Dignity

We believe that all people deserve to be valued and respected. No matter who they are or what they do. This includes people below a certain age. Unfortunately not everyone agrees with us...

We believe young people should not be:

• degraded,
• dehumanized,
• instrumentalized or objectified,
• humiliated.

Why do we, as a society, find it okey to treat young people as less-than-humans or yet-to-be-humans? Why do we treat them in a way no adult deserves to be treated? Why is it acceptable to humiliate a child over "bad" behavior? Or be indifferent to their mental health struggles "because" of their academic achievements? Or deny them services (I'm not even talking about "dangerous" ones)? Or treat them like they are "the cause of all crime"? Or treat them as cohorts and not individuals?

Violations

Generally

• Claims made by young people are believed less than these made my adults because young people are "manipulative" (even though adults are likely to be more manipulative^{[citation needed]}). When an adult makes a claim, a good-faith attempt at verifying it is often made. When a minor makes such a claim, such attempt isn't made. Why is that?
• We photograph kids without them knowing and/or consenting (kids who are old enough to understand the situation). Why is that acceptable?
• We use cruel and unusual punishment against children. Or when punishing them we don't follow basic due process. Why is that normalized?

At home

• We expect children to act with unnecessary urgency for no apparent reason. Why is that acceptable?

At school

• We tie students' respect to grades and behavior (including behavior that doesn't directly disturb others). Why do we find this acceptable?
• We publicly humiliate students for small mistakes. Why is that justifiable?