violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

6Child Workers’ Opportunities Project (CWOP), Maharashtrasuch responsibilities as mentoring children new to the classroom who needed motivationto stay; and in the case of a teacher being lax, drunk, or using violence in class,report the behaviour to the village authorities. Children themselves helped transformattitudes about work and school; in one community they postered every house in thevillage with the message: “No working children, every child in school.”Over the four-year programme, 75% of the 10,000 children gained access to school orvocational training, and 3,000 children left work entirely. Project managers in Maharashtraconcluded that improving educational quality and making schools more childfriendlyis the most important activity, and that if more investment in basic educationis made at state level, the results would be more impressive. The project’s successhas subsequently influenced other projects to end child labour run by state Governments.150,151261The participation of childrenOne of the most important steps towardsenabling children to remove themselves fromexploitative work and abuse in the workplace isto facilitate their participation in programmesdeveloped and carried out on their behalf. Participationshould consist not only of systematicconsultation with children and their familiesfrom the data-gathering stage through programmeimplementation and evaluation, butshould also include enabling them to use theirown considerable powers of agency. 152 Thisincludes organising their own programmeactivities, such as drives to remove childrenfrom exploitative workplaces, as well as advocacyon their behalf. Participatory activitiescan be used to raise awareness of the violenceto which children may be subjected.In a number of settings, NGOs have helpedworking children and non-working childrendevelop their own organisations throughwhich they seek to improve their lives, gainskills and education, enjoy sports and culturalprogrammes, and perform socially usefulactivities. Some have become sophisticatedadvocates: working children’s movements haveformed an international network, and wererepresented at the UN World Summit forChildren in 2002. 153 Many such organisationsprovide young people with an opportunity todevelop and demonstrate qualities of socialresponsibility, taking a lead on issues suchas illegal employment of under-age workers,alcohol abuse in the community, 154 changes inthe law to provide young workers with betterprotection including against sexual abuse, 155rescuing domestic workers from abusivehouseholds, 156 and persuading employers togive their adolescent workers time off for studiesand recreation. 157 For example, in Nicaraguathe National Movement of WorkingViolence against children in places of work