Recognizing and Addressing Child Neglect in Affluent Families

This paper explores how social workers intervene with affluent parents when there are child protection concerns about neglect. Based on data gathered from a small-scale exploratory qualitative study with 30 practitioners from 12 local authorities across England, this study examined three overarching questions: (1) How do social workers identify risk factors for vulnerable children in affluent circumstances? (2) Which factors inhibit or enable social workers’ engagement with resistant affluent parents when there are child protection concerns? (3) What kind of skills, knowledge and experience is necessary for social workers to effectively assert their professional authority with affluent parents when there are concerns about abuse and neglect? The findings revealed that indicators of neglect can be difficult to identify and challenging to respond to when parents are affluent. Results indicate that social workers have to navigate complex power relationships with parents who are able to use their class privileges to resist their interventions. The paper concludes with a discussion of social workers’ skills and capacities for engaging highly-resistant affluent parents in the child protection system

Using an Intersectional Lens to Examine the Child Sexual Exploitation of Black Adolescents

In this chapter I employ intersectionality as a critical lens to interrogate the ways that race, gender, class and sexuality impact black adolescents’ experiences of child sexual exploitation. In particular, the exploration will be anchored in an intersectional analysis to extend understandings of the nuanced ways in which race-constructed otherness is experienced by young black people affected by sexual exploitation. ‘Black’ is defined here as referring to individuals of African and AfricanCaribbean origin as well as persons of mixed ethnicity (African or African-Caribbean and another parentage, usually white British). A key reason for focusing on this subgroup of children is that they are disproportionately represented in the care system and the data on child sexual exploitation suggests children in the care system are disproportionately impacted. The central argument is that positional and situational inequalities intersect in complex ways to negatively impact the everyday realities of black youth, thus rendering them vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Specifically, the chapter discusses the contribution that an intersectional frame of analysis can make to intervening with sexually-exploited black youth. The chapter is organised into three parts: The first section briefly sketches the key messages from the literature on child sexual exploitation and black children. The second provides an overview of the intersectionality theoretical framework of the paper. In the final section, using a case study, from the Serious Case Review (SCR) of child R, a 15-year-old black girl in the looked-after system as an exemplar, I will present ways that an intersectional lens can offer some analytical tools to gain a deeper insight into the challenges for black youths at risk of abusive and exploitative relationships. The paper concludes with some discussion of the implications for a child-focused approach are also discussed

Challenges and Strategies of Translation in a Qualitative and Sensitive Research

Key strategies and challenges of translating the interview data should be considered to do justice to the meanings and voices of the participants and remove misrepresentation. This article aims to investigate the key issues around translation in qualitative and sensitive research of the examination of the men’s engagement in domestic violence interventions in the UK. While many studies report on the importance of providing credibility to the meanings of the participants’ stories, there are limited studies that explore how researchers deal with difficulties and the techniques for translating the data. This research focuses on the key issues around the translation of interview data from Turkish to English. It highlights how the researcher’s position as a translator and a researcher impacted on collecting the data from the participants in a native language and presenting them in English. This addresses methodological and ethical questions that many migrant researchers might encounter during the translation of data

‘We’re giving you the sack’—Social Workers’ Perspectives of Intervening in Affluent Families When There Are Concerns about Child Neglect

Few studies have examined social workers’ perspectives of child protection interventions in cases of child neglect in affluent families in the UK. Using the findings from a qualitative study, this paper explores social workers’ experiences of intervening in affluent families when there are child protection concerns. Focus groups and in-depth interviews were used to gather data from 30 child protection professionals from 12 local authorities across England. Findings from the study are used to explore the complex relational dynamics and power relationships that practitioners have to traverse when intervening with affluent parents that have the material resources to resist social work intervention. The paper concludes with a discussion of the skills and knowledge that are necessary for authoritative practice

Negotiating with Gatekeepers: Reflexivity in Exploring Turkish Men's Engagement in Domestic Violence Perpetrators Interventions in the UK

This article explores methodological and ethical challenges and complexities in negotiating access with gatekeepers in research that examines Turkish perpetrators’ engagement in domestic violence interventions in the UK. This research presents the examples and conceptual information about the process of working with gatekeepers based on the sensitive research topic. This paper draws on the first author’s own experiences and the emotional impact of undertaking such sensitive research where community leaders held patriarchal beliefs. It also argues that there are challenges in building trust and rapport with gatekeepers which are related to gender power relations; stigmatisation in the community; ideologies around masculinity and patriarchy. Based on the experience of accessing hard-to-reach participants while undertaking a doctoral study, this paper discusses issues that arise when negotiating with gatekeepers to access study participants. The paper contributes to debates about gatekeepers by discussing the benefits of ethical considerations and of implementing reflexivity and field notes in the gatekeeping process

Working with cultural and religious diversity

This chapter considers: • factors that impact on minority ethnic children’s abilities to achieve their potential • religious beliefs and culture in safeguarding work • safeguarding in the context of religion and cultural practices • engaging children and families

Black History Month: a provocation and a timeline

Interest in collecting social work histories has gathered pace with collections held by the Social Work History Network in Edinburgh University and Kings College, and several writers offering historical accounts of the development of social work. Few systematic accounts exist that specifically track the history of social work and social work education for engagement with black lives and with black communities, though there exists a considerable body of literature from which this history can be gleaned, some rapidly going into attrition. Here, we set out a timeline through a black British history that charts significant events, key moments, landmarks and publications, and legislative and policy turns that have relevance to the story of social work education in the UK. The timeline offers a mere snapshot, but nevertheless a useful one, in prompting deeper exploration of context, analysis and interpretation. We have consulted widely in the development of this timeline and offer it here as our contribution to Black History Month 2018

Racially Minoritised Young People’s Experiences of Navigating COVID-19 Challenges: A Community Cultural Wealth Perspective

This article explores the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on racially minoritised children and young people. It draws on a study that investigated the factors that impacted the well-being and resilience of Black and Asian children and young people in the UK during the pandemic. The study employed a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews and focus groups with Black and Asian children aged twelve to nineteen years, to explore their perspectives of the contributing factors that impacted the health, well-being and the coping strategies and support they were able to draw upon to navigate challenges. The thematic analysis highlighted themes of: (1) Support and well-being and (2) coping strategies and resilience to understand the layered elements of multiple intersecting identities and inequities. The findings revealed insights into the intersection of multiple disadvantages, namely economic stressors, food poverty, digital inequality, disrupted education and disproportionate losses that impacted family functioning, peer-to-peer support, friendships and social connection. Through the lens of community cultural wealth, this article seeks to examine key factors that need to be foregrounded when lived experiences are rooted in the cumulative effects of multiple intersecting inequalities. The findings provide insights into the challenges exacerbated by structural inequalities and racial disparities that disproportionately impacted youth experiences

The Consortium on Practices of Wellbeing and Resilience in BAME Families and Communities: Children, Young People and their Families

This study explored the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and racial discrimination on the lives of children, young people and families of Black, Asian and minority ethnic background (BAME). The study is part of a larger ESRC/UKRI funded project Co-POWeR - Consortium on Practices of Wellbeing and Resilience in Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Families and Communities. The consortium began from the premise that two viruses were afflicting this part of the population – not only the COVID-19 pandemic but also racial discrimination. The pandemic exposed and amplified deep-rooted structural inequalities and racial disparities in British society and there was significant evidence early on in the pandemic that Black, Asian and minority ethnic people were being impacted adversely by the pandemic compared to the rest of the population