Realising children’s rights in an ACE-aware nation

An established body of multi-disciplinary evidence demonstrates that children and young people's lived experiences and spheres of influence are fundamental to their wellbeing and realisation of rights, with adversity suggested to have significant and long-term consequences. For the past two decades the Scottish Government has responded with a sustained strategic commitment to children and preventive policy measures. Only recently have Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) assumed a prominent role in this context. A corresponding policy development in Scotland has been on children's rights, with significant steps taken towards implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). This has involved a focus on incorporation, with the tag line ‘making rights real’. By analysing key literature and policy documents, this article considers the extent and shape of the interconnections between these policy areas. Informed by Carol Bacchi's problem representation framework, we identify evidence of conceptual pairing. However, deep engagement in children's rights appears to be lacking, as is children and young people's active role in national ACE-policy review and development.