Philip Jaffé

Philip D. Jaffé is a Full Professor at the Centre for Children's Rights Studies (CCRS). In 2018, Switzerland proposed his candidacy for membership to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and he was elected in New York by the States Parties.

Philip studied psychology and specialized in clinical psychology at the University of Fribourg and the University of Geneva (Diplôme, 1983). He was fortunate to receive a Young Researcher grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation and completed his doctoral studies at Yeshiva University (Doctor of Psychology, 1988) in New York, USA.

Following a postdoc internship at Harvard University (McLean Hospital), he trained as a forensic psychologist and worked for several years in the maximum security criminal justice mental health system of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, USA. Since returning to Switzerland in the early 90s, he has taught clinical psychology and legal psychology at the University of Geneva and developed a private practice as a licensed psychotherapist and as a court-appointed expert (www.jaffe.ch). He co-founded and presided during the first decade the Swiss Society of Legal Psychology (www.sspl.ch).

Beyond the traditional "teach, research, publish or perish missions" required by a leading university, his vision of academic life is to branch out in the community at large as a science practitioner and educator. As such, Philip has conducted numerous clinical and training consultancies, as well as participated in emergency missions for international governmental and non-governmental organizations such as the International Institute for the Rights of the Child, the International Organization for Migration, Médecins sans frontières, Terre des hommes - Aide à l’enfance, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Council of Europe, missions that have led him to Indonesia, Irak, Dagestan, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Lebanon, South Africa, Senegal, Nepal, etc.

Philip D. Jaffé is a Board Member of the Swiss Center for Expertise in Human Rights, the International Institute for the Rights of Child, Graines de Paix, Friends International Switerland, and Pro Juventute (Switzerland’s foremost civil organization for child welfare).He was a member of group of experts that drafted the 2010 Council of Europe Child-Friendly Justice Guidelines. He is a frequent print, radio and TV presence on social issues and those pertaining to children’s rights and protection issues

His academic and professional interests are wide-ranging and eclectic, with a focus on child protection, in particular relating to child maltreatment, as well as children's participation in the justice system.