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The Paradox of Children's Rights in Trinidad: Translating International Law Into Domestic Reality

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The Paradox of Children's Rights in Trinidad: Translating International Law Into Domestic Reality THE PARADOX OF CHILDREN'S RIGHTS IN TRINIDAD: TRANSLATING INTERNATIONAL LAW INTO DOMESTIC REALITY by Charrise L. Clarke B.A. (Honours), York University 2005 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the School of Criminology © Charrise L. Clarke 2008 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2008 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Charrise L. Clarke Degree: Master of Arts Title of Thesis: The Paradox of Children's Rights in Trinidad: Translating International Law into Domestic Reality Examining Committee: Chair: Bryan Kinney Assistant Professor David MacAlister Senior Supervisor Assistant Professor Sheri Fabian Supervisor Lecturer Fiona Kelly External Examiner Assistant Professor University of British Columbia Date Defended/Approved: ii SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the "Institutional Repository" link of the SFU Library website <www.lib.sfu.ca> at: <http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/112>) and, without changing the content, to translate the thesis/project or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for mUltiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author's written permission. Permission for pUblic performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. While licensing SFU to permit the above uses, the author retains copyright in the thesis, project or extended essays, including the right to change the work for subsequent purposes, including editing and publishing the work in whole or in part, and licensing other parties, as the author may desire. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Revised: Fall 2007 S I ivt () N r: nA SE RUN 1V E R SI '1' Y THINKING OF THE WORLD STATEMENT OF ETHICS APPROVAL The author, whose name appears on the title page of this work, has obtained, for the research described in this work, either: (a) Human research ethics approval from the Simon Fraser University Office of Research Ethics, or (b) Advance approval of the animal care protocol from the University Animal Care Committee of Simon Fraser University; or has conducted the research (c) as a co-investigator, in a research project approved in advance, or (d) as a member of a course approved in advance for minimal risk human research, by the Office of Research Ethics. A copy of the approval letter has been filed at the Theses Office of the University Library at the time of submission of this thesis or project. The original application for approval and letter of approval are filed with the relevant offices. Inquiries may be directed to those authorities. Bennett Library Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada LiI$t reVISion Summer 2007 ABSTRACT The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has been criticised for its ambiguous language and lack of applicability to developing countries. This qualitative thesis explores diverse perspectives of children's rights in Trinidad through interviews with teachers, child-care providers, children, and parents. Participants revealed a number of structural, ideological, and cultural challenges to the recognition of children's rights in Trinidad. Structural challenges included shortcomings in the social development system, education system and government initiatives, while ideological challenges were identified as flowing from respondents' fear of rights, their view of rights as privileges, and the disjuncture between policy and practice. Finally, cultural challenges stem from the conception of children as property, the tolerance of infringements on privacy, and the ongoing use of corporal punishment. The future of children's rights in Trinidad will depend on increased international funding to alleviate poverty and enhanced public awareness and acceptance of children's rights. Keywords: children's rights; Trinidad; child rearing; Convention on the Rights of the Child; culture; poverty; corporal punishment Subject Terms: Children's rights-Caribbean area; Child Welfare-Caribbean area; Children-Caribbean area-Social conditions; Human Rights iii Por tfie oftenforgotten cfii(dren oftfevefoping nations wfio are our future iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my participants. I am grateful for your voluntary and enthusiastic participation in the research. without which the project would not have been possible. Your responses provided both interesting and invaluable data. I would like to extend my thanks to Fiona Kelly. my external examiner. for her feedback and insightful revisions. To my committee members. David MacAlister and Sheri Fabian. thank you for sharing this journey with me. I am so grateful for all your gUidance. feedback and support throughout the process. appreciate your hard work in the face of repeated and unrelenting time constraints. I would also like to thank other faculty members for sharing their knowledge and support. In particular. I would like to thank John Lowman for his countless suggestions with regard to the ethics process and to Jacqueline Faubert for her assistance and advice related to qualitative data analysis. I am thankful to the University of the West Indies for the use of their library facilities while in Trinidad and also to their Criminology department for assistance in this regard. To Lorinda Stoneman. Camilla Sears. Charmaine Perkins and other colleagues. I would like to say thank you for your feedback. support and friendship which has made a world of difference to this project. In addition. I would like to thank my friend and soul sister Nadia Cimolai for the countless ways that she has supported me throughout the years and reminded me of my inner strength when I needed it most. Finally. I would like to thank my parents. Margaret and Desmond. and my partner Graham. for their love. support and encouragement. Without your inspiration I would not have completed the project. Mum thank you for your prayers-they worked. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval ii Abstract iii Oed ication " iv Acknowledgements v Table of Contents vi Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Trinidad: Historical, Socio-economic & Political Context 2 Chapter 2: Literature Review 10 Section I: International Human Rights Law 10 International Law -A history 10 Dysfunction of Treaties 13 Section II: A Look at the Convention on the Rights of the Child 19 Origin of the Convention 19 Main Content of the Convention 21 Commendations 24 Limitations 25 Exclusion of Certain Groups of Children 30 Section III: Child Laws in Trinidad & Tobago 34 Chapter 3: Theoretical Framework 39 Radical Criminology 40 Structural Marxism-fight for rights of the disadvantaged 43 Peacemaking as a Way to Avoid Harm 44 Chapter 4: Methodology 47 Gathering Participants 47 Data Collection and its Challenges 51 Data Analysis 55 Ethics 58 Chapter 5: Structural Challenges to Children's Rights in Trinidad 63 Introduction 63 Social Development Services 64 vi Government falls short of CRC obligations 64 Insufficient homes for abused children 68 Attempts at recognizing children's rights in the group homes 71 Education System 74 "The child can just slip through the cracks-fall out of the system" 75 "Teachers lack work ethic: don't care, don't supervise, don't teach" 84 Teachers lack resources 88 Government Initiatives (Children's rights in Trinidad are lackadaisical) 90 "Rights are on a shelf somewhere" 90 Parents: "There is a powerlessness, a hopelessness and parents just can't cope" 93 "Children's rights? '" In terms of T &T, no I've never heard that here " 98 "You might see them on the roadside selling chives and stuff' 101 Conclusion 105 Chapter 6: Ideological Challenges to Children's Rights 108 Fear of Rights 109 Rights are seen as "American" 109 Parents fear that rights for children mean a loss of parental control 112 Children are afraid to talk to their parents/adults 116 Rights are Privileges, not Entitlements 118 Rights are okay, but too much of anything is a bad thing 118 When there is no food to eat, rights don't seem important.. 121 Only some children need rights 124 Rights Look Good on Paper, but in Practice 126 I respect everybody's religion now let's say the Our Father 126 "Show me who your friends are, I'll tell you who you are" 131 Keep the door open but remember to shut it on your way out.. 132 Knowledge is power but it is on a need to know basis 136 Conclusion 138 Chapter 7: Cultural Challenges to Children's Rights 141 Views of Children as Property 142 Parents own their children 142 Children are not seen as having autonomy 145 Privacy is an Illusion 147 Parents want to know "everything" 148 It's okay to infringe on privacy if you ask 149 Privacy? For children? 151 Intrusion on privacy is seen as rude and hurtful.
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