Social Justice—The Rights of Women & Children

Civil & Political Rights Economic Rights Nationality Social Justice—The Rights of Women & Children Safety & Protection Social & Cultural Charles N. Oberg, MD, MPH Social Justice

“Health of Body and Mind is so fundamental to the good life, that if we believe men have any personal right at all as human beings... Social Justice

…they have an absolute moralright to such a good measure of health as society and societyalone is able to give them”Aristotle 330 BC Social Justice

What are Human Rights? • Human Rights are the rights a person has simply because he/she is human! • Inalienable—You can not lose these rights (they can not be taken away). • Indivisible--cannot be denied because it is of “less importance” or “non-essential”. • Interdependent—part of a complementary framework. Social Justice

Women & Children’s Rights Social Justice

Rights Can be defended through the courts, the executive branch and the legislative process Privileges Are bestowed by those in power Can be withdrawn with little recourse Rights vs. Privilege? Social Justice

I. Basic Survival Rights • A Right to: • Work, fair pay & social security • An adequate “Standard of Living”including food, clothing, & housing • Highest attainable standard of “Physical & Mental Health” • Education Social Justice

The Right to Education—The Ideal! • The U.S. has over a 100 year history of mandatory compulsory education • We all “believe” in the right to a free, high quality, public education • With every right is an obligation Social Justice

Brown vs. the Board of Education • The beginning of the end for Jim Crow laws • The Supreme Court overrules the “separate but equal” principle • Violated 14th Amendment Social Justice

P.L. 94-142, the Education of All Handicapped Children Act • All handicapped children 3-21 had to be locatedand educational needs addressed • Entitled to a “free” education in the “Least Restrictive” environment • An IEP for each child • Became IDEA in the 1990’s Social Justice

The Reality--2004 • Public Schools running out of basic supplies like paper and pencils between Thanksgiving & the New Year (Jan. 1st) • 10% of school children will experience homelessness before they are 18 years of age • An increasing number of children from food insecure homes Social Justice

II. Civil & Political Rights • ARight to : • Life, liberty, privacy, to vote & equal treatment under the law • Freedom of : • Movement, thought, opinion, peaceful assembly & association Social Justice

Emancipation Proclamation • President Lincoln in 1863 declares “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and hence forward shall be free.” • In response to Dred Scott decision Social Justice

Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Prohibits discrimination in public places • Integrates other public places • Makes employment discrimination illegal Social Justice

Voting Rights Act of 1965 • Outlawed discriminatory voting practices, including literacy tests • Congress felt such practices violated the 15th Amendment Social Justice

Thirteenth-1865 Fourteenth-1868 Fifteenth-1870 Nineteenth-1920 Outlaws Slavery Extends liberties & privileges grants by the Bill of Rights to former slaves. Granted African- American men the right to vote Right to vote for women Constitutional Amendments Social Justice

III. Safety & Protection Rights • Child Abuse • Child Labor • Community Violence • Environmental Justice Social Justice

Mary Ellen Wilson • 1874: First reported case of child abuse in United States • Henry Bergh, founder of SPCA intervened • Based case on premise that children should have same protection as animals Social Justice

Environmental Justice • Disproportionate number of industrial plants, waste facilities, and other potential polluters are located in low-income neighborhoods & communities of color • Contributor to persistent health disparities Social Justice

Heavy Metal Exposure • Lead: Most common environmental health hazard--and may be most serious • Mercury:>10%of women of reproductive age exceed Reference Dose & 50% of women who eat fish exceed this on any given day • Arsenic: Do you know of the “Arsenic Triangle” in the Philips neighborhood? Social Justice

IV. Culture & Identity Rights • The United States has always been a country of immigrants & refugees. • More than 1 million immigrants enter the U.S. each year. • What are the rights of these families and children? Social Justice

U.N. Convention on Rights of the Child • 1952 UN adopted, Declaration of the Rights of the Child. • 1979 UN International Year of the Child. • 1989UN passed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. • September 1, 1990 the Convention was put into force after ratification by UN member states (U.S. has not ratified). Social Justice

Eleanor Roosevelt “In Our Hands” Social Justice

10th Anniversary of the UDHR • Where, after all, do universal rights begin? • In small places, close to home—so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world… • Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Social Justice

Social Justice—The Rights of Women & Children