Wise Up! On Equality

Author: Save the Children UK / Whatsthe411

Examining Young People's Rights to do with Discrimination

are you being treated unfairly because of who you are?
Discrimination means treating people less well than others because of who they are, for example by abusing or excluding them, or making it difficult for them to get to certain places or use services like healthcare or education. There are laws and rights in place to protect young people from discrimination. If it's happened to you or someone you know, you don't have to put up with it.

did you know?
Here are some common worries and problems young people encounter:

• Racial discrimination in Canada often affects people from ethnic minorities, but the law protects everyone, regardless of skin color or ethnic background.
• Although girls generally do better than boys at school, they still don't get their fair share of good jobs or equal pay later on in life.
• Statistics say gays and lesbians are more likely to commit suicide than other young people, partly because of bullying and abuse.
• Young refugees often face discrimination in housing, education and healthcare.

know your rights
Knowing the law and your rights to equality can help you look out for yourself and others.

Everyone has human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the international law tool for which all countries must use as a blueprint in shaping their own country?s laws to protect, ensure and respect individual human rights. Worldwide, people under the age of 18 also have their own set of rights, called The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Canadian Government responds to its obligations under the CRC and the ICCPR through the Canadian legal support system ? the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (CCRF) (based largely on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the court-upheld law that protects your rights in Canada.

It's everyone's responsibility to respect your rights, including basics like food, clean water, shelter, education, and, to have a say in all decisions that affect you.

You also have the right to protection against discrimination, to special care and education if you have a disability, to use your own language and practice your own culture and religion, to help if you've been hurt, neglected or badly treated, or if you are a refugee.

By signing onto international conventions protecting and respecting human rights, the Canadian Government has agreed to respect all of these equality guaranteeing rights

global equality

Around the world, people are discriminated against just because they live in poverty. Poor girls and disabled young people often suffer what's called double discrimination, because they don't get the same chances in life as boys and non-disabled children.

Poverty makes discrimination worse, because it shuts people out and makes them more isolated. For example, young people affected by HIV/AIDS may be shunned by other people. On top of that, they may not have enough money for food, school fees or medical care.

Challenging discrimination involves trying to change people's attitudes. For instance, disabled young people may find that other people's attitudes to them are what disables them most.