Forthcoming events for the Centre for Social Work Innovation and Research.
The adultification of Black Girls in State Care: Perspectives
The adultification of Black Girls in State Care: Perspectives
Speaker: Sylvia Ikomi
When: Monday 20 October 2025, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM.
Format: Online talk (45-minute presentation + 15-minute Q&A).
We are delighted to invite you and your colleagues to this event with Dr Sylvia Ikomi, who will present her work on the adultification of Black Girls in State Care. This Centre for Social Work Innovation and Research event is framed within the Black History Month theme of "Standing Firm in Power and Pride".
Of particular interest to: Social workers, teachers, health visitors, school nurses and police. (Academics also welcome!)
Sylvia Ikomi is a recipient of an Economic and Social Research Council Stuart Hall PhD studentship on the adultification of Black girls. She is an early career researcher, HE lecturer and qualified teacher and author of Child Q: A Case Study of the Adultification of Black Girls in Schools and The Adultification of Black Girls in State Care: Perspectives. Sylvia delivers Continuous Professional Development training for teachers and social workers that is aimed at raising their awareness of the adultification of Black girls within the social care and education sectors and potential strategies to address the issue. Sylvia has worked in partnership with Oxfordshire County Council and Coram BAAF/British Association for Adoption and Fostering to launch a campaign to support professionals that work with Black girls to address the issue of their adultification.
Please find more information here: https://corambaaf.org.uk/adultification
This talk is aimed at sharing the key findings of Sylvia’s study The Adultification of Black Girls in State Care: Perspectives with the aim for the audience to come away with some answers to the following questions:
- What is the adultification of Black girls in state care?
- How are Black girls in state care adultified?
- Why are Black girls in state care adultified?
- What are some potential solutions to address these issues?
We look forward to seeing you there!
Please share widely with your networks.
Best wishes,
Centre for Social Work Innovation and Research
cswir@sussex.ac.uk / www.sussex.ac.uk/cswir / @cswir.bsky.social