Protection and Assistance to the Family: Interpreting and Applying Article 10 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights from Learnt and Lived Experiences

This paper conceptualises and operationalises the right to protection and assistance to the family (Article 10 ICESCR) in relation to child protection services in England and the removal of children from birth families that are deemed to pose a risk to them. It identifies the differences between the social right to protection and assistance to the family and the more commonly known civil right to private and family life. The paper merges doctrinal analysis of international human rights law with a peer-led methodology of socio-legal research reliant on issue prioritisation and observations from social workers, families in poverty – primarily mothers – and young people who have experience of the care system. The process aims to respect all different forms of knowledge and to challenge the epistemic injustices that result from the systematic silencing of people in poverty. Besides this epistemic value, lived experience can illuminate the academic and practitioner understanding of the main problems facing people in poverty. In particular, in relation to the right to protection and assistance to the family, lived experience can shed light on the human impact of prejudice and the lack of adequate material support.