Children’s right not to be subjected to violence – a comparative discourse analysis of educational policy between Sweden and Italy

The desire to protect children from violence is clearly formulated in the Children’s Right Convention (CRV). For example, the right of children to be protected from:” /.../all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child is clearly stated in Article 19 of the CRC, which was ratified by Sweden in 1989 (United Nations, 1989). The right of children not to be subjected to various forms of violence is also emphasized in other international treaties signed and/or ratified by the Swedish state (the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2010, the Treaty of Lisbon). In order to assure this right, the Swedish legal framework (Prop., 2009/10:232) stipulates that the subjection of children to violence should be avoided at all cost. Italy assures the right of a childhood free from violence thanks to its legal framework as well. Italy’s legal framework is made up of the international documents previously cited, the CRC (ratified in 1991 with the LEGGE 27 maggio 1991, n. 176. Italy’s legal framework is also made up of national laws, in particular by the founding one: the Constitution. Art. 3. This article is used as a base for the creation of national policy to prevent the subjection of children to violence. In this study, the word violence is used in a broad sense to cover the numerous situations in which people are at risk of being physically and psychologically damaged (Hamby and Grych, 2013), such as in cases of discrimination, bullying, violation, or harassment (cf. Greeff and Grobler, 2008; Parkes, 2007). The ambition to oppose and counteract violence through juridification in schools has increased in Sweden through the introduction of the Discrimination Act (SFS, 2008:567) and the pa