In its October 2008 report on the UK, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern 'at the general climate of intolerance and negative public attitudes towards children, especially adolescents'.

Young Equals is campaigning to get protection from age discrimination for children and young people. It is supported by many charities and individual children and young people. If you have any evidence of age discrimination, please send it to equality@crae.org.uk.

Young Equals is coordinated by the Children's Rights Alliance for England. Members of the campaign steering group include the British Youth Council, The Children's Society, Families Need Fathers, Liberty, National Children's Bureau, the National Youth Agency, NCVYS, Save the Children UK, UK Youth, Youth Access and YWCA England and Wales.

11 MILLION, the Children's Commissioner for England, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission have observer status.

Organisations that have signed up to support the Young Equals campaign include:

• Action for Children
• Beatbullying
• Child Rights Information Network (CRIN)
• The Centre for Identity Studies, Edge Hill University
• Pre-school Learning Alliance
• Teenage Cancer Trust
• UK Youth Parliament

On Tuesday 2 June, Mike Lindsay CRAE's national coordinator, gave oral evidence on the Equality Bill to the Public Bill Committee. CRAE was the only children's organisation invited to speak in a session that focused on age and disability and spoke on behalf of the Young Equals campaign. He challenged the Government's decision to exclude children from protection from harmful age discrimination in the Bill and questioned the exclusion of schools and children's homes from the age element of the public sector equality duty.

Read the text of the evidence session

Making the case: why children should be protected from age discrimination and how it can be done

Young Equals has recently launched a publication called Making the case. The report challenges the Government's position that there is "little evidence" of harmful age discrimination against children and young people and questions why the Government is really failing to extend legal protection from age discrimination to under-18s. This dossier of evidence brings together a wide range of examples of age discrimination against children and young people. The document includes evidence from children, young people and adults gathered as part of the Young Equals Day of Action, held in August 2008.

Download Making the case

Download the Young Equals press release

No matter how old you are, sign up to show you support Young Equals!

Public and commercial services are not allowed to discriminate on the grounds of race, sex, disability, religion or belief or sexual orientation.

We want this protection to be extended so that public and commercial services cannot discriminate on the grounds of age.

In 2005, the Government set up a review of discrimination law. CRAE's national co-ordinator was a member of the reference group.

Throughout the past three years we have lobbied Government Ministers and civil servants to try and persuade them to outlaw age discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services.

Other countries like Australia, Finland and Sweden already prohibit age discrimination.

We have also been pushing for a new duty on public authorities (schools, health services, police, social services and libraries) to promote the human dignity and equal worth of all people, as well as encourage participation in decision-making and positive images of children and young people.

The Equality Bill was published at the end of April 2009. The Government is not convinced that children and young people should receive any new protection.