Children’s Lives Matter, So Let’s Fix the Contract

Recently, I was giving training on case management to a team working to safely reintegrate institutionalised children into their families. As is usual, the issue of challenging behaviour of the children and where it comes from came up. As we were discussing this, I was suddenly struck by a link to something Trevor Noah – a South African comedian in the US – said so eloquently last year.

In May 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement surged in the USA, as a result of the murder of George Floyd – an unarmed black man – by white police officers. This led to large demonstrations, across the country. For the most part, these demonstrations were peaceful, but there were places where looting, vandalism, and violence took place as well. The press and parts of the white community put a lot of focus on these excesses and there was a cry of outrage and indignation about this.

Trevor Noah responded by posting a video on social media in which he stated that although he did not condone the violence and destruction of property, he did understand it. He explained that a society is a Social Contract that most people adhere to. People agree to abide by the same rules and ideals in order to be able to live together and to all share in the advantages of the peaceful co-existence that this brings. However, when one group – black people – continue to abide by the contract and pay into it, but no longer receive the opportunities and protections that are part of that contract. When law enforcement and the justice system do not enforce the contract when it is broken by white people at the expense of black people, and in fact, law enforcement and the justice system become a threat to black people, even when they do not break any of the rules. At that point, the contract has been broken. And with the contract broken and protection gone, there really is no reason left to abide by the contract. Because what purpose does it serve?

I found this very poignant at the time. I think it is insightful. And now, as we were discussing the challenging behaviour shown by institutionalised children, caused by adaptation to circumstances where essential needs are not met and normal brain development is not possible, I realised that there is a link. There is a broken contract between children in institutions and the adults around them. When it comes to institutionalised children it is not a case of a conscious decision made that enough is enough, or even a consciousness of what they are deprived of and the effects of that. The challenging behaviour seen in these children is reactive and based on the physiological and psychological effects of severe psychosocial deprivation. However, it still feels to me like the metaphor holds.

There is a social contract between adults and children in a way too. Under which children can expect to have their basic needs met, and to receive protection and education. In return children for the most part follow the rules as they learn to understand them, show respect and gratitude (sometimes), and become increasingly independent and able to make contributions to the community. Children in institutions do not have their basic needs met – particularly the need for attachment, attention, stimulation, and positive physical contact are ignored – they often have little or no protection, or are even put at more risk – of physical, psychological and sexual abuse, of exploitation and of poor health and even death – and if education is offered, it tends not to be very effective, because the heightened stress levels and lack of proper brain development caused by institutionalisation make it hard to learn.

When I explained to the team what had just occurred to me, the first question I got was ‘how can we fix the contract with the children?’ The answer is that in an institution you can’t. Institutional care does not allow adults to uphold their end of the contract. This is why we are working to return children to their families or to find or develop other family-based placements for them.

Getting children out of institutions is the only way of fixing the social contracts we adults have with them. Children’s lives matter, so let’s fix the contract.

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