Youthwashing: The co-optation of young people—and how child rights enable it

Abstract

Governments, corporations, international bodies, NGOs, researchers, and others often engage in youthwashing—co-opting young people in a self-serving manner without addressing their concerns. This article, the first academic study of youthwashing, analyzes its mechanisms, driving forces, and effects, especially in contexts involving disadvantaged and minoritized children. Through case studies on working children and child political prisoners, it reveals how various actors invoke child rights to justify youthwashing. In particular, the article argues that the discretionary and exclusionary nature of “the child’s right to be heard” facilitates youthwashing, a problem also perpetuated by some alternative models of child participation.