‘(…) to ensure equality for all children, this Regulation covers all decisions on parental responsibility, including measures for the protection of the child, independently of any link with matrimonial proceedings.' [Recital 5 of Brussels II bis] Brussels II bis (Council Regulation 2201/2003) complements the Hague Convention on Child Abduction, with its well-established set of international rules and the related definitions based on a considerable body of case law. The interrelation has given rise to difficulties of application and issues of interpretation despite the existence of a set of rules supposed to regulate the complementary structures. Besides this interrelation, the Regulation interacts with the Hague Convention on Child Protection. Though Brussels II bis has been analysed with regard to different single aspects, it has not yet been considered which consequences the actual provisions of the Regulation and the ECJ’s decisions have both on the interrelation and its application in the national courts. It has further hitherto not been critically analysed whether the Regulation and the judgments of the ECJ take the right direction to meet the ambitious aim defined in the preamble and throughout the text, respecting the ‘best interests’ of the child. Now that a decade of Brussels II bis has passed and with a series of pioneer cases decided by the ECJ and with an intervention of the ECtHR in Convention and Regulation cases, the Regulation’s effectiveness is worthy of critical consideration. Despite the existence of some specific rules on the interrelation of the Regulation and the Conventions, their very co-existence gave rise to various interacting situations and questions of interpretation. For courts familiar with the rules of the Convention on Child Abduction and with at least their own respective national case law arising under it, the application of the added layer of rules of the Regulation and the interpretation of its different concepts was and still remains a challenge. A comparison of Brussels II bis with the two international instruments with regard to the role of ‘habitual residence’ and the suitability of the other central concepts of the provisions for the particularity of family disputes will demonstrate the differences of cases involving the Regulation and those involving the Conventions. III By governing jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of judgments and orders relating to parental responsibility, the Regulation has a very wide application covering, for example, custody, access, guardianship and even placement of children in foster or institutional care. Further, Brussels II bis takes up concepts which lie at the very heart of the application of the Convention on Child Abduction and about which there is extensive jurisprudence. This thesis will explore a selection of legal issues arising from the interrelation between these private international law instruments dealing with parental responsibility and child abduction which the national courts applying the Regulation are confronted with. The question whether Brussels II bis is an effective instrument which has strengthened the return mechanism under the Convention on Child Abduction and can work hand in hand with the Convention on Child Protection is also important to critically evaluate. It will be considered if the provisions in the Regulation have been drafted clearly enough and the concepts defined so well that they promote the interests of the children concerned, where the provisions are complementing the Convention on Child Abduction, and has learned from the latter’s flaws so as to enhance the recognition and enforcement processes related to child abduction. It will be concluded whether or not the Regulation is an advancement only in terms of having implemented efficient, intra-Community provisions on jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement or a real advancement supporting the ‘best interests’ of the child(ren), despite the complications of application it has introduced.

Pensar na Infância e na Adolescência hoje nos conduz a refletir sobre as transformações pelas quais tem passado a Família, considerada desde o ideal moderno como principal responsável pelos cuidados com as crianças e adolescentes, bem como sobre o surgimento do Conselho Tutelar como instituição criada para garantir os direitos dos menores de dezoito anos. Inspirado nos estudos oriundos da Psicologia Social Contemporânea e da Psicopedagogia Clínica, este trabalho teve como objetivo investigar a circulação do saber e o processo de produção de resistência e autoria de pensamento, considerando-se o momento de encontro entre conselheiros tutelares e famílias sobre as quais pesam denúncias de não oferecerem a devida proteção às crianças e adolescentes sob suas responsabilidades. O estudo contou com a participação de dois conselheiros tutelares e de integrantes de quatro famílias, bem como de profissionais de instituições de ensino. A pesquisa teve caráter qualitativo, sendo empregada metodologia de inspiração etnográfica, o instrumento escolhido foi o diário de campo, que descreveu os encontros entre os envolvidos, para posterior análise. As conclusões apontaram para o risco de que o Conselho Tutelar possa estar constituindo-se como uma instituição cuja prática seja a de responsabilizar, individualmente, as famílias por dificuldades construídas socialmente, ao invés de zelar pelos direitos das crianças e adolescentes, buscando sua garantia. Nesse contexto, tanto por parte dos conselheiros tutelares, como dos membros das famílias, a resistência tende a apresentar-se de forma bastante velada e a autoria de pensamento, na maioria das vezes, impossibilitada. / Thinking about childhood and about adolescence today guide us to reflect about transformations the family – considered since the Modern ideal as the main responsible for taking care of children and of teenagers - has passed, as well as about the appearance of the Child Protection Council, as an institution created in order to guarantee the under age’s rights. Inspired with studies from Contemporary Social Psychology and from Clinic Psychopedagogy, this paper had as objective an investigation about the knowledge surround and the process of resistance production and thought authority, considering the moment of the meeting between council members and families that had been accused of not offering all due protection to the children and to the teenagers under their responsibility. The study counted on two council members participation and on members of four families, as well as on professionals from schools. The search had a qualitative character, it was utilized a ethnographic inspiration methodology, making use of fieldnotes in order to describe the meetings between the people involved for later analysis. The conclusions pointed to the risk of having the Child Protection Council constituting itself as an institution whose practice is to make the family responsible, individually, by socially built difficulties, instead of watching over the children and adolescents rights, searching its guarantee. In this context, both to the Council Members and to the family members, the resistance tends to present itself in a hidden way and the thought authority, almost always, disabled.

Pensar na Infância e na Adolescência hoje nos conduz a refletir sobre as transformações pelas quais tem passado a Família, considerada desde o ideal moderno como principal responsável pelos cuidados com as crianças e adolescentes, bem como sobre o surgimento do Conselho Tutelar como instituição criada para garantir os direitos dos menores de dezoito anos. Inspirado nos estudos oriundos da Psicologia Social Contemporânea e da Psicopedagogia Clínica, este trabalho teve como objetivo investigar a circulação do saber e o processo de produção de resistência e autoria de pensamento, considerando-se o momento de encontro entre conselheiros tutelares e famílias sobre as quais pesam denúncias de não oferecerem a devida proteção às crianças e adolescentes sob suas responsabilidades. O estudo contou com a participação de dois conselheiros tutelares e de integrantes de quatro famílias, bem como de profissionais de instituições de ensino. A pesquisa teve caráter qualitativo, sendo empregada metodologia de inspiração etnográfica, o instrumento escolhido foi o diário de campo, que descreveu os encontros entre os envolvidos, para posterior análise. As conclusões apontaram para o risco de que o Conselho Tutelar possa estar constituindo-se como uma instituição cuja prática seja a de responsabilizar, individualmente, as famílias por dificuldades construídas socialmente, ao invés de zelar pelos direitos das crianças e adolescentes, buscando sua garantia. Nesse contexto, tanto por parte dos conselheiros tutelares, como dos membros das famílias, a resistência tende a apresentar-se de forma bastante velada e a autoria de pensamento, na maioria das vezes, impossibilitada. / Thinking about childhood and about adolescence today guide us to reflect about transformations the family – considered since the Modern ideal as the main responsible for taking care of children and of teenagers - has passed, as well as about the appearance of the Child Protection Council, as an institution created in order to guarantee the under age’s rights. Inspired with studies from Contemporary Social Psychology and from Clinic Psychopedagogy, this paper had as objective an investigation about the knowledge surround and the process of resistance production and thought authority, considering the moment of the meeting between council members and families that had been accused of not offering all due protection to the children and to the teenagers under their responsibility. The study counted on two council members participation and on members of four families, as well as on professionals from schools. The search had a qualitative character, it was utilized a ethnographic inspiration methodology, making use of fieldnotes in order to describe the meetings between the people involved for later analysis. The conclusions pointed to the risk of having the Child Protection Council constituting itself as an institution whose practice is to make the family responsible, individually, by socially built difficulties, instead of watching over the children and adolescents rights, searching its guarantee. In this context, both to the Council Members and to the family members, the resistance tends to present itself in a hidden way and the thought authority, almost always, disabled.

Pensar na Infância e na Adolescência hoje nos conduz a refletir sobre as transformações pelas quais tem passado a Família, considerada desde o ideal moderno como principal responsável pelos cuidados com as crianças e adolescentes, bem como sobre o surgimento do Conselho Tutelar como instituição criada para garantir os direitos dos menores de dezoito anos. Inspirado nos estudos oriundos da Psicologia Social Contemporânea e da Psicopedagogia Clínica, este trabalho teve como objetivo investigar a circulação do saber e o processo de produção de resistência e autoria de pensamento, considerando-se o momento de encontro entre conselheiros tutelares e famílias sobre as quais pesam denúncias de não oferecerem a devida proteção às crianças e adolescentes sob suas responsabilidades. O estudo contou com a participação de dois conselheiros tutelares e de integrantes de quatro famílias, bem como de profissionais de instituições de ensino. A pesquisa teve caráter qualitativo, sendo empregada metodologia de inspiração etnográfica, o instrumento escolhido foi o diário de campo, que descreveu os encontros entre os envolvidos, para posterior análise. As conclusões apontaram para o risco de que o Conselho Tutelar possa estar constituindo-se como uma instituição cuja prática seja a de responsabilizar, individualmente, as famílias por dificuldades construídas socialmente, ao invés de zelar pelos direitos das crianças e adolescentes, buscando sua garantia. Nesse contexto, tanto por parte dos conselheiros tutelares, como dos membros das famílias, a resistência tende a apresentar-se de forma bastante velada e a autoria de pensamento, na maioria das vezes, impossibilitada. / Thinking about childhood and about adolescence today guide us to reflect about transformations the family – considered since the Modern ideal as the main responsible for taking care of children and of teenagers - has passed, as well as about the appearance of the Child Protection Council, as an institution created in order to guarantee the under age’s rights. Inspired with studies from Contemporary Social Psychology and from Clinic Psychopedagogy, this paper had as objective an investigation about the knowledge surround and the process of resistance production and thought authority, considering the moment of the meeting between council members and families that had been accused of not offering all due protection to the children and to the teenagers under their responsibility. The study counted on two council members participation and on members of four families, as well as on professionals from schools. The search had a qualitative character, it was utilized a ethnographic inspiration methodology, making use of fieldnotes in order to describe the meetings between the people involved for later analysis. The conclusions pointed to the risk of having the Child Protection Council constituting itself as an institution whose practice is to make the family responsible, individually, by socially built difficulties, instead of watching over the children and adolescents rights, searching its guarantee. In this context, both to the Council Members and to the family members, the resistance tends to present itself in a hidden way and the thought authority, almost always, disabled.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-22T21:55:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 juracy.pdf: 642660 bytes, checksum: a9e623e158e43654ca0be92fc50fdedd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-04-12 / No Brasil, a questão social concernente à particularidade, à fragilidade e à necessidade de proteção às crianças e adolescentes veio reforçar a luta pelo surgimento de políticas públicas, como o Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente aprovado na década de 90, com o objetivo precípuo de legitimar os direitos da criança e do adolescente e garantir a proteção integral destes. Neste estudo, destacamos ―o direito à educação‖. Em vista desse desafio, é importante refletir sobre as formas de ação e atuação dos Conselhos Tutelares de Manaus concebidos como guardiões dos direitos da criança e do adolescente. Para tanto, o objetivo geral deste estudo foi analisar a atuação das Escolas Públicas do Sistema Municipal de Ensino e do Conselho Tutelar, como uma relevante condição em relação à garantia à educação escolar, no Ensino Fundamental zona centro-oeste de Manaus. E, ainda, de maneira mais específica: identificar as ações do Conselho Tutelar em relação ao acesso e à permanência de crianças e adolescentes em idade escolar no Ensino Fundamental; analisar as ações conjuntas das escolas públicas e do Conselho Tutelar em relação à garantia ao ensino fundamental. A metodologia utilizada se alicerçou na abordagem qualitativa. O interesse em privilegiar a pesquisa qualitativa está relacionado diretamente às questões que dizem respeito ao enfoque dialético-crítico. A pesquisa teve um total de 115 participantes, foi realizada em cinco escolas da rede municipal e no Conselho Tutelar da zona centro - oeste de Manaus. Sendo que, no contexto do Conselho Tutelar, contou com a participação de 05 conselheiros titulares, todos eles responderam aos questionários, sendo que 02 responderam às entrevistas. No contexto das escolas, participaram 05 diretores, 05 pedagogos, 33 professores, 04 pais da APMC e 63 alunos, sendo que foram aplicados os questionários e as entrevistas com diretores, pedagogos, professores do 7º, 8º e 9º ano. Com pais e alunos do 7º, 8º e 9º ano do ensino fundamental, utilizamos somente os questionários. Também foram aplicadas entrevistas a partir um roteiro semiestruturado. A análise dos dados foi realizada por meio de análise de conteúdo, que permitiram inferir que: há uma incipiente relação entre escola e conselho, os pesquisados possuem uma noção fragilizada, distante; há um desconhecimento dos agentes da escola quanto ao papel do próprio CT. Os sujeitos da pesquisa foram quase unânimes em afirmar que não existe ação articulada entre Escola e Conselho Tutelar no que se refere à garantia da educação no ensino fundamental. Portanto, podemos concluir que os fatos acima expostos se constituem em questão de extrema preocupação, pois estes espaços devem trabalhar em parceria, o que não elimina o conflito, já que este é inerente à própria construção do consenso. Outrossim, Escola e CT devem implementar ações conjuntas de trabalho, onde o respeito e a alteridade devam prevalecer em virtude da garantia dos direitos da criança e do adolescente.

The impact of armed conflict on children’s rights and protection is not disputed in existing research. This thesis looks again at this issue in the context of the longstanding armed conflict in Colombia and the current transition to peace in the country in order to consider whether and how peacebuilding can give children agency and contribute to restoring their rights and protection post conflict, an area neglected in existing research. Using testimonies from children gathered by a questionnaire and events held in communities in two regions of Colombia badly affected by the conflict, this thesis seeks to place children’s voices about the impact of the conflict on them and their views about peace at the centre of the discussion. Key findings are that as a result of their direct experiences of the conflict children have two main priorities for peace. The first is the need to re-establish positive, non-violent behaviours and relationships in their families and communities and the second is the need for protection and security from violence and crime. These findings are discussed using Lederach’s theories of reconciliation based peacebuilding (1997; 2005), an ecological framework for children’s protection and concepts of children’s resilience and rights. It is concluded that states are responsible for providing for children’s rights and protection but there is a need to pay attention to the impact of protracted armed conflict on communities.  Reconciliation based peacebuilding which restores the fabric of families and communities and addresses violence post conflict could enable protective mechanisms to be re-established for children and foster the development of children’s own resilience.  Further, giving children agency within the peacebuilding process is important to re-establishing children’s future rights in a post conflict society and these factors combined to enhance the conditions for sustainable peace. The thesis considers the implications of these conclusions for humanitarian and development organisations working with children during conflict or in peacebuilding and makes recommendations for all those with responsibilities in this area.

Children are the group of a society that is most vulnerable to the effects of poverty and inequality.Street children, particularly, could represent the ultimate misfortune of poverty and inequality. The problem is enlarged by the indication that the number of street children around the world isincreasing in pace with increasing social inequality. This study departs from a rights-based approach of research informed by United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The purpose of this study is to compare Brazil and South Africa in their levels of commitment to children's rights, specifically in making internationaland national laws and regulations widely known and enforced in their respective societies, measured through the knowledge and perceptions of NGO-staff not only as professionals, but also as private citizens. The main data sources used were email-surveys and telephone interviews with NGO-staff, alongside with analysis of the CRC and the national child protection regulations in Brazil and South Africa. The main findings of this study represent a step towards covering some of the gaps in the researchliterature concerning street children. These findings are that Brazil and South Africa do not fully cover the contents of the CRC into their national child protection laws. The other finding regards the fact that Brazilian NGOs working with street children do not make consistent use of the national institutions responsible for the protection of children's rights. South African institutions, on theother hand, do make use of the national institutions responsible for the protection of children's rights.

Background Child maltreatment has increased over the past years. There is no direct relation-ship between child maltreatment and the actual living condition of the children. All children should be protected against all types of physical, mental and sexual abuse. It is of great im-portance that nurses have knowledge of how to report when they suspected child maltreatment. Aim The aim was to describe nurses´ experiences of reporting when child maltreatment is sus-pected. Methods A method to contribute to evidence-based nursing with ground in analysis of qualita-tive research was performed. In this study nine qualitative articles were analyzed. Results From the analysis three main themes were identified; a difficult task, need of support and create a holistic view of children. Seven subthemes were identified; manage their own lack of knowledge, uncertainty and fear, trust their judgment and courage to act,protection of children's safety and well-being, support from colleagues and management, interact with child protection services, strengthen trust with related parents of the child and environment affecting children.Conclusion Conclusions that can be deduced from this study are to highlight the need for support and knowledge of how a report is conducted. Consequences to not report child maltreat-ment is described in this study as well as which benefits a report of child maltreatment may give for both children and close relatives.

Knowledge concerning the social services’ use of the Care of Young Persons (Special Provisions) Act 1990:52 (CYPA) is relatively scarce, especially when it comes to the protection of adolescents victimized by abuse. The overall aim of this thesis is to investigate and discuss different conceptualisations of abuse, adolescents’ agency regarding abuse, victimization and social intervention, and how abuse and adolescent victimization are responded to, primarily by the social services. This is done from a stance influenced by critical realism as well as victim- and child-centred responses. The dissertation consists of four papers and examines these themes in two samples of judgments and related documents concerning applications for care of adolescents aged 13-17 under the CYPA. The findings from the total study of all judgments in the selected year clearly confirm § 2 CYPA as a rare intervention to protect adolescents. In only 85 of Sweden's 290 municipalities was a CYPA application made, but a main finding is that such care to a large extent was used to protect adolescents from various forms of abuse. In the total study, the applications of § 2 CYPA concerned 196 adolescents, for 70 per cent of whom abuse was described, and where more girls (96) than boys (41) were being considered for care based on abuse. Of all the girls, 79 per cent were described as subjected to abuse and of the boys 55 per cent. Also in the smaller sample consisting of judgments for 37 girls in care under § 2 CYPA and §§ 2 and 3 CYPA, abuse was described for many. For several adolescents in both samples abuse was described as having been exerted to maintain standards of honour, shame and virginity, and/ or to enable a forced marriage. The initiative and agency of the adolescents themselves in both the disclosure of abuse as well as the decision on alternative care is one of the most striking findings in the thesis. The majority of the adolescents, 71 per cent, were categorized as having intentionally disclosed the abuse. The aftermath of the disclosure was for many of the adolescents described as intensely challenging. For the majority the abuse was denied during the investigation, not only by the alleged abusers but also by non-abusing parents and other relatives. The findings relating to the social services responses suggest that the initial response to a high degree could be understood as parent-oriented. For 33 per cent, the judgment also revealed that the abuse had been disclosed to authorities one or several times prior to the investigation leading to the application for care under the CYPA. That the abuse in these cases had been known to the social services for on average 5 years can from a child-centred position be seen as a major failure regarding the system’s ability to reach children and stop abuse. A central conclusion is that the various forms of abuse described seem more connected to domination, fear, power and control than to conflict; to some extent mirroring the kind of systematic oppression described for victimized adults seeking the protection of NGOs and public authorities. The findings imply that interventions under the CYPA may enable more child-centred, safe and stable protection of children subjected to this kind of abuse. Given the findings in the present thesis it is argued that it may be important to differentiate the concept of abuse as well as to acknowledge the agency of children in both research and in practice. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Manuscript.</p>

Abstract Making use of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory, the study examines the factors influencing the everyday life of children subject to child protection measures who have grown in an environment of prolonged family crisis. The theory of social pedagogy is used in the interpretation of the results. The research results and conclusions are also considered in view of the Child Protection Act. The basis for the methodological and methodical choices for the study is provided by the examination of the experiences of now young grown-ups who have grown subject to child protection measures. They report personally on their experiences as children subject to protection measures. In addition to interviews, documentary data is also used. The research is a qualitative case study in nature. Two research problems were formulated. The first one is concerned with the adolescents’ experiences of family, parents and other close environment in their everyday childhood. The second research problem is related to the young people’s indirect experiences at meso, exo and macro levels of social work support measures in child protection. Answers to both these problems are sought through thematisation. The themes are based on the concepts of the Child Protection Act and on the various contexts in the field of the micro, meso, exo and macro levels in Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory. The research data was collected in 2004 and 2005. The study revealed that the parents had been supported a lot through various preventive support measures available in non-institutional child protection. In spite of this, the young people’s life as children in the families was precarious and the families would break up. The parents’ educational responsibility and ability to take care of their children did not meet the requirements of the Child Protection Act. The study highlighted the poor status of the child between two institutions. Little attention was paid in the social work practices to the children’s right, based on their status, to access the data on themselves and their families and to present their opinions. Contacts with the adolescents by the social services during the child protection process had been very few. The actors in the child welfare sector were not aware of how the children experienced the child protection support measures. The social work system fared quite badly in its practices stipulated in the Child Protection Act to support the children’s growth and to help them in their everyday lives in an insecure growth environment. Social work did not have any means to approach the child as an individual, nor the child and parents comprehensively together in family-based child protection work. / Tiivistelmä Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan epävakaassa kasvuympäristössä ja perhekriisin olosuhteissa kasvaneiden lastensuojelulasten arkeen ja elämänkulkuun vaikuttaneita tekijöitä Bronfenbrennerin ekologista teoriaa hyväksi käyttäen. Tulosten tulkinnassa ja johtopäätösten tekemisessä hyödynnettiin sosiaalipedagogiikan teoriaa. Tutkimuksen tuloksia ja johtopäätelmiä tarkasteltiin myös lastensuojelulain valossa. Tutkimuksen metodologisten ja metodisten valintojen lähtökohtana on ollut lastensuojelulapsina kasvaneiden nuorten kokemusten tutkiminen. Haastatteluaineiston lisäksi käytetään asiakirja-aineistoa. Tutkimuksen lähestymistapa on laadullinen tapaustutkimus. Tutkimukselle asetettiin kaksi tutkimustehtävää. Ensimmäinen tutkimustehtävä kohdistuu mikrotasolla nuorten lapsuuden arjen kokemuksiin perheestä, vanhemmista ja muusta lähiympäristöstä. Toinen tutkimustehtävä kohdistuu nuorten meso-, ekso- ja makrotason välillisiin kokemuksiin lastensuojelun sosiaalityön tukitoimista. Molempiin tutkimustehtäviin etsittiin vastausta teemoittelun avulla. Teemat on asetettu Bronfenbrennerin ekologisen teorian mikro-, meso-, ekso- ja makrotasojen kentässä erilasiin konteksteihin ja lastensuojelulain käsitteistöön. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin vuosina 2004 ja 2005. Tutkimuksessa tuli esille, että vanhempia oli tuettu runsaasti erilaisin lastensuojelun avohuollossa käytössä olevin preventiivisin tukimuodoin. Tästä huolimatta nuorten elämä lapsena perheissä oli epävakaata ja perheet hajosivat. Vanhempien kasvatusvastuu ja kyky huolehtia lapsistaan eivät toteutuneet lastensuojelulain määrittämällä tavalla. Tutkimuksessa tuli esille lastensuojelulapsen aseman heikkous kahden instituution välissä. Sosiaalityön toimintakäytännöissä vähälle huomiolle jäi, että lapsilla on asemansa puolesta oikeus itseään ja perhettään koskevaan tietoon sekä mielipiteen esittämiseen. Sosiaalitoimen järjestämät yhteydenpidot nuoriin lastensuojeluprosessin aikana olivat vähäisiä. Lastensuojelun toimijoilla ei ollut tietoa siitä, miten lapsi koki lastensuojelun tukitoimet. Sosiaalityön toimintakäytännöissä jäi nuorten kokemana heikoksi lastensuojelulain määrittämä lapsen kasvun tukeminen ja auttaminen arjen elämässä epävakaassa kasvuympäristössä. Sosiaalityössä ei näyttänyt olevan keinoja lähestyä lasta yksilönä eikä lasta ja vanhempia yhdessä kokonaisvaltaisesti perhekohtaisessa lastensuojelussa.