7.2 Skills development for personal empowerment and active citizenship

place. 277 This indicates that, although there are some mechanisms, there are limitations and shortcomings, as well as a number of barriers that inhibit the effective and meaningful participation of adolescents in decision-making.

Discriminatory social norms can also have an impact on the ability of certain groups of adolescents to

realise rights to participation. These include gender norms or perceptions of those with disabilities, adolescents from rural and remote areas, LGBTQIA+ adolescents and stateless, undocumented and refugee adolescents. However, there is a data gap on the extent of inclusion of these groups within participation platforms. Whilst there is little direct evidence available on levels of exclusion from child participation, these norms are likely to limit active engagement in participatory platforms and may result in some children being prevented from having any role in public life, let alone meaningful participation. Platforms for adolescent participation should ensure more equitable representation between the genders and ensure that the specific needs of children with disabilities are catered for in order to encourage their participation. It should also ensure that more marginalised groups of adolescents are able to meaningfully participate, including LBGTQIA+ adolescents, indigenous adolescents, those living in rural and remote areas, undocumented, stateless and refugee adolescents.

Limitations to participation are also found in the cultural norms around the voice of adolescents and youth in Malaysian society. Controversy over change in the definition of ‘youth’ from 40 to 30 earlier this year highlighted the view of some in Malaysia that young people are often seen as incapable or not fully mature. A number of states, for example Johor, Selangor and Sarawak, have decided to maintain the age of 40 for youth policies despite the federal government’s approach to the amendment of the Youth Societies and Youth Development Act. According to the President of the Johor state government, at the age of 40, individuals have a ‘stable’ political literacy as well as the capacity to build leadership qualities in highlighting issues. 278

Adolescence is a period of substantial neurological development during which the brain is sensitive to rewards from taking risks. Whilst risk-taking among adolescents is often associated with negative activities and outcomes, it can also lead to innovation, active citizenship and academic achievement. It is also the time during which gender roles become entrenched and diverge, with girls’ lives becoming more confined while boys’ lives open up, impacting on girls’ and boys’ experiences and self-esteem and ultimately on their empowerment and growth. As such, there is a need to assist adolescents in skills development as well as provide them with safe opportunities for positive risk taking, to foster personal empowerment and civic engagement 279 and to support social norms that encourage gender equality and respect for human rights. Skills that can be developed for personal

© UNICEF Malaysia/2019/A. Lau

277

278 279 UNICEF, ‘Children4change Survey 2017: Bullying! Hurts’, 20 November 2017, available at: https://children4change.unicef.my/ bullying-is-1-concern-for-children-in-malaysia-global-unicef-survey/ Malaysiakini, ‘Johor to Retain Youth Age Limit at 40’, 8 July 2019, available at: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/482838 United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF Programme Guidance for the Second Decade: Programming with and for Adolescents, Programme Division, UNICEF, October 2018, p. 7.