Racial bias is routinely going unaddressed in child safeguarding, new analysis finds
"Systemic silence” around race, culture and ethnicity in safeguarding is putting Black, Asian and minority ethnic children at risk, a damning report has warned.
Racial biases by professionals and services, including adultification, are routingly going ignored, says the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.
The panel also criticises a lack of progress made since a 2003 inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbié highlighted concerns over the protection of Black children.
It points to similar more recent concerns raised following the strip-search of 15-year-old Child Q by Metropolitan Police officers in 2020.
The panel's new analysis found “too few examples” of race, culture and ethnicity being addressed in safeguarding practice.
In a hard-hitting report, titled “It’s Silent”: Race, racism and safeguarding children, it says: “This indicates that there is a need to surface and challenge why there is such systemic silence and reticence in addressing and confronting these issues.
“It is clear too that more work is urgently needed so that safeguarding leaders and practitioners consistently consider, understand and take account of children’s identity and heritage.”
Reviews into the death or serious harm of children also showed an “absence of attention to the presence of racism and bias”. The panel, created in 2018 to review and learn from serious child safeguarding cases, said: “This must be of concern, raising questions about how and why, 20 years on from publication of the Victoria Climbié Inquiry Report, issues about race, racism and ethnicity remain so marginalised, understated and under-explored in safeguarding reviews.”
The panel called for a “sea change” to tackle cultures of silence, the use of intersectional approaches to foster “curiosity” around ethnicity and better sharing of good practice.
It said reading the report "may make some people feel uncomfortable" but encouraged colleagues to "lean into that discomfort, to understand the reasons behind it".
In response, BASW England national director Maris Stratulis said: “This report highlights what has long been known: systemic racism pervades child protection, yet the sector often remains silent.
“The failure to explicitly address racism allows critical warning signs to be missed. Racial bias, adultification, and a reluctance to confront racism in practice continue to leave children of colour vulnerable and at risk.
"BASW, alongside other organisations, need to examine our own macro and microaggressions within the context of leadership and practice."
Wayne Reid, founder of the Black and Ethnic Minority Professionals Symposium and a BASW England professional officer, said: “This report is not just a reflection on past failings - it is a direct challenge to all professionals and organisations within the sector.
"We cannot continue to turn a blind eye to racism in safeguarding. The lessons from Victoria Climbié’s death should have been enough, but they were not. The lessons from Child Q and other victims should have been enough, but they were not.
"Enough has been written, researched and stated. What we need now is urgent and meaningful action. This report must not be another missed opportunity. The sector must now move beyond rhetoric to listen, learn and take decisive action - starting now."
BASW England called for racism to be “named, confronted and addressed in every safeguarding decision” and anti-racist practice to be embedded.
Other findings
The report was based on an analysis of 40 rapid reviews and 14 local child safeguarding practice reviews involving children from Black, Asian and mixed heritage backgrounds.
It found a lack of focus on the impact of race, ethnicity and culture by professionals in practice was mirrored in reviews into serious safeguarding cases.
“This could indicate that safeguarding partnerships who are responsible for commissioning reviews and considering the terms of reference for LCSPRs (in conjunction with reviewers) may not always understand and grasp the relevance of race, racism and racial bias and its impact on practice in the review decision-making process,” said the report.
Only one review recorded an allegation of racism made by a family, but no evidence was provided that this had been investigated and it was dismissed as “groundless”.
Some reviews did acknowledge the potential for bias by practitioners, but this was not explored in detail. Greater engagement was seen with other forms of bias, such as socio-economic status.
Where reviews identified learning points, these were not detailed. For example, saying there was a need to develop “cultural competence”, without saying how this should be achieved.
None of the reviews showed an understanding of the importance of reflecting on the impact of racism and racial bias in safeguarding practice, said the report.
Nor was consideration of the extent of “institutional or structural racism” within services demonstrated.
The impact of growing up in a dual heritage household was “not explored or considered” in reviews.
In more than half the reviews practitioners did not appear to consider intersectional approaches.
The report said: “The lack of robust consideration of intersectionality in reviews is concerning. Understanding intersectionality can provide a powerful framework and tool to support practitioners to better comprehend the lived experiences of children and families from Black and other minoritised ethnic groups, including in addressing the adultification of Black children.”
The panel acknowledged it has “more work to do” and is to look at strengthening advice and guidance to safeguarding partnerships.
It said reading the added: “The panel recognise and acknowledge that discussions about race and racism can be confronting and difficult. They are nonetheless necessary and fundamental to our ability to safeguard children of Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage backgrounds from different forms of harm.
“At present there are too many missed opportunities in practice and in our system of learning about incidents when children have been seriously harmed or died.”
The report contains a list of recommendations including calling on safeguarding partnerships to embed a focus on race, ethnicity and culture.