Some families are so bad that a runaway is better off away.
By the late 80s, everyone realized the problem. (Although it still took a while to get the political will together to fix it, and the first attempt was far from perfect.)
But in 1982, not so much. "Teenage runaways" were a Serious Problem and Something Must Be Done, but people really weren't talking about domestic abuse. So kids were getting returned to abusive families and everyone was congratulating themselves on a job well done.
I'm not saying XTC is responsible for the Children's Act 1989 or anything, just that they were trying to help raise consciousness on something that needed it at the time.
Some families are so bad that a runaway is better off away.
By the late 80s, everyone realized the problem. (Although it still took a while to get the political will together to fix it, and the first attempt was far from perfect.)
But in 1982, not so much. "Teenage runaways" were a Serious Problem and Something Must Be Done, but people really weren't talking about domestic abuse. So kids were getting returned to abusive families and everyone was congratulating themselves on a job well done.
I'm not saying XTC is responsible for the Children's Act 1989 or anything, just that they were trying to help raise consciousness on something that needed it at the time.