New Delhi: The custody battle of the two NRI children Abhigyan and Aishwarya has seen several twists in the past few days. Norway has said that they won't give the two children to their uncle even if he was willing to take them under his protection. The Norwegian authorities have said the parents and the uncle have changed their position many times in the recent days.
Reidar Hjermann, the Ombudsman for Children in Norway, explains why the Norwegian Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion should have been more proactive in this case, and been present in India to provide the Indian public with information about Norwegian standards for child rearing and care, and to explain why foreign children who are abused or neglected in Norway cannot be subject to discrimination.
Norway is a small nation in Northern Europe with five million people spread thinly over a territory a bit larger than the United Kingdom. According to the UN Human Development Index, it is one of the safest and best places in the world to grow up in. What then is the reason for the Norwegian Child Welfare Service intervening in some foreign families and, in certain cases, placing children in foster homes?
This question is being hotly debated, both in India and in Norway. Is this a case of an omnipotent state intervening inappropriately in the private sphere, or is it a case of a caring system protecting the most vulnerable of all – children?
In this debate I have criticized the Norwegian Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion for being too passive and for providing too little information about the Norwegian child welfare system to the Indian public. Therefore, as an independent Ombudsman for Children, I will try to give an overview of what child protection in Norway is all about.
Because we now know more about child development and psychology than we did before, both policy and attitudes towards children have changed in the child’s favour in recent decades. Today, all forms of corporal punishment have been abolished in schools, the home or any other place. This is because we know that corporal punishment is harmful to children and affects their relationships with their caretakers in a negative way.
Even though most children in Norway enjoy a safe and secure life in a wealthy country, there are still children who suffer from violence, abuse and neglect in their families. The Norwegian Child Welfare Service (CWS) provides a safety net for children and families at risk. In every municipality there is an office for child protection, and its job is to closely follow up the Child Welfare Act. The Act states that the CWS shall offer support and guidance to parents who are struggling in bringing up their children.
The CWS is also obliged to take children out of their family if it is seriously concerned about the conditions in the home. The CWS can intervene directly in acute situations, but a court decision is needed if a child is to remain under CWS care.
The recent incident in the municipality of Stavanger, where two Indian children were taken under CWS care has fuelled public debate in India, a debate that seems to be based on a lack of information and serious misunderstandings. The most serious misunderstanding is that hand feeding or having children sleeping in the parent’s bed is sufficient grounds for the CWS to place a child in foster care. The Child Welfare Act sets out clearly that foster care may only be considered in cases where a child has been subject to serious neglect or violence.
I cannot comment further on this specific case, but I can say that while the CWS certainly has considerable potential for improvement, I know that it is a key part of the safety net for children in Norway.
According to both the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Norwegian legislation, children of another nationality living in Norway shall enjoy the same protection as Norwegian children. If there were a higher threshold for intervening in foreign families than in Norwegian families, this would amount to discrimination.
While I support Norway’s system of child welfare, I frequently make critical remarks, both about the Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion and about the Child Welfare Service itself. In my view, the Ministry should have been more proactive in this case, and been present in India to provide the Indian public with information about Norwegian standards for child rearing and care, and to explain why foreign children who are abused or neglected in Norway cannot be subject to discrimination.
Unfortunately, the CWS has a poor track record in following up parents after a decision to place children in an institution or foster care. The CWS should, as routine, inform foreign parents of the decision in a language they fully understand, and provide translations of important documents in order to avoid misunderstandings. I am also concerned that there seems to be a higher threshold for intervening in families of foreign origin than in Norwegian families, with the result that foreign children enjoy less protection than children with Norwegian parents.
I was in India just a few months ago, and met both children in difficult circumstances and child-care professionals who are working hard to improve children’s rights in the country. The differences between our two countries are many. In our culture, the family is less a private matter, and if children experience neglect they are the responsibility of the whole community. Our goals, however, are the same: a good life for all children.
Norway is also involved in disputes with other countries about child welfare cases. It is about time the Norwegian Ministry of Children, Equality and Inclusion took a proactive role in providing information about how we protect children in this country, and what values form the basis of society in this small nation, which is one of the best countries for children to grow up in.
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