Adultification Bias: the effect of racial prejudice on policing and beyond

A fifteen-year-old black schoolgirl, known only as Child Q, was strip-searched by police officers in 2020. The police were called because a teacher reported that the girl smelled of cannabis, but no drugs were found; the shocking news has hit the headlines in recent weeks. The disturbing event, which took place in an East London school, has triggered widespread condemnation due to its horrific details.

The young girl was removed from an exam, forced to strip naked whilst menstruating and told to remove her sanitary pad. The police officers subsequently told her to reuse the pad without allowing her to use the bathroom to clean up. 

Following the event, a council report was carried out and concluded that racism was likely to have been an influencing factor. The mother of the girl stated, “Professionals treated her as an adult. She was searched as an adult. Is it because of her skin?” This question is an understandable one, and adultification bias is likely to be a key factor in this horrific incident.

Adultification bias can be understood as a form of racial prejudice in which children of minority groups, particularly black children, are viewed as being more mature or older than they really are. This form of bias is particularly dangerous when it influences authority figures, such as the police. In this instance the young girl was treated as an adult, there was no safeguarding in place, and there were no other adults present in the room. The girl’s mother has described how this despicable incident has transformed her “happy-go-lucky girl [in]to a timid recluse that hardly speaks”. 

Sadly, adultification bias towards black children and teenagers is not a rare occurrence. In 2017 a report was published titled ‘Listening to Black Women and Girls: Lived Experiences of Adultification Bias’. The report found that adults perceive black girls to be more mature and less innocent than their white peers from as young as five years old. Even more disturbing, the report suggested that adults have less empathy for young black girls than for their white peers, whom they view as more innocent, more in need of comfort and more in need of protection.

Negative stereotypes of black women, the report suggests, are a strong influencing factor in the adultification of black girls. These stereotypes of the angry, aggressive black woman and of the hypersexualised black woman often emerge from portrayals of black women in the media, and have become dominant cultural paradigms. These stereotypes become particularly dangerous when they influence the treatment of children by adults in positions of power, such as teachers or, more strikingly in the case of Child Q, by law enforcement. The case of Child Q sadly exemplifies that when professionals perceive children as more adult, their wellbeing, safeguarding needs and rights as children can be diminished or overlooked. 

Jahnine Davis, the director and co-founder of Listen-Up, a company established to amplify lesser heard voices in child safeguarding, spoke on the case of Child Q. She discussed how events like the treatment of Child Q are sensationalised by the media and cause short-lived responses of anger. Instead, she insists that these cases should open up larger discussions of the ‘everyday racist, racialised experiences black children have to navigate and encounter across all systems and services’. Further, she expresses how we must assess, societally, the foundations of adultification bias which affect young boys just as much as girls.

We only have to look as far as the disparity in the policing of drug offences in the UK to see how black males experience prejudice in the criminal justice system. Much research has shown that the policing and prosecution of drug possession in the UK is excessively focussed on black and minority groups. If young black males are being stopped and searched, arrested and prosecuted disproportionately more than their white counterparts, we must consider where adultification bias is coming into play. Young black males, Davis states, are stereotyped as deviants and gang members. These stereotypes, she stresses, dehumanise black children and drastically impact safeguarding duties.

In the aftermath of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests it is disheartening to be reminded that systemic and institutional racism is still prevalent in the United Kingdom today. Labour MP Diane Abbott writes of how dispiriting this story is, noting that after “decades of marching, demonstrating [and] campaigning, police practice is as bad as ever”. The publication of this report is a stark reminder that there is much still to be done to tackle racism in the United Kingdom. This case sadly indicates that black children in the UK are not safe from mistreatment by the police, even at school, a supposed place of safety.

Header Photo Credit: Unsplash

Pretty Little Thieves: Molly-Mae and her social responsibility

Last year, an uproar was prompted when PrettyLittleThing (PLT) offered a 99% off sale for Black Friday. This led to customers asking how the company could possibly be selling clothes for as little as eight pence: what on earth are they paying their workers? How cheap are their materials? What is the environmental impact? 

The brand, which is owned by the Boohoo group, has come under fire numerous times as one of the worst fast fashion companies in the UK. In 2020, the owner was found to be paying garment workers in Leicester as little as £3.50 an hour.

In 2021 ex-Love Island star, Molly-Mae Hague, became the creative director of PLT. This week the fashion retailer held their first ever runway event, with Molly standing excitedly at the forefront. Outside the venue, a group of protesters gathered. Amongst them was 2021 Love Island star Brett Staniland, holding a sign which read: “There is nothing ‘pretty’ about wage theft”.

As a feminist, I feel it is my responsibility to uplift, support and celebrate women. Whilst it is brilliant to see women in high power roles at the top of their industry, it is also difficult to celebrate Molly-Mae’s seven-figure deal with PLT with the knowledge that the women making the clothes that she promotes are not even paid a living wage. 

Recently Molly came under fire once again, remarking in a podcast episode that “everyone has the same twenty-four hours in a day”. The clip of Molly went viral, with many calling her tone-deaf, commenting on her ignorance towards her privilege as a white, middle-class woman. Molly’s comment also seemed to ignore the fact that her platform, which has been dramatically elevated since her appearance on Love Island, gives her far more opportunities than the average person. One of the protesters outside the PLT runway show even held up a sign alluding to Molly’s podcast comment, it read “PLT Creative Director Salary: £4.8 million, PLT Garment Maker Salary: £7280. Same 24 hours in a day”. 

However, supporters of Molly-Mae argue that she is only twenty-two years old, and she can do no right in the eyes of a scrutinous public. Yes, Molly is young and being under constant examination must be incredibly difficult. Perhaps the level of vitriol that Molly received for her comment was excessive, but it is inescapable that she does have a level of responsibility to make a change, both in how she addresses her privilege and in her role at PLT.  

The very name of Molly’s role – an ‘influencer’ – speaks to the power that she has over her fans, many of whom are teenage girls. Whilst securing brand deals is part and parcel of the influencer role, some ex-Love Island contestants (like Brett Staniland) have used their platform to advocate for fair living wages, sustainable fashion, and climate change activism. With her current Instagram following standing at 6.2 million and the significance of her role within PLT, Molly certainly has the power to assist change. This could be advocating for the factory workers at PLT, or it could be working towards making the brand more sustainable. Let’s hope that 2022 is the year that Molly-Mae uses her twenty-four hours to make a positive influence.

Image credit: Instagram (@mollymae)