Nobody had talked to the children previously about violence against children at all. In school, there is a designated person children talk in confidence with if there is an occasion of violence against children. Public life/general They know that there are youth organisations, but there is no opportunity for children to participate in them. There is only one NGO and association for children. There is very little opportunity for the children to participate in such activities, and there have been no consultations with the children as regards to such activities. At the national level, the children have been not consulted about anything at any level. In the media, it is very rarely that the children’s views are sought or represented. The children believe that in every sector that we have talked about, it is very important that their views are sought and taken into account. One reason this should be so, as noted by children who are deaf, is that because they cannot hear, it is important that the media provides them with information because they are keen to know about things more. Also, things cannot be done the way that the children want unless their views are sought, and taken into account. The children also believe that things that are most beneficial to them are things that have been planned and implemented according to how they want them to be done. Presentation: Secondary School Family: we all feel that within the families we get all the information we need, and that we are consulted. We all accept that not everything can be done our way, and that if we do get our way all the time, we will become spoilt. We do feel, though, that within our families, we are consulted and that our views are taken into account. Healthcare: In our group, most of us go to see doctors abroad. Those doctors, when compared with doctors in Male’, are very different. This includes, for example: the children who do go to see doctors here in the Maldives, they do it for the ‘namesake’ [in name only] – they are just doing a job, and they rush things without talking to patients. They ask if we have a headache and give us Panadol. In comparison, if you go to a doctor abroad, they talk directly to the patient, give the patient time, and they find out what is wrong directly from the patient herself. They interact mostly with patients directly. In the discussions within our group, what we found is that if we go to a Maldivian doctor, we don’t really know what is going on. One time they will give us an injection, the next time they will ask us to do a blood test. Without knowing what is really going on, we go from one section [of the healthcare system] to another, doing what they ask us to do. Sports: There is very little space for children to play sports. Even the few places that are available such as the Ekuveni, adults have already taken up those places, so we have very little opportunity to play. In the Maldives, especially in Male’, there are very few activities that target young people…In schools when they are introducing new activities and such, they do not really consult with children that much, they do not provide us the opportunity to express our views when they are making up 84