Mellan offer och förövare : En studie om sänkt straffbarhetsålder i Sverige

Sammanfattning

This study examines how children are constructed in the Swedish Government’s legislative proposal on lowering the age of criminal responsibility and in various consultation responses by organizations and public authorities. By drawing on social constructionist perspectives on childhood, a child rights perspective and Bacchi’s WPR approach, this study analyses various understandings of protection, responsibility and public safety. The findings indicate that the legislative proposal mainly constructs children as responsible actors, connecting them to serious crime, public protection and accountability. However, the consultation responses take on another understanding by constructing children as rights holders, developing individuals, and vulnerable actors that need protection in the justice system. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that the issue of criminal responsibility is not merely about the legal age threshold, but also about how children are perceived, whether it is as responsible actors with a potential security risk or as individuals that need both protection and rehabilitation.