Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, Children, Families and Their Communities in and against Social Welfare Systems

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue invites papers on the experiences of children, young people and families of Black, Asian and Minority (BAME) Ethnic heritage who come into contact with the criminal (youth) justice systems around the world. BAME children and young people continually struggle against a racism that oppresses, discriminates and excludes from wider socio economic, political and cultural participation in society (Harries 2014). This Special Issue will build on existing literature (for example, Kundnani, 2012; Lentin 2014) to explore what this means and how it is manifested in the experience of the criminal (youth) justice systems for BAME children, young people and their families in all their heterogeneous, diverse make up. This may be as a consequence of racism, poverty and socio- economic factors, or through entering the criminal justice system because of their experiences of being in care (foster or residential) as a child or young person, or of the mental health system (Mullen et al, 2014; Lammy, 2016; Fitzpatrick and Williams 2017). It has been suggested that to enable desistance from offending behaviour race is but one category that should be considered and a focus on intersectional identities, including gender, masculinity, poverty and social disorganization need to be understood, along with the impact of power and privilege in societies (Calverley, 2013; Glynn, 2016). Importantly, the evidence of the resilience of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic families’ genealogy over the generations can be explored in the face racism and various criminal justice’s institutional responses.

It is acknowledged that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic is a much contested term/ explanation of individuals and communities of colour, as are corollary explanations that inadequately represent the differing experiences, shifting and fluid identities of peoples of racialized difference around the world/ globe. Indeed, in many parts of the world, there is a much more spatially and culturally specific term/identity used. However, the single unifying factor that families of BAME genealogical heritage experience is the struggle and challenge against and of racism within their local spatial, political and cultural context. It is analysis, discussion and debate of these (inter)national stories and experiences within the context of the criminal (youth) justice system that this Special Issue aims to include.

Through a multi and interdisciplinary lens there is opportunity to explore how the discourse and experience of race is enacted in criminal (youth) justice systems (inter)nationally. Children, young people and their families of BAME genealogical heritage have been on the margins of society, excluded from participation and power. This Issue encourages contributions to explore how BAME children, young people and their families as Outsiders, with inherently different heritages to majority white communities negotiate this experience of exclusion and alienation through the criminal justice systems. Thus, the overarching purpose of the Special Issue is to encourage insights and development in genealogical studies through work discussing BAME children, young people, their families and the criminal (youth) justice system and genealogical methods to understand race through this prism.

Papers are invited from any relevant disciplinary backgrounds, addressing but not limited to the topics listed below and should include BAME children, young people and their families who have experienced.

Prisons

Resettlement and reintegration into communities

Desistance from offending

Intersectionality – identity and offending

Court processes

The mental health systems

Police

Dual heritage/ multiple identities in families

Gangs

The care system

Participation and exclusion from communities

And more holistically

Girls, young Women and their families experiences of the criminal (youth) justice system.

Black young people and families narratives through their youth justice journeys

Muslim Young people their families and youth justice

All approaches are welcome, but the editors will be particularly encouraging of submissions that involve participatory approaches that empower young people in the course of inquiry and/or innovation in methodologies that place young peoples voices at the centre of findings.

Dr. John Wainwright
Ms. Beverley Burke
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Genealogy is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• BAME 
• Black families
• Race
• Racism Young People
• Youth Justice
• Criminal Justice