Stop blaming families for their “risk factors”

Completing mandatory Child Protection training, I noticed a pattern in how the factors that increase the risk of harm were framed. Here’s the phrasing that was used, that makes it seem like the family has a lot more autonomy over those factors than they actually do, and my alternative phrasing that highlights a systems perspective. The first option feeds into the myth that individuals with those risk factors just aren’t trying hard enough. The second option puts the focus back on what actually puts people at risk - systems that don’t do a good enough job of supporting humanity.

What could you change within your sphere of influence?

Factors that increase the likelihood of harm 

We can continue the myth that "people just aren't trying hard enough"	Or we can put the focus where it belongs, back on the systems we've created
Family instability or violence	People in the home choosing to use violence and fundamentally flawed legal, health, police, and social services systems that fail to keep people safe.
Parental aversion or perceived irrelevance of school	Education systems that fail to cater for all children and families. Education systems that are not culturally, physically, and psychologically safe for all children and families. Education systems that pretend to be “evidence-based”, but the evidence base certainly doesn’t come from quality research about human development, motivation, trauma or behaviour.
Family’s access to services	Services operating in ways that are inaccessible to families due to cost, location, program requirements or barriers for people with low English literacy or disabilities because the resources and processes have been designed to cater for a narrow version of human.
Health including mental health issues	Services that promote and protect wellbeing being inaccessible, unaffordable or unavailable (e.g. counselling, sport & fitness, community clubs, therapy). A health system that has minimised and neglected women’s and infant’s health issues since forever. A capitalist-driven food system that allows rampant marketing of processed food and drinks, alcohol, gambling and infant-feeding substitutes.
Socio-economic status of the family	An economic system that doesn’t value care work and has decided that some jobs are worth billion-dollar bonuses while others, like the jobs that keep our children happy and safe (early childhood education and care workers, teachers, parents), save our lives (paramedics, nurses, doctors), or feed us (farmers) are worth much, much less. Systems that treat people with disability, older people or people temporarily unable to work due to illness, injury or care work, as not important to the community and as a “drain on resources” if we looked after them properly.
Transience	Capitalist-driven housing and economic systems that mean some families can’t afford to keep a roof over their head no matter how hard they’re working. A social housing system that moves families from suburb to suburb requiring families to shift schools and leave behind any existing support network they have. Education, economic, housing and welfare systems that fail to value or accommodate the importance of people carrying out cultural ceremonies and rituals that promote wellbeing. Especially true in remote Indigenous communities where participation in funerals and ceremonies often requires travelling long distances and engaging in rituals over many days.

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