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Background:
In France, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a general lockdown from mid-March to mid-May 2020, forcing families to remain confined. We hypothesized that children may have been victims of more physical abuse during the lockdown, involving an increase in the relative frequency of hospitalization.
Methods:
Using the national administrative database on all admissions to public and private hospitals (PMSI), we selected all children aged 0–5 years hospitalized and identified physically abused children based on ICD-10 codes. We included 844,227 children…
On the eve of the 2021 Christmas holidays, the school system in Bulgaria seems to have finally returned one step away from normality. As of mid-December 2021, over 80% of pupils and compulsory school students – from the first to the twelfth grade – are in fact physically back in the classrooms .
A result that is far from obvious in what is one of the EU countries hardest hit by the fourth wave of Covid-19,…
According to this article from BBC News, campaign groups in the UK have called attention to the lack of available face-to-face contact for children with parents who are incarcerated, which they say is "crucial in maintaining the relationship between imprisoned parents and children." According to these groups, "the lack of physical contact with their parents has damaged children's mental health and infringed upon their human rights."
"One-third of foster carers have said that a lack of structure for their foster children during the Covid-19 pandemic has been a challenge, according to a new survey," says this article from the Irish Times. "The survey of 200 foster carers carried out by the Irish Foster Care Association in January also found that one-quarter of respondents said that facilitating family visits was 'challenging' during the pandemic."
"There are calls for foster carers to be prioritised for vaccines as more families are needed to take emergency foster children during the pandemic," says this article from Sky News. "In the UK more than 65,000 children are living in foster care and finding homes for them has been made more challenging by COVID-19, in part due to the reticence of vulnerable carers to take in children."
"The pandemic has had an adverse impact on all children. That has been more severe for those with special needs but an almost forgotten group of especially vulnerable children are those who experience abuse and neglect," says this Irish Times in this editorial. "The latest volume of reports from the Child Care Law Reporting Project contains a number of reports detailing the impact of the pandemic on them."
In this article for the Guardian, Krish Kandiah argues that "any young person ready to make the step to leave home needs the safety net of a family they belong to" and calls for greater supports for young people aging out of care, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown restrictions put in place.
According to Northern Ireland's health minister, there has been an increase in the number of children referred to social services since last year, as well as an increase in children on the child protection register and more children in care, says this article from BBC News. "I am acutely aware that Covid-19, and the public health measures we've had to put in place to control the spread of the virus, have brought increased pressure to children and families in Northern Ireland," said Mr Swann in a statement. "In recognition of this, the DoH has put in place a range of…
"As an autistic care leaver, the hardest part of dealing with the Covid pandemic has been the neglect and lack of support I have experienced at my accommodation," writes Kerrie Portman in the Guardian. "When lockdown began, nearly all my university classmates went back to live with their families. But I don’t have the emotional support or safety net of a family. I didn’t see anyone I knew for 13 weeks."
Portman described becoming ill while staying in accommodation. "Though I told staff at my accommodation and my local authority, nobody got in touch to see if I needed anything. I had…
This article from the Guardian explores the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on students in the UK who have been in care. "Coronavirus has had a huge impact on students across the board, but for those who grew up in care, problems have been felt more keenly," says the article. "When lockdown happened, and most students packed their bags and got their parents to pick them up to go home and isolate, many were left behind in university accommodation. With part-time jobs lost overnight and no prospect of the work they’d normally pick up over the summer, some found themselves in financial…