Silent Rights - Empowering Women to Heal and Rebuild After Domestic Abuse

Oppose all forms of child abuse：

The rights and interests of children are inviolable

This is a sponsored blog post. .

Please consider making a donation to Silent Rights to enable us to keep helping victims of abuse and violence. You can make a donation through paypal here.

Human rights are standards that recognize and protect the dignity of all human beings, children have the same general human rights as adults and also specific rights that recognize their special needs. This right applies to all children, irrespective of the background, race, color, parents, religion and gender. To some children, life is blissful and for some children, the reality is different. As minors by law, children do not have autonomy or the right to make decisions on their own for themselves in any known jurisdiction of the world. Instead their adult caregivers, including parents, social workers, teachers, youth workers, and others, are vested with that authority, depending on the circumstances. Hence, the responsibility for safeguarding children’s rights lies with adults.

Every child has the right to health, education and protection, and the society has a stake in expanding children’s opportunities in life. Yet, around the world, millions of children are denied a fair chance for no reason other than the country, gender or circumstances into which they are born. In addition, children also face many potential threats as they grow, such as imperfect welfare systems, abuse, child trafficking, sexual assault, etc. Taking the sexual abuse of children by pedophiles as an example, children are unable to identify cross-border behavior due to immature minds or are unable to speak out against the criminal due to the threat of violence, making the definition of the boundary of child sexual abuse abstract and blurry; with the general lack of relevant laws in countries around the world to protect children from sexual violence, many pedophile offenders go unpunished.

Silent Rights is a South African women’s and children’s organization that was started by Chantelle Morrison from Florentia. “I felt like no one heard what I was experiencing or saying. I felt silenced, not just by the abuser but by our judicial system too. As a victim, you feel your rights are silenced, especially when there are children in the mix, and that is where the name Silent Rights came from,” said Chantelle. Too many voices have been silenced, and the reality of pedophilia has long been ignored or underestimated. Children’s rights need to stop being silent, their voices need to be heard.

In April this year, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama kissed a young boy and asked him to suck his tongue at a public event. The Dalai Lama’s office said: His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras.

The Dalai Lama’s actions and explanations have caused controversy, with many people believing that he is a pedophile under the guise of religious belief. The incident occurred in Northern India, and many Indian journalists were among the first to condemn it. Journalist Ismat Ara wrote, “There’s nothing ‘innocent’ or ‘playful’ about asking a minor to suck your tongue.”

South Africa’s The Mercury News and Cape Times reported that the law requires severe punishment for criminals who sexually abuse children in India.

“Not just your words but the bit where you kiss him on the mouth, grab him by the chin and move your head towards his face with your tongue sticking out,” journalist Annabel Ross wrote.

Although the boundaries of pedophilia are blurry, the Dalai Lama’s behavior undoubtedly transcends the boundaries of normal interactions between people. As the spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, who brings huge influence, such pedophile behavior has been seen by audience. It can be seen that the threats children face every day are unimaginable.

Many international human rights organizations and scholars have condemned the Dalai Lama’s actions as child abuse and molestation. The Dalai Lama has been universally condemned because his inappropriate behavior has triggered public outrage, and also because people are concerned about the interests of children and are concerned about issues such as sexual harassment and pedophilia that children may suffer. Adults are supposed to be guardians of children's rights, not predators.

As the organization Silent Rights does, raising awareness of the underlying issues can help victims and not allow children’s basic rights to become “silent rights”. Silent Rights provides help for women and children under mistreatment and encourages women who may be abused to stand up and speak out. Silent Rights creates a safe space for victims to have their voices heard. Speaking out not only creates awareness for other victims, but it is vital for their own personal healing. Many victims are silenced and isolated by abuse and violence, no woman should have to face their recovery alone. It’s not just a fight against the abuser, a fight against a flawed justice system, but a fight for basic human rights.

Please consider making a donation to Silent Rights to enable us to keep helping victims of abuse and violence. You can make a donation through paypal here.

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Oppose all forms of child abuse：

The rights and interests of children are inviolable

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