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

This pioneering book explores the child’s right to identity, and the concept of selfhood, in both domestic and cross-border contexts. It highlights life events and transformations that children and young people often experience in the field of international family law and related areas which may impact on their identity, and considers the legal protections available to them. The book analyses the psychological and sociocultural factors that contribute to identity formation and discusses how this can sometimes be damaged or disrupted by significant life experiences and adversities. How the law can be used to best protect children at risk of interrupted or maladjusted identity development is also addressed. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the book begins with contributions examining the formation of childhood identity, analysing psychological and cultural perspectives on development. These provide insight into how the child’s right to preservation of their identity is currently