting the mainstreaming of children rights in different fields, including school settings. An example of this is the popularization of the Guidelines for Online Discussions with Children which is applicable even for educators in both formal and informal learning institutions. The use of this and other reference materials on child participation also bring about transformations in relationships between educators and learners.
4. Safeguarding children and their rights require the cooperation and participation of parents and teachers. Can you tell us how you involve parents and teachers in this process? And what has been the response of parents and teachers so far?
CRC Asia is working with the other members of the Coalition and other partners in raising awareness on the important roles of parents, teachers and other children caregivers in enabling safe spaces, platforms and environments for each child to develop their full potential.
CRC Asia’s Child Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct also regard parents, teachers, and other children caregivers as important facilitators of the realization of children’s rights, including ending the cycle of violence in schools and other settings. In fact, children themselves have made recommendations for adults and children to work together on different social issues (see pages 114-119 of 5,000 and Growing: Stories of Children in Asia Taking Climate Action).
5. What are the Coalition’s future plans and how do you plan to expand your geographical reach, particularly in the post pandemic world where the safety of children is a rising concern?
As individual member organizations work on our respective mandates, we continue to reach out to allies against VACiS in different parts of the region. We try our best to encourage complementation and avoid duplication so that we’ll be able to bank on our respective experience while also noting the importance of surfacing context-based solutions.
On children’s participation, we are studying how to make the processes of the Coalition inviting to as many allies as possible, including children.
6. Tell us about your journey with the Coalition for Good Schools and what keeps you motivated in your efforts to create safer schools for children across the globe?
I feel both privileged and challenged as I perform the role of focal person for CRC Asia’s contributions to the Coalition. Privileged because I am able to experience, first hand, the rich exchanges with other practitioners who allow me insights to understand VACiS as they are linked with other child rights issues. Challenged because, with access to these exchanges comes the huge and important responsibility to both deepen understanding of the issues of VACiS in the region and broaden the reach of the intended impacts of the work of the Coalition.