Addressing Adultification Bias
Sarah Wordlaw
Adultification bias disproportionately harms Black and Brown children by undermining safeguarding efforts, requiring educators to actively challenge racism as a safeguarding priority.
Racism is a safeguarding issue. As we as a society – and educators – become more racially literate, it is important that we continue to expand our knowledge around recognising racism as a safeguarding issue.
Naming racism as a safeguarding issue is imperative to protecting the lives of children in our care. It has a profound impact on the mental health of those who experience it daily. It deeply affects how people function in their day-to-day lives, and shapes their decisions, interactions and sense of self-worth.
What is adultification?
Adultification refers to when the “notions of innocence and vulnerability are not afforded to certain children” (Davis and Marsh, 2020) – in particular Black and Brown children. This is determined by the institutions and people who hold power over them – such as educators, police, social workers, NHS and justice systems. The lived experience of Black and Brown children in regard to these systems is significantly different from their White peers. Its ultimate impact is that children’s rights are either diminished or not upheld.
It also hinders professional curiosity and child protection responses. When thinking about adultification, as with all forms of discrimination, it is important to consider intersectionality – the interplay of characteristics which determine our lived experience of the world, such as race, gender, age, ability, class and sexual orientation (to name a few).
How can it be seen in schools?
Racism is the core issue with adultification with Black and Brown children being more likely to experience adultification bias. Black and Brown children are more likely to be met with suspicion, assumed deviance and culpability. These ideas reduce professional and organisational responsibility to safeguard and protect children and it also increases children’s responsibilities to safeguard themselves. This adultification bias is a breach of child safeguarding legislation and guidance.
Adultification bias is rooted in stereotypes and these in turn deter appropriate safeguarding and professionals may disregard the innate vulnerability of children. For Black and Brown boys, some of these stereotypes include “thuglike” or “gangster” behaviour, meaning they are not thought of as “innocent” due to perceptions of being older and assumed more responsible and culpable for their behaviour than their White peers. Looking at Black and Brown girls have historically been depicted as “loud”, “aggressive”, hyper-resilient and over-sexualised. These stereotypes stem from colonisation and slavery.
This bias can also be identified by the language used to describe children. Such language may assume children have more agency and capacity to safeguard themselves. Words such as “mature” or “resilient” are often used more to describe Black and Brown girls – children are children. They shouldn’t have to be described as “mature” or “old beyond their years” – this kind of language affects how we deal with behaviour or safeguarding incidents, suggesting the child is older than they actually are, they “know better”.
In addition, sexual abuse of Black girls is frequently missed across the sectors that are there to protect children. Our Streets Now, a UK Feminist organisation who campaigns against street harassment, have found through research that Black girls experience harassment from a younger age.
Case Studies
The case of Child Q is an example of adultification bias in action – Child Q, a 15 year old Black girl, was accused wrongly of having drugs in school, and strip searched. She was on her period, there was no appropriate adult present and police officers (who were called to the school) did not get authorisation from a supervisor to complete a strip search. She was taken out of an exam, into the school’s medical room by two police officers whilst her teacher remained outside. She was made to take off her sanitary towel and her intimate parts were exposed according to the safeguarding review after the fact. No drugs were found.
Another example is a 12 year old Black boy who was called into the Headteacher’s office and questioned by the police, about being raped by a man, who had handed himself into the police earlier that day. The child asked for his parents to be called – he was ignored. Despite being a victim of rape, he was made to feel like a criminal himself – having to sit whilst the police officer took his phone and went through photos and messages with both him and Headteacher in the room. Crying, and unsupported by a family or staff member, the interrogation went on all day. Now an adult, reflecting on the police report which describes him as “manipulative” he reflects, “How could they speak like that about a child?’ I was treated as an adult.”
I wonder, had the children in these two examples been White – would they have received the same treatment?
Think about your own school. Take a review of your behaviour recording – review the language used for describing incidents concerning Black children and compare it to their White peers. You may notice discrepancies in the way incidents are described and/or consequences given.
Recommendations for educators
- Raise awareness – name racism as a safeguarding issue. Teach staff about adultification and its impact. Build in time for reflection and further training. Reach out to your DSL and/or local authority and see what training is available for teams.
- Do unconscious bias training. Every person harbours unconscious biases – this must be acknowledged by all staff. These are based on our lived experience of the world, our level of privilege and the intersections in which we sit. It’s extremely important for educators to become aware of their own biases so that we can start to counteract them when working with children. We must challenge assumptions: making assumptions about a child’s maturity or abilities based on their race or heritage must be actively challenged.
- Challenge and be challenged – a culture of professional challenge is imperative to ensure safeguarding responsibilities are met. Strong safeguarding culture is based on professional curiosity and challenge. All staff should be empowered to question when they feel something has not been dealt with properly, taken seriously enough or not given an appropriate response.
- Audit procedures and policies – ensure all your policies are trauma-led, inclusive and applied equitably.
- Words matter – how we talk to, and about children, matters. As a staff team word choices can, sometimes unintentionally, carry meanings which may compound adultification bias. If you are the DSL, best practice would be to signpost terminology for your team. Keep up to date with training and seek links and advice with external agencies surrounding this if you are unsure. Have a safeguarding update (can be just 2 minutes!) in each staff meeting/briefing, to share updates and developments. This is a great way to ensure a strong culture of safeguarding.
- Show 100% commitment to creating inclusive and safe environments. Diversity, equity and inclusion aren’t just buzz words which appear in policies and are then forgotten. It should be the bedrock of all practice, all people should feel seen, valued and respected. Seek pupils, parents and staff voice around this. And listen to feedback.
Adultification bias is a serious safeguarding issue which requires recognition, attention and staff development around the issue. As educators, we must build our awareness around its deeply detrimental impact on children and in turn will build awareness and improve safeguarding culture and professional curiosity, so that all children can receive the rights they deserve.
References
Davis, J (2022). Adultification bias within child protection and safeguarding, HM Inspectorate of Probation, available at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/06/Academic-Insights-Adultification-bias-within-child-protection-and-safeguarding.pdf
Davis, J. and Marsh, N. (2020). ‘Boys to men: the cost of ‘adultification’ in safeguarding responses to Black boys’,Critical and Radical Social Work, 8(2),
Watts, C (2023). What is Adultification within Child Protection and Safeguarding?
High Speed Training, available at: https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/what-is-adultification/
You can read more articles by Sarah Wordlaw here.
