Disability, Intersectionality, Child Welfare and Child Protection: Research Representations

Abstract

Considerations of the disability community within child welfare generally and the child protection sector specifically are well-served using an intersectional analytical lens. We aimed to determine how intersectionality is listed in the child welfare literature in the context of disability and to describe how and to what extent researchers integrate, embed, and engage intersectionality in the conduct of their research. This critical literature review was informed by scoping review strategies, with qualitative thematic analysis to help us to produce descriptive patterns. It was unexpected that less than half of the articles engaged in the intersectionality of child welfare or child protection and disability, and in only 23.8 percent of the sample articles was this explicitly engaged. Our primary finding is that researchers use the term intersectionality but are not always rigorously engaging with the concept methodologically. We recommend the use of 'strong intersectionality' methodological techniques and deeper consideration of disability as a social identity in this research arena.

A Scoping Review of Research Exploring Working Life Practices of People with Disabilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The types of disabilities were divided into five overarching groups: motor disabilities, hearing disabilities, visual disabilities, cognitive or intellectual disabilities, and chronic illness (World Health Organization and The World Bank 2011). Previous research emphasises the importance of understanding the intersectionality of the different dimensions of how the COVID-19 pandemic affected people's participation in society and working life (Thomas et al 2023). To develop a deeper understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic affected people with disabilities, we ought to look at further dimensions beyond disabilities that may marginalise people, e.g., gender, ethnicity, class and geography (Cameron and Curran 2022).…”

“…Another important insight to highlight is the fact that none of the eight research studies assumed an intersectional approach. This is despite the fact that the disability research community argue for the importance of understanding the intersectionality of the different dimensions of how the COVID-19 pandemic affected people's participation in society and working life (Cameron and Curran 2022; Thomas et al 2023). Hall (2020) states that 'the pandemic is a timely reminder of the (commonly neglected) complex intersectionality of people with disabilities' (Hall 2020: 350) and that we ought to consider other things that may marginalise people beyond the disability, such as gender, ethnicity, class and geography.…”