A Human Rights Perspective

The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State (Article 16 (3), Universal Declaration of Human Rights).

The family, as the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members and particularly children, should be afforded the necessary protection and assistance so that it can fully assume its responsibilities within the community [and] the child, for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding (Preamble, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child).

In Family Social Sciences, we educate students about the forces that threaten well-being at all levels, including the individual, family, community and culture. We conduct research on the forces within families that threaten and promote the well-being of their individual members.  

Our program comprises five areas of focus:

  • In the Aging area, we teach and conduct research upholding the right of older people to life and death with dignity
  • In the Child & Adolescent Development area, we study and promote the factors that enable children to realize their right to develop to their full potential
  • In the Family Violence and Conflict Resolution area, we uphold the right to live free of family violence
  • In Social Development, we address the realization of social and cultural rights without discrimination
  • In the Families, Economics and Health area, we identify means of upholding families’ rights to an existence worthy of human dignity, to work, and to equal pay.

Course Offerings

Human rights content is an important element of both our undergraduate and graduate programs. The following courses include components explicitly based on human rights principles and instruments.

Undergraduate Courses

The Social Development courses aim to link human rights and social development in order to critically understand the connections among rights violations, poverty, inequality, exclusion, vulnerability and conflict, and how these issues affect the well-being of individuals, families, and communities. They are:

  • FMLY 1012 Introduction to Social Development,
  • FMLY 2012 Development, Conflict, and Displacement,
  • FMLY 3012 Theories of Social Development, and
  • FMLY 4012 Social Development Policies.

The Family Violence and Conflict Resolution courses acknowledge the right to physical and psychological integrity and the right to live free of violence. They are:

  • FMLY 2800 Family Violence,
  • FMLY 3800 Conflict Resolution in the Family,
  • FMLY 3802 Intimate Partner Violence, and
  • FMLY 4800 Senior Seminar in Family Violence and Conflict Resolution.

In addition, FMLY 3804 Violence against Children in the Family is taught within the framework of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Graduate Courses

  • FMLY 7620 Children and Violence is taught within the framework of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
  • FMLY 7900 Understanding the Inner City: Processes and Dynamics is taught with a strong emphasis on human rights.
  • FMLY 7910 Understanding Inner Cities: Issues and Perspectives focuses on how vulnerable populations are impacted by structural factors that curtail their rights.