From being ‘at risk’ to being ‘a risk’: journeys into parenthood among young women experiencing adversity

Abstract

When young women who have grown up in contact with child protection become mothers, they shift from being regarded as a child ‘at risk’ by the child protection system, to posing ‘a risk’ to their baby. In contrast to their peers, young care leavers transition to adulthood with very few resources and little support; they typically continue to experience the economic and related adversities of their childhoods. This article draws on biographical narrative interviews with young Australian mothers to understand how they navigate child protection as new mothers. We argue that, while inequalities endure, new understandings of the system can be acquired and dispositions can adapt to function more effectively in the field of child protection. We draw on Bourdieu’s notions of capital, habitus and field to analyse young mothers' adaptations, with additional insights from Hester’s analogy of separate planets to explore their experiences of the field of child protection.

The Scylla State. A gendered understanding of the experiences of marginalised women in the United Kingdom

“…Blaxland et al. (2022) note how when women with ACEs become mothers, they transition from being considered ‘at risk’ to ‘a risk’. Certainly, mothers' histories of trauma and deprivation appear absent in discourse and practical approaches.…”

“…Certainly, mothers' histories of trauma and deprivation appear absent in discourse and practical approaches. Child neglect is isolated from environmental, socioeconomic, and even whole‐family considerations and all fault is located with the mother, despite evidence illustrating correlations between neglect and poverty (Blaxland et al., 2022; Featherstone et al., 2018).…”

The Scylla state: an alternative understanding of survival sex work and addiction

“…While social services understand their approach as child-centred and risk averse, women may interpret this as being penalised for their poverty, vulnerability and the coping strategies that result. Blaxland et al (2021) note how when women with histories of childhood neglect and abuse become mothers, they transition from being considered 'at risk' to 'a risk'. Certainly, mothers' histories of trauma and deprivation appear absent in discourse and practical approaches.…”

“…Certainly, mothers' histories of trauma and deprivation appear absent in discourse and practical approaches. Child neglect is isolated from environmental, socioeconomic, and even whole-family considerations and all fault is located with the mother, despite evidence illustrating correlations between neglect and poverty (Blaxland et al, 2021;Bywaters et al, 2018;Coulton et al, 2007;Courtin et al, 2019;Crossley, 2016;Featherstone et al, 2014;Featherstone and Gupta, 2018;Morris et al, 2018).…”

“…2018 Working Together to Safeguard Children's focus on 'challenging family circumstances ' (DfE and Hawkins, 2018). This indicates a shift from a focus on child welfare to child safeguarding/protection, and from families in need to risky families, with risk factors dominating decisions to place children on the at-risk register (Blaxland et al, 2021;Crossley, 2016 ;Fenton and Kelly, 2017;Rogowski, 2015;Saar-Heiman and Gupta, 2020). This justifies the focus on surveillance and evidence gathering to underpin reactive interventions rather than to develop traditional preventative, therapeutic strategies including longer term coordinated care plans (Fenton and Kelly, 2017;Parton, 1996;Rogoswki, 2015).…”