WEEK 7: YOUNG PEOPLE AND THE LAW

Childhood
 The notion that children might be socially and psychologically, as well as
physiologically, different from adults did not emerge until the 16th and 17th centuries.
 The concept of ‘childhood’ developed in the early modern period and became a
widely accepted idea by the 20th century.
 1970, ‘liberationists’ advocated that should have the right to vote, work for money
and direct their own education
 The alternative approach, makes more of the limits of children’s mental and physical
capabilities, pointing to the fact that children are developing and have neither the
ability nor judgement of adults
 This approach also calls on adults to protecting them from information and barring
their participation.

Adolescence
 The concept of as ‘adolescence’ did not emerge until the early 1900s and first took
shape w G Stanley hall’s work.
 The contemporary legacy of the invention of ‘adolescence’ is a popular understanding
of young people as living through an ‘intrinsically insecure, transitional and uncertain
experience’
 This has also engaged more recently with adolescent brain theory which asserts that
young people are impulsive and reckless

Populism
 Loss of faith in professionals
 Political rhetoric
 Sovereignty of public opinion
 Impact of popular media

“sins of the child”

 Parent not fulfilling their duties
 Parental responsibility laws
 Public opinion – younger offenders

Disadvantage + trauma
 SES most important factor
 School drop out rate – 40% for institutionalised youth
 ¾ experienced school disciplinary exclusion
 Come from communities with high levels of poverty
 Likely to have witnessed violence (positive reinforcement)
 Low supervision, disengaged parents
 Family violence, substance abuse, and criminality
 Deviant peers

Labelling theory – impact of perceptions ->

What should we be doing?
 Male vs female
 Trauma intervention programs
 Systemic responses