Identifying and challenging mother blaming in Canadian child protection

This paper is a thematic review of literature on mother blaming in Canadian child protection (CP). Child protection in Canada has a long-standing tradition of blaming mothers when something goes wrong with their children (Lapierre & Côté, 2011). The term ‘mother blaming’ or ‘mother blame’ is used to describe the gendered blame that a mother receives when there is a negative experience or outcome for their child (Toews et al., 2019). I examine the culture of mothing blaming in Canadian CP, the complexities of blame attribution, and the ways that workers and mothers can resist and challenge mother blaming. Additionally, I explore themes such as the construction of a good mother, the complexities of blame attribution, absent fathers, and challenging mother blaming. Lastly, I discuss limitations and implications for policy and practice.