Constructing the categories of girls and girl children in the social and legal system

Should girls and girl children fall into the same age category?
Can the generic macro category of children, provided by international
law starting with the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, be considered adequate to satisfy the needs of social and
legal protection of the different phases of development towards
adulthood? These questions can raise serious sociological and
juridical complications. As a result, without a clear definition
in place, also the category of girl children risks being confused
with the category of girls, and might not be noticed for its specific
characteristics and needs. By using intersectional feminist
theory, this analysis proposes a reflection on the necessity to
adopt, both at a sociological and at a legal level, a more precise
definition and conceptualisation of the terms girls and girl
children.

Laura Guercio is a practising lawyer
with a master’s degree in
law and a master’s degree in political
science, as well as a PHD
in social science. She teaches
Sociology of Human Rights and
International Cooperation to Development
at the University of
Perugia. Among her current and
previous roles: Member of the
Management Board of the EU Fundamental
Rights Agency, Member
of the European Law Institute
Council, and Secretary-General
of the Inter-ministerial Committee
for Human Rights, Coordinator
of the Universities Network
for Children in Armed Conflict.
Among her last books are Constructing
the Categories of Girls
and Girl Children in the Social and
Legal System, Armando 2020,
and Sociologia dei diritti umani,
Mondadori 2020.