Mismatched understandings of vulnerability? Care and control practices with 'vulnerable' young people Dr. Kate Brown, Lecturer in Social Policy, University of York Children and Young People in Vulnerable Circumstances Conference 18th July 2013

1. Mismatched understandings?
Findings from a study of vulnerability
Kate Brown

2. Vulnerability and young people
What it’s not about…
How to measure
vulnerability, how to
recognise or ‘cure’ it etc.
Instead:
Exploring ideas about
vulnerability from
different perspectives
Key points/questions for
consideration

3. Why vulnerability?
Interest from work with ‘sexually exploited’ YP
Lyndsay – grew up in care, selling
sex and using heroin since 12
(2004):
“some kids get left out of being
seen as victims. They don’t seem
vulnerable, but just because they
don’t seem vulnerable, doesn’t
mean they aren’t.”

4. Older children in need often present as ‘badly behaved’;
whether in trouble with the criminal justice system, abusing
drugs or alcohol, going missing, truanting, self-harming, or in
other ways [….] this can mask their vulnerability, and lead
professionals to ‘blame’ or judge children…
(House of Commons Education
Committee, 2012: 34)

5. Quick outline of the study
25 interviews with ‘vulnerable’ young people
(intensive support, aged 12-18)
15 interviews with professionals
(commissioners, managers, ‘front line’ workers)
Sampling - Young women and young men, 12-18 years old,
7/25 BME YP, range of vulnerabilities, and half young
people were ‘troublesome’

6. ‘Peter Schmeichel’
Aged 16

7. Jade
Aged 17

8. Relevant Findings
Official understandings of vulnerability and idea of
‘vulnerable groups’
Vulnerability and ‘difficult behaviour’ - closely linked
Young people’s perceptions of vulnerability very
different to ‘official’ views
Young people’s ideas about addressing vulnerability
(resilience)

9. The view from professionals: ‘vulnerability’ differed according
to personal judgements and setting
… differences in people’s levels of acceptability (ASB worker)
A number of government initiatives have used vulnerability in a
different way and that's reflected in the local authority structure
and the result is a lot of debate and confusion around where
boundary lines are drawn around vulnerability (Commissioner,
City Council)
Discretion important, so practices are
more plasticine than they seem – difficult
to research?

10. Which young
people are
‘vulnerable’?
Vulnerable group or circumstances No. of informants
‘Sexually exploited’ young women* 9
Parental abuse/neglect/poor parenting 7
Drug and alcohol use* 6
Homeless/poorly housed 6
Offending behaviour/ getting ‘in trouble’* 6
Parental drug/alcohol use 5
Parental domestic violence 5
Looked after children 4
Not achieving at school 4
Mental health issues 4
Learning difficulties 3
Gypsy and traveller young people 3
Significant health problems 3
Parents who offend 3
Young carers 3
English as second language 3
Disabled young people 2
Asylum seekers and refugees 2
Those who run away* 2
Living in poverty 2
Self-harm* 2
BME backgrounds 2
Parents with mental health issues 2
NEET* 2

11. Adversity packages
Difficult lives, multiple disadvantage…
Family problems? Or wider structures and systems:
… it would be about when I were just turning fifteen. My Mum were
with a really good mate of hers, a bloke, and I got touched by him, so
and he got took to thingy and that when I were younger… To t’police
and then nowt come of it (Jay Jay, M, 17)
In the end I ended up running away and being homeless and they
wouldn’t find me anywhere else to live because I was getting bullied
this children’s home (Alicia, F, 16)
When you’ve got money, like, everything seems to be fine, there’s, like,
no stress to lead to family arguments or things like that (Hayley, F, 16)

12. Which young
people are
‘vulnerable’?
Vulnerable group or circumstances No. of informants
‘Sexually exploited’ young women* 9
Parental abuse/neglect/poor parenting 7
Drug and alcohol use* 6
Homeless/poorly housed 6
Offending behaviour/ getting ‘in trouble’* 6
Parental drug/alcohol use 5
Parental domestic violence 5
Looked after children 4
Not achieving at school 4
Mental health issues 4
Learning difficulties 3
Gypsy and traveller young people 3
Significant health problems 3
Parents who offend 3
Young carers 3
English as second language 3
Disabled young people 2
Asylum seekers and refugees 2
Those who run away* 2
Living in poverty 2
Self-harm* 2
BME backgrounds 2
Parents with mental health issues 2
NEET* 2

13. ‘Poor behaviour’ and vulnerability
Jess (15):
In 2009, I was abused by my Dad and that was when I got my social
worker. They tried to get me a foster home, but because I didn’t want
to stay there, my behaviour got bad. That’s when I was selling sex.
Scott (18):
I've got big scars on my arms and that where I've been attacked with
knives and stuff because, I don't know, I've been in [housing estate] and
I've been on my own and I’ve still looked for a fight. I don't know, I like
being on the floor getting booted in the head sometimes
Vulnerable young people often not ‘weak’, deferent, ‘innocent victims’
Link between behaviour and social and economic circumstances

14. ‘Poor behaviour’ and vulnerability
... poor behaviour and vulnerability is absolutely the hardest
thing to deal with. Without question. If you’re vulnerable and
you’re compliant... you know… vulnerable and awkward is a
totally different ball game. (Commissioner, City Council)
Rarely recognised in policy? – YP
imagined as ‘vulnerable victims’ or
‘dangerous wrong-doers’

15. More about performance
than circumstance?
Vulnerable when demonstrated…
“Compliance”
“engagement”
“motivation for change”
being forthcoming with details
... if someone’s lived at home and they’re just being naughty and they keep
going into prison, we wouldn’t say that’s vulnerability – that’s just them
they’re not abiding by the rules and they just think it’s a joke and they think
it’s a game… (Manager, Housing Service)
Ideas about ‘vulnerability’ lead to exclusion of ‘most vulnerable’?
How far do services “Cherry-pick the easy to engage”? (Social Care
Manager) especially in times of limited resources and competition

16. … aggression sometimes from young,
15 or 16 [year old]... big lads coming in
can sort of make you look at them
differently. It shouldn’t do but it can.
(Manager, Education Service)
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone
saying ‘he’s a vulnerable lad’ ever, but
I’ve heard loads and loads of people say
‘oh, she’s a vulnerable girl’ and all this
(Alicia)
See also Cramer (2005) and Passaro
(1996) - vulnerability, gender, housing
How does
gender fit?

17. Young people’s views of vulnerability
Kate: What about if workers said that you were
vulnerable?
Charlie: I'd tell them to shut up.
Kate: Why?
Charlie: 'Cos I'm not vulnerable. They just chat a load of
shit. […] I think I'm doing well for myself, and if [Social
Worker] just said that I was vulnerable, then it'd make me
feel like I'm doing loads of things I shouldn't be.

18. More about resistance
Not all resistant, and not always, past and future
was different
Different views of situations, relative responses
Tensions: family loyalty, acceptable behaviour,
‘nosiness’, clashes over independence

19. Chris (17) “Absolutely not vulnerable at all…”
People have even more difficulties than me. This
might not be such a big thing. I've seen other
people have more difficulties even worser than
these. Yeah it's difficult, but not difficult
difficult, I’d say.

20. Wadren (17): … they were basically blaming my
Mum so… which made me lose my temper.
Jess (15): [Social Worker] helped by putting me in
care, but she didn’t really help me ‘cos I’m not
allowed to go out by myself ‘cos I put myself in too
much risk.
Brook (16): Basically, he [YOS Worker] wanted to
know the ins and outs of a cat's arse. He wanted to
know everything. Things that he didn't need to
know, he just wanted to know.

21. Mismatched understandings
Responded to the idea of a ‘difficult life’, but most YP
were resistant to vulnerability classifications
Raises questions…
How far young people’s understandings subjugated?
Legitimacy of classification systems used in practice and
research? Further work needed on young people’s
classifications/assessments?

22. Views on resilience
Friends, family, informal
networks – varied.
Where limited family/friends,
services very significant:
Timeliness
Trust/‘being taken seriously’
Short term interventions and
struggles with transition
Limitations of speaking
interventions – action!
What do factors have in
common?

23. A mixed bag of conclusions
More questions than answers…
Some suggestions for further reflection:
• Adversity packages
• ‘Difficult’ behaviour and vulnerability
• Line between family and society
• Gender expectations and intervention patterns
• Austerity, outcome pressures and cherry picking?
• YP don’t see lives as ‘problematic’ in same way as
professionals/policy-makers
• Legitimacy of services and interventions
• Specialism/multi-agency working – research/practice
approach designed to suit adults?
• Relationship with workers
• Importance of time