Attitudes of Children and Youth on the Serbian Business Sector

Abstract

Apart from the increasing attention paid to the role of business in society, with an expanded awareness of the link between the business sector and human rights, over the last decade, there has been a trend of trying to understand the relative impact of businesses on children’s rights. After the promotion of the Children’s Rights and Business Principles in 2012, the impact of the business sector began to be viewed through the diversity of its possible effects on children in the workplace, the marketplace, in the community or in relation to environmental protection. A quantitative survey of children and young people in Serbia conducted via UNICEF’s U-Report platform aiming to test the hypothesis“Are children and youth in Serbia aware of the impact that the business sector has on them?” identified their attitudes that companies can help them in their future development paths, that the greatest area of impact on children’s rights comes from the workplace – by providing decent work for young workers and parents and making future jobs more accessible to young people through education and training programmes.At the same time, the expectation of children and youth in Serbia for greater participation of companies in supporting and realising the rights of children in society was emphasised.