Photo by Denise Jans on Unsplash.
NEW ARTICLE by Professor Marit Skivenes and Professor Katrin Križ examines public attitudes toward children’s rights across the Nordic countries.
The study is part of the PARTICIPATION-project and published in the Nordic Journal of Human Rights. It explores how Nordic populations understand children as rights-holders, with a particular focus on children’s right to be heard. Drawing on a unique survey of more than 5,000 respondents across the Nordic region, the article investigates how people justify children’s participation in decision-making.
The findings show that support for children’s participation is widespread. Around 40% of respondents emphasize an ethical justification, grounded in care and concern for the child, while about one-third point to moral and legal arguments, grounded in values of freedom and order respectively. Overall, the findings point to a robust child-centric culture in the Nordic countries, while also highlighting important variation in how children’s rights are understood and justified.
The article is open-access and available here.