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Respect My rights

Imagine you are sixteen...


...and having trouble at school. You’re finding it difficult to keep up with your schoolwork since you’ve been working evenings and weekends to help your parents meet the rent. Because of this you sometimes fall asleep in class and the teacher shouts at you in front of everyone. The other students laugh and exclude you because you come from a poor neighbourhood that has a bad reputation.

What would you do?

You work various temporary jobs...


...to make some cash. It’s hard to make enough though and the money you bring home changes from day to day. Finally, you see an advertisement for an office assistant job in the city centre with a good salary. Your family’s landlord keeps increasing the rent so a regular income would really help out at home.

What would you do?

After weeks of searching...


After weeks of searching, your boyfriend tells you about a job in a warehouse on the other side of town. It will take 2 hours to get to each morning and doesn't pay very well, but the employer doesn’t ask for any qualifications.

What would you do?

You've been at the warehouse for two months...


...and the long travel and irregular hours are taking a toll. To make it worse, the floor manager gives you a hard time compared to the others - no matter how hard you work, he calls you dirty and lazy because you come from a poor neighbourhood. When some merchandise went missing last week, he threatened to fire you and took it out of your wages even though you had nothing to do with it.

What would you do?

The abuse has not stoppped...


... the floor manager often gives you the most demeaning and dangerous tasks at the factory. You’ve badly strained your back lifting heavy boxes.

What would you do?

Things are getting serious with your boyfriend...


...You’ve been sneaking out to see him as much as you can. The only problem is that you missed your period last month and you’re afraid to mention it to him or to your parents. You’re starting to feel worried and want to get some advice. You know there is a health clinic in town.

What would you do?

Stick it out at school


You remain at school, even though you’re miserable. But your problems don’t stop at school. Your family doesn’t have a rental agreement with the landlord and he arbitrarily increases the rent whenever he feels like it. Recently he has been coming around to the house and making threats because the family cannot meet the latest increase.

What would you do?

Poverty Trap!

You don't have the qualifications...


Without a high school diploma you are told that you’re not eligible for the job. No choice but to look for a job that pays less..

What would you do?

The Right to Education


We all have the right to access quality education that is adapted to individuals, including free and compulsory primary education. We should be able learn a career, or to make use of all our skills. 

Links: 

Universal Declaration of Human Rights ARTICLE 26

Find out how by taking a journey into what it would be like to live in poor or inadequate housing... Take the housing journey
Poverty Trap!

Instead of supporting you...


...senior management are inclined to believe the floor manager’s version of the story. Senior management says that if you make allegations again, you’ll lose your job. You can’t afford to give up the job so you have to stay and put up with the abuse.

What would you do?

Right to live without discrimination


Discrimination means being excluded, restricted or treated differently, in a way that denies people their human rights. Cultural ideas, attitudes and values can shape the perceived social "worth" of individuals and groups of people. This can then be used to determine his or her access to opportunities, rights and resources. Dicrimination can happen for many different reasons including: sex, age, nationality, religion, race or color, sexual identity to name a few. Being free from discrimination on all grounds is a fundamental human right and ending all forms of discrimination is essential to enabling people to exercise and claim their human rights.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights ARTICLE 2/7

Find out how by taking a journey into what it would be like to live in poor or inadequate housing... Take the housing journey
Poverty Trap!

Your back has become unbearable...

...and it’s making you slower than usual. The floor manager has noticed and says you’re easily replaceable with someone stronger, and so fires you.

What would you do?

Rights at work


Everyone has the right to fair employment conditions and pay, protection against forced or compulsory labour and the right to form and join trade unions to protect their interests. Your employers should ensure that you are not placed in dangerous situations at work which risk your health.

Links:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights ARTICLE 25

Find out how by taking a journey into what it would be like to live in poor or inadequate housing... Take the housing journey
Poverty Trap!

You take a few days off...

...but your floor manager is unsympathetic and says you’ve missed too much work, and fires you.

What would you do?

Right to security


Everyone has the right to fair employment conditions and pay, protection against forced or compulsory labour and the right to form and join trade unions to protect their interests. Your employers should ensure that you are not placed in dangerous situations at work which risk your health.

Links:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights ARTICLE 25

Find out how by taking a journey into what it would be like to live in poor or inadequate housing... Take the housing journey
Poverty Trap!

The doctor won’t see you…


The doctor says he can not see you without your parents. In addition there is a fee and you simply cannot afford it while you haven’t been working.

What would you do?

Sexual and Reproductive Rights


Everybody has sexual and reproductive rights. Governments have an obligation to ensure that everyone can enjoy these rights freely, without fear, coercion or discrimination. These rights include making decisions regarding your own health, body, sexual life and sexual identity; to have access to information and education about sex, contraception and related health services; to choose whether and when to have children and to marry or not; to live free from rape or other forms of violence including forced pregnancy, abortion, sterilization or marriage.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

Find out how by taking a journey into what it would be like to live in poor or inadequate housing... Take the housing journey
Poverty Trap!

It's now showing that your pregnant...


It is now showing that you are pregnant to everyone. Your parents are furious and you move out to live with your boyfriend in a small room without access to a toilet or electricity. The pregnancy and poor living conditions have made you weak but you still can’t afford the doctor.

What would you do?

The Right to Health


There are many human rights treaties that guarantee the right to the highest attainable standard of health The right to Health includes the right to maternal, child and reproductive health. Health care facilities, goods and services have to be available, accessible, acceptable and of good quality.
Find out how by taking a journey into what it would be like to live in poor or inadequate housing... Take the housing journey
Poverty Trap!

You're searching for a new house...


...but there doesn't seem to be anything cheaper that can fit your whole family. One morning you wake up hearing your mother screaming. The landlord has come round and has started throwing your household belongings into the street. He says he’ll be back to do the same every morning until your family leave. The only place you can go is a tiny one bedroom flat in a run down old building. The family will just have to make do.

What would you do?

The right to adequate housing


The Universal Declaration of Human Rights includes housing as part of everyone's right to an adequate standard of living. The International Convent on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights contains the right to adequate housing which includes security of tenure (protection against forced eviction), affordable rents or building costs, clean water, sanitation, cooking facilities, safe buildings with adequate living space and a location with access to jobs, health care, schools and other services.

Links:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Find out how by taking a journey into what it would be like to live in poor or inadequate housing... Take the housing journey

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What would you do?


POVERTY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Poverty has many dimensions – it is not just about how much money people earn. There are people living in poverty in virtually every country in the world, including in those that are considered the wealthiest. It means not having clean water or enough food to eat. It means not getting good healthcare when you need it, or not being able to send children to school. It means being denied access to all the resources, services, skills, choices and security that we all need to realize our human rights.

Poverty is not an accident, nor is it the fault of these who have to live it every day. It often means being stigmatised by the rest of society and blamed for your own poverty. People living in poverty are more likely to be discriminated against and suffer other human rights violations. Denial of one of your human rights often impacts on your ability to realize other rights.

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© Amnesty International