Kirsty Hughes
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199652501
- eISBN:
- 9780191739217
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199652501.003.0026
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter looks at the child's right to privacy. It argues that whilst in theory children have a right to privacy under Article 8 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), in practice there is ...
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This chapter looks at the child's right to privacy. It argues that whilst in theory children have a right to privacy under Article 8 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), in practice there is an absence of rights-based reasoning in the privacy jurisprudence concerned with children. The chapter considers a number of areas in which the courts have been faced with cases relating to Article 8 ECHR privacy rights of the child. By analysing the manner in which the courts have addressed the right in these cases, it becomes apparent that the only situations in which the courts have given serious consideration to the child's right to privacy are situations in which either a high degree of protection is afforded to that privacy-related interest in the adult context or where the child is vulnerable to a clearly identifiable harm. This is problematic because the right to privacy is not usually, and should not be, contingent upon the individual suffering harm. Moreover, children may require greater and different privacy protection than adults. It is therefore argued that the child's right to privacy is not being adequately analysed or protected.Less
This chapter looks at the child's right to privacy. It argues that whilst in theory children have a right to privacy under Article 8 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), in practice there is an absence of rights-based reasoning in the privacy jurisprudence concerned with children. The chapter considers a number of areas in which the courts have been faced with cases relating to Article 8 ECHR privacy rights of the child. By analysing the manner in which the courts have addressed the right in these cases, it becomes apparent that the only situations in which the courts have given serious consideration to the child's right to privacy are situations in which either a high degree of protection is afforded to that privacy-related interest in the adult context or where the child is vulnerable to a clearly identifiable harm. This is problematic because the right to privacy is not usually, and should not be, contingent upon the individual suffering harm. Moreover, children may require greater and different privacy protection than adults. It is therefore argued that the child's right to privacy is not being adequately analysed or protected.
Harry Brighouse
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199257874
- eISBN:
- 9780191598845
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199257876.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Defends a theory of social justice for education from within an egalitarian version of liberalism. The theory involves a strong commitment to educational equality, and to the idea that children's ...
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Defends a theory of social justice for education from within an egalitarian version of liberalism. The theory involves a strong commitment to educational equality, and to the idea that children's rights include a right to personal autonomy. The book argues that school reform must always be evaluated from the perspective of social justice and applies the theory, in particular, to school choice proposals. It looks at the parental choice schemes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and in England and Wales, and argues that they fall short of the requirements of justice, but that not all such schemes must do so. It elaborates an abstract voucher scheme that would combine choice with justice, and offers ways by which actual choice‐based reform can be modified to meet the requirements of justice.Less
Defends a theory of social justice for education from within an egalitarian version of liberalism. The theory involves a strong commitment to educational equality, and to the idea that children's rights include a right to personal autonomy. The book argues that school reform must always be evaluated from the perspective of social justice and applies the theory, in particular, to school choice proposals. It looks at the parental choice schemes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and in England and Wales, and argues that they fall short of the requirements of justice, but that not all such schemes must do so. It elaborates an abstract voucher scheme that would combine choice with justice, and offers ways by which actual choice‐based reform can be modified to meet the requirements of justice.
Laura Lundy and Lesley McEvoy
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199652501
- eISBN:
- 9780191739217
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199652501.003.0006
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter adds to the discussion about the relationship between the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and childhood research by exploring what the application of a ‘human ...
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This chapter adds to the discussion about the relationship between the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and childhood research by exploring what the application of a ‘human rights-based approach’, as commonly understood in the international human rights community, would mean if implemented systematically in the context of research with children. The implications of this are explored in relation to the three key chronological research stages: framing, conducting, and disseminating children's rights-based research. However, before drawing out the features of such research, it is necessary to define first what it is we understand by the term ‘rights-based’.Less
This chapter adds to the discussion about the relationship between the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and childhood research by exploring what the application of a ‘human rights-based approach’, as commonly understood in the international human rights community, would mean if implemented systematically in the context of research with children. The implications of this are explored in relation to the three key chronological research stages: framing, conducting, and disseminating children's rights-based research. However, before drawing out the features of such research, it is necessary to define first what it is we understand by the term ‘rights-based’.
Noam Peleg
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199652501
- eISBN:
- 9780191739217
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199652501.003.0022
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter asks how the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child understands the meaning of the right to development of children. It begins by briefly presenting two conceptions of childhood — ...
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This chapter asks how the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child understands the meaning of the right to development of children. It begins by briefly presenting two conceptions of childhood — children as ‘becoming’ and children as ‘being’. It argues that, although a apparent paradigm shift in conceptualizing ‘childhood’ took place during the 1970s and 1980s, moving from the former to the latter concept, there is a doubt whether the Convention and the Committee reflect this shift. Using this presumption, the chapter analyses the Committee's jurisprudence of the right to development of children. It argues that the Committee's interpretation results in the Committee being entrenched within a conception of children as ‘becoming’ human beings and therefore it is mostly vague, lacks meaningful content, and undermines children's agency.Less
This chapter asks how the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child understands the meaning of the right to development of children. It begins by briefly presenting two conceptions of childhood — children as ‘becoming’ and children as ‘being’. It argues that, although a apparent paradigm shift in conceptualizing ‘childhood’ took place during the 1970s and 1980s, moving from the former to the latter concept, there is a doubt whether the Convention and the Committee reflect this shift. Using this presumption, the chapter analyses the Committee's jurisprudence of the right to development of children. It argues that the Committee's interpretation results in the Committee being entrenched within a conception of children as ‘becoming’ human beings and therefore it is mostly vague, lacks meaningful content, and undermines children's agency.
John Tobin
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199652501
- eISBN:
- 9780191739217
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199652501.003.0005
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter explores what is meant by a new way of judicial thinking in which children are conceived of as independent subjects with rights and entitlements as opposed to mere objects in need of ...
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This chapter explores what is meant by a new way of judicial thinking in which children are conceived of as independent subjects with rights and entitlements as opposed to mere objects in need of protection and charity. It consists of four parts. Part 5.1 provides an overview of the ways in which courts have constructed childhood over time. It suggests that three broad models have emerged — a proprietary approach, a welfare approach, and more recently a rights-based approach. Part 5.2 details the features of this newest way of thinking about children and Part 5.3 provides an overview of the ways in which courts engage with this model. It is argued that courts' engagement with a rights-based approach can be classified along a spectrum that ranges from the non-existent (or invisible) to the substantive with a range of approaches between these extremes. Finally, Part 5.4 identifies the legal, institutional, and social factors that influence the extent to which courts engage with this new way of thinking whereby children are conceived of as rights holders. It argues that we are on the verge of a new epoch in which the construction of childhood by courts will increasingly be viewed through the prism of rights.Less
This chapter explores what is meant by a new way of judicial thinking in which children are conceived of as independent subjects with rights and entitlements as opposed to mere objects in need of protection and charity. It consists of four parts. Part 5.1 provides an overview of the ways in which courts have constructed childhood over time. It suggests that three broad models have emerged — a proprietary approach, a welfare approach, and more recently a rights-based approach. Part 5.2 details the features of this newest way of thinking about children and Part 5.3 provides an overview of the ways in which courts engage with this model. It is argued that courts' engagement with a rights-based approach can be classified along a spectrum that ranges from the non-existent (or invisible) to the substantive with a range of approaches between these extremes. Finally, Part 5.4 identifies the legal, institutional, and social factors that influence the extent to which courts engage with this new way of thinking whereby children are conceived of as rights holders. It argues that we are on the verge of a new epoch in which the construction of childhood by courts will increasingly be viewed through the prism of rights.
Ann Quennerstedt
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199652501
- eISBN:
- 9780191739217
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199652501.003.0008
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter focuses on the transformation of rights from the universal to the particular level. The specific interest is to explore how universally pronounced claims for children's human rights are ...
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This chapter focuses on the transformation of rights from the universal to the particular level. The specific interest is to explore how universally pronounced claims for children's human rights are brought from the international arena to the national, and how this transformation affects the perception of the rights. An approach to how the process of transformation and contextualization of rights can be theoretically understood is first outlined. The elaborated approach is then applied to a comparative policy study of how children's rights are interpreted in the area of education in the policies of two nations: Sweden and New Zealand.Less
This chapter focuses on the transformation of rights from the universal to the particular level. The specific interest is to explore how universally pronounced claims for children's human rights are brought from the international arena to the national, and how this transformation affects the perception of the rights. An approach to how the process of transformation and contextualization of rights can be theoretically understood is first outlined. The elaborated approach is then applied to a comparative policy study of how children's rights are interpreted in the area of education in the policies of two nations: Sweden and New Zealand.
Michael Freeman
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199652501
- eISBN:
- 9780191739217
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199652501.003.0003
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law, Human Rights and Immigration
The growth of sociological interest in children, of what has come to be called ‘children's studies’, has coincided broadly with the development of the modern children's rights movement. Although ...
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The growth of sociological interest in children, of what has come to be called ‘children's studies’, has coincided broadly with the development of the modern children's rights movement. Although those working within the discipline of sociology are clearly interested in children's rights and their goals are often similar to the motley assemblage of lawyers, philosophers, educationists etc., whose primary goal is to disseminate and propagate children's rights, and are not so interested in understanding the construct we call ‘childhood’, there has been little dialogue or collaboration between them. The gulf is apparent from an examination of the interests of Childhood, the leading journal on the sociology of childhood, and the International Journal of Children's Rights. Beginning at roughly the same time, with some overlap of boards, the courses steered by the two have never threatened any collision. The two disciplines have much to offer each other as they have to anyone concerned with understanding childhood and improving the lives of children. There is an overlap of interests, to some extent a congruence of visions, but aims and perspectives, even world views, diverge.Less
The growth of sociological interest in children, of what has come to be called ‘children's studies’, has coincided broadly with the development of the modern children's rights movement. Although those working within the discipline of sociology are clearly interested in children's rights and their goals are often similar to the motley assemblage of lawyers, philosophers, educationists etc., whose primary goal is to disseminate and propagate children's rights, and are not so interested in understanding the construct we call ‘childhood’, there has been little dialogue or collaboration between them. The gulf is apparent from an examination of the interests of Childhood, the leading journal on the sociology of childhood, and the International Journal of Children's Rights. Beginning at roughly the same time, with some overlap of boards, the courses steered by the two have never threatened any collision. The two disciplines have much to offer each other as they have to anyone concerned with understanding childhood and improving the lives of children. There is an overlap of interests, to some extent a congruence of visions, but aims and perspectives, even world views, diverge.
Aoife Nolan
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199652501
- eISBN:
- 9780191739217
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199652501.003.0029
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law, Human Rights and Immigration
Litigation efforts seeking the prohibition of parental physical punishment (PPP) have met with mixed success. While some judicial and quasi-judicial bodies have been prepared to hold that such ...
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Litigation efforts seeking the prohibition of parental physical punishment (PPP) have met with mixed success. While some judicial and quasi-judicial bodies have been prepared to hold that such activity is a violation of a variety of children's rights, others have refused to do so. This chapter focuses on a number of recent rulings by courts and international quasi-judicial bodies involving challenges to state permission of physical punishment of children by their parents. It analyses these decisions by identifying common or contrasting elements in terms of the reasoning employed by judges and other decision-makers in either upholding or striking down the legality of PPP. It argues that approaches adopted by the decision-makers under consideration to the issue of PPP vary widely in terms of, amongst other things, judicial or quasi-judicial understandings and weighting of children's rights, the balance struck between such rights and parental autonomy, and the role played by international child rights standards and comparative experiences in relation to the prohibition of PPP. The chapter considers how these variations operate in relation to determining whether or not a court will be prepared to find in favour of a prohibition of PPP.Less
Litigation efforts seeking the prohibition of parental physical punishment (PPP) have met with mixed success. While some judicial and quasi-judicial bodies have been prepared to hold that such activity is a violation of a variety of children's rights, others have refused to do so. This chapter focuses on a number of recent rulings by courts and international quasi-judicial bodies involving challenges to state permission of physical punishment of children by their parents. It analyses these decisions by identifying common or contrasting elements in terms of the reasoning employed by judges and other decision-makers in either upholding or striking down the legality of PPP. It argues that approaches adopted by the decision-makers under consideration to the issue of PPP vary widely in terms of, amongst other things, judicial or quasi-judicial understandings and weighting of children's rights, the balance struck between such rights and parental autonomy, and the role played by international child rights standards and comparative experiences in relation to the prohibition of PPP. The chapter considers how these variations operate in relation to determining whether or not a court will be prepared to find in favour of a prohibition of PPP.
Julia Sloth-Nielsen
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199652501
- eISBN:
- 9780191739217
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199652501.003.0009
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter poses a question often aimed at lawyers, especially when they straddle a culturally diverse and contested terrain of human experience, such as the role of children and families in ...
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This chapter poses a question often aimed at lawyers, especially when they straddle a culturally diverse and contested terrain of human experience, such as the role of children and families in society: does law matter? The question is all the more pertinent in African contexts, due to the pervasive poverty, prevalence of practices harmful to children, and perceived inability of weak states to put legislative intentions into effect. The chapter commences in Part 9.2 with a discussion of pre-modern African childhood. Part 9.3 reviews the impact of colonial children's laws in constructions of childhood. It argues that even the adoption of colonial children's legislation during the twentieth century failed to dislodge the primacy of culture in African childhood literature, and that by and large, formal law remained irrelevant to children's lives. Part 9.4 examines the implications of ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child as far as the main question raised at the outset is concerned. Part 9.5 proposes that the introduction of a child rights discourse via the CRC and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, coupled with the implementation of large scale continental law reforms, has altered not only the legal landscape, but so too the present day understanding of childhood at a much more fundamental level. The conclusion that this chapter puts forward is that law does matter: and that an irreversible journey has been set in place which redefines African childhood.Less
This chapter poses a question often aimed at lawyers, especially when they straddle a culturally diverse and contested terrain of human experience, such as the role of children and families in society: does law matter? The question is all the more pertinent in African contexts, due to the pervasive poverty, prevalence of practices harmful to children, and perceived inability of weak states to put legislative intentions into effect. The chapter commences in Part 9.2 with a discussion of pre-modern African childhood. Part 9.3 reviews the impact of colonial children's laws in constructions of childhood. It argues that even the adoption of colonial children's legislation during the twentieth century failed to dislodge the primacy of culture in African childhood literature, and that by and large, formal law remained irrelevant to children's lives. Part 9.4 examines the implications of ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child as far as the main question raised at the outset is concerned. Part 9.5 proposes that the introduction of a child rights discourse via the CRC and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, coupled with the implementation of large scale continental law reforms, has altered not only the legal landscape, but so too the present day understanding of childhood at a much more fundamental level. The conclusion that this chapter puts forward is that law does matter: and that an irreversible journey has been set in place which redefines African childhood.
China Mills
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199652501
- eISBN:
- 9780191739217
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199652501.003.0025
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter explores the processes by which children framed as being ‘mentally ill’, and particularly here children who self-injure or hear voices, present us with a limit figure to current child ...
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This chapter explores the processes by which children framed as being ‘mentally ill’, and particularly here children who self-injure or hear voices, present us with a limit figure to current child rights discourse. In engaging with this limit figure, the chapter aims to examine the parochial frameworks drawn upon within legal decisions around children's rights to refuse ‘treatment’. In fact it aims to interrogate how psychiatric frameworks foreclose what can be understood to be ‘treatment’ in the first place. In contesting the frameworks by which the ‘child with mental health problems’ comes to be constituted, it engages with young people's own stories to enable dissonant and plural frames of recognition to come into view. Reading the stories that people who heard voices as children have told the author of this chapter, alongside the work of Giorgio Agamben and Judith Butler, particularly their theses around ‘bare’ and ‘precarious’ lives, enables further understanding of how dominant schemes of intelligibility may work to medicalize childhood experience; normalizing the absence of children with mental illness and pathologizing their presence within rights discourse. Thus we might conceptualize child rights as being a ‘violating enablement’ for children.Less
This chapter explores the processes by which children framed as being ‘mentally ill’, and particularly here children who self-injure or hear voices, present us with a limit figure to current child rights discourse. In engaging with this limit figure, the chapter aims to examine the parochial frameworks drawn upon within legal decisions around children's rights to refuse ‘treatment’. In fact it aims to interrogate how psychiatric frameworks foreclose what can be understood to be ‘treatment’ in the first place. In contesting the frameworks by which the ‘child with mental health problems’ comes to be constituted, it engages with young people's own stories to enable dissonant and plural frames of recognition to come into view. Reading the stories that people who heard voices as children have told the author of this chapter, alongside the work of Giorgio Agamben and Judith Butler, particularly their theses around ‘bare’ and ‘precarious’ lives, enables further understanding of how dominant schemes of intelligibility may work to medicalize childhood experience; normalizing the absence of children with mental illness and pathologizing their presence within rights discourse. Thus we might conceptualize child rights as being a ‘violating enablement’ for children.
Patrick Parkinson and Judy Cashmore
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199237791
- eISBN:
- 9780191717222
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199237791.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
This book examines whether and how children should be involved in the process of resolving family law disputes. Although there is widespread acceptance in the Western world that the views of children ...
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This book examines whether and how children should be involved in the process of resolving family law disputes. Although there is widespread acceptance in the Western world that the views of children should be taken into account, and that the weight given to those views should depend on their age and maturity, there is much less agreement about how children's voices should be heard and the purposes for which they are to be heard. This book examines these issues, drawing upon empirical data from interviews which explore the views and experiences of children, parents, counsellors, mediators, lawyers, and judges involved in such disputes in Australia. Most parents, children, and professionals were in favour of giving children a say, while not allowing them to make the decision. There were, however, quite different rationales for this. Mediators and family report writers, for example, emphasized the enlightenment that can come from giving children a say, while lawyers were more concerned with assessing the competence of children to make rational choices. There was also a general consensus among parents and professionals that giving children a say in resolving family law disputes also involved dangers. On the basis of this research, the book suggests ways in which children can better be heard without placing them at the centre of their parents' conflicts. Children might be given a say in some kinds of decisions much more than others and they should not be asked to choose between their parents competing positions. A major rationale for listening to children in family law disputes is that it provides a window upon children's worlds.Less
This book examines whether and how children should be involved in the process of resolving family law disputes. Although there is widespread acceptance in the Western world that the views of children should be taken into account, and that the weight given to those views should depend on their age and maturity, there is much less agreement about how children's voices should be heard and the purposes for which they are to be heard. This book examines these issues, drawing upon empirical data from interviews which explore the views and experiences of children, parents, counsellors, mediators, lawyers, and judges involved in such disputes in Australia. Most parents, children, and professionals were in favour of giving children a say, while not allowing them to make the decision. There were, however, quite different rationales for this. Mediators and family report writers, for example, emphasized the enlightenment that can come from giving children a say, while lawyers were more concerned with assessing the competence of children to make rational choices. There was also a general consensus among parents and professionals that giving children a say in resolving family law disputes also involved dangers. On the basis of this research, the book suggests ways in which children can better be heard without placing them at the centre of their parents' conflicts. Children might be given a say in some kinds of decisions much more than others and they should not be asked to choose between their parents competing positions. A major rationale for listening to children in family law disputes is that it provides a window upon children's worlds.
Eamonn Callan
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198292586
- eISBN:
- 9780191598913
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198292589.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
If we agree on the ends of political education, we may yet disagree about what the state may permissibly do to prosecute those ends. Disagreement on the latter is often prompted by considerations of ...
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If we agree on the ends of political education, we may yet disagree about what the state may permissibly do to prosecute those ends. Disagreement on the latter is often prompted by considerations of parents’ rights. By according a necessary role to autonomy among the ends of political education, the theory defended in this book conflicts with the educational aspirations, and hence potentially with the rights, of parents who seek to perpetuate a way of life at odds with the demands of autonomy. It is shown that if a liberal political education respects the rights of children, it will at least require a degree of autonomous development necessary to surmount the state of ethical servility.Less
If we agree on the ends of political education, we may yet disagree about what the state may permissibly do to prosecute those ends. Disagreement on the latter is often prompted by considerations of parents’ rights. By according a necessary role to autonomy among the ends of political education, the theory defended in this book conflicts with the educational aspirations, and hence potentially with the rights, of parents who seek to perpetuate a way of life at odds with the demands of autonomy. It is shown that if a liberal political education respects the rights of children, it will at least require a degree of autonomous development necessary to surmount the state of ethical servility.
Michael Freeman (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199652501
- eISBN:
- 9780191739217
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199652501.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law, Human Rights and Immigration
The Current Legal Issues series is based upon an annual colloquium held at University College London. Each year leading scholars from around the world gather to discuss the relationship between law ...
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The Current Legal Issues series is based upon an annual colloquium held at University College London. Each year leading scholars from around the world gather to discuss the relationship between law and another discipline of thought. Each colloquium examines how the external discipline is conceived in legal thought and argument, how the law is pictured in that discipline, and analyses points of controversy in the use, and abuse, of extra-legal arguments within legal theory and practice. This book, the fourteenth volume in the Current Legal Issues series, offers an insight into the state of law and childhood studies scholarship today. Focusing on the inter-connections between the two disciplines, it addresses the key issues informing current debates. Topics include cyber bullying, children's human rights, childhood in conflict-stricken areas, foster care, and parental discipline.Less
The Current Legal Issues series is based upon an annual colloquium held at University College London. Each year leading scholars from around the world gather to discuss the relationship between law and another discipline of thought. Each colloquium examines how the external discipline is conceived in legal thought and argument, how the law is pictured in that discipline, and analyses points of controversy in the use, and abuse, of extra-legal arguments within legal theory and practice. This book, the fourteenth volume in the Current Legal Issues series, offers an insight into the state of law and childhood studies scholarship today. Focusing on the inter-connections between the two disciplines, it addresses the key issues informing current debates. Topics include cyber bullying, children's human rights, childhood in conflict-stricken areas, foster care, and parental discipline.
Barbara Jo Fidler, Nicholas Bala, and Michael A. Saini
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199895496
- eISBN:
- 9780199980086
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199895496.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Forensic Psychology
Interest in the problem of children who resist contact with or become alienated from a parent after separation or divorce is growing, due in part to parents' increasing frustrations with the apparent ...
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Interest in the problem of children who resist contact with or become alienated from a parent after separation or divorce is growing, due in part to parents' increasing frustrations with the apparent ineffectiveness of the legal system in handling these unique cases. There is a need for legal and mental health professionals to improve their understanding of, and response to, this polarizing social dynamic. This book is a critical, empirically based review of parental alienation that integrates the best research evidence with clinical insight from interviews with leading scholars and practitioners. The text draws upon the growing body of mental health and legal literature to summarize the historical development and controversies surrounding the concept of “alienation” and explain the causes, dynamics, and differentiation of various types of parent-child relationship issues. The chapters review research on prevalence, risk factors, indicators, assessment, and measurement to form a conceptual integration of multiple factors relevant to the etiology and maintenance of the problem of strained parent-child relationships. A differential approach to assessment and intervention is provided. Children's rights, the role of their wishes and preferences in legal proceedings, and the short- and long-term impact of parental alienation are also discussed.Less
Interest in the problem of children who resist contact with or become alienated from a parent after separation or divorce is growing, due in part to parents' increasing frustrations with the apparent ineffectiveness of the legal system in handling these unique cases. There is a need for legal and mental health professionals to improve their understanding of, and response to, this polarizing social dynamic. This book is a critical, empirically based review of parental alienation that integrates the best research evidence with clinical insight from interviews with leading scholars and practitioners. The text draws upon the growing body of mental health and legal literature to summarize the historical development and controversies surrounding the concept of “alienation” and explain the causes, dynamics, and differentiation of various types of parent-child relationship issues. The chapters review research on prevalence, risk factors, indicators, assessment, and measurement to form a conceptual integration of multiple factors relevant to the etiology and maintenance of the problem of strained parent-child relationships. A differential approach to assessment and intervention is provided. Children's rights, the role of their wishes and preferences in legal proceedings, and the short- and long-term impact of parental alienation are also discussed.
Manfred Liebel
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199652501
- eISBN:
- 9780191739217
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199652501.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law, Human Rights and Immigration
Sixteen years ago, the author of this book was invited to a Children's Rights Congress in Frankfurt am Mainto to speak about his experience with ‘new forms of interest articulation and participation ...
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Sixteen years ago, the author of this book was invited to a Children's Rights Congress in Frankfurt am Mainto to speak about his experience with ‘new forms of interest articulation and participation of children in Latin America’. In particular, this covered initiatives and social movements that are run by children themselves and which seek to improve their precarious situation ‘with their own force’. For seven years, he had the opportunity to witness such processes, and to accompany children on-site as an adult ‘co-worker’. In this chapter the author recounts what he learnt during that time, and reflects on it in light of subsequent experiences, and in reference to experiences in other regions of the world. In doing so, he hopes to understand better and to provide a better understanding of what the child-led organizations mean for the enjoyment of children's rights and in what ways they can contribute to attaining an understanding of participation suitable to the life situation of the children. In the process, it is indispensable to understand the pitfalls of and perspectives on ‘advocacy’ and organizations of adults, which children rely on, and which (want to) help and support children.Less
Sixteen years ago, the author of this book was invited to a Children's Rights Congress in Frankfurt am Mainto to speak about his experience with ‘new forms of interest articulation and participation of children in Latin America’. In particular, this covered initiatives and social movements that are run by children themselves and which seek to improve their precarious situation ‘with their own force’. For seven years, he had the opportunity to witness such processes, and to accompany children on-site as an adult ‘co-worker’. In this chapter the author recounts what he learnt during that time, and reflects on it in light of subsequent experiences, and in reference to experiences in other regions of the world. In doing so, he hopes to understand better and to provide a better understanding of what the child-led organizations mean for the enjoyment of children's rights and in what ways they can contribute to attaining an understanding of participation suitable to the life situation of the children. In the process, it is indispensable to understand the pitfalls of and perspectives on ‘advocacy’ and organizations of adults, which children rely on, and which (want to) help and support children.
Bronagh Byrne
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199652501
- eISBN:
- 9780191739217
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199652501.003.0024
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter provides a critical assessment of the approach adopted by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) towards children with disabilities and its ...
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This chapter provides a critical assessment of the approach adopted by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) towards children with disabilities and its implications for socializing States Parties to both ‘right’ and ‘rights’ behaviour. It discusses the ways in which ‘rights talk’ for children with disabilities, itself a relatively recent development in this context, has been predominantly needs based in its substantive content, and explores whether the exacerbated disadvantage experienced by children with disabilities as a result of the particular interaction between disability and childhood is effectively addressed and given due weight by the new Convention. The CRPD's provisions are discussed in the context of children with disabilities and their potential to provide effective redress assessed. The chapter concludes with some critical reflections on the extent to which the CRPD can really be understood as minding the gap for children with disabilities.Less
This chapter provides a critical assessment of the approach adopted by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) towards children with disabilities and its implications for socializing States Parties to both ‘right’ and ‘rights’ behaviour. It discusses the ways in which ‘rights talk’ for children with disabilities, itself a relatively recent development in this context, has been predominantly needs based in its substantive content, and explores whether the exacerbated disadvantage experienced by children with disabilities as a result of the particular interaction between disability and childhood is effectively addressed and given due weight by the new Convention. The CRPD's provisions are discussed in the context of children with disabilities and their potential to provide effective redress assessed. The chapter concludes with some critical reflections on the extent to which the CRPD can really be understood as minding the gap for children with disabilities.
Bronwyn Naylor and Bernadette J. Saunders
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199652501
- eISBN:
- 9780191739217
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199652501.003.0028
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law, Human Rights and Immigration
In the debate around the physical discipline of children, neither children's need to be disciplined nor parents' obligation to discipline their children constructively is particularly contentious. ...
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In the debate around the physical discipline of children, neither children's need to be disciplined nor parents' obligation to discipline their children constructively is particularly contentious. Contention arises in relation to whether physical punishment is a necessary component of parental discipline and whether it can be legally or morally justified. This chapter first outlines the clear international human rights-based support for criminalizing physical punishment of children, and then summarizes the current law permitting physical punishment in Australia and the UK. It considers the reform process in a number of countries that have prohibited physical punishment, identifying the political and legal factors leading to the reforms, the impact upon attitudes and incidence of physical violence, and the ways in which the criminalizing of physical punishment has been implemented in practice. Finally, it looks critically at the use of criminal laws in this area and propose a framework for an acceptable regime which both makes a clear statement of the unacceptability of physical punishment and engages with parents to achieve social change without inappropriate stigmatization.Less
In the debate around the physical discipline of children, neither children's need to be disciplined nor parents' obligation to discipline their children constructively is particularly contentious. Contention arises in relation to whether physical punishment is a necessary component of parental discipline and whether it can be legally or morally justified. This chapter first outlines the clear international human rights-based support for criminalizing physical punishment of children, and then summarizes the current law permitting physical punishment in Australia and the UK. It considers the reform process in a number of countries that have prohibited physical punishment, identifying the political and legal factors leading to the reforms, the impact upon attitudes and incidence of physical violence, and the ways in which the criminalizing of physical punishment has been implemented in practice. Finally, it looks critically at the use of criminal laws in this area and propose a framework for an acceptable regime which both makes a clear statement of the unacceptability of physical punishment and engages with parents to achieve social change without inappropriate stigmatization.
Anne S.Y. Cheung
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199652501
- eISBN:
- 9780191739217
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199652501.003.0018
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law, Human Rights and Immigration
In order to tackle the problem of cyber-bullying in an integrated and coherent manner which can combine legal intervention, education, and regulation from the telecommunications industry, this ...
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In order to tackle the problem of cyber-bullying in an integrated and coherent manner which can combine legal intervention, education, and regulation from the telecommunications industry, this chapter advocates an alternative approach of co-regulation based on children's rights. Part 18.1 begins by discussing the nature, manifestation, prevalence, and harm of cyber-bullying, with an illustration of notorious examples of cyber-bullying in different countries. Part 18.2 examines the current legal attempts in the United Kingdom and the United States to tackle the problem and the inadequacies of the positivist legal approach. Part 18.3 argues that a co-regulatory model based on children's rights will provide a viable and more effective solution to the problem of cyber-bullying, in which schools and internet services providers (ISPs) play an essential role. In particular, the ISP should develop its code of practice within a model of compliance, of having a mechanism for reporting, follow-up, and notice and take-down of harmful materials.Less
In order to tackle the problem of cyber-bullying in an integrated and coherent manner which can combine legal intervention, education, and regulation from the telecommunications industry, this chapter advocates an alternative approach of co-regulation based on children's rights. Part 18.1 begins by discussing the nature, manifestation, prevalence, and harm of cyber-bullying, with an illustration of notorious examples of cyber-bullying in different countries. Part 18.2 examines the current legal attempts in the United Kingdom and the United States to tackle the problem and the inadequacies of the positivist legal approach. Part 18.3 argues that a co-regulatory model based on children's rights will provide a viable and more effective solution to the problem of cyber-bullying, in which schools and internet services providers (ISPs) play an essential role. In particular, the ISP should develop its code of practice within a model of compliance, of having a mechanism for reporting, follow-up, and notice and take-down of harmful materials.
Maxine Eichner
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195343212
- eISBN:
- 9780199867769
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195343212.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter considers how the state should approach families that function in ways that vary from liberal democratic norms. The mainstream view that underlies contemporary theory and public policy ...
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This chapter considers how the state should approach families that function in ways that vary from liberal democratic norms. The mainstream view that underlies contemporary theory and public policy has been simply to affirm the doctrine of family privacy until families fail, at which time coercive intervention in the family is deemed appropriate. It is argued that the supportive state does better in conceiving of families as requiring support in the normal course of events. Doing so will more often than not keep families from reaching the point of crisis and coercive intervention. At the same time, while the supportive state gives considerable weight to the good of family privacy, it considers it as one of a range of goods that must be supported in a flourishing society. Family privacy therefore no longer serves as the trump card of state policy when families vary from liberal democratic norms; instead, it becomes one among many goods to be balanced. This, in turn, causes the supportive state to seek nuanced ways to respect family privacy while simultaneously furthering these other norms.Less
This chapter considers how the state should approach families that function in ways that vary from liberal democratic norms. The mainstream view that underlies contemporary theory and public policy has been simply to affirm the doctrine of family privacy until families fail, at which time coercive intervention in the family is deemed appropriate. It is argued that the supportive state does better in conceiving of families as requiring support in the normal course of events. Doing so will more often than not keep families from reaching the point of crisis and coercive intervention. At the same time, while the supportive state gives considerable weight to the good of family privacy, it considers it as one of a range of goods that must be supported in a flourishing society. Family privacy therefore no longer serves as the trump card of state policy when families vary from liberal democratic norms; instead, it becomes one among many goods to be balanced. This, in turn, causes the supportive state to seek nuanced ways to respect family privacy while simultaneously furthering these other norms.
Meira Levinson
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199250448
- eISBN:
- 9780191599750
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199250448.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Develops a liberal political theory of children's education provision. It argues that all children have a right to an autonomy‐promoting education, and that this right is best satisfied through a ...
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Develops a liberal political theory of children's education provision. It argues that all children have a right to an autonomy‐promoting education, and that this right is best satisfied through a state‐regulated ‘detached school’ that aims to help children develop their capacities for autonomy. Parents have the privilege to direct their children's upbringing in substantial and pervasive ways, but they do not have the right to prevent their children from developing the capacity for autonomy. There are nonetheless ways to encourage parental involvement and permit school choice. Although political liberals suggest that autonomy is too divisive of an aim, and that liberal schools should simply promote civic virtue, political liberalism and political liberal education are shown to be both theoretically and empirically inferior to weakly perfectionist liberalism and liberal education. Correctly conceived, autonomy‐promoting education contributes to the development of civic virtue, nurtures children's capacities for cultural coherence as well as for choice, and promotes equality.Less
Develops a liberal political theory of children's education provision. It argues that all children have a right to an autonomy‐promoting education, and that this right is best satisfied through a state‐regulated ‘detached school’ that aims to help children develop their capacities for autonomy. Parents have the privilege to direct their children's upbringing in substantial and pervasive ways, but they do not have the right to prevent their children from developing the capacity for autonomy. There are nonetheless ways to encourage parental involvement and permit school choice. Although political liberals suggest that autonomy is too divisive of an aim, and that liberal schools should simply promote civic virtue, political liberalism and political liberal education are shown to be both theoretically and empirically inferior to weakly perfectionist liberalism and liberal education. Correctly conceived, autonomy‐promoting education contributes to the development of civic virtue, nurtures children's capacities for cultural coherence as well as for choice, and promotes equality.
