Every day in the UK, thousands of children are living with the reality of child abuse or neglect. A huge amount of positive work goes on throughout the country, with professionals working alongside children and their parents to offer support and protection, and to mitigate against the devastating short- and long-term impact of abuse.
All too often, however, professionals get blamed when things go wrong: on the one hand, being criticised for failing to act to protect vulnerable children; while on the other, being accused of interfering unnecessarily in family life. It is essential, therefore, that the work we do to protect children and support families is informed by high-quality research, and applied by skilled professionals working within appropriate guidelines.
Evidence-informed practice is one of the hallmarks of authoritative child protection, a concept I have explored in an editorial for Child Abuse Review.
Evidence-informed practice is the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence, integrated with relevant expertise and an understanding of the context, to guide decision making in relation to individual cases.
Sidebotham, 2009, based on Sackett, 1996
Equally important, the research we undertake into child maltreatment and child protection needs to be informed and driven by practice: by the needs of children and families and through listening carefully to them and to practitioners.
Child Abuse Review 25th Anniversary Conference
So, with that in mind, I am particularly excited about a conference we are holding in Birmingham later this year.
We have five exceptional key-note speakers, and are anticipating a wide range of high-quality free papers.
The deadline for abstract submission is 30th June, so get your abstract in quickly.
Further details and an abstract submission form can be found on the BASPCAN home page.
Friday 18 November 2016
Royal Angus Hotel, Birmingham
Join authors and editors past and present for this special one-day conference to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Child Abuse Review
The day will include:
- Optional pre-conference breakfast meeting for delegates on how to get published in Child Abuse Review
- Opening plenary session setting the theme
- Two parallel sessions in the morning and two in the afternoon on the following themes:
- Child Sexual Exploitation
- Neglect
- Domestic violence
- Translating research into practice
- Each parallel session will include one invited keynote lecture, a number of short presentations from submitted abstracts, and a plenary discussion.
- A closing plenary and celebration of 25 years of Child Abuse Review.
Keynote Speakers:
Professor Nicky Stanley, University of Central Lancashire
Professor Marian Brandon, University of East Anglia
Professor Jenny Pearce, University of Bedfordshire
Dr Stephanie Holt, Trinity College, Dublin
Professor Kevin Browne, Nottingham University
Find out more:
Visit the BASPCAN website for the full programme, speaker updates and booking information – www.baspcan.org.uk
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