Policy Press
Five Models for ethical, effective child protection
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Abstract
Safety and security don’t just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear. (Nelson Mandela)
This book has outlined several major concerns about failures of current UK policies, practices and principles in protecting children from child sexual abuse (CSA). Some people, including survivors of CSA, may understandably be disillusioned with the capacity for reform of the statutory child protection system, and seek alternatives outside it. But it seems to us that a good statutory system has to be at the centre of society’s attempts to keep children safer; it essentially supports other vital community and voluntary sector activities to protect children; and it crucially inspires confidence in the public, conspicuously practising the principles it professes to believe in.
This chapter offers some practical examples to follow or adapt, which will make for more effective, genuinely child-centred child protection systems, particularly but not solely in addressing sexual abuse. It suggests, first, that child protection authorities need to simplify and redefine their core aims, giving strong, clear direction and focus to everything they do. Core aims, values and ethical principles should be able to fit on a single page; these should infuse, underpin and inform child protection guidelines and procedures, and the beliefs and approaches of child protection staff working with children. For if staff do not truly take such core aims them on board, then guidelines and procedures – which may at times need to be complex, especially in complex abuse (see Davies, 2008, 2009, 2010) – may simply not be followed.
Abstract
Safety and security don’t just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear. (Nelson Mandela)
This book has outlined several major concerns about failures of current UK policies, practices and principles in protecting children from child sexual abuse (CSA). Some people, including survivors of CSA, may understandably be disillusioned with the capacity for reform of the statutory child protection system, and seek alternatives outside it. But it seems to us that a good statutory system has to be at the centre of society’s attempts to keep children safer; it essentially supports other vital community and voluntary sector activities to protect children; and it crucially inspires confidence in the public, conspicuously practising the principles it professes to believe in.
This chapter offers some practical examples to follow or adapt, which will make for more effective, genuinely child-centred child protection systems, particularly but not solely in addressing sexual abuse. It suggests, first, that child protection authorities need to simplify and redefine their core aims, giving strong, clear direction and focus to everything they do. Core aims, values and ethical principles should be able to fit on a single page; these should infuse, underpin and inform child protection guidelines and procedures, and the beliefs and approaches of child protection staff working with children. For if staff do not truly take such core aims them on board, then guidelines and procedures – which may at times need to be complex, especially in complex abuse (see Davies, 2008, 2009, 2010) – may simply not be followed.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Acknowledgements v
- Introduction 1
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Setting the scene: some barriers to progress
- From rediscovery to suppression? Challenges to reducing CSA 21
- Lies and deception in the backlash 59
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Children and young people
- Fact, myth and legacy in notorious child abuse cases: Orkney in context 103
- Stigmatised young people: from ‘abuse fodder’ to key allies against abuse and exploitation 133
- Models for ethical, effective child protection 175
- Community prevention of CSA: a model for practice 213
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Working with adult survivors of sexual abuse
- Physical ill health: addressing the serious impacts of sexual violence 251
- Producing radical change in mental health: implications of the trauma paradigm 287
- Pathways into crime after sexual abuse: the voices of male offenders 319
- Rethinking sex offender programmes for survivor-perpetrators 349
- Conclusion 373
- References 381
- Index 425
- About the authors 441
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Acknowledgements v
- Introduction 1
-
Setting the scene: some barriers to progress
- From rediscovery to suppression? Challenges to reducing CSA 21
- Lies and deception in the backlash 59
-
Children and young people
- Fact, myth and legacy in notorious child abuse cases: Orkney in context 103
- Stigmatised young people: from ‘abuse fodder’ to key allies against abuse and exploitation 133
- Models for ethical, effective child protection 175
- Community prevention of CSA: a model for practice 213
-
Working with adult survivors of sexual abuse
- Physical ill health: addressing the serious impacts of sexual violence 251
- Producing radical change in mental health: implications of the trauma paradigm 287
- Pathways into crime after sexual abuse: the voices of male offenders 319
- Rethinking sex offender programmes for survivor-perpetrators 349
- Conclusion 373
- References 381
- Index 425
- About the authors 441
