“Castells links the abuse of children, broadly defined, directly with economic globalization and the social and accompanying moral dislocation which it brings in its train. What is different in globalization, he argues ‘is the disintegration of traditional societies throughout the world exposing children to the unprotected lands of mega city slums. What is different is children in Pakistan weaving carpets for world wide export via networks of suppliers to large department stores in affluent markets. What is new is mass global tourism organised around paedophilia. What is new is electronic child pornography on the Net world-wide. What is new is the disintegration of patriarchalism without being replaced by systems of protection of children provided either by new families or the state. What is new is the weakening of institutions of support for children’s rights such as labour unions or the politics of social reform’ (quoted in Barber, 2000, p. 282).” - Globalisation and Human Welfare by Vic George, Paul Wilding.
Here’s an outtake from Globalisation and Human Welfare. It speaks about the effects globalisation has had on the welfare of humanity, more importantly the welfare of children. Globalisation has a lot of positives, it allows us the ability to communicate with people all around the globe, build online friendships, move things easier around the globe, visit countries we once only dreamed of, etc. However it also has a lot of negatives. Globalisation has expanded a world we never wished to expand - paedophilia, child labour, child abuse and the lack of support that is now available because of this.
Although I don’t agree that it’s all doom and gloom anymore, I do see some of these points as valid still. It’s only recently that a group of touring paedophiles went around the UK and committed disgusting crimes to young people and posted images/ videos online and even live called people on Skype so people all around the world could watch the abuse (Link to the article). So I agree that globalisation has had a very negative affect on child abuse and the ability to keep that child abuse alive - people place things on the internet and they’re very hard to get off. A video of a child could circulate the internet for a lifetime and never get removed because it would’ve been placed on every inappropriate site you could imagine. Pictures are the same, they go online, they get reposted again and again until it is soon near to impossible to delete.
Child labour is still an issue in developing countries. The idea that globalisation has made that seem okay to do is pretty bad. We’re taking away a child’s freedom in order to get a t-shirt for £2, where’s the justice in that? As a country, we wouldn’t allow anyone to do that to our children, so why do we still let it stand in developing countries? Furthermore, why do we support it by employing it? It just doesn’t seem like the right thing to do. So I also agree that globalisation has perhaps made us overlook developing countries when it comes to how much we want something to cost us instead of the morals we hold as individuals.
What I do disagree with is the support now on offer to children. There’s several charities, online organisations, freephone call lines that children are able to contact/ visit/ talk to when they need help, advice or just someone to talk to. These organisations have been growing over the past couple of years and now they’ve expanded into the world. Places like these help to gather children’s thoughts, feelings, confusions all into a single place and help to break it down, get rid of it, help them to forgive and move on.
I do, however, think that some of these charities haven’t been getting the right amount of funding in order for them to be able to deliver a bigger and better service to these children because there just isn’t the means to expand anymore. A lot of things have been hit with the recent political and economic situation we have been in, and I do think that these charities have also lost out because of this. But just because the funding has reduced, doesn’t mean these places are no longer available and to everyone around the world. Globalisation and the use of the internet means that you can now email in a charity when you’re feeling suicidal/upset/confused/depressed/after you’ve been abused, etc, it has given us the ability to talk to people around the world so we know we’re not the only ones (which is a very important) and has even given children the ability to create a close knit network of people who understand, who they can trust and who they can turn to 24/7.
So yes, globalisation has opened a huge can of negativity towards children and the crimes committed to or on them, but that doesn’t mean to say that it’s all negative. There’s a lot of good available to children now to help them deal with these horrific experiences. Without these charities, these people who volunteer their free time helping children who have suffered, then I would agree. However, I do believe these charities are accessible, there’s a range of help available, online translators for children from foreign countries who email in, and they help. They help be it by talking, thinking, discussing, encouraging, nurturing or even separating or removing the child from the problem they’re facing. I think globalisation has had it’s negative impact, but now it’s making up for that by helping people like NSPCC, The Samaritans/ Befrienders Worldwide, etc to come online and become available worldwide.
I think you have some really good points here! I also think that no matter what happens, there's always going to be positives and negatives and we can't always control that but what we can do is think of ways that those negatives can be improved on so that, like your saying here, children have the support they need. People always find a way to do things, even when it's made hard for them so I don't think holding back on certain things to do with globalisation may have made much of a difference, I think there's people out there that would have found a way around it and certainly these things would have still happened but without globalisation nowhere near as many people would have been aware and I suppose awareness is what has caused all of the charities to come about.
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