Challenging notions of children’s “participation” in the youth justice system: the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 12
A child’s right to participate in decision making is seminally proclaimed in Article 12, UNCRC. Yet, it is often the case that the rhetoric associated with children’s “participation rights” does not reflect practice. Especially in the case of the youth justice system, significant challenges exist concerning both notions of the right to participate and how it translates into and influences what should be appropriate interventions for young people. This article draws upon three studies which critically examined the concept of participation and children’s decision making in pre-court and custody and resettlement settings. Listening to what young people said through these studies, reflections are offered concerning prevailing understandings and the operationalisation of “participation” within existing youth justice approaches. Additionally, consideration is afforded to barriers to effective participation in youth justice and the transformative potential that the right to participate in decision making offers those who come into conflict with the law.
History
School
- Social Sciences and Humanities
Department
- Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy
Published in
The International Journal of Children’s RightsVolume
32Issue
1Pages
9 - 44Publisher
BrillVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Rights holder
© The AuthorsPublisher statement
This paper was accepted for publication in the journal The International Journal of Children’s Rights and the definitive published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1163/15718182-32010002Acceptance date
2023-09-22Publication date
2024-03-06Copyright date
2024ISSN
0927-5568eISSN
1571-8182Publisher version
Language
- en