• Face-To-Face
She took up this role in November 2022. She has over 19 years of experience in organisational leadership. Roslyn holds a degree in Science from the University of Adelaide and has completed Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health from Curtin University of Technology.
This, combined with almost 2 decades of work in Asia in both development and humanitarian response, has made her a thought leader in child focused programming.
Bal Krishna Sah of The Himalayan Times discussed issues related to child rights and policies with her. Excerpts:
World Vision International has been advocating against child marriage and crime against children for more than two decades now. How do you look at the progress the country has made?
World Vision International Nepal started work in 2001. It has been working in the sector of child protection, inclusive and quality education, nutrition, health, and livelihoods for over two decades.
Our key focus is ensuring the well-being of children and this is woven through our intervention in all the sectors we work.
When WVI started working in Nepal, the Children's Act was fresh to the country and Nepal was in the midst of the Maoist insurgency. The concept of human and child rights were raised in a very different setting.
Over the years WVI has steadfastly collaborated with the Government at different levels including the Central Child Welfare Board especially by supporting to create a mechanism in the government system for children, and also ensured the formalization of children's concerns, improved their access to services along with raising the profile of key challenges they were facing, including child marriage and crime against children.
After the federalization, World Vision, in collaboration with the government, created the urgency of having policies in place and proper implementation of those policies to realise the rights of children reflected in practice. We were proud to have collaborated with the federal, province and local government in providing support in 26 policies for children.
Keeping in mind that the Government of Nepal has prioritised the elimination of child marriage by 2030, WVI Nepal has been implementing a multi-year campaign - 'It Takes Nepal to End Child Marriage' - working together with the local government to mainstream the ending of child marriage initiatives into their planning and budgeting.
We are encouraged by the progress that has been made, but are acutely aware that much more still needs to be achieved and successful interventions must be rapidly scaled up in order to achieve the 2030 targets.
Local governments are required to shoulder some key responsibilities in the new federal structure. Are they doing enough to protect children's rights?
World Vision works on three aspects with the local government: 1) policy intervention, 2) system strengthening, and 3) Implementation of policies. As an organisation that works for the well-being of children, we are very serious about ensuring that we follow the guidelines of the government.
A good example of this is Child-Friendly Local Governance.
WVI has been collaborating with the local government to adopt and institutionalise Child-Friendly Local Government (CLFG). In the year 2022, six wards where WVI Nepal works were declared CFLG wards, and many more were supported along their path in achieving this. We believe that CFLG is an important mechanism that all wards must work towards achieving. This requires investment by the local government in order to see it come to fruition. Additionally, case management for any child protection violation, and creation of awareness among community members is also essential.
How strong is our anti-child marriage or violence law?
Until the 1970s, child marriage was considered normal within the marriage culture of Nepal. Over time, child marriage under 10 years of age has largely been eradicated.
Now, child marriage is a criminal offence from the perspective of law.
The current law sets the minimum age of marriage at 20 for both men and women. Under the law, adults who marry children, family members and other adults who arrange marriages of children, and religious leaders who perform child marriages are all committing crimes and are subject to prosecution.
The Constitution of Nepal 2015, for the first time, explicitly prohibited child marriage as a punishable offence. At the same time, there are acts like Muluki Ain 2020, Children Act 1991 and regulation 1994, Vital Registration Act 1976, National Policy for Children 1956 that have illegalised child marriage.
Many of these legal frameworks have considered the underlying causes of child marriage and socially valued customary practices, passed from generation to generation. For example, the National Strategy to End Child Marriage in Nepal, 2016, provides an overarching policy framework to combat child marriage by 2030.
In addition to the laws, policies and plan at the federal level, many local governments have developed their own strategy and plan to end child marriage and are implementing them accordingly.
We now have the Rights Of Children (Part 3, Fundamental Rights, Article 39 of the constitution of Nepal). Do you think this right is enough to ensure the safety of children?
The Rights of Children has been assured by the Constitution of Nepal which is an important step towards ensuring rights related to children.
This enables the government to build Acts, policies, and regulations on the four pillars of child rights. To supplement the provisions, there must also be efforts towards raising awareness at the level of all citizens and stakeholders on the importance of child rights.
Nepal's progress in terms of child protection is mixed. On a positive note, there are less child brides, a substantial increase in reporting to police in cases of violence against women and girls, trafficking is increasingly being intercepted, laws and policies are more protective of children, specialised units in the justice sector are in place, and data on children is increasingly available.
Unfortunately, challenges persist.
Children in Nepal still face many child protection challenges. Though, the policy frameworks are there to facilitate the realisation of child rights, one of the major challenges is the consistent implementation of those polices.
What does World Vision International Nepal do to ensure children's safety, rights and how successful is it?
All children have the right to be protected against violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect. Yet, millions of children worldwide, including in Nepal, from all socio-economic backgrounds, across all ages, religions and cultures suffer violence, exploitation and abuse every day. World Vision is a child-focused relief, development and advocacy organisation that has contributed to transformation of the lives of millions of children around the world in vulnerable situations. We have long-term development programmes in 16 districts across six provinces of Nepal. WVI believes that every child has equal rights as provisioned in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and that their well-being and future concerns us all.
This work cannot be achieved by us alone, so we collaborate and partner with multiple stakeholders who have common values of justice, love and hope. We work in partnership with local governments and partners, ensuring that communities, faith leaders, children and their families are aware of child rights and the importance of a safe, nurturing environment in order to create environments where children can thrive.
The growth in confidence, skills and knowledge gained in youth attending rupantaran groups supported by WV here in Nepal is an inspirational success story of the difference we are making in the lives of children.
What amendment or changes should be incorporated to control crime against children?
THT One of the major requirements for controlling crime against children is to establish and functionalize child protection systems at the local level.
The government must appoint (not nominate) child welfare officer at the local level, along with formulation of the working procedure, establishment of child fund, and appointment of psychosocial workers and social workers provisioned by the children's act. Together with this, the referral mechanism should also be strengthened.
The government budgetary allocation to child protection services, including but not limited to social welfare workforce, justice, policing, social work, case management, education staff, health workers, legal aid, psycho-social support, and rescue, must be committed.
Likewise, attention towards prevention efforts and required social change to reduce child marriage, child labour, and violence must be given urgent attention. Unless deep-rooted, harmful social norms are addressed, children will not be free from violence, abuse, and exploitation. While doing all this, children who are marginalised or with special needs, including children with physical disability, children with intellectual disability and mental illnesses should not be left behind.
Imparting the right knowledge, age-appropriate life skills and equipping children to make informed decisions should go side by side with creating an enabling environment for children to raise their voices within the family, community, and all spheres of society. This must remain the focus of the government and CSOs like World Vision.
Roslyn H Gabriel is the National Director for World Vision International Nepal.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 10, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
