The Child Friendly Justice European Network has recently launched a guide designed to help professionals and decision-makers collaborate meaningfully with children and young people who have lived experience in the justice system. Grounded in United Nations and Council of Europe standards, the guide emphasises that participation is not just a ‘best practice’, but a consequence of the right of children to express their views on matters that affect them and have those views taken into consideration.
The publication addresses the fact that children’s participation in activities organised by professionals can often be just on a superficial, non-meaningful level, or controlled to fit adult expectations. To counter this, the guide provides a structured approach to ensure engagement is not only safe and inclusive, but also genuinely empowering. This publication seeks to be a resource to help professionals promote the agency of young people as active rights-holders, rather than passive recipients of protection.
The guide offers a roadmap for organising this participation within different activities and events, such as workshops, panels or conferences, from a practical approach, focusing on three stages: before, during, and after participation. It includes specific checklists, consent protocols and ethical standards that organisations and institutions should follow if they seek to embed children’s voices into their everyday work. Ultimately, the publication looks to promote a culture where the goal is to move beyond one-off events and towards sustained, meaningful and empowering participation that contributes to shape outcomes.