Журнал Viche 2010 №19

№19, 2010

Formation of Social Function of the State in the Sphere of Protection of Childhood

The social function of the state, namely, purposeful organizationally and legally well-to-do activity of the state on guaranteeing of deserving standard of living and free development of citizens, is, in the opinion of many researchers of this theme, comparatively new for Ukraine. It is related to becoming and institutionalization of the third generation of human rights – social ones. But, to our opinion, at least separate elements of social function are peculiar to any type of states.

So it follows to establish that as of the XХ century of the state and state formations which existed on the territory of Ukraine, in the domestic policy the separate elements of social function of the state were contained  only in the sphere of defense of childhood and protection of childhood, besides, they, as a rule, were carried out mediately: through the settlement of relations between children and parents or tutors or through public institutions (charitable organizations, organs of local self-government). It was conditioned, in our view, by several factors:

 

– favorable demographic situation, without regard to wars, epidemics and high child's death rate. According to the historical and demographical reconstruction V. Kozyuba [4], child's death rate on the territory of Ukraine at medieval times was about 50 percent, but at the same time on the average in one family there were more than three children under the age of 20 years old. The situation has not changed so far in the future;

 

– misunderstanding of childhood as of the separate social phenomenon and value of childhood. Moreover, even children not always were perceived as value, but rather as additional load, especially, if a child was born out of wedlock. For this reason the infanticide is traced in folk-lore and in the ХІХ century it became the typical womanish crime;

 

–lack of development of the state as a public institute and the accordingly very limited set of its functions, among which protection of law and order, defense of class privileges, protection of the country prevailed.

Olena TEMCHENKO