Sylvie Malinowski

Sylvie Malinowski is an Associate Member at the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Solidarity, Societies, Territories (LISST) at the University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès. As a young doctor (recent PhD graduate), she specializes in social sciences with a focus on child protection systems, youth participation, and social vulnerability.

Her research interests include:

• Child protection systems and policies
• Youth participation in social decision-making
• Social vulnerability and inequalities
• Power dynamics in social services
• Implementation of social policies at local levels
• Adolescent mental health and institutional responses

Malinowski's recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on how children and young adults participate in child protection systems. Her work examines the tension between the 'injunction to speak' and efforts to rebalance power dynamics within these systems. She investigates how French child protection policies have evolved to incorporate youth perspectives, though often in ways that remain consultative rather than truly participatory. Her research employs qualitative approaches to document the experiences of young people within these systems and analyzes how public problems related to youth are constructed and addressed.

Her doctoral research focused on adolescent homes and similar institutions that address youth suffering, examining both the policy level (how youth suffering becomes recognized as a public problem) and the practical level (how local responses are implemented and experienced by young people). Her work contributes to important debates about how social services can better incorporate the voices of service users, particularly young people who are often marginalized in decision-making processes that directly affect their lives.