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

Joanne McGrath (), Monique Lhussier, Stephen Crossley and Natalie Forster
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Joanne McGrath: Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK
Monique Lhussier: Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK
Stephen Crossley: Department of Sociology, Durham University, Durham DH1 3HN, UK
Natalie Forster: Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 12, 1-13

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.

Keywords: stigma; social harm; mothers; child removal; health and social inequality; multiple disadvantage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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