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List of Achievements for Children
1995-2000
Improvements on the status of children and teenagers in
Iceland due to the intervention by the Icelandic Ombudsman for Children.
General
It can be asserted that there has been more public discussion
about affairs relating to children and teenagers during the past five years,
i.e. since the office of the Ombudsman for Children was established on January
1, 1995, than during the previous years. As an example it can be mentioned that
mobbing is now recognised as a serious social problem in which must be dealt
with.
Legislation
Provisions in the following laws have been amended due to
various interventions by the Ombudsman for Children:
 | Act on legal majority. |
The status of children as the owners of certain valuables
has been strengthened.
| Sports Act. |
Safety regulations with regard to swimming pools
frequently attended by children receive legislative support.
| Penal Code. |
The expiry of sexual violations begins at the age of 14
(the ombudsman proposed that the there would be no expiry of these
violations and as an alternative that the expiry begin at the age of 18)
| Act on Public Procedure. |
A judge questions a child who is the victim of a sexual
offence immediately on the investigative stage (to avoid repetition). The
questioning shall take place in a comfortable, child friendly environment
upon the fulfilment of certain conditions. An attorney is appointed
immediately on the investigative stage to protect the rights of victimized
children. His salary is paid by the State Treasury.
| Act on Torts. |
In determining indemnity for suffering in sexual offence
cases the following shall be studied in particular: the nature of the act,
how long the abuse has lasted and last but not least whether there exist a
violation of a family or a confidential relationship.
| Act on the payment of indemnity by the State Treasury to victims. |
The status of children as victims of sexual offences was
strengthened.
| Broadcasting Act. |
A new Broadcasting Act has been implemented, taking into
consideration the recommendations by the Ombudsman for Children. The
provisions regarding children and the news media were amended on grounds of
the Ombudsman’s recommendations. An emphasis is placed on the protection
of children against damaging information, cf. Art. 17 of the UN Convention
on the Right of the Child (CRC) and EU’s Directive EU/89/552.
| The Children’s Act. |
A professional public family counselling due to divorce
or the ceasing of cohabitation, also accessible for children, will be
established. A governmental bill of law is forthcoming.
| Child Protection Act. |
Use of forces against children at treatment institutions
without specific authorisation by law for such action. The Child Protection
Act is currently being revised, for example, as a result of the
recommendations of the Ombudsman for children.
| Act on Income Tax and Property Tax – Child Compensation. |
Through the years, the Ombudsman for Children has
addressed and pointed out various matters of improvements that need to be
made in terms of the payment of child compensation to the parents.
Among the issues, which the Ombudsman has criticised, is the linking of
child compensation to the parents’ financial status. Amendments to the tax
law are pending, abolishing such linkage of the child compensation and the
parents’ assets. Other amendments of the child compensation system are
pending, both regarding the phrasing of the law and its execution.
| A proposal for a parliamentary resolution. |
A proposal for a parliamentary resolution supported by
members of all political parties represented in the Icelandic Parliament on
the forming of a comprehensive
policy in matters involving children and teenagers and
that a five-year action plan for it´s implementation be adopted. Has been
submitted to the Parliament.
Administration
The Icelandic Ombudsman for Children has made some progress
within the Icelandic administration. A few examples may be mentioned:
| The Minister of Education and Culture amends the procedure for the writing
of final exams in the country’s primary schools after the ombudsman sent
him a request to that effect. |
| The Minister of Education and Culture decides to conduct a first study on
the extent and nature of mobbing in Iceland following an inquiry from the
Ombudsman. |
| School authorities receive a report from the Ombudsman on mobbing –
suggestions by children and teenagers. The discussion on mobbing will be
continued. A principal of a school is obliged to see to that there exists a
plan within the school on how to deal with mobbing. |
| The Minister of Health launches an experimental project regarding accident
prevention for children following a suggestion by the Icelandic Ombudsman
for Children. The aim is to decrease the number of accidents involving
children and to establish a co-ordinated register of accidents involving
children and teenagers. |
| The Minister of Health establishes a working group to form a policy on the
mental health affairs of children and teenagers after the Ombudsman for
Children has repeatedly urged that such a policy be formed. The policy is
ready but an implementation plan is not available yet. |
| The Icelandic Broadcasting Corporation decides after a suggestion by the
Ombudsman not to show commercials from movie theatres containing violent
scenes before 9 p.m. |
| The Icelandic Infant Care delivers to parents of all children
three-and-a-half years of age a special booklet on violence on television
– what can we do, published by the Ombudsman in co-operation with the
Society of Pediatricians. |
| The Prison and Probation Administration enters into an agreement with the
Government Agency for Child Protection to place young sentenced offenders,
aged 15-18, in rehabilitation centres instead of real prisons following a
report by the Ombudsman for Children. |
| The Ministry of Education has set a new regulation on the rules at school
and on discipline at the primary schools. The Ombudsman for Children focused
on the inclusion of a provision on the right of students to equally
influence the contents of such rules as the representatives of parents and
the school authorities. |
| The Ombudsman has repeatedly pointed out the importance of a special study
being made on the extent and nature of homeviolence aimed towards children.
Preparations have now been launched on a study of this serious problem among
older children. |
| A task group has been appointed under the umbrella of the Office of the
State Prosecutor to prepare a regulation on the working procedures of the
police because of alleged violations of children who are incompetent to
stand trial. This development followed inquiries and recommendations by the
Ombudsman for Children. |
| The Reykjavík School Board has approved a new policy on meals at the
primary schools in the capital city. Considering the extension of the
children’s school day, the Ombudsman for Children has for some time
emphasised the increased need for the children being provided with good and
healthy meals at school. |
| Since 1996, the Ombudsman for Children has pointed out the need for rules
on the relations of children with banks and other financial institutions. A
task group consisting of representatives from the main bank institutions in
Iceland has prepared guidelines, which the Ombudsman has commented on. These
guidelines were taken into consideration when such rules were implemented at
the banks. |
| The model agencies have set ground rules regarding the age of models, who
are sent abroad, i.e., 16 years minimum. as a result of inquiries made by
the Ombudsman for Children. |
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