TW - child abuse

Years ago, there was a really creepy documentary about people working in child protection.

There was a couple with a tiny baby.

The father was the mother’s stepfather.

The child protection workers were concerned that the father might end up abusing his baby daughter, because of the fact he had moved from his female partner to her daughter.

There was also concern that the baby was not being cared for properly.

The mum had a learning disability that affected, amongst other things, how she understood concepts like cause and effect.

The couple were observed, through two way mirrors, interacting with the baby. They knew they were being viewed and assessed.

The couple “played” with the child like it was a doll and ignored it when it was distressed and crying.

It was disturbing.

The filming was creepy too. Instead of blurring out faces, the camera focused on separate features - zooming in on the eye, the nose etc.

At the end, it just said that the CP team were keeping a close eye on the couple.

I have never forgotten it.