The Girl-Child and Government Service Provision.pdf - Tanzania ...

equires the generation of conditions that will make itpossible for them to define their identities for the constructionof autonomous life projects. Despite these advancesin the area of gender, the road ahead is difficult, asit involves breaking social and cultural patterns that aredeeply rooted in Costa Ricans.While it is true that public policies in Costa Rica seek tomake sure that public services, such as education, healthand access to justice, are actually carried out, both institutionalinability and the processes of socialisation limit theuse of these services, not only by girls but by the wholechild population located in rural areas with features ofmarginal areas.Research objectivesIn general, the research aimed to evaluate access and useof the public services available to the girl-child populationof the Chorotega zone and the communities in the northernborder belt of the country (the Huetar-Atlantic Region).The study was based on the assumption that thereare factors that affect access to state services and theiruse in different ways for girls and boys.Specifically, the study concentrated on education, health,recreation and culture, all of which are considered primaryrights in the Code on Children and Adolescents (see PartII, “Rights and Obligations”):• To get to know the supply and demand for public servicesfor the girl-child population, in terms of interests,needs and conditions.• To identify the factors that may be influencing access toand use of state services by the child population, especiallyby girls.• To set recommendations for the providers of publicservices for actions that can be taken to improve theaccess of the girl-child population.Importance of the topicCosta Rica is undergoing a series of transformations thathave resulted in an increase in social problems, and thus inthe rise of serious barriers for the fulfilment of children’srights—barriers such as child labour, sexual exploitation,and inequity and discrimination in the enjoyment of education,health, family and recreation. Low-income families haveexperienced an increase in inequities in the access to socialcare services, which significantly affects boys and girls.The educational system, even though it welcomes childrenin their first learning years, is failing to foster mechanismsto keep that learning going. The health system has lost itssocial purpose and has become a business. In the ruralareas centres lack specialised education and equipment totreat more than the most basic diseases.Many rulers in Costa Rica have been unable to distinguishactions oriented towards adults and those oriented towardschildren. Laws, policies, programmes and projectsdo not set a clear difference between a social service offeredto the child population and one offered to the adultpopulation.In the presence of such threats to the emotional andphysical well-being of children, one begins to harbourdoubts concerning the role of the Costa Rican state. Whatinvestment is being made by the state to watch over therights of children? What actions are being taken to offerhigh-quality services to children? And what do childrenthink? Is their opinion taken into account by governmentalentities?Given these concerns, those who are involved in the issuesof minors realise that the efforts of the public sector areinadequate to care for this population, and that it has becomenecessary to set forth a policy that integrates boththe public and private sectors for the sake of the well-beingof children.Children in rural areas suffer the problem of poverty to amore serious degree. Poverty is a scourge that does notdiscriminate by sex. The issue of access to services by thegirl-child population is compounded by significant factorsthat must be taken into account, namely, certain environmentalconditions for these minors (family, community andwork environment) where the adequate and appropriatemechanisms of protection to face the challenges are insufficient.The programmes carried out by the Costa Rican state inthe area of children are contaminated by bureaucracy, lackof effective policies and lack of commitment, zeal and sometimesknowledge of the problem by the professionals whoare responsible for the fulfilment of the rights of children.56 The Girl-Child and Government Service Provision