Epistemic Justice for Marginalized Children

Epistemic injustice occurs when a person's knowledge or testimony is systematically discredited because of their social position. Sor Juana faced epistemic dismissal as a woman, an intellectual from the colonial periphery, and a person of mixed race navigating rigid hierarchies. Children experience profound epistemic injustice: their observations about their own lives are questioned, their concerns are minimized as 'childish,' and their expertise about their own experiences is overridden by adult authority. Marginalized children face compounded epistemic injustice when race, disability, poverty, or immigrant status add layers of credibility-denial. This concept demands that children's rights frameworks actively validate children's knowledge and testimony, particularly those historically excluded from being heard. It requires adults to approach children as epistemic agents—people whose understanding of their circumstances merits genuine consideration. Practices include: creating safe forums where children testify about their experiences without adult interruption, valuing children's cultural and community knowledge, and centering children's voices in decisions affecting them. Epistemic justice is foundational to recognizing children as knowers and thinkers, not merely objects of adult concern.