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A simplificação da terminologia legal com crianças dos 6 aos 10 anos
| Name: | Description: | Size: | Format: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dissertação de mestrado_39965 | 2.22 MB | Adobe PDF |
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Abstract(s)
Crianças expostas a contextos judiciais demonstram dificuldades significativas na compreensão da linguagem legal, devido tanto à sua limitada familiaridade com as terminologias e procedimentos jurídicos quanto à complexidade linguística desses termos, que frequentemente excede suas capacidades cognitivas em desenvolvimento. As declarações de crianças no contexto judicial constantemente geram dúvidas quanto à sua precisão e confiabilidade.
Para superar essa desconfiança, é necessário adaptar o sistema de justiça e compreender os fatores que limitam a participação infantil em questões que afetam os seus direitos.
O presente estudo analisa a simplificação da terminologia legal, com o objetivo de facilitar a compreensão por parte das crianças. Participaram do estudo 125 crianças, com idades compreendidas entre os 6 e 10 anos. As crianças foram solicitadas a responder a questões contendo 18 termos técnico-jurídicos, metade em versão adaptada e a outra metade na versão original. As respostas foram categorizadas e analisadas por meio de testes estatísticos.
A idade e o ano de escolaridade mostraram uma relação significativa com o nível de compreensão, especialmente às questões com terminologia legal, enquanto não foram encontradas diferenças entre rapazes e raparigas ou em experiências prévias com o sistema judicial. Os resultados indicam que as crianças não compreendem adequadamente termos jurídicos técnicos: a análise revelou altos índices de incompreensão quando expostas à linguagem legal, enquanto a simplificação dos termos resultou em um aumento significativo de respostas corretas. Os resultados destacam a necessidade urgente de adaptação dos tribunais à linguagem infantil, assegurando que as crianças possam participar de forma plena e consciente em procedimentos judiciais, em conformidade com os princípios de uma Justiça Amiga das Crianças.
Children exposed to judicial contexts demonstrate significant difficulties in understanding legal language, due both to their limited familiarity with legal terminology and procedures and to the linguistic complexity of these terms, which often exceeds their developing cognitive abilities. Children’s statements in judicial contexts constantly raise doubts as to their accuracy and reliability. To overcome this mistrust, it is necessary to adapt the justice system and understand the factors that limit children’s participation in matters affecting their rights. This study analyses the simplification of legal terminology in order to make it more accessible to children’s understanding. One hundred and twenty-five children aged between 6 and 10 participated in the study. The children were asked to answer questions containing 18 technical legal terms, half in an adapted version and half in the original version. The answers were categorised and analysed using statistical tests. Age and year of schooling showed a significant relationship with the level of comprehension, especially for questions involving legal terminology, while no differences were found between boys and girls or in previous experiences with the judicial system. The results indicate that children do not adequately understand technical legal terms: the analysis revealed high rates of misunderstanding when exposed to legal language, while simplifying the terms resulted in a significant increase in correct answers. The results highlight the urgent need for courts to adapt to children’s language, ensuring that children can participate fully and consciously in judicial proceedings, in accordance with the principles of Child-Friendly Justice.
Children exposed to judicial contexts demonstrate significant difficulties in understanding legal language, due both to their limited familiarity with legal terminology and procedures and to the linguistic complexity of these terms, which often exceeds their developing cognitive abilities. Children’s statements in judicial contexts constantly raise doubts as to their accuracy and reliability. To overcome this mistrust, it is necessary to adapt the justice system and understand the factors that limit children’s participation in matters affecting their rights. This study analyses the simplification of legal terminology in order to make it more accessible to children’s understanding. One hundred and twenty-five children aged between 6 and 10 participated in the study. The children were asked to answer questions containing 18 technical legal terms, half in an adapted version and half in the original version. The answers were categorised and analysed using statistical tests. Age and year of schooling showed a significant relationship with the level of comprehension, especially for questions involving legal terminology, while no differences were found between boys and girls or in previous experiences with the judicial system. The results indicate that children do not adequately understand technical legal terms: the analysis revealed high rates of misunderstanding when exposed to legal language, while simplifying the terms resulted in a significant increase in correct answers. The results highlight the urgent need for courts to adapt to children’s language, ensuring that children can participate fully and consciously in judicial proceedings, in accordance with the principles of Child-Friendly Justice.