Reflexões sobre infância e os direitos de participação da criança no contexto da justiça

This text looks into ‘childhood’ as a social construct and the way it paradoxically makes children more vulnerable to victimization, as well as to a reduced use of their rights. The child's vulnerability is exacerbated by the way childhood has been conceptualized as a minor social category. Sometimes, the social context constructed by adults overlooks children’s interests and is even hostile to children, since it does not allow them to take part in matters of their concern on the pretext of protecting them. This article discusses how the judicial context considers the child’s legal position and how the latter is dominated by the adults’ view of the child, meaning that the child’s rights may be underestimated by the adults. In the area of child victimization and of children’s access to justice, children’s rights require a rethinking of relevant aspects of the social order, namely their right to participation