Reflecting on some unforced rhythms

I have recently reached an exciting milestone with my website/blog: overall, I have had over 5,000 views of the website, with a total of over 1,000 hits on my home page in the past year. My hope is that at least some of the resources I have put there, and the regular (or not-so-regular) blogs I post, are proving worthwhile and inspiring/challenging to at least some of my readers.

So, seeing that led me to wonder what it is that people are drawn to on this website, and what, indeed, leads anyone to read yet one more blog or webpage when bombarded with so many words and so much information all the time?

Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.

Ecclesiastes 12: 12

Most popular blogs

So, what have been the most popular blogs/pages?

Two stand out by a long way:

On seeing my daughter in her wedding dress, with 252 views, and

Brexited, with 231 views.

Top ten blogs/pages from the past year (well 11 – the last two had the same number of views):

On seeing my daughter in her wedding dress		252
Brexited		231
Pathways to harm, pathways to protection: a triennial review of Serious Case Reviews		147
Seeking peace, justice and wellbeing: why I believe we should stay in the EU		126
A Sacred Gaze : encountering Jesus through art		119
Fighting terror with terror: a letter to my MP		115
SIDS, restorative justice and big tobacco: why I’m feeling angry		114
Banksy on the mount I: The Beatitudes		101
Banksy on the Mount III: The Lord’s Prayer		100
Daily Meditations around the Advent Wreath		97
To a semi-circle 2: seeking joy		97

It’s interesting that this running list encompasses all four elements that I have tried to capture through the Unforced Rhythms website: some personal perspectives as an ordinary person trying to be a good father and husband, and not always getting it right; aspects of social justice and the sorrow I feel with so much of the darkness, violence and greed in our world, particularly the grief that I seemed to share with so many others over the outcome of the EU referendum; elements of my work in child protection and preventing child deaths; and some approaches to contemplative spirituality, particularly Lois’ meditations for Lent and Advent, and my melding of Banksy’s art with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

**The 100 words featuring most frequently in my top blogs**

So, if you are one of those who have found Unforced Rhythms to be helpful, or enjoyed my gentle (or sometimes not so gentle) ramblings, thank you. I will continue to post blogs within all those themes as Lois and I continue to find our way as tentative pilgrims journeying together through life’s ups and downs; rejoicing in the blessings of family and friends, beauty, celebration and rest; and agonising over the injustices, violence and greed we see in our world, and in which we are so often (perhaps inadvertently) a part. And I will hope that, for some at least, these musings may offer some encouragement, hope, and a bit of fun.

If you would like to be informed of future blogs, please do click the link at the bottom of the page to receive email updates whenever a new post is made. And do please feel free to share Unforced Rhythms with others who you think might appreciate it, to comment on any of the blogs, or to feedback any ideas of ways I could improve the website, make it more useful.

‘For those of us who walk the path of contemplation, it is important to see that, while our individual stories are unique and personal, they are shared by us all. It is a relief to see that our own pain, struggle, loss, joy, and victory are woven into the much larger fabric of tall those who seek the face of God.’ – Martin Laird, A sunlit absence

August 29, 2016

Thinking Outside the Box

I am really excited about the BASPCAN 10th International Congress which we will be hosting at the University of Warwick in April 2018. It may be 2 years away, but I think it promises to be one of the most inspiring and creative conferences on child protection ever!

Have a look at this brief video which introduces the congress (photos courtesy of Motionhouse, one of our congress partners)

Thinking Outside the Box

We will be continually updating this information over the next few months: to register your interest and receive the latest updates as they become available, please email conferences@baspcan.org.uk with your email address and the header ‘Congress 2018 Updates’.

May 25, 2016

Child Sexual Exploitation: marginalised perspectives and temporal shifts

‘They can show some love or caring, instead of this “we’re moving you there”. They need to stop moving people around like bags of rubbish nobody wants’

Christina, 21

That quote was taken from research with young women who had been in Local Authority care that is featured in the latest virtual issue of Child Abuse Review. The researchers from London Metropolitan University drew their findings from life story interviews with 14 young women, and point out the cultures and systems that made them vulnerable to sexual exploitation.

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is not a new phenomenon, but we are, perhaps, just starting to get to grips with the extent of the problem and what we can do about it.

Our guest editors, Caroline Bradbury-Jones and Jenny Pearce, have drawn together 9 papers on CSE published in Child Abuse Review over the past 25 years. They point out some of the achievements that have been made in both policy and practice to better understand the nature of the abuse and protect children from it. However, as they point out, there is still a lot to be done to raise awareness with families and communities about the nature of CSE, to train staff in identifying indicators of CSE, to improve information sharing between professionals working in different disciplines, and to work for more child-centred practices and coordinated interventions between statutory and voluntary service interventions.

All the papers in this virtual issue are freely available online for a limited period along with Caroline and Jenny’s helpful editorial. Do take a look.

‘In all, the articles in this virtual issue show us how far research, policy and practice has moved in advancing the protection of children from CSE over the last few decades. They also remind us that research can, and does, helpfully inform policy and practice but that recommendations from the work and dissemination of findings is important to effect change. The articles also bear ongoing resonance with current issues, many of which need further development of the evidence base and improvements in policy and practice. We look forward to such future activities to further protect children from CSE in the future.’

Contents of the Virtual Issue on Child Sexual Exploitation

Bradbury-Jones C., Pearce J. 2016. Child Sexual Exploitation: marginalised perspectives and temporal shifts

Ireland K. 1993. Sexual exploitation of children and international travel and tourism. Child Abuse Review 2(4): 263-270.

Lillywhite R, Skidmore P. 2006. Boys are not sexually exploited? A challenge to practitioners. Child Abuse Review 15(5): 351-361.

Ward J, Patel N. 2006. Broadening the discussion on ‘sexual exploitation’: ethnicity, sexual exploitation and young people. Child Abuse Review 15(5): 341-350.

Scott S, Harper Z. 2006. Meeting the needs of sexually exploited young people: the challenge of conducting policy-relevant research. Child Abuse Review 15(5): 313-325.

Coy M. 2009. ‘Moved around like bags of rubbish nobody wants’: how multiple placement moves can make young women vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Child Abuse Review 18(4): 254-266.

Melrose M. 2013. Twenty-First Century Party People: Young People and Sexual Exploitation in the New Millennium. Child Abuse Review 22(3): 155-168.

Dodsworth J. 2014. Sexual Exploitation, Selling and Swapping Sex: Victimhood and Agency. Child Abuse Review 23(3): 185-199.

Brayley H, Cockbain E. 2014. British Children Can Be Trafficked Too: Towards an Inclusive Definition of Internal Child Sex Trafficking. Child Abuse Review 23(3): 171-184.

Ahern E, Sadler LH, Lamb MEL, Gariglietti G. 2016. Wellbeing of Professionals Working with Victims of Child Sexual Exploitation. Child Abuse Review.

April 23, 2016April 22, 2016

Child Abuse Review: 25 years of supporting professionals and still improving

Yesterday we had our editorial board meeting for Child Abuse Review. It was encouraging to reflect on how the journal has been going and think about how we can make it even better for our readers and our authors.

Improving our readers’ experience

Child Abuse Review has always prided itself in publishing high quality research that is relevant to practitioners, accessible and readable. So it was encouraging to hear from our publishers that our article downloads have increased another 3% last year to nearly 80,000 from across the globe. We are always looking for ways to improve what we produce and how, so if you have any ideas do let us know. One particularly successful initiative last year was to produce a virtual issue on Child Protection in Nordic Countries, available freely for a short time. This has been followed by one on child sexual abuse and children’s rights, and others now in the pipeline:

Children’s oral health and wellbeing
Child sexual exploitation
Parental mental health problems

Keep an eye on the website for details of those, or sign up for our free contents alerts.

The number of full-text downloads for articles published in the journal has also increased this year, with our top 10 articles receiving an average of over 1,000 downloads:

The shifting culture of child protection

The year 2016 marks the 25^th anniversary of Child Abuse Review and I am pleased to announce that our first issue of the anniversary volume is now freely available online. The issue contains five stimulating original articles along with two training updates, two book reviews, and our accompanying editorial.

The primary paper to launch this anniversary volume is Nigel Parton’s review of the contemporary politics of child protection, based on his Founder’s lecture at the 2015 BASPCAN congress in Edinburgh. Parton provides a wide-ranging review of the issues facing child protection in the UK today and his paper is well worth reading.

Over the past 25 years a lot has changed in the child protection field.

Parton argues that the child protection systems introduced through the Children Act 1989 were in response to a number of high-profile cases of physical and sexual child abuse within the family, and that this created a tension between professionals intervening ‘too little and too late’ or conversely, ‘too early and too much’.

‘The Children Act 1989 was thus centrally concerned with trying to establish a new set of balances between the state and the family in the care and protection of children. I argued (Parton, 1992) that the idea of child protection at that time, in the early 1990s, was essentially concerned with both the protection of children from ‘significant harm’ in the family and also the protection of the family from unwarrantable and inappropriate state interventions. Crucially the focus of law, policy and practice was how we could best address the abuse of children within the family and the primary concerns were physical and sexual abuse.’

Over the past two decades, however, the nature of child protection has changed, and reflects broader shifts in our culture. The recognition of both physical and sexual abuse within a variety of institutions and community settings, along with research highlighting the long-term impact of chronic abuse and neglect, has led to a broadening and an increasing complexity of what now constitutes child protection or safeguarding:

An increasing focus on the full range of the life-course from pre-birth to young adulthood, particularly as the dangers of child neglect in the early months of life and its impact on the brain and child development have received considerable attention;
The recognition that young people themselves, as well as adults, can perpetrate abuse;
The growth of new dangers including those related to the internet and a range of forms of social media and, most recently, the dangers of ‘radicalisation’;
The identification of new forms of abuse which include female genital mutilation, forced marriage and child sexual exploitation.

Within this context, child welfare professionals across the country work incredibly hard to support families and protect children. In the research I am currently working on for the Department of Education, we have identified a year-on-year increase in child protection activity, but in spite of this, no change in the number of deaths directly caused by maltreatment, and, if anything, a reduction in fatality rates in all but the late adolescent group.

During the years 2011-14, a total of 1,856,400 referrals were received by children’s social care services in England, an average of 619,000 per year.

However, in contrast to this recognition of the extremely good and sensitive work being done by professionals, Parton argues that ‘debates about child protection have become increasingly emotionally charged and politicised’ with what he calls ‘a politicised narrative of blame and failure’. Rather than being seen as motivated professionals who are committed to working for children’s safety and well-being, child protection workers are blamed both for failing to protect children and for disrupting families.

In a complex world in which children grow and thrive, are abused, exploited and neglected, have fun and participate, laugh, play, cry and cower in fear, we need to challenge this culture of blame and failure, and instead work to support children and families, and the professionals who work with them every day. We need to move to a narrative of ‘progress and hope’, celebrating all that has been achieved in supporting children’s rights, and taking those opportunities to learn and improve.

I’d encourage you to take a look at Nigel Parton’s paper and the other papers in this special anniversary edition of Child Abuse Review.

Child Abuse Review, Volume 25, Issue 1: Contents

Jane V Appleton & Peter Sidebotham. 25 Years of Supporting Professionals in Safeguarding Children (pages 3–8)

New Directions in Child Protection and Wellbeing

Today is the last day of the BASPCAN Congress. Over the past three days I have had the privilege of meeting some awesome people from around the world – friends and colleagues old and new, united in one purpose: to make this world a better place for children. We have heard some inspiring talks, considered new research, and discussed novel ideas. It has been a really great congress.

While we may discuss and debate important policies and procedures, reflect on groundbreaking research, or consider different approaches to teaching or practice, what stands out to me is that what really makes a difference to children is individuals being themselves and doing what they care about: being passionate and compassionate; being present to children and families, empathetic, caring. And it is that care that I’ve seen in peoples faces as I have wandered around the congress. These 800 people, like me, want to make a difference.

February 25, 2015November 23, 2015

The challenge and complexities of physical abuse

The latest issue of Child Abuse Review has just been published, with a special focus on child physical abuse. On the background of high media interest in child abuse, there is some research evidence that rates of more severe physical abuse may actually have decreased. This suggests that, perhaps, our societies are becoming less tolerant of physical violence towards children.

While we should celebrate this, there is certainly no cause for complacency. Marije Stoltenborgh and colleagues from the Centre for Child and Family Studies in Leiden have collated data from across the globe on all forms of maltreatment. They report that one in every five children globally report that they have experienced physical abuse during their childhood. While rates do vary between countries, these figures show that we still have a long way to go in protecting children from violence. One important finding from Stoltenborgh’s work, as with many other studies, is that the majority of physical abuse suffered by children never comes to the notice of professionals. Their data suggest that child protection services are only picking up one in every 75 cases of physical abuse. The implications are clear: we need to do better at recognising and responding to abuse, in providing children and young people with opportunities to tell someone about their experiences, and in supporting parents in bringing up their children without resorting to violence.

Professionals working in the child protection field do not have an easy job, and it is far too easy, when things go wrong, to blame the professionals for either not acting quickly enough, or for over-reacting and intervening inappropriately in families’ lives. In a previous paper, I have spoken of an evidence-informed approach to child protection: ‘the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence, integrated with clinical expertise and an understanding of the context of the case, to guide decision making about the care of individual children.’ In order to do this, we need high-quality evidence from research and practice, combined with a good deal of common sense.

Other papers in this issue of Child Abuse Review provide some of that evidence: a case series of young children presenting with unexplained rib fractures (in which notably, all children diagnosed as having been abused had other features supporting that diagnosis, and all infants whose fractures were due to bone disease had other risk factors for that); and another case review of histories given by parents of children with abusive fractures (in all cases in their series, the accounts were often vague or uncertain, and frequently multiple accounts were given as the injuries came to light).

But that is where common sense and clinical skill need to come in. Child protection work is not straight forward: ‘While it may be possible to draw similarities between cases, and to highlight typical findings, the very nature of child maltreatment is such that complexity exists. While many cases may fit a classic presentation, others will not, and there can be multiple reasons for the manner in which cases present.’ I have previously argued that ‘Finding our way through this complexity requires an authoritative approach, combining a thorough understanding of the circumstances and context of the case, with an appraisal of the evidence base, the practitioner’s own expertise and experience, and the humility to work in partnership with children, their parents or carers, and other professionals.’

To see the contents and abstracts of this issue of Child Abuse Review, click here.

February 14, 2015November 23, 2015

Child abuse in fact and fiction: Seminar notes from ethics and children’s literature event, Warwick University, 2015

All children, except one, grow up.

So said JM Barrie in the opening words of Peter Pan. Only it isn’t true. The reality is that far too many children never get the opportunity to grow up; or have to grow up before their time; or find that childhood isn’t the wonderful experience portrayed by Peter Pan, and all because of abuse or neglect suffered at the hands of their parents.

Right from the beginning they started beating him for almost no reason at all. They never called him by his real name, but always referred to him as ‘you disgusting little beast’ or ‘you filthy nuisance’ or ‘you miserable creature’… His room was as bare as a prison cell.

Roald Dahl. James and the Giant Peach, p8.

The food would be cold and would be given to her on a piece of plastic while she was tied up in the bath. She would eat it like a dog, pushing her face to the plate. Except, of course that a dog is not usually tied up in a plastic bag full of its excrement.

Neil Garnham, QC – Victoria Climbié Inquiry

Victoria spent much of her last days, in the winter of 1999–2000, living and sleeping in a bath in an unheated bathroom, bound hand and foot inside a bin bag, lying in her own urine and faeces. It is not surprising then that towards the end of her short life, Victoria was stooped like an old lady and could walk only with great difficulty

He found the cause of death to be hypothermia, which had arisen in the context of malnourishment, a damp environment and restricted movement. He also found 128 separate injuries on Victoria’s body, showing she had been beaten with a range of sharp and blunt instruments. No part of her body had been spared. Marks on her wrists and ankles indicated that her arms and legs had been tied together.

Child abuse is a reality, an unimaginable reality, for many children. A reality that goes way beyond the imagined worlds we see in children’s fiction.

These notes are from a seminar I gave recently on child abuse and children’s literature. I’d be really interested in any views/comments on the issues raised.

Continue reading “Child abuse in fact and fiction: Seminar notes from ethics and children’s literature event, Warwick University, 2015”

Tag: child protection

Thinking Outside the Box

Thinking Outside the Box

Child Sexual Exploitation: marginalised perspectives and temporal shifts

Contents of the Virtual Issue on Child Sexual Exploitation

Child Abuse Review: 25 years of supporting professionals and still improving

Improving our readers’ experience

Top 10 most downloaded articles in 2015

The shifting culture of child protection

Child Abuse Review, Volume 25, Issue 1: Contents

Original Papers

Training Updates

Book Reviews

New Directions in Child Protection and Wellbeing

The challenge and complexities of physical abuse

Child abuse in fact and fiction: Seminar notes from ethics and children’s literature event, Warwick University, 2015