The Child’s Participation in Justice: Myth or Reality?

Abstract

The contact of children with the judicial system occurs for several reasons, which are not always perceived by the system itself or considered as a subject of discussion within the system. We will start this article by discussing some theoretical arguments and presenting some empirical evidence related to the child’s participation in justice. Subsequently, we present an exploratory study that sought to understand the representations of children and young people regarding their participation in this system. In order to carry out the study, an intentional sample of 23 children and adolescents in residential care , aged between 10 and 18 years, was constituted. The interview technique was used to collect data, and a semi-structured and semi-directional script, previously tested, was developed for this purpose. The interviews were recorded and later transcribed for qualitative analysis. The results revealed that children and young people feel that their opinions should be valued by adults. Most of them also affirm that the voices of children and young people should always be promoted before any decisions are taken by magistrates. This study was aimed at children as protagonists of their stories, when residential foster care was involved, and emphasizes the importance of promoting a justice more focused on the effective participation of the child in judicial decisions.