Children's rights: how much do Zimbabwe urban secondary school pupils know?

Abstract

Research shows that the violation of the rights of the child manifests in various forms in our society. is study sought to investigate children's awareness about their rights and organisations which deal with their rights in Zimbabwean schools. The study is informed by the Empowerment Theory. Data were collected from a randomly selected sample of 376 secondary school children (200 male, 176 female; age range 12 to 16 years) from 3 schools in Gweru Urban District of Zimbabwe. Children were asked to list their rights and organisations which deal with child rights on given worksheets. The study found that most of the children were not aware about their rights and organisations which deal with their rights. The introduction of Children's Rights as a subject in schools can help increase children's safety, protection and well-being. There is also need to put more thrust on workshops and seminars on Children's Rights in Zimbabwean schools.