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Fairness and Equality
The Committee said the Government must:
23 Better protect children against discrimination by urgently dealing with the intolerance and negative stereotypes of children and young people in society and in the media.
24 Do more to raise awareness about, and prevent discrimination against, children. This might need to include work to help certain groups of children, including traveller children; migrant children; young refugees and asylum seekers; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender children; and children from minority groups.
25 Make sure all cases of discrimination against children are dealt with properly.
26 The Government must do everything it can to make sure that the best interests of the child are part of every law or policy that affects children, including in criminal justice and immigration.
Best interests means that people should always think about the effect any decisions they are making about a child or young person will have on them, and whether that decision is really the best thing for that child or young person.
27 Do everything it can to protect children's right to life, including by checking the ways of preventing child deaths work well.
28 Introduce automatic, independent and public inquiries into any unexpected child death or serious injury (whether the child is in care or detained in secure accommodation or prison).
29 Treat Taser guns and similar devices as weapons, and make sure the same rules and restrictions apply to them as to other weapons.
30 End the use of all harmful devices on children.
Harmful devices could include batons, guns and Taser guns, which, if fired at you will temporarily paralyse you.
31 Make sure respect for children's views in the family, in school, in the community and in institutions is promoted, put into practice, and becomes part of the law.
32 Promote the principle of respect for the child's views in the courts and in any other proceedings affecting the child.
Proceedings affecting a child could include an exclusion hearing, an appeal against a statement of special educational needs, a meeting to decide which parent a child should live with, and lots of other decisions.
33 Support organisations that help children to get involved in decision-making.
34 Continue to work with NGOs to make more opportunities for children to properly take part in decision-making, including in the media.
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