11. Ley lepina
The LEPINA law, or the Law on
Protection of Children and
Adolescents, was signed in
March 2009 and consists of
260 articles based on the
human rights standards set by
the
United
Nation’s
Convention on the Rights of
the Child. This law establishes
rights and duties to minors
with their family, school or
college and especially with
their friends, schoolmates and
relatives. In summary, articles
20 to 36 regulate:
Right
to
the
integral
development of the minor
(health, food, wellness).
Right to integrity (physical and
psychological).
Right to education and respect
in schools by teachers and
peers.
I think that LEPINA has had both a
positive and negative effect on El
Salvador’s children. The law
states that all children are born
with unalienable rights, and when
those rights are violated, they can
go to the local government in
order to demand them. It is the
responsibility of the state to
exercise the rights, a commitment
to the development of the
children’s autonomy. Lepina law
is a good way to avoid children’s
problems in the society, in the
case of teachers it is important to
keep distance between student
and teacher because there are
some cases about this situation.
Some people break the laws and
articles so it is necessary to
respect the children rights.