Childism, adultism and intersectionality

Critical Child Rights Theory: Childism & Intersectionality

Human rights theory concerned with critically exploring the hindrances to the realisation of children's rights will gain analytical sharpness through analysing not only how children suffer from gender-based and racialised violence and discrimination but also how they suffer from ableist normativity and age-based violence and discrimination.

Childism (age-based prejudice and discrimination against children) and adultism (oppressive forms of adult power over children) are crucial perspectives in critical child rights theory to address and question discriminatory violence against children, and to develop child-equitable responses to intersectional injustices.

Published books

Open access

The Rights of the Child

Legal, political and ethical challenges to realise children's rights.

Open access

Childism, Intersectionality and the Rights of the Child: The Myth of a Happy Childhood

Childism and Intersectionality

On discrimination against children.

Interview · Queen Mary, University of London

Interview about the book Childism, Intersectionality and the Rights of the Child

Children constitute more than a third of the world's population, and 'children' as a heterogeneous group consists of all other marginalised groups. Nonetheless, theorizations on the limits of social justice generally do not recognise children's additional marginalisation through age-based power structures.

Book introduction · HRIUI

Childism, Intersectionality and the Rights of the Child: The Myth of a Happy Childhood

The Human Rights Institute at the University of Isfahan introduces the book and its argument that adult-centred structures and intertwined forms of discrimination prevent children's rights, experience, voice and agency from being fully recognised.

Human Rights Institute, University of Isfahan

Book review · International Journal of Children's Rights

Review of Childism, Intersectionality and the Rights of the Child

Nayia Christodoulou, University of Galway, reviews the book in the International Journal of Children's Rights.

Read the review

Cover of the International Journal of Children's Rights

Webinar · UNHCR Switzerland

L'intérêt supérieur des enfants réfugiés dans la pratique

On World Children's Day, UNHCR Switzerland held a webinar on assessing the best interests of refugee children in practice, with presentations by experts on the central aspects of that assessment.