Conceptualizing Legal Childhood in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

The law governing children is complex, sometimes appearing almost incoherent. The relatively simple framework established in the Progressive Era, in which parents had primary authority over children, subject to limited state oversight, has broken down over the past few decades. Lawmakers started granting children some adult rights and privileges, raising questions about their traditional status as vulnerable, dependent, and legally incompetent beings. As children emerged as legal persons, children’s rights advocates challenged the rationale for parental authority, contending that robust parental rights often harm children. And a wave of punitive reforms in response to juvenile crime in the 1990s undermined the state’s long-standing role as the protector of children. We address this seeming incoherence by identifying a deep structure and logic in the regulation of children that is becoming clear in the twenty-first century. In our conceptual framework, the law’s central goal, across multiple legal domains, is to promote child wellbeing. This unifying purpose has roots in the Progressive Era, but three distinct characteristics distinguish the modern approach. Today, lawmakers advance child wellbeing with greater confidence and success by drawing on a wide body of research on child and adolescent development and the efficacy of related policies. This is bolstered by the clear understanding that promoting child wellbeing generally furthers social welfare, leading to a broader base of support for state policies and legal doctrines. Finally, there is a growing recognition that the regulation of children and families has long been tainted by racial and class bias and that a new commitment to minimizing these pernicious influences is essential to both the legitimacy and fairness of the regime. In combination, these features make the contemporary regulatory framework superior to earlier approaches. Rather than pitting the state, parents, and child in competition for control over children’s lives—the conception of family regulation since the 1960s—our Child Wellbeing framework offers a surprisingly integrated regulatory approach. Properly understood, parental rights and children’s rights, as well as the direct role of the state in children’s lives, are increasingly defined and unified by a research-driven, social-welfare-regarding effort to promote child wellbeing. This normatively attractive conceptualization of legal childhood does not define every area of legal regulation, but it is a strong through-line and should be elevated and embraced more broadly. In short, our framework brings coherence to the complex legal developments of the past half-century and provides guidance moving forward for this critical area of the law.

Perlindungan Hukum Kekerasan Seksual terhadap Anak oleh Lembaga Perlindungan Saksi dan Korban (LPSK)

“…Oleh karena itu, negara harus menjamin perlindungan hukum terhadap anak di bawah umur yang menjadi korban kejahatan seksual melalui berbagai peraturan perundang-undangan. Anak-anak adalah anggota masyarakat dan memiliki keterbatasan fisik dan mental, sehingga melindungi mereka secara hukum adalah salah satu cara untuk menjamin pertumbuhan suatu negara di masa depan (Huntington & Scott, 2020). Oleh karena itu anak memerlukan perlindungan dan perawatan secara khusus.…”

Language Variances in Defining Young Women in Northern Uganda Humanitarian Settings

“…Various conceptualizations have been adopted to characterize children and distinguish them from adults (Huntington & Scott, 2020). Due to social construction, children have been conceptualized as vulnerable and thus in need of constant protection and guidance by their elders (Cheney, 2007: Liebel, 2012.…”

Building a Guaranteed Income to End the "Child Welfare" System

“…22 Through their efforts to extend state authority over parental control, Progressive-era reformers, some historians theorize, hoped to retain social hegemony over the growing population of working-class and immigrant families. 23 Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, first founded in New York City in December 1874, were private agencies that mushroomed to over 150 nationwide within twenty-five years. 24 Created and empowered to act as law enforcement agencies 25 with agents, the Societies "focused on punishing cruel parents rather than on the provision of better environments for children."…”