Advancing Child-Friendly Justice Through Dialogue and Exchange in Santiago, Chile

When a child is placed in care, the assumption is always that the child can return home again. But there are still many questions about how this process – the 'permanency plan' – is arranged. New research aims to provide insights.

By far the majority of users of child sexual abuse networks (or child porn forums as they are sometimes called) on the dark web do not actively communicate there but download illegal material, therefore committing a criminal offence. But they often stay under the police and judiciary’s radar. PhD candidate…

Research conducted by Leiden University shows that when parents adjust their working hours, other parents often follow suit. Understanding how other families balance work and care can help new parents divide tasks more equally after the birth of a child.

Valedictory lecture

Parents appear to be extremely sensitive to feedback they receive about their child. Just how sensitive depends on the (‘rose-tinted’) glasses through which they look at their child. All this can be seen in the brain. Neuroscientist Lisanne van Houtum and her Leiden colleagues published on this issue…

Leiden Child Law Department at Leiden University in the Netherlands formally entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF)

Last Thursday the Dutch House of Representatives held a debate on children being put into care when the childcare benefits scandal (toeslagenaffaire) had caused problems for their families. Four Leiden University academics were asked by the House to produce a fact sheet for this debate, bringing together…

On Wednesday 18 May, the students of the LL.M. Advanced Studies in International Children’s Rights presented their work to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child with the aim to provide recommendations on how to make its decision more accessible to children.

Inaugural lecture

What causes depression in a child and how can they get over it? Leiden Professor of Psychology Bernet Elzinga and behavioural scientist Carine Kielstra recently hosted a webinar on the subject of depression in teenagers. The level of interest was overwhelming.

Mozambican politician and child rights activist Graça Machel will receive an honorary doctorate from Leiden University for her commitment to the rights of women and children in Africa and elsewhere. She will be awarded the honorary doctorate on the Dies Natalis, the University’s foundation day, on 8…

The master’s programme 'Jeugdrecht' (Child Law) at Leiden Law School has been awarded the gold medal by EW Beste Studies. It is the only degree programme at Leiden University to have earned this top award. Professor Mariëlle Bruning says, 'it’s the best compliment you could ever get in your career'.

The 16-year-old girl was staying in a closed juvenile care institution where, among other things, she was administered 'pain stimuli'. The charges are the first of their kind, says Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Children and the Law, to Dutch newspaper the Volkskrant.

Arts and leisure, Arts and leisure

PhD candidate Alex Tutwiler, from the Faculty of Archaeology, has received a grant from Archol, via the P.J.R. Modderman Foundation, to investigate how child labor shaped the bones of Dutch children between the 17th and 19th centuries. Using CT scans, she aims to build a more comprehensive picture of…

On Tuesday 10 January 2023, former master’s students in Child Law – Fien Bouwmeester, Renee Muller, Imaani Stegeman, Demi Onclin and Rosa Passchier – held presentations on their master’s theses at the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security.

On Sunday night 25 September, all the lights in Leiden will switch off and we will see the starry sky above us twinkling in all its glory. A unique opportunity for all residents of Leiden to experience the vastness of the cosmos and view the impressive artwork that hangs over our heads every night.…

Dr Anouk Goemans has been appointed professor by special appointment of Youth Services and Child Protection from an Educational and Legal Perspective as of 1 November 2024. This chair is funded by the 'Stichting Steunfonds Pro Juventute' support fund foundation and serves as a bridge between the Department…

Using an innovative method, psychologist Loes Janssen and colleagues measure how long and how often parent and child are close in daily life, and how they experience that togetherness. The researchers combine ‘Bluetooth low energy beacons’ with the smartphone app Ethica to track participants' physical…

‘We didn’t find any mechanisms in the brain for transmitting child abuse from generation to generation. What we did find is that experiences of neglect and abuse affect the brain differently,’ concludes Lisa van den Berg (Clinical Psychology). PhD defence 30 June.

Ingrid van Engelshoven, outgoing Minister of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), has appointed Robine de Lange-Tegelaar to the Board of Governors of Leiden University.

Many children eat too many high-calorie foods and too few vegetables from an early age. PhD candidate Merel van Vliet researched the role of parents in this. ‘Don’t force children to clean their plates.’ PhD defence on 15 June.

On 20 November 2015, on the occasion of Universal Children’s Day, the Council of Europe and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights launched the Handbook on European law relating to the rights of the child.

‘The system is failing’, ‘the goals are only being achieved to a limited extent’, ‘we’re letting children down’. These are some of the newspaper headlines that followed the publication of a report by researchers from Leiden University in September. Commissioned by the Dutch Research and Documentation…

Costume dramas would have us believe that women in the Middle Ages became mothers at a much younger age than they do today. University lecturer Krista Milne wants to refute this image with the help of an NWO XS grant. ‘In the past, not all data was taken into account.’

Investigations conducted by several Dutch child protection bodies within family situations are inadequate. Due to lack of knowledge, time and money, these investigations are not carried out properly, with major consequences for the families involved.

As of April 2022, Mark de Rooij has been appointed SAILS Professor AI and Data Theory at the Institute of Psychology. This position will enable him to contribute to the goal of the interdisciplinary programme: to build on and expand the current expertise on AI within Leiden University, working from…

This month we interview alumna Dominique Mars who made an interesting career choice: she tells us how she chose to be a teacher at a primary school whilst having obtained her Master in Child Law.

Wars, climate change and the effects of covid have caused a global decline in children’s well-being. In her inaugural lecture Ann Skelton, Professor of Children’s Rights in a Sustainable World, points to the disastrous effects of multiple interacting crises.

Het Leids onderzoek naar gedwongen uithuisplaatsingen van kinderen heeft veel stof doen opwaaien. Op een congres bespraken meer dan 250 mensen het onderzoek verder om zo de situatie voor ouders en kinderen in de toekomst te verbeteren.

Mozambican politician and child rights activist Graça Machel speaks October 27 at Leiden University about her work.

Some children start life with a disadvantage. Sometimes even before they are born. A new research project involving Professor Wessel Kraaij of Leiden University investigates how data science can help give these children a good start in life.

Van TikTok tot ChatGPT: digitale technologie dringt door in ons hele bestaan. Wat betekent dat voor onderwijs en opvoeding? Het gaat niet om schermtijd, maar om de aard en context van het gebruik, stelt pedagoog Marga Sikkema-De Jong in haar oratie

Ig Nobel

Workshop brings multidisciplinary experts together to produce interdisciplinary outcomes on the EU’s Proposal for a Regulation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse.

Leiden Law Cast is a podcast made by Leiden Law School, Leiden University, for everyone who wants to learn more about current legal issues.

Onderzoekers van het Instituut Pedagogische Wetenschappen en de afdeling Jeugdrecht gaan samenwerken in 2 nieuwe onderzoeken: onderzoek naar het terugplaatsingen van kinderen na uithuisplaatsing en draagmoederschappen in Nederland.

It is not possible for juvenile courts to properly assess whether it is necessary to place a child in care. This is evident from a fact sheet that has been prepared by legal scholars from Leiden University, commissioned by the Dutch House of Representatives and others.

Workshop brings multidisciplinary experts together to debate proposed detection technologies and their impact on fundamental rights.

In Europe, the Netherlands is in middle position when it comes to the placement of children in care. The consequences of such a placement in care are often disastrous, says Mariëlle Bruning.

Dr. Eduard Fosch-Villaronga from eLaw collaborates with researchers from the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT-Delhi) and University of Delhi (DU) in an effort to explore and reflect upon the potential legal, ethical and pedagogical challenges of deploying a social robot in…

Professor Johan Frijns treats people with hearing loss, conducts research on hearing implants, and gladly shares his knowledge about electrical stimulation of the nervous system.

In nearly every Dutch primary and secondary school classroom, at least one child is bullied. The common perception is that the most popular child in the class is often the bully, while less popular children are more likely to be bullied. Is this image accurate? Bullying researcher Mitch van Geel knows…

With the passing of Henk Jan de Jonge on 16 April 2022, Leiden University has lost one of its most characteristic, learned and devoted professors.