“They Tarred Me with the Same Brush”: Navigating Stigma in the Context of Child Removal

Abstract

Child removals are increasing in England and Wales. Family court involvement is particularly common among women with multiple disadvantages, and the rates are higher in economically marginalised areas. This article aims to explore women’s narratives of child removal within life stories of homelessness and examines how stigma, power and State surveillance manifest in their experiences. Data drawn from qualitative interviews with 14 mothers in the north-east of England who had experienced the removal of their children through the family courts are explored within the wider context of a neoliberal political agenda of “troubled families”, and in particular, “deviant mothers”. The participants describe how stigma structured their interactions with social services. Despite the known poor outcomes associated with child removal for both mothers and children, professional involvement often tapers off afterwards, with little support for mothers. Drawing on women’s accounts, we seek to illuminate their experiences of child removal and enhance our understanding of how stigma plays out in statutory settings, further entrenching social exclusion and ultimately increasing health inequalities.

Women, Addictions, Mental Health, Dishonesty, and Crime Stigma: Solutions to Reduce the Social Harms of Stigma

“…when they're trying to get the kids off ya, they will tell whatever lies in front of the judge, in legal documents and it's basically your word against theirs and they're the professional so.' (FG3P3) Women explained that child removal was incredibly traumatic and often resulted in increased substance usage to cope with the grief, which concurs with existing findings [13,14]. Women felt they had failed their children, which induced shame.…”

“…Some drug strategy approaches [1] contravene international research findings, including tougher sentences for recreational users [11]. Punitive approaches can deter people from treatment; for example, state child removal fear is a barrier to women seeking help for alcohol use [12], and child removal can trigger increased substance usage [13,14]. Structural issues can exacerbate substance usage [15,16], and Link and Phelan [17] identify a power requirement to stigmatise others, for example, social, economic, and political power.…”

“…Child rearing [21] and child removal increases stigma for women who use substances [13]. Child state removal negatively impacts substance-using mothers, often exacerbating substance usage [13,14].…”

“…Child rearing [21] and child removal increases stigma for women who use substances [13]. Child state removal negatively impacts substance-using mothers, often exacerbating substance usage [13,14]. State removal is six times more likely for substance-using mothers than fathers, indicating a gender inequality [34].…”

Women and homelessness

“…The research team found that the stigma associated with child removal further entrenched social exclusion and increasing health inequalities. You can read more about the findings in the two articles published from the study (McGrath et al, 2023a(McGrath et al, , 2023b.…”