Careism...the facts

What is careism?

The discrimination faced by children in care is brought to life time and time again through our interactions with young people. Discrimination might seem too strong a word, but that’s what it is. If people are treated differently, or unfairly, because of the colour of their skin, their religion, their sex or their age, it’s discrimination and there are laws to protect them. Why not the same for people victimised for being in care?

A recent Ofsted report entitled Care and Prejudice, found that nearly half of children in care are afraid of prejudice or bullying, or of being treated ‘differently’ if people find out about their background. Young people in children's homes and foster care are particularly worried about employers, other young people, and potential landlords finding out they are in care.

The report, which surveyed over 300 young people living away from home, revealed that children in care are concerned that the general public hold unfair negative stereotypes about them. Almost half thought the public saw children in care as bad and uncontrollable, and just under a quarter thought they were seen as troublemakers. Worryingly, the report also found that the longer children spent in care, the more likely they were to report discrimination.

These widely-held negative stereotypes tend to be a product of ignorance rather than fact. There is a serious lack of understanding about what being in care actually means. As Liam, a 19-year-old care leaver, says: “Despite what people think, kids don’t always come into care because they are bad. I know that people think kids in care are criminals in waiting. And I know that because my dad went to jail people just expect the same to happen to me.” Read Liam's story.

The Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) says it has evidence of systematic discrimination against children in care, often from the very organisations supposed to help. Speaking at the Associate Parliamentary Group for Looked After Children and Care Leaver, Mike Lindsay, CRAE’s national co-ordinator, urged the government to do more to combat the problem. “Statistics show that looked after children are more likely to be excluded from, or refused admission to, a school,” he said. “This discrimination is so entrenched that the local authority is the only parent in the country never taken to court for failing to ensure its children go to school.”

Is there a solution?

Careism comes from the same place as all other types of prejudice; a lack of understanding. This is hardly surprising when media coverage tends to stereotype children in and from care as school dropouts, drug users and petty criminals. While these stories might sell more newspapers and make for juicier television dramas, they ignore the thousands of children for whom care is a positive experience. We receive wonderful stories of success from the young people who write into our magazines and website. If the media did more to project these positive images about children in care, then we might be able to tackle misplaced discrimination in the general public.

In an interview for the Who Cares? magazine Shadow Children’s Minister, Tim Loughton MP, argued that the only way to tackle the discrimination of looked after children is to educate people about what being in care is all about and break down negative stereotypes. “It would really help if all young people were better educated about care.” He said. “If there was better awareness perhaps children in care would feel comfortable about being known to be in care."

Children’s Rights Director Roger Morgan calls for similar action: "What is needed is more guidance, particularly in schools, to support children in care if needed, but without treating them differently from other children. What is also needed is a more informed attitude by the general public. Dealing with social prejudices should not be yet another challenge our most vulnerable young people have to face.”

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