Introduction

Equality in the Youth Court: Meaning, Perceptions and Implications of the Principle of Equality in Youth Justice

“…Rooted in the rise of the welfare state in Western societies in the late 19th century, many contemporary youth justice systems still embrace the notion of ‘welfare’ as one if its overarching principles (Dünkel, 2015; Feld, 2018; Garland, 2001; Hazel, 2008; Trépanier and Rousseaux, 2018; Van den Brink, 2019). The welfare principle in youth justice centres around the ideal of rehabilitation and reintegration of young offenders through individualized, ‘needs-based’ and treatment-oriented youth justice interventions ((Dünkel, 2015; Feld, 2018; Garland, 2001; Hazel, 2008; Trépanier and Rousseaux, 2018; Van den Brink, 2019).…”

“…Rooted in the rise of the welfare state in Western societies in the late 19th century, many contemporary youth justice systems still embrace the notion of ‘welfare’ as one if its overarching principles (Dünkel, 2015; Feld, 2018; Garland, 2001; Hazel, 2008; Trépanier and Rousseaux, 2018; Van den Brink, 2019). The welfare principle in youth justice centres around the ideal of rehabilitation and reintegration of young offenders through individualized, ‘needs-based’ and treatment-oriented youth justice interventions ((Dünkel, 2015; Feld, 2018; Garland, 2001; Hazel, 2008; Trépanier and Rousseaux, 2018; Van den Brink, 2019). Originally, the welfarist approach to youth justice was driven by a rather paternalistic attitude towards children and young people (Feld, 2018; Trépanier and Rousseaux, 2018) and was defined by the view that youth justice interventions primarily serve to ‘save’ troublesome children and young people from a life of depravity and crime through treatment and correction (Feld, 2017; Hazel, 2008).…”

“…The welfare principle in youth justice centres around the ideal of rehabilitation and reintegration of young offenders through individualized, ‘needs-based’ and treatment-oriented youth justice interventions ((Dünkel, 2015; Feld, 2018; Garland, 2001; Hazel, 2008; Trépanier and Rousseaux, 2018; Van den Brink, 2019). Originally, the welfarist approach to youth justice was driven by a rather paternalistic attitude towards children and young people (Feld, 2018; Trépanier and Rousseaux, 2018) and was defined by the view that youth justice interventions primarily serve to ‘save’ troublesome children and young people from a life of depravity and crime through treatment and correction (Feld, 2017; Hazel, 2008). This paternalistic narrative portrayed children as objects of protection rather than subjects of rights (Weijers, 2017b), which could easily result in youth justice practices that disproportionately affected socially disadvantaged children who were subjected to lengthy and intrusive interventions ‘for their own good’, regardless of whether they had committed only minor crimes (cf.…”