Vulnerable Population Essay Example for Free

Vulnerable Population Essay Children are one population group of the society that is vulnerable. The U. S. A agencies for Development, most vulnerable children are those who get inadequate support from adults due to abandonment, chronic illness i. e. those who have AIDS or those that are suspected to have it. Other causes of vulnerability emanate from the destruction of social systems that used to protect children in the community. Such destruction comes around due to conflicts, violence, and living outside family care. These bad conditions expose children to serious survival risk. The UNAIDS projects that by 2010 there will be 20-25 million AIDS orphans. Orphans are confronted by a large number of challenges. They don’t easily have access to funds for food, clothing, basic healthcare, or school fees. The desperation that comes out of this scenario makes the children more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse that ends up making them contract the disease. According to the 2006 act: safeguarding vulnerable groups, chapter 47. subsection 21; controlled activity relating to children; schedule 3 parts 1 sub paragraph 4 in reference to offence committed against children it states culpable conduct is that which puts or is likely to put the child in danger, conduct involving material on sex, graphical material conduct. In part 2 of the same subsection a person endangers a child in cases where; they harm the child, put the child into risk, attempts to harm or incites someone else to harm the child. ( Act, 2006) According demographics of there are groups in the category of children that are more vulnerable than others. Orphans are the most vulnerable section among the vulnerable children. Others are the children who come from poor families, children from minority ethnicities, or children with disabilities among others. In a study done on Hester-sway area of local community, in a population of 11,730 it was identified that high risk group areas for children constitute twenty percent of the population. Speakers addressing the congress on the world aids day cited orphaned children and children suffering from the deadly AIDS disease as the most vulnerable group. Children who lack parental care consequently lack a source of primary care. Under this category we have orphans, refugees, detainees, abducted children, children under care of caregivers, and children in prolonged stay at the hospital, or detained seekers of asylum who happen to be children. (Cox, The child is first exposed to risk when there occurs a separation of the family unit. Placement of children to institutions such as care institutions that may follow is not good for the well being of the child. It is known that children who lack protection and guidance of their parents or guardians are more predisposed to becoming victims of violence, discrimination, trafficking, exploitation etc. Children who get orphaned in conflict situations such as war face malnutrition, physical and psychological trauma, illness, and suffer faulty development emotionally. Unprotected girls run the risk of being sexually abused, while boys in similar situation are prone to forced participation in armed conflict and violence The numbers of children facing orphanage situations are many across states. Central and eastern Europe has 1. 5 million children living in public care. In Russia, despite a fall in birth rates over the last ten years, numbers of children left without parental care continue to soar. Worldwide armed conflict separated or orphaned a million children. Of all refugees five percent are unaccompanied children, and finally the estimated number of total orphans in the in the world is 143 million. (Unicef, 2008) Putting the children into institutions is often a move that is meant to keep them out of the society. This is caused by certain biases members of the society harbor for the vulnerable and disadvantaged groups such as orphans, children suffering from AIDS, and children with disabilities among the others. Institutionalized, in this sense, amounts to deprivation of the right of the persons to freely associate with other members of the society. The conditions in the institutions of essentially violate the children’s. In the institutions there is rampant discrimination, neglect, denial of the right to education and participation among other abuses. Being victims of blatant discrimination, vulnerable children under five years of age carry the bulk of disease and mortality rates for the world’s population. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) this is caused by lack of health support services which leaves the children in risk of contracting infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS. In Eastern Europe the stigma surrounds HIV causes many cases of abandonment of children by their HIV positive mothers. ( Unicef, 2004) The children end up neglected, either on the streets or in an institution. And following the sense of lack of support from the society the children end up being dehumanized, others become social misfits due to substance abuse and their condition generally worsens. According to research it has been established that the risk of orphan hood or suffering from the dreaded HIV is not reserves of a few but all people can suffer from it. This is due to the escalation of violence and the unpredictability of contracting aids. Similar risks exist in the categories of disability, and poverty, that threatens everyone in the modern times. In a new vision then, vulnerable children should be seen as children who face increased risk of negative outcome compared to average children in the society. If the society doesn’t change the stereotyping it has condoned on the vulnerable groups the same may soon or later affect them the same way. Appropriate interventions that can help the orphaned and vulnerable children should be structured alongside the specific needs of the children. This should be done with the children’s circumstances, gender age etc. There should be improvement of nutritional status for the children from poor backgrounds, and proper integration that is tailored to restore the mental health of the children. In any case the vulnerable children are only disadvantaged by discrimination the society has for them. Their situations are not a cause for failure and if they are given fair chances in the society they can perform even better out of sheer resilience. (Molenaar, 2002) Doctors Of the World (DOW) work among vulnerable groups. In an analysis of their target groups they concluded that children are the most vulnerable group. For the organization violation of the Childs healthy development amounts to violation of their rights. The society emphasizes and works towards protection of basic rights of children i. e. those orphaned, disabled, institutionalized, and those on the street. With a perspective like that of the DOW we see that the vulnerability risks of the child are enormous, but can be surmounted. Through an approach such as theirs, that are principally done with the cooperation of the governments and civil societies, people can build capacities for and develop children welfare, and substantially reduce the risks that make children vulnerable all over the world. Juvenile crime has sent many young people to juvenile detention in America today. Most of the young detainees are held on nonviolent cases such as mental health, failed families. Instead of addressing the young persons need for treatment, they are locked up that can only keep them, not help them positively. (Liss, 2005) References Cox, T. (2000), Combating Educational Disadvantage: Meeting the Needs of Vulnerable Children, Routledge. Liss, S (2005) No Place for Children: Voices from Juvenile Detention University of Texas Press. Molenaar M.(2002) Assessing and Promoting Resilience in Vulnerable Children: A Handbook on Social Work and Student Counseling, Kingsley Publishers Child protection from violence, exploitation and abuse, Unite for Children press centre http://www. unicef. org retrieved November 20, 2008 Children on the Brink (2004). A Joint Report of New Orphan Estimates and a Framework for Action. UNICEF/UNAIDS/USAID http://www. cheltenhampartnership. org. uk/libraries/documents/neighbourhood%20policing/hestersway profile . pdf. Retrieved; November 20, 2008.