Responding to young runaways: Problems of risk and responsibility

Citation

Malloch M & Burgess C (2011) Responding to young runaways: Problems of risk and responsibility. Youth Justice, 11 (1), pp. 61-76. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473225410394281

Abstract
This article examines responses to young runaways in Scotland. Based on the findings of a scoping study commissioned by the Scottish Coalition for Young Runaways, it highlights the challenges of defining young runaways and assessing the scale and nature of running away from home and substitute care. Specifically, the article critically considers constructions of ‘risk' and ‘responsibility' that have come to be applied to distinguish ‘genuine' runaways from others and the problems this distinction creates for appropriate responses aimed at meeting the needs of all young people who run away.

Keywords
responsibility; risk; young runaways

Journal
Youth Justice: Volume 11, Issue 1

People

Professor Margaret Malloch

Professor, Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology