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As a young person, YOU have the right to:
- have a say about things that affect you
- be treated fairly and with respect
- live with people who care about you
- an education
- be safe at home and school
- have enough food to eat, a place to live and good health care
- be protected from harm and abuse
All of us in New Zealand – families, communities and government – must work together to make sure your rights are protected.
Youth focused work
Teenagers and younger people are a key focus of our work and life at Child, Youth and Family. Each year we receive more than 25,000 notifications for both children and young people who may have been abused, neglected or had other care and protection problems. So our work brings us into contact with many thousands of teenagers and young people every year. We care about you, your well-being and helping to create safe and strong families where opportunities and potential can grow.
We’ve set up this section of our web site to offer a guide to some of the great online resources that are around. We’ve also included the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is a universal declaration that says young people are important and should be valued, cared for and protected. This means, for example, that when important decisions are being made that impact on you directly, you should know what's going on, have the opportunity to express your views, and be able to participate as fully as possible in what's happening.
We’d like to include more of your content, so if there’s anything you’d like to see in this section or want to contribute, please email us with your ideas.
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Where can I get help?
If something is happening to you that you don’t like, for example an adult is hurting you or you are being bullied at school, what can you do?
When you are worried or scared about stuff, it’s useful to know who you can talk to. There’s probably someone in your family who you can turn to when you have problems. But there are also other people in the community who care about what’s happening to you. These may be school counsellors, a teacher, a Youthline worker, a nurse or community worker. These people have a responsibility to help you when you need it.
Trusting someone is the first step to protecting yourself when things aren’t going well. Perhaps you and your closest friends can talk about the special people in your lives.
Here are some things you can do:
- It can be a really hard thing to do, but it does help to talk to a friend you trust
- Work out some of the things you could do with this person’s help
- Talk to an adult you trust about what’s happening and the ways you can get help
- If at any time you feel scared don’t hesitate to tell an adult
- There are many agencies that can offer advice and support such as Youthline (0800 376 633), Rape Crisis, Relationship Services or a youth worker
- If you are being abused, or are wondering if what you are experiencing is abuse, please call Child, Youth and Family (0508 FAMILY/326 459). You can speak to us about your problem. We deal with many young people at-risk every day and understand what may be happening. It is our job to make sure you are safe and we will take action to look after you
- You can also ring the Police
The Urge: Whakamanawa site for young people has some really excellent information and advice from young people on getting help and how to ask for it.
Remember, abuse is NEVER okay.
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Web sites and links worth checking out
"If you think a child or young person is being exploited at work, not paid or working long hours or involved in illegal activity run by adults, you should contact the police and they will make appropriate referrals for help. This site has information about Labour laws and the child labour convention 182 that NZ has recently ratified. (This means NZ government will stop adults from involving children in the worst
forms of child labour.)"
http://www.dol.govt.nz/ers.asp
Urge: Whakamanawa has loads of information on issues for teenagers
http://www.urge.co.nz/
The Trippin site for young people set up by Taranaki Health
http://www.trippin.co.nz/
Youthline phone 0800 376 633. Someone to call when you need someone to listen
http://www.youthline.co.nz/
Statistics about children from Statistics New Zealand
http://www.stats.govt.nz/domino/external/web/Prod_Serv.nsf/htmldocs/Children
YouthLaw legal advice and advocacy for children and young people
http://www.youthlaw.co.nz/
Child, Youth and Family information on your rights and the law
Ministry of Youth Development
http://www.myd.govt.nz/
Teen section on the Family and Children’s Services of Western Australia web site
http://www.fcs.wa.gov.au/templates/being_a_teenager/
Create Foundation web site created by young people and children in care for young people and children in care in Australia
http://www.create.net.au/
Unicef: Voices of Youth
http://www.unicef.org/voy/
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
http://www.unicef.org/crc/crc.htm
The New Zealand Internet Safety Kit web site has information on playing it safe on the Net, what happens when online fun gets weird, what to do about illegal material, enjoying the Net and much more
http://www.netsafe.org.nz/youngadults/youngadults_default.aspx
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