Paucity and the Need for Value Sensitivity in Dealing with Youth Care: Why legal and youth professionals should take cultural and religious considerations seriously

Abstract

At times when radical Islam, jihadists and honour-related violence are well known examples in courtrooms one would expect that professionals in the field of youth protection are specifically aware of aspects leading to certain behaviour. As part of a research project in which the influence and legitimacy of cultural and religious considerations in youth protection is analysed for the Netherlands, we examined how legal and youth professionals sense, balance, and decide on issues that involve minority groups with different cultural and religious beliefs and customs. We used a three-step approach to inquire if and how professionals address this issue in their daily work. We used a literature study of occupational journals, which target professional practice, searched for training programmes for professionals, and conducted interviews with professionals. We conclude that there is an overall relative paucity on the topic and claim that it is time for a value-sensitive approach in dealing with youth protection.

Keywords

• family law
• youth care
• religion
• culture
• ethnic minorities
• professionalism