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 Children may manifest abuse via destructive or withdrawn behaviours, developmental delays, injuries or other health problems.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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Effects of an interdisciplinary approach to parental representation in child welfare

Lucas A. Gerber, Yuk C. Pang, Timothy Ross, Martin Guggenheim, Peter J. Pecora, Joel Miller - Children and Youth Services Review, 20 Apr 2019

This study utilizes a quasi-experimental propensity score matching design to assess the causal impact on child welfare outcomes when parents facing an abuse or neglect case in the New York City Family Court were provided interdisciplinary law office representation as opposed to a standard panel attorney.

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‘A Poor Prospect Indeed’: The State’s Disavowal of Child Abuse Victims in Youth Custody, 1960–1990

Ben Jarman and Caroline Lanskey - Societies, 18 Apr 2019

Drawing on original documentary research, this article aims to explain why and how state authorities in England and Wales failed to recognise the victimisation of children held in penal institutions between 1960 and 1990, and argues that this failure constitutes a disavowal of the state’s responsibility.

Seven INSPIRE Strategies: Brief Interactive Summary Video

ChildHub, 18 Apr 2019

This video provides a short summary of the INSPIRE objective and goals, strategies included, measures to be implemented and good practices develop across the globe.

Ending violence against children: How the INSPIRE technical package can help

World Health Organization (WHO) & Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, 16 Apr 2019

This short webinar delivered by Dr Alex Butchart, WHO, and Ms Sabine Rakotomalala, Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, is an introduction to the evidence-based strategies and interventions gathered in INSPIRE, a technical package to reduce and prevent violence against children.

Country Care Review: Turkey

Better Care Network , 09 Apr 2019

This country care review includes the Concluding Observations for the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Committees' recommendations on the issue of Family Environment and Alternative Care as well as other care relevant issues are highlighted.

Country Care Review: Niger

Better Care Network, 09 Apr 2019

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 part of its examination of Niger's initial reports, as well as other care-related concluding observations, ratification dates, and links to the Universal Periodic Review.

Country Care Review: Senegal

Better Care Network, 09 Apr 2019

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.

Outcomes from early child maltreatment prevention program in child protective services

Lina Sapokaite Millett - Children and Youth Services Review, 08 Apr 2019

This study sought to determine whether the Parent Support Outreach (PSO) program, an early Child Protective Services (CPS) response and service model to screened-out reports and other high-risk families in Minnesota's child welfare system, resulted in less subsequent CPS involvement, increased use of mental health and substance abuse services, and improvement of family's economic well-being.

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What Constitutes Risk of Future Maltreatment Among Young Mothers? An Examination of Child Protection Investigations in Ontario, Canada

Bryn King, Barbara Fallon, Ami Goulden, Carolyn O’Connor, and Joanne Filippelli - Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 05 Apr 2019

This article examines characteristics and decision making related to investigating workers’ determinations that young children of adolescent and young adult mothers are at risk of future maltreatment.

Webinar: Supporting Community-Led Child Protection

The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, 04 Apr 2019

The Community-based Child Protection Task Force held a webinar on Thursday, 4 Apr 2019, 13:00 - 14:00 (UTC+01:00) London, to discuss a “Community-Led Child Protection” toolkit developed by Professor Mike Wessells of Child Resilience Alliance and Patrick Onyango Mangen of TPO Uganda.

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