I just lower my head and move on.” Spatialized inequality and the politics of teenage parenthood

Navigating stigma, shame and the fear of social work intervention in a deprived coastal town

Bibliographic Data

ID8942974
AuthorsEmma Geddes (0000-0002-6813-3665, Leeds Beckett University, corresponding author), Aniela Wenham (University of York)
Year2025
Volume165
Pages104386-104386
Publication date2025-08-21
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeoforum (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0016-7185 • E-ISSN: 1872-9398
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.geoforum.2025.104386
OpenAlexW4413415333
LanguageEN
References cited59

Young parents are subjected to stigmatisation relating to intersecting aspects of their identity. • A powerful fear of social work referral was found to exist in this community of young parents. • Respondents identified specific challenges in caring for children in a deprived coastal town. • The ‘locale’ is significant in navigating stigma, creating a ‘spatialised subjectivity’. Mainstream policy and research have driven forward numerous interventions relating to persistent and significant variation in the rate of teenage pregnancy both between and within local areas in England, including a focus on the high concentration of young parenthood in deprived coastal communities. Coastal towns in England face a constellation of unique, complex and intertwining pressures which drive clusters of socio-economic deprivation and social issues. Building upon what is known about the spatial concentration of young parenthood within deprived coastal towns, we take a place-based approach to understanding social inequalities, presenting qualitative evidence relating to the intersection of young parenthood and forms of social injustice, particularly the increased likelihood of the children of young parents being the subject of compulsory investigation by Children’s Services. We explore findings arising from qualitative participatory arts-based research with 18 young parents and interviews with 15 practitioners, examining the significance of the spatial context in understanding young people’s experiences of stigmatisation and considering the potential for provision to respond to distinctive features of the locality. This paper contextualises broader socio-economic structures impacting upon the experiences of teenage parents and the effect of disadvantage on the ability of young people to achieve the ‘good’ parent status to which they aspire. Through the lens of a deprived coastal town in the North of England, the findings highlight the importance of the ‘locale’ in navigating stigma, and how this creates a ‘spatialised subjectivity’ which interacts with a particular fear of professional intervention, including the threat of child removal

Inequality · Intervention (counseling · Political science · Politics · Psychiatry · Shame · Social inequality · Sociology · Stigma (botany · Child Welfare and Adoption · Gender Studies · Homelessness and Social Issues · Psychology · Social Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access