Child Abuse and Neglect

Child abuse includes all forms of physical and emotional mistreatment, sexual abuse, and neglect of a child’s basic needs, which results in actual or potential harm to a child’s physical, mental, and emotional health. Exploitation of children is also a form of abuse and includes trafficking for sexual or economic purposes, and recruitment of children into armed forces.

An abused child may experience many forms of mistreatment in any one incident or over time; for example, emotional harm is a pervading factor in all types of abuse. The abuser may be a family member, a stranger, another child, or someone responsible for a child's well-being, such as a teacher or caretaker.

Children in every society are vulnerable to abuse, gender based violence, and exploitation, however children without parental care and those in high risk environments such as conflict areas, refugee camps, on the street, or in institutions, are particularly exposed to violence, denial of their basic human rights, and deprivation. All abuse has its origins in power imbalance and therefore is typically associated with fear, secrecy, and control. This makes identifying and speaking out about abuse very difficult for children, family members, the community and social services, particularly when it is committed within the privacy of the home.

Child abuse can cause physical and psychosocial problems, including HIV/AIDS infection, and is particularly damaging when repeated over a period of time. Children may manifest abuse via destructive or withdrawn behaviours, developmental delays, injuries or other health problems. The effects of abuse will vary from child to child and depend on the source, type and extent of the abuse, the child’s developmental stage and their disposition or resilience.

The process of identifying and responding to abuse requires skilled interventions in order to prevent further harm to the child, and will typically include police, medical, psychological, and social services in order to address the safety, physical, and emotional needs of the affected children. Any care plan must be in the best interests of the child and protect them and their siblings from harm. This will include consideration of the additional risks of abuse that are present for children in institutions and care placements. Such closed environments are extremely susceptible to abuse since they are frequently isolated, insufficiently regulated, and lacking in adequate supervision and safe reporting procedures. It is the role of social services to screen and monitor all child placements, including institutional, kinship, and foster care, to ensure the child’s safety and well-being.

It is the responsibility of the whole community to protect its children. Education and community awareness for children and adults on the risks, signs of abuse, and responses is vital for children without parental care and those in high risk situations, such as during a conflict or displacement when sexual violence, exploitation, and recruitment into armed forces are prevalent.

The literature in this section describes the types of abuse in more detail, including gender based violence, and provides example child protection procedures, policy papers, and other intervention tools.

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Country Care Review: Rwanda

Better Care Network, 10 Feb 2020

This Country Care Review includes the care-related concluding observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as other care-related concluding observations, ratification dates, and links to the Universal Periodic Review and Hague Intercountry Adoption Country Profile.

Country Care Review: Austria

Better Care Network, 10 Feb 2020

This country care review includes the care related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

(Re) Conceptualizing Neglect: Considering the Overrepresentation of Indigenous Children in Child Welfare Systems in Canada

Johanna Caldwell & Vandna Sinha - Child Indicators Research, 07 Feb 2020

In this article, the authors examine theoretical and legislative conceptualizations of child neglect in terms of their relationship to the disproportionate involvement of Indigenous children in child welfare across Canada and, more specifically, in Quebec.

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A study of serious case reviews between 2016 and 2018: what are the key barriers for social workers in identifying and responding to child neglect?

Linda Solem, Clive Diaz, Lauren Hill - Journal of Children's Services, 07 Feb 2020

This study examined 20 recent serious case reviews that had taken place in England where neglect was a feature. The purpose of this study is to explore the barriers which exist for social workers in England in identifying and responding to neglect in a timely, appropriate and effective manner.

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Global report 2019: Progress towards ending corporal punishment of children

Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, 06 Feb 2020

The Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children has launched the Global Report 2019, tracking progress towards universal prohibition of corporal punishment.

The effect of supervisory neglect on adolescent peer victimization: Mediating role of self-esteem and internalizing problems

Seunghee Baeg, Boram Lee, Hye Jun Park - Children and Youth Services Review, 06 Feb 2020

In this study, the authors aim to help clarify the pathway from parental supervisory neglect to peer victimization through the mediating roles of self-esteem and internalizing problems among adolescents in South Korea.

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Evaluating SafeCare® in Israel: Benefits for the families

Shani Oppenheim‐Weller, Anat Zeira, Nofar Mazursky - Child & Family Social Work, 05 Feb 2020

SafeCare® is a home‐based intervention programme targeting parents of children up to 5 years old and is designed to reduce and even prevent child abuse and neglect. This article presents an evaluation of a pilot trial of SafeCare® in Israel, examining family's outcomes.

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The multi-agency response to child sexual abuse in the family environment

Ofsted, Care Quality Commission, HM Inspectorate of Probation, and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, 04 Feb 2020

This report summarises findings from a joint targeted area inspections of ‘the multi-agency response to child sexual abuse in the family environment’ in the UK, which took place between September 2018 and May 2019. The findings in this report consider the extent to which children’s social care, health professionals, youth offending services, the police and probation officers effectively work together to safeguard children who are subject to, or at risk of, sexual abuse in the family environment.

Exploring drivers of demand for child protection services in an English local authority

Rick Hood, Sarah Gorin, Allie Goldacre, Wilson Muleya, Paul Bywaters - Child & Family Social Work, 03 Feb 2020

This paper reports on an empirical study of child protection services in a local authority where rates of investigations and interventions rose to unprecedented levels during the course of a single year.

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Conceptualising children’s life histories and reasons for entry into residential care in the Philippines: Social contexts, instabilities and safeguarding

Steven Roche - Children and Youth Services Review, 01 Feb 2020

Focusing on the life histories of children and young people living in residential care, this study explores the circumstances of their entry into residential care and their interpretations of these experiences.

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