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State Provision of Resilience in Social Compulsory Care : A Vulnerability Analysis of Physical Constraint of Children and Youth Without Consent

Mattsson, Titti LU orcid and Enell, Sofia (2023) In International Journal for the Semiotics of Law 36(4). p.1529-1545
Abstract

Children’s and young persons’ rights have received increasing been focus in recent decades, due in a significant degree to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In Sweden, compulsory care in the social-services system is disputed, not least for the forceful measures that facility personnel have at their disposal to control children in certain conflict situations. The general aim of this article is to examine how the increased emphasis in Sweden on children’s rights is promoting resilience for children and youth in youth compulsory secure-care settings. A more general question is whether the child-rights discourse leads in practice to increased resilience for children and youth in this setting, or even in general. The empirical... (More)

Children’s and young persons’ rights have received increasing been focus in recent decades, due in a significant degree to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In Sweden, compulsory care in the social-services system is disputed, not least for the forceful measures that facility personnel have at their disposal to control children in certain conflict situations. The general aim of this article is to examine how the increased emphasis in Sweden on children’s rights is promoting resilience for children and youth in youth compulsory secure-care settings. A more general question is whether the child-rights discourse leads in practice to increased resilience for children and youth in this setting, or even in general. The empirical material shows that children and young people’s perceptions of care and treatment are strongly linked to their interactions with staff and how the staff use restrictive measures. Applying Martha Fineman’s vulnerability theory in this context means that achieving resilience demands an analysis of the institutional settings in which children and young persons live their day-to-day lives, including their relationships in this setting. Comparing the legal possibilities of physical constraint with interviews of children and personnel reveals that relevant legislative frameworks and children’s-rights discourse should serve as a protection mechanism for children and youths, but in real life, these seem to have limited effect.

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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Children’s rights, Locked institutions, Resilience, Social services, Sweden, Vulnerability theory
in
International Journal for the Semiotics of Law
volume
36
issue
4
pages
1529 - 1545
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • pmid:37362070
  • scopus:85150259129
ISSN
0952-8059
DOI
10.1007/s11196-023-09987-w
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f9315606-60b6-4953-baef-75d192c20f16
date added to LUP
2023-07-05 11:43:38
date last changed
2024-04-19 23:14:42
@article{f9315606-60b6-4953-baef-75d192c20f16,
  abstract     = {{<p>Children’s and young persons’ rights have received increasing been focus in recent decades, due in a significant degree to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In Sweden, compulsory care in the social-services system is disputed, not least for the forceful measures that facility personnel have at their disposal to control children in certain conflict situations. The general aim of this article is to examine how the increased emphasis in Sweden on children’s rights is promoting resilience for children and youth in youth compulsory secure-care settings. A more general question is whether the child-rights discourse leads in practice to increased resilience for children and youth in this setting, or even in general. The empirical material shows that children and young people’s perceptions of care and treatment are strongly linked to their interactions with staff and how the staff use restrictive measures. Applying Martha Fineman’s vulnerability theory in this context means that achieving resilience demands an analysis of the institutional settings in which children and young persons live their day-to-day lives, including their relationships in this setting. Comparing the legal possibilities of physical constraint with interviews of children and personnel reveals that relevant legislative frameworks and children’s-rights discourse should serve as a protection mechanism for children and youths, but in real life, these seem to have limited effect.</p>}},
  author       = {{Mattsson, Titti and Enell, Sofia}},
  issn         = {{0952-8059}},
  keywords     = {{Children’s rights; Locked institutions; Resilience; Social services; Sweden; Vulnerability theory}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{1529--1545}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{International Journal for the Semiotics of Law}},
  title        = {{State Provision of Resilience in Social Compulsory Care : A Vulnerability Analysis of Physical Constraint of Children and Youth Without Consent}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11196-023-09987-w}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s11196-023-09987-w}},
  volume       = {{36}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}