Journal Articles

Rethinking Child Policy Post-UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: Vulnerable Children's Welfare in Sweden

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The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) formulates the rights of children in
terms of provision, protection and participation. CRC implies a multi-dimensional view of
children's welfare, including agency. This enables us to rethink the way we research and
design policies aimed at promoting child welfare. In the past, Sweden has been seen as a
forerunner when it comes to children's rights. However, the weak imprint of CRC on
Swedish legislation and CRC implementation is not only a puzzle but also this apparent lack
of impact makes it an interesting test case for exploring post-CRC policy developments. The
purpose of the study is to identify what has prevented the evolution of Swedish social policy
in this domain. We propose a framework for analysing policies aimed at promoting
children's welfare (child policy) that goes beyond ‘family policy’. This, we argue, is critical for
identifying obstacles to such a policy evolution. The framework is normatively anchored in
CRC and theoretically inspired by the notion of participatory rights. By examining the legal
reform work in Sweden over the past three decades with regard to how children's right to
voice is treated in three areas of social service delivery, we observe that the lawmaker
recognises parents’ rather than children's participatory rights. The lack of recognition of
children's agency implies that a reconceptualisation of child welfare is necessary in order to
unlock the stalemate in child policy development in Sweden, as well as to dissolve the
tension between children as ‘beings’ and ‘becomings’.

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Detail Information

Series Title

Journal of Social Policy

Call Number

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Publisher

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press., 2016

Collation

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Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

0047-2794

Classification

NONE

Content Type

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Media Type

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Carrier Type

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Edition

Volume 45 - Issue 3 - July 2016, pp. 435-452 Abstr

Subject(s)

Human rights
Children
Child welfare
Sweden

Specific Detail Info

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Statement of Responsibility

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