Social Sciences

Editorial

Jump to: Research

6 pages, 168 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Child Protection and Social Inequality: Editorial

by Paul Bywaters, Brid Featherstone and Kate Morris

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(2), 42; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8020042 - 30 Jan 2019

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 6243

Abstract

In the UK and internationally, reducing inequalities in health and education has become accepted across the political spectrum as an essential component of government policy [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child Protection and Social Inequality)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

14 pages, 220 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Parenting under Adversity: Birth Parents’ Accounts of Inequality and Adoption

by Shirley Lewis and Geraldine Brady

Soc. Sci. 2018, 7(12), 257; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci7120257 - 6 Dec 2018

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5316

Abstract

This paper aims to highlight inequality in current adoption processes and procedures in England and Wales. Whilst inequality has been recognised in adoption research, the role of social structures is often neglected. Inequality within social structures plays a role in the process of [...] Read more.

This paper aims to highlight inequality in current adoption processes and procedures in England and Wales. Whilst inequality has been recognised in adoption research, the role of social structures is often neglected. Inequality within social structures plays a role in the process of the permanent removal of children to be adopted and is worthy of further attention. Birth parent voices can contribute to a wider understanding of adoption, but often remain hidden. Empirical research findings highlight how birth parents may find that their adverse experiences are exacerbated by the adoption process, the emotional impact causing existing problems to increase, and through the impact of the adoption process on birth parent’s socio-economic status. Findings also illustrate how birth parents’ experiences were influenced by ideals of motherhood and ideas about ‘risk’ to children. The paper contributes to the growing area of research which illuminates the intersection of poverty, deprivation and child protection services and the wider contemporaneous debate concerning adoption in England and Wales. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child Protection and Social Inequality)

16 pages, 405 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Stripping the Wallpaper of Practice: Empowering Social Workers to Tackle Poverty

by Claire McCartan, Aine Morrison, Lisa Bunting, Gavin Davidson and Jackie McIlroy

Soc. Sci. 2018, 7(10), 193; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci7100193 - 12 Oct 2018

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 12545

Abstract

The relationship between deprivation and health and educational inequalities has been well evidenced in the literature. Recent UK research has now established a similar social gradient in child welfare interventions (Bywaters et al. 2018) with children living in the most deprived areas in [...] Read more.

The relationship between deprivation and health and educational inequalities has been well evidenced in the literature. Recent UK research has now established a similar social gradient in child welfare interventions (Bywaters et al. 2018) with children living in the most deprived areas in the UK facing a much higher chance of being placed on the child protection register or in out-of-home care. There is an emerging narrative that poverty has become the wallpaper of practice, “too big to tackle and too familiar to notice” (Morris et al. 2018) and invisible amid lack of public support and political will to increase welfare spending. This paper will examine poverty-related inequalities and how these affect families. It will discuss the importance of recognising that poverty is a social justice issue and a core task for social work and outline the range of supports that may be available for families to help lift them out of poverty. Finally, it will describe the development of a new practice framework for social work in Northern Ireland that challenges social workers to embed anti-poverty approaches in their practice. The framework emphasises that poverty is a social justice issue, seeks to provide practical support and guidance to re-focus attention, debate, and action on poverty in times of global economic uncertainty and give social workers the tools to make it central to their practice once again. It reinforces the need for social workers to understand and acknowledge the impact of poverty, and to advocate for and support those most in need. It aims to challenge and empower professionals to tackle poverty and inequality as an aspect of ethical and effective practice. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child Protection and Social Inequality)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 269 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Child Protection and Social Inequality: Understanding Child Prostitution in Malawi

by Pearson Nkhoma and Helen Charnley

Soc. Sci. 2018, 7(10), 185; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci7100185 - 2 Oct 2018

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 6254

Abstract

This article draws on empirical research to develop understandings of child prostitution, previously theorised on the basis of children’s rights, feminist, and structure/agency debates, largely ignoring children’s own understandings of their involvement in prostitution. Conducted in Malawi, which is one of the economically [...] Read more.

This article draws on empirical research to develop understandings of child prostitution, previously theorised on the basis of children’s rights, feminist, and structure/agency debates, largely ignoring children’s own understandings of their involvement in prostitution. Conducted in Malawi, which is one of the economically poorest countries in the world, the study goes to the heart of questions of inequality and child protection. Within a participatory research framework, nineteen girls and young women used visual methods to generate images representing their experiences of prostitution. Individual and group discussions were used to illuminate the meanings and significance of their images. With the exception of the youngest, participants understood their initial involvement in prostitution as a means of survival in the face of poverty and/or parental death, or escape from violent relationships, experiences that were subsequently mirrored by exploitation and violence within prostitution. Using the lens of the capability approach, we capture the complexity of child prostitution, demonstrating the ambiguous agency of participants in the face of deeply embedded patriarchal cultural norms that constrained their choices and limited their freedom to pursue valued lives. We end by reflecting critically on the theoretical and methodological contributions of the study, making policy and practice recommendations and identifying opportunities for further research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child Protection and Social Inequality)

13 pages, 699 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Social Class and Child Welfare: Intertwining Issues of Redistribution and Recognition

by Halvor Fauske, Bente Heggem Kojan and Anita Skårstad Storhaug

Soc. Sci. 2018, 7(9), 143; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci7090143 - 28 Aug 2018

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 10686

Abstract

By the end of the 20th century, social class appeared to be an old-fashioned and outdated concept. Serious doubts were expressed about the theoretical and empirical relevance of social class in understanding inequalities in contemporary society. However, experiences from completing research with children [...] Read more.

By the end of the 20th century, social class appeared to be an old-fashioned and outdated concept. Serious doubts were expressed about the theoretical and empirical relevance of social class in understanding inequalities in contemporary society. However, experiences from completing research with children and families receiving support from child welfare services shows that applying a class perspective is useful. The purpose of our study was to explore the redistributive and cultural dimensions of social class in the context of child welfare. The data include survey interviews with 715 families in contact with the Norwegian child welfare services (CWS). We found that social class is important but with different effects compared with the industrial society. Our analysis highlighted the problems children and families involved with CWS face, associated with social inequalities based on class differences. We argue that social class is part of the social dynamic of late modern societies, and that this dynamic intertwines with the lives of families in CWS and the problem complexes they encounter in everyday life. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child Protection and Social Inequality)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 259 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Inequalities in US Child Protection: The Case of Sex Trafficked Youth

by Lisa Werkmeister Rozas, Jason Ostrander and Megan Feely

Soc. Sci. 2018, 7(8), 135; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci7080135 - 13 Aug 2018

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 8092

Abstract

This article demonstrates how structural social work theory and critical consciousness development can be used to help facilitate a transition from a deficit model approach to an inequities perspective in a child welfare system that was working to improve the identification of and [...] Read more.

This article demonstrates how structural social work theory and critical consciousness development can be used to help facilitate a transition from a deficit model approach to an inequities perspective in a child welfare system that was working to improve the identification of and services for domestic minor sex trafficked youth (DMST). The response of Connecticut’s child welfare system to the issue of DMST is provided as an example of how a child welfare systems could apply an inequities perspective to a population involved in and at risk for exploitation. Structural social work theory helps illustrate how neo-liberalist social structures in the United States perpetuate and maintain social inequity based on race, gender, age, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status for youth at risk for DMST. Through critical consciousness development, youth can be recognized as victims of intersecting forms of oppression, rather than criminals. These theories can be combined to increase individual awareness of the risks and oppression of youth across the population, and to identify how child welfare services can be leveraged to decrease inequities and improve child well-being. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child Protection and Social Inequality)

13 pages, 266 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Outing the Elephants: Exploring a New Paradigm for Child Protection Social Work

by Ian Hyslop and Emily Keddell

Soc. Sci. 2018, 7(7), 105; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci7070105 - 25 Jun 2018

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 12693

Abstract

This article sets out to trouble the psychologised and pathologising approach that has come to dominate child protection practice in Aotearoa-New Zealand and comparable societies. Within a neoliberal ideological frame, Governments deny the need to adjust markets, except in ways that remove protections [...] Read more.

This article sets out to trouble the psychologised and pathologising approach that has come to dominate child protection practice in Aotearoa-New Zealand and comparable societies. Within a neoliberal ideological frame, Governments deny the need to adjust markets, except in ways that remove protections from workers or specific vulnerable groups. In this context, social work is concerned with adjusting people to the discipline of the market. Within a risk-focused child protection paradigm, circumstances and behaviours associated with material deprivation are construed as indicators of heightened danger and harm to children as opposed to a means of better understanding family life. It is argued here that appreciation of how social inequality plays out in the lives of children and their families is critical to the development of more effective child protection social work. Poverty exacerbates the everyday struggle of parenting—it shames and disempowers, reducing confidence and perceptions of competence. With reference to contemporary Aotearoa-New Zealand, this article critiques current developments in child protection social work and outlines a new direction for development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child Protection and Social Inequality)

14 pages, 241 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Inequalities and Child Protection System Contact in Aotearoa New Zealand: Developing a Conceptual Framework and Research Agenda

by Emily Keddell and Gabrielle Davie

Soc. Sci. 2018, 7(6), 89; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci7060089 - 1 Jun 2018

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 10479

Abstract

There is a growing movement to integrate conceptual tools from the health inequalities field into research that examines the relationship between inequalities and chances of child protection system contact. This article outlines the key concepts of an inequalities perspective, and discusses how these [...] Read more.

There is a growing movement to integrate conceptual tools from the health inequalities field into research that examines the relationship between inequalities and chances of child protection system contact. This article outlines the key concepts of an inequalities perspective, and discusses how these apply to inequalities in child protection in the Aotearoa New Zealand context. Drawing on existing research, this article shows that while there is evidence of links between deprivation, ethnicity, location and system contact, a more systematic research agenda shaped by an inequalities perspective would contribute to understanding more fully the social determinants of contact with the child protection system. An inequalities perspective provides balance to the current ‘social investment’ policy approach that targets individuals and families for service provision, with little attention to how structural inequalities impact on system contact. Directions for research are discussed, with some specific questions suggested. These include questions relating to the relationships between social inequalities and various decision points in the child protection system; if a social gradient exists and how steep it is; the inter-relationship between ethnicity, deprivation and patterns of system contact; and how similarly deprived children in different locations compare with each other in relation to child protection system contact, that is, is there an ‘inverse intervention law’ operating? Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child Protection and Social Inequality)

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Child Protection and Social Inequality

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Published Papers (8 papers)

Editorial

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI