EVALUATION OF THE AWARENESS AND BEHAVIOUR OF JOURNALISTS IN CAMPAIGN FOR CHILD RIGHTS ACT
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EVALUATION OF THE AWARENESS AND BEHAVIOUR OF JOURNALISTS IN CAMPAIGN FOR CHILD RIGHTS ACT
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
According to (Owolabi, 2012), a kid is defined as someone under the age of 18 under the kid’s Rights Act and the African Children’s Charter. The Child’s Rights Act of 2003 is a Nigerian law that guarantees the rights of all children.
The Child’s Right Act has been enacted as state legislation in 24 of Nigeria’s 36 states to date. As a result, 12 of Nigeria’s 36 states have yet to implement the Child’s Right Act into their legislation.
Nigeria passed the Child Rights Act in 2003 to implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Children’s Rights Act of 2003 grants children the human rights provided by Nigeria’s 1999 constitution (Ogunniyi, 2018).
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the world’s most commonly accepted standard on children’s rights, includes a complete list of rights for children and adolescents under the age of 18.
When Ireland joined the Convention in 1992, it committed to promoting children’s rights. Children’s rights refer to their developmental and age-appropriate needs, which change as they grow older.
Children’s rights include:
Children have the right to health, education, family life, play and amusement, a decent quality of living, and protection from abuse and harm, and it is the responsibility of every citizen and country to guarantee that these rights are exercised (Owolabi 2012).
The Child’s Rights Act has yet to be implemented in 11 states in northern Nigeria. There is no evidence of these state legislatures addressing or debating the Act. Other laws, including the constitution, are said to be capable of protecting children.
According to the Oak Foundation (2013), customs such as early marriage, female genital mutilation, and begging continue to influence children in those regions. According to the Child’s Rights Act and the African Children’s Charter, a child is defined as anyone under the age of 18 years.
However, in Nigeria, different laws define children in different ways and for different purposes, therefore children who should benefit from the Child’s Rights Act do not.
This has sparked national and international outrage, with various bodies and international organisations, including ECPAT International, Save the Children, UNICEF, and the International Bureau for Children’s Rights (IBCR), leading the campaign to promote the Child’s Right Act in Nigeria and around the world, though world governments also play a role.
The government must take the lead in harmonising the various definitions in compliance with international and regional regulations.
These organisations mostly advocate for the Child’s Right Act through journalism. According to Boothby (2010), journalists are critical to the Child’s Right Act campaign since they are the ones to whom information may readily be communicated.
They are also given top priority because they are typically the first responders in cases of child abuse or a breach of the Child’s Rights Act. Thus, their attitude towards the CRA is critical.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
(Boothby2010) contends that child abuse and exploitation cases have become too regular in the media to remain rare and noteworthy, according to a growing but concerning opinion in some media circles.
This is due to the way most journalists present child abuse tales to the public. Many journalists believe that abuse stories have lost their shock value.
To accomplish effect, new methodologies and approaches must be developed to rethink how child safety stories are spread and presented by the media (Oak Foundation 2013).
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The primary goal of this research is to assess journalists’ awareness and behaviour throughout the campaign for the Child’s Right Act in Nigeria. Other points to examine in this research are:
Investigate the effectiveness of the Child Rights Act awareness campaign in Nigeria.
Examine journalists’ capacity to accurately convey violations of the Child Rights Act (iii). Examine journalists’ involvement in the struggle for the Child Rights Act.
Examine how journalists portray the Child Rights Act and its violations to the public.
1.4 Research Questions.
Is Nigeria’s Child Rights Act awareness campaign successful?
Have media successfully shown or portrayed the Child Rights Act and its violations?
iii. Are journalists actually active in the push for the Child Rights Act?
How do journalists and the media portray Child Rights Acts and abuses to the public?
1.5 Significance of the Study
This study will be extremely beneficial to the field of research because it will serve as a consolidation of previous works on relevant themes. It will also act as a reference for other research projects and future studies.
Furthermore, this work will assist journalists, organisations interested in the Child Rights Act, and the entire world by raising awareness and facilitating the enactment of the Act.
1.6 Scope of the Study
This study focuses on the awareness and attitude of print journalists at Pioneer Newspaper Company Uyo during the campaign for Child Rights Acts in Nigeria. This study involves a sample of journalists from this media outlet.
This research will also shed additional insight on the many initiatives that international organisations interested in the Child’s Right Act are launching.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
This study is limited to investigations conducted just on print journalists, and it is also constrained because it was conducted in a single print media house, therefore the results cannot be used by other media houses but can only serve as a reference.
Furthermore, this study is limited because it only looks at journalists and not other groups of individuals. The fact that the research is only being conducted in Uyo is also a constraint, as the findings cannot be applied to other places.
1.8 Definition of Terms
Campaigning is defined as working in an organised and active manner towards a specific goal, usually political or social in nature.
Awareness: The knowledge or perception of a specific fact or circumstance.
Behaviour is the manner in which one acts or conducts oneself, particularly towards others.
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