by Laurie A. Couture With every decade that passes, new legal and civil rights have been fought for and won for every group of adults in Westernized cultures. The fight continues around the globe in order to share those legal protections with oppressed populations in other cultures. With each passing decade, there have been landmark […]
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Youth Rights Resolutions for the New Decade
Losing Erica: Cynthia Clark Harvey Doesn't Want Anyone Else's Child to Die in a Wilderness-Therapy Program
By Amy Silverman Cynthia Clark Harvey climbs the stairs to the second floor of her north Phoenix home, pausing in a small bedroom. It’s the kind of room empty-nesters tend to keep, and this one is packed with artifacts from her daughters’ childhoods. Briana’s Beanie Babies hang on the wall in an organizer with her […]
Abuse of Youth in Residential Placements: A Call to Action
The growth of the troubled teen industry, including wilderness camps, therapeutic boarding schools, and boot camps, has given rise to allegations of inhumane treatment of youth, and exploitation of families who are desperately seeking help for their teenagers. This topic, previously the subject of two hearings in Congress and two special reports by the GAO, […]
ACLU says youth tortured at state prison
A 17-year-old boy suffering from mental illnesses was so traumatized by his deplorable treatment in the Montana State Prison that he twice attempted to kill himself by biting through the skin on his wrist to puncture a vein, a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana alleges. The lawsuit filed in […]
Abuse/Neglect of Children is the Root of All of the World's Problems
Author: Laurie A. Couture The story of the Plaistow NH father who bruised, bit and broke the bones of his three newborn triplets while the mother stood by passively praying, not calling the police, is just horrifying beyond all belief- The torture these baby boys and baby girl have endured is shocking to the conscience; […]
Official Hopes Prison Crisis May Spur Change
After a state task force delivered a withering indictment of New York’s juvenile prisons, the head of the agency responsible for the prisons reacted by going on a publicity blitz — not to challenge the findings, but to promote them. Gladys Carrión has the support of child-welfare advocates but draws criticism from unions representing workers […]
'Sexting' bullying cited in teen's suicide
Hope Witsell was just beginning the journey from child to teen. The middle-school student had a tight-knit group of friends, the requisite poster of “Twilight” heartthrob Robert Pattinson and big plans to become a landscaper when she grew up. But one impetuous move robbed Hope of her childhood, and eventually, her life. The 13-year-old Florida […]
Jailing Kudish Children to Undermine Dissent
Turkey is signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, but that does not stop minors in the country's Kurdish dominated eastern and southeastern regions from ending up with stiff jail sentences. In fact, after amendments were recently made to the country's anti-terror law, it is possible to charges children as […]
Cedar Ridge Academy Nurse Charged With Sex Abuse
A man who worked as a nurse at a boarding school for troubled teens has been charged with having sexual contact with two of the school’s teenage residents. Geary David Oakes, 57, of Cedarview, Duchesne County, is charged in 8th District Court with two counts of forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony, and two counts of […]
Outlaw child abuse in schools
A 14-year old student in a special education classroom in Texas, Cedric was living with a foster family because of a history of neglect, including malnutrition. But on this day in 2002, his teacher tried to punish him by withholding food, despite the abuse he had suffered as a young child. Cedric's teacher delayed his […]
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