The impact of child sexual abuse on the adult self is not yet clearly understood. We explored adult perspectives through the use of narrative interviews (N = 30). Three key themes or views of self were identified in all narratives to varying degrees: the worthless self, the self as unknown and the potential/developing self. Ambivalence and tension were present in all narratives. Individuals are challenged to integrate the sexual abuse experience in a constructive way and develop a more coherent perception of the self while supporting present agency and a positive outlook to the future. This is an on-going process and different views of the self may come to the fore at different times. The narrative method highlighted the dynamic nature of peoples' experiences at the same time recognising that the narratives themselves are in progress. Reactions to disclosure, social support and interpersonal connections are crucial at every turn.

The foodbank symbolises a changing landscape of social insecurity and welfare conditionality. Attending to decision making within the foodbank system, this article argues that foodbanks, and their referral-system creates a bureaucratic ‘moral maze’ identifying people as ‘deserving’ or ‘undeserving’ of help. Maintaining a moral distance, organised religious foodbanks are reliant upon a complex outsourcing of moral decisions and walk a fine balance between supply (donations) and demand (use). Within this article, we argue that the foodbank landscape is akin to navigating a moral maze, and that this creates, and justifies decisions of deservingness.

The food bank has become a charitable safety-net for those who have been failed by the social security system in times of austerity and during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this article we evidence the rise of food banking in the context of declining social security, examining the decade of austerity in the UK and the Covid-19 period. We also contextualise the process of normalisation of food banks as a new safety-net in a reduced welfare state. We argue that the welfare state has failed to address a fundamental ‘Want’ – namely, food security.

Neoliberalism has achieved a hegemonic position within social work, with consecutive governments extending the role of the market in welfare provision. This article explores these developments from the perspective of the political identity of 14 qualified social workers who are members of one of the UK’s parliaments and councils, as well as engaged in political activism. It delineates the development of their social reformist political identity from their earliest days and considers the impact of facing the neoliberal dilemma in social work. The participants engaged in biographical interviews that traced the development of their political identity throughout their life course to date. The findings include: how embeddedness in politically engaged families forged strong political identities; how the skills acquired in social work were extremely useful in their political careers; and how the participants have managed to maintain a strong social work identity and resisted neoliberal austerity measures in their political careers.

This discussion examines the complexity of the social work profession in the neoliberal era. Government austerity policies and a market and corporate neoliberal state have effectively trapped social work in an ideology that increasingly furthers the authoritarian nature of the profession. This will be discussed by looking at the broader policy, political and economic contexts. It will focus in detail on one specific Conservative government policy document, namely, ‘Regulating social workers’ (DoE and DH, 2016).