Epistemic Justice for Child Voices

Sor Juana insisted on being heard as a thinking subject, not merely as an object of instruction or control. Epistemic justice—the right to be believed and recognized as a knower—is essential for children's rights. Too often, children's observations, experiences, and insights are dismissed as naive or unreliable simply because of their age. Sor Juana's intellectual confidence challenges this dismissal. Children possess genuine knowledge about their own experiences, needs, and realities. Protecting children's rights requires creating spaces where their voices are heard, documented, and treated as credible evidence in decisions affecting them. This means children should be consulted in legal proceedings about abuse, included in educational planning, and heard in family decisions. Epistemic justice ensures children develop confidence in their own thinking while adults learn to recognize the wisdom children carry about their own lives.