Behaviour Management or Institutionalised Repression? Children’s Experiences of Physical Restraint in Custody

Shenton, Felicity; Smith, Roger

Abstract

This article reports on a study of children's experiences of being physically restrained by staff in a range of custodial settings. The research was carried out in collaboration with a team of young researchers, and generated rich and insightful accounts of children's experiences of legitimised violence in the form of ‘restraint’. These lead us to reflect on whether this is a normal and justifiable feature of custody, or as oppressive and unacceptable to the extent that it represents a form of brutalisation, and an unnecessary, unjustifiable and repressive form of control, where the rights of children are routinely transgressed.

Citation

Shenton, F., & Smith, R. (2021). Behaviour Management or Institutionalised Repression? Children’s Experiences of Physical Restraint in Custody. Children & Society, 35(1), 159-175. https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12410

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 21, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Jun 18, 2020
• Publication Date: 2021-01
• Deposit Date: Jun 22, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 24, 2020
• Journal: Children & Society
• Print ISSN: 0951-0605
• Electronic ISSN: 1099-0860
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 159-175
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12410
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1262246