Social Justice for Children in the South (eBook)

This book considers that contextual factors are important for the achievement of social justice and it recognizes that vulnerability to which children are exposed is a phenomenon throughout the planet, particularly in the South. It presents a theoretical review of social justice as well as different situations of vulnerability children experience in their daily lives in which they can be injured, affecting their well-being and the exercise of their rights. It examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children, considered as a vulnerable group warranting special social policy considerations. It also presents the need to change power structures in knowledge production and decision-making processes to achieve social justice for children; the importance of investing in children; the exclusion of children from participation in certain activities and the shame of not being able to participate in equal conditions with others;  the lives of migrant children belonging to ethnic minorities exposed to language barriers and access to technological devices; and the analysis of the process of social re-integration of children from conditions of armed conflict. The book concludes that governments need to assume social justice as part of universal human interests, providing security, conditions for well-being, and guaranteeing social justice for all children.

Graciela Tonon

Graciela is a full professor of quality of life: theory and methodology and research methods in social sciences, director of the Research Center in Social Sciences (CICS-UP) at the School of Social Sciences of the Universidad de Palermo, Argentina. She is also full professor of community social work and children at risk and vulnerability, and director of the Social Institute of Social Sciences UNI-COM at the Universidad Nacional de Lomas de Zamora, Argentina. She obtained her doctoral degree in political science (USAL, Argentina) with postdoctoral studies at the Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy, and a master's degree in political sciences (UMSAM, Argentina). She also has a bachelor's degree in Social Work. She has received the ISQOLS Distinguished Service Award for Substantial Contributing to a Better Understanding of Quality-of-Life Studies-2016.  She is the editor of the International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life Series, ISQOLS-Springer and the editor of the Book Review Section and member of the Policy Board of Applied Research in Quality of Life, ISQOLS-Springer.  She is also the director of the Journal de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Palermo, Argentina; vice-president of publications (2019-2022) of the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies and secretary of the Human Development and Capability Association (2016-2022) and fellow (2014-2025). She is the author of 27 books in English and Spanish; she has written many scientific articles and book chapters and has given lectures at universities on five continents. She has also worked for 25 years as social worker with children living in conditions of abuse and poverty. She has recently been appointed as an instructor of the Child Indicator Certification Programme (ISQOLS-MIQOLS).

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This book considers that contextual factors are important for the achievement of social justice and it recognizes that vulnerability to which children are exposed is a phenomenon throughout the planet, particularly in the South. It presents a theoretical review of social justice as well as different situations of vulnerability children experience in their daily lives in which they can be injured, affecting their well-being and the exercise of their rights. It examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children, considered as a vulnerable group warranting special social policy considerations. It also presents the need to change power structures in knowledge production and decision-making processes to achieve social justice for children; the importance of investing in children; the exclusion of children from participation in certain activities and the shame of not being able to participate in equal conditions with others;  the lives of migrant children belonging to ethnic minorities exposed to language barriers and access to technological devices; and the analysis of the process of social re-integration of children from conditions of armed conflict. The book concludes that governments need to assume social justice as part of universal human interests, providing security, conditions for well-being, and guaranteeing social justice for all children.