When family ties rely on digital social media

Varia
A socio-legal approach to family relations within the frame of childhood protection
By Émilie Potin, Gaël Henaff, Hélène Trellu
English

Placement measures for educative assistance separate children from their parents to keep them from what is deemed to be a danger. Visiting, accommodation and correspondence rights granted to the parents by the courts ensure that the family bond is maintained. At the same time, digital family correspondence opens a new realm of possibilities for keeping bonds alive, and allows children, siblings and parents to be more autonomous in their family relationships. In focusing on the emergence of a right to spontaneous digital correspondence, and aiming to put into perspective the legal principles along with the practices of family and professional stakeholders in the specific context of childhood protection, this article raises questions both on forms of family correspondence and on socio-legal categories of childhood protection.

Keywords

  • educational assistance
  • digital social media
  • digital correspondence
  • child placement
  • right to maintain family relations
  • case law
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