Desinstitucionalizar con derechos: el buen trato como condición estructural de la atención y la protección a la infancia
Abstract
This article analyzes deinstitutionalization as a rights-based process for children and adolescents, positioning safeguarding as an essential institutional standard to ensure their well-being. Drawing on international frameworks and evidence on the effects of institutionalization, it argues for transforming care models toward community-based approaches that guarantee stable relationships, meaningful participation, and personalized support. The article also examines structural and normalized forms of violence that may emerge within protection systems when resources, continuity, or intersystem coordination are lacking. It highlights that the effective implementation of Organic Law 8/2021 on the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents Against Violence and the national Community Care Strategy requires enabling conditions such as professional stability, protected time for relational work, significant child participation, and public evaluation mechanisms. Ultimately, advancing deinstitutionalization means strengthening the protection system through a rights-based, preventive, and relationally coherent perspective.
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In order to support the global exchange of knowledge, the journal Sociedad e Infancias is allowing unrestricted access to its content as from its publication in this electronic edition, and as such it is an open-access journal. The originals published in this journal are the property of the Complutense University of Madrid and any reproduction thereof in full or in part must cite the source. All content is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 use and distribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This circumstance must be expressly stated in these terms where necessary. You can view the summary and the complete legal text of the licence.
