Structural Discrimination and the Marginalization of Children’s Knowledge

Abstract This chapter examines how structural challenges, particularly prevailing attitudes towards their knowledge of their own lives, limit children’s participation in their own child welfare case. While child welfare services traditionally rely on information from parents and professionals, they often struggle to uphold children’s right to participate. The “best interests of the child” assessment frequently prioritizes knowledge about children’s future development. This type of knowledge, frequently rooted in medical and psychological disciplines, is difficult for children to acquire. Consequently, professionals are consulted, which can marginalize children’s own perspectives. Drawing on key findings from the study, “Children’s Participation in Child Welfare Work Processes” (Skauge, Barns deltakelse i barnevernets arbeidsprosesser. Doktoravhandlinger ved NTNU. https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3149729, 2024), this chapter explores how attitudes towards who has valid knowledge and who does not can be understood as structural discrimination. This chapter questions how children can genuinely participate in matters affecting them when prejudices about their capacity for knowledge and participation create a significant structural challenge.