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 Children may manifest abuse via destructive or withdrawn behaviours, developmental delays, injuries or other health problems.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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Recurrent involvement with the Quebec child protection system for reasons of neglect: A longitudinal clinical population study

Tonino Esposito, Martin Chabot, Nico Trocmé, John D. Fluke, Ashleigh Delaye, et al - Child Abuse & Neglect, 01 Dec 2020

This study, the largest of its kind in Canada, examines when and for whom recurring conditions of neglect were most likely to occur for all children involved with child protection in the province of Quebec over a span of fifteen years.

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Mecanismo Multissectorial para a Prevenção, Denúncia, Encaminhamento e Resposta a Violência contra Crianças nas Escolas, Incluindo Assistência às Vítimas

Ministério da Educação e Desenvolvimento Humano, República de Moçambique, 01 Dec 2020

A Constituição da República de Moçambique consagra a educação como um direito e dever fundamental de cada criança, que deve ser oferecida num ambiente seguro, propiciando a aprendizagem.

“They’re not bad parents. They’ve just made bad choices.”: Mental health clinicians’ perspectives of parents involved with child protective services

Hana Yoo, Stefana Racorean, Victoria Barrows - Qualitative Social Work, 29 Nov 2020

The current study seeks to address the lack of literature including voices of mental health clinicians regarding their work and clients in the child welfare system by exploring clinicians’ views on the issue of child maltreatment and CPS-involved parents’ parenting.

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Parental emotional neglect and left-behind children’s problem behaviors: The mediating role of deviant peer affiliation and the moderating role of beliefs about adversity

Banglin Yang, Cancan Xiong, Jin Huang - Children and Youth Services Review, 22 Nov 2020

The current study investigated the effects of parental emotional neglect on left-behind children’s externalizing problem behaviors, the mediating role of deviant peer affiliation, and the moderating role of beliefs about adversity in the association between parental emotional neglect and left-behind children’s externalizing problem behaviors.

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Developmental consequences of emotional abuse and neglect in vulnerable adolescents: A multi-informant, multi-wave study

Joseph R. Cohen and Hena Thakur - Child Abuse & Neglect, 21 Nov 2020

The present study examined how emotional abuse and emotional neglect-exposure in adolescence uniquely related to psychological symptoms and social impairment.

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Presentation: Structural Neglect of Children Living in Institutional Settings

Marinus van IJzendoorn, 18 Nov 2020

This presentation - delivered by Marinus van IJzendoorn at a 18 November 2020 meeting of the Evidence for Impact Working Group, a working group of the recently launched Transforming Children's Care Global Collaborative Platform - presents evidence of the harmful impacts of institutionalization on children, demonstrates some of the benefits of deinstitutionalization for getting children back on track, and raises questions about gap-year volunteers working in orphanages.

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Let Our Voice Be Heard: Asia Pacific Child Well-Being Learning Exchange

World Vision and UNICEF East Asia and Pacific, 18 Nov 2020

More than 100 child participants across East Asia convened with government officials to discuss the increased instances of child violence experienced during COVID-19 at World Vision’s Asia Pacific Child Well-Being Learning Exchange forum on 18 November 2020.

Cost effectiveness of SEEK: A primary care-based child maltreatment prevention model

Wendy G. Lane, Howard Dubowitz, Kevin D. Frick, Josh Semiatin, Laurence Magder - Child Abuse & Neglect, 14 Nov 2020

The purpose of this study was to determine the (1) overall cost for implementing the Safe Environment for Every Kid (SEEK) model, (2) cost of implementation per child, and (3) cost per case of maltreatment averted.

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Lessons from the field: An evidence-informed resiliency model for child abuse organizations

Karen Irene Kalergis and Debra Anderson - Child Abuse & Neglect, 14 Nov 2020

This article reviews the research basis for the Organizational Resiliency Model (ORM) and new research supporting the model, and offers lessons learned through structured interviews with 10 child abuse leaders who piloted the ORM and continue to use it ten years later.

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The ‘toxic trio’ (domestic violence, substance misuse and mental ill-health): How good is the evidence base?

Guy C. M. Skinner, Paul W. B. Bywaters, Andy Bilson, Robbie Duschinsky, Keith Clements, Dustin Hutchinson - Children and Youth Services Review, 14 Nov 2020

This article reports the results of a systematic review of evidence relevant to the relationship between the ‘toxic trio’ factors in combination and child maltreatment, identifying 20 papers.

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