‘You’re like a prisoner in your house. She’s not allowed to go nowhere’: autonomy in young people’s familial relationships in areas affected by high youth crime

Abstract

This article examines how young people living in a London neighbourhood with high levels of crime, negotiate risk with their parents. Parenting strategies for protecting children from risk have been criticised as authoritarian and overprotective, or as neglectful and chaotic. As they discussed how their own families grappled with anxieties about crime, violence and sexual activity, the young people in this study described complex relationships characterised by sensitive negotiation, bounded trust, and support to manage life in a tough neighbourhood. While many families seemed able to maintain a balance between control and autonomy, and to smooth over discord, for others relationships were fractured, further increasing risks to the young people’s safety in a context of routine sexual harassment and gang activity. The article concludes by considering the implications for risk management.