Radio & Podcast
Child removal, women & class
Surviving Society
2023
In this podcast, Kate Haddow & Amy Van Zyl talk about the UK child protection system.
Of particular concern is that women who have their children removed are over-represented in suicide figures; that women are often blamed and punished for being ‘nonprotective’ yet police & social workers have not prevented the violent actions of men; that more often not, help and support could prevent children being removed from their (usually) mothers; that the system does not necessarily provide any better for the children when they are removed and placed in the ‘care’ system.
The system, they argue, is plagued by both misogyny and classism. In response, an organisation called REFORM has been set up to support (rather than punish) women who are at risk of losing their children.