Gender, ethnicity and vulnerability in young women in local authority care

This paper analyses the impact of gender and ethnicity, taken together, on the experience of being looked after away from home. It presents the findings from a study of young women, aged over 12, who came into care in one local authority between 1990 and 1999. It reports that the over-representation of young black women in care is associated with the greater tendency of African-Caribbean and mixed heritage young women to run away from home rather than put up with abusive relationships; the lack of cross-generational support resulting from migration and the effects of poverty and racism which place added strain on family relationships. The implications of these findings for social work practice are considered.