Moving beyond moral condemnation of parents: Vulnerable children and families in the context of trauma, neglect and abuse

This special issue makes a vital contribution to how we may better understand the contexts of vulnerable children and families and the way intergenerational trauma impacts, influences and manifests within and across family systems. The articles within this special issue carefully challenge a sometimes commonplace attribution of harm solely to individual behaviours. Instead, we seek to shine a light on the role that moral condemnation plays in perpetuating cycles of disadvantage and family hardships.

Parents who struggle to provide good enough care for their children, who may abuse, neglect or inadvertently expose them to harm, are difficult for many people to understand. It is easy for people to respond empathically and with compassion to the children who are harmed, but much more difficult for people to respond to their parents with the same care and consideration.