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My mother was a verified miracle.

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

 

 

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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.

 

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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.

2016 impact factors
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

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!

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Child Protection

Child Protection

A poem by Clare Shaw for the 2018 BASPCAN child protection congress

Once, everything felt like threat.

Only my body

 

could keep yours alive.

We’d get up to check your breathing:

 

it was shallow and warm

on my cheek.

 

The whole world swam

in its tide.

 

I gazed into the dark

where no monsters were;

 

built fences to keep you

safe;

 

put the matches

up on the highest shelf.

 

I took on the wolf

with my own weak teeth

 

Never

will you not be my child,

 

would I not hold you,

wrap you in blankets of stars,

 

sweep stones from your path

so you won’t fall.

 

I will hold your hand by habit

on the road.

 

and you ask would I die for you –

a thousand times over

 

but the fences are growing smaller

and you should climb them.

 

I am giving you the matches.

Now make fire.

 

 

Clare Shaw, Poet in Residence

Clare Shaw photoClare Shaw is an educationalist and a writer. Her work is explicitly grounded in academic and professional knowledge, and also in her own experiences of self-injury and using mental health services. She is the author of “Otis Doesn’t Scratch (PCCS 2015); co-editor of “Our Encounters with Self-injury” (PCCS 2013); and has published numerous articles and book chapters.  Clare is also a Royal Literary Fellow at the University of Huddersfield. She is “one of Britain’s most dynamic and powerful young poets” (Arvon Foundation), and as such creativity and performance are an important element of her work.

 

Clare writes about her poetry:

“Part of the alchemy of poetry is not knowing what you’re going to write until it is written. I don’t have a road map for the poetry I’ll write over the coming year. Child protection, abuse and harm are huge topics to address; that’s why poetry is a perfect way to approach them. Once I started writing, I knew that I wanted to begin by deconstructing some of the language we’re all familiar with when we work in this field – by bringing it back to the ordinary and extraordinary experience of caring for a child”.

 

Thinking Outside the Box: BASPCAN Congress, 2018

Click here to find out more about the 2018 BASPCAN Congress

BASPCAN: For Child Protection Professionals
BASPCAN: For Child Protection Professionals
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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 familiesPaul Edmondson

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

 

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

Credit: Carsten Murawski

  • Anne Fine, Author and former Children’s Laureate

 

Child protection at the edge of chaosDr Irene Stevens

  • Irene Stevens, Independent child care consultant

 

Safeguarding in, around and through sportDaniel Rhind picture 2015

  • 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 ShawMotionhouse: Community Classes - Photo Jane Bailey
  • 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.

Broken by Katja Ogrin

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/

 

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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

Table of Contents

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, 4th 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

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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 picture 2015

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.

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Thinking Outside the box: submit an abstract for a presentation or workshop

The call for abstracts for the BASPCAN 2018 International Child Protection Congress is now open.

The congress theme of Thinking outside the box reflects our desire to learn and develop, encouraging all participants to be creative and reflexive, and to interact with each other. A large part of this is the programme of free papers, posters, workshops, symposia, and training events presented by congress participants. We are looking forward to a great programme with lots of engaging presentations by practitioners, researchers, experts by experience and others.

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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.

Click here to find out more and submit your abstract.

 

Motionhouse: Community Classes - Photo Jane Bailey