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 Children may manifest abuse via destructive or withdrawn behaviours, developmental delays, injuries or other health problems.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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Protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial evaluating a parenting with home visitation programme to prevent physical and emotional abuse of children in Indonesia: the Families First Programme

Mónica Ruiz-Casares, Sarah Lilley, Brett D Thombs, Robert William Platt, Susan Scott, Widjajanti Isdijoso, Emmy Hermanus, Michelle Andrina, Nancy Mayo - BMJ Open, 15 Jan 2019

The Families First Programme, an adaptation of the Positive Discipline in Everyday Parenting Programme to the West Java context, is a parenting support programme anchored on children’s rights that gives parents guidance on child development, parenting and positive discipline practices. This trial will evaluate the effectiveness of the Families First Programme compared with a waitlist control group.

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A Framework for Child Well-Being in the Gulf Countries

Jennifer E. Lansford, Anis Ben Brik, Heba Al Fara - Child Indicators Research, 15 Jan 2019

This article provides a review of indicators of child well-being in the six Gulf countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates), focusing on well-being in six domains: physical health, behavioral adjustment, psychological well-being, social relationships, safety, and cognitive well-being. The article highlights children's participation in decisions affecting their lives, relationships with parents and caregivers, and protection from abuse and neglect, among other indicators.

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Cumulative harm in the child protection system: The Australian context

Rosemary Sheehan - Child & Family Social Work, 15 Jan 2019

This systematic literature review examines how the construct of cumulative harm is understood and operationalized within current Australian child protection legislation, policy, and practice and situates this within an international context.

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The neglect–enrichment continuum: Characterizing variation in early caregiving environments

Lucy S. King, Kathryn L. Humphreys, Ian H. Gotlib - Developmental Review, 09 Jan 2019

In this paper, the authors advance a framework for examining the nature and consequences of neglect, which they posit can be represented as variations along a continuum from severe psychosocial neglect to environmental enrichment.

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“A child who is hidden has no rights”: Responses to violence against children with disabilities

Janet Njelesani - Child Abuse & Neglect, 08 Jan 2019

Guided by social-ecological theory, this study explores responses to violence against children with disabilities, including preventative measures and treatment of victims in the West African countries of Guinea, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

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‘In the Firing Line’: Grandparent Carers at Risk of Family Violence

Susan Gair, Ines Zuchowski, Rosamund Thorpe, Debbie Henderson, Lyn Munns - Journal of Family Violence, 08 Jan 2019

The primary aim of a recent qualitative study was to optimise grandparent-grandchild connectedness after child safety concerns.

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A content analysis of case records: Two-generations of child protective services involvement

Andrea Lane Eastman, Lisa Schelbe, Jacquelyn McCroskey - Children and Youth Services Review, 07 Jan 2019

The present investigation leveraged unstructured, case narrative fields in child welfare records to enhance knowledge about Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement among children born to mothers in care.

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Empowering Residential Carers of Looked After Young People: The Impact of the Emotional Warmth Model of Professional Childcare

Robert John Seán Cameron & Ravi K Das - The British Journal of Social Work, 03 Jan 2019

This study examined the impact of the model of professional childcare in a three-year project involving fifty-three children and young people and their carers in local-authority children’s homes on two UK areas (Northern and Southern England).

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Out of the shadows: Shining light on the response to child sexual abuse and exploitation

The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2019

Out of the shadows: Shining light on the response to child sexual abuse and exploitation - a 40-country benchmarking index - examines how countries are responding to the threat of sexual violence against children.

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Interventions for reducing violence against children in low- and middle-income countries: an evidence and gap map

Prachi Pundir, Ashrita Saran, Howard White, Jill Adona, Ramya Subrahmanian - Campbell Collaboration, 2019

This evidence and gap map will provide an overview of the existing systematic reviews and impact evaluations on the key outcome domains and interventions aimed at reducing violence against children in LMICs using an intervention-outcome framework.