Neither children nor adults in Sweden have a sufficient understanding of children’s rights. We need to get better at including children and talking with them about issues that affect them. Otherwise, there is a risk that we will invest significant effort in initiatives or measures that we adults believe are in the best interests of children but that do not benefit the individual child. Frida Lygnegård works as a researcher at Jönköping University and studies children’s rights and participation.
Children and young people have the right to develop, to feel hopeful about the future, and to have confidence in their own abilities. Frida Lygnegård’s research focuses on enabling children and young people to participate in society and on the implementation of children’s human rights. Children’s rights are a vital component of socially sustainable development and a key element in achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda, where the objective is to leave no one behind.
– I work to raise awareness about children’s right to participate and influence decisions that affect them. This work requires collaboration and partnerships among various stakeholders in society. For example, I work with the Swedish Agency for Family Law and Parenting Support (MFoF) to highlight how children’s rights are incorporated into parenting support initiatives. In another project, I’m working with SWECO on behalf of the Skåne County Administrative Board to spread awareness about how children with disabilities can have the opportunity to make their voices heard in decisions that affect them,” says Frida Lygnegård.
Work in line with the national strategy
In 2018, the government adopted a new national strategy for enhanced parenting support, with the goal of ensuring that all parents are offered parenting support throughout their child’s upbringing. The national strategy reinforces the provisions regarding children’s rights and establishes that the principle of the best interests of the child must underpin the parenting support provided.
– In line with the government’s national strategy, I was commissioned by the Ministry of Family Affairs to conduct an exploratory literature review of current research on children’s rights in order to provide an up-to-date overview of the current state of knowledge. The report can be viewed as a knowledge resource for policymakers and professionals working on the implementation and monitoring of parenting support initiatives. But also as a guide on how the child’s own voice has been taken into account in written materials concerning these initiatives. The hope is also that my literature review can contribute to increased collaboration on strengthened parenting support among relevant stakeholders at the local, regional, and national levels, says Frida Lygnegård.
MFoF will now assist in disseminating Frida Lygnegård’s report to various stakeholders within government agencies and organizations that work to promote children’s rights.
“The material Frida has developed provides an excellent foundation for us to use in disseminating knowledge. It is valuable both for us as a government agency and for the organizations we collaborate with that the material we disseminate is based on research-based approaches and methods,” says Maria H Andersson, researcher at MFoF.
Sustainable conditions for growing up and secure living conditions
Through her research, Frida Lygnegård aims to help develop methods that give children and young people the opportunity to be involved in decisions that affect their own lives and daily routines, and ultimately the chance to shape their own futures.
“Children have the right to reach their full potential; they have the right to be included. Through my research, I want to help create sustainable conditions for children and young people to grow up in, as well as secure living conditions. It’s important that our children and young people have a stable foundation to stand on so they can take on the challenges—but also the opportunities—that life brings,” she concludes.