Where does the stigma around care-experienced people origin

In a 2018 survey of young people in care, one in eight said adults had done things that made them feel "embarrassed about being in care".

The finding came in research for Bright Spots, charity Coram Voice's ongoing programme to highlight care-experienced young people's views, in order to influence local authority practice.

Since then, various literary works, campaigns to make ‘care experience’ a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 and qualitative research have highlighted the effects of stigma on care-experienced people.

Lemn Sissay's views on stigma in the care system

But where does the stigma around being in care stem from?

In an interview with Community Care, renowned poet and care leaver Lemn Sissay said that the idea of ‘something being wrong’ with children in care originated from those directly supporting them.

“[In my experience,] the most institutionalised people were those who worked in the care system,” he said.

“It's very easy to have a blanket opinion of a person who's obviously traumatised but quite demanding.”

A Community Care poll with 530 votes found that social workers largely agreed with him.

Over half (56%) said that the stigma surrounding care-experienced people originated, to a large extent, from within the care system itself, with a further 28% saying this was "somewhat" the case.

Only 16% believed felt this was "not very much" or "not at all" true.

What are your thoughts about the stigma children in care face within the care system?

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