De la prison à l’école de bienfaisance. Origines et transformations des institutions pénitentiaires pour enfants en Belgique au XIXe siècle (1840-1914)

Abstract

The creation and evolution of juvenile institutions in 19th century Belgium corresponds to two approaches, two eras and two reformers (Edouard Ducpétiaux and Jules LeJeune). The first fifty years are dominated by the idea of guilty children, who should be condemned and incarcerated in penitentiaries to be punished and reformed. Then, the image of children in danger who should be protected against the bad influences of their families becomes dominant. The passage from punishment to protection involves the adoption of social and psychological criteria to classify children along new categories. The scope of the institutions is being widened as their mission becomes centered on all types of children "in danger". As institutions become challenged, family placements become more popular and are intended to compensate for the weaknesses and bad influences of the natural family. The legal withdrawal of parental authority (endorsed by Parliament in 1912) is aimed at controlling families of deprived classes of society. The adoption of the medical model for juvenile delinquents becomes a reality with the opening of psychological observation centres in the Écoles de bienfaisance.