Family autonomy and child protection

Doughty, Julie ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2281-7463 2025. Family autonomy and child protection. Bevan, Chris and Gurnham, David, eds. Law, Narrative and Masterplot, Routledge, pp. 273-296. (10.4324/9781003404668-19)

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Abstract

The high value placed on family autonomy in Western society stipulates that children are best brought up by their own parents and the state will compulsorily intervene in a child’s upbringing only when this is necessary. In the UK, the narrative is that children will be removed from their parents into state care on protective grounds only as a last resort; this has been enshrined in English law for more than 30 years. However, the number of children being taken into care continues to rise at a rate that is concerning from both a social and an economic perspective. This chapter explores this contradiction in terms of competing masterplots, reflecting four childcare policy perspectives. The extent to which these values perspectives have influenced historical developments turns on the stories we tell ourselves about child protection in attempts to reconcile conflicts in the family justice system.

Item Type:	Book Section
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Law
Publisher:	Routledge
ISBN:	9781003404668
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2025 14:47
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/183186

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