Safeguarding children across the globe

Child maltreatment is a reality that affects children throughout the world – in all cultures and across all continents. How different countries respond to this varies. From countries adopting a strong and often punitive protection focus, to more supportive models of working in partnership with parents, through to areas where corruption, indifference or a lack of infrastructure can compromise efforts to safeguard children, the complexities of responding to this need are huge.

‘the type of model adopted within a country can have a significant impact upon the response subsequently made to children with safeguarding needs’

Our latest special issue of Child Abuse Review presents a series of papers which demonstrate how different models of child protection have been developed and implemented in different countries and consider the implications for the treatment and protection of children. It provides examples of cross-national learning and examines the policymaking context behind child protection models and where such learning has not always had positive outcomes for children. Accounts of child protection practice within Africa, Taiwan, Finland, Norway, the UK, the USA, Suriname, Sweden and China are presented.

In an accompanying editorial, our guest editors, Louise Brown, Jie Lei and Marianne Strydom explore some of these issues and highlight the research presented in this issue. They argue the case for areas that are developing child protection systems to draw on learning from elsewhere, but to temper this with more locally-based practical responses developed in partnership with local communities.

How effectively we are able to safeguard and protect children depends not only on the systems and structures we have in place to respond to child abuse and neglect, but also on the underlying cultural values affecting how we perceive children and families. Two papers in this special issue – from Suriname and from Finland and Sweden – present very different cultural contexts and make for interesting reflection.

‘This special issue brings to our attention issues relating to the different models of child protection that have been adopted by different countries and the complexity in the process of adapting models to fit different cultural contexts. It questions the usefulness and validity of attempts to impose international standards, and how different models can result in different responses to children’

You can access the editorial for free, along with the full table of contents, earlier issues and early view papers on the Child Abuse Review website:

Child Abuse Review Special Issue 26:4 Table of Contents

Comparing International Approaches to Safeguarding Children: Global Lesson Learning (pages 247–251)

Louise Brown, Jie Lei and Marianne Strydom

The Practical Sense of Protection: A Discussion Paper on the Reporting of Child Abuse in Africa and whether International Standards Actually Help Keep Children Safe (pages 252–262)

Karen Walker-Simpson

Policy Assemblage in Taiwan’s Child Protection Reforms: Policy Mixture, Policy Regime Change and Shifting Policy Challenges (pages 263–274)

Yei-Whei Lin

Perceptions of Corporal Punishment among Creole and Maroon Professionals and Community Members in Suriname (pages 275–288)

Inger W. van der Kooij, Josta Nieuwendam, Gerben Moerman, Frits Boer, Ramón J. L. Lindauer, Jaipaul L. Roopnarine and Tobi L. G. Graafsma

Parents’ Self-Reported Use of Corporal Punishment and Other Humiliating Upbringing Practices in Finland and Sweden – A Comparative Study (pages 289–304)

Noora Ellonen, Steven Lucas, Ylva Tindberg and Staffan Janson

A Cross-Country Comparison of Child Welfare Systems and Workers’ Responses to Children Appearing to be at Risk or in Need of Help (pages 305–319)

Jill Berrick, Jonathan Dickens, Tarja Pösö and Marit Skivenes

August 2, 2017

This vibrant jostle, stem by stem

What a gathering – the purple

tongues of iris licking out

at spikes of lupine, the orange

crepe skirts of poppies lifting

buttercup and daisy.

Who can be grim

in the face of such abundance?

There is nothing to compare,

no need for beauty to compete.

The voluptuous rhododendron

and the plan grass

are equally filled with themselves,

equally declare the miracles

of color and form.

This is what community looks like

this vibrant jostle, stem by stem

declaring the marvelous joining.

This is the face of communion,

the incarnation once more

gracefully resurrected from winter.

Hold these things together

in your sight – purple, crimson,

magenta, blue. You will

be feasting on this long after

the flowers are gone.

Lynn Ungar, in The Artist’s Rule by Christine Valters Paintner

July 22, 2017July 22, 2017

My mother was a verified miracle.

A poem for July by Clare Shaw, Poet in Residence for the BASPCAN 2018 International Child Protection Congress

My mother was church door where millions entered.
My mother was tower where four kestrels roosted –
my mother was hooded, she plunged and she hovered.
She flew at the speed of the wind, oh
my mother had wings and her voice was an organ,
she was seraph and cherub and throne and dominion.
My mother was bright with flame.

My mother was saint and my mother was martyr
and she was the light floating over the water.
My mother was whale and I rode safe inside her –
I was blessed and I came out clean
for my mother was sermon and she was the mountain
and she was the tree and the nails and the Roman
and her rafters were oak and her stone was all golden.

My mother said Let there be light
and she was the light. My mother was fruit
and we peopled the earth in her name
for my mother was sun and my mother was thunder.
My mother would get at the truth if it killed her –
she laid waste to the nations for me did my mother
and I could not run from her love

for my mother was choir, she was every bird singing
and she was the song and will not be forgotten.
My mother was angel, my mother was fallen.
She suffered the children and fed them on nothing.
My mother was bread
and my mother was broken
and she was the ark. She was darkness. The ocean.

To read more of Clare’s poems, to find out more about the congress and how you can participate, please take a look at the congress website:

BASPCAN Congress 2018

June 30, 2017June 30, 2017

Supporting Children after a Frightening Event

Frightening and distressing events in the news can have a huge impact on children and young people, particularly those who may have been directly involved in an incident, who are grieving, upset, or understandably anxious about themselves and others.

In light of the recent events in Manchester and London, Child Bereavement UK have highlighted a really helpful and straightforward information sheet:

Supporting Children after a Frightening Event

“You can help children and young people feel safer sooner, by sticking to their normal routines as much as possible, and continuing with their normal activities when possible.”

“Children and young people need a truthful explanation that makes sense of the main facts, which is appropriate for their age. Even younger children can really benefit from being given a description and explanation of what happened.”

They are also offering a series of free seminars and consultation sessions for school staff to aid them in supporting pupils following sudden and traumatic death.

Child Bereavement UK

Child Bereavement UK is a great charity that supports families and educates professionals when a baby or child of any age dies or is dying, or when a child is facing bereavement. Do take a look at their website, and if you are a professional working with children or young people in the UK, you can sign up for more information here.

June 24, 2017

Summer

Noon holds her bright sun

I take up my spade once more

Life flexes her limbs

June 23, 2017

Making an Impact: Child Abuse Review

2016 Journal Impact Factors

The 2016 journal Impact Factor results were released on Wednesday and we were really pleased to find that the Impact Factor for Child Abuse Review has increased from 0.941 to 1.543. This is fantastic news and it exceeds our strategic goal which was 1.2 by 2017.

The journal now ranks 19/43 in Family Studies and 9/42 in Social Work.

We are really proud of the progress we have been able to make with the journal. Ultimately, that comes down to the quality of the papers that are submitted, the hard work of the editorial and publishing teams, and the support of all our readers, reviewers, editorial board, and Diane our tireless manager.

Inspiring Research

Looking back over the past couple of years, we have been able to publish some extremely important research which is clearly having an impact, not just on journal metrics, but on policy and practice in the UK and around the world. Highlights for me have been

Emma Katz – Beyond the Physical Incident Model: How Children Living with Domestic Violence are Harmed By and Resist Regimes of Coercive Control;
Mary Hughes and Jill Cossar – The Relationship between Maternal Childhood Emotional Abuse/Neglect and Parenting Outcomes: A Systematic Review;
Brigid Daniel – Why have we made neglect so complicated? Taking a fresh look at noticing and helping the neglected child
Daniel Wartenweiler and Roseann Mansukhani – Participatory Action Research with Filipino Street Youth: Their voice and action against corporal punishment
Julie Taylor et al. – Disabled Children and the Child Protection System: A Cause for Concern; and
Marije Stoltenborgh et al. – The Prevalence of Child Maltreatment across the Globe: Review of a Series of Meta-Analyses.

However there are so many more of relevance to academics and practitioners alike. Many of our papers are freely available online through our virtual issues, so do take a look at the journal website and be inspired!

June 14, 2017

Breakfast in Tuscany

Waking on my birthday to a cloudless Tuscan sky, the streets of Prato silent and empty in the cool of the morning (and no cafés open for a cappuccino and croissant), I wandered up the river seeking peace and beauty. A couple of miles on, I found my spot: away from the slowly waking town, shared only with egrets and a heron. I sat on a rock in the cool shade as the river gushed past me and the sun climbed slowly over verdant hills.

You spread a feast before me.

I am so blessed: from the wonder and joy of being with Lois – a second chance at life and love; the pride I take in Esther and Joe; the fulfilment I find in my work; the excitement of stepping out into pastures new.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me.

Back in Coventry an exciting new start awaits – yes, it feels uncertain, a step in the dark. And yet, I feel a sense of peace and wholeness; an ability to trust; and a conviction that the journey is the right one.

You lead me to restful waters.

(and yes, I did eventually get my coffee and croissant!)

June 10, 2017June 10, 2017

Sorry I did not attend my appointment

‘Sorry I did not attend my appointment but I can’t see over the steering wheel yet’

Sorry I did not attend my appointment

An excellent little animation video by Safeguarding Nottingham brings to life the dangers in applying adult-based DNA (Did Not Attend) policies to children. While a competent adult can choose whether or not to attend an appointment, for children this is not the case.

A simple adjustment to using the term ‘Was Not Brought’ can help shift our thinking and behaviour in relation to children’s health care.

This was one of the messages in our recent triennial review of Serious Case Reviews (http://seriouscasereviews.rip.org.uk/) and is flagged up again in the latest issue of Child Abuse Review

Was Not Brought – Take Note! Think Child! Take Action!

The impact of children not being brought for appointments is explored in a paper by Jenny Harris and colleagues on missed dental appointments. This paper is just one of a number of original articles covering research, clinical audit, safeguarding practice and interventions, including an evaluation of a parenting programme for adolescent mothers; a Healthy Eating Active Living programme for young people living in residential out of home care; a systematic review of the use of digital technologies to prevent violence against children; and a report on the differences between accidental and abusive ano-genital injuries.

All of these papers provide different snippets of evidence to help practitioners in working effectively to safeguard children, while keeping a focus on the child at the centre.

Authoritative practice… is dependent on a careful analysis of current best evidence, high-quality research to promote and extend our evidence base, and practitioners who retain a focus on the child, recognising and responding to vulnerability in a supportive but challenging manner.

You can access the editorial for free, along with the table of contents and all the research papers (subscription or BASPCAN membership only) at the journal website.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/car.v26.3/issuetoc

Child Abuse Review Issue 26:3

Table of Contents

Was Not Brought – Take Note! Think Child! Take Action!

Jane V. Appleton and Peter Sidebotham
Clinical Audit of Children’s Missed Dental Appointments in a City-Wide Salaried Community Dental Service in Relation to Guidance on When to Suspect Child Maltreatment

Jennifer C. Harris, Lauren M. Firth and Barbara L. Chadwick

An Adolescent Parents’ Programme to Reduce Child Abuse

Margaret T. McHugh, Alexandra Kvernland and Vincent J. Palusci

The Healthy Eating, Active Living (HEAL) Study: Outcomes, Lessons Learnt and Future Recommendations

Rachael Cox, Helen Skouteris, Matthew Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, et al.

From Innovation to Transcreation: Adapting Digital Technologies to Address Violence against Children

Carmen Cronin, Suruchi Sood and Dawn Thomas