Child activism to stop child marriage: lessons for participation?
Professor Kay Tisdall and Dr Patricio Cuevas-Parra, University of Edinburgh
Online event
About this event
The University of Bristol School for Policy Studies’ Children and Families Research Centre (CFRC) welcomes University of Edinburgh’s Childhood and Youth Studies researchers, Professor Kay Tisdall and Dr Patricio Cuevas-Parra, for the first seminar of the CFRC Summer Seminar Series. Kay and Patricio will present their exciting research with child activists who have worked to end child marriage in Ghana and Bangladesh. Through their child-led project, the researchers underline successful practices in overcoming barriers against positive change, whilst developing the children’s rights field through the concept of activism.
Abstract: What can the concept and practice of activism contribute to our understandings of children and young people’s participation? For those of us who have worked in the children’s rights field, we are well familiar with the barriers to children’s rights to participate. All too frequently children and young people face tokenistic participation, that has limited impact on decisions. Certain practices, though, appear to overcome such barriers, such as child activists who stop child marriages in their communities. We consider the empirical evidence of a research study in Bangladesh and Ghana, with 75 child activists and 22 adults (who were adult identified by child activists as important for their actions or the parents/ family members of potential brides), to explore the lessons from these actions. In particular, we consider how the concept of ‘activism’, much developed with youth studies, can stimulate developments in the children’s rights field.
Professor Kay Tisdall: is a Professor of Childhood Policy, and a member of Childhood and Youth Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Her teaching, policy, and research interests are within children’s human rights, undertaking collaborative research in such areas as early learning, family law, and mental health.
Dr Patricio Cuevas-Parra: is an Honorary Fellow and member of Childhood and Youth Studies at the University of Edinburgh. He is the Director for Child Participation and Rights with World Vision International. His research interests are around children’s participation in public policy and decision-making and child-led research, methodologies, and impact.
