Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism (DIPA)

LPW Research Group Meeting
2023-05-11 14:15 - 15:30 (Europe/Oslo)
Martine Baarholm: MA draft
This is a closed research group meeting.

LPW Research Group
2023-05-11 14:15 - 15:30
Martine Baarholm: MA draft
This is a closed research group.

RDV: World and Queer Anthropologies and the Question of Legal Reform (Svati Shah)
2023-05-22 14:30 - 15:30 | Bergen Global, Jekteviksbakken 31
Svati P. Shah is an Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. They are also a research associate in the University of Pretoria’s Department of Anthropology, Archaeology and Development. Dr. Shah is a social anthropologist who has written extensively on questions of sexuality and political economy in India, including on questions of sex work and migration, and queer politics and nationalism. Svati Shah : Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies : UMass Amherst
In this talk, Svati Shah will discuss how queer theory has opened up space in academic research to think expansively about sexuality and gender in the Global South. She will also discuss implications of field-level interventions that merge critiques from both Queer Anthropology and from World Anthropologies.
The webinar is part of the RDV-webinar series – a collaboration between DIPA (UiB) and LawTransform (UiB).

RDV: International law and organization (Rachel Cichowski)
2023-05-25 14:15 - 15:30 | Styrerommet, Christies gate 17, University of Bergen
Rachel Cichowski is a Professor in the Law, Societies and Justice Department and the Department of Political Science at the University of Washington. She is Adjunct Faculty in the School of Law, Department of Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies, and a member of the European Studies Faculty at the University of Washington. Cichowski’s areas of expertise include international law and organization, comparative judicial politics and constitutionalism, and transnational legal mobilization and social movements. Furthermore, she has a keen interest in human rights, including global women’s rights and environmental protection.

http://faculty.washington.edu/rcichows/
https://www.polisci.washington.edu/people/rachel-cichowski

How to participate:
To receive an invitation to the RDV-webinar, contact discretion@uib.no.
If the Zoom application is new to you, we recommend that you press the link well before the events to download the program. You may leave and rejoin the meeting at any time.

The webinar is part of the RDV-webinar series – a collaboration between DIPA (UiB) and LawTransform (UiB).

LPW Research Group Meeting
2023-06-08 14:15 - 15:30, 2023-06-22 14:15 - 15:30
TBA
This is a closed research group meeting.

LPW Research Group
2023-06-08 14:15 - 15:30, 2023-06-22 14:15 - 15:30
TBA
This is a closed research group.

RDV: TBA
2023-06-15 14:15 - 15:30 | Styrerommet, Christies gate 17, University of Bergen
TBA
How to participate:
To receive an invitation to the RDV-webinar, contact discretion@uib.no.
If the Zoom application is new to you, we recommend that you press the link well before the events to download the program. You may leave and rejoin the meeting at any time.

The webinar is part of the RDV-webinar series – a collaboration between DIPA (UiB) and LawTransform (UiB).

Barnevernfrokost: Hvordan uttrykk for traumeerfaringer kan mistolkes av Barnevernet og andre
2023-06-16 09:00 - 09:45 | (Styrerommet (17.103), Christies gate 17, University of Bergen
På fredagens barnevernfrokost gir Dag Øystein Nordanger en presentasjon med tittel: “Hvordan uttrykk for traumeerfaringer kan mistolkes av Barnevernet og andre”. Presentasjonen vil fokusere på hvordan barn som er utsatt for store belastninger lett overses fordi vanskene deres misforstås eller tolkes som noe annet.
Dag Øystein Nordanger er psykologspesialist ved RVTS Vest og professor ved OsloMet. Hans forskning og formidling har vært sentral for fagutviklingen i Norge når det gjelder forståelsen av traumatiserte barns behov. Nordanger har blitt prisbelønnet for sin formidling på området, og han er en ettertraktet foredragsholder. Hans kompetanse inkluderer hvordan omsorgserfaringer kan påvirke barns hjerneutvikling og fungering, både positivt og negativt.
Hvordan delta på Barnevernfrokost
For å delta på webinaret klikker du lenken under og følger instruksjonene. Vi anbefaler å laste ned Zoom-applikasjonen på forhånd.
https://uib.zoom.us/j/62338799290?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 623 3879 9290
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Barnevernfrokost er en åpen webinar-serie om barnevern og barns rettigheter. Serien arrangeres av Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism (UiB) i samarbeid med Bergen kommune – Etat for barn og familie og Centre on Law and Social Transformation (UiB).

Barnevernfrokost: Standardisering av beslutningsprosessen i barnevernet
2023-06-30 09:00 - 09:45 | (Styrerommet (17.103), Christies gate 17, University of Bergen
På fredagens barnevernfrokost gir Marina Snipsøyr Sletten en presentasjon med tittel: “Standardisering av beslutningsprosessen i barnevernet”. Presentasjonen vil fokusere på resultat fra studie om hvordan bruk av standardiserte kartleggingsverktøy virker inn på beslutningsprosessen i barnevernets undersøkelsesarbeid. Resultatene bygger på feltarbeid som ble utført i to barneverntjenester. På bakgrunn av funnene argumenterer Marina for at bruk av standardiserte verktøy virker inn på barnevernets skjønnsutøvelse som bidrar til en standardisering av beslutning arbeidet og en snever kunnskapsbase. Hun argumenterer også for at bruk av standardiserte verktøy ikke ser ut til å øke barnevernsansatte analytiske kompetanse og løser dermed ikke utfordringene i barnevernet.

Marina Snipsøyr Sletten jobber som førsteamanuensis ved Institutt for velferd, ledelse og organisasjon (Høgskulen i Østfold). Hun har en Ph.D i samfunnsvitenskap fra Universitetet i Stavanger, og hennes forskningsinteresser er blant annet innen barnevern, i tillegg til standardisering og digitalisering. Som førsteamanuensis underviser Marina, gir veiledning og forsker. Hennes siste prosjekt handler om digitalisering og samarbeidsprosesser i kommuner.

Hvordan delta på Barnevernfrokost
For å delta på webinaret klikker du lenken under og følger instruksjonene. Vi anbefaler å laste ned Zoom-applikasjonen på forhånd.
https://uib.zoom.us/j/61174700302?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 611 7470 0302
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Barnevernfrokost er en åpen webinar-serie om barnevern og barns rettigheter. Serien arrangeres av Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism (UiB) i samarbeid med Bergen kommune – Etat for barn og familie og Centre on Law and Social Transformation (UiB).

Barnevernfrokost: Juridiske endringer og forskyvninger i svensk sosial barneomsorg – fra gjenforening til stabilitet for plasserte barn
2023-09-01 09:00 - 09:45
På fredagens barnevernfrokost gir Pernilla Leviner en presentasjon med tittel: “Juridiske endringer og forskyvninger i svensk sosial barneomsorg – fra gjenforening til stabilitet for plasserte barn”.
Sjelden har svensk sosial barneomsorg blitt diskutert så intensivt som de siste tre årene. I kjølvannet av en svært omtalt tragisk sak om en knapt fire år gammel jente som ble drept av foreldrene som hun hadde flyttet til etter å ha blitt plassert siden fødselen, har en rekke reformer blitt implementert og flere politiske initiativ er under utredning. Samlet sett representerer endringene et skifte fra en klar vektlegging av gjenforening mellom plasserte barn og deres biologiske foreldre til en sterkere vektlegging av barns behov for kontinuitet og stabilitet. Plasseringer må vurderes i større grad og tidligere, og mye tyder på at plasseringer vil bli lengre og mer varige. Dette, noe forenklet, går i stikk motsatt retning av de reformene som i lys av flere dommer fra EU-domstolen er gjennomført i Norge de siste årene. Forskjellene mellom Norge og Sverige er interessante med tanke på likhetene våre systemer fortsatt har og at det handler om den samme overordnede avveiningen mellom barns rett til beskyttelse og individers rett til privat- og familieliv, som begge er regulert i både FN-konvensjonen om barnets rettigheter og den europeiske konvensjonen.
I dette foredraget forsøker Pernilla Leviner, professor i offentlig rett og direktør ved Barnerettssenteret ved Stockholms universitet, å beskrive hovedtrekkene i endringene i det svenske systemet og å diskutere problemene og utfordringene som reformene kan føre til fra et overordnet perspektiv, ikke minst i lys av reformer som er gjennomført i Norge.
Pernilla Leviner jobber som professor i offentlig rett med særlig fokus på sosialrett og barnerett (Stockholms Universitet). Hun er fagansvarlig for familierettslig forskning og undervisning ved det juridiske institutt, og som forsker er hun tilknyttet Barnerettssenteret hvor hun er direktør og styremedlem. Barnerettssenteret er en tverrfaglig forskningsplattform med fokus på juridiske spørsmål knyttet til barn og barns rettigheter. Pernillas forskningsinteresser er innen offentlig rett og familierett – mer spesifikt barnerett og velferdsrett.

Hvordan delta på Barnevernfrokost
For å delta på webinaret klikker du lenken under og følger instruksjonene. Vi anbefaler å laste ned Zoom-applikasjonen på forhånd.
https://uib.zoom.us/j/62927425662?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 629 2742 5662
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Barnevernfrokost er en åpen webinar-serie om barnevern og barns rettigheter. Serien arrangeres av Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism (UiB) i samarbeid med Bergen kommune – Etat for barn og familie og Centre on Law and Social Transformation (UiB).

RDV: Analysis or paralysis? Monitory mechanisms for child protection services in Ireland (Kenneth Burns)
2023-09-21 14:15 - 15:30 | Bergen Global, Jekteviksbakken 31
Child protection and welfare systems are one essential part of a nation state’s approach to protecting and promoting the welfare of children. Keane (2022) argues that we are in a new phase of democracy called ‘monitory democracy’. In this phase, democratic systems develop power scrutinising mechanisms and institutions that focus on public accountability and governance, with this ‘monitoring’ work being undertaken by government institutions and civil society actors. As child protection and welfare systems are entrusted with significant power by governments, they are a significant focus of such monitoring.
The focus of this paper is to examine the strategies and mechanisms adopted by Ireland to monitor the operation, quality and development of its child protection and welfare system. In using the term monitor/monitory, the focus of analysis will be on the Irish system of governance, oversight and monitoring of state-provided child protection and welfare services.
Kenneth Burns is a senior lecturer, Deputy Director of the Master of Social Work course and Director of Practice (social work) at University College Cork. He has worked as a social worker and social work team leader in child protection and welfare. His main research and teaching interests are in child protection policy and practice, staff retention, social media abuse in social work, child care proceedings in the District Court / voluntary care / informal kinship care, and community-based participatory research. http://research.ucc.ie/profiles/A012/kburns
How to participate: At Jekteviksbakken 31 or digitally via Zoom.
To receive a zoom invitation to the RDV-webinar, please contact discretion@uib.no.
If the Zoom application is new to you, we recommend that you press the link well before the events to download the program. You may leave and rejoin the meeting at any time.
The webinar is part of the RDV-webinar series – a collaboration between DIPA (UiB) and LawTransform (UiB).

RDV: Child participation and child protection: lessons from international research (Aoife Daly)
2023-09-28 14:15 - 15:30 | (Styrerommet (17.103), Christies gate 17, University of Bergen
We welcome you to our RDV seminar with Professor Aoife Daly. She will give a talk on a paper which is based on her book “Children, Autonomy and the Courts: Beyond the Right to be Heard“. This paper is concerned with the influence of children on decisions affecting them. It appears that the right to be heard under Article 12 of the UN convention on the rights of the child has brought some positive change in terms of children simply feeling heard. It is not all about outcomes – the perception of being listened to, of being taken seriously, is undoubtedly good for children: I think the judge kind of listened to me in the end. There is evidence that the right to be heard has encouraged an attitude shift when it comes to hearing children and valuing their views – there is a sense that children should be heard, at least in some circumstances. Yet there is little point hearing children if their wishes are unlikely to make any difference to outcomes. Indeed Article 12 of the CRC says that children’s views must be given due weight, which implies some level of influence. What does international research demonstrate in terms of the influence of children’s wishes and child protection proceedings in courts? This paper presents research in this area, and findings point to inconsistent, confusing and illogical approaches by the courts to children’s wishes. The reasons for this are considered in this paper. It is emphasised that courts refuse to accept that there is a limited ability to ensure a ‘good’ outcome. This is to the detriment of a good process, one which prioritises children’s wishes. Courts also think that they are acting as benevolent parents when they impose best interest determinations, which is mistaken as courts are representatives of the state (and therefore have the threat of force behind them). It is also mistaken because families do not always operate in a ‘parents say, children do’ It is argued that there is a risk that the Article 12 right to be heard, and its lack of influence for children in reality, in fact works to uphold traditional power dynamics. The state wins because children’s wishes can be overridden when they incline against state authorities, or prevailing beliefs such as ‘contact at all costs.’ It seems that children’s wishes within the ‘right to be heard’ framework are least effective where they are needed the most – where those wishes incline against adults, and particularly where they incline against the status quo. The question of whether a focus on autonomy would shift this influence gap will be posed.
Aoife Daly teaches law, and specialises in human rights law. Aoife’s research focuses on human rights based approaches and children’s rights in areas which include environmental rights, climate activism, and access to justice. She is at present researching children/youth and how their environmental activism is impacting human rights law. In 2023 she secured a European Research Council Consolidator Grant to build a team to carry out a large scale research study on child/youth climate justice-inside and outside the courts-around the world. UCC Research Profiles: Aoife Daly, Law
How to participate: At Christies gate 17, Styrerommet (rom 17.103 ) or digitally via Zoom.
To receive a zoom invitation to the RDV-webinar, please contact discretion@uib.no.
If the Zoom application is new to you, we recommend that you press the link well before the events to download the program. You may leave and rejoin the meeting at any time.
The webinar is part of the RDV-webinar series – a collaboration between DIPA (UiB) and LawTransform (UiB).

RDV: Institutional Changes for Democratic Dialogue (Roberto Gargarella)
2023-10-05 14:15 - 15:30 | Bergen Global, Jekteviksbakken 31
We welcome you to our RDV seminar with Professor Roberto Gargarella. He will present the new project he is awarded by the European Research Council (ERC Advanced Grant): “Institutional Changes for Democratic Dialogue». The project aims to make constitutionalism more sensitive to growing democratic demands, by offering concrete institutional alternatives to channel the demands of democracy and engage with activists and members of civil society, from a conception of democracy as a “conversation between equals”. The project stems from the deep crisis affecting constitutional democracies around the world and manifests itself both in a growing lack of confidence in constitutionalism and in an increase in citizens’ dissatisfaction with democracy. The ultimate goal is to design institutional proposals that are both respectful of individual rights and the decisions resulting from democratic dialogue.
Roberto Gargarella, a full professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Buenos Aires, teaches at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Argentina, and is the director of the “Institutional Changes for Democratic Dialogue» project at the Department of Law at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. https://www.biennaldepensament.barcelona/en/participants/roberto-gargarella

How to participate: At Jekteviksbakken 31 or zoom.
To receive a zoom invitation to the RDV-webinar, please contact discretion@uib.no.
If the Zoom application is new to you, we recommend that you press the link well before the events to download the program. You may leave and rejoin the meeting at any time.
The webinar is part of the RDV-webinar series – a collaboration between DIPA (UiB) and LawTransform (UiB).

RDV: Abolition of child protection - The ultimate denial of child rights
2023-10-26 14:15 - 15:30
In the early 2000s the main narrative in the field of child welfare was an optimistic one. It was believed that families could become stronger if they received help in the form of economic and social support. Child welfare professionals could work together with parents in a respectful, generous, and culturally sensitive way. It was also believed that parents could change for the better if they were offered a restorative, healing approach rather than a strict, punitive response. This approach was meant to be more helpful and supportive to families.
Although there are many who still share this view, there is also a growing condemnation of child welfare. Some view, everything about child welfare as wrong, counter-productive – even a violation of human rights. What’s even more worrying is that the abolitionist viewpoint makes an important error trying to find simple solutions for a very complex issue, namely, how to keep kids safe and their families healthy and stable within the context of the flawed national history in the US related to poverty and race. Just as the child welfare field once relied too heavily on family separation, the abolition school of thought would rid the US of its legally mandated obligation to child safety.
The child welfare system in the US has had decades of attempts toward reform, however the reforms have not gone far enough, nor have they had the widespread or deep effects that many of us want to see. Still, if we are going to abandon the current child welfare system, we must address some of the critical questions that have escaped the profession for decades and helped to drive the call for its end.
Join us for a thought-provoking seminar that delves into the pressing issues surrounding child welfare today!
Jill D. Berrick is a Distinguished Professor and the Zellerbach Family Foundation Professor of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley, and Professor II at the Department of Government, University of Bergen. Her research focuses on the child welfare system and efforts to improve the experiences of children and families touched by foster care. Her interests target the intersection of poverty, childhood development, parenting and the service systems designed to address family well-being. For over three decades Dr. Berrick has conducted a range of studies examining child welfare services for vulnerable families. She has written or co-written 112 books and numerous articles on topics relating to family poverty, child maltreatment and child welfare. https://socialwelfare.berkeley.edu/people/jill-duerr-berrick
How to participate: At Jekteviksbakken 31 or Zoom.
To receive a zoom invitation to the RDV-webinar, please contact discretion@uib.no.
If the Zoom application is new to you, we recommend that you press the link well before the events to download the program. You may leave and rejoin the meeting at any time.
The webinar is part of the RDV-webinar series – a collaboration between DIPA (UiB) and LawTransform (UiB).

Courts as Champions of Women, Children, and Marginalised Groups by Brenda Hale
2023-10-27 10:15 - 12:00 | Auditorium Egget (Studentsenteret), Parkveien 1, Bergen, 5007, Norway
On Friday, October 27th, former President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Lady Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond will be the Department of Government’s esteemed speaker at the General Seminar in Politics and Government.
Lady Hale is a trailblazer in British law and achieved several historic milestones throughout her career. She notably became the first woman to serve as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, a position she held from 2017 until her retirement in 2020.
She received her education at Richmond High School for Girls in North Yorkshire and Girton College, Cambridge, where she currently holds the position of Visitor. Lady Hale was called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn, where she was Treasurer in 2017. For nearly two decades, she taught Law at Manchester University for 18 years, specialising in family and social welfare law, and also practiced at the Manchester Bar for a period.
In 1984, she made history as the first woman to join the Law Commission, which promotes legal reform. Here she played an important role which led to the Children Act of 1989 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005. She was also a founder member of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and chair of its Code of Practice Committee from 1990 until 1994, when she was appointed a Judge of the Family Division of the High Court. She was promoted to the Court of Appeal of England and Wales in 1999 and in 2004 became a ‘Lord of Appeal in Ordinary’ in the House of Lords. This was the top court for the whole United Kingdom, until the ‘Law Lords’ became the Justices of the newly established Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in 2009. She became its Deputy President in 2013 and President in 2017.
While at Manchester University she was joint founding editor of the Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law and authored a number of books, including The Family, Law and Society: Cases and Materials and Women and the Law. In 2004, she helped to establish the United Kingdom Association of Women Judges and from 2010 to 2012 served as President of the International Association of Women Judges, a world-wide body of both men and women judges committed to equality and human rights for all. A practising member of the Church of England, she has always taken an interest in religion and the law, and has written and spoken on the subject many times.
Throughout her career, Lady Hale’s impact has reached beyond national boundaries. Her principled stance and intellectual contributions have solidified her legacy as a pioneering figure in the legal community. Through a close connection to academia, she has provided lectures on justice, human rights and the legal system, enriching the discourse in those critical areas.
Topic of the General Seminar:
Courts as Champions of Women, Children, and Marginalised Groups
Both in legal theory and in practice, courts are crucial for the protection of vulnerable groups and insular minorities. Most societies give special protection in law to certain groups, such as children, religious minorities, and indigenous peoples, while for others, the legal protection is less clear, for example when it comes to undocumented migrants and future (climate affected) generations. Minority protection are often perceived as threatening important societal interests (parental rights, the natural family, security, economic growth, green transformation) and increasingly place courts at the centre of heated political contestations. Diverging views between the European Court of Human Right and domestic courts on whose rights should prevail and what the State’s obligations are, add complexity. How should courts navigate, when the rights of vulnerable groups place the judiciary at risk of politicization?

Barnevernfrokost: Fosterhjemsundersøkelsen 2023 - Hva sier stemmene fra fosterhjemmene om hva som skal til for stabilitet og bedre rekruttering?
2023-11-10 09:00 - 09:45
Norge er inne i en fosterhjemskrise! Det er stor mangel på fosterhjem. Barn står i kø for å få et trygt hjem. Fosterhjemsomsorgen er grunnmuren i barneverntjenesten. 9 av 10 barn som av ulike grunner ikke kan bo hjemme med sine foreldre, bor i fosterhjem. Alle parter ønsker at disse barna skal bo i fosterhjem, framfor på institusjon, men det er vanskelig å rekruttere mange nok godkjente fosterhjem. Det er et sammensatt bilde av hvorfor vi er kommet i denne situasjonen, – at barn lever under omsorgssvikt og de ikke får rett hjelp til rett tid. Dette er alvorlig!
Fosterhjemsundersøkelsen er et foto av virkeligheten slik den fortonet seg når over 1500 fosterforeldre og 260 ungdommer som bor i fosterhjem, med sine brukererfaringer, ga oss denne viktige kunnskapen.
Hvordan delta på Barnevernfrokost
For å delta på webinaret klikker du lenken under og følger instruksjonene. Vi anbefaler å laste ned Zoom-applikasjonen på forhånd.
https://uib.zoom.us/j/65269645571?pwd=[REDACTED]
Barnevernfrokost er en åpen webinar-serie om barnevern og barns rettigheter. Serien arrangeres av Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism (UiB) i samarbeid med Bergen kommune – Etat for barn og familie og Centre on Law and Social Transformation (UiB).

Barnevernfrokost: Helt, ikke stykkevis og delt. En modell for organisering av det kliniske arbeidet og en modell for kvalitetssikring av behandlingen
2023-11-24 09:00 - 09:45
Under denne barnevernfrokosten vil det bli presentert en modell for organisering av behandlingsarbeidet som tilbys den enkelte ungdom/familie. Modellen er basert på RNR prinsippene. Videre vil det presenteres en helhetlig modell for kvalitetssikring av behandlingstilbudet som gis, herunder rammebetingelser og organisatoriske faktorer som kan påvirke behandlingen til familiene.

Hvordan delta på Barnevernfrokost
For å delta på webinaret klikker du lenken under og følger instruksjonene. Vi anbefaler å laste ned Zoom-applikasjonen på forhånd.
https://uib.zoom.us/j/62301598881?pwd=[REDACTED]
Barnevernfrokost er en åpen webinar-serie om barnevern og barns rettigheter. Serien arrangeres av Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism (UiB) i samarbeid med Bergen kommune – Etat for barn og familie og Centre on Law and Social Transformation (UiB).

RDV: The cost of caring: the professional quality of life of child social workers
2023-12-07 14:15 - 15:30 | Zoom
The cost of caring: the professional quality of life of child social workers (Camille Verheyden, Frank Van Holen, Stephanie Chartier & Johan Vanderfaeillie)
Several international studies show that child social workers are at increased risk of developing burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Causes are: working daily with vulnerable children and families, confronting others’ traumas, the many demands and challenges of the job and, the high workload. In addition, the sector is currently struggling with high dropout rates and staff turnover. This context forms a threat to the professional quality of life of child social workers resulting in negative consequences for the child social workers themselves, the persons they accompany and the organisations where they are employed. To date, there are few results available on the professional quality of life (burnout, secondary traumatic stress, compassion satisfaction) of child social workers in Europe and there are none for Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia) so far. To gain insight into this, we investigated the professional quality of life of child social workers in Flanders and Wallonia. Camille Verheyden and Johan Vanderfaeillie will share their preliminary findings from their study.
Camille Verheyden is a PhD-student at the Department Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Her research focuses on family foster care , child abuse and neglect, and the professional quality of life of youth care professionals. https://researchportal.vub.be/en/persons/camille-verheyden
Johan Vanderfaeillie is a Professor at the Department Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He is doing research into child welfare issues, with foster care and child maltreatment as core subjects. He studies all kinds of issues regarding foster care: breakdown, reunification, decision making in foster care and interventions for foster parents. In addition, he also studies the short- and long-term outcomes of foster placements. His research into child maltreatment focuses on the detection and reporting of child abuse and neglect, and the outcomes of interventions aiming at preventing child abuse and neglect. https://researchportal.vub.be/en/persons/johan-vanderfaeillie

How to participate: At Christies gate 17, Styrerommet (rom 17.103 ) or digitally via Zoom.
To receive a zoom invitation to the RDV-webinar, please contact discretion@uib.no.
If the Zoom application is new to you, we recommend that you press the link well before the events to download the program. You may leave and rejoin the meeting at any time.
The webinar is part of the RDV-webinar series – a collaboration between DIPA (UiB) and LawTransform (UiB).

RDV: The Development of Personal Identity Rights at the European Court of Human Rights: whose rights and what is achieved?
2024-01-25 14:15 - 15:30
The Development of Personal Identity Rights at the European Court of Human Rights: whose rights and what is achieved?
By reference to applied philosophy and case law, Jill Marshall explores how human rights law, and particularly the European Court of Human Rights (the Court), has developed and interpreted a right to personal identity, largely arising from a right to respect for one’s private life – see J Marshall: Personal Freedom Through Human Rights Law? (2009); Human Rights Law and Personal Identity (2014) and Personal Identity and the European Court of Human Rights (2022). This paper continues Marshall’s analysis by reference to the Court’s case law, concentrating on more recent cases. The paper interrogates the development of these rights analysing whose rights have been protected and what role human rights law plays in the formation, and protection, of permissible personal identities, asking and suggesting some responses to what has been, and could be, achieved. Marshall’s analysis includes cases on Islamic headscarves, secret births, and intercultural adoption.
Short Author Biography:
Professor Jill Marshall, Professor of Law, Department of Law and Criminology, Royal Holloway University of London co-directs the interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Emotion and Law (CSEL). She also leads the Rights and Freedoms research cluster and postgraduate research within her department. She is a qualified lawyer. Her work focuses on the relationship between law and living well, human flourishing, what it means to be free, with a focus on girls’ and women’s human rights. She has written widely on these topics and is the author of three books and one edited collection. Current projects include conceptually distinguishing pregnancy and giving birth from motherhood, baby boxes and secret births, deception and identity in the metaverse, and freedom of religion, expression, and identity through dress.
How to participate: At Jekteviksbakken 31 or Zoom.
To receive a zoom invitation to the RDV-webinar, please contact discretion@uib.no.
If the Zoom application is new to you, we recommend that you press the link well before the events to download the program. You may leave and rejoin the meeting at any time.
The webinar is part of the RDV-webinar series – a collaboration between DIPA (UiB) and LawTransform (UiB).

RDV: Effects of lawfare: Criminalization of abortion in Peru
2024-02-01 14:15 - 15:30 | Bergen Global, Jekteviksbakken 31
How does the criminalization of abortion impact women?
Therapeutic abortion has been decriminalised in Peru since 1924, but it was only in 2014 that a protocol was approved to guarantee access to the procedure. However, in 100 years, no additional grounds have been legalised, resulting in thousands of women and pregnant people being prosecuted for the crime of abortion. In this seminar Carolina Neyra analyses the impact of criminalization of abortion and other obstetric events on the human rights of women and pregnant people in Peru.
The seminar is based on a national study which is part of a regional report on the criminalisation of women and pregnant people for the crime of abortion in seven countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Carolina Neyra is a lawyer who graduated with honours from the Universidad del Pacífico in Lima, Peru. In 2019, she completed an internship at the Merits Unit of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. She has also participated in research projects on the rights of LGTBIQ+ people in Peru, as well as in the development of public policies focused on gender equality and the eradication of gender-based violence. In 2019, she participated in the course “Effects of Lawfare” at the Bergen Exchanges on Law & Social Transformation.

How to participate: At Jekteviksbakken 31 or Zoom.
To receive a zoom invitation to the RDV-webinar, please contact discretion@uib.no.
If the Zoom application is new to you, we recommend that you press the link well before the events to download the program. You may leave and rejoin the meeting at any time.
The webinar is part of the RDV-webinar series – a collaboration between DIPA (UiB) and LawTransform (UiB).

RDV: Child Protection Case Law from Constitutional Courts: A Comparative Survey
2024-03-04 14:15 - 15:30
The right to protection from violence and exploitation is one of the most commonly-protected constitutional rights of children, being second only to the right to education in the frequency with which it features in national constitutions. For the most part, the legal framework for vindicating this right is set out at the level of ordinary legislation rather than in constitutional law; but some child protection cases find their way to constitutional courts. These include cases taken by national authorities against parents who are exercising parental rights in a manner detrimental to children; cases taken against national authorities for failing to adequately protect children from violence, or to protect the rights of child victims in the justice system; and cases where the constitutionality of child protection laws (eg on corporal punishment) is challenged. This presentation will survey a selection of cases from around the world, seeking to identify common themes and explore the added value of children’s constitutional rights in the arena of child protection.
About the speaker
Connor O’Mahony is a Professor at the University College Cork (Ireland). He is also the Director of the Child Law Clinic at the university, through which he works to support litigation concerning children and to advocate for law reform in the area of child law. Professor O’Mahony’s research interests lie broadly in the areas of constitutional law and child law, with a particular focus on family and children’s rights. From 2019 to 2022, he served as Special Rapporteur on Child Protection to the Government of Ireland, a role which included annually reporting on significant child protection developments.
How to participate: At Jekteviksbakken 31 or via Zoom.
If the Zoom application is new to you, we recommend that you press the link well before the events to download the program. You may leave and rejoin the meeting at any time.
The webinar is part of the RDV-webinar series – a collaboration between DIPA (UiB) and LawTransform (UiB).

RDV: Gendered politics of Autocratization in Africa
2024-03-21 14:15 - 15:30 | Bergen Global, Jekteviksbakken 31
On March 21st, research professor Satang Nabaneh will hold a talk titled “Gendered politics of Autocratization in Africa” at the RDV seminar as part of the PhD conference “Gendered Autocratization“.
Queer issues are highly politicised on the African continent. Questions related to gender identity and homosexuality are central to public discourse and political mobilisation. They are instrumental for illiberal and autocratic politicians’ rise to and hold of power.
What drives and shapes these trends? What are their effects?
Satang Nabaneh will discuss the characteristics of the gendered autocratisation dynamics and counter-forces on the African continent, focusing on the underlying question about how is gender used by populist politicians and autocratic leaders in Africa?

The lecture is free and open to all.
About the speaker
Satang Nabaneh is the Director of Programs at the Human Rights Center at the , where she is also a Research Professor of Law. She holds a Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) from the University of Pretoria, South Africa (2020), a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Human Rights and Democratization in Africa from the University of Pretoria, South Africa (2012), and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the University of The Gambia, The Gambia (2012).Nabaneh is a legal scholar and human rights practitioner with expertise in international human rights law and monitoring mechanisms, human rights in Africa, gender equality and women’s rights, democratization in Africa, and comparative constitutionalism.

Barnevernfrokost: Foreldreoppfølging etter omsorgsovertakelse i familievernet – et supplement til barneverntjenestens oppfølgingsansvar
2024-03-22 09:00 - 09:45
Det er flere grunner til at foreldre bør følges opp etter en omsorgsovertakelse. Foreldre har ofte omfattende behov for hjelp, og hjelpebehovene forsterkes ofte etter at barna blir plassert. I tillegg kan mange barn bekymre seg for hvordan foreldrene har det og som en følge av det ha vansker med å slå seg til ro med plasseringen. Foreldre som er fratatt omsorgen for egne barn, har vært fokusert lite på i hjelpeapparatet. Mange foreldre beskriver tett oppfølging frem til omsorgsovertagelsen, men at de i etterkant står igjen alene fordi hjelpen følger barnet. I tillegg opplever mange at samarbeidet mellom barnevern og foreldre er svært utfordrende, da det blir vanskelig å ta imot hjelp fra den samme instansen som initierte omsorgovertakelsen.
Som et supplement til barneverntjenestens oppfølging, fikk familievernet i 2015 i oppdrag å tilby foreldreoppfølging etter omsorgsovertagelse. Det ble etablert et eget Spisskompetansemiljø som arbeider med å sikre kunnskapsgrunnlag, fagutvikling og implementering av kunnskapsbasert og likeverdig tilbud ved alle landets familievernkontor. Målsetningen med tilbudet er å hjelpe foreldre å mestre livene sine etter en omsorgsovertagelse, bearbeide vanskelige følelser og tilpasse seg en ny rolle som samværsforeldre. Foreldre som har benyttet seg av familievernets tilbud sier de er godt fornøyde med den hjelpen de har mottatt. Til tross for et uttrykt behov et slik tilbud, er det få som benytter seg av familievernets oppfølging. Det jobbes derfor stadig med rekruttering og gjøre tilbudet bedre kjent for foreldrene, barneverntjenesten og øvrige samarbeidspartnere, slik at hjelpen blir tilgjengelig for de som trenger den.
På denne utgaven av Barnevernfrokost kommer klinisk spesialist Janne Vinkler Rasmussen og kollega fra familievernets spisskompetansemiljø på foreldreoppfølging etter omsorgsovertakelse for å dele fra bakgrunnen til tilbudet og kunnskapsgrunnlaget som ligger bak, informere om tilbudet de har, innholdet i tilbudet og foreldrestemmene.

Hvordan delta på Barnevernfrokost
For å delta på webinaret klikker du lenken under og følger instruksjonene. Vi anbefaler å laste ned Zoom-applikasjonen på forhånd.
https://uib.zoom.us/j/68832981204?pwd=[REDACTED]

Barnevernfrokost er en åpen webinar-serie om barnevern og barns rettigheter. Serien arrangeres av Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism (UiB) i samarbeid med Bergen kommune – Etat for barn og familie og Centre on Law and Social Transformation (UiB).

RDV: Exploring the intersection of food and family intervention policies in England: how are children included?
2024-04-04 14:15 - 15:30
In England, a rhetoric of supporting ‘troubled families’ through policy interventions mushroomed during the New Labour years of the late 1990s. At this time, early years settings became sites of particular interest in which to implement these policies, seen as places where perceived deficiencies in the household could be addressed. This has led to an overlap of policy domains, predominantly between early years education and family intervention, yet also expanding into other areas. In this context, children’s food policy is seen as an especially fruitful area for intervention, where the aim of ‘improving children’s diets’ often seems to be interlaced with a concern for ‘improving parenting styles’.
Based on ethnographic fieldwork carried out in London between 2016 and 2017, this paper explores what happens at the intersection of these different policy domains, examining how particular framings of policy problems – and the solutions developed to address these problems – lead to contradictions and arbitrary results. Linking to wider discussions about the current early childhood education and care (ECEC) landscape in England, the paper also asks to what extent are children’s viewpoints and experiences considered when interventions are developed, and what can be gained when doing so in a meaningful way.
About the speaker
Francesca Vaghi is a Research Associate at the School of Social & Political Science at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. She is currently conducting research on the work of contemporary NHS charities as part of the Border Crossings project: https://more.bham.ac.uk/border-crossings/border-crossings/projects/
Francesca is interested in medical anthropology, the anthropology of policy, and childhood studies. She completed her PhD in 2019 at SOAS, University of London. For her doctoral research, Francesca conducted ethnographic fieldwork in a state-maintained nursery in London over a 12-month period, developing a child-centred methodological approach to meaningfully involve children in research. Aside from investigating how children create self and peer identities through food and eating practices, her work explores how children’s food policy fits into family intervention policies in the context of Britain’s mixed economy of welfare, and how notions of ‘good food’ and ‘good parenting’ (particularly mothering) are interlinked. Her book, Food Policy and Practice in Early Childhood Education and Care, has just been published by Routledge.
Francesca is interested in advancing critical approaches in public health, specifically looking at how dominant policy discourses (re)create and seek to address ‘problems’ that have particular implications for working class and ethnic minority families, particularly in matters related to food insecurity, childhood poverty, and childcare policy. https://pureportal.strath.ac.uk/en/persons/francesca-vaghi (Guest researcher at DIPA from the 2nd of April–1st of May).

How to participate: You can access the event via this Zoom link.
If the Zoom application is new to you, we recommend that you press the link well before the events to download the program. You may leave and rejoin the meeting at any time.
The webinar is part of the RDV-webinar series – a collaboration between DIPA (UiB) and LawTransform (UiB).

RDV: Traveling across disciplinary boundaries: A journey into applying literary criticism to public-facing texts by street-level bureaucrats
2024-04-15 14:15 - 15:30
Researchers in the social sciences, including legal studies, political science, social work, and sociology, utilize specific, discipline-based approaches to analyzing written texts, including frequency counts of words and text segments and determining thematic patterns emerging from the data. This seminar, with speakers Katrin Križ and Daniela Reimer and discussant Tarja Pösö, aims to walk participants beyond the boundaries of these social science approaches by introducing the methods of literary criticism and reflecting on their methodological potential. What can social scientists learn from literary criticism methods for analyzing public-facing texts by street-level bureaucrats? “Public-facing texts” are documents by street-level bureaucrats like child protection caseworkers, judges, teachers, and police officers written for members of the public as part of public policy implementation. Examples of these texts in child protection are court judgments or university course curricula for future child protection caseworkers. This seminar explores how literary criticism methods could be valuable for systematically examining and interpreting these texts.
First, Križ and Reimer will discuss literary criticism methods before reflecting on how social scientists could apply them. Second, they will use their research about child protection-related court judgments by the European Court of Human Rights as an example. Lastly, Križ and Reimer invite seminar participants to reflect on how these methods might be useful in their own research when studying public-facing texts by street-level bureaucrats. You are invited to read this information about literary criticism if you want to learn more about it before the seminar (total reading time: 10 minutes):

Lumen Learning. An introduction to literary criticism
Lumen Learning: Approaches to literary criticism

About the Speakers
Katrin Križ is a Professor of Sociology at Emmanuel College (USA) and a research associate at the Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism (DIPA).
Križ has extensive competence in Social Policy, Qualitative Social Research, Sociological Theory, Public Policy, Family Studies and Child Welfare. Her research is focused on the role of professional discretion in decisions related to a child’s best interests and child welfare systems in an international context.
Together with colleagues Frøydis Lønborg Haarberg, Audun Gabriel Løvlie, and Marit Skivenes at the University of Bergen, Križ is working on the research project “Children’s Right to Participation”.
Daniela Reimer is a Professor at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, School of Social Work, specializing in child and youth services, family dynamics, and foster care. Her research focuses on understanding the experiences of children in care, particularly in transitions and identity formation.
Reimer has conducted extensive studies on (foster) family cultures, the interplay of normality and identity among young people in foster care, and breakdowns within foster care systems. Currently, she leads a qualitative longitudinal study exploring the experiences of young adults who have transitioned from foster care.
Tarja Pösö is a Professor Emerita at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Tampere University (Finland) and Professor II at the Department of Government (University of Bergen).
Pösö has extensive experience in the studies of child protection, social work, and institutional practices, with a keen interest in cross-cultural perspectives and developing methods and ethics for child protection studies.
Her particular research interests are how social workers navigate among different sources of information and interest when making decisions and assessing the outcome of their decisions in child protection, the child welfare systems perceive and act with migrant children, the principle of ‘the child’s best interest’ is included in the decision-making process.
How to participate: At Jekteviksbakken 31 or via this Zoom link.
If the Zoom application is new to you, we recommend that you press the link well before the events to download the program. You may leave and rejoin the meeting at any time.
The RDV series is a collaboration between DIPA (UiB) and LawTransform (UiB).

Barnevernfrokost: Praktisk juss i barnevernsstudiet – erfaringer fra HVL
2024-05-03 09:00 - 09:45
Barnevernet må ivareta en rekke juridiske forpliktelser i sitt arbeid, og grunnlaget for dette legges i studiet. I fjor strøk nesten halvparten av masterstudentene i barnevern og barnevernsarbeid over hele landet – men på Høyskolen på Vestlandet sto alle studentene. Høyskolelektor og jurist Karen Reimers er ansvarlig for emnet Rettsanvendelse i barnevernsarbeid ved HVL, og vil på denne utgaven av Barnevernfrokost fortelle om hvordan de har jobbet med trening i den juridiske metoden, i tillegg til hva en kan forvente av jusskompetansen til fremtidige barnevernsarbeidere. Dette er høyst relevant kunnskap for de som forbereder studentene på fremtidig arbeidsliv, de som skal ta imot disse studentene etter uteksaminasjon, og de som vurderer å selv oppdatere sin jusskompetanse. Det blir, som alltid, tid til spørsmål.
Hvordan delta på Barnevernfrokost
For å delta på webinaret klikker du lenken under og følger instruksjonene. Vi anbefaler å laste ned Zoom-applikasjonen på forhånd.
Zoom-link: https://uib.zoom.us/j/61257829447?pwd=[REDACTED]
Barnevernfrokost er en åpen webinar-serie om barnevern og barns rettigheter. Serien arrangeres av Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism (UiB) i samarbeid med Bergen kommune – Etat for barn og familie og Centre on Law and Social Transformation (UiB).

RDV: The role of perceptions and attitudes of public officials
2024-05-16 14:15 - 15:30
In this digital RDV seminar, research professor Steven Van de Walle will share from his innovative research on the attitudes and perceptions of policymakers and public managers. His research uses methodologies such as eye-tracking and vignette experiments to establish what influences public managers’ attitudes towards citizen’s participation, and how policymakers use uncertain information.
About the Speaker
Steven Van de Walle is research professor (public management) at the Public Governance Institute KU Leuven, Belgium. Prior to joining KU Leuven, he held the Chair of Public Management at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Between 2006 and 2008 he was a lecturer at the University of Birmingham. His current research and teaching covers public sector reform, the organisation of public services, public sector failure, citizens’ perceptions of the public sector, government-citizen relations, and public sector performance. Steven’s work has been published in all leading journals in the discipline and has received multiple awards.
How to participate: This will be a fully digital webinar, so please join us via this Zoom link.
If the Zoom application is new to you, we recommend that you press the link well before the events to download the program. You may leave and rejoin the meeting at any time.
The RDV series is a collaboration between DIPA (UiB) and LawTransform (UiB).

RDV: Regulating Judges in a Modern Democracy: Insights from Canada
2024-06-06 14:15 - 15:30
In this RDV-seminar, professor Richard Devlin and professor Sheila Wildeman, both from the Schulich School of Law from the Dalhousie University, Canada, will present their co-authored paper that outlines eight general principles for democratically defensible complaints and discipline for judges. The paper also provides a critical analysis of the new 2023 legislative reforms to the judicial discipline process in Canada, using the theoretical framework established in the books “Regulating Judges” and “Disciplining Judges”. The arguments in these books are relevant to any democratic society, while the case study in the co-authored paper applies the theory to a particular jurisdiction. The seminar will be of interest to anyone interested in the intersection of law, democracy, and judicial accountability.
About the speakers
Richard Devlin is a renowned Canadian law professor at Dalhousie University. An esteemed figure in the fields of legal theory, equality, legal ethics, and the regulation of the legal profession, Devlin became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2015. His scholarly pursuits include critiquing legal structures that impact equality, particularly regarding access to justice, economic factors affecting legal service delivery, and various forms of legal inequality related to race, gender, and disability. Devlin has taught law for nearly three decades and served as the Acting Dean of the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University during 2020.
Sheila Wildeman is a Canadian legal scholar and professor at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Victoria, a Bachelor of Laws degree from Dalhousie University, and a Master of Laws degree from the University of British Columbia. Wildeman’s research focuses on issues related to health law, disability rights, and social justice. She has published extensively on topics such as the legal regulation of assisted reproduction, the rights of persons with disabilities, and the intersection of law and health policy. In addition to her academic work, Wildeman has also served as a consultant to various government agencies and non-profit organizations on issues related to health law and policy. She is a highly respected scholar in her field and has received numerous awards and honors for her contributions to legal scholarship.
How to participate: This will be a fully digital webinar, so please join us on Zoom: https://uib.zoom.us/j/63498010003?pwd=[REDACTED]
If the Zoom application is new to you, we recommend that you press the link well before the events to download the program. You may leave and rejoin the meeting at any time.
The webinar is part of the RDV-webinar series – a collaboration between DIPA (UiB) and LawTransform (UiB).
