ABSTRACT
Social work’s preoccupation with its media coverage began after the death of Maria Colwell in 1973, the trial and conviction for manslaughter of her stepfather, and the subsequent public inquiry. This marked the transition of child abuse (initially called the ‘battered baby syndrome’— see Parton (1985) for a comprehensive account) from the discourse of academic debate to that of social problem. The case made such an impact that, after twenty years and despite all the intervening controversies, ‘another Colwell’ is still used to call up the whole ‘inventory’ (Cohen 1973 and see Chapter 1) of intensive media scrutiny.
