365 days to go…

365 days to go to the 2018 BASPCAN International Congress

Warwick University campus is looking stunning at the moment: late white daffodils create a panorama of beauty under clear blue skies; in the dappled woods the bluebells are waiting to burst forth with their carpets of indigo; broody moorhens, ducks and geese congregate on the lakes.

And we are getting really excited about the BASPCAN international congress which is now just a year away.

Thinking outside the box: Fragile Credit: Dan Tucker — Thinking outside the box: Fragile
Credit: Dan Tucker

Thinking outside the box: innovative perspectives on protecting children and young people

The theme of the congress is Thinking Outside the Box. This reflects our desire to learn and develop, encouraging participants to be creative and reflective, and to interact with each other.

The congress will include practitioners, academics and experts by experience – survivors of abuse and users of family services, coming together for the first time to learn from each other, reflect and consider how we can improve services to support families and protect children and young people.

We are looking forward to over 800 delegates from across the UK and around the world joining us for this exciting programme.

Inspiring Keynotes

We have an inspiring line up of keynote speakers including:

Shakespeare’s dysfunctional families

Paul Edmondson, Head of research and knowledge, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

Pebbles in the fairy tale: what can child protection learn from children’s literature?

Anne Fine, Author and former Children’s Laureate

Child protection at the edge of chaos

Irene Stevens, Independent child care consultant

Safeguarding in, around and through sport

Daniel Rhind, Senior lecturer in social psychology

Out of the Box

Along with cutting edge research, practice-focused workshops, presentations of personal experience, and engaging discussion forums, we are also planning an inspirational ‘out of the box’ programme, including:

Poet in residence, Clare Shaw
Motionhouse Dance Company
Health and wellbeing programme
Evening chat room with the convenors and keynote speakers

And much, much more.

Presentations and Workshops: Submit an Abstract

The call for abstracts is now open.

If you have a good idea, some original research or innovative practice that you can present, or if you are able to draw on your own experience as a survivor of abuse or someone who has been involved with family support services, we invite you to submit an outline (abstract) of your presentation.

Registrations: Early Bird Bookings are now open

Early Bird bookings are now open, with substantial discounts and special rates for BASPCAN members (including those joining new), and for those from low-income countries, students, the unwaged and those on low family incomes.

Do take a look at our website for more information, regular updates, and to register for the congress or submit your abstract.

www.baspcan.org.uk/baspcan-congress-2018/

April 3, 2017

The London Evening Standard, the Metropolitan Police, and Executive Pay

A leading article

This evening, the London Evening Standard ran a page 2 article on the new Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Cressida Dick, who has chosen voluntarily to take a £40,000 pay cut compared to her predecessor.

An editorial comment praised this move, and encouraged those on top end salaries to ‘follow Ms Dick’s fine example.’

With policing budgets under pressure, this is a welcome indication that Ms Dick is in touch with reality. In many sectors the gap between executive and average pay is rising for no good reason.

Putting their money where their mouth is?

Given that the London Evening Standard’s incoming editor, George Osborne reportedly already earns in excess of £1.5 million per year (Politics and greed: seeking integrity and justice, 27th March 2017), I wonder whether he will follow his columnist’s advice and Ms Dick’s fine example?

March 29, 2017

Working with the Victims and Perpetrators of Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation

Working with the victims and perpetrators of child sexual abuse and exploitation: The latest issue of Child Abuse Review

Working with the victims and perpetrators of child sexual abuse and exploitation is one of the most challenging fields of child protection practice. The nature of some of these cases is such that it challenges our beliefs in the inherent goodness of our fellow human beings and can leave us, as practitioners, feeling emotionally drained and bruised. In the words of a participant in one of the research studies reported in this issue of Child Abuse Review, ‘It’s horrible stuff that you are hearing day in and day out’ (Ahern et al., 2017, p. 133).

These cases are often complex and their investigation can be protracted. There is a difficult balance to be achieved between the forensic requirements of robust evidence gathering, the therapeutic aspects of caring for the victims, and the public interests of ensuring justice, rehabilitating offenders and preventing reoffending.

So how can we best support professionals working in this complex field? What tools and techniques are available to them and how best can they use these?

The papers in this issue of Child Abuse Review address some of these topics.

Understanding offenders’ belief systems

In an accompanying editorial, I explore some of these questions, starting with a discussion paper by Jamie Walton and colleagues looking at the properties of the Sex with Children Scale. This led me to deepen my own understanding in relation to the Implicit Theories hypothesis as an attempt to understand the underlying belief systems of perpetrators of child sexual abuse.

Ward and colleagues postulated that such offenders may hold one or more ‘implicit theories’ about themselves, other people and their surrounding environments, and it is these inherent belief systems which allow them to sexually abuse children. They proposed five implicit theories that child sexual offenders may hold: children as sexual beings; the nature of harm; the world as dangerous; entitlement; and uncontrollability (Ward and Keenan, 1999).

Responding to the child victims of sexual abuse

Two papers in this issue consider the child victims of sexual abuse and how we can assess, support and respond to their needs, including an evaluation of joint investigative interview training in Scotland, and a comparison of the information obtained from young people in a direct research interview with that available as a result of the child protection assessment.

A number of important conclusions can be drawn from this research: first, that we owe it to children and young people to include their voices in research about and for them; second, that much useful data can be obtained through the careful and ethical use of routinely collected information, such as case assessments; and third, that routinely collected information cannot replace the depth and breadth of data obtained through well-designed qualitative or quantitative research projects. In seeking to promote evidence-informed research, therefore, we need to explore both avenues and to do so in a way that respects and empowers children and young people.

Supporting practitioners working with child sexual exploitation

Working with child sexual abuse and exploitation is challenging to the practitioners in this field. Their responses are explored in research by Elizabeth Ahern and colleagues.

One of the striking findings of this research was the tendency for practitioners to report withholding their own emotional responses during the interviews for the sake of the young people. However, as the authors point out, many young people want practitioners to be human and interact with them. Such emotional distancing could have a negative impact both on the young people themselves and their ability or willingness to engage with the interview, and also on the wellbeing of the professionals involved.

You can read the full editorial online for free at the journal website:

Editorial: Working with the victims and perpetrators of child sexual abuse and exploitation

Child Abuse Review, Issue 26:2

Editorial

Working with the Victims and Perpetrators of Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (pages 85–90)

Peter Sidebotham

Original Articles

A Brief Discussion About Measuring Child Molester Cognition With the Sex With Children Scale (pages 91–102)

Jamie Walton, Simon Duff and Shihning Chou

A Retrospective Analysis of Children’s Assessment Reports: What Helps Children Tell? (pages 103–115)

Rosaleen McElvaney and Maebh Culhane

An Open and Shut Case of Closed Questions: An Exploration of Joint Investigative Interview Training in Scotland (pages 116–129)Susanne Goetzold

Wellbeing of Professionals Working with Suspected Victims of Child Sexual Exploitation (pages 130–140)Elizabeth C. Ahern, Leslie H. Sadler, Michael E. Lamb and Gianna M. Gariglietti

Methodological Moderators in Prevalence Studies on Child Maltreatment: Review of a Series of Meta-Analyses (pages 141–157)Mariëlle J. L. Prevoo, Marije Stoltenborgh, Lenneke R. A. Alink, Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg and Marinus H. van IJzendoorn

Book Reviews

Recognition of Child Abuse for the Mandated Reporter by A. P. Giardino, L. Shaw, P. M. Speck and E. R. Giardino, GW Medical Publishing, St Louis, Missouri, 4^th Revised Edition, 2015. 402 pp. ISBN 978-1-878060-53-2 (Pbk), £58.95 (page 158)William Meredith

Contemporary Family Justice: Policy and Practice in Complex Child Protection Decisions by Kim Holt, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London, 2016. 168pp. ISBN 978-1-84905-626-7 (Pbk), £17.99 (page 159)

Katy Burch

March 27, 2017

Politics and greed: seeking integrity and justice

Politics and greed

In May this year, George Osborne, former Chancellor of the Exchequer and MP for Tatton in Cheshire, will take up a sixth job as editor of the London Evening Standard.

Although it is reportedly common for sitting MPs to hold other jobs, I struggle to see how he can take on this new role with any sense of integrity. Mr Osborne, reportedly, already has four other jobs besides representing his constituency[1]:

He is an advisor to the American fund management firm Blackrock, for which he is reportedly paid £650,000 a year for one day a week’s work;
He is a speaker at the Washington Speaker’s Bureau, through which he apparently earned £800,000 in 15 speaking engagements last year;
He is a fellow at the US think tank, McCain Institute, from which he receives a £120,000 annual stipend;
He is chairman of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership.

Time, money and conflicts of interest

As an ordinary mortal who struggles to fit all my work commitments into the time available, I find it hard to understand how Mr Osborne can possibly do justice to representing his constituency with all those other roles competing for his time. Even if the other roles only take up a small proportion of his time, surely editing a daily newspaper cannot just be fitted into his spare time.

Last week the Economist reported that since being ejected from the treasury in July, Mr Osborne has taken part in just 6 debates in Parliament and has yet to submit a written question.[2]

As MP for Tatton, Mr Osborne represents 85,000 people. As chairman of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, he is meant to be promoting the development and interests of the North of England. In contrast, as editor of a London newspaper, he will have a powerful voice in the capital. It is hard to see how this will not cause any conflict of interest. When called on to vote on parliamentary debates will he vote according to his paper’s position, in the interests of the northern powerhouse, to represent his constituents, following his party’s whip, or will he vote primarily in his own interests?

Which brings us to the sickening greed of someone who can accept remuneration of £12,500 per day as an advisor, or charge an average £53,000 for an after-dinner speech. For the year ending 5 April 2015, median gross earnings for full-time employees in the UK were £27,600. While I support MPs receiving appropriate remuneration for the work they do, and I don’t have a problem with them taking on extra roles if they can manage them without compromising their primary role, I do have concerns about the validity of someone representing their constituency, while earning, in one after-dinner speech, nearly twice what their average constituent will earn in a year.

Seeking integrity: the Green Party’s candidate for West Midlands’ mayor

Reeling from the sickening reality of such obscene payments, it came as a breath of fresh air to read the pledges of the Green Party’s candidate for West Midlands’ mayor, James Burn.

In May this year, the West Midlands will elect its first ever mayor.

James Burn, currently leader of the opposition on Solihull council, and the Green party candidate has pledged, if he is elected, to refuse the majority of the proposed £100,000 salary, accepting instead the average wage of the West Midlands, of £29,000. The remainder he has pledged to donate to charity and local start-ups.

As a local councillor, James has been consistent in standing up for social justice and ethical principles[3]:

He played a key role in Birmingham’s first Living Wage campaign;
He has continued to call for Solihull Council to pay a living wage instead of giving big pay rises to directors;
He is supporting investment in the least well off areas of the West Midlands;
He is an unpaid board member for the Advanced credit union, an ethical community bank covering Solihull and North East Birmingham;
He has served as a volunteer for a wide range of charities.

In addition to his personal pledge in relation to the mayoral salary, James has also pledged to set up a public forum with representatives from across the community to hold the mayor to account. Currently the arrangements include one small committee, chosen by the authority and meeting four times a year.

Integrity in Politics: going for Green not for greed

The contrast between these two politicians couldn’t be starker. And when it comes to our own democracy, whether in Parliament, or in our local combined authority, I would much rather be represented by someone who is clearly committed to social justice, to promoting well-being, to protecting our environment, and who isn’t afraid to live out their principles.

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/mar/17/george-osborne-named-new-evening-standard-editor-newspaper

[2] Economist, 23.3.17: http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21719523-thats-not-oddest-part-time-career-mp-others-have-worked-playboy-or

[3] http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/west-midlands-mayor-candidate-james-12568183

March 25, 2017March 25, 2017

25th March: The struggle for peace and justice goes on

25th March 1965

On 25 March 1965, when I was far too young to be aware of it, Martin Luther King led thousands of non-violent demonstrators to the steps of the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama.

52 years on it seems as though the struggle for peace and justice is every bit as needed as it was then.

Images of peace and terror

This past week seems to have thrown up an incredible mix of good and evil: of terror, injustice, violence and greed combined with equally powerful images of peace and reconciliation.

I am left with images of our emergency services fighting to save the life of a man who had just killed four innocent people; of politicians and leaders on both sides of the Northern Ireland conflict gathering to honour Martin McGuinness – a man who had once been a source of terror and violent, but who had become an equally powerful force for peace; of President Trump being forced to back down from his attempt to reverse a policy which has brought better health security and welfare to millions of the least privileged in American society; of EU leaders gathering in Rome to celebrate the anniversary of a union that has, at the very least, been a major contributor to over 60 years of peace in Europe.

All those images leave me marvelling at the crazy, mixed up world in which we live: where so much of Martin Luther King’s dream has been achieved, and yet so much more remains to be done.

The image of five faith leaders standing together in a vigil to remember the victims of the Westminster attack stands alongside that of members of the Jewish community in Victoria, Texas, who handed over the keys of their synagogue to their Muslim brothers and sisters whose mosque was burned down on 28^th January, just hours after Donald Trump announced his plan to ban immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries (Time Magazine, 2.2.17[1]).

“I want in terms of values, to refer to something that seems to me to go deeper, to something that is really at the foundation of our own understanding of what our society is about… That speaks of – at this time of year as we look forward to Holy Week and Easter – of a God who stands with the suffering, and brings justice, and whose resurrection has given to believer and unbeliever the sense that where we do what is right; where we behave properly; where that generosity and extraordinary sense of duty that leads people to treat a terrorist is shown; where that bravery of someone like PC Keith Palmer is demonstrated, that there is a victory for what is right and good; over what is evil, despairing and bad.” – Archbishop Justin Welby, 22.3.17

Terror may continue to shout… but the quiet voice will still be heard

Terror may continue to shout – whether in the form of a radicalized religious fanatic, or through the voices and actions of those from all backgrounds who promote intolerance. But the quiet voice of those who struggle in non-violent ways for peace and justice will still be heard.

[1] http://time.com/4657876/texas-mosque-fire-jewish-christian-communities-help/

March 13, 2017March 13, 2017

Safeguarding and sport

Safeguarding in, around and through sport is the theme of the latest in our lineup of keynote talks for the BASPCAN 2018 international congress.

Daniel Rhind

Dr Daniel Rhind is a chartered psychologist and head of the Brunel International Research Network for Athlete Welfare.

His deep engagement with the issues of safeguarding and sport make him the ideal person to explore this theme.

Safeguarding in, around and through sport

The importance of safeguarding children and young people within organizations has been repeatedly demonstrated in a range of recent high profile media stories. These organizations cover a variety of different contexts such as schools, churches, hospitals, and care homes. Although sport can provide significant physical, social and psychological benefits for children, research evidence over the past 20 years has demonstrated that sport can also be a context in which children can be subjected to different forms of abuse.

This presentation will consider safeguarding in, around and through sport. Safeguarding ‘in’ sport concerns the prevalence of the different forms of abuse along with the factors which may make children more vulnerable to abuse. Safeguarding ‘around’ sport will be discussed with reference to research on how mega sports events can impact children. Safeguarding ‘through’ sport concerns how participation can help to safeguard children beyond the context of sport.

Over the past 5 years, a working group has developed and piloted the International Safeguards for Children in Sport. The International Safeguards set out the actions that all organizations working in sport should have in place to ensure children are safe from abuse. The presentation will outline the development, implementation and evaluation of these International Safeguards. The CHILDREN Pillars (i.e., Cultural sensitivity, Holistic, Incentives, Leadership, Dynamic, Resources, Engaging stakeholders and Networks) which have been found to under-pin an effective safeguarding system in sport will then be discussed.

Thinking Outside the Box: BASPCAN 2018 international child protection congress

Plans for the congress are really coming together well, and it promises to be a really worthwhile programme. Click here to take a look at the congress website to find out more about the programme, the other keynote speakers, and how you can get involved.

The call for abstracts is now open, so do check it out and see whether there is something you might like to present.

March 7, 2017

Shakespeare’s Dysfunctional Families: Opening Keynote at the BASPCAN 2018 Congress

BASPCAN: For Child Protection Professionals

I am really pleased to announce that the opening keynote address for the 2018 BASPCAN International Congress will be by Paul Edmondson, Head of Research and Knowledge for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Paul will be kicking off our congress with a thespian slant from the great playwright himself, bringing a fresh, out-of-the-box approach to thinking about child protection.

SHAKESPEARE’S DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES

King Lear, Hamlet, As You Like It, The Winter’s Tale: Shakespeare consistently bodies forth family life as dysfunctional, broken, often violent. In this key-note address, Paul Edmondson, Head of Research for The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, considers some of the portrayals of dysfunctional families in Shakespeare’s plays, relevant aspects of Shakespeare’s own life, and considers why this theme seems especially appropriate to our own times.

“Here let us breathe and haply institute

A course of learning and ingenious studies”

The Taming of the Shrew, Act 1, Scene 1

Paul Edmondson, Head of Research and Knowledge, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

Paul Edmondson is Head of Research and Knowledge and Director of the Stratford-upon-Avon Poetry Festival for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. He is the author, co-author, and co-editor of many books and articles about Shakespeare, including: The Shakespeare Circle: An Alternative Biography (with Stanley Wells for Cambridge University Press, 2015), Shakespeare’s Creative Legacies (with Peter Holbrook, The Arden Shakespeare, 2016); and Finding Shakespeare’s New Place: an archaeological biography (with Kevin Colls and William Mitchell, Manchester University Press, 2016). His Shakespeare: Ideas in Profile (Profile Books, 2015) is an overview of Shakespeare for the general reader. He has published work on the Sonnets, the musicality of Shakespeare’s words, the poetry of Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare’s influence on the Brontës, and writes theatre and book reviews. He is Chair of the Hosking Houses Trust for women writers, a Trustee of the British Shakespeare Association, an honorary fellow at the University of Birmingham, and a priest in the Church of England. He has lived and worked in Stratford-upon-Avon since 1995.

Registration opens soon

Registration for the congress will open soon. There are special rates for BASPCAN members and for students, the unemployed, those on low incomes and those from low-income countries.

A call for abstracts is now open. We are looking for presentations from practitioners, researchers and experts by experience (both survivors of abuse and users of family services). Click here to find out more orto submit an abstract for the congress.

Click here to find out about the other exciting keynote speakers, to see the programme, and for more information about the congress.

“Get thee before to Coventry. Fill me a bottle of Sack.”

– Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 1

March 1, 2017

New Internationalist: Buy into a better story

New Internationalist: a movement for media that brings people together

In a time of ‘alternative facts’, biased journalism, presidential suppression of free speech, and a media dominated by multi-millionaires with their own agenda, this is a really exciting opportunity to support high quality, independent and ethical journalism. Please consider contributing to this crowd funding scheme and be part of something positive.

For the past 44 years, New Internationalist has published stories that make sense of the complex and beautiful world we live in and offer bold, bright ideas for how to change things.

Community share offer: an opportunity to be part of this

Unlike other media businesses that depend on billionaires or corporate advertisers, NI wants their honest, independent journalism to be owned by the people who share their values. They’ve always been reader-powered; now they want to be reader-owned.

They aim to raise a minimum of £500,000 (US$ 625,000) through the world’s biggest-ever media community share offer.

‘In this time of fake news and endless online chatter, it’s more important than ever to have the New Internationalist‘ — Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor, Channel 4 News.

Anyone can invest, from anywhere in the world, as long as they are aged 16 or over. Each share costs £1 and the minimum share holding in £50, the maximum is £100,000. A small shareholder will have just as much power as a large one.

The share capital they raise will be used to increase their audience and impact, and secure their future long-term. It’ll be directed at five key business areas, and they’ll use it to: scale up their digital journalism, relaunch their magazine, boost their publishing arm and expand their Ethical Shop social enterprise and events programme. All offer opportunities to grow and are in line with our historic mission.

You can find out more and pledge to be part of it by clicking on the link below:

Author: Peter Sidebotham