Hargreaves, Robert James ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8778-7417 (2026) “They Only Hit Until You Cry” Therapeutic Jurisprudence and the Limits of Safeguarding. Liverpool Law Review.

Preview	Text They Only Hit Until You Cry Therapeutic Jurisprudence and the Limits of Safeguarding (1).pdf - Accepted Version Download (394kB) | Preview
	Text They Only Hit Until You Cry Therapeutic Jurisprudence and the Limits of Safeguarding.docx - Accepted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (72kB) Request a copy

Abstract

Suzanne Vega’s Luka (A&M Records, 1987) was one of the first mainstream pop songs to speak from the perspective of a child experiencing domestic abuse. Its calm delivery and matter-of-fact lyrics hint at an environment in which violence has become normalised. This article uses Luka as a jurisprudential device to illuminate a central tension within English safeguarding law: the gap between statutory protection and emotional recognition. Drawing on Therapeutic Jurisprudence (TJ), it argues that law’s formal structures, while well-intentioned, can be anti-therapeutic when they prioritise procedure over presence, investigation over listening.

The analysis situates the song’s narrative within the current legal framework under the Children Act 1989, s. 47, the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, s. 3, and the Department for Education’s Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023) guidance. It considers the leading authorities, Re W (Children) [2010] UKSC 12, In re B (Children) (FC) [2008] UKHL 35, and Re H (Minors) Sexual Abuse: Standard of Proof [1996] AC 563 and evaluates whether the law’s promise of child-centred protection is realised in practice. The article proposes a TJ “listening ethic,” reframing the duty to investigate as a duty to hear.

By placing a pop song in dialogue with doctrine, the article demonstrates that culture often reveals the emotional deficits of law. Safeguarding becomes therapeutic only when it enables children not simply to be questioned, but to be heard.

Item Type:	Article
Status:	Published
DOI:	10.1007/s10991-025-09400-5
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General)
School/Department:	York Business School
URI:	https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/13684

University Staff: Request a correction | RaY Editors: Update this record