The Norwegian Parliament has given a Parliamentary Ombud a special responsibility to examine whether the human rights of people deprived of their liberty are upheld and to prevent torture and inhuman treatment. They do this by visiting places where people are deprived of their liberty.

The Parliamentary Ombuds from Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland gathered for joint professional development days. ChangeFactory (CF) was invited to give a presentation on: “What should National Preventive Mechanisms be aware of When Visiting Institutions for Children and Young people?” Perspectives from persons with lived experience of institutional childcare.

Since 2009, CF has collected experiences and advice from children and young people under the age of 18 in prisons, residential childcare institutions, and inpatient psychiatric units in mental health care. More than 600 children with experience from residential childcare institutions and 300 with experience from inpatient psychiatric units have taken part in knowledge-gathering carried out by CF.

In recent years, through collaboration with Nordic organisations, CF has seen a development in the Nordic countries where authorities are putting forward proposals to lower the thresholds for using physical force against children in institutions, proposals for locked institutions and lowering the age of criminal responsibility. In many cases, the authorities use children’s rights, such as children’s right to protection and care, as a justification for these proposals. A letter is now being written together with Nordic organisations to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Council of Europe and the Nordic Council about, among other things.

Political signals have serious consequences for the children. The number of use-of-force records for children in child welfare institutions in Norway has increased from approximately 7,000 records in 2022 to more than 15,000 in 2025. More children are having their complaints upheld.

CF is therefore very happy and grateful that there are Parliamentary Ombuds whose role is to ensure and work towards children not being subjected to unlawful use of force.

Last week, we welcomed a Danish alliance of representatives from civil society, the public sector and professional communities who are working to strengthen prevention efforts and create healthier environments for children and young people.
As part of a study visit to Norway, the alliance Børnevægt i Balance (Children’s weight in Balance) visited ChangeFactory to learn more about our rights-based approach, and how we systematically gather knowledge from children and young people.

We greatly appreciate meeting people who want to share experiences and explore new ways to strengthen children’s rights and participation – and we love Nordic collaboration!

Young people from all over Norway, in different life situations, came together at camp to build teams that will help shape Norway this fall. We enjoyed barbecuing, beach life, music and dance. The camp also included missions, where the young people gave advice to authorities and professionals on topics such as school, health, child protection, and the police. The camp has resulted in several strong teams who want to take part in meetings and dialogues, give talks, and contribute to films and podcasts — all to help improve the systems that shape childhood and youth in Norway.