Children’s Right to Identity, Selfhood and International Family Law

Edited by Marilyn Freeman, Principal Research Fellow, Westminster Law School, University of Westminster, UK and Nicola Taylor, Faculty of Law, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

• ContentsForeword xvMia DambachPART I INTRODUCTION1 Unveiling the connection between child identity and family law 2Marilyn Freeman and Nicola TaylorPART II IDENTITY: WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT MATTERS2 Article 8 UNCRC: to protect or neglect? Consideration of its(potential) meaning and effect 24Soraya Bou-Sfia3 Identity: a psychological perspective 44Astrid Martalas4 Cultural identity: ‘Ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au – I am theriver and the river is me’ 62Trudy Ake and Sarah Calvert5 Discovering our donor conception as adults: a sisters’selfhood dialogue 75Fiona Darroch and Kathleen Pithouse-MorganPART III IDENTITY: INTERNATIONAL FAMILY LAW CONTEXTS6 International adoption and cross-border placement of children 86Laura Carpaneto and Ester di Napoli7 Surrogacy and identity: moving beyond genetics? 110Michael Wells-GrecoRelocation and international child abduction: the impact onchildren’s identity 128Nicola Taylor and Marilyn Freeman9 Care and protection of children: identity formation forchildren in out-of-home care 150Amy Conley Wright and Judy Cashmore10 Violence and the child’s sense of identity 169Mariëlle Bruning11 Forced marriages, child brides and forced religiousconversions of women and girls 191Sulema Jahangir and Carolina Marín Pedreño12 The child’s right to gender identity 211Claire Fenton-Glynn13 Children’s rights and the justice system: exploring themeaning and application of the right to identity 229Ursula Kilkelly14 Unaccompanied migrant children, including traffickedchildren and asylum seekers 243Ronaldah Lerato Karabo Ozah and Fortunate Seneka Mongwai15 Children, identity and the impacts of parental deportation: afamigration perspective 266Nazia Yaqub and Helen Stalford16 The (self)identity of the child soldier: international law andbest practices 284Mark DrumblPART IV CONCLUSION AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS17 The evolving scope of international transformations of children 302John Tobin

‘The editors have done an extremely commendable job in selecting, presenting and framing a series of contributions to collective dialogue in this field. The work not only tackles relevant topics from diverse disciplinary perspectives, it also includes a range of voices, both ideological and cultural, giving the volume as a whole a balanced and nuanced vantage point. … The amount of ground covered, and the plurality of vantage points is impressive. This work will obviously be of interest to legal scholars with an interest in family law, children’s rights and human rights more generally. Nevertheless, it is also of great relevance to anyone working in, or curious about, law and religion and belief. Many of the perennial debates about identity, and the participation and experience of children in relation to religion are illuminated by the discussions in this book. Furthermore, the connections between these questions and other overarching dialogues within children’s rights are illuminated in ways that provide fresh insights. In summary, this is an impressive and much needed contribution to existing literature, and provides a treasure trove of resources, as well as new ideas and angles to engage with. The editors are to be highly commended.’