Examining The Concept Of Child Abuse Cases Social Work

This paper will look at kid maltreatment, what that is in Australia today. Through reexamining literature on kid maltreatment and kid protection this paper aims to demo that the construct of kid maltreatment is dependent on societal and cultural values. In order to discourse child maltreatment and its relationship to history and societal and cultural values it is of import to specify the term ‘child maltreatment ‘ in the kid protection field in Australia today. Zuchowski ( 2009: 30 ) cites Fernandez as acknowledging that the importance of agreed and unambiguous definitions is cardinal to placing ill-treatment and appropriate intercessions and that kid maltreatment is a socially constructed construct defined by societal, cultural and economic conditions.

In Australian kid protection work kid maltreatment is defined in footings of physical, sexual and emotional maltreatment and in the more combative country, kid disregard. Physical and emotional maltreatments are defined as Acts of the Apostless of committee or skip that cause injury or worse to kids. Sexual maltreatment is defined as the kid being used for the sexual satisfaction of the grownup and involves the maltreatment of trust and power inherent in relationships between grownups and kids.

Neglect is defined as a state of affairs in which the parents/carers fail to supply for the basic indispensable demands that kids require ( Tilbury, Osmond, Wilson & A ; Clark 2007:5 ; Tomison, 2001:48 ) .

The term ‘neglect ‘ is combative and implies opinion ; Feminism and Post-Modernist theories challenge workers to be critically brooding on the ways in which linguistic communication contributes to the building of societal values ( Healy, 2005:194 ) .

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Applied to child protection work Feminist, Structuralist and Critical societal work theories focus on societal and economic resources and acknowledge the impact that structural disadvantages have on households ‘ capacities to supply for kids ( Tilbury et al, 2007:29 ) . Disregard of kids was non recognized prior to the industrial revolution and kids every bit immature as five were treated as slave labor in orphanhoods, workhouses and mills, where they were starved, beaten and frequently kept in leg chainss ( Tomison, 2001:48 ) . These conditions are illegal in Australia today and would be considered as kid maltreatment by current societal values.

History of Child Protection

In the nineteenth century kids were basically seen as economic units, big households were an investing and kids ‘s ‘ input was considered indispensable to household endurance ( Sanson & A ; Wise, 2001:5 ) .By the bend of the twentieth century alterations in attitudes to child labors in Australia were reflected in Torahs such as the Factory Act of New South Wales and Victoria of 1896, mandatory instruction for all kids in all Australian provinces by 1900 and the constitution of voluntary kid deliverance groups such as The Victorian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in 1894 which was concerned with kid maltreatment and the effects of poorness and disadvantage on their life conditions ( Sanson & A ; Wise, 2001:5 ; Tomison, 2001:50 ) .

However, widespread public concern sing the ill-treatment of kids merely emerged when kid maltreatment was ‘rediscovered ‘ by Dr H Kempe and his co-workers in the United States in the 1960 ‘s. They coined the term ‘battered baby syndrome ‘ and their work created involvement in child ill-treatment around the universe. ( Tomison, 2001:50 ; Parton, 2002:5 ) . At the clip kid maltreatment was seen as a socio-medical job, a disease which could be cured and prevented whereas today child maltreatment is presently framed as a socio-legal job with the accent on assemblage and measuring forensic grounds ( Parton, 2002:11 ; Tomison, 2001:52 ) . The professionalisation of kid protection services during the 1970 ‘s and 1980 ‘s saw the development of risk-assessment tools ; AIDSs to help workers in doing the right determination and to assist guarantee answerability. These developments saw the worker as the expert ; whereas current theories used in societal work in Australia such as strengths- based attacks and narrative therapies emphasize a collaborative attempt between households and kid protection services ( Kreuger, 2007:237 ; Tilbury et Al, 2007:16 ) .

The influence of the kid deliverance motion in the late nineteenth century on kid protection in Australia has been profound, peculiarly act uponing the history of societal intercession and remotion of Autochthonal kids from their households ( Sanson & A ; Wise, 2001:8. ) .Child protection in Australia was foremost provided by preponderantly Christian church groups in the non-government sector and targeted abandoned, ignored kids and those with households considered ‘socially unequal ‘ . Initially ‘rescued ‘ kids were boarded with sanctioned households until subsequently old ages when orphanhoods were established. In the early yearss of colony the want that kids suffered in establishments was recognized, taking to further attention or get oning out being the preferable arrangement for ignored kids ( Tomison, 2001:49 ) .

Indigenous ‘Child Protection ‘

From the first white colony of Australia colonial values and attacks saw the land being regarded as ‘Terra Nullius ‘ , Autochthonal people being treated as free labor at best and subsequent Torahs, policies and patterns that forcibly removed Autochthonal kids from their households ( HREOC, 1997:2 ) . The Colonial response to the atrociousnesss perpetrated on the Aboriginal people was to set up a associated state system which would segregate and hence purportedly protect Autochthonal people. By 1911 most Australian provinces and districts had reserved land and assigned duty and hence control of Aboriginal people ‘s lives to a Chief Protector or Protection Board. This power was used to take Indigenous kids from their households with a position to change overing them to Christianity ( HREOC, 1997 ) . This policy attack would be considered racialist by current societal criterions. Australia has been slow to acknowledge and esteem the cultural values of the Autochthonal people of Australia in every manner, including kid attention and protection.

As the population of assorted descent people grew authorities functionaries responded by taking kids and lodging them off from their households with the purpose of absorbing and unifying them into the non-Indigenous population. The physical remotion of Autochthonal kids continued in many pretenses up until the 1960 ‘s ; – those people affected by this pattern are now known as The Stolen Generation. In New South Wales after 1940, Indigenous and non-Indigenous kids came under general kid public assistance statute law. The built-in racism in policy and pattern and deficiency of acknowledgment of cultural differences ensured that Autochthonal households were more readily found to be inattentive. Poverty was equated with disregard and Autochthonal households, ineligible for unrestricted public assistance support until after 1966, were judged as neglecting to supply adequately by non-Indigenous criterions ( HREOC, 1997 ) .

Attachment theory is based on the joint work of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Attachment theory recognizes the importance of the early relationship between parent and kid and its influence on kids ‘s future ability to organize healthy relationships. Bowlby ‘s work on maternal want, based on the premiss that fond regard to a health professional is indispensable for endurance, was non applied to Autochthonal households in the 1950 ‘s and 60 ‘s in Australia ( Bretherton, 1995:759 ; Osmond & A ; Darlington, 2002:1 ) . This failure can be attributed to the same racialist attitudes to Indigenous Australians that saw Australia declared an empty continent by the first colonists ( HREOC, 1997 ) . Looking through the lens of attachment theory at Australia ‘s history of physical remotion of Autochthonal kids, it is easy to see the bequest of intergenerational agony and its on-going impact on the well-being of Autochthonal communities today ( Sanson & A ; Wise, 2001:39 ) . From today ‘s position historic kid protection patterns imposed on Autochthonal Australians are seen as kid maltreatment and ill-treatment. Prime Minister Rudd ‘s apology, in February 2008, for the harm done to Indigenous Australian ‘s through past policies of remotion, evidences the alteration in Australian societal values which are reflected in policy.

In the ‘Bringing them Home Report ‘ ( HREOC, 1997:19 ) , Sir William Deane acknowledges the extent to which present disadvantage flows from past unfairnesss and subjugation. The study recognizes the lasting wounding caused to the Stolen Generation by physical remotion and institutional maltreatment. All provinces and districts in Australia have accepted the Autochthonal Placement Principle as jurisprudence or policy ( SNAIC, 2002:66. ) This policy recognizes the importance of retaining Indigenous Australian kids ‘s connexions to their community and civilization ( Ban, 2005:388 ) .

The Indigenous Placement Principle embeds Autochthonal cultural values in societal policy by seeking to put kids within extended households and their communities. This rule is critical to turn toing issues such as Autochthonal kids being six times more likely to be removed than any other Australian kids and 20 times more likely to be in the juvenile justness system. This high rate of remotion can be attributed to structural issues such as poorness, deficiency of equal lodging and the intergenerational effects of policies that forcibly and intentionally removed Autochthonal kids from civilization and household ( Zuchowski, 2009:76 ) .

In 50 old ages, approaches to autochthonal kid protection in Australia have radically changed ; they now reflect acknowledgment of past unfairnesss, regard for cultural differences and values and a committedness to partnership and coaction between authoritiess, services and Autochthonal Australians to construct capacities and resiliency in communities to maintain households and kids safe ( Calma, 2007 ) .

Economic Impacts

Thomson ( 2003 ) suggests that there is an institutional sightlessness to the function that poorness dramas in seting kids at hazard of injury. The rise of economic rationalism as the dominant doctrine through the 1990 ‘s in Australian societal policy has been twofold: under- resourcing of public assistance services such as kid protection and a user -pays attack which sees the hapless and destitute farther disadvantaged. Economic rationalism is a potentially value loaded attack where those who are socially and economically disadvantaged held responsible for their fortunes. As Tomison ( 2001:52 ) acknowledges the focal point of economic rationalism on efficiency, effectivity and answerability potentially conflicts with the ethical committednesss made by societal workers such as a committedness to accomplishing societal justness ( Tilbury et al 2007:10 ; AASW, 1999 ) . Economic issues impact the rapprochement procedure with the Indigenous community as healing and rapprochement relies on damages of past wrongs ( HREOC, 1997 ) . Thorpe ( 2007 ) besides notes that a disproportional sum of resources in kid protection are spent on probe instead than attention.

Current Social Policy Approachs:

Prevention and early intercession

The current discourse on kid protection, influenced by strength based and grounds based attacks, ‘has shifted from speaking about maltreatment to speaking about injury ‘ ( Zuchowski, 2009:33 ) . Feminism and Post-modernism recognize linguistic communication as a site which contributes to specifying societal value ; these discourses have besides contributed to the displacement from speaking about maltreatment to concentrating on the injury done to kids. ‘Harm ‘ is defined in The Child Protection Act ( 1999 ) as ‘any damaging consequence of a important nature… on the kid ‘s wellbeing ‘ . This term allows for household and kid to lend to the appraisal of what is considered ‘detrimental ‘ and ‘significant ‘ ( Tilbury et al, 2007:4 ) . The focal point since the mid 1990 ‘s in Australia has been on early intercession and bar ( Tomison, 2001:54-55 ) .

“ Resilience ” has been recognized as a cardinal protective factor in kids lasting ill-treatment and high hazard state of affairss and accomplishing healthy and adaptative results. The turning acknowledgment that heightening protective factors to forestall ill-treatment of kids is cost effectual, and provides both societal and economic benefits, has seen an increasing focal point on the bringing of early intercession and bar services in Australia. These services are largely delivered through non-government bureaus such as Family Centres in New South Wales. Government policies now focus on ‘health and well-being ‘ through heightening community, household and single strengths. These current strengths-based household support attacks are a contrast to historic attacks that sought to put duty and fault entirely with the parent. Children ‘s wellness and well-being is now seen as a community duty ; the impact of the socio-economic environment in which the household lives is now taken into history ( Tomison, 2002:7 ; 2001:55 ) .

Decision

Harmonizing to Tilbury et Al “ the ‘label ‘ kid maltreatment alterations harmonizing to societal context and reflects public sentiment and values every bit good as adept sentiment ” and reflects the grade to which society supports households to care for their kids ( 2007:6 ) . Furthermore apprehensions of kid maltreatment and disregard ‘differ harmonizing to socio-economic position, civilization and cultural background ‘ ( Bowes & A ; Watson, 2004 ) , as cited in Tilbury et Al. ( 2007:6 ) .

What constitutes child maltreatment is dependent on societal and cultural values ; this is clearly evidenced in the alterations to the intervention and attention of kids throughout even the short history of Australia since white colony. The addition in presentment and confirmation of kids at hazard in the last decennary is the result of a widening definition of what comprises kid maltreatment ( Scott, 2006, as cited in Thorpe, 2007:1 ) . Australia ‘s history of physical remotion of Autochthonal kids, the disjunction of British migratory kids from household, the maltreatment of kids in institutional attention and the on-going societal and mental harm that these patterns caused is now good known ( Thorpe, 2007:1 ) . These historic patterns are unacceptable and considered maltreatment and ill-treatment in Australia today. When compared with Australia ‘s current collaborative and culturally sensitive attack to child protection it is clear that kid maltreatment, and community perceptual experience and response to it, reflect the dominant cultural and societal values of the twenty-four hours.