Ensuring the Right to Basic Personal Safety and Strategies for Addressing Criminal Justice Issues
Personal safety, which involves general recognition and avoidance of possible harmful situations, is a supreme right and basic to all human rights. Personal safety as a fundamental concept for an individual’s well-being and dignity ensures people feel at peace and minimally comfortable. Governments and organizations have a responsibility to provide a safe environment for citizens. As governments and organizations protect the right to basic personal safety, people are lawfully required to take the necessary measures to ensure their safety. Notably, in the realm of criminal justice, ensuring all people are granted equal rights to basic personal safety is a paramount concern. Delving into the complexities surrounding the right to basic personal safety, this research paper analyzes the cultural context of criminal justice issues and evaluates strategies for addressing the issues at different levels.
A General Overview of an Issue, Problem, or Challenge from Several Reliable Sources
According to various reliable sources, the right to basic personal safety in modern society is becoming a pressing concern. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2023 report, all human rights instruments should enshrine the right to basic personal safety to ensure human rights are protected. The WHO (2023) report associates interpersonal violence with increasing violations of the right to basic personal safety and public health issues millions of people face annually today (World Health Organization, 2023). Therefore, to ensure the right to basic personal safety and criminal justice issues are strategically addressed, the Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA) should mainstream fundamental human rights principles and standards across all personal safety policies. Protecting the right to basic personal safety ensures everyone has the right to the highest attainable standard of legal protection from natural and man-made hazards.
Article 3 of the United Nations 2023 Universal Declaration of Human Rights report mandates people’s right to life, liberty, and security. Additionally, the report highlights various forms of injustice that compromise personal safety. According to the United Nations report, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) plays a significant role in preventing incidents of violence and hate crimes that affect individuals’ sense of security and well-being (United Nations, 2023). The UDHR declaration adopted by the United Nations fostered protections of basic personal safety by ensuring that everyone in society is entitled to human rights without discrimination. Moreover, the right to liberty and security of persons enshrined in the UDHR in Article 9 adds that all people are ensured the right to basic personal safety.
Responding to Various Points of the Issue
The right to basic personal safety within any society is significant, but despite its significance in ensuring personal safety and addressing criminal justice issues, numerous challenges persist in ensuring its fulfilment (World Health Organization, 2023). Key factors involved in addressing the main issue or challenge and conveying the ideas well in writing include the prevalence of violence and crime. The prevalence of violence and crime in ensuring basic personal safety poses a significant challenge. Alarming rates of various forms of violence, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and other forms of crime, inflict physical harm, instil fear, and undermine individuals’ sense of security (Friedman, 2022, p. 736). In response to the above point, governments and organizations need to strengthen legal protections and enforcement that combat violence and crime effectively.
Secondly, societal attitudes and cultural norms hinder efforts that promote basic personal safety in society. Additionally, societal attitudes and cultural norms perpetuate a culture of silence, which exacerbates vulnerability to violence, especially among marginalized groups. Therefore, responding to societal attitudes and cultural norms points of the issue, problem, or challenge, government and organizations should promote education and awareness initiatives (Friedman, 2022, p. 751). Thirdly, inadequate support systems and resources are the main drawbacks to achieving the effectiveness of interventions that could ensure basic personal safety. The issue of the right to basic personal safety in many cases is contributed by limited access to emergency services, law enforcement agencies, and inadequate funding challenges many people face today. The above challenges foster the issue by impeding timely responses to violent incidents. Therefore, in response to the above point, governments, organizations, and people should strengthen support services to ensure survivors receive the assistance they need to heal and rebuild their lives.
Analyzes of the Cultural Context of the Issue and My Internal Reflection
The right to basic personal safety in modern society stands as a fundamental human right, but the realization of this right is often influenced by cultural contexts. Reflecting on my experiences and perspectives on an issue, problem, or challenge in a cultural context has shaped my perceptions, behaviours, and responses to safety-related issues. The right to basic personal safety in a cultural context is based on cultural norms that play a significant role in shaping attitudes and behaviours regarding personal safety. Different cultures emphasize different individual autonomy and self-reliance, fostering reluctance to report incidents of violence or abuse (Ivankiv, 2020, p. 339). In collectivist cultures, individual autonomy and self-reliance foster a greater emphasis on community support and intervention, which ensures the right to basic personal safety and strategies for addressing criminal justice issues. Gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation cultural factors intersect with safety and vulnerability experiences to reflect on broader societal attitudes towards the right to basic personal safety.
Reflecting on my own experiences and perspectives on this critical issue, I contemplate the cultural context and recognize the complexity of ensuring basic personal safety within cultural contexts. In my life experience, I have witnessed my family members and friends have encountered various incidents of violence and harassment based on their gender identity, race, or ethnicity. Being born and raised in a diverse urban environment I have often experienced firsthand the intersection of culture, identity, and safety in my society. Therefore, my life experiences have underscored the importance of creating an equitable and inclusive environment that respects and values everyone. Acknowledging my privileges and biases has influenced how I perceive and respond to issues of safety and examine beliefs and attitudes that challenge discriminatory behaviours and systemic injustices. In addressing the challenge of ensuring basic personal safety, I believe in the importance of fostering collaboration across diverse stakeholders to create safer and more equitable societies for all individuals.
Evaluate Strategies for Addressing the Issue at Several Levels
Addressing the right to basic personal safety issues requires comprehensive identification of strategies for improvement that encompasses people’s protection from various forms of harm. At the global level, addressing the right to basic personal safety requires the development and enforcement of international treaties and conventions, strategies to combat violence, and advocacy for universal standards and cooperation among nations. Internationally, organizations, for example, the UN, address the issue by creating and promoting human rights frameworks that foster safety concerns worldwide (United Nations, 2023). For example, the UN Declaration, calling for action to prevent gender-based violence globally, has eliminated violence against women in many nations.
At the national level, strategies such as enacting laws and policies that protect individuals from harm and setting legislative measures that criminalize acts of violence have significantly contributed to ensuring basic personal safety. Other strategies include establishing national law enforcement agencies to enforce laws, investigate crimes, and provide community outreach efforts and risk prevention programs (Ivankiv, 2020, p. 341). At the local level, approaches such as establishing community policing efforts, youth outreach initiatives, and neighbourhood watch programs enhance personal safety. Secondly, creating environments where individuals feel safe and supported and investing in infrastructure and urban planning measures that improve safety are commonly used strategies at the local level. At the personal level, being aware of potential risks and taking precautions to avoid dangerous situations is the most recommended strategy for ensuring the right to basic personal safety. Other strategies include acquiring self-defence training and risk assessment techniques and empowering individuals to recognize and assert their rights to personal safety.
Conclusion
Protecting the right to basic personal safety is a fundamental human right that requires global, concerted efforts to uphold it in different cultural backgrounds. Addressing the right to basic personal safety requires a comprehensive approach that involves action at global, national, local, and personal levels. The right to basic personal safety at different levels is considered a cornerstone of human rights that foster life free from physical harm, injury, aggression, or fear. Effective approaches to protecting personal safety revolve around taking sensible precautions, preventative thinking and being aware of surroundings. The right to basic personal safety as a fundamental human right encompasses the entitlement of society to be protected from threats to their physical well-being, harm, and violent incidents. Therefore, exploring various dimensions of this issue, understanding its cultural context, and evaluating strategies for intervention help create safer communities.
References
Friedman, B. (2022). What is public safety? BUL Rev., 725-791. https://www.bu.edu/bulawreview/files/2022/04/FRIEDMAN.pdf
Ivankiv, I. (2020). Peace as A Right of Humanity. Sustainability and Law: General and Specific Aspects, 337-354. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Fa-Likitswat/publication/342737840_Mainstreaming_Ecosystem_Services_as_Public_Policy_in_South_East_Asia_from_Theory_to_Practice/links/5f17ba7445851515ef3e3966/Mainstreaming-Ecosystem-Services-as-Public-Policy-in-South-East-Asia-from-Theory-to-Practice.pdf#page=335
United Nations (2023). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights calls for peace, dignity, and equality on a healthy planet. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
World Health Organization (2023). Human Rights. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/human-rights-and-health
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