What does the Shannon Matthews Case Suggest about Family Life in Modern Britain

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What does the Shannon Matthews’ case suggest about family life in modern Britain?

This essay will examine and discuss whether the Matthews family is a typical representation of family life in modern Britain. It will take a look at social class and investigate whether this effects the morals and mechanics of family units today, taking into account contributing factors such as financial issues, the benefit system and changing values in the 21st century.

Nine year old Shannon Matthews from Dewsbury, West Yorks, went missing for a period of 24 days in February this year, in a suspected kidnapping.  Shannon was found a short distance from her home, and later media coverage informed us that despite her publicised pleas for Shannon’s safe return, her mother Karen, had known of her whereabouts the whole time.  Since her release Shannon has remained in the care of social services. Her mother has been charged with child neglect and perverting the course of justice.  Shannon’s stepfather Craig Meehan was charged with possessing indecent images of children. Public and media speculation suggests that the kidnapping was little more then a publicity stunt that went wrong.  Police officers are examining alleged similarities between Shannon's disappearance and a storyline from the Channel 4 drama series ‘Shameless’ that was shown shortly before the nine-year-old vanished.  Stokes, P (2008) Shannon Matthews’ mother charged over disappearance. Telegraph. 9 June.

 

As the family depicted in ‘Shameless‘,  The Matthews family live within a typical example of an unloved and unkempt council estate.  According to the local newspaper, The Dewsbury Reporter,  Moorside is “…one of the most deprived areas in the country” This is backed up by information collated in the ‘Index of Deprivation 2007‘.  Kirklees, the county in which the town of Dewsbury is located has been deemed as the 12th worst district in England in terms of low income levels, high crime rates, health deprivation and unemployment. Only 11.2% of the 32’482 other LSOA’s are in a worse state than Moorside itself.  

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     Karen Matthews is unmarried, has seven children by five different fathers, only four of which reside with her. She comes from a working class family and is one of seven siblings, her parents were married and both worked, as does her sister who also has seven children, by one man, her husband.  Despite the differences between her and her family, Karen is not an exceptional case within her surroundings, or for that matter, in other deprived areas around the country.

“ …here was an example of Britain’s feckless but fecund underclass, churning out children at a reckless ...

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