ABSTRACT
In February 1993 the abduction, suffering and murder of a 2-year-old boy on Merseyside became the symbol of a society in social and moral decline. As the blurred security video images of James Bulger, led through a busy shopping mall by two young boys, were broadcast around the world, media and political commentaries proclaimed that exceptional levels of violence within British society had been reached. Many explanations and numerous ‘experts’ fuelled the national debate, but two closely related assumptions prevailed: the decline of the family and parental discipline; the lost innocence of a previous ‘golden age’ of childhood. Since those images were first broadcast the crisis in childhood has been a persistent theme, dominating the press, broadcast news, features and documentaries. It has been the focus of parliamentary debates and official inquiries while also featuring in drama and television soaps. The media, particularly the press, have sustained the moral panic and political outrage, often stoking the fire with the latest burning revelation, regardless of the truth. Children and young people remain conspicuous by their absence in all but their misdeeds or as targets for (adult) popular judgment or academic analysis. This chapter critically assesses the form, content and implications of these developments, setting them in their contemporary contexts. It compares the recent coverage of children as perpetrators with that of the physical and sexual abuse of children within the family, the place where children are most at risk.
