Abstract
This article reports a case study of social workers’ constructions of
mothers of sexually abused children, which revealed that, although they no longer
constructed mothers as collusive, these social workers persisted in pejorative
constructions, which depended upon and interacted with multiple practice contexts. A
case exemplifying a ‘good’ mother, who believed her child at
disclosure, was chosen. Workers’ constructions occurred through the
interaction of individual thoughts with the social process of agency case
conferences, embodied in the written treatment summary. The full depiction of the
mother occurred through: (1) the reading of the written summary; (2) the
worker’s verbal ‘telling’ of the case’s
story, and (3) the discussion that ultimately led to a treatment plan. The case
conference was a social ritual, whose manifest and latent functions deeply
influenced social workers’ constructions of the mothers.