The trope of the vulnerable child in conditional welfare discourses: An Australian case study. (December 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Peterie, Michelle; Marston, Greg; Humpage, Louise; Mendes, Philip; Bielefeld, Shelley; Staines, Zoe
• Is Part Of: Journal of sociology. Volume 58:Number 4(2022)
• Page Start: 517
• Page End: 534
• Publication Date: 2022-12
• Subjects: activation -- age groups -- Australia -- children -- compulsory income management -- conditional welfare -- discourse -- social security -- welfare; Sociology -- Periodicals; Sociology -- Australia -- Periodicals; 301.05
• DOI: 10.1177/14407833211008984
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1440-7833

Abstract

Conditional welfare policies are frequently underpinned by pejorative representations of those they target. Vulnerable children, under physical or moral threat from their welfare-dependent parents, are a mainstay of these constructions, yet the nuances of this trope have received little focused attention. Through a discourse analysis of parliamentary debates at the introduction of compulsory income management (CIM) to Australia, this article explores the complexities of the vulnerable child trope. It shows how the figure of the child was leveraged to justify hard-line welfare reforms in Australia, and offers a deeper and more intersectional understanding of how social and economic marginalisation is reproduced through welfare discourse.