The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) includes provisions to ensure that children and young people have a say in decisions affecting their lives. Although a signatory to the UNCRC, Ghana is a nation where little empirical evidence has been gathered regarding the barriers that prevent children from participating in child protection. Thus, in this article, we report on findings from a qualitative study into the barriers to children's participation in child protection practice in Ghana. The study was based on qualitative interviews with 15 child protection practitioners, and a constructivist grounded theory approach was used to analyse data from the interviews. Intimidation, parental influence, communication problems, and confidentiality were identified as barriers to promoting participatory practices for children in the child protection process. The study findings suggest that engaging with children in separate rooms or spaces, away from the presence of parents and other adults, could help practitioners promote children's participation. It is recommended that practitioners should upgrade their skills for working with children by taking part in in-service training, workshops, and seminars to help address issues with communication. Practical actions suggested in this study may also be useful for other practitioners addressing similar issues.

中文翻译：

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儿童参与儿童保护实践的障碍：加纳从业者的观点和经验

《联合国儿童权利公约》 (UNCRC) 包括确保儿童和青少年在影响其生活的决定中拥有发言权的条款。尽管是联合国儿童权利公约的签署国，加纳是一个几乎没有收集到关于阻碍儿童参与儿童保护的障碍的经验证据的国家。因此，在本文中，我们报告了一项关于加纳儿童参与儿童保护实践障碍的定性研究的结果。该研究基于对 15 名儿童保护从业者的定性访谈，并采用基于建构主义的理论方法分析访谈数据。恐吓、父母影响、沟通问题、保密被认为是在儿童保护过程中促进儿童参与性做法的障碍。研究结果表明，在远离父母和其他成年人在场的单独房间或空间中与儿童互动，可以帮助从业者促进儿童的参与。建议从业者通过参加在职培训、讲习班和研讨会来提高他们与儿童合作的技能，以帮助解决沟通问题。本研究中建议的实际行动也可能对解决类似问题的其他从业者有用。的参与。建议从业者通过参加在职培训、讲习班和研讨会来提高他们与儿童合作的技能，以帮助解决沟通问题。本研究中建议的实际行动也可能对解决类似问题的其他从业者有用。的参与。建议从业者通过参加在职培训、讲习班和研讨会来提高他们与儿童合作的技能，以帮助解决沟通问题。本研究中建议的实际行动也可能对解决类似问题的其他从业者有用。