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Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 11:44 am
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Results for child protection
381 results foundAuthor: Bokhari, Farhat Title: Stolen Futures: Trafficking for Forced Child Marriage in the UK Summary: The research for this report documented 48 cases of trafficking for forced child marriage, including cases where there were strong suspicions of an impending forced marriage involving the movement and potential exploitation of the child. There is little data on this aspect of trafficking internationally or within the United Kingdom, partly because of a lack of systematic data collection on child trafficking in all its forms. With the increasing profile and development in policy on forced marriage in the UK and elsewhere, attention on the links between forced marriage, child marriage and trafficking has been growing, albeit slowly. This exploratory study hopes to contribute to a clearer understanding of this issue from a UK perspective and to offer some new insights into how the needs of the children involved may be addressed. Details: London: ECPAT UK, 2009. 40p. Source: Accessed April 17, 2018 at: https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/ecpat_trafficking_for_forced_child_marriage_in_uk_en_1.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/ecpat_trafficking_for_forced_child_marriage_in_uk_en_1.pdf Shelf Number: 117104 Keywords: Child ExploitationChild MarriageChild ProtectionChild TraffickingHuman Trafficking |
Author: Kemshall, Hazel Title: Child Sex Offender Review (CSOR) Public Disclosure Pilots: A Process Evaluation Summary: The Child Sexual Offender Review (2007) recommended that a pilot be set up to provide members of the public with a formal mechanism for requesting information about individuals who have unsupervised access to children and who may have convictions for child sexual offending. The public disclosure pilot was established in four police forces in England running for one-year from September 2008-09. A process evaluation was conducted to look at the success of the pilot. The evaluation used qualitative and quantitative data to assess the extent and nature of applications, whether the pilots contributed to existing child protection arrangements and the cost of implementation. Details: London: Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate, 2010. 41p. Source: Internet Resource; Home Office Research Report 32 Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: Shelf Number: 117629 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseSex Offenders |
Author: International Tribunal for Children's Rights Title: International Dimensions of the Sexual Exploitation of Children: Global Report Summary: The sexual abuse and exploitation committed on children by adults surpass all national boundaries. These abuses thus become the responsibility of more than one state, they become, in effect, an international problem. Some of the most common examples of these international dimensions of sexual exploitation of children include child sex tourism, cross-border trafficking of children for sexual purposes, child pornography and most recently the use of the Internet as a new channel for the proliferation of these forms of abuse and exploitation. This report presents an analysis and compilation of the recommendations produced by the first cycle of interventions of the International Tribunal for Children's Rights in France, Brazil and Sri Lanka. The recommendations cover a wide array of measures aimed at better protecting children from sexual exploitation and ensuring that their abusers are properly prosecuted and convicted, all over the world. Details: Montreal: International Bureau for Children's Rights, 1999. 116p. Source: Year: 1999 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 102426 Keywords: Child MaltreatmentChild PornographyChild ProtectionChild Sex TourismChild Sexual AbuseHuman TraffickingSex Offenders |
Author: Hunt, Lise Title: Females Who Sexually Abuse in Organisations Working with Children: Characteristics, International and Australian Prevalence Rates: Implications for Child Protection Summary: Media coverage in recent years has highlighted the number of females in a position of authority who have sexually abused children and young people in their care. This research was undertaken to determine how much child sexual abuse is perpetrated by women in children's organizations. Key findings of the research included that 6% of all Australian reported cases of sexual abuse of children were perpetrated by females and up to 30% of female perpetrated child sexual abuse occurs in an organizational setting: primarily whilst babysitting. Details: Melbourne: Child Wise, 2006. 50p. Source: Year: 2006 Country: Australia URL: Shelf Number: 118322 Keywords: Child MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse (Australia)Sex Offenders (Females) |
Author: Blanchet-Cohen, Natasha Title: Children, Agency and Violence: In and Beyond the United Nations Study on Violence Against Children Summary: This paper examines the role of child agency as it relates to child protection. The focus arises from recognition that child protection approaches can be ineffective, and even counterproductive, when local context is not given sufficient attention. Details: Florence, Italy: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2009. 54p. Source: Innocenti Working Paper No. IDP 2009-10 Year: 2009 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 118321 Keywords: Child Protection |
Author: Dottridge, Mike Title: In Pursuit of Good Practice in Responses to Child Trafficking: Experiences from Latin America, Southeast Europe and Southeast Asia Summary: Based on a set of seven criteria, this report assesses what constitutes 'good practice' in the context of a wide array of efforts to prevent child trafficking. These efforts range from the collection of evidence about patterns of human trafficking; the provision of information and advice to children, parents and communities; the development of local networks to protect children; activities to influence the media; activities to improve minimum standards to protect and assist child victims of trafficking; and the promotion of alliances to bring about change. Details: Geneva: Terre des Hommes International Federation; The Hague: Stichting Terre des Hommes Netherlands, 2010. 52p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2010 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 118586 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild TraffickingHuman Trafficking |
Author: Ahern, Laurie Title: Torture not Treatment: Electric Shock and Long-Term Restraint in the United States on Children and Adults with Disabilities at the Judge Rotenberg Center Summary: This report documents the human rights abuses of children and young adults with mental disabilities residing at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, Massachusetts. Details: Washington, DC: Mental Disability Rights International, 2010. 57p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 118303 Keywords: Child MaltreatmentChild ProtectionHuman Rights, ChildrenMentally Handicapped |
Author: Beaulieu, Catherine Title: Strengthening Laws Addressing Child Sexual Exploitation: A Practical Guide Summary: This guide was developed for international and non-governmental organizations, government institutions, professionals and all those working to end the sexual exploitation of children. Its purpose is three-fold: 1) to serve as a practical tool in the assessment of national child protection frameworks; 2) to inform the process of harmonizing and strengthening legislation; and 30 to support advocacy for legal reform to better protect children. Details: Bangkok, Thailand: ECPAT International, 2008. 145p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2008 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 118828 Keywords: Child MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual Exploitation |
Author: United Nations Children's Fund Title: Progress for Children: A Report Card on Child Protection Summary: This report card is a compendium of data on the global and national efforts to protect the rights of children. Details: New York: UNICEF, 2009. 46p. Source: Internet Resource; Number 8 Year: 2009 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 119331 Keywords: Child ProtectionChildren, Crimes Against |
Author: U.S. Department of Justice Title: The National Strategy for Child Prevention and Interdiction: A Report to Congress Summary: "The sexual abuse and exploitation of children rob the victims of their childhood, irrevocably interfering with their emotional and psychological development. Ensuring that all children come of age without being disturbed by sexual trauma or exploitation is more than a criminal justice issue, it is a societal issue. Despite efforts to date, the threat of child sexual exploitation remains very real, whether it takes place in the home, on the street, over the Internet, or in a foreign land. Because the sexual abuse and exploitation of children strikes at the very foundation of our society, it will take our entire society to combat this affront to the public welfare. Therefore, this National Strategy lays out a comprehensive response to protect the right of children to be free from sexual abuse and to protect society from the cost imposed by this crime. In the broadest terms, the goal of this National Strategy is to prevent child sexual exploitation from occurring in the first place, in order to protect every child’s opportunity and right to have a childhood that is free from sexual abuse, trauma, and exploitation so that they can become the adults they were meant to be. This Strategy will accomplish that goal by efficiently leveraging assets across the federal government in a coordinated manner. All entities with a stake in the fight against child exploitation—from federal agencies and investigators and prosecutors, to social service providers, educators, medical professionals, academics, non-governmental organizations, and members of industry, as well as parents, caregivers, and the threatened children themselves—are called upon to do their part to prevent these crimes, care for the victims, and rehabilitate the offenders." Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 2010. 280p. Source: Internet Resource; Accessed August 10, 2010 at http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/docs/natstrategyreport.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/docs/natstrategyreport.pdf Shelf Number: 119589 Keywords: Child PornographyChild ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sex TourismChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationComputer CrimesInternet CrimesInternet Safety |
Author: Bromfield, Leah Title: The Economic Costs of Child Abuse and Neglect Summary: This resource sheet examines the cost of child abuse and neglect related to the various Australian government departments responsible for children protection services. Details: Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2010. 6p. Source: Internet Resource; Accessed August 13, 2010 at http://www.aifs.gov.au/nch/pubs/sheets/rs2/rs2.html Year: 2010 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aifs.gov.au/nch/pubs/sheets/rs2/rs2.html Shelf Number: 119594 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionCosts of Crime |
Author: Rees, Gwyther Title: Safeguarding Young People: Responding to Young People Aged 11 to 17 Who Are Maltreatment Summary: This study looked at the needs of young people aged 11-17 in the child protection process in the U.K. and found that services were more geared to help younger children, and the specific needs of young people were often neglected. The report calls on policy makers to examine what works best for this age group and to initiate the necessary policy changes. Details: London: The Children's Society, 2010. 173p. Source: Internet Resource; Accessed August 13, 2010 at: http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/resources/documents/Research/2148 5_full.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/resources/documents/Research/2148 5_full.pdf Shelf Number: 119601 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild Maltreatment (U.K.)Child Protection |
Author: Brackenridge, Celia Title: Protecting Children From Violence in Sport: A Review With A Focus on Industrialized Countries Summary: During recent years, however, it has become evident that sport is not always a safe space for children, and that the same types of violence and abuse sometimes found in families and communities can also occur in sport and play programmes. Child athletes are rarely consulted about their sporting experiences, and awareness of and education on child protection issues among sport teachers, coaches and other stakeholders is too often lacking. Overall, appropriate structures and policies need to be developed for preventing, reporting and responding appropriately to violence in children’s sport. In recognition of this, the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre commissioned a review of the available empirical research and policy initiatives on this subject. The research resulted in a wealth of information. This report defines the many aspects of the issue, provides examples of both good and poor practice, and makes suggestions for sport organizations to assist them in their violence prevention work. In particular, the study recommends improvements in: 1) Data collection and knowledge generation about violence to children in sport; 2) Development of structures and systems for eliminating and preventing violence to children in sport; 3) Education, awareness-raising and training on this subject; and 4) Promotion of ethical guidelines and codes of conduct as part of the prevention system. It is anticipated that by addressing these gaps, significant improvements will be realized for the promotion and protection of the rights of children in sport. Details: Florence, Italy: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Innocenti Research Centre, 2010. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 19, 2010 at: Year: 2010 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 118805 Keywords: Child MaltreatmentChild ProtectionSports Violence |
Author: International Social Service, Australian Branch Title: Living in Limbo: The Experience of International Parental Child Abduction: The Call for a National Support Service Summary: Apart from high profile cases of parents abducting their children to other countries, little is generally known about the extent and impact that International Parental Child Abduction has on children and families. The incidence of these abductions is greater than official government figures reveal. Only abductions which occur between Australia and countries which have signed the Hague Convention into the Civil Aspects of Parental Child Abduction are recorded. Abductions involving countries not a party to the convention are not counted. There is also no official recording of attempted cases which do not eventuate. Abductions occur when relationships have failed and usually where the parents come from different cultural backgrounds. Domestic violence, a deep sense of unfairness about contact and access arrangements, intense fear of losing the child and disagreement about the other parent’s cultural beliefs relating to child rearing are common reasons for parents choosing this regrettable path. There are serious emotional consequences for the abducted child taken from all that is familiar, most usually to the parent’s country of origin. As the child is already dealing with the breakdown of the family unit, this additional trauma can cause emotional problems which if not treated in an ongoing way, can have lasting consequences. The left behind parent also suffers considerable grief, anger and guilt which will affect ongoing relationships with other children as well as children who have been abducted. The abducting parent is also usually in need of therapeutic help. The legal remedy available through the Hague Convention of seeking to have the child returned to the country where he or she lived habitually prior to the abduction aims to achieve a fair process. There is also an underlying premise in the Convention that matters relating to the custody of children are rightly the responsibility of the national jurisdiction where the child habitually lived pre-abduction. The Convention process cannot however comprehensively address the post traumatic stress experienced by family members or the underlying issues which led to the abduction. Growing concerns about the impact of abduction, particularly on the children but also the parents and recognition of the limitations of a legal response prompted the Commonwealth Attorney- General’s Department to fund a project to consider the viability of establishing a support service. International Social Service Australia undertook this project and this paper outlines key findings. International Social Service is a non-profit organisation which operates through a worldwide network of offices in over 140 countries. Core work relates to child welfare issues involving Australia and another country. Their work is also guided by International Conventions focusing on children and families. The report recommends that a support service be established. The service will comprise an advice line, make referrals to specialist agencies, lawyers and experienced parents. It will also conduct community education and training and undertake research and advocacy. The report concludes that as the service complements the work of International Social Service Australia, it is an appropriate choice for the location of the service. Details: Melbourne: International Social Service, Australian Branch, 2005. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 1, 2010 at: http://www.missingpersons.gov.au/Assets/Files/9bb6de98-a9ab-436f-8c08-cb63c21ff155.pdf Year: 2005 Country: Australia URL: http://www.missingpersons.gov.au/Assets/Files/9bb6de98-a9ab-436f-8c08-cb63c21ff155.pdf Shelf Number: 119717 Keywords: Child CustodyChild ProtectionKidnapping, ParentalParental Child Abduction |
Author: Turton, Jackie Title: An Investigation Into the Nature and Impact of Complaints Made Against Paediatricians Involved in Child Protection Procedures Summary: Child protection is a complex and emotive area for any professional. A Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) survey (2004) demonstrated that paediatricians in the field are often the targets of unfounded complaints and that the number of such complaints was rising. Although over 97% of complaints were subsequently unproven, the survey identified that complaints had a profound impact on the professional and private lives of some paediatricians and had influenced their willingness to undertake future child protection work. The findings of this survey prompted a more detailed qualitative study to explore the nature and impact of complaints made against paediatricians in relation to child protection. The research undertaken was commissioned by the RCPCH as part of an ongoing programme of activity to support doctors working in child protection. Semi-structured interviews with a representative sample of 72 paediatricians drawn from the 2004 survey were conducted during mid-2005. Interviews were recorded and transcribed and the transcripts thematically analysed with NVIVO software. The sampling method used enabled the inclusion of a broad spectrum of paediatric experiences and the complaints discussed varied both in relation to the nature of the complaint and how far they progressed through the system. It is acknowledged that a limitation of the study was that the views of complainants were not sought, mainly because of ethical and practical difficulties of identifying complainants within the project time frame. The College Research Division has recently received funding for a project involving parents that will be used to complement the findings from this study. The study identified common themes in relation to complaints and considered strategies that might minimise complaints. It also highlighted the more general concerns expressed by paediatricians about their roles in safeguarding children, including educational and training needs. Details: London: Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2007. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 18, 2010 at: http://www.chimat.org.uk/resource/item.aspx?RID=56784 Year: 2007 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.chimat.org.uk/resource/item.aspx?RID=56784 Shelf Number: 119968 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild Protection |
Author: Brandon, Marian Title: Building on the Learning from Serious Case Reviews: A Two-Year Analysis of Child Protection Database Notifications 2007-2009 Summary: Serious case reviews (SCRs) are local enquiries into the death or serious injury of a child where abuse or neglect are known or suspected. They are carried out under the auspices of Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) so that lessons can be learnt locally. Every two years an overview analysis of these reviews throughout England has been commissioned to draw out themes and trends so that lessons learnt from these cases can inform both policy and practice. This is the 5th such biennial analysis of serious case reviews, and relates to incidents which occurred during the period April 2007 - March 2009. The report aims to collate and describe data from the child protection database reports on all notifications which progressed to a SCR during this two-year period, adapting the coding framework used in the 3rd and 4th biennial analyses. It also compares those notifications (of serious injuries or harm) which do and do not become a serious case review and analyses the data to produce descriptive statistics and findings in relation to initial themes and trends emerging from the database reports. Details: Runcorn, UK: UK Department of Education, 2010. 61p. Source: Internet Resource:Research Report DFE-RR040: Accessed October 23, 2010 at: http://publications.education.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/DFE-RR040.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://publications.education.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/DFE-RR040.pdf Shelf Number: 120062 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild Protection |
Author: Chan, Vanessa Title: Evaluation of the Sex Offender Community Disclosure Pilot Summary: In June 2007, the Home Office published its Review of the Protection of Children from Sex Offenders. One of the conclusions was that more information should be shared with the public about specific Registered Sex Offenders (RSOs) who may pose a threat to particular children. A disclosure scheme was piloted in four English police force areas in 2008/9. In parallel to these developments, the Scottish Government decided to pilot a similar disclosure scheme in the Tayside Police force area between September 2009 and May 2010. The pilot involved a dedicated Disclosure Team being set up to deal with enquiries from parents about specific individuals perceived to pose a threat to their children. For each enquiry, the Disclosure Team conducted a comprehensive risk assessment using the information provided by the applicants and existing information on Police, Social Work and NHS systems. Depending on the outcome of the risk assessment, the team had the option to disclose information and/or trigger existing mechanisms to deal with child protection and the management of sex offenders. This report presents the findings of an independent evaluation of the pilot conducted on behalf of the Scottish Government by Ipsos MORI Scotland in collaboration with Beth Weaver of the University of Strathclyde. The overall aim of the evaluation was to explore the extent to which the pilot enhanced child protection beyond what would happen anyway under existing child protection measures and Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements. The evaluation also focused on how the scheme might be refined and improved before being implemented more widely. The evaluation was conducted primarily through in-depth interviews with a range of stakeholder groups (including applicants, professionals involved in administering the pilot, practitioners, RSOs and national stakeholders). The evaluation also comprised analysis of data on the type of enquiries handled by the pilot, financial resources related to the pilot and the movement of RSOs in Tayside. Details: Edinburgh: Scottish Government Social Research, 2010. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 25, 2010 at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/328113/0106001.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/328113/0106001.pdf Shelf Number: 120079 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseSex Offenders |
Author: Mathews, Benjamin Title: Teachers Reporting Child Sexual Abuse: Towards Evidence-Based Reform of Law, Policy and Practice: Final Report Summary: This report presents the results of the largest study ever conducted into the law, policy and practice of primary school teachers’ reporting of child sexual abuse in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. The study included the largest Australian survey of teachers about reporting sexual abuse, in both government and non-government schools (n=470). Our research has produced evidence-based findings to enhance law, policy and practice about teachers’ reporting of child sexual abuse. The major benefits of our findings and recommendations are to: • Show how the legislation in each State can be improved; • Show how the policies in government and non-government school sectors can be improved; and • Show how teacher training can be improved. These improvements can enhance the already valuable contribution that teachers are making to identify cases of child sexual abuse. Based on the findings of our research, this report proposes solutions to issues in seven key areas of law, policy and practice. These solutions are relevant for State Parliaments, government and non-government educational authorities, and child protection departments. The solutions in each State are practicable, low-cost, and align with current government policy approaches. Implementing these solutions will: • protect more children from sexual abuse; • save cost to governments and society; • develop a professional teacher workforce better equipped for their child protection role; and • protect government and school authorities from legal liability. Details: Brisbane, QLD: Queensland University of Technology, 2010. 145p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 6, 2010 at: http://eprints.qut.edu.au/33010/1/ARC_DP0664847_Final_Report.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Australia URL: http://eprints.qut.edu.au/33010/1/ARC_DP0664847_Final_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 120387 Keywords: Child MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse (Australia) |
Author: Hilferty, Fiona Title: The Evaluation of Brighter Futures, NSW Community Services' Early Intervention Program: Final Report Summary: This report presents the findings of the evaluation of the NSW Community Services‘ early intervention program, Brighter Futures. Brighter Futures is an innovative program, which has changed the practice of child abuse prevention services in NSW. The program has broken new ground nationally and internationally by developing an evidence-based service model; requiring caseworkers to use validated instruments for assessment and reporting; and being delivered through a cross-sectoral partnership between Community Services and non-government organisations. It is also innovative in specifically targeting families who are at most risk of entering the child protection system. The Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) at the University of New South Wales was commissioned to evaluate the program shortly after its state-wide rollout. SPRC worked in collaboration with researchers from the Centre for Health and Economics Research and Evaluation (CHERE) at the University of Technology, Sydney, who undertook the Economic Evaluation. The results summarised in this document and detailed in the main report present a picture of program success. However as a consequence of evaluation timing, and the innovative nature of the program, teething problems associated with implementing a new program were identified. Evaluation findings were limited by the narrow timeframe with which we had been able to observe participant families following their exit from the program. Further tracking of participant families is possible as an avenue for future research. Key findings for each component of the evaluation are provided throughout the report. Details: Sydney: University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre, 2010. 305p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 10, 2010 at: http://www.community.nsw.gov.au/docswr/_assets/main/documents/brighter_futures_evaluation4.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Australia URL: http://www.community.nsw.gov.au/docswr/_assets/main/documents/brighter_futures_evaluation4.pdf Shelf Number: 120442 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (Australia)Child MaltreatmentChild ProtectionEarly Intervention Programs |
Author: Grosskopf, Angelique Title: Online Interactions Involving Suspected Paedophiles Who Engage Male Children Summary: This paper summarises the results of a small-scale study into the online interactions of suspected paedophiles with undercover Australian police officers posing as male children. The study provides insight to an under-researched area of how persons with a sexual interest in male children interact with potential victims and whether these interactions differ from online engagements with female children. The findings provide an interesting and persuasive case to further examine online strategies used by persons wishing to exploit male children, as it highlights potential differences in approaches when compared with interactions between suspected offenders and female children. The differences include less aggressive online behaviour and language, with an emphasis on the male child’s sexuality and sexual experience. These strategies appear to assist the formation of an online friendship which precedes sexual topics, rather than the reverse as is largely reported in literature. These findings are likely to have implications for law enforcement and child protection initiatives. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2010. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, No. 403: Accessed December 15, 2010 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/C/8/C/%7BC8C25B82-6F4A-4119-BC62-75840BA8D22A%7Dtandi403.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/C/8/C/%7BC8C25B82-6F4A-4119-BC62-75840BA8D22A%7Dtandi403.pdf Shelf Number: 120519 Keywords: Child ProtectionInternet CrimesOnline VictimizationPedophiliaSex Offenders (Australia)Sexual Exploitation, Male Victims |
Author: Northern Ireland Policing Board Title: Human Rights Thematic Review: Children & Young People Summary: This report examines how well the police service in Northern Ireland met its human rights obligations when working with children and young people. The Review looks specifically at how the PSNI meet their human rights obligations in some key areas relating to children and young people. Details: Belfast: Northern Ireland Policing Board, 2011. 137p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 1, 2011 at: http://www.nipolicingboard.org.uk/human_rights_thematic_enquiry_children___young_people_final_pdf.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.nipolicingboard.org.uk/human_rights_thematic_enquiry_children___young_people_final_pdf.pdf Shelf Number: 120650 Keywords: Child ProtectionHuman Rights (Northern Ireland)Policing |
Author: Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth Title: Working Together to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect - A Common Approach for Identifying and Responding Early to Indicators of Need Summary: Current systems for protecting children in Australia are struggling to achieve their primary objective - to meet the needs of children. The statutory child protection system is overburdened with notifications of alleged child abuse and neglect, with numbers more than tripling nationally between 1999/2000 (107,134) and 2008/2009 (339,454) (AIHW 2008 and 2010). This represents huge demand on the resources within child protection agencies to assess and investigate these reports, and on government resources more broadly. The new approach is being developed under the auspices of the Common Approach to Assessment, Referral and Support (CAARS) Taskforce, which was established by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) and the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) in 2009. The CAARS project is one of the 12 National Priorities planned during the initial three year period of the COAG National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020: Protecting Children is Everyone’s Business. The Common Approach promotes the use of common language across professions and can be embedded in existing practice. With it universal service providers will have at their disposal a comprehensive and, at the same time, easy-to-use instrument that helps them identify the needs of children and families at an early stage. The Common Approach also provides guidance to practitioners on the next steps involved in assisting and empowering these children and families to meet their needs in an effective and timely manner. The Common Approach is thus expected to enhance the capacity of universal service providers to identify the strengths, concerns, protective factors and unmet needs of children, young people and families, and to facilitate a pathway to appropriate support services. Details: Woden, ACT: Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth, 2010. 162p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 8, 2011 at: http://www.aracy.org.au/cmsimages/file/CAARS%20Final-Report.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aracy.org.au/cmsimages/file/CAARS%20Final-Report.pdf Shelf Number: 120893 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (AustraliaChild MaltreatmentChild Protection |
Author: Bromfield, Leah Title: Issues for the Safety and Wellbeing of Children in Families with Multiple and Complex Problems: The Co-occurrence of Domestic Violence, Parental Substance Misuse, and Mental Health Problems Summary: The factors most commonly associated with the occurrence of child abuse and neglect, and identified in families involved with child protection services, are domestic violence, parental substance abuse and parental mental health problems. The significance of parental substance misuse, mental health problems and domestic violence is made clear in the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children, which states “A particular focus is sustained on key risk factors of mental health, domestic violence and drug and alcohol abuse” (Council of Australian Governments, 2009). Families in which parents present with these problems are often situated within a wider context of exclusion and disadvantage (e.g., housing instability, poverty, low education, social isolation and neighbourhood disadvantage). Parents may also be struggling to come to terms with their own experiences of trauma and victimisation. These types of problems are complex, often inter-related, and chronic in nature and rarely occur in isolation. Where these problems occur within families, the families are described as “families with multiple and complex problems”. This paper investigates the separate impacts of parental substance misuse, domestic violence and parental mental health problems. It presents evidence regarding the extent to which these problems co-occur and a discussion of the wider context of exclusion and disadvantage, its causes and its consequences. Finally, it provides an overview of research and theory for working with families with multiple and complex problems. Details: Melbourne: National Child Protection Clearinghouse, Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2010. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: NCPC Issues No. 33: Accessed March 21, 2011 at: http://twitemail.com/users/14808835/5/attachment/20101215-%20The%20Safety%20&%20Wellbeing%20of%20Children%20in%20Families%20with%20Multiple%20&%20Complex%20Problems.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Australia URL: http://twitemail.com/users/14808835/5/attachment/20101215-%20The%20Safety%20&%20Wellbeing%20of%20Children%20in%20Families%20with%20Multiple%20&%20Complex%20Problems.pdf Shelf Number: 121083 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionDomestic ViolenceFamily Violence (Australia)Mental HealthSubstance Abuse |
Author: Rosenthal, Eric Title: Abandoned and Disappeared: Mexico’s Segregation and Abuse of Children and Adults with Disabilities Summary: Disappeared and Abandoned: Mexico’s Segregation and Abuse of Children and Adults with Disabilities is the product of a year-long investigation and collaboration between Disability Rights International (DRI) and the Comisión Méxicana de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos (CMDPDH). From August 2009 through September 2010, DRI and the CMDPDH investigated psychiatric institutions, orphanages, shelters, and other public facilities that house children and adults with disabilities. This report documents violations of the rights of people with disabilities under the new United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and other human rights treaties ratified by Mexico. The investigative team documented a broad array of human rights violations against people with disabilities and found that many people are forced to live their entire lives in institutions in atrocious and abusive conditions. This report concludes that Mexico segregates thousands of children and adults with disabilities from society in violation of CRPD article 19 which guarantees the “right of all persons with disabilities to live in the community with choices equal to others.” The primary reason for institutionalization is Mexico’s lack of community-based services to provide the support necessary for individuals with mental disabilities to live in the community. People without families who are willing or able to support them are officially referred to as abandonados, and they are relegated to languish in institutions without hope for return to the community. Children with disabilities may have loving families. But without support, many parents of children with disabilities have no choice but to place their children in institutions. Within institutions, children and adults with disabilities are subject to inhuman and degrading conditions of detention that violate the CRPD and other human rights conventions, such as the American Convention on Human Rights1 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Filthy, run-down living areas, lack of medical care and rehabilitation, and a failure to provide oversight renders placement in some institutions dangerous and even life-threatening. The use of long-term restraints in institutions may rise to the level of torture under the UN Convention against Torture. The failure to provide essential medical care to people detained in Mexican facilities violates their right to life under the CRPD and the American Convention on Human Rights. Due to a failure to provide oversight, children have literally disappeared from institutions. Some of these children may have been subject to sex trafficking and forced labor. Mexico’s laws fail to protect children or adults with disabilities against arbitrary detention in violation of the CRPD and American Convention. Once in institutions, the right to legal recognition as a person – as protected by article 12 of the CRPD – is denied by the arbitrary denial of the right to make the most basic decisions about life. Details: Washington, DC: Disability Rights International, 2010. 73p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 28, 2011 at: http://www.disabilityrightsintl.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Mex-Report-English-Nov30-finalpdf.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.disabilityrightsintl.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Mex-Report-English-Nov30-finalpdf.pdf Shelf Number: 121139 Keywords: Adults with DisabilitiesChild Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionDisability (Mexico)Human RightsMental Health Care |
Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office Title: Combating Child Pornography: Steps Are Needed to Ensure That Tips to Law Enforcement Are Useful and Forensic Examinations Are Cost Effective Summary: The Department of Justice (DOJ) reports that online child pornography crime has increased. DOJ funds the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which maintains the CyberTipline to receive child pornography tips. The Providing Resources, Officers, and Technology To Eradicate Cyber Threats to Our Children Act of 2008 (the Act) contains provisions to facilitate these investigations and create a national strategy to prevent, among other things, child pornography. The Act directed GAO to report on actions to minimize duplication and enhance federal expenditures to address this crime. This report examines (1) the extent to which NCMEC determines the usefulness of tips; (2) mechanisms to help law enforcement coordination (i.e., deconfliction); and (3) the extent to which agencies are addressing factors that federal law enforcement reports may inhibit investigations. GAO analyzed the Act and spoke to law enforcement officials who investigate these crimes, selected to reflect geographic range, among other things. Although these interviews cannot be generalized, they provided insight into investigations. NCMEC takes steps to obtain feedback from law enforcement on the usefulness of CyberTipline reports; however, it does not systematically collect information on how useful individual reports are for initiating and advancing investigations or about information gaps that limit reports' usefulness. For instance, NCMEC solicits feedback via e-mail or in person quarterly from federal law enforcement liaisons at NCMEC about the overall usefulness of CyberTipline reports. However, according to many law enforcement officials GAO contacted, information in a CyberTipline report may not contain an image of apparent child pornography or may contain old data. NCMEC officials said that they are interested in obtaining additional feedback to enhance the usefulness of its reports and could explore additional methods to gather such information, such as creating a systematic process for obtaining feedback from federal law enforcement. Enhancing its processes for collecting feedback on the usefulness of CyberTipline reports could help NCMEC ensure that reports are as useful as possible to law enforcement. Existing deconfliction mechanisms generally prevent pursuit of the same suspects but are fragmented; DOJ is in the early stages of developing a system to address this fragmentation. Many law enforcement officials GAO contacted reported using various nonautomated (e.g., task forces) and automated (e.g., investigative systems) mechanisms to avoid duplication of effort in investigations. But these officials reported that there is not a single automated system that provides comprehensive case information and deconfliction, which can contribute to difficulties coordinating investigations. As mandated in the Act, DOJ is developing a national system to, among other things, provide law enforcement with a single deconfliction tool. Specifically, DOJ is conducting a needs assessment--which it plans to complete in 12 to 24 months--to use as a basis for system development. However, because DOJ is waiting on the results of the needs assessment to begin system development, it may be several years before the system is operational. Backlogs in the forensic analysis of digital evidence can delay or hinder online child pornography investigations; assessing the costs and benefits of taking extra steps to ensure the integrity of forensic analysis could help determine if there are efficiencies that could reduce backlogs. Forensic analysis of digital evidence consists of the review of information from digital media, such as hard drives, and can prove online child pornography crime. Several factors may contribute to backlogs in forensic analysis, including the steps federal law enforcement agencies believe enhance the integrity of analysis, such as making exact copies of digital evidence to discourage tampering. The FBI takes additional steps it believes enhance integrity, such as separating the forensic examination from the investigation. However, some federal officials and prosecutors GAO spoke with differed on the need for such steps. According to DOJ, the national strategy's working group is in a good position to address backlog issues and having this group assess the costs and benefits of steps taken to ensure the integrity of forensic analysis could help it determine potential efficiencies that could reduce backlogs. GAO recommends that NCMEC enhance its processes to collect feedback to improve tips and that DOJ assess the costs and benefits of steps agencies take to ensure the integrity of forensic analysis. NCMEC and DOJ generally concurred with our recommendations and discussed actions to address them. Details: Washington, DC: U.S.Government Accountability Office, 2011. 77p. Source: Internet Resource: GAO-11-334: Accessed April 2, 2011 at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11334.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11334.pdf Shelf Number: 121221 Keywords: Child AbuseChild PornographyChild ProtectionComputer CrimesCriminal InvestigationsCybercrimesInternetSex Offenses |
Author: Spielberger, Julie Title: Building a System of Support for Evidence-Based Home Visitation Programs in Illinois: Early Findings from the Strong Foundations Evaluation Summary: In the fall of 2009, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), in collaboration with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), and the Home Visiting Task Force (HVTF) of the Early Learning Council began the implementation of Strong Foundations. Funded by the Children’s Bureau, Illinois was one of 17 grantees in 15 states to receive funding for 5-years to support the implementation, scale up, and sustainability of evidence-based home visiting programs for the prevention of child maltreatment. Each grantee is expected to conduct local implementation and outcome evaluations, along with an analysis of program costs, and contribute information to a national cross-site evaluation conducted by a research team from Mathematica Policy Research and Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago (MPR-CH). Another research team at Chapin Hall was contracted to conduct the local evaluation of Strong Foundations. Strong Foundations is based on the assumption that a well-functioning and effective infrastructure at the state level will be reflected in, and supportive of, a well-functioning and effective local system and the successful operation of program sites. It is further assumed that if programs operate successfully, they will produce long-term positive outcomes on maternal life course, child development, and the prevention of child maltreatment similar to those observed in randomized controlled trials of these evidence-based programs. Following these assumptions, the two overarching goals for Strong Foundations are to: (1) implement activities to strengthen the infrastructure of supports for home visiting programs in Illinois and (2) ensure that programs operate with fidelity to their model and are supported with necessary training and resources. For the purposes of the evaluation, we were asked to concentrate on three models of evidence-based home visiting programs in Illinois — Parents as Teachers (PAT), Healthy Families America (HFA), and the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP). The primary research questions were:1 State system: To what extent do state partners in the Strong Foundations’ initiative collaborate and implement an effective state infrastructure to support evidence-based home visiting programs, for example, with respect to governance, training and technical assistance? Community partnerships: How are communities supported and assisted by the state infrastructure in selecting evidence-based home visiting programs to meet the needs of families and in delivering services effectively? Are home visiting programs integrated into the full array of services and supports for families with young children in the community? Program quality and fidelity: Are home visiting programs being implemented and delivered in a way that is faithful to their program model, for example, with respect to staff selection, training, and supervision; engagement, participation, and retention of families; intensity, length, and frequency of services; and links to other community services? To address these questions, the evaluation includes (1) a process evaluation to assess the implementation of the state system, local infrastructure, and the operation of local programs and (2) an administrative data study of program performance, capacity, and fidelity. Drawing primarily from interviews with state-level informants, interviews with program directors and supervisors at 15 local programs, focus group interviews with home visitors, and staff surveys, this preliminary report offers some early findings and recommendations on aspects of the state level structures and supports for evidence based home visitation services, as well as program implementation and quality. Details: Chicago: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, 2011. 136p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 11, 2011 at: http://www.chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/Building%20a%20System%20of%20Support_03_16_11%20.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/Building%20a%20System%20of%20Support_03_16_11%20.pdf Shelf Number: 121297 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild Maltreatment (Illinois)Child ProtectionHome Visitation Programs |
Author: National Center for Youth Law Title: Broken Promises: California’s Inadequate and Unequal Treatment of its Abused and Neglected Children Summary: The National Center for Youth Law examined key child welfare outcomes that indicate whether California’s 58 counties are protecting child abuse victims and meeting the needs of children in foster care. Our Report is based upon 12 performance measures — an equal number of federal and state measures that address the six areas listed below. The state measures were established as a part of California’s 2001 legislative mandate (AB 636) for greater accountability among county child welfare programs. The federal measures are used by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) to determine state compliance with federal mandates for child safety, stability, and permanency, and states are sanctioned if they do not meet federal performance standards. The measures are: • Recurrence of Abuse or Neglect • Incidence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect in Foster Care • Foster Care Re-entries • Stability of Foster Care Placements • Length of Time to Reunification • Length of Time to Adoption These outcome measures provide a gauge to determine how well children are being protected and, when they enter foster care, whether they are moved promptly back to a safe home, whether it be with their biological parents, a relative, adoptive parents, or other permanent placement. For those children who remain in care longer, the measures show whether a county has provided that child with a stable placement. Finally, by tracking the rate at which children re-enter care, the measures provide some indication of whether children are being returned to their families too soon, or if families are not given enough support to allow parents to properly care for their children. Details: Sacramento, CA: National Center for Youth Law, 2006. 66p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 11, 2011 at: http://www.teenhealthlaw.org/fileadmin/ncyl/youthlaw/publications/2006_broken_promises.pdf Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: http://www.teenhealthlaw.org/fileadmin/ncyl/youthlaw/publications/2006_broken_promises.pdf Shelf Number: 121308 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (California)Child MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChild WelfareFoster Care |
Author: Australia. Family Law Council. Title: Improving Responses to Family Violence in the Family Law System: An Advice on the Intersection of Family Violence and Family Law Issues Summary: This report to the Federal Attorney-General focuses on family violence if and when it becomes visible in the Family Law system in Australia. This visible pattern is only the tip of the iceberg of family violence, alcoholism, drug addiction and mental illness which is apparently entrenched in Australia. The Family Law Council report is only one of the multiple studies in progress at present on the causes, effects and responses to family violence in Australia. The report recommends: The definition of “family violence” in the Family Law Act be widened to include a range of threatening behaviour. That the Attorney General establish an expert panel under the direction of the Australian Institute of Family Studies to create an easy-to-understand “common knowledge base” on the known patterns and effects of family violence. This easily accessible information will assist to provide common and up-to-date information to all those involved in the family relationship and legal systems, including parents, relatives, counsellors, mediators, FRCS, legal aid officers, lawyers and courts. The Law Council of Australia and the Family Law Council co-operate to revise the booklet “Best Practice Guidelines for Lawyers Doing Family Law Work” to incorporate detailed information on family violence. A number of reforms take place to improve co-ordination and collaboration between the state and territory child protection agencies, and the federal Family Law Act, including: the transportability of state family violence injunctive orders; the establishment of a national register of family and violence orders ; and the establishment of a network data base which records family violence orders, and a residual family court power to require state Child Protection Agencies to become parties to Family Law Court proceedings about children. A further report be prepared on whether FDRP should be required to provide a report to the Family Law Courts or other bodies in some or all structure where family violence is admitted or suspected. The forms notifying the Family Law Courts about family violence be simplified. Consideration be given on how to educate the Australian public about certain widespread misunderstandings of the Family Law Act including: o Recurrent gossip that notification of family violence may lead to a judicial perception that the notifier is an “unfriendly parent” o Widespread perception that each parent now has a “starting right” to equal time (50/50) with children o Common belief that a parent will receive both substantial time with a child, and equal shared parental responsibility, (similar to historic (“guardianship”), despite a history of poor communication and hostility between parents; and despite the long term health and emotional consequences for children as casualties on such parental battlefields. These recommendations of the Family Law Council will need to be amalgamated with the various reports on family violence emerging in the next year. Details: Barton, ACT, AUS: Family Law Council, 2009. 102p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2011 at: http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/rwpattach.nsf/VAP/(3273BD3F76A7A5DEDAE36942A54D7D90)~Family_Violence_Report.pdf/$file/Family_Violence_Report.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/rwpattach.nsf/VAP/(3273BD3F76A7A5DEDAE36942A54D7D90)~Family_Violence_Report.pdf/$file/Family_Violence_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 121451 Keywords: Child ProtectionDomestic ViolenceFamily Violence (Australia)Victims of Family Violence |
Author: Berezina, Evgenia Title: Street Children: Victimization and Abuse of Street Children Worldwide Summary: This report examines the lives of nearly 150 million children worldwide who are living on the streets. These children are among the most vulnerable to neglect, abuse, exploitation, torture, and death... often at the hands of the very individuals and institutions that are supposed to protect them. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the worldwide problem of abuse and violence of children living on the streets. These children are exceptionally vulnerable and are often exploited and made outcasts of society. Details: Washington, DC: Youth Advocate Program International, 2004. 4 p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 19, 2011 at: http://www.yapi.org/rpstreetchildren.pdf Year: 2004 Country: International URL: http://www.yapi.org/rpstreetchildren.pdf Shelf Number: 121756 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionStreet Children |
Author: Harvin, Judith Title: The Family Drug & Alcohol Court (FDAC) Evaluation Project Final Report Summary: This report presents the findings from the evaluation of the first pilot Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) in Britain. FDAC is a new approach to care proceedings, in cases where parental substance misuse is a key element in the local authority decision to bring proceedings. It is being piloted at the Inner London Family Proceedings Court in Wells Street. Initially the pilot was to run for three years, to the end of December 2010, but is now to continue until March 2012. FDAC is a specialist court for a problem that is anything but special. Its potential to help break the inter-generational cycle of harm associated with parental substance misuse goes straight to the heart of public policy and professional practice. Parental substance misuse is a formidable social problem and a factor in up to two-thirds of care cases. It is a major risk factor for child maltreatment, family separation and offending in adults, and for poor educational performance and substance misuse by children and young people. The parents’ many difficulties create serious problems for their children and place major demands on health, welfare and criminal justice services. For these reasons, parental substance misuse is a cross-cutting government agenda. FDAC is distinctive because it is a court-based family intervention which aims to improve children’s outcomes by addressing the entrenched difficulties of their parents. It has been adapted to English law and practice from a model of family treatment drug courts that is used widely in the USA and is showing promising results with a higher number of cases where parents and children were able to remain together safely, and with swifter alternative placement decisions for children if parents were unable to address their substance misuse successfully. The catalysts for the FDAC pilot were the encouraging evidence from the USA and concerns about the response to parental substance misuse through ordinary care proceedings in England: poor child and parent outcomes; insufficient co-ordination between adult and children’s services; late intervention to protect children; delay in reaching decisions; and the soaring costs of proceedings, linked to the cost of expert evidence. The aim of the evaluation was to describe the FDAC pilot and estimate its costs, identify set-up and implementation lessons, compare FDAC with ordinary care proceedings including a comparison of costs, and indicate whether this new approach might lead to better outcomes for children and parents. Details: London: Brunel University, 2011. 197p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 20, 2011 at: http://www.brunel.ac.uk/7067/FDAC/FDACEVALUATIONFINALREPORTMay2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.brunel.ac.uk/7067/FDAC/FDACEVALUATIONFINALREPORTMay2011.pdf Shelf Number: 121776 Keywords: Alcohol AbuseAlcohol CourtsChild Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionDrug Courts (U.K.) |
Author: Bhattacharya, Ilona Title: Vulnerability of Children Living in the Red Light Areas of Kolkata, India: A Youth-Led Study Summary: Prostitution in India has always raised lot of questions in this country. Almost all women have been trafficked and those who have joined knowingly have joined due to lack of option in life. The stigma of prostitution has made the children of the locality more vulnerable. School drop outs, child marriage, sexual abuse are some of the everyday realities. Female children have run away to get away and male children have been left with no options and lot of vulnerabilities. This youth-led study was conducted in an effort to develop a greater understanding of the realities faced by children living and growing up in the four largest red light areas in Kolkata, India: Kalighat, Bowbazar, Tollygunge, and Khidderpur. This unique initiative has been led by youth from the outset; youth surveyors from 16-22 years of age both developed the initial concept for and undertook the practical research involved. Youth members of SANLAAP involved in the Youth Partnership Project in South Asia (YPP-SA) have been actively taking leadership roles in their communities. These roles were further reinforced and strengthened by their involvement in undertaking and completing this study. The study aimed to delve deeper into the lives of children living in the complex world of Kolkata’s red light areas. In trying to understand the vulnerabilities faced by these children, effort was made to explore potential measures for improving the protection of the children living in these areas. It is hoped that the findings and recommendations from this study will provide a stronger platform from which to advocate for greater action and meaningful policy change to ensure better living conditions and essential child protection mechanisms within communities located in red light areas. This study does not claim to be an exhaustive or comprehensive assessment of the vulnerabilities faced by children in red light areas. It will fall short of the expectations of academic research conducted with a significantly larger sample size and more stringent methodologies and data analysis. The attempt of this study, however, has been to conduct action research led by young people in their own environment and communities. In this way, the young people now hope to address some of the issues that have come to the forefront through the numerous interviews and discussions conducted with children and families, within the scope of available resources and opportunities. Details: Kolkata: SANLAAP, 2010. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 12, 2011 at: http://www.ecpat.net/ei/Publications/CYP/YPP_Research_indial.pdf Year: 2010 Country: India URL: http://www.ecpat.net/ei/Publications/CYP/YPP_Research_indial.pdf Shelf Number: 122030 Keywords: Child AbuseChild ProtectionProstitution (India) |
Author: Anwar, Wajeeha Title: Cruel Number 2010: A Compilation of Statistics on Child Sexual Abuse Cases in Pakistan Summary: In order to collect data on child sexual abuse (CSA) in Pakistan, Sahil monitors 69 national dailies on reported incidents of CSA. We believe that the number of incidents presented in the print media do not represent the total numbers of such incidents in Pakistan-because such issues are taboo and are not easily reported. Any attempt to quantify the issue of child sexual abuse is bound to be limited in scope. The aim of producing these reports is to inform the general public and child policy makers of the incidents of CSA in Pakistan. Also, it is aiming to provide information to all stakeholders in all the sectors of society for protection of children. Details: Islamabad, Pakistan: Sahil, 2011. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 12, 2011 at: http://www.sahil.org/images/cruel%20numbers%202010.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Pakistan URL: http://www.sahil.org/images/cruel%20numbers%202010.pdf Shelf Number: 122035 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild RapeChild Sexual Abuse (Pakistan)Sodomy |
Author: Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) Title: Scoping Report on Missing and Abducted Children Summary: This scoping report provides an overview of what is known about the nature and scale of the multifaceted series of problems collectively known as ‘missing children’ and what the current response is, both locally and nationally. It also explains what role the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre will play in supporting the good work already being undertaken in the statutory and voluntary sectors and how it will work with practitioners in those sectors to protect and safeguard more children and tackle those who would seek to abuse them. CEOP intends to bring a different approach to this problem; one that seeks to use the limited resources available nationally to target problems that have a national/international complexion; require specific oversight and coordination; suggest some form of serious and/or organised criminality; and recognises that it is more economic to provide specialist resources at a national level to support local activity. Our approach will be partnership-driven, working with existing national and local organisations that already do valuable work and identifying new partners who may be able to help. Our aim will not be to replicate that already being done but to deliver complementary activity. The new CEOP capability will provide: educational resources and awareness for children and their parent/careers; training for the police; support to police operations through targeted research and analysis (for example development of problem profiles on nature and scale of the issues and emerging trends); operational support for forces and missing children by extending the CEOP ‘one stop shop’ to include online missing children resources; and assurance that co-ordination arrangements and capability are in place to manage complex or high profile missing children cases. A missing child is a child at risk from harm, irrespective of the length of time they are away from home or a caring environment. The causes are many, whether that it is simply losing them in a crowd or a busy shopping centre, through to family breakdown, becoming detached from society, looking for a better life in another country, being abducted from the street or lured by a ‘stranger’ on the internet. In 2009/10 there were an estimated 360,0001 missing person incidents, of which approximately 230,000 (64%) related to a child under the age of 18. In a CEOP child trafficking report from 2010, of the 287 children identified as potentially trafficked, 17% (50) of those children had gone missing from care at some point and 15% (42) were still recorded as missing. In 2004, a Home Office study of 768 incidents that were recorded as child abductions, 56% (447) involved a stranger and 23% (183) involved a parental dispute. Details: London: CEOP, 2011. 58p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 27, 2011 at: http://www.ceop.police.uk/Documents/ceopdocs/Missing_scopingreport_2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.ceop.police.uk/Documents/ceopdocs/Missing_scopingreport_2011.pdf Shelf Number: 122182 Keywords: Child Abduction (U.K.)Child ProtectionKidnappingMissing Children |
Author: Siegel, Gary L. Title: Differential Response in Nevada: Final Evaluation Report Summary: Differential Response is a relatively new approach to child protection that has been implemented in one form or another in all or parts of approximately 20 states. In its most common form, incoming reports of child maltreatment are screened into one of two groups or response tracks. Reports involving more severe abuse or neglect, situations in which the safety of children is at imminent risk, are investigated in the standard manner. Reports that are less severe receive a family assessment, a procedure designed to be less stigmatizing and more preventative, seeking to address underlying causes of a family’s current, sometimes chronic problems. Family assessments are not less focused on the safety of children than investigations, and if concerns about child safety surface during an assessment, the system response is changed and an investigation conducted. Begun in early 2007, the Nevada DR project was phased in over a three-year period and family assessments became available to families in all but the most remote parts of the state. The Nevada DR model is unique among states with DR programs in involving community-based FRCs in all DR family assessment cases from start to finish. Ten FRCs and the Children’s Cabinet in Washoe County provide DR services in 11 Nevada counties where over 98 percent of the state’s population resides. Findings Nearly all families who receive a family assessment express satisfaction with the way they are treated and with the help they receive or are offered. Most feel their families are better off for the experience. The response of Nevada families has been as positive as families in other states who participated in similar evaluations of DR programs. Many of the families who receive a family assessment are poorer and less well educated than other families in the state. Many describe being stressed, for emotional and financial reasons or because they are socially isolated with few people to turn to for help. Importantly, families who receive services through DR tend to be those experiencing significant problems related to the wellbeing of their children, who often live in poverty, and with problems that are sometimes acute and often chronic in nature. Feedback from families and FRC case workers indicate that the DR program has been implemented with model fidelity, that is, as designed, both in terms of the protocol—the manner in which families are approached in response to a report of child maltreatment—and in terms of the assistance and services provided to them, often to address basic needs. Both FRC-DR workers and CPS case workers express a need for more training about DR. The DR program has achieved significant improvements in the outcomes of families when compared with similar families who have received a standard investigation, including: fewer subsequent reports of child maltreatment, fewer new investigations or family assessments, and fewer removals of children from their homes. Details: St. Louis, MO: Institute of Applied Research, 2010. 164p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 1, 2011 at: http://www.iarstl.org/papers/NevadaDRFinalReport.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.iarstl.org/papers/NevadaDRFinalReport.pdf Shelf Number: 122582 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChild Welfare (Nevada) |
Author: Flynn, Brean Title: Designing and Implementing Differential Response Systems in Child Protective Services: A Three State Case Study Summary: There are many types of child maltreatment and interventions must be able to address these differences. Differential Response Systems (DRS) are an alternative to traditional child protective service investigations based on the idea that flexibility in responding to reports of child maltreatment is in the best interest of children and their families. DRS focuses on the whole family unit, instead of addressing only the children involved. Relying on strength-based support through home or community visits, DRS offer services to empower families based on their unique strengths, and individual needs and risks. Family assessments and traditional investigations have an equal focus on child safety, and reports can be referred for an investigation if concerns about child safety arise during an assessment. As with any human service system, reform can be daunting and more difficult than expected. This report documents accomplishments and challenges that Minnesota, North Carolina, and Nevada have experienced during implementation of a Differential Response System. Our aim, in partnership with Casey Family Services, is to outline the story of change and the process of implementing the DRS models experienced by this small sample of states. Based on information collected from key interviews and literature, including but not limited to evaluation reports on each state’s DRS model, we have highlighted several important similarities and differences across the three states. We hope that these findings will provide insight to other states considering the implementation of a Differential Response System. Details: Medford, MA: Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, Tufts University, 2011. 150p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 6, 2011 at: http://ase.tufts.edu/uep/Degrees/field_project_reports/2011/Team_1_Final_Report.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://ase.tufts.edu/uep/Degrees/field_project_reports/2011/Team_1_Final_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 122666 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (U.S.)Child MaltreatmentChild Protection |
Author: Cavendish, Betsy Title: Chidlren at the Border: The Screening, Protection and Repatriation of Unaccompanied Mexican Minors Summary: The report documents substantial noncompliance with federal law regarding the treatment of Mexican children who are detained after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border when unaccompanied by a parent or guardian. "Children at the Border" also documents the failure of the Mexican government to ensure children's safety as they prioritize family reunification. Details: Washington, DC: Appleseed, 2011. 136p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 15, 2011 at: http://www.appleseednetwork.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=8PM-o8WHN1Q%3D&tabid=157 Year: 2011 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.appleseednetwork.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=8PM-o8WHN1Q%3D&tabid=157 Shelf Number: 122746 Keywords: Border SecurityChild ProtectionImmigration (Mexico) |
Author: Queensland. Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Title: Views of Young People in Detention Centres Queensland 2011 Summary: This report details the Commission’s third Views of Young People in Detention Centres Survey. The survey provides an opportunity for young people in Queensland’s youth detention centres to share their views and experiences of detention and the youth justice system, particularly on matters that affect their safety and wellbeing. This survey is one of many ways the Commission is monitoring the safety and wellbeing of Queensland’s most vulnerable children and young people. It is part of the Commission's Views of Children and Young People Survey series – an ongoing body of research that gathers the views and experiences of children and young people in foster and kinship care, residential care and youth detention. The Views Survey series is the largest repeated cross-sectional longitudinal study of its kind involving the direct participation of children and young people in state care. The Commission conducts these surveys so that the views and experiences of children and young people in state care can be heard and seriously considered in processes to continuously improve the safety, quality and effectiveness of Queensland's child protection and youth justice systems. Details: Brisbane: The Commission, 2011. 90p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed September 16, 2011 at: http://www.ccypcg.qld.gov.au/resources/publications/Views-of-Young-People-in-Detention-Centres-Queensland-2011.html Year: 2011 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ccypcg.qld.gov.au/resources/publications/Views-of-Young-People-in-Detention-Centres-Queensland-2011.html Shelf Number: 122741 Keywords: Child ProtectionJuvenile CorrectionsJuvenile Detention (Australia)Juvenile Offenders |
Author: Long, Siân Title: Protecting Children Affected by HIV Against Abuse, Exploitation, Violence, and Neglect. Summary: This document is intended to explore strategies to protect orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) who were made so by HIV from abuse, exploitation, violence, and neglect. It draws from lessons learned by OVC program managers, designers, and policy developers — particularly those associated with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEFPAR). OVC are defined by the Joint U.N. Programme on HIV/AIDS, and the Hyde-Lantos Act that reauthorized PEPFAR, as “Children who have lost a parent to HIV, who are otherwise directly affected by the disease, or who live in areas of high HIV prevalence and may be vulnerable to the disease or its socioeconomic effects” (Lantos and Hyde 2008, 2-3). The international community defines children as individuals from birth up to 18 years of age. Current PEPFAR OVC programming guidance describes strategies to protect OVC as those that “confront the reality of stigma and social neglect faced by OVC as well as abuse and exploitation, including trafficking, the taking of inherited property, and land tenure, and helping children obtain birth certificates to legalize their status” (PEPFAR and the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator 2006, 8). For the purposes of this document, discussion will focus on programs that aim to prevent and respond to abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence. This document identifies gaps in current child protection strategies employed within PEPFAR OVC programs; introduces a range of emerging best practices or promising strategies for preventing and responding to child abuse, exploitation, and neglect; suggests contexts in which each strategy might be useful; outlines ways to measure the success of specific strategies; and provides a list of tools and resources available to program implementers and designers to support implementation of strategies. Details: Arlington, VA: USAID’s AIDS Support and Technical Assistance Resources, AIDSTAR-One, Task Order 1, 2011. 62p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 16, 2011 at: http://www.aidstar-one.com/sites/default/files/ovc/reports/childprotection/AIDSTAR-One_Report_OVC_Child%20Protection.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.aidstar-one.com/sites/default/files/ovc/reports/childprotection/AIDSTAR-One_Report_OVC_Child%20Protection.pdf Shelf Number: 122761 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionHIV (Viruses) |
Author: European Roma Rights Centre, Bulgaria Helsinki Committee, Milan Šimečka Foundation and osservAzione, Title: Life Sentence: Romani Children in Institutional Care Summary: Romani children are overrepresented in institutional care compared to their proportion of the population as a whole in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Romania and Slovakia. All six countries have adopted specific laws which govern child protection matters, with the best interests of the child as the prevailing legal principle. Detailed descriptions of child endangerment and clear methodological guidelines for its assessment are lacking in all countries, which provides significant opportunity for the mis-application or subjective interpretation of relevant provisions by child protection and social workers. Many factors contribute to the overrepresentation of Romani children in institutional care, including discrimination, poverty and material conditions (such as unemployment, indebtedness and inadequate housing), school absenteeism, single parenthood and unwanted pregnancies and migration. Child abuse was considered a very small factor in the placement of Romani children in State care. Preventative measures are often inadequate, there are an insufficient number of skilled social workers and an absence of community level prevention services in isolated Romani neighbourhoods due to insufficient funding. Romani children experience physical abuse, ill-treatment and ethnic discrimination in and out of the homes. Most homes do not offer programmes to support the development of Roma ethnic identity. Given that a disproportionate number of Romani children are in institutional care, that they are unlikely to return to their biological families, and that many are passed up for adoption, a great proportion of Romani children spend their whole childhood in an institutional setting. Romani children are disadvantaged on multiple grounds when it comes to child protection placement, in-care treatment and leaving, including on the basis of their ethnicity, poverty, disability, and institutionalised child status. The existing system creates a cycle from which it is hard if not impossible to escape. Details: Budapest: European Roma Rights Centre, 2011. 83p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 30, 2011 at: http://www.errc.org/cms/upload/file/life-sentence-20-june-2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Europe URL: http://www.errc.org/cms/upload/file/life-sentence-20-june-2011.pdf Shelf Number: 122956 Keywords: Child ProtectionChildren's Rights (Europe)Romani Children |
Author: McCloskey, Laura A. Title: A Systematic Review of Parenting Interventions To Prevent Child Abuse Tested with RCT Designs in High Income Countries Summary: This review aims to answer the following question: Are parenting interventions in low- and middle-income countries effective at reducing harsh and abusive parenting, increasing positive parenting behaviours, improving parent–child relationships or reducing child conduct problems? It will provide an overview of the broad issue of child abuse and neglect and the types of parent- or primary carer-focused interventions which either explicitly or implicitly aim to prevent them. It will include conclusions from high-quality systematic reviews of reviews of interventions from high-income countries; information about interventions with a strong evidence base in high-income countries, which have been implemented but not rigorously trialed in low- or middle-income countries; and discussion about the ‘active ingredients’ of evidence-based parenting interventions that have been shown to prevent or reduce abuse and neglect. In addition the review will analyse and discuss issues related to effective cultural adaptation of parenting interventions from one setting or population to another, and will also include a brief case study of an intervention from a middle- or low-income country, or an intervention with a strong evidence base from a high-income country which has been implemented but not trialed in a low- or middle-income country. Details: Pretoria, South Africa: Sexual Violence Research Initiative, 2011. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 6, 2011 at: http://www.svri.org/systematicreviewParent.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.svri.org/systematicreviewParent.pdf Shelf Number: 122998 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionParentingSocioeconomic Status |
Author: New South Wales Ombudsman Title: Inquiry Into Service Provision to the Bourke and Brewarrina Communities Summary: The over-representation of Aboriginal children and young people in the child protection and juvenile justice systems is of significant concern. This report examines the provision of community and child protection services in Bourke and Brewarrina, in particular, the adequacy of the response to vulnerable children in these communities. While the report focuses on the experiences for the Bourke and Brewarrina communities, its recommendations are relevant to rural and regional communities across the State. Details: Sydney: NSW Ombudsman, 2010. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 18, 2011 at: http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/publication/PDF/specialreport/SR_ServiceProvisionBourke_Dec10.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/publication/PDF/specialreport/SR_ServiceProvisionBourke_Dec10.pdf Shelf Number: 123037 Keywords: AboriginalsChild ProtectionJuvenile Justice Systems(Australia)Juvenile Offenders |
Author: New South Wales Ombudsman Title: Addressing Aboriginal Disadvantage: The Need To Do Things Differently Summary: This report details our audit of the implementation of the NSW Interagency Plan to Tackle Child Sexual Assault in Aboriginal Communities 2006 - 2011 (Interagency Plan). The report seeks to bring together what we have said over a number of years publicly - as well as to agencies directly - about the systemic reforms that are needed to address Aboriginal disadvantage in NSW. It also builds on the findings and recommendations contained in our December 2010 report about service delivery to the Bourke and Brewarrina communities. The report highlights the importance of taking bold approaches to the priority areas of education, building economic capacity and protecting vulnerable children in Aboriginal communities. Details: Sydney: New South Wales Ombudsman, 2011. 84p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 18, 2011 at: http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/publication/PDF/specialreport/SR_Aboriginal%20disadvantage%20report.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/publication/PDF/specialreport/SR_Aboriginal%20disadvantage%20report.pdf Shelf Number: 123038 Keywords: AboriginalsChild ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse (Australia) |
Author: Covell, Katherine Title: Five Years On: A Global Update on Violence Against Children Summary: In 2001, the UN General Assembly, acting on the recommendation of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, requested the UN Secretary-General to undertake an in-depth study on violence against children. The Study provided the first global report on the extent, causes, and effects of violence against children — in the home, the school, institutions, the workplace, and the community. It was also the first United Nations report to be based on widespread collaboration among the OHCHR, UNICEF, the WHO, non-governmental organizations, national human rights institutions, and direct consultation with children themselves. The report found that millions of children across the world were victims of sexual, physical and/or, emotional violence, many on a daily basis. Societal acceptance of violence against children appeared to be the norm and to be a key obstacle to its elimination. The UN Study put forward 12 overarching recommendations for action. It urged states and other stakeholders to strengthen international, national, and local commitments to end violence against children; to prohibit all violence against children in national law; to promote non-violent values and awareness raising; to enhance the capacity of those who work with or for children; to ensure accountability and end impunity; and to take a range of other actions to prevent violence against children and to respond to it effectively if it occurs. The ultimate goal of the recommendations was to establish conditions that would end all forms of violence against all children. The UN Study concluded, “No violence against children is justifiable; all violence against children is preventable.” When the report of the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children (UN Study) was presented in 2006, it revealed that despite extensive international human rights obligations, children globally experience staggering levels of violence. The magnitude of violence against children documented by the UN Study represented an urgent call to action, and the Study presented clear and concrete recommendations on how states should respond. Five years later, we find that violence, including severe violence, continues against millions of children globally. There has been some progress on some of the Study’s recommendations – but concerted action to prohibit and eliminate violence against children is as urgently needed today as when the report was submitted to the General Assembly (GA) in 2006. Details: NGO Advisory Council, 2011. 58p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 18, 2011 at: http://www.crin.org/docs/Five_Years_On.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.crin.org/docs/Five_Years_On.pdf Shelf Number: 123050 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChildren, Crimes AgainstViolence Against Children |
Author: Chetty, Kasturi Title: Child Sex Tourism in South African Law Summary: Child sex tourism is tourism organised with the primary purpose of facilitating a commercial sexual relationship with a child. It involves a segment of the local child sex industry that is directly connected to both an international and domestic tourist market. The increase of tourism has brought with it complications in that tourism is being used as a means for sex tourists to initiate contact with children. Aside from child sex tourists who are paedophiles, there are those who engage in the opportunistic exploitation of children while travelling on business or for other reasons. There are a number of social and economic factors leading to child sex tourism and the effect is that child victims are exposed to immediate harm, irreversible damage and even death. As South Africa's tourism industry expands into one of the country’s top earners of foreign currency, it is unfortunate to note that its child sex tourist trade is also on the increase. Reports show that sex tours are as easily organised as wine route tours in Cape Town. Commercial sexual exploitation of children is prevalent in South Africa and has become more organised in recent years. A comprehensive response to the problem is essential to ensure that South Africa does not become a “safe haven” for child sex tourists. Effective laws at home and the extraterritorial application of these laws to prosecute South African nationals for crimes committed abroad are imperative. Significant steps are being taken both nationally and internationally to target child sex tourism. South Africa has ratified several international instruments on children’s rights, trafficking in persons, child labour, and discrimination against women and young girls, all of which relate to child sex tourism. In doing so, South Africa has made an international commitment to uphold the provisions of these instruments and give effect to them. South Africa is therefore under an international obligation to create the necessary structures and apply mechanisms and resources to combat child sex tourism. South Africa does not have legislation that specifically prohibits child sex tourism at present. The Sexual Offences Act and common law, however, cover a wide range of offences relating to sexual intercourse and sexually indecent acts as well as the various facets of prostitution such as solicitation, procurement of females as prostitutes and brothel-keeping. Although these legal measures are in many respects commendable there are still too many loopholes. There are situations that are not adequately provided for and others that are not provided for at all. It is expected that the new Sexual Offences Bill containing specific provisions on child sex tourism couched in gender-neutral terms which apply extraterritorially, will go a long way to improving the present system for child victims. The issue of child protection is covered by South Africa’s Constitution as well the provisions of the Child Care Act and Domestic Violence Act. These legal measures ensure that the direct involvement in the commercial exploitation of children is prohibited, the conduct of parents who ill-treat or allow their child to be ill-treated is covered and the abduction or removal of a child is an offence. Despite these positive aspects, there is nevertheless room for improvement. The legislative provisions of the Children’s Act, which has been assented to by the President but not yet promulgated, comprehensively address the problem areas. Once enforced the Children’s Act will go a long way in improving the present system of child protection by holistically addressing the needs of children in respect of prevention of abuse as well as their care and protection. Other pieces of legislation which apply to child sex tourism are the Prevention of Organised Crime Act; Immigration Act; Basic Conditions of Employment Act; Films and Publications Act and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act. They allow for the prosecution of sex exploiters and traffickers for offences related to child sex tourism, child prostitution, child pornography and various other forms of sexual exploitation of children. Overall the impact of these miscellaneous pieces of legislation on child sex tourism is praiseworthy. However, they bring to light the fact that there are numerous statutes, each dealing with one aspect of child sex tourism as opposed to a single comprehensive statute to refer to in handling such cases. Therefore there is still room for improvement in this regard. Details: Port Elizabeth, South Africa: Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2007. 139p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 12, 2011 at: https://www.nmmu.ac.za/documents/theses/KChetty.pdf Year: 2007 Country: South Africa URL: https://www.nmmu.ac.za/documents/theses/KChetty.pdf Shelf Number: 123319 Keywords: Child ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sex Tourism (South Africa)Child Sexual ExploitationInternet CrimesOrganized Crime |
Author: Radford, Lorraine Title: Meeting the Needs of Children Living with Domestic Violence in London: Research Report Summary: The motivation for the research was to provide knowledge that could be used to improve children’s wellbeing. The aims were to explore the types of help given to children living with domestic violence in London, identify any gaps in knowledge and in services, and share learning about positive responses. In the 12 months to August 2011, the police recorded 47,297 domestic violence offences in London. Domestic violence accounts for 29 per cent of violent crime in London. One in seven (14.2 per cent) children and young people under the age of 18 will have lived with domestic violence at some point in their childhood. This is equivalent to at least 260,400 of London’s children and young people. Although not all will be affected in the same way, living with domestic violence can adversely affect children’s healthy development, relationships, behaviour and emotional wellbeing. Awareness has grown about the harm that can be caused to children in this way. Seeing or overhearing violence to another person in the home is recognised by law as potentially detrimental to children’s welfare. Research has shown that domestic violence is a central issue in child protection, being a factor in the family backgrounds of two-thirds of the serious case reviews (SCRs) where a child has died. It is also increasingly recognised that experiences of living with domestic violence vary and, although all children need to be safe, their need for support and help will vary. Over the last 10 years, changes have been made in policy and practice to cater for a continuum of children’s needs, ranging from preventative measures, to protect children from having to live with domestic violence, to the care and support of children who have suffered harm. Under the previous Government, ‘integrated children’s services’ were to bring together statutory services (such as child protection, education, social housing and health) with community and voluntary sector services to provide a range of coordinated support for children and their families, especially those most vulnerable or socially excluded. More differentiated and targeted responses have developed, where levels of support are designed to fit better with varied levels of need, including: • emphasis on early identification and intervention for vulnerable children • investment in Sure Start children’s centres • services for families with the combined problems of domestic violence, drug or alcohol abuse and poor mental health • Think Family approaches, which link adult and children’s services. However, Lord Laming’s report11 and Eileen Munro’s review of the child protection system both found that despite these changes, children living with domestic violence have not been given sufficient priority. Children’s needs tend to be overlooked when the focus is on the needs of the parent, while a focus on child protection can result in the impact of domestic violence on the abused parent being overlooked, highlighting the need for research into what help children living with domestic violence are given and what is effective for supporting both the child and the abused parent. The capital city presents particular challenges, but also some unique opportunities: • It has a diverse, mobile and changing population. • It includes areas of relative wealth as well as others of considerable deprivation. • The diversity of the population and the tendency of families to move from area to area, crossing borough boundaries, particularly when presenting to different services, places pressure on services working together to safeguard children and raises the risk of children falling through the gaps. • On the other hand, London has played a role in innovating and leading change, especially on coordinating approaches and on bringing together evidence and practice. Refuge and the NSPCC were each aware of examples of developing practice where knowledge could be shared. Details: London: NSPCC, 2011. 258p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 19, 2012 at: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/research/findings/domestic_violence_london_pdf_wdf85830.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/research/findings/domestic_violence_london_pdf_wdf85830.pdf Shelf Number: 123671 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionChild WelfareDomestic Violence (London, U.K.)Family Violence |
Author: Barnardo's Title: Cutting Them Free: How is the UK Progressing in Protecting Its Children from Sexual Exploitation? Summary: The report appraises the progress made in policy and practice over 2011 and sets out evidence from the latest survey of our 21 specialist sexual exploitation services. The results are alarming: - acknowledgement and recognition of the issue remains patchy at a local level - The number of sexually exploited children Barnardo's works with has grown by 8.4% to 1,190 but vital awareness-raising work has reduced by 30% due to funding cuts - 1 in 3 services have seen a marked increase in exploitation by other young people - Organised exploitation and internal trafficking of children within the UK is still a big concern; 1 in 6 service users have been moved from town to town and city to city. Furthermore, our research found that nearly half (44%) of the children our services work with have gone missing from home or care in the past, and that 1 in 10 of those who were exploited were boys. Details: Barkingside, Ilford, UK: Barnardo's 2012. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 19, 2012 at: http://www.barnardos.org.uk/cuttingthemfree.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.barnardos.org.uk/cuttingthemfree.pdf Shelf Number: 123674 Keywords: Child ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse (U.K.) |
Author: Khalife, Nadya Title: “How Come You Allow Little Girls to Get Married?”: Child Marriage in Yemen Summary: Child marriages are widespread in Yemen. Most girls marry before they reach 18, and in rural areas, some marry as young as eight. Girls are sometimes married to significantly older men. Child marriage is rare among boys. This report documents the damage of child marriage in Yemen on girls and women, a practice that perpetuates women’s status as second-class citizens. Girls are deprived of the right to decide whether, when, and whom to marry, and whether and when to have children. Child marriage cuts short girls’ education, exposes them to increased sexual and reproductive health risks, and puts them at risk of domestic violence by husbands and extended family members. The fallout persists throughout women’s lives. Yemeni demonstrators demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2011 also called for the government to address persistent social problems. Ending forms of gender discrimination such as child marriage was among their demands, and should be a high priority for Yemen’s next leadership. Details: New York: Human Rights Watch, 2011. 58p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 26, 2012 at: Year: 2011 Country: Yemen URL: Shelf Number: 123763 Keywords: Child Marriage (Yemen)Child Protection |
Author: Jaffe, Peter Title: Confronting the Many Faces of Child Sexual Abuse: Developing a Comprehensive National Prevention Strategy Summary: This paper summarizes key ideas and recommendations from a national think tank on the prevention of child sexual abuse that took place on November 11-12, 2010 at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. The think-tank brought together 22 practitioners, researchers, and government officials from across Canada. The purpose of the think tank was to discuss child sexual abuse prevention. The purpose of this discussion paper is to reflect on current research, policy and practices across Canada that has been directed at preventing child sexual abuse and provides a framework for future directions. This framework represents the consensus of the discussion at the think-tank but does not reflect the individual views of each participant, individual provinces and territories or the Department of Justice who funded this initiative. The government policy experts were attending as resource persons and did not speak for their ministry in any official capacity. Several emerging issues around child sexual abuse prevention were identified. There is concern that there is a perception that the incidence rates of child sexual abuse are declining whereas the people working in the field do not seem to be experiencing this as a reality. Online exploitation is a rapidly growing area of concern. Prevention, education and awareness strategies have become less coordinated and comprehensive in some areas. These issues present many challenges across Canada but various provinces and helping systems have implemented promising practices that should be shared on a broader basis. Details: London, ONT: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women and Children, University of Western Ontario, 2010. 37p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 6, 2012 at: http://www.crvawc.ca/documents/CSA%20recommendations%20paper%20(2).pdf Year: 2010 Country: Canada URL: http://www.crvawc.ca/documents/CSA%20recommendations%20paper%20(2).pdf Shelf Number: 123992 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse (Canada) |
Author: Brandon, Marian Title: A Study of Recommendations Arising from Serious Case Reviews 2009-2010 Summary: To enable lessons from serious case reviews to be disseminated and implemented effectively, 'Working Together' (2010) advises that recommendations should be few in number, focused and specific. Most analyses of recommendations assess whether they are or can become Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely (SMART). Other learning about recommendations reflects more of a tension between, on the one hand, finding ways to act quickly on easy to audit learning before the impetus dissipates, and on the other hand, striving for more considered, deeper learning to overcome the perennial obstacles to good practice. This small study presents a critical, thematic analysis of recommendations from 33 of the serious case reviews (cases of child death or serious injury through abuse or neglect) completed in 2009-2010. The central aim of the study was to consider what part recommendations can play in aiding agencies and individuals to learn lessons to improve the way in which they work both individually and collectively to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Details: Runcorn, Cheshire, UK: Department of Education, 2011. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Report DFE-RR-157: Accessed February 10, 2012 at: https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/Download?DownloadPublicationReference=DFE-RR157&DownloadItemReference=A%20study%20of%20recommendations%20arising%20from%20serious%20case%20reviews%202009-2010%20PDF(DfES%20Online%20Store)&DocumentType=PDF&Url=%2Fpublications%2FeOrderingDownload%2FDFE-RR157.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/Download?DownloadPublicationReference=DFE-RR157&DownloadItemReference=A%20study%20of%20recommendations%20arising%20from%20serious%20case%20reviews%202009-2010%20PDF(DfES%20On Shelf Number: 124031 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (U.K.)Child MaltreatmentChild Protection |
Author: Blades, Rachel Title: Care - a stepping stone to custody? The views of children in care on the links between care, offending and custody Summary: Less than 1% of all children in England were looked after at March 2011. Compare this with the fact that up to half the children held in young offender institutions are, or have been previously, looked after and you need to ask the question: is care a stepping stone to custody? If so, how and why does this happen and what can be done to help children in care avoid getting into trouble and ending up in custody? Looked after children and care leavers have long been over-represented in our prisons. Research published by the Social Exclusion Unit in 2002 suggested that 27% of the adult prison population had once been in care. Annual surveys of 15-18 year olds in prison suggest that anywhere between a quarter and a half have been in care at some point previously. This is likely to be an under-estimate. Research on children in the youth justice system generally, and those who end up in custody in particular, has demonstrated the links between offending and vulnerability. A census of every child imprisoned over a 6 month period in 2008 highlighted this in stark detail: 76% had an absent father; 47% had run away or absconded; 39% had been subject to a child protection plan and/or experienced abuse or neglect; 27% had been or were looked after; and 13% had experienced the death of a parent or sibling. For children in care, these indices of disadvantage are likely to be heightened, as we know three quarters of looked after children are in care as a result of abuse, neglect or family dysfunction. Concerns at the involvement of looked after children in the youth justice system are not new. Government statistics have consistently shown that rates of known offending by children in care far outstrip those of their peers, and practice in some placements, especially children’s homes, has been criticised for bringing children in care into the justice system unnecessarily. In the year ending March 2010, 7.9% were given a reprimand, warning or conviction, compared with just 3% of all children. Yet, as we have seen, abuse and family breakdown are by far the most common reasons why children are taken into care, rather than offending. If we are better to understand the relationship between care and offending, and tackle the disproportionate number of children in custody who are, or have been, looked after, we need to understand the factors affecting looked after children’s chances of offending, and the relationship between them. We believe children with direct experience of being looked after are best placed to identify, and comment on, aspects of the care system which protect against, and those that increase the risk of, criminalisation. This research seeks to place the voice of looked after children at the heart of the debate on care and crime and proposes a blueprint for preventing offending which draws on their contributions. This report presents the findings of research carried out by the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) Research Centre to explore the views of children with relevant experiences. The research was commissioned by Out of Trouble, the Prison Reform’s Trust’s five year programme to reduce child and youth imprisonment, which is supported by The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. This qualitative study, set in the context of current research and policy, involved 23 indepth face to face interviews with children in care who were aged between 13 and 17 years old. Their experience of, and involvement in, the youth justice system varied. Some had no formal experience, having never been cautioned or convicted. Others had, and the majority were either in custody at the time of interview (including on remand) or had been previously. In partnership with VOICE (www.voiceyp.org), a children’s advocacy organisation for children living away from home, we set up an advisory group to support the research, more details of which can be found on page 63. This group of ten young people in care and care leavers helped to guide the research at three important points: design, analysis, and reporting. Details: London: Prison Reform Trust, 2011. 78p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 22, 2012 at http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/careasteppingstonetocustody.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/careasteppingstonetocustody.pdf Shelf Number: 124233 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionCrime RatesFoster CareJuvenile DetentionJuvenile Justice System (U.K.)Juvenile Offenders (U.K.) |
Author: Briggs, Stephen Title: Safeguarding Children's Rights: exploring issues of witchcraft and spirit possession in London's African communities Summary: Trust for London created the Safeguarding Children’s Rights initiative to invest in community-based work tackling child abuse linked to beliefs in witchcraft and spirit possession. This is the summary of an independent evaluation, undertaken by the Centre for Social Work Research. Key findings include: 1. Belief in spirit possession and witchcraft is widespread amongst many African communities but current knowledge indicates that the incidence of abuse linked to such beliefs appears to be low; 2. These beliefs occupy a broad spectrum, and the effects range from harmless to harmful. Belief in spirit possession and witchcraft is not of itself evidence of maltreatment; 3. Where there is abuse of children accused of possession or witchcraft, this abuse can be understood using one or more of the four identified forms of child abuse: physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect. Assessing for physical and emotional abuse is particularly important; 4. Using the existing child protection framework is effective when assessing cases where children have been accused of witchcraft and spirit possession; 5. Knowledge and understanding of culture and faith is critical to effective assessments of harm undertaken by professionals in this field. However, culture and faith should not be used as an excuse to abuse and must never take precedence over children’s rights; 6. Faith organisations have a critical role in many African communities, where poverty, inequality and lack of access to key resources can impact negatively on children. While many offer help and support, some unscrupulous faith leaders are in a position to exploit vulnerable individuals; 7. Community organisations can be an important source of advice and support to London’s African communities, and may counterbalance the power of some faith organisations; 8. Engaging communities in discussion and debate about human rights can be used as a touchstone for change. The promotion of young people as agents of change is particularly powerful; 9. Community-led approaches to promoting child safeguarding are scarce and have been shown to be critical in engaging socially excluded communities; and in changing attitudes and behaviour; 10. Faith leaders have a pivotal role to play in developing children’s rights within African communities. A shared faith has been very valuable in engaging these leaders – cutting across ethnic and national boundaries; 11. Training has been effective in beginning to address a lack of knowledge of child protection principles and practice among many African faith leaders in London; 12. A broader approach – promoting child safeguarding and well-being – is more effective for engaging communities and churches than a narrow focus on witchcraft and spirit possession. This also led to improvements in wider child protection including through changed practice and disclosures. Details: London: Trust for London, 2011. 78p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 22, 2012 at http://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/Safeguarding%20final%20report.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/Safeguarding%20final%20report.pdf Shelf Number: 124234 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (U.K.)Child ProtectionFaith-Based OrganizationsJuvenile VictimsMinority Communities, AfricanWitchcraft |
Author: Great Britain. Home Office Title: Missing Children and Adults: A Cross Government Strategy Summary: There are an estimated 360,000 reports of people going missing in the UK each year amounting to approximately 200,000 missing people. Children and young people make up approximately two thirds of the missing reports and although the vast majority of people who go missing return, or are found quickly, many vulnerable children and adults suffer harm and exploitation whilst missing and some never return. Identifying and ensuring the safest return possible for these vulnerable children and adults is a key part of the police service’s child protection and wider safeguarding role. However, tackling this issue requires a multi-agency response and co-ordination across a range of policy areas and operational partners including the police, local authorities and the health sector. This strategy document sets out a small number of strategic objectives which we believe provide the right foundations for any effective local strategy and which provide a framework for local areas to put in place their own arrangements which seek to ensure we do all we can to prevent people going missing in the first place but that we also ensure we reduce the harm to vulnerable children and adults when they do go missing, focusing on those most at risk, and ensuring that families are supported. Details: London: Home Office, 2011, 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 27, 2012 at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/police/missing-persons-strategy?view=Binary Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/police/missing-persons-strategy?view=Binary Shelf Number: 124282 Keywords: Child ProtectionMissing ChildrenMissing Persons (U.K.)Runaways |
Author: APS Group Scotland Title: Responding to Forced Marriage: Multi-Agency Practice Guidelines Summary: These practice guidelines aim to inform frontline practitioners who are responsible for protecting children and adults from the abuse associated with forced marriage. They do not require significant changes in practice. You should use existing structures, policies and procedures designed to protect children, adults at risk and those experiencing domestic abuse. But, in doing so, you must be mindful of the specific risks and dangers associated with forced marriage. Risks to victims may be increased by all forms of family counselling, mediation, arbitration and conciliation; by failing to share or store information appropriately or safely; by involving families; and by breaches of confidentiality. Given the nature of forced marriage, no single agency can meet all the needs of someone affected by forced marriage. These practice guidelines, therefore, aim to encourage practitioners to work together safely to protect victims. This approach is also consistent with the Scottish Government's emphasis on a multi-agency response to tackling domestic abuse and responding to children and adults at risk of harm. There are multi-agency partnerships for violence against women in all local authorities. They are a good source of information and support for multi-agency working on these issues. Other relevant partnerships include Community Planning; Community Safety; Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences; Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements; Child Protection and Adult Protection Committees. Although forced marriage is primarily an issue of violence against women, the guidelines provide information relevant to practitioners assisting both male and female victims. Details: Edinburgh: Scottish Government, 2011. 142p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 2, 2012 at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/12/22165750/0 Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/12/22165750/0 Shelf Number: 124342 Keywords: Child MarriageChild ProtectionDomestic ViolenceForced Marriage (Scotland)Human RightsViolence Against Women |
Author: Ringdal, Charlotte Title: Small Hands Should Play, Not Work: A Theoretical Analysis of Interventions in Child Labor Summary: Twelve hours a day, 7 days a week, there are 150 million children below the age of 15 working to make the clothes we wear, the carpets on our floors and the phones in our pockets. Most of these children do not have a choice: the alternative is worse. In this thesis, I use economic models to study how interventions (such as increased educational opportunities, firmer legislation, international conventions and product labeling) affect the incidence of child labor. I find that most interventions are likely to reduce the incidence of child labor either at a national level, a local level or in a specific industry. Some interventions (such as bans) are more likely to reduce the welfare of children than others (such as increased educational opportunities). It appears that if households do not chose by themselves to withdraw children from the labor market and are not given any form of compensation for lost income, the welfare of households (and thus the children as well) is reduced. Having this in mind, I take a closer look at one intervention in the carpet sector in Nepal: the Nepal GoodWeave Foundation. This organization labels carpets that are exported to countries such as Germany and the U.S. I find that GoodWeave is successful in reducing child labor in the factories that carry their label. At the same time, the organization helps to maintain the welfare of the children through education programs, in addition to preventing child labor by offering the children of carpet workers access to kindergartens and schools. Unfortunately, the scope of the program is too small to eliminate child labor throughout the carpet sector in Nepal. Details: Bergen, Norway: University of Bergen, 2011. 102p. Source: Internet Resource: Master's Thesis: Accessed March 30, 2012 at: http://www.cmi.no/publications/publication/?4395=small-hands-should-play-not-work Year: 2011 Country: Nepal URL: http://www.cmi.no/publications/publication/?4395=small-hands-should-play-not-work Shelf Number: 124778 Keywords: Child Labor (Nepal)Child Protection |
Author: Kemper, Yvonne Title: No One To Trust: Children and Armed Conflict in Colombia Summary: Colombia’s civilians have been pulled into a decades-long civil war among the government’s forces, paramilitary groups and their successors, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and the People’s Liberation Army (ELN). During the conflict, girls and boys have been subjected to forced recruitment, rape and sexual violence, killing and maiming, and have been seriously affected by attacks against schools and the denial of humanitarian assistance, according to the 2011 UN Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict in Colombia. More than half of an estimated 3.9 – 5.3 million internally displaced people in Colombia are under 18, rendering them even more vulnerable to the threats that caused them to flee their homes in the first place. Details: New York: Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, Women's Refugee Commission, 2012. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 4, 2012 at: http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/documents/Watchlist_NoOnetoTrustChildrenandArmedConflictinColombia.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/documents/Watchlist_NoOnetoTrustChildrenandArmedConflictinColombia.pdf Shelf Number: 124812 Keywords: Armed ConflictChild ProtectionChildren as VictimsCriminal Violence (Colombia)Violence Against ChildrenViolent Crime |
Author: Ward Research Incorporated Title: Perceptions of Child Abuse and Neglect in Hawai'i: A Comprehensive Study of Hawai'i Residents. Summary: This research sought to measure the perceptions and understanding of child abuse and neglect in Hawaii and any influencing factors in helping victims. Specifically, the research sought to answer these questions: What is the prevalence of and level of concern for child abuse and neglect (CAN)? What is the current level of knowledge and understanding about CAN? How do social factors and current knowledge and understanding of CAN influence the likelihood of a witness or bystander seeking help for the victim and/or family? What factors and attributes contribute the most to the likelihood of a witness or bystander seeking help for the victim and/or family? How may programs educate and influence these factors in order to promote witnesses or bystanders to get involved and/or seek help to prevent or remedy CAN? What role, if any, do demographics play in the understanding of CAN and the likelihood of witnesses or bystanders getting involved? Details: Honolulu(?): Hawai'i Children's Trust Fund and Joyful Heart Foundation, 2011. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 5, 2012 at: http://www.joyfulheartfoundation.org/Perceptions%20of%20Child%20Abuse%20and%20Neglect%20in%20Hawaii.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.joyfulheartfoundation.org/Perceptions%20of%20Child%20Abuse%20and%20Neglect%20in%20Hawaii.pdf Shelf Number: 124820 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (Hawaii)Child Protection |
Author: United Nations Children's Fund. Innocenti Research Centre Title: Early Marriage Child Spouses Summary: This Digest focuses on early marriage - the marriage of children and young people under the age of 18 - from a human rights perspective. Research into early marriage has tended to concentrate on its impact on reproductive health, school drop-out and rising population figures, and there has been little examination of the practice as a human rights violation in itself. The Digest examines the scale of early marriage, its context, causes and its impact on every aspect of the lives of those affected - particularly young girls - and on wider society. It outlines strategies to help those who have been married at an early age, and for the prevention of early marriage through education, advocacy and alliance-building. The Digest concludes with a call for more rights-based research on an issue that has far-reaching consequences. Details: Florence, Italy: Innocenti Research Centre, United Nations Children's Fund, 2001. 30p. Source: Innocenti Digest No. 7, March, 2001: Internet Resource: Accessed April 22, 2012 at http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/digest7e.pdf Year: 2001 Country: International URL: http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/digest7e.pdf Shelf Number: 125046 Keywords: Child MarriageChild ProtectionForced Marriage |
Author: Malviya, Aditya Title: Child Marriage: Robbing Children of Innocence - Good Practices in Preventing Child Marriage, Bihar Summary: Save the Children Sweden’s report “Child Marriage: Robbing Children of Innocence” documents the good practices and challenges in addressing child marriages from the experience of Save the Children India in the State of Bihar. The report highlights key learnings and gives recommendations that would make it possible to reduce child marriage significantly if government, INGOs and civil society organizations undertake appropriate measures and programmes to combat child marriage at national and community level. Details: Kathmandu, Nepal: Save the Children, Regional Office for South and Central Asia, 2010. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 28, 2012 at http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/rb?q=cmis/browser&id=workspace://SpacesStore/ae933eec-514c-4441-90e0-d0d53cbfc262/1.11 Year: 2010 Country: India URL: http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/rb?q=cmis/browser&id=workspace://SpacesStore/ae933eec-514c-4441-90e0-d0d53cbfc262/1.11 Shelf Number: 125083 Keywords: Child MarriageChild ProtectionForced Marriage |
Author: Lansdown, Gerison Title: Child Safety Online: Global Challenges and Strategies Summary: Over the past twenty years the Internet has become an integral part of our lives. We have eagerly embraced its potential for communication, entertainment and information-seeking. For many of today’s children, the Internet, mobile phones and other technologies are a constant and familiar presence. For them, the distinction between online and offline has increasingly become meaningless, and they move seamlessly between both environments. An increasing number of children can scarcely imagine life without a social networking profile; videos and photographs shared online – often in real time – and online gaming. Indeed, young people are at the vanguard of technological change Their coming-of-age in this era of exponential innovation has widened the generational divide between them and their parents, their teachers and other caregivers. This gap, while becoming less stark in industrialized countries, is wider in lower income countries where caregivers arguably have fewer opportunities to access information and communication technology. But the situation is changing rapidly There is no doubt that the Internet yields numerous opportunities and benefits for children in terms of its impact on their educational attainment and social inclusion. However, it has also exposed children to dangers that defy age, geographic location and other boundaries that are more clearly delineated in the real world. This has resulted in risks to children and young people of having abusive images of them shared on the Internet; of being groomed or lured into sexual conversations or exploitation by adult offenders; of being bullied or harassed online. Bearing this in mind, the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre has, in partnership with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in the United Kingdom, collaborated with a number of actors to undertake this study. The research explored children’s online behaviour, risks and vulnerability to harm, documenting existing preventive and protective measures to combat their online abuse and exploitation. The study draws on lessons from high- and middle-income countries, viewed through the lens of the dynamic that, given the speed of innovation, other countries may soon experience. What we have learned is that a singular approach to combating these crimes is not effective. What is required is a collective effort by policymakers, law enforcement agencies, social workers, teachers, parents and the private sector to systematically protect children. We have also discovered that many children are comfortable navigating the Internet and are able to avoid risks. They may see themselves as protectors of younger children and are themselves agents for change. Children should be allowed to express their views on how to mitigate risks, and they should be listened to and empowered to safely exploit the benefits of the Internet. However, we should not overestimate their ability to protect themselves. Ultimately, the onus lies with adults to put in place a framework that ensures children equal and equitable access to the Internet, along with a safer online environment. Access to knowledge, participation, leisure and play are fundamental rights of all children, as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child In today’s real and virtual worlds, it is our collective responsibility to ensure those rights for all children. Details: Florence, Italy: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2011. 32p., technical report. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 15, 2012 at: http://www.unicef-irc.org/article/825 Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.unicef-irc.org/article/825 Shelf Number: 125276 Keywords: BullyingChild ProtectionChild Sexual ExploitationInternet CrimesInternet SafetyOnline CommunicationPornography |
Author: Erooga, Marcus Title: Towards Safer Organisations II: Using the Perspectives of Convicted Sex Offenders to Inform Organisational Safeguarding of Children Summary: This research presents the findings of research undertaken by an NSPCC Research Team from 2008– 2010 with 27 adults convicted of sexual offences against children committed whilst in organisational positions of trust. Developed from an earlier review of the literature (Erooga, 2009) which identified the absence of the perspective of offenders themselves in how children could be better protected from such abuse it is a qualitative investigation of organisational processes, unique in its focus on using the offender’s perspective. The primary aims of the research were to identify organisational risk factors and the way in which convicted sex offenders accessed organisations, in order to propose good practice in recruitment and within work settings with children and young people so that they can be better safeguarded against abuse and exploitation. Details: London: NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children), 2012. 96p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed June 29, 2012 at: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/resourcesforprofessionals/sexualabuse/safer-organisations-report_wdf89440.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/resourcesforprofessionals/sexualabuse/safer-organisations-report_wdf89440.pdf Shelf Number: 125433 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse (U.K.)Sex OffendersSexual Exploitation, Children |
Author: Spielberger, Julie Title: Building a System of Support for Evidence-Based Home Visiting Programs in Illinois: Findings from Year 2 of the Strong Foundations Evaluation Summary: In the fall of 2009, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), in collaboration with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), and the Home Visiting Task Force (HVTF) of the Early Learning Council began the implementation of Strong Foundations. Funded by the Children’s Bureau of Administration for Children, Youth, and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Illinois was one of 17 grantees in 15 states to receive funding for 5 years to support the implementation, scale up, and sustainability of evidence-based home visiting programs for the prevention of child maltreatment. Each grantee was expected to conduct local implementation and outcome evaluations, along with an analysis of program costs, and contribute information to a national cross-site evaluation. Strong Foundations is based on the assumption that a well-functioning and effective infrastructure at the state level will be reflected in, and supportive of, a well-functioning and effective local system and the successful operation of program sites. It is further assumed that if programs operate successfully, they will produce long-term positive outcomes on maternal life course, child development, and the prevention of child maltreatment similar to those observed in randomized controlled trials of these evidence-based programs. Following these assumptions, the two overarching goals for Strong Foundations are to: implement activities to strengthen the infrastructure of supports for home visiting programs in Illinois and ensure that programs operate with fidelity to their model and are supported with necessary training and resources. The evaluation focuses on three models of evidence-based home visiting programs in Illinois—Parents as Teachers (PAT), Healthy Families America (HFA), and the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP). The primary research questions are:1 State system. To what extent do state partners in the Strong Foundations initiative collaborate and implement an effective state infrastructure to support evidence-based home visiting programs, for example, with respect to governance, funding, monitoring and quality assurance, and training and technical assistance? Community partnerships. How are communities supported and assisted by the state infrastructure in selecting evidence-based home visiting programs to meet the needs of families and in delivering services effectively? Are home visiting programs integrated into the full array of services and supports for families with young children in the community? Program quality and fidelity. Are home visiting programs being implemented and delivered in a way that is faithful to their program model, for example, with respect to staff selection, training, and supervision; engagement, participation, and retention of families; intensity, length, and frequency of services; and links to other community services? To address these questions, the evaluation includes a process evaluation to assess the implementation of the state system, local infrastructure, and the operation of local programs; a pilot study of the newly implemented Strong Foundations trainings on domestic violence, perinatal depression, and substance abuse, and an administrative data study of program performance, capacity, and fidelity. This second year report is based primarily on interviews in the spring of 2011 with state-level informants and program directors and supervisors at 15 local programs; surveys of supervisors and frontline staff; and records and other secondary information from local programs and state agencies. The report also includes an analysis of administrative data from the IDHS Cornerstone system for Healthy Families Illinois (HFI) programs for a 5-year baseline period prior to full implementation of Strong Foundations. Based on findings from the first two years, we conclude with preliminary recommendations to improve state level structures and supports for evidence based home visitation services, as well as program implementation and quality. Details: Chicago: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, 2012. 138p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 2, 2012 at: http://www.chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/Building%20Support%20System%20Report_05_25_12.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/Building%20Support%20System%20Report_05_25_12.pdf Shelf Number: 125448 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild Maltreatment (Illinois)Child ProtectionHome Visitation Programs |
Author: Conway, Ellie Title: Uncertain Legacies: Resilience and Institutional Child Abuse - A Literature Review Summary: This literature review was undertaken in response to a recommendation of a report on a Pilot Forum, Time to be Heard which recommended that research should be carried out to identify factors which seemed to increase resilience in some survivors. Time to be Heard was a Pilot Forum set up to hear evidence from adults who had been looked after in Quarrriers children's homes in the latter half of the twentieth century many of whom had experienced abuse while in the homes. The aim of the study was to review the academic literature (published between 1990 and 2011) to identify the definitions and the factors associated with resilience, and how this knowledge might contribute to our understanding of adult survivors of childhood abuse while in residential care. The literature reviewed identified resilience as a process rather than an individual character trait or a particular outcome. Two elements were apparent in all the proposed definitions: they described 'positive personal responses' in the face of 'adverse external events'. Much of the literature reviewed related to young people’s experiences in institutional care, but institutional child abuse is a significant and under-researched problem. Disclosure of any form of abuse can often be difficult and challenging, and in the case of institutional child abuse, this has implications for the sort of support offered to survivors who take part in public inquiries and investigations. This merits further attention. Nuturing individual resilience means focussing on strengthening resources available to an individual at personal, social and environmental levels. Details: Edinburgh: Scottish Government Social Research, 2012. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 2, 2012 at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0039/00395793.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0039/00395793.pdf Shelf Number: 125460 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (U.K.)Child ProtectionInstitutional Child AbuseResidential Care |
Author: Daniel, Brigid Title: A Review of Child Neglect in Scotland Summary: This Scottish review builds on the first review in a series of UK wide reviews of child neglect undertaken by Action for Children in partnership with the University of Stirling and addresses three questions: How many children are currently experiencing neglect in Scotland? How good are we at recognising children who are at risk of, or are experiencing neglect? How well are we helping children at risk of, or currently experiencing neglect? We gathered evidence for the review by: collation of published statistics and a review of policy developments analysis of findings from survey questionnaires distributed to all Child Protection Committee Lead Officers in Scotland, with a return rate of over 75% (n=25) analysis of findings from telephone interviews with a small number of voluntary sector representatives summary of discussions from 15 multi-agency focus groups with practitioners and managers in six areas of Scotland including an urban, rural and island mix further consideration of a UK-wide poll undertaken by YouGov in 2011, which asked a range of questions about child neglect of 2,062 adults in the general public and 2,174 professionals. Details: Edinburgh: Scottish Government, 2012. 70p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 23, 2012 at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0039/00397132.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0039/00397132.pdf Shelf Number: 125715 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (Scotland)Child Protection |
Author: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Innocenti Research Centre Title: Child Trafficking in the Nordic Countries: Rethinking Strategies and National Responses. Technical report Summary: The study was initiated with twin aims: improving understanding of child trafficking and responses in the region; and contributing to the international discourse on child trafficking by examining the linkages between anti-trafficking responses and child protection systems. Although the study was conceived with a primary focus on trafficking, its scope is much broader. It analyses how the general principles of the Convention of the Rights of the Child are applied in relation to those children vulnerable to trafficking and other forms of exploitation. The study confirms that the Nordic countries have indeed made significant − and continuously evolving − attempts to address the issue of child trafficking, including through setting up relevant institutions, developing action plans and allocating budgets. However, while this has meant that specialized expertise is available for specific groups of children, it has sometimes also led to fragmentation of services, leaving some children unprotected. The research also finds that many existing gaps may be bridged by consistent and strengthened implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. At the same time, the study highlights that there is a way to achieve a fuller realization of rights for children who are vulnerable. Details: Florence, Italy: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2012. 164p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 25, 2012 at: http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/643 Year: 2012 Country: Europe URL: http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/643 Shelf Number: 125768 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Trafficking (Nordic Countries - Denmark, FinHuman Trafficking |
Author: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Innocenti Research Centre Title: Assessing 'The Code of Conduct' for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism: Discussion Paper Summary: The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism ('The Code') was established in 1998 by ECPAT Sweden with the assistance of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Since 2004 there has been no comprehensive assessment of the impact of The Code. In addition, no performance monitoring system has been put in place.This assessment was designed to review the current performance of The Code, and to propose a set of criteria based on rights-based principles for measuring the impact and effectiveness of The Code at global and country levels. Details: Florence, Italy: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2012. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 25, 2012 at: http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/662 Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/662 Shelf Number: 125769 Keywords: Child ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationTourism and Crime |
Author: Uzzell, Donna Title: AMBER Alert Best Practices Summary: The AMBER (America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert Program began following the 1996 abduction and murder of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman in Arlington, TX. In response to this tragedy, representatives from law enforcement and the local media joined forces to develop and implement a groundbreaking series of protocols to be followed in the event of a child abduction. The program has since expanded to include 133 state, local, regional, tribal, and territorial plans in the United States and Canada. As of March 2012, AMBER Alerts helped directly in the safe recovery of 572 children in the United States. The AMBER Alert Program is a voluntary partnership involving law enforcement, broadcasters, transportation agencies, and the wireless industry. It is designed to disseminate timely, accurate information about abducted children, the suspected abductor(s), and the vehicle(s) used in the commission of the crime. During an AMBER Alert, an urgent news bulletin is broadcast over the airwaves and via text messages as well as on highway alert signs to enlist the aid of the public in finding an abducted child and stopping the perpetrator. Participants and subject-matter experts attending a federally sponsored national AMBER Alert conference identified emerging practices that have enhanced the ability of law enforcement, other stakeholders, and partners to safely recover missing and abducted children. This report provides a “what works” approach based on what was garnered during the conference as well as the experience and knowledge gained since the inception of the first AMBER Alert plan. It offers the field additional information about effective and promising practices and is designed for interpretation at the state and local levels in a manner that allows teams to consider their resource limitations and diverse demographic and geographic needs. In addition, because the AMBER Alert Program is a collaborative effort involving multiple agencies, the public, and the media, the report provides a general overview of each discipline’s responsibilities along with suggested practices to improve the approach to responding to cases of missing or abducted children. Significant progress has been made since 1996; however, as with any major multiagency initiative, all program partners and stakeholders must remain vigilant and work collaboratively to improve their understanding of the roles and responsibilities of every agency and organization involved in the program. Partners must be openminded when communicating with each other and always strive to meet the ultimate goal—keeping our children safe. Details: Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, 2012. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 5, 2012 at http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/232271.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/232271.pdf Shelf Number: 126277 Keywords: AMBER AlertChild AbductionChild ProtectionEvaluative StudiesKidnappingLaw EnforcementMissing Children |
Author: United Children's Fund (UNICEF) Title: Child Maltreatment: Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences in East Asia and the Pacific. A Systematic Review of Research Summary: Child maltreatment – the physical, sexual and emotional abuse, exploitation and neglect of children – has been shown through the World Report on Violence and Health (2002) and the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children (2006) to be widely prevalent in all societies. According to recent global data, more than one in four children worldwide reported having experienced severe and frequent physical abuse, while child sexual abuse was experienced by nearly one in five females and one in eleven males. Maltreatment can have profound and damaging consequences during childhood and adolescence and throughout adult life. Children who have experienced abuse or neglect are more likely to have poorer physical and/or mental health outcomes; social difficulties, such as insecure attachments with caregivers and problematic relationships with peers, and as adults later in life; cognitive dysfunction, attributable to the negative impact of excessive stress on brain development; high-risk behaviours, such as drug and alcohol abuse, early sexual activity and resulting teenage parenting; and behavioural problems, including aggression and adult criminality. In addition to addressing these crucial dimensions of children’s rights, investing in protecting children has a direct positive impact on a country’s human capital and economic growth and reduces the burden of government spending on the long-term consequences of abuse. National child protection systems are recognized as the most effective and sustainable means to protect children from all forms of maltreatment. The absence of such a system frequently leads to incomplete coverage, and to individual violations being addressed as separate, unrelated problems. UNICEF is strongly committed to working with partners to prevent and respond to child maltreatment. The Strengthening Child Protection System Series is a package of evidence and tools to support this effort in the East Asia and Pacific Region. It provides information and guidance on the scale and nature of child maltreatment, the immediate and long-term costs of such maltreatment to individuals, families and society, and effective and sustainable policies and programmes for child protection. The series is intended to contribute to an enhanced evidence base for rights-based interventions and the development of strong child protection systems in countries across the region. This publication, number 1 in the series, presents the findings of a systematic review of research over the last decade on the prevalence, incidence and consequences of child maltreatment in the region. While qualitative studies on particular forms of child abuse and exploitation in the region are numerous, scientific research on the overall extent of child maltreatment is severely lacking. This review has applied a rigorous methodology in identifying and analysing peer reviewed research as well as grey literature on the scale and nature of child maltreatment in the region to provide as reliable a picture as possible of current knowledge and understanding. The findings are intended to support the development of a model to estimate costs of child maltreatment, as a credible means of estimating the minimum, lifetime direct and indirect costs of child maltreatment across countries in East Asia and the Pacific. Such a model can demonstrate the potential economic savings to governments and society that would accrue from effective, evidence-based policies and programmes for the prevention of child maltreatment. Details: Bangkok, Thailand: UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office, 2012. 232-. Source: Internet Resource: Strengthening Child Protection Systems Series: No 1: Accessed September 10, 2012 at: http://www.unicef.org/eapro/Child_Maltreatment.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Asia URL: http://www.unicef.org/eapro/Child_Maltreatment.pdf Shelf Number: 126289 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild Maltreatment (Asia)Child ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChildren, Crimes Against |
Author: Atwood, Stephen J. Title: Children, HIV/AIDS, and Sexual Exploitation: Strengthening Systems for the Right to Prevention, Protection, and Response in Nepal and Togo Summary: Children who are vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation are also vulnerable to infection with HIV. However, because they often live on the margins of society and outside of the health system, they are rarely identified as at risk of HIV nor are they measured for HIV infection. As such, they neither appear in the numerator nor in the denominator of national HIV statistics. As a result, they may be infected without knowing their HIV status, and will only access the health system when they have developed an opportunistic infection related to AIDS. In addition, because of a lack of information on their status, programs directed at HIV/ AIDS may not include children vulnerable to commercial exploitation in the key populations at risk of HIV (i.e., female sex Workers, men who have sex with men, intravenous drug users, or people receiving blood transfusions). In some cases, child protection agencies that work with children in or at risk of commercial sexual exploitation may not include HIV or AIDS prevention programs in their interventions. In order to measure the extent of HIV infection in this group of vulnerable children and to understand how their infections could have been identified earlier, and how they could be better educated about the dangers of HIV, a study was done of HIV prevalence in 308 randomly selected vulnerable children in Kathmandu. The children were also interviewed to garner an understanding for their attitudes, knowledge and behavior related to living and work conditions, schooling, and sexual behavior in a joint project by ECPAT International and the Center for Global Health and Development of Thammasat University. An additional 151 children were also interviewed using the same survey instrument in two cities in Togo, Lomé and Atakpamé, in order to correlate responses that might predict vulnerability to HIV infection in those surroundings. The study built on the strengths of the Youth Partnership Programs that operate in both Nepal and Kathmandu through the auspices of two NGOs: Maiti Nepal and WAO Afrique. Children between the ages of 15 and 25 years old were included in the sampling frame if they fulfilled two of six inclusion criteria that defined vulnerability (i.e., having lost one or both parents, one or both parents infected with HIV, recently dropped out of school, living on the street for more than two weeks, living away from home for more than two weeks, working on the street during school hours or at night, known to be involved in CSEC, working in the entertainment industry, or domestic workers). After receiving informed consent and assent, their HIV status was tested anonymously using a rapid, oral noninvasive HIV antibody test (OraQuick®). Prevalence levels of HIV infection were high. In the entire sample, 11 children tested positive for HIV; for children < 18 years the prevalence was 3.7%. For girls who reported being sexually active, the prevalence was 9.4%. These prevalence figures are higher than those of female sex workers (2.2%) in Kathmandu and the clients of sex workers (2%), and compare with those of men who have sex with men (3.8%). Of concern is that only four out of the 11 who tested positive for HIV infection had been previously tested for HIV – the others have remained outside of the system, concealing a hidden epidemic unknown to the government or to the health care delivery system. The results of the survey linked these infected children to major risk factors: coming from a poor family, having lost one or more parents, and early debut of sexual activity (≤15 years). Infection was through sexual transmission; there were no intravenous drug users or blood transfusions in the infected group. The same risk factors were found, often to a greater degree, in the Togo sample, suggesting that should those children be tested (the Government of Togo denied permission to use the rapid oral test), they would be found to have the same if not higher prevalence as those children in Nepal. This report includes a number of recommendations, the most important of which is that every effort should be made to get these children tested through improved access to free counseling and testing services. This is the only way that AIDS can be prevented. In Nepal, there was no resistance to the use of the rapid oral test, and its advantages (i.e., no discomfort from injection, no possibility of blood contamination or contagion, easy and safe disposal of used kits, etc.) made it particularly suitable for testing in the neighborhoods or environments where these children live. It is also imperative to use this contact for the prevention of HIV infection as well, by educating children about safe sex, and by identifying a concerned adult or young person who can be a mentor or support to these otherwise marginalized and often isolated children. There is every indication that the children in Lomé and Atakpamé are at risk and efforts should be increased to reach these children with safe and confidential testing and education. Details: Bangkok, Thailand: ECPAT International, 2012. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 26, 2012 at: http://www.ecpat.net/ei/Publications/About_CSEC/HIV-Research_FINAL.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Thailand URL: http://www.ecpat.net/ei/Publications/About_CSEC/HIV-Research_FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 126461 Keywords: Child Prostitution (Thailand)Child ProtectionChild Sexual ExploitationHumaan Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) |
Author: Hevanamage, Veyoma Title: Global Monitoring Status of Action Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: Thailand. 2nd Edition Summary: The Agenda for Action against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children provides a detailed framework and categories of actions to be taken by governments in partnership with civil society organizations and other relevant actors for combating commercial sexual crimes against children. Broadly, these actions are focused on: 1) Coordination and Cooperation; 2) Prevention; 3) Protection; 4) Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reintegration; and 5) Child Participation. The Agenda for Action is thus the formal and guiding structure used by governments that have adopted it and committed to work against CSEC. As such, the Agenda for Action is also the main organising framework for reporting on the status of implementation of the Agenda as seen in the World Congress II of 2001, the Mid-Term Review meetings held between 2004 and 2005 and the World Congress III in 2008. It has been used in the same way to structure and guide the research, analysis and preparation of information presented in these reports on the status of implementation of the Agenda in the individual countries. Preparatory work for this 2nd Edition report involved a review of the literature available on sexual exploitation for each of the countries where ECPAT works. A number of tools were prepared, such as a detailed glossary of CSEC terms, explanatory literature on more difficult themes and concepts and a guide to relevant CSEC related research tools, to assist researchers in their work and to ensure consistency in the gathering, interpreting and analysing of information from different sources and parts of the world. Desktop research has shown a continuing lack of information in the areas of Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reintegration. After extensive efforts to collect information relevant to these areas for each of the countries covered, it was decided that as this information was not consistently available, the reports thus focus only on those areas of the Agenda for Action where verifiable information can be obtained. Thus, the report covers: Coordination and Cooperation; Prevention; Protection and Child and Youth Participation, and where information on recovery, rehabilitaton and reintegration, was available, it has been included under the country overview. These 2nd Edition Reports also reflect a greater focus on integrated and inter-sector collaboration for the realisation of the right of the child to protection from sexual exploitation, including the need nationally for comprehensive child protection systems. Details: Bangkok: ECPAT International, 2011. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 3, 2012 at: http://www.ecpat.net/A4A_2005/PDF/EAP/A4A2011_EAP_Thailand_FINAL.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Thailand URL: http://www.ecpat.net/A4A_2005/PDF/EAP/A4A2011_EAP_Thailand_FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 126549 Keywords: Child ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual Exploitation (Thailand)Sex Tourism |
Author: Hevamange, Veyoma Title: Global Monitoring Status of Action Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: Japan. 2nd Edition Summary: The Agenda for Action against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children provides a detailed framework and categories of actions to be taken by governments in partnership with civil society organizations and other relevant actors for combating commercial sexual crimes against children. Broadly, these actions are focused on: 1) Coordination and Cooperation; 2) Prevention; 3) Protection; 4) Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reintegration; and 5) Child Participation. The Agenda for Action is thus the formal and guiding structure used by governments that have adopted it and committed to work against CSEC. As such, the Agenda for Action is also the main organising framework for reporting on the status of implementation of the Agenda as seen in the World Congress II of 2001, the Mid-Term Review meetings held between 2004 and 2005 and the World Congress III in 2008. It has been used in the same way to structure and guide the research, analysis and preparation of information presented in these reports on the status of implementation of the Agenda in the individual countries. Preparatory work for this 2nd Edition report involved a review of the literature available on sexual exploitation for each of the countries where ECPAT works. A number of tools were prepared, such as a detailed glossary of CSEC terms, explanatory literature on more difficult themes and concepts and a guide to relevant CSEC related research tools, to assist researchers in their work and to ensure consistency in the gathering, interpreting and analysing of information from different sources and parts of the world. Desktop research has shown a continuing lack of information in the areas of Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reintegration. After extensive efforts to collect information relevant to these areas for each of the countries covered, it was decided that as this information was not consistently available, the reports thus focus only on those areas of the Agenda for Action where verifiable information can be obtained. Thus, the report covers: Coordination and Cooperation; Prevention; Protection and Child and Youth Participation, and where information on recovery, rehabilitaton and reintegration, was available, it has been included under the country overview. These 2nd Edition Reports also reflect a greater focus on integrated and inter-sector collaboration for the realisation of the right of the child to protection from sexual exploitation, including the need nationally for comprehensive child protection systems. Details: Bangkok: ECPAT International, 2011. 58p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 3, 2012 at: http://ecpat.net/EI/Pdf/A4A_II/A4A2011_EAP_Japan_FINAL.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Japan URL: http://ecpat.net/EI/Pdf/A4A_II/A4A2011_EAP_Japan_FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 126550 Keywords: Child ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual Exploitation (Japan) |
Author: Child Soldiers International Title: Louder Than Words: An Agenda for Action to End State Use of Child Soldiers Summary: The report “Louder than words: An agenda for action to end state use of child soldiers” was published to mark the tenth anniversary year of the entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. It examines the record of states in protecting children from use in hostilities by their own forces and by state-allied armed groups. It finds that, while governments’ commitment to ending child soldier use is high, the gap between commitment and practice remains wide. Research for the report shows that child soldiers have been used in armed conflicts by 20 states since 2010, and that children are at risk of military use in many more. The report argues that ending child soldier use by states is within reach but that achieving it requires improved analysis of “risk factors”, and greater investment in reducing these risks, before the military use of girls and boys becomes a fact. Real prevention means tackling risk where it begins – with the recruitment of under-18s. A global ban on the military recruitment of any person below the age of 18 years – long overdue – must be at the heart of prevention strategies, but to be meaningful it must be backed by enforcement measures that are applied to national armies and armed groups supported by states. The report contains detailed analysis of the laws, policies and practices of over 100 “conflict” and “non-conflict” states providing examples of good practice and showing where flaws in protection put children at risk. It also shows how states can do more to end child soldier use globally via policies and practices on arms transfers and military assistance, and in the design of security sector reform programs. On the basis of this analysis a “10-Point Checklist” is included to assist states and other stakeholders in assessing risk and identifying the legal and practical measures needed to end child soldier use by government forces and state-allied armed groups. Details: London: Child Soldiers International, 2012. 162p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 4, 2012 at: http://www.child-soldiers.org/global_report_reader.php?id=562 Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.child-soldiers.org/global_report_reader.php?id=562 Shelf Number: 126555 Keywords: Armed ConflictChild ProtectionChild Soldiers |
Author: Cox, Lisa Title: Global Monitoring Status of Action Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: United States of America. 2nd Edition Summary: The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President, Congress and the Judiciary share powers reserved to the Federal Government, and the Federal Government shares sovereignty with the state governments. Although the financial crisis has resulted in a prolonged economic downturn, the United States still has the largest and most powerful economy in the world, with a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of around $48,000. The country overall has a very high standard of living and was ranked fourth in the world on the Human Development Index (HDI) in 2010. Despite the United States being a very high income country, US children are worse off than their peers in less rich countries in key areas of health, education and poverty. For example, infant and child mortality and rates of low birth weight are higher in the United States than in most other countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In addition, the rate of child poverty is double and the rate of teen births, over three times the OECD average. However, the US Government is working to address these issues. It currently spends more on children than most OECD member states and has developed several relevant policies, as well as a good knowledge base, with regard to child wellbeing. The United States has also made progress in addressing the problem of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). Successful efforts in this area have included: adoption of strong legislation like the PROTECT our Children Act of 2008; the formulation and implementation in 2010 of The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction; new initiatives promoting Internet safety and national public awareness campaigns; cooperation between public and private sectors; and the creation of national databases. Despite these efforts, there remains a huge gap in the implementation of existing laws, policies and practises. Major factors contributing to this gap include: a lack of resources to assist victims; insufficient awareness of the extent of harm caused by CSEC; and widespread public attitudes that often view sexually exploited children as juvenile delinquents undeserving of protection. While the United States has a welldeveloped child welfare system that includes risk assessments, family preservation, foster care and adoption services and youth development, these services are often only available to children with caregivers. Children living on the street, runaways and those who have been forced into prostitution are often treated as criminals instead of victims in need of assistance. Thus, the child welfare system needs to be adapted to provide specialised services to children and youth who are without caregivers or parents. Although the prostitution of children is often perceived as a problem confined to developing countries, it regularly takes place in the United States. However, accurate figures about children being entrapped into this form of sexual exploitation are not available. According to government information, experts estimate that at least 100,000 children are exploited through prostitution every year in the United States; however, there is a paucity of reliable data. about the source and characteristics of sexually exploited children.8 It is noteworthy that since the enactment of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (often referred to as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000), all cases of children exploited in prostitution are considered as child sex trafficking regardless of whether the victim is an American citizen or has been transported. Details: Bangkok: ECPAT International, 2012. 70p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 4, 2012 at: http://www.ecpat.net/EI/Pdf/A4A_II/A4A_V2_AM_USA.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.ecpat.net/EI/Pdf/A4A_II/A4A_V2_AM_USA.pdf Shelf Number: 126556 Keywords: Child ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sex TraffickingChild Sexual Exploitation (U.S.)Human Trafficking |
Author: Pjano, Ahmed Title: Regional Report on Child Begging. Prevalence, Prevention and Supression of Child Begging. Prevention of Child Exploitation in South East Europe Summary: Begging, as a social phenomenon, is public, visible and undisguised. Most child beggars exist in major cities and have almost become one of their distinctive features. Although they can be regularly seen on city squares, traffic roads and crossroads, in front of shops and in parks, these children are largely invisible for the system and the society. Little is known about their origin, life, family and social statuses, while the underlying causes of their being involved in begging activities are usually not subject to research, nor are they being systematically dealt with. During the first half of the year, Save the Children Norway SEE together with four members of the South East Europe Children’s Rights Ombudspersons’ Network: Provincial Ombudsman of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Ombudsman for Children of the Republika Srpska, Ombudsman of the Republic of Montenegro and Ombudsman of the Republic of Serbia – conducted a research to collect data on prevalence and principal characteristics of the child begging phenomenon in the SEE Region. The research sets out priorities and gives recommendations to all of the stakeholders in the area of child begging, with an aim to protect numerous children subject to such exploitation. Details: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2011. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 11, 2012 at: Year: 2011 Country: Europe URL: Shelf Number: 126678 Keywords: Child Begging (Europe)Child ExploitationChild MaltreatmentChild Protection |
Author: Koleva, Desislava Title: Comprehensive Response to Child Pornography: Thematic Study on the System for Prevention of Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children in Bulgaria Summary: This study set out to explore the existing system and practices in Bulgaria and Eastern Europe for prevention and fighting child pornography. In the course of work the authors identified the need to provide an overview of the subject of online sexual exploitation and abuse of children and not just its manifestation in child pornography production and distribution. The Comprehensive Response to Child Pornography project is implemented by Save the Children Norway SEE Regional Office in cooperation with the Office of the State Coordinator for Anti-trafficking in Human Beings and Illegal Immigration in Bosnia and Herzegovina which invested financial and human resources in addressing this problem. The project is also financially supported by OAK Foundation. This study was conducted by the Centre for Inclusive Education which is partnering Save the Children in the first phase of the project with the main task to provide an overview of the situation in Bulgaria and identify and recommend good practices. The overarching goal of this study is to present a comprehensive perspective to the problem of sexual exploitation and abuse of children in cyberspace by outlining the main aspects and consequences of this crime, analyzing what has been achieved and what else can be done to improve the coordination of the fragmented approach taken so far. The specific objectives of the study were as following: - to study the existing system, procedures and capacities for prevention and fighting online sexual abuse and exploitation of children through child pornography in Bulgaria; - to understand and, if possible, suggest recommendations for addressing the challenges and improving the system; - to identify good practices that can be adopted and transferred by civil society organizations and public authorities in BiH. Why focusing on child pornography? The partners in this project have recognized that crimes against children are changing because of the advance in technology, particularly the Internet and information and communication technologies (ICTs). For the past decade most efforts have been focused on anti-child trafficking systems while also touching on other often accompanying manifestations of child sexual exploitation. Child trafficking for sexual purposes and prostitution are undoubtedly priority areas for prevention work in SEE countries. However, the spread of online sexual exploitation, including child pornography, through the advancement of ICTs which has been so far not in the spot light, should also be addressed as a priority in child protection policies. This research focuses on online sexual exploitation of children in its manifestation through child pornography materials but discusses also other ensuing aspects and dangers of the use of such materials in ‘grooming’ or enticing children over the Internet for sexually-oriented interactions that often spill over from cyberspace into real life. It attempts to present a more comprehensive picture of the harms involved in the exposure or involvement of children with child pornography. It argues that child pornography is not less harmful than physical violation. Child pornography is a fundamental abuse, not just a by-product of physical sexual abuse. Recent studies suggest that the use of children to make pornography ‘adds value’ to a commercial sexual exchange and assists in facilitating a child’s submission into other forms of commercial sex or sexual abuse. Early desktop study of official documents and research of secondary sources revealed a lack of up-todate data and scarce analysis materials regarding the situation and existing practices with regards to online sexual exploitation of children in Bulgaria. Despite these limitations, sufficient information was gathered to provide a broad overview of the situation in the country. The field research and round table discussion proved to be invaluable for analysis. They also served as a measure for validating information as different actors offered their perspective based on their practice. While the recommendations and main findings of this study are aimed primarily at Bulgarian and BiH civil society actors and decision makers, they will also be disseminated to relevant stakeholders and the broader public in order to achieve involvement and support of society in the fight against this form of child abuse. Details: Oslo: Centre for Exclusive Education & Save the Children Norway, 2009. 49p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed october 11, 2012 at: http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/content/library/documents/comprehensive-response-child-pornography-thematic-study-system-prevention- Year: 2009 Country: Bulgaria URL: http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/content/library/documents/comprehensive-response-child-pornography-thematic-study-system-prevention- Shelf Number: 126679 Keywords: Child PornographyChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual Exploitation (Bulgaria)Computer CrimesInternet Crimes |
Author: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, Permanency Planning for Children Department Title: Right From the Start: The CCC Preliminary Protective Hearing Benchcard Study Report: Testing a Tool for Judicial Decision-Making Summary: This report presents findings from the Courts Catalyzing Change: Achieving Equity and Fairness in Foster Care (CCC) Preliminary Protective Hearing (PPH) Benchcard Study. The CCC initiative, supported by Casey Family Programs and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, was created and launched through the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) Model Courts project. In the fall of 2009, the Permanency Planning for Children Department (PPCD) of NCJFCJ began a study to examine the effects associated with judges’ use of the PPH Benchcard, which had been developed as part of the CCC agenda. Three sites agreed to participate in a pilot and assessment of the Benchcard. For the assessment study, data were collected on more than 500 children in Los Angeles, California; Omaha, Nebraska; and Portland, Oregon. Data were gathered from case file information (both court and agency files) and from courtroom observations. Researchers collected data at several junctures, from placement to establishment of jurisdiction and disposition. To explore Benchcard implementation effects, the study was designed to allow for several different comparisons. Researchers collected information on numerous data points, including demographic details, information about the families involved, hearing participants, dates of case events, and details on allegations, services, and placement. Data from a baseline sample were collected at each of the three sites, and judicial officers at each site were randomly assigned to either a Benchcard implementation group or a control group. Judicial officers in the Benchcard group were trained on its use, including receipt of a draft Technical Assistance Bulletin explaining the development of the Benchcard (Right from the Start: A Judicial Tool for Critical Analysis & Decision-Making at the PPH Hearing). They began implementation of the Benchcard in their preliminary protective hearings. Each randomly assigned judicial officer heard 10 preliminary protective hearings using the Benchcard, while the control group of judicial officers in each of the sites heard 10 preliminary protective hearings without Benchcard implementation. The Benchcard was not shared with stakeholders during the research project in order to isolate the judicial intervention. Based upon systematic courtroom observation and a standardized count methodology, the data indicate that those judicial officers who used the Benchcard discussed more key topics during the preliminary protective hearings than did the control group. Benchcard implementation appears to be associated with substantially higher quantities and quality of discussion of key dependency topics identified in both the RESOURCE GUIDELINES and the CCC initiative when compared to the control group. Benchcard implementation also corresponds to an increased thoroughness of discussion and judicial inquiry, as demonstrated by the number of topics and how thoroughly they were discussed. Tests indicate that these differences are statistically significant. These process findings indicate that Benchcard implementation is associated with substantial increases in the quantity and quality of discussion in PPH hearings. Benchcard use also was associated with more family placements—placement with a charged parent, with a non-charged parent, or with a relative—at the initial hearing and even more again at adjudication when comparing the same judges before and after Benchcard implementation. (Reciprocally, Benchcard use was also associated with fewer children placed in non-relative foster care at the initial hearing and even fewer again at adjudication.) Statistical tests show these findings to be significant. Similarly, the percentage of children who were reunified with the charged parent at the initial hearing and at the adjudication hearing increased after Benchcard implementation. Differences did exist across the three sites, but the findings remained significant when the three sites were accounted for in the statistical analysis. The study found race differences in filing trends. White mothers (in comparison to African American and Hispanic mothers) tended to enter court with a higher number of allegations. White mothers also had more allegations of substance abuse, homelessness, and mental health issues (each of these represent statistically significant differences). ReportOverall, African American mothers came into court with fewer allegations and were more likely to have their case dismissed by the time of the adjudication hearing. Allegations of substance abuse show a different pattern. White families in the sample were much more likely than other families to face allegations of failure to supervise or parent adequately due to substance abuse (drugs or alcohol) than were families of other racial groups (statistical tests show these differences to be statistically significant). Differences among racial groups are also apparent in allegations involving poor parenting due, in major part, to poor mental health functioning. As with substance abuse allegations, White families were much more likely to be brought to court with allegations relating to mental health. White families were almost three times as likely to face a mental health allegation as families from other racial groups (again statistically significant). Looking at placement differences by race in the baseline sample, children with White mothers were the most likely to be placed in foster care at the initial hearing, and children with African American mothers were the least likely to be placed in foster care. However, when allegations are taken into account, race does not appear to be related to placements at all. Statistical tests show that there may be differences in placement by racial group, but children with similar case allegations tend to be equally likely to be placed in foster care regardless of race. While allegation differences could explain apparent differences by race in placement trends, by the permanency hearing these differences were more substantial. At the permanency hearing, African American children were more likely to be currently placed in foster care than children from White or Hispanic families. Also, African American children were less likely to be currently placed with a parent or with relatives at the permanency hearing than children from Hispanic or White families. Details: Reno, NV: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, Permanency Planning for Children Department, 2011. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 24, 2012 at: http://www.ncjfcj.org/sites/default/files/CCC%20Benchcard%20Study%20Report.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.ncjfcj.org/sites/default/files/CCC%20Benchcard%20Study%20Report.pdf Shelf Number: 126785 Keywords: Child ProtectionDiscriminationFoster CareJudgesJudicial Decision-Making (U.S.)Racial Disparities |
Author: Cavendish, Betsy Title: Children at the Border: The Screening, Protection and Repatriation of Unaccompanied Mexican Minors Summary: “Children at the Border” shows that the 2008 federal Trafficking Victim Protection Reauthorization Act (“TVPRA”)—which was intended to prevent human trafficking and exploitation—has not been fully implemented. Unaccompanied Mexican children who merit protection, either in the U.S. or México, are often quickly shuttled back across the border without sufficient care, leading many to attempt the dangerous journey yet again. Thousands of children are needlessly exposed to human trafficking by drug cartels and criminal gangs, or sent back to potentially abusive and dangerous situations without having a reasonable chance to assert their rights to protection. The roughly 15,000 unaccompanied Mexican minors who are apprehended by the U.S. border patrol each year will benefit from the better screening proposed in the report. Children in México who are either returned to shelters or are in transit through México without a parent will also benefit from these recommendations. The report and recommendations follow two years of research by a pro bono team of 32 lawyers as well as AG Design. The project involved site visits at 14 different locations on both sides of the U.S.-México border. México Appleseed and Appleseed collaborated with pro bono legal counsel from four leading law firms: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, DLA Piper and Mayer Brown in the U.S.; and Jáuregui y Navarrete in México. Details: Washington, DC: Appleseed; Mexico: Appleseed Mexico, 2011. 136p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 25, 2012 at: http://appleseednetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Children-At-The-Border1.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://appleseednetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Children-At-The-Border1.pdf Shelf Number: 126805 Keywords: Border SecurityChild ProtectionChild TraffickingHuman TraffickingUnaccompanied Children (U.S., Mexico)Undocumented Minors |
Author: International NGO Council on Violence Against Children Title: Violating Children's Rights: Harmful Practices Based on Tradition, Culture, Religion or Superstition Summary: All violations of children’s rights can legitimately be described as harmful practices, but the common characteristic of the violations highlighted in this report is that they are based on tradition, culture, religion or superstition and are perpetrated and actively condoned by the child’s parents or significant adults within the child’s community. Indeed, they often still enjoy majority support within communities or whole states. Harmful practices based on tradition, culture, religion or superstition are often perpetrated against very young children or infants, who are clearly lacking the capacity to consent or to refuse consent themselves. Assumptions of parental powers or rights over their children allow the perpetration of a wide range of these practices, many by parents directly, some by other individuals with parents’ assumed or actual consent. Yet the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), ratified by almost every state, favours the replacement of the concept of parental “rights” over children with parental “responsibilities,” ensuring that the child’s best interests are parents’ “basic concern” (Article 18). Many of the practices identified in this report involve gross and unlawful discrimination against groups of children, including gender discrimination, and in particular discrimination against children with disabilities. Some are based on tradition and/or superstition, some on religious belief, others on false information or beliefs about child development and health. Many involve extreme physical violence and pain leading, in some cases intentionally, to death or serious injury. Others involve mental violence. All are an assault on the child’s human dignity and violate universally agreed international human rights standards. The International NGO Council on Violence against Children believes the continued legality and social and cultural acceptance of a very wide range of these practices in many states illustrates a devastating failure of international and regional human rights mechanisms to provoke the necessary challenge, prohibition and elimination. Comprehensive, children’s rights-based analysis and action are needed now. Above all, there must be an assertion of every state’s immediate obligation to ensure all children their right to full respect for their human dignity and physical integrity. This short report is designed to complement other current activities in the UN system that are focusing on harmful practices and children and will hopefully lead to more effective action. The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Violence against Children, Marta Santos Pais, held an International Expert Consultation on the issue in June 2012 in Addis Ababa in which the International NGO Council was represented and prepared a submission. Two UN Treaty Bodies, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), are collaborating in drafting a General Comment/General Recommendation on harmful practices. Details: International NGO Council on Violence Against Children, 2012. 58p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 26, 2012 at: http://www.crin.org/docs/InCo_Report_15Oct.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.crin.org/docs/InCo_Report_15Oct.pdf Shelf Number: 126806 Keywords: Child AbuseChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChildren, Crimes AgainstViolence Against Children |
Author: Loaiza, Edilberto, Sr. Title: Marrying too Young: End Child Marriage Summary: This report is a clarion call to decision makers, parents, communities and to the world to end child marriage. It documents the current scope, prevalence and inequities associated with child marriage and highlights that by 2020, Some 142 million girls will be married by their 18th birthday if current trends continue. This translates into 14.2 million girls married each year, or 37,000 girls married each day. Child marriage jeopardizes girls’ rights and stands in the way of girls living educated, healthy and productive lives. It also excludes girls from fundamental decisions, such as the timing of marriage and choice of spouse. Girls living in rural areas of the developing world are twice as likely to be married before age 18 as their urban counterparts, and girls with no education are over three times more likely to do so than those with secondary or higher education. The report calls on governments and leaders to end child marriage by: Enacting and enforcing national laws that raise the age of marriage to 18, for both girls and boys. Using data to identify and target geographic “hotspots” – areas with high proportions and numbers of girls at risk of child marriage. Expanding prevention programmes that empower girls at risk of child marriage and address the root causes underlying the practice. Mitigating the harmful impact of child marriage on girls. Details: New York: United Nations Population Fund, 2012. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 2, 2012 at: http://www.unfpa.org/public/home/publications/pid/12166 Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.unfpa.org/public/home/publications/pid/12166 Shelf Number: 126825 Keywords: Child MarriageChild Protection |
Author: Simon, Antonia Title: A Rapid Literature Review of Evidence on Child Abuse Linked to Faith or Belief Summary: In early 2011, following a consultation on child abuse relating to a belief in witchcraft and spirit possession, a working group was set up by the DfE to understand better the principal issues. It was agreed that stronger coordination of activity was needed both nationally and locally to raise awareness, develop the skills of practitioners and to support communities themselves in combating and resisting such abuse. Since then, the working group has worked at both national and regional levels to produce a national action plan for England to tackle child abuse linked to faith or belief (DfE, 2012). The action plan focuses on four themes: engaging communities; empowering practitioners; supporting victims and witnesses; and communicating key messages. The DfE requested that the Childhood Wellbeing Research Centre (CWRC) conduct a small-scale review of previous research in this area. This would be used to help inform future policy. Details: London: Childhood Wellbeing Research Centre, Institute of Education, 2012. 42p. Source: Internet Resource: CWRC Working Paper No. 15: Accessed November 2, 2012 at: https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/RSG/AllPublications/Page1/CWRC-00115-2012 Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/RSG/AllPublications/Page1/CWRC-00115-2012 Shelf Number: 126850 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (U.K.)Child ProtectionReligion and AbuseRitual AbuseSatanic AbuseWitchcraft |
Author: Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children Title: Prohibiting Corporal Punishment of Children in the Caribbean. Progress Report 2012 Summary: Worldwide, the number of states which have achieved law reform to prohibit all corporal punishment of children, including in the home, continues to grow – and has more than doubled since 2005 when this form of violence was highlighted as a particular concern in the UN Study on Violence against Children and prohibition recommended as a matter of priority. As at April 2012, 32 states have laws which protect children from corporal punishment wherever they are, in their homes, schools and penal and care settings. In at least a further 22, governments have made a commitment to enacting full prohibition and/or draft legislation which would achieve full prohibition is actively under consideration. The numbers of states achieving prohibition outside the home also grows, with a substantial majority prohibiting corporal punishment in all their schools (117) and in all institutions accommodating children in conflict with the law (116); 38 states prohibit it in all forms of alternative care. Laws in the majority of states (156) do not allow young offenders to be sentenced to corporal punishment. While no state or territory in the Caribbean has yet achieved prohibition in the home, legislation has been enacted in relation to other settings: of the 14 independent states and 18 territories covered in this report, 23 have prohibited corporal punishment as a sentence of the courts (5 states, all territories), 18 as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions (4 states, 14 territories), three in schools (two states, one territory), and two in all forms of care (two states, no territories). But there is still much work to be done in the region: 29 states/territories have yet to prohibit corporal punishment in all their schools, 30 in all care settings and 14 in penal institutions. Nine states have not yet abolished corporal punishment as a sentence for crime. Corporal punishment by parents is still lawful in all 32 states and territories. Details: London: Global Initiative to End All Corporal Pubnishment of Children, 2012. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 2, 2012 at: http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/pages/pdfs/reports/Caribbean%20Report%202012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Central America URL: http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/pages/pdfs/reports/Caribbean%20Report%202012.pdf Shelf Number: 126851 Keywords: Child ProtectionChildren, Violence AgainstCorporal Punishment (Caribbean) |
Author: Baat, Mariska de Title: Combating Child Abuse and Neglect in the Netherlands Summary: In the Netherlands, every year more than 100.000 children and young people between the ages of 0 and 18 are abused in one or more ways. It is estimated that between 40 and 80 children die of the consequences. The Dutch Government finds it unacceptable that so many young people experience violence in their home situation. Because of the serious effects of child abuse, the Dutch government focuses on the prevention and early recognition and halting of child abuse. This report describes the national and regional strategies in policy and practice in addressing child abuse in the Netherlands. The Netherlands Youth Institute has been granted a two-year project (2011 – 2012) in the framework of the Daphne III programme: prevent and combat violence against children, young people and women and to protect victims and groups at risk. The aim of the project is to generate relevant knowledge on current strategies for the prevention of child abuse and neglect in Europe. It will focus on interventions and strategies that are targeted at preventing and the treatment of child abuse. It will compare the strategies of 5 European countries. This report is part of the first workstream, in which the national approaches of combatting child abuse and neglect in the five countries are described and compared to each other. The output of the project will be a manual with data on what works in preventing and the treatment of child abuse and it also has a research strand with the experiences of parents and children regarding their experiences with programmes. The project is a collaboration with the Swedish Orebro regional council, the Hungarian Family child Youth Association, the German Youth Institute, CESIS from Portugal and Verweij-Jonker from the Netherlands. This report contains six chapters. The first chapter describes the definition and prevalence of child abuse and neglect, the child welfare system in the Netherlands and the main governmental policy on child abuse and neglect. Chapter two, three and four describe the continuum of care: from universal and preventive services, to the detection, reporting and stopping of child abuse and neglect and the treatment services. Each of these chapters contain seven paragraphs, they are about: governmental strategies and actions, involved people and organizations, products, results, good practices, bottlenecks and a summary and conclusion. Chapter five is about the integrating of services and chapter six describes the professionalization of professionals in the Netherlands. We conclude with an overall summary and conclusion. Details: Utrecht: Netherlands Youth Institute, 2011. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 20, 2012 at: http://www.youthpolicy.nl/yp/downloadsyp/Daphne-report-The-Netherlands.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Netherlands URL: http://www.youthpolicy.nl/yp/downloadsyp/Daphne-report-The-Netherlands.pdf Shelf Number: 126935 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (Netherlands)Child MaltreatmentChild Protection |
Author: Berg-le Clercq, Tijne Title: Combating Child Abuse and Neglect in Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Sweden and The Netherlands. Final Report of Work Stream 1: Collecting and Comparing Strategies, Actions and Practice Summary: The Netherlands Youth Institute in co-operation with 4 partner country organisations in Germany, Hungary, Portugal and Sweden has been granted a two-year project (2011 – 2012) within the framework of the Daphne III programme ‘preventing and combating violence against children, young people and women and to protect victims and groups at risk’. The project is called ‘Prevent and Combat Child Abuse: What works? An overview of regional approaches, exchange and research’. It aims to generate relevant knowledge on current strategies for the prevention of child abuse and neglect in Europe. It focuses on interventions and strategies that are targeted at the prevention and treatment of child abuse in the five participating European countries. The project also has a research strand with the experiences of parents regarding programmes. The final output of the project is a manual with data about what works in the prevention and the treatment of child abuse. The project is coordinated by the Netherlands Youth Institute and carried out in collaboration with the Swedish Orebro regional council, the Hungarian Family child Youth Association, the German Youth Institute, CESIS from Portugal and the Verweij-Jonker Institute from The Netherlands. Work stream 1 This report is the final product of work stream 1 of this Daphne project called ‘Collecting and Comparing Strategies, Actions and Practice’. In this work stream, the focus was on collecting information and research in all the participating countries on the policy and practice regarding the full circle of combating child abuse, ranging from prevention to treatment. All five countries collected their own data and made a résumé and analysis on basis of national data. Next, they wrote a national report on strategies, measurements and management of tackling child abuse and neglect in the full circle, from prevention to treatment (the continuum of care). They did so by means of a questionnaire called ‘The description of the résumé and analysis of the national information and research’ that was developed especially for this Daphne project by the Netherlands Youth Institute (see Appendix 1). On the basis of the reports received from the partners and their presentation about these reports, the Netherlands Youth Institute wrote this overview report. Set-up of this report The overview report outlines the policy and practice regarding the full circle of combating child abuse, ranging from prevention to treatment in these five countries. The first chapter of this overview report outlines international obligations and the international context regarding child abuse and neglect. The second chapter describes the child welfare system of Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Sweden and The Netherlands. Chapter three addresses the measurement and management of tackling child abuse and neglect in these five countries. This chapter addresses several topics: definitions; attitudes; research; legislation and national strategies regarding child abuse and neglect. Chapter four, five and six describe the continuum of care regarding child abuse and neglect, consisting of universal and preventive services (chapter 4), detecting, reporting and stopping child abuse and neglect (chapter 5) and care services (chapter 6). These three chapters as well as chapter 8 (that addresses the education and training of professionals) have a similar set-up. All these chapters contain the following sections: introduction; governmental strategies and actions; products and their results; good practices; bottlenecks; conclusions. In contrast, chapter 7 deals with the integration of services. The final chapter of this report summarizes the main points of the previous chapters. It also contains interesting elements of each of the five countries regarding their child welfare system; the available universal and preventive services; detecting, reporting and stopping of child abuse and neglect; care services; the integration of services; the education and training of professionals. Details: Utrecht: Netherlands Youth Institute, 2012. 84p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 20, 2012 at: http://www.youthpolicy.nl/yp/downloadsyp/Publications-Combating-child-abuse-and-neglect-in-Germany,-Hungary,-Portugal,-Sweden-and-The-Netherlands.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Europe URL: http://www.youthpolicy.nl/yp/downloadsyp/Publications-Combating-child-abuse-and-neglect-in-Germany,-Hungary,-Portugal,-Sweden-and-The-Netherlands.pdf Shelf Number: 126936 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (Germany, Hungary, PortugaChild MaltreatmentChild Protection |
Author: Coy, Maddy Title: Picking Up the Pieces: Domestic Violence and Child Contact Summary: Whilst a minority (one in ten) of parental separations reach family courts in England and Wales as a means of settling disputes over the residence of, and contact with, children (ONS, 2008), domestic violence is the most common welfare issue raised in proceedings (Hunt & Macleod, 2008). Concern about how the family justice system responds to children having contact with fathers who have abused their mothers is not new. Specialist women’s support services have long highlighted that it is problematic to presume that the relationship between a child and abusive parent is unaffected by violence, and that contact proceedings are frequently invoked by perpetrators as a means of seeking to continue to control women and children. A wide range of studies has shown that judicial decisions about contact which fail to take safety into account endanger women and children physically and emotionally (e.g. Radford et al, 1997; Mullender et al, 2002; Harrison, 2008; Thiara, 2010; Thiara & Gill, 2012), and in some cases where courts have allowed unsupervised contact with violent men, children have been killed (Saunders, 2004). Yet a presumption that contact is always in the best interests of the child, combined with an increasing focus on fathers’ rights, casts long shadows over legal judgements, policy frameworks and individual cases. The research on which this report is based examines child contact proceedings as a legal process, to identify if, how and when domestic violence was presented before the court and then factored into judicial decision making. Drawing on in-depth interviews with women who had recently completed, or were currently undergoing, proceedings and a survey of legal professionals, the project built on an existing rich body of knowledge about child contact to highlight specific points where private law Children Act proceedings can enable women to protect themselves and their children, or facilitate perpetrators’ attempts to continue power and control. The recommendations we make highlight where the current legal process could be revised in order to make a significant difference to women and children’s safety and wellbeing. We also point to promising practices that could be integrated into systems and processes. A second aim of the research was to investigate the financial impact of involvement in proceedings for women who may have already been impoverished through financial abuse by their ex-partners and/or the expense of leaving their homes. Access to justice through family law remedies – whether in response to proceedings initiated by violent ex-partners or as a possibility for women to create safety buffers through the protection of court orders – is fundamentally dependent on available and sufficient resources. This is especially topical since reductions in central Government funding for legal aid will mean a reduction in the availability of legal aid for family law cases from April 2013, creating a further barrier to and burden on women. For women from minority communities, who may have fewer socio-economic and social resources, the diminished availability of legal aid has even more acute implications (Thiara & Gill, 2012). While explicitly asking about funding for legal representation, we also explored wider financial impacts here; to what extent preparing for court, attending hearings and facilitating contact affected women’s employment and income. This report is structured through the journey of contact proceedings, beginning from histories of violence and separation and ending with the aftermath. First we present a brief overview of the current evidence base on domestic violence and child contact to contextualise our own research. Details: London: Rights of Women and Child and Woman Abuse STudies Unit (London Metropolitan University), 2012. 91p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 20, 2012 at: http://www.rightsofwomen.org.uk/pdfs/Policy/Picking_Up_the_Pieces_Report_final.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.rightsofwomen.org.uk/pdfs/Policy/Picking_Up_the_Pieces_Report_final.pdf Shelf Number: 126944 Keywords: Child ProtectionChildren and ViolenceDomestic Violence (U.K.)Family Violence |
Author: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Title: Linking SAAP, Child Protection and Juvenile Justice Data: Technical Report Summary: Following the release of a study exploring the feasibility of linking three community-sector data collections, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare was funded to link child protection, juvenile justice and Supported Accommodation Assistance Program data. This report describes the process used to link these collections. The analysis of the linked data is in a companion report, Children and young people at risk of social exclusion: links between homelessness, child protection and juvenile justice. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2012. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Data Linkage Series No. 14: Accessed November 23, 2012 at: http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=60129542244 Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=60129542244 Shelf Number: 126947 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild WelfareHomelessnessJuvenile Justice Systems (Australia) |
Author: Aalders, Rachel Title: Children and Young People at Risk of Social Exclusion: Links between homelessness, child protection and juvenile justice Summary: Current research demonstrates relationships between child abuse and neglect, homelessness and criminal activity. This report presents key findings from analysis of a data set linking three community-sector data collections: Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP), juvenile justice supervision, and child protection notifications and substantiations in Victoria and Tasmania. While this project demonstrated that linking these collections is both feasible and worthwhile, the results are limited by data availability (this project used 3 years of SAAP data, 10 years of juvenile justice data, 18 years of Victorian child protection data and 3 years of Tasmanian child protection data). The accumulation of data over multiple years for all sectors would enable the flows between services over the long term to be identified, but despite the data limitations, the results highlight the possibilities for data linkage in these sectors although caution must be used in generalising these findings. People with involvement in one of the three sectors are more likely to be involved in another of the sectors than the general population Almost 15% of young people under juvenile justice supervision had received SAAP support in the year before their most recent supervision and 8% received support in the year after their most recent supervision. For those with a substantiated child protection notification, 6% received support in the year before and 7% in the year after their most recent substantiated notification. In contrast, about 1% of those aged 10 and older in the general population receive SAAP services as a client in a year and about 2% receive services as an accompanying child (AIHW 2010). More than 10% of those who received SAAP support as an adult had a history of juvenile justice supervision— by comparison, about 1% of those aged 16 or 17 (the peak age for juvenile justice supervision) are under supervision in any given year (AIHW 2011c). (National figures on the proportion of the adult population with a history of juvenile justice supervision are not available.) Young people with a child protection history enter juvenile justice supervision at a younger age Of those under juvenile justice supervision who had one or more substantiated child protection notifications, 21% first entered supervision aged 10–13 compared with 6% of those with no substantiated notifications. Young people without substantiated notifications were more likely to have entered supervision when they were older, with 33% doing so at age 17 compared with 11% of those who had one or more substantiated notifications. Young people, particularly young women, completing a detention sentence are at greater risk of homelessness Within 1 month after the end of a period of sentenced detention, 3% of periods were followed by a period of SAAP support—this increased to 9% within 6 months. Young women were twice as likely as young men to receive SAAP support in the month after the end of a sentenced detention period. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2012. Source: Internet Resource: Data Linkage Series, Number 13: Accessed November 24, 2012 at: www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=60129542237 Year: 2012 Country: Armenia URL: Shelf Number: 126995 Keywords: At-risk YouthChild Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionDelinquency PreventionHomelessnessJuvenile JusticeJuvenile Offenders (Australia) |
Author: Matthews, Amie Title: Child Safe Tourism: The Tourist Perspective Summary: This report summarises findings from a recent online survey conducted with over 300 international travellers to Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam (collectively referred to in this report as ‘the Region’). The survey was conducted to better grasp the sorts of interactions tourists have with children in these countries and to gauge their perceptions of these interactions and of child safe tourism in general. The survey findings show:1 Tourists frequently engage with local children when visiting the Region and are generally happy to do so. While such interactions may be positive experiences for tourists, they can also leave lasting negative impressions in travellers’ minds. For instance, meetings with local children were positively described by those travellers who indicated that they had gained a unique insight into the country or local culture through the children they encountered, who enjoyed talking and playing with local children, or who felt that local children were especially welcoming. On the other hand, when encounters with local children highlighted poverty, their vulnerability, or were perceived as existing within a broader context of abuse or exploitation they were generally described negatively by survey participants. Such experiences not only impacted tourists at an emotional level but in many cases they also appeared to impact their perception of the local culture and destination. Over half (57.1%) of the participants indicated that they had witnessed situations involving the exploitation or abuse of children while travelling in the Region. Respondents described situations where they had come across children selling goods or begging or where they were being used by adults (in some cases their parents) to play on tourist sympathies. They also expressed concern over children not being in school, being forced to perform for tourists, and children being subject to sexual exploitation. 85% of survey participants reported being approached by young people selling souvenirs and 81.2% reported being approached by children or youth (under the age of 18) who were begging. Many survey participants also reported seeing children collecting rubbish (49%), working in a restaurant or hotel (48.5%) and street performing (38%). A significant number also claimed that they had seen children or youth working as tour guides (25.5%) and of most concern, in the sex industry (20.5%). Overwhelmingly all of the participants that discussed witnessing these types of exploitation stated that it made them feel disgusted, sad, concerned or worried, helpless, guilty, angry and/or frustrated. 28.8% of respondents indicated that they thought a combination of all of these exploitative behaviours was either deemed normal by locals, or that locals (including local authorities) turned a blind eye to them. This perception is worrying on multiple fronts. For one thing, it sets an extremely low standard of behaviour for tourists to ascribe to and would likely impact the willingness of travellers to get involved or intervene in suspected cases of child exploitation/abuse. On the other hand, the idea that a community condones or accepts child abuse and exploitation is an extremely negative image for a tourist destination to carry, one which can ultimately be quite damaging to the tourism industry. Abuse and/or exploitation of children in tourism is not tolerated by tourists and it can have significant impacts on the destination images that tourists (and potential tourists) develop. Many survey participants reported having shared their concerns about children in the Region being subjected to exploitation or abuse with friends, family and colleagues at home. A number of respondents also indicated that they had either cut their visit to specific localities short or would not return to some destinations as a result of their exposure to incidents which they believed involved the abuse of children and young people. Subsequently, it is in the best interests of the tourism industry for local and national governments, as well as tourism providers, to continue to address these issues and to ensure children are protected from all forms of abuse in tourism in the Region. 53.2% of participants stated they did not purchase goods/services from children and 78.7% stated that they did not give money to a begging child or youth. This shows that tourists who took part in the survey demonstrated reasonable levels of awareness with regards to the issues attached to children selling goods to tourists or begging. Most frequently the reasons given for avoiding these sorts of exchanges with young people were to discourage unsustainable socio-economic cultures from developing and/or to avoid placing children or young people in ‘at-risk’ situations. Many of the survey participants seemed well educated about the fact that if children are on the streets begging and/or selling they are not likely to go to school and may be left vulnerable to exploitation or abuse. Many also talked about begging as not being an empowering or even likely means for ending the poverty cycle. By way of comparison, a significant number also made reference to what they perceived as better alternatives such as giving money to a local charity or giving the children food instead. Almost half (49.5%) of the respondents felt they had some sort of responsibility for local children and youth when travelling. A number of participants seemed to have clear strategies for dealing with children who were begging or selling goods and services in the Region and many made real efforts to ensure their interactions with children were ethical. A number of participants reported taking very pro-active steps to assist children in need and many survey respondents indicated that they had felt a real desire to help while in the Region. However, even those participants who made clear efforts to help locals (and local children in particular) seemed unsure as to whether their actions had constituted best-practice. Frequently doubts and uncertainties about the best way to engage with children in the Region were expressed. Only 19.5% of survey respondents felt they had enough information to protect local children and youth encountered in public places. Overwhelmingly though, many participants indicated that they wanted to know more about the situation and how they could help. 84.8% of survey participants stated that they would like to know more about how to protect children and prevent exploitation in the Region. Almost the same number of participants said they’d like to know more about local customs, appropriate dress and behaviour (83.3%) and about ways in which tourists could support the local economy (83%). In a similar vein, when asked whether a business’ policy to protect children would influence their purchase habits 94.8% of participants said that it would. Details: Melbourne: World Vision Australia, 2012. 42p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 29, 2012 at: http://beta.wvi.org/sites/default/files/Child_Safe_Tourism_eBook_Nov%202012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Cambodia URL: http://beta.wvi.org/sites/default/files/Child_Safe_Tourism_eBook_Nov%202012.pdf Shelf Number: 127036 Keywords: Child ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual ExploitationStreet BeggingStreet ChildrenTourism (Cambodia) |
Author: Phillips, Susan D. Title: Children in Harm's Way: Criminal Justice, Immigration Enforcement, and Child Welfare Reports Summary: 1998, the Child Welfare League of America published a seminal issue of Child Welfare describing the needs of children with parents in prison. It marked a milestone in what has become an ongoing effort to influence how the child welfare system responds to children whose parents are arrested and the support available to relatives caring for children whose parents are incarcerated. It pointed to policies and practices that either ignored the needs of this group of vulnerable children and their families, or created impediments to reunifying children with parents who had been incarcerated. This publication, produced jointly by The Sentencing Project and First Focus, introduces readers to concerns about a subgroup of this vulnerable group of children: children whose parents are affected by the interplay of the criminal justice, child welfare, and immigration enforcement systems. In the past decade, the federal government dramatically changed its approach to enforcing federal immigration laws and the scale of its efforts. As a result, a growing number of parents are being apprehended by local and state police (often for relatively minor offenses), turned over to federal immigration authorities, held in federal detention centers, and then returned to their home countries. In many cases, their children are U.S. citizens who are forced to leave their homes to be with their parents, or who remain in the United States permanently separated from their parents. Others end up in the foster care system where they may be placed for adoption. The number of people being held in immigration detention centers while waiting for their cases to be heard in administrative immigration proceedings has reached a historic high at a time when prison growth is otherwise beginning to slow. For-profit prison companies are poised to seize on this opportunity to bolster their profit margins. This became most evident in 2010 when Arizona legislators adopted the notorious S.B. 1070 law, perceived by many as an open invitation for law enforcement agencies to engage in racial profiling. Not long after the enactment of S.B. 1070, it became clear that the legislation was based on a blueprint that had been handed out by representatives of the private prison industry at a meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council. Like an echo from the past, the questions being raised about children whose parents are targets of stepped-up immigration enforcement are similar to those that were first raised nearly 20 years ago about children whose parents were then being sent to jails and prisons in record numbers. Those questions include: What happens to children in the wake of authorities taking their parents into custody?; How do children of color view the legal system after seeing so many members of their communities being taken away by police?; And how are communities changed when arrests or immigration enforcement actions can happen at any time? And, a central issue in the articles assembled here: How does the child welfare system help or hinder families in the wake of criminal or immigration court actions against parents? Details: Washington, D.C.: Jointly published by The Sentencing Project and First Focus, 2013. 73p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed February 16, 2013 at: http://sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/cc_Children%20in%20Harm's%20Way-final.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/cc_Children%20in%20Harm's%20Way-final.pdf Shelf Number: 127648 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild WelfareIllegal ImmigrantsImmigrant ChildrenImmigrant DetentionImmigration EnforcementImmigration Policy |
Author: Otero, Cathleen Title: Methamphetamine Addiction, Treatment, and Outcomes: Implications for Child Welfare Workers Summary: Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant associated with serious health and psychiatric conditions, including heart damage and brain damage, impaired thinking and memory problems, aggression, violence, and psychotic behavior. Methamphetamine is also associated with the transmission of infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. Child welfare workers are seeing growing numbers of children and families affected by the parent’s use of methamphetamine. In order to make sound decisions for the benefit of children and families, child welfare workers need accurate information about methamphetamine, its effects on parents and their children, and the effectiveness of treatment. This paper presents the most current research in these areas, and offers recommendations for child welfare workers to help them identify and assist children and families affected by a parent’s use of methamphetamine. Details: Irvine, CA: National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare, 2006. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 22, 2013 at: http://www.ncsacw.samhsa.gov/files/Meth%20and%20Child%20Safety.pdf Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: http://www.ncsacw.samhsa.gov/files/Meth%20and%20Child%20Safety.pdf Shelf Number: 127704 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild WelfareMethamphetamines (U.S.) |
Author: Sheridan, Kathryn M. Title: Mental Health Outcomes, Social Functioning, and the Perspectives of Children from Methamphetamine-Involved Families in the Rural Midwest: Challenges and Strengths Summary: Social workers must confront a number of significant challenges as front-line workers in their efforts to provide appropriate prevention and intervention services to children from methamphetamine-involved, rural-dwelling families. Developing an understanding of children’s strengths as well as their limitations is necessary to the development of interventions that not only remediate deficits, but develop strengths. This cross-sectional, descriptive research describes the mental health, social functioning, and social context of 39 children aged 6 to15 from methamphetamine-involved families receiving child protective services in rural Illinois. An examination of how social context may provide protection from risks to children’s mental health and social competence posed by parent substance misuse was explored. Two illustrative cases of children experiencing differing levels of risk and protection are also presented. Mental health was assessed utilizing the Child Behavior Checklist and Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children and results indicate half of the children in this study were experiencing internalizing symptoms and over half were experiencing externalizing problem behavior based on the CBCL. Slightly less than half of the children were experiencing problems associated with dissociation, post-traumatic stress, anger, and depression and over half of children had clinically significant scores on one or more of the five TSCC subscales. As a group, children scored in the normal range on the CBCL Competence scales. This finding suggests that children had some level of protection from the risks associated with substance-affected homes. Children reported that they received social support from a variety of sources including immediate and extended family members. Importantly, family history of intergenerational substance misuse and the presence of a supportive grandparent were shown to be significantly related to children’s mental health and adaptive functioning. Details: Urbana-Champaign, IL: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2010. 120p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed March 5, 2013 at: https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/24045/Sheridan_Kathryn.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/24045/Sheridan_Kathryn.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 127847 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild WelfareDrug Use and AbuseMethamphetamine (U.S.)Rural Areas |
Author: Boxall, Hayley Title: Evaluation of the Family Group Conferencing Pilot Program Summary: The Family Group Conferencing pilot program was implemented by the NSW Government in response to recommendations made as part of the Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in NSW to increase the use of alternative dispute resolution prior to, and during, care and protection proceedings. There is no formal program other than the NSW Family Group Conferencing pilot program that provides alternative dispute resolution services for care and protection matters that are not currently before the Children’s Court. The use of Family Group Conferencing has provided an important opportunity to resolve child protection matters and build support networks for families outside of the court process. The NSW Department of Family and Community Services contracted the Australian Institute of Criminology in June 2011 to undertake a process and outcome evaluation of the pilot. This thorough evaluation of the program provides useful policy analysis of what makes Family Group Conferencing an effective alternative dispute resolution program within a government child care and protection system. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2012. 93p. Source: Internet Resource: Research and Public Policy Series no.121; Accessed March 7, 2013 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/rpp/121-140/rpp121.html Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/rpp/121-140/rpp121.html Shelf Number: 127863 Keywords: Alternative Dispute ResolutionChild ProtectionFamily Group Conferencing (Australia) |
Author: Brandon, Marian Title: Neglect and Serious Case Reviews. A report from the University of East Anglia commissioned by NSPCC Summary: This study provides a new contribution to our learning about neglect by exploring the circumstances in which neglect can be catastrophic and have a fatal or seriously harmful outcome for a child. It provides a systematic analysis of neglect in serious case reviews (local multi-agency reviews of child deaths or serious injury where abuse or neglect is known or suspected) in England, between 2003–2011. It draws on anonymised research information from over 800 cases from the four government commissioned national biennial analyses carried out by the authors, offering further analysis of the neglect cases that formed part of the most recent biennial analysis (Brandon et al 2012). While this examination of neglect in serious case reviews provides important new learning, it is essential to be clear about the limitations of the study. Serious case reviews are not a reflection of typical child protection practice. The constellation of neglect-related events and characteristics that came together in these cases to produce an outcome of fatality or grave injury cannot be distilled into a check list of risk factors that predict such an outcome. In most cases with similar characteristics, a child will not come to such catastrophic harm. Yet there is learning here about how risks of harm accumulate and combine and the points at which intervention might successfully have helped to contain these risks. The learning is as important for children known to universal services, where they do not see a social worker, as for children with known child protection risks. Details: London: National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 2013. 92p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 12, 2013 at: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/resourcesforprofessionals/neglect/neglect-scrs-pdf_wdf94689.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/resourcesforprofessionals/neglect/neglect-scrs-pdf_wdf94689.pdf Shelf Number: 127921 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (U.K.)Child FatalitiesChild Protection |
Author: Children's Rights Alliance Title: Safe Care for Trafficked Children in Ireland: Developing a Protective Environment Summary: This report focuses on developments in care for trafficked children in Ireland with a specific aim of outlining current practice in Ireland in relation to the provision of safe and appropriate accommodation, care, supports, and legal protection to trafficked children or those children suspected of being trafficked. The report is based on a series of interviews carried out by the research team between September and December 2011, on child trafficking, with professionals in the areas of child welfare, care, education, and advocacy. It also incorporates written feedback received between December 2011 and May 2012 from the HSE, AHTU, Irish Refugee Council, Immigrant Council of Ireland and Barnardos on draft reports. Furthermore, it draws on publicly available information on child trafficking in Ireland and internationally. Up to now the public discussion on child trafficking in Ireland has largely focused on the known cases of separated children and the vulnerability of this particular group. Until the end of 2010, responsibility for the care of this group of children lay largely with the Separated Children Seeking Asylum team of the HSEB who have developed insight and expertise in this area. This can now be utilised in the transition to the new care arrangements for separated children. There is another emerging group of nonmigrant children who are being trafficked in Ireland. We understand that there have been prosecutions and other cases are under investigation and are therefore not discussed in this report. Information was not available on these cases at the time of writing the report. Nevertheless, our recommendations on safe care provisions are applicable to all groups of trafficked children or children vulnerable to trafficking. Trafficking is a contentious term and while international and national definitions have been developed, we have found that understandings in practice can differ, leading to variations of approach and perspective. The report comprises of five sections plus a section on conclusions and recommendations arising from the research exercise. Section 1, ‘Child Trafficking: Brief Overview and Key Policy Responses’, offers an outline of child trafficking, including key policy directions and practices, with a focus on current developments in the area. Section 2, ‘Separated children and Service Provision in Ireland: A Service in Transition’ looks at the context in which services have transitioned from a largely Dublin based hostel system of provision to a national fostering based service for separated and trafficked children. Section 3, ‘Child Trafficking: Key Concerns’ addresses three specific issues which emerged from this research namely missing children, family reunification and aftercare. Section 4, ‘Training’ highlights areas where training needs are most crucial including identification of those children and young people who are trafficked or at risk of being trafficked, developing resources in responding to their care needs, awareness of security and safety issues as well as developing cultural competency. Section 5, ‘Public Awareness Campaigning’ examines the role of various advocacy and awareness raising campaigns as well as the issue of the development of a dedicated missing children hotline. Finally, Section 6, ‘Developing a Protective Environment: Conclusions and Recommendations’ brings together some important issues as identified in this research which could inform practice in the area of safe care for trafficked children going forward. Details: Dublin: Children's Rights Alliance, 2012. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed march 15, 2013 at: http://www.childrensrights.ie/sites/default/files/submissions_reports/files/SafeCareForTraffickedChildrenInIrelandReport.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Ireland URL: http://www.childrensrights.ie/sites/default/files/submissions_reports/files/SafeCareForTraffickedChildrenInIrelandReport.pdf Shelf Number: 127963 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual ExploitationChild Trafficking (Ireland)Human Trafficking |
Author: New South Wales. Ombudsman Title: Responding to Child Sexual Assault in Aboriginal Communities A report under Part 6A of the Community Services (Complaints, Reviews and Monitoring) Act 1993 Summary: This report outlines the findings and recommendations from our audit of the implementation of the NSW Interagency Plan to Tackle Child Sexual Assault in Aboriginal Communities. The Interagency Plan was released in January 2007 and operated for five years. Approximately $60 million was earmarked for implementing Interagency Plan initiatives. The Plan committed 11 government agenciesii and a number of non-government organisations to implementing 88 actions. The goals underpinning the Interagency Plan recognise that child sexual assault in Aboriginal communities cannot be tackled in isolation of the broader issues of disadvantage – including poor health, education and employment outcomes, and the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in the child protection and criminal justice systems. In response to recommendation 18.1 of the Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services, the Ombudsman was required to audit the implementation of the Interagency Plan. When Justice Wood assessed what the Interagency Plan had achieved in its early years, he found that it had generated significant levels of activity but it was ‘difficult to assess’ the actual impact on Aboriginal communities, or on those children who are experiencing or are at risk of sexual abuse. Throughout the period of the Plan’s implementation, a range of major initiatives have been introduced. In particular, the reforms to the child protection system arising from the Special Commission of Inquiry and the Government’s response, Keep Them Safe, as well as a range of initiatives linked to the National Indigenous Reform Agreement, settled by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in November 2008. In August 2011, several months before the Interagency Plan was due to end, the NSW Government established a Ministerial Taskforce in recognition of the need to improve service delivery and accountability in Aboriginal affairs and, in particular, to improve employment and educational outcomes for Aboriginal people in NSW. Although the Ministerial Taskforce has not specifically focused on the issue of child sexual assault, it has recognised the strong alignment between its commitment to building strong accountability across government and what is required to properly address child sexual assault in Aboriginal communities into the future. Throughout our audit, we have used a series of inquiries to focus agencies’ attention on issues that need to be addressed if specific child protection strategies are to have an impact, especially in high-need locations. Two of these inquiries have culminated in reports to Parliament – Inquiry into service provision to the Bourke and Brewarrina communities (December 2010) and Addressing Aboriginal Disadvantage: the need to do things differently (October 2011). We also issued a confidential report provided directly to lead agencies about our review of a group of schoolaged children in two Western NSW towns (July 2012). Each report highlights measures needed to create an environment where child wellbeing is paramount and communities can thrive, thereby paving the way for more effective child sexual abuse prevention measures. These reports, collectively, constitute our formal report to the Minister on our audit. Details: Sydney: NSW Ombudsman, 2012. 310p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 18, 2013 at: http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/7961/ACSA-report-web1.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/7961/ACSA-report-web1.pdf Shelf Number: 127995 Keywords: AboriginalsChild Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse (Australia)Indigenous Peoples |
Author: Netherlands Youth Institute Title: What Works in Tackling Child Abuse and Neglect? A manual for policy makers, managers & professionals Summary: Effective tackling of child abuse and neglect requires a sustainable care continuum for preventing and treating child abuse and neglect, embedded in a national framework. In addition, the implementation of effective policies and services should be founded on practice and evidencebased knowledge. There is also a need for ensuring and implementing integratedworking. At last, policy and practice should be based on the empowerment and participation of children and parents. These are the general conclusions of the manual ‘What works in tackling child abuse and neglect?’. This manual also contains specific conclusions and recommendations about the various steps in the care continuum around child abuse and neglect (CAN) and integrated working in relation to tackling CAN. The manual is directed at policy makers, managers and professionals. Details: Utrecht: Netherlands Youth Institute, 2013. 88p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 22, 2013 at: http://www.youthpolicy.nl/yp/downloadsyp/downloadsyp-What-works-in-tackling-child-abuse-and-neglect.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Netherlands URL: http://www.youthpolicy.nl/yp/downloadsyp/downloadsyp-What-works-in-tackling-child-abuse-and-neglect.pdf Shelf Number: 128071 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (Netherlands)Child Protection |
Author: Plan Asia Title: Asia Child Marriage Initiative: Summary of Research in Bangladesh, India and Nepal Summary: Child marriage is one of the most prevalent and serious violations of human rights. The issue needs urgent attention in South Asia, where 46 per cent of children are married formally or in informal union before they are 18. Girls are significantly more likely than boys to be married as children – 30 per cent of girls aged 15-19 years are currently married or in union in South Asia, compared to just 5 per cent of boys in the same age bracket. So why does child marriage happen when we know that the social, economic and human costs are so high? The answer lies in how deeply rooted child marriage is in the social norms of many societies, fuelled by tradition, religion and poverty. Awareness of the legalities of child marriage – it’s outlawed in most countries around the world – has little bearing on behaviour because customary laws, social norms and poverty-driven economic needs often trump national policies and legislation. Child marriage is a far-reaching issue that impacts not only the lives of the children who are married, but also the lives of those around them. When girls marry young, before their minds and bodies are fully developed, they often become pregnant long before they are ready. Pregnancy is the number one cause of death among girls aged 15-19 worldwide. Child marriage also reinforces the gendered nature of poverty, with limited education and skills bringing down the potential of the girl, her family, her community and her country. These impacts extend throughout a girl’s adult life and into the next generation. Plan International’s global Because I am a Girl (BIAAG) campaign focuses on child marriage as a key barrier to progress in child rights. Child Marriage and Girls’ Education – Plan’s first global report on this issue – focuses on the links between these two critical areas of child development. In Asia, Plan has designed the Asia Child Marriage Initiative (ACMI) to help prevent child marriage and mitigate its negative consequences on children, families and communities. Plan has worked closely with the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) on the qualitative study presented here to give child marriage the attention it deserves and help us better understand where we’re at with the issue in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. The study brings out the influence of gender norms and their interplay with the aspirations of girls and their families. The probe into the role of village-based institutions and children’s organisations has given valuable insight into how communities can be engaged to be part of the solution. Some emerging trends, like child-initiated marriages, have also been unearthed by the study, and these will require further investigation. Details: Bangkok, Thailand: Plan Asia, 2013. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 25, 2013 at: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/PLAN%20ASIA%20Child%20Marriage-3%20Country%20Study.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Thailand URL: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/PLAN%20ASIA%20Child%20Marriage-3%20Country%20Study.pdf Shelf Number: 128129 Keywords: Child Marriage (Thailand)Child ProtectionForced Marriage |
Author: Wenke, Daja Title: Children Trafficked for Exploitation in Begging and Criminality: A challenge for law enforcement and child protection Summary: In 2002, the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) established an Expert Group for Cooperation on Children at Risk (EGCC), a group of representatives from the ministries responsible for child policy in the CBSS Member States. The Expert Group set up the Children’s Unit within the CBSS international secretariat and created a special regional framework for cooperation on child rights and child protection. Through its programmes, the EGCC has addressed the situation of unaccompanied and trafficked children in the region since 20031. In all CBSS Member States, children are known to be exposed to exploitation, including in the context of trafficking. The national governments have committed to address child trafficking, nationally as well as through the regional cooperation of the CBSS, within the European Union and the Council of Europe. Significant progress has been achieved in setting up structures and measures for the identification and referral of child victims, the investigation of cases and the prosecution of perpetrators. Yet, only few children are officially identified and registered as victims of trafficking each year. Service providers report higher numbers, based on their experience of working with child victims and children at risk. The experience with addressing child trafficking in the region is concentrated mainly on cases of sexual exploitation. There is, however, evidence and a growing awareness that children are exposed to many different and multiple forms of exploitation. An area that has thus far received limited attention is the exploitation of children in begging and criminal activities. With the adoption of the new EU Directive on human trafficking in 2011, governments have specifically committed to address these forms of exploitation. It is therefore timely to document and share the experience made with these types of cases as well as related good practice and challenges. In many European countries, children are known to be involved in begging and other street based activities or in criminal activities such as petty crime, burglary, stealing, and drug dealing. The children concerned include nationals and non-nationals from within the EU and from third countries. Although the authorities at the local and central levels of European States are aware of these cases, there is little evidence as to whether the children are exploited and if they are victims of trafficking. They are often looked at as ‘street children’, children in conflict with the law, or migrant and asylum seeking children. In the case of Roma children, their involvement in begging, other street based activities or petty crime is often perceived according to common stereotypes as a ‘cultural issue’ and a ‘personal choice’ that is not condoned but tolerated. The possible links to organised exploitation and trafficking are not necessarily recognised and investigated. Child protection services and law enforcement agencies are equally struggling to identify and understand these cases and to respond in an appropriate way that is child-centred and rights-based. Their attempts to safeguard the rights of the children and remove them from the risky or exploitative situations do not always succeed. Some children consent to cooperating with the police, to exit the exploitative situations and to accept the services they are being offered. Others refuse and their motivations are manifold. In order to investigate the challenges that child protection services and law enforcement agencies are confronted with when addressing these cases, the EGCC launched the programme ‘Children trafficked for exploitation in begging and criminality: A challenge for law enforcement and child protection’. The programme builds on the outcomes of a regional conference on child trafficking organised by the EGCC and the Norwegian Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion in June 20113. The conference identified concrete challenges and difficulties that law enforcement and child protection services are confronted with when investigating and responding to the cases of children involved in begging and criminal activities. Details: Stockholm: Council of the Baltic Sea States Child Centre, Expert Group for Cooperation on Children at Risk, 2013. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 26, 2013 at: http://www.childcentre.info/public/Childtrafficking_begging_crime.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Europe URL: http://www.childcentre.info/public/Childtrafficking_begging_crime.pdf Shelf Number: 128140 Keywords: Child BeggingChild ProtectionChild Sexual ExploitationChild Trafficking (Lithuana, Poland, Norway, SwedeStreet Children |
Author: Mathews, Shanaaz Title: Child Homicide Patterns in South Africa: Is There a Link to Child Abuse? Summary: The South African Constitution’s Bill of Rights provides children the right to care and protection, yet thousands of children experience abuse daily (physical/sexual and psychological). Not much is known about child homicides in South Africa. Only one South African study using data from the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System (NIMSS) for four urban areas among 0-14 year olds report homicide rates following similar patterns to global rates, with the highest rate among young male children aged 0-4 years. Of significance, studies from high income countries indicate that a substantial proportion of child homicides are due to child abuse and neglect, including physical and sexual abuse as well as neglect and negligent behaviour. Generally younger children are most at risk of fatal child abuse and neglect due to their dependence on carers and inability to protect themselves. The Gender & Health Research Unit of the South African Medical Research Council has completed a national study of child homicides in 2009 and this research brief summarises its findings on the magnitude of child homicide and deaths related to child abuse and neglect. Key Findings • Three children a day are murdered in South Africa • South Africa has an overall child homicide rate of 5.5/100 000 population • Child homicide in South Africa has a distinct gender pattern with more younger age girl children murdered and an increase in male homicide during adolescence • The teenage male homicide rate of 21.7/100 000 population is excessive and mirrors the pattern of adult male homicide • Nearly half (44.5%) of all child homicides were due to child abuse and neglect • 16% of all child homicides were due to abandonment within the first week of life. Details: Tygerberg, South Africa: South African Medical Research Council, 2012. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Brief: Accessed April 4, 2013 at: http://www.mrc.ac.za/policybriefs/childhomicide.pdf Year: 2012 Country: South Africa URL: http://www.mrc.ac.za/policybriefs/childhomicide.pdf Shelf Number: 128210 Keywords: Child AbandonmentChild Abuse and NeglectChild Homicides (South Africa)Child Protection |
Author: Great Britain. Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) Title: Missing Children Summary: Children represented approximately two thirds of the estimated 360,000 missing person incidents in 2009–10. Children in care are three times more likely to go missing from their home than children who are not in care. However, due to the unreliability of available data, it is likely that the true scale of the problem is not fully understood. A number of recent high-profile court cases concerning child sexual exploitation and high-profile inquiries have highlighted the vulnerability of children who go missing, and the associated risks of sexual exploitation. The government published proposals to tackle child sexual exploitation in November 2011 and announced urgent action to look at the quality of residential care for looked after children in July 2012. This report explores the effectiveness of arrangements to safeguard children and young people, including those who are looked after by the local authority, who are at risk of going missing or running away from home. Inspectors visited a sample of 10 local authority areas. The report draws on evidence from 105 cases and from the views of children and young people, carers, and professionals from the local authority and from partner agencies. The complex and varied reasons identified on a national basis why children go missing were reflected in the nature of the cases seen by inspectors. Children’s histories included inadequate parenting, past or current abuse, bullying and domestic violence. Some children who were looked after had experienced several placement moves. Children who went missing were subjected to considerable associated risk, most often from sexual exploitation, drug and alcohol abuse, and becoming the victim or perpetrator of crime. Inspectors saw evidence of some tenacious partnership working across relevant agencies to safeguard children at risk of going missing. Information was generally shared effectively when children were reported missing and there were some persistent efforts by professionals to engage children. However, some inconsistency and gaps in practice meant that professionals were not always fully attuned to the needs of children who went missing. For example, it was not often clear whether checks, usually undertaken by police officers, to ensure that children were safe and well after returning home had been undertaken. When they had been, the outcomes of the checks were often not routinely shared with carers and professionals. Similarly, more in-depth return interviews with children by an independent person to explore the reasons why they had run away and to identify any support needs were rarely evident. Updated risk management plans that identified specific actions to be taken to prevent children from running away and to keep them safe were rarely evident in the cases seen by inspectors. The lack of routine attention to learning from the experiences of children also contributed to a generally weak understanding at a senior level of the reasons why children go missing. Strategic planning of services to reduce the number of children who go missing was underdeveloped in most local authorities and was hindered further by some poor record management and unreliable data systems. There was, however, an increasing awareness of several related issues, particularly sexual exploitation, which was supported by relevant training. Nearly all of the cases tracked by inspectors displayed a sensitive and child-centred approach to protecting children who went missing. However, some evidence heard by inspectors about some professionals’ attitudes suggests there is no room for complacency. Details: Manchester, UK; Ofsted, 2013. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 4, 2013 at: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/missing-children Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/missing-children Shelf Number: 128261 Keywords: At-risk YouthChild ProtectionChild Sexual ExploitationMissing Children (U.K.)Runaways |
Author: Great Britain. Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) Title: Running away Young people’s views on running away from care Reported by the Children’s Rights Director for England Summary: We asked children and young people in care or living away from home in residential education for their views at a big consultation event we held in the north of England. We invited children from different local authorities across the country, and did not just choose children we already knew or who were already in local participation groups or Children in Care Councils. We asked the children for their views in a series of discussion groups. At the same event, we ran other discussion groups to ask children and young people for their views on two other subjects for our next reports. These were keeping out of trouble and the use of physical restraint. We also visited a group of children at a northern local authority to discuss running away from care. Some of the children we met had run away from care themselves, some had thought about running away but had decided not to run. Some knew about running from care from other people, and others had no experience of their own about running from care, but gave us their thoughts on the subject. We did not ask children to declare to us or in front of others whether or not they had themselves run away from care – but many told us they had, and gave us their experiences. Altogether we held 10 discussion groups on the subject of running away. Each group was led by a member of the Office of the Children’s Rights Director, and another member of our team took notes of the views the children gave. Parents, carers, staff members and other adults who had brought children and young people to our discussion groups were not with the children during the discussions, so that the children could freely talk about their views. The only exception to this was that two members of staff of the local authority we visited did stay with the discussion group there. We gave children a shopping token to thank them for taking part in our discussions, and they were also able to take part in activities for young people at the activity centre where we held all but one of our discussions. At that centre, we also set up some electronic screens on which children could enter more views while they were waiting for our groups, or waiting to join activities, or during the lunch break. The answers typed on to those screens have been used in this report alongside what was said in the discussion groups. As in all our discussion groups, we asked open questions for discussion, but did not suggest any answers. We told the children and young people that they did not have to agree on any ‘group views’, but could give different views, could disagree without having to argue for their views against anyone else, and we would write down all their different views. We asked many of the same questions that we had asked six years before, for our 2006 report on running away, to see whether children’s views and experiences were different now and then. What is in this report is, as far as we could note them down, all the views given by the children and young people in the discussion groups, not our own views. We have not added our comments. We have not left out any views we might disagree with, or which the government, councils, professionals or researchers might disagree with. Where we have used a direct quote from what a child or young person said, this is either something that summarises well what many had said in a group, or something that was a clear way of putting a different idea from what others had said. As with all our reports of children’s views, we have done our best to write this report so that it can be easily read by young people themselves, by professionals working with young people and by politicians. Details: Manchester, UK: Ofsted, 2012. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 4, 2013 at: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/running-away-2012 Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/running-away-2012 Shelf Number: 128262 Keywords: Child ProtectionMissing from CareRunaways (U.K.) |
Author: Smeaton, Emilie Title: Struggling to Survive: Children Living Alone on the Streets in Tanzania and Kenya Summary: Children living alone on the streets are often referred to as ʻstreet childrenʼ both in general discourse and within literature describing aspects of their lives and policy or practice responses to meet their needs. This report does not refer to children who live on the streets or participated in the research as ʻstreet childrenʼ as this term can be used in a range of ways, for example to describe children who live on the streets with their families, work on the streets or spend time on the streets but return to their family home. The term ʻstreet childrenʼ also emphasises the role of the streets when, as the findings of this report reveal, inherent to these childrenʼs lives are their experiences prior to coming to the streets and in environments away from the streets. These children are first and foremost children and have the same rights as any other children to a life free from risk or harm where they can develop and reach their potential. Therefore they should not be labelled by where they live but recognised as individual children with diverse characteristics and needs. The children that this research addresses live full-time on the streets and do not return home at night to live with their family or other carers. There is a significant body of research addressing children and youths who live on the streets in different parts of the world. It is important to recognise that there is considerable diversity in the experiences of children who live on the streets dependent upon personal circumstances and characteristics alongside the environments where they live. The voices of children who live on the streets is lacking from a number of research studies addressing their lives and recommended responses to meet their needs. With this in mind, Railway Children made a strategic decision to undertake qualitative research in Tanzania and Kenya. The findings of the research will support the expansion of Railway Childrenʼs work in these two countries and the development of a programme of work aiming to meet the needs of children living alone on the streets ensuring positive outcomes for these children. The aims of the research were to: n capture, in their words, the experiences of children in Tanzania and Kenya, who live alone on the streets for four weeks or more whilst under the age of 16; n present an up-to-date and realistic perspective of what it means to be alone and on the streets in Tanzania and Kenya; n provide a robust evidence base addressing the lives and experiences of children living alone on the streets in Tanzania and Kenya; n identify a range of policy and practice recommendations to meet the needs of children who live alone on the streets in Tanzania and Kenya. It is important to outline that the focus of the research was to gain the views and experiences of children who are particularly vulnerable and marginalised such as those who have never received any services and are not known to service providers, or those who are known to service providers but whose cases are particularly complex and current service provision has not been able to meet their needs. However, children who were away from home for four weeks or more but have accessed services also participated in the research as it was important to include their views and experiences of the services available. For example, a small number of the children who participated in the research have stayed in centres for children who live on the streets or have been supported to return to their families. Details: Sandbach, UK: Railway Children; Mwanza, Tanzania: Railway Children Africa, 2011? 91p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 4, 2013 at: http://www.railwaychildren.org.uk/media/26247/_struggling_to_survive__-_children_living_alone_on_the_streets_of_tanzania___kenya_-_full_report.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Africa URL: http://www.railwaychildren.org.uk/media/26247/_struggling_to_survive__-_children_living_alone_on_the_streets_of_tanzania___kenya_-_full_report.pdf Shelf Number: 128264 Keywords: Child ProtectionHomelessnessStreet Children (Tanzania, Kenya) |
Author: Gallagher, Margaret Title: Helpline Highlight: Northern Ireland: A year in review April 2011-March 2012 Summary: The NSPCC has provided a helpline in Northern Ireland for the last 25 years, as part of a UK-wide service. The helpline protects children by providing advice and information to adults and professionals, and by making referrals to trusts and the police when necessary. People can get in touch by telephone, text, email or online. Those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can make contact by textphone or webcam. In 2011/121, over 44,000 people across the UK reported concerns about children, a 29 per cent increase on the previous year. This report, however, explores the data available for Northern Ireland. It identifies the numbers of adults in Northern Ireland who contacted the helpline, the nature of the concerns they had about children, the length of time they waited before getting in touch, and the number of cases the helpline had to refer to Northern Ireland children’s services or police. These topline statistics have been supplemented by an in depth review of 200 Northern Ireland contacts that resulted in a referral to social services or police. This report features anonymised quotes from some of these contacts, to provide the reader with a sense of the nature and content of these cases. Key findings • In 2011/12 the helpline responded to 691 contacts from people in Northern Ireland. • This is an increase of 58 per cent on the previous year. • 353 of the contacts in 2011/12 resulted in referrals – involving 717 children – to children’s services or the police in NI (1.7 per cent of all referrals made by the helpline across the UK). • 338 were contacts where helpline counsellors2 provided information or advice, helping an estimated 676 children (1.6 per cent of the total number of advice calls dealt by the helpline across the UK). • Neglect was the leading cause for referrals (138 cases, 39 per cent); it accounted for 12 per cent of cases where we offered advice (40 contacts). • 14 per cent of referrals (50) were about sexual abuse. This is higher than the UK average, which was 10 per cent. • 289 children (45 per cent) involved in referrals were under six years old3. • In total, 138 people contacting us from Northern Ireland reported that they had concerns for more than a month, with 68 of these being so serious we had to make referrals. • In cases where the concerns were so significant we had to make referrals, 41 people (32 per cent)4 had waited more than six months before getting in touch (compared to 26 per cent for the rest of the UK). • The majority of contacts leading to referrals came from members of the public, not from family members or professionals. Details: London: NSPCC, 2013. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 5, 2013 at: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/research/helpline/helpline-highlight-northern-ireland-pdf_wdf94910.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/research/helpline/helpline-highlight-northern-ireland-pdf_wdf94910.pdf Shelf Number: 128291 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (Northern Ireland)Child MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse |
Author: Harker, Lisa Title: How Safe Are Our Children? Summary: This report compiles the most robust and up-to-date child protection data that exists across each of the four nations in the UK. It sets out 19 different indicators and each indicator looks at the question from a different perspective. These indicators will be regularly updated as new statistics are published. The report allows us not only to understand how many children are being abused and neglected, but also to track progress so that society can be held to account for its responsibility to children. Only by monitoring the extent of child abuse and neglect in the UK can we judge whether efforts to prevent maltreatment and to protect children are working. The report finds that in some ways today's children are safer from abuse and neglect than those of previous generations but worrying levels of abuse still remain. Even though there has been an increase in the number of children being made subject to child protection plans or registers, the report finds that: "for every child subject to a child protection plan or on a child protection register in the UK, we estimate that there are likely to be around eight other children who have suffered maltreatment." The report also looks at nine key risk factors that can put children at an increased risk of maltreatment. Details: London: NSPCC, 2013. 90p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 22, 2013 at: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/research/findings/howsafe/how-safe-2013-report_wdf95435.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/research/findings/howsafe/how-safe-2013-report_wdf95435.pdf Shelf Number: 128427 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (U.K.)Child MaltreatmentChild Protection |
Author: International Organization for Migration (IOM) Title: Children on the Move Summary: Millions of children are on the move, both within and between countries, with or without their parents. The conditions under which movement takes place are often treacherous, putting migrant children, especially unaccompanied and separated children, at an increased risk of economic or sexual exploitation, abuse, neglect and violence. Policy responses to protect and support these migrant children are often fragmented and inconsistent and while children on the move have become a recognised part of today's global and mixed migration flows they are still largely invisible in debates on both child protection and migration. This publication targets policymakers and practitioners in the field of migration and child protection, along with academics and activists, and sheds light on the situation of migrant children. The publication is the result of a collective effort by a number of specialists from different organizations, was edited by Mike Dottridge (an independent child rights specialist) and includes a foreword by Professor François Crépeau (United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants). Table of Contents •Preface •Introduction to six articles by members of the research subgroup of the Inter-Agency Working Group •Children on the move: A different voice •Migrant children in child labour: A vulnerable group in need of attention •Unaccompanied migrant children and legal guardianship in the context of returns: The missing links between host countries and countries of origin •Protecting and supporting children on the move: Translating principles into practice •Challenges faced in protecting children on the move: An NGO perspective •Children’s migration: Towards a multidimensional child protection perspective. Details: Geneva, SWIT: IOM, 2013. 114p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 25, 2013 at: http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=41_7&products_id=936 Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=41_7&products_id=936 Shelf Number: 128492 Keywords: Child ProtectionImmigration (International)Migrant Children |
Author: Asian Centre for Human Rights Title: Assam: The State of Juvenile Justice Summary: The State of Assam has been consistently ranking top in juvenile delinquency among the eight north eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. In 2011, Assam topped the list with 405 cases (402 of IPC1 crimes and 3 SLL2 crimes), followed by Meghalaya with 98 IPC crimes, Arunachal Pradesh with 78 IPC crimes, Tripura with 73 IPC crimes, Sikkim with 63 IPC crimes, and Mizoram with 58 IPC crimes. Figures of Manipur were not available in the 2011 NCRB report. At the same time, Assam also topped the list of States in India as per the ‘Study on Child Abuse India 2007’ carried out in 13 states by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India. Assam with 84.65% had the highest prevalence of physical abuse of children who faced one or more forms of physical abuse. While 56.37% children in institutions across the country were subjected to physical abuse by staff members of the institutions, in Assam the study reported 90.20% of physical abuse of children in institutional care homes i.e. juvenile homes. Assam with 57.27% had the highest percentage of sexual abuse of those children who faced one or more forms of sexual abuse. The administration of juvenile justice remains equally deplorable. There is acute shortage of homes for juveniles in conflict with the law as well as children in need of care and protection. Assam with 27 districts is the second largest but the most populated state in the north east India but there are only 4 Observation Homes and 3 Children Homes run by the state. These homes are confined to Kamrup, Nagaon and Jorhat district while the shelter homes run by NGOs are located in Guwahati. While the Jorhat Observation Home set up in 1987 caters to over 11 districts — Jorhat, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Sivasagar, Lakhimpur, Darrang, Udalguri and Sonitpur. Trafficking prone districts like Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang, Bongaigaon etc do not have any home. Assam’s negligence of juvenile justice is astounding. It failed to set up 7 new Open Shelters during 2011 despite availability of funds under the ICPS! Because of this failure the PAB declined to accept the request for grants for 3 existing Open Shelters at the 45th PAB meeting on 11th July 2012 under the ICPS. Instead, the PAB advised Assam to submit separate proposal for additional Open Shelters based on the findings/recommendations of the survey on street children that it had carried across Assam through Jayaprakash Institute of Social Change, a Kolkata based technical resource agency. The Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) constituted in all 27 districts of the state remain highly non-functional. Out of the 596 cases registered in 18 districts of Assam during 1st January 2011-31st December 2011, 347 cases were pending. The State Child Protection Society (SCPS), Assam failed to specifically provide the total number of reviews done by the State Government on the pendency of cases before each of the CWCs since their constitution. The SCPS only stated that State level review is being done from time to time. Assam has constituted Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) in all 27 districts of Assam9 but their functioning remains seriously problematic. At the latest i.e. the 45th Project Approval Board (PAB) Meeting under Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) held on 11th July 2012, the PAB expressed concern about the high pendency (1,635) at the JJB and suggested to increasing the sittings of the JJBs. Information received under the RTI revealed that percentage of pendency of cases before the JJBs range from minimum 33.3% in Udalguri district to maximum of 100% in Dhemaji and Morigaon district followed by 90.2% in Goalpara district and 79.3% in Darrang district and requires serious consideration. The problem is compounded by the lack of review of the pendency of cases of the JJBs by the Chief Judicial Magistrate or CMM as required under section 14(2) of the JJ (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Act, 2006. Replies received from JJBs under the RTI stated that not a single review of the pendency of cases before the JJBs has been conducted by the CMM or CJM in Kokrajhar district; Dibrugarh district; Darrang district; Lakhimpur district; Udalguri district; Dhubri district; Goalpara district; Barpeta district; Golaghat district; Morigaon district; Chirang district; Dhemaji district and Nagaon district from date of their constitution till 30th March 2012. It has been observed that there is complete lack of enforcement of penal provisions in the JJ(C&P) Act, 2000 (as amended in 2006) in Assam. Sections 23-27 of the JJ(C&P) Act, 2000 provides for protections to Juvenile in the form of penalties and punishments to perpetrators accused of cruelty and exploitation against the juvenile or child. Information obtained by ACHR under the RTI Act, 2005 revealed that none of these protective provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act has been enforced in most districts of Assam. Not a single case under any of the above provisions of the JJ (C&P) Act, 2000 (as amended in 200) has been registered in these districts. Details: New Delhi: Asian Centre for Human Rights, 2012. 96p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 25, 2013 at: http://www.achrweb.org/reports/india/JJ-Assam-2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: India URL: http://www.achrweb.org/reports/india/JJ-Assam-2012.pdf Shelf Number: 128493 Keywords: Child ProtectionJuvenile DelinquencyJuvenile DetentionJuvenile Justice Systems (India)Juvenile Offenders |
Author: Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children Title: Ending Legalised Violence against Children. Global Report 2012 Summary: We live in a time of incredible change – relentless political and social upheaval (for better or worse), technological advances, ever more and faster methods of communicating and information sharing…. It seems that little stays the same for long. But the pace of change in how we treat children remains stubbornly slow. It is shocking that at this point in the 21st century we are still fighting entrenched attitudes that hitting children is OK or even a duty. On the one hand this situation makes all the more remarkable the achievements of the 33 states which have enacted laws to prohibit corporal punishment and are now focusing their efforts on ensuring the laws are implemented and that children can live their lives free from violence at the hands of those who care for them. But on the other hand it exposes the low status that children still have in too many societies, a failure to regard them as fully human and holders of human rights, and a refusal to perceive their ongoing subjection to physical and emotional assault in their own homes and in places of learning as a serious violation of their fundamental human rights that should be rectified immediately. We can rightly celebrate the progress described in these pages, but we can equally question why it is that so many children are yet to benefit from full legal protection from all forms of corporal punishment in all settings of their lives. In last year’s Global Report, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, who led the UN Secretary General’s Study on Violence against Children, drew attention to the target of 2009 which the Study report set for prohibition of all legalised violence against children: “Yes this was wildly over-optimistic – but how could we justifiably be ‘realistic’ about the time it takes to convince governments to prohibit such obvious human rights violations against their youngest citizens? How could we be true to children and yet condemn another whole generation to suffer childhoods scarred by deliberate and legalised adult violence?” This report documents increasing numbers of active campaigns in all regions: we must work together to insist that states fulfil their obligations to the present generation of children. Details: Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children; Save the Children Sweden, 2012. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 1, 2013 at: http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/pages/pdfs/reports/GlobalReport2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/pages/pdfs/reports/GlobalReport2012.pdf Shelf Number: 128589 Keywords: Child MaltreatmentChild ProtectionCorporal Punishment (International)Violence Against Children |
Author: Feeny, Thomas Title: In Best or Vested Interests? An Exploration of the Concept and Practice of Family Reunification for Street Children Summary: As the movement advocating children’s participation in their own life decisions gathered pace in the late 1990s and early 21st century, governments were left with increasingly few options given their continued antipathy to the presence of these children on the streets. NGOs had begun to take the initiative by offering non-formal education opportunities and vocational training to try and give children the skills to get themselves off the streets, but these efforts continued to struggle in the wider context of a society still very much averse to the mere existence of these children. The response taken by many was therefore to move towards preventive or ‘early’ intervention, spurred on by better understandings of the multiple factors both pushing and pulling children onto the streets. It was into this arena that family reunification programmes emerged – the main characteristics being (a) recognition of the family as the most sustainable partner with regard to the children’s welfare; (b) an acknowledgement that the original causes of family separation need addressing and resolving; and (b) a belief that this can be achieved through procedural and participatory counseling of the child and/or the family members concerned. To suggest that these ideas were completely new would be wrong – as noted earlier, the importance of the family environment had already been emphasised in both religious ideals and the legal provisions of the CRC. Rather, it was that the context proved more fertile to such programmes, with the touted high-profile success of reunification strategies targeting children affected by war, such as Rwanda in the late 1990s. Family-partnered interventions were also in tune with contemporary donor demands for sustainability and participation, while also allowing NGOs to claim such programmes as morally and ethically ‘correct’ and in the ‘best interests’ of the child. Unfortunately, the most important question of methodology – how this reunification process should best be performed – remains unclear. Whatever the motivation behind them, family reunification programmes are now rapidly taking off in many countries around the world, in spite of the inherent methodological uncertainty. Already, organisations have begun to proudly proclaim 80-90% success rates for their reunification programmes, and more and more of their fellow agencies are showing signs of interest. This study sets out to go ‘behind the scenes’ of family reunification programmes from a number of perspectives. In Part One, it will look at the conceptual theory that underpins this intervention, and examine how constructions of the ‘family’ and the ‘child’ have influenced policy making in this field. It will then reconsider these in light of contemporary research material on the social realities of street children’s lives. Part Two will then explore the practical issues relating to the entire process of reunification itself, from the early stages of identifying children on the streets to monitoring their welfare in the weeks and months after reunification with their family. A final Conclusion will then discuss the findings of the study and its implications for organisations operating or considering starting family reunification programmes with street children. Areas for future research are also highlighted. Details: London: Consortium for Street Children, 2005. 65p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 3, 2013 at: http://www.streetchildren.org.uk/_uploads/Publications/In_Best_or_Vested_Interests.pdf Year: 2005 Country: International URL: http://www.streetchildren.org.uk/_uploads/Publications/In_Best_or_Vested_Interests.pdf Shelf Number: 128612 Keywords: Child ProtectionFamily Reunification ProgramsHomeless PersonsHomeless YouthRunawaysStreet Children |
Author: Spielberger, Julie Title: Building a System of Support for Evidence-Based Home Visitation Programs in Illinois: Findings from Year 3 of the Strong Foundations Evaluation Summary: In the fall of 2009, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), in collaboration with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), and the Home Visiting Task Force (HVTF) of the Early Learning Council began the implementation of Strong Foundations. Funded by the Children’s Bureau, Illinois was one of 17 grantees in 15 states to receive funding for 5 years to support the implementation, scale-up, and sustainability of evidence-based home visiting programs for the prevention of child maltreatment. Drawing primarily from interviews with state-level informants, program directors and supervisors at a sample of local programs, focus groups and surveys with home visitors, and analysis of administrative records, these reports from the first three years of implementation provide findings and recommendations on aspects of the state-level structures and supports for evidence-based home visitation services, as well as program implementation and quality. These recommendations fall into several areas, including local system building; staff development and training; monitoring and quality assurance; and communication. The report also notes that despite a number of challenges to system building, strong advocacy and leadership in the state, growing collaborations at the local community level, and sustained participation by a wide range of stakeholders provide a good foundation to meet those challenges. Details: Chicago: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, 2013. 201p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 4, 2013 at: http://www.chapinhall.org/research/report/building-system-support-evidence-based-home-visitation-programs-illinois-early-findi-2 Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.chapinhall.org/research/report/building-system-support-evidence-based-home-visitation-programs-illinois-early-findi-2 Shelf Number: 128652 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild Maltreatment (Illinois)Child ProtectionEvidence-Based ProgramsHome Visitation Programs |
Author: Asian Centre for Human Rights Title: India’s Hell Holes: Child Sexual Assault in Juvenile Justice Homes Summary: Sexual offences against children in India have reached an epidemic proportion and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) is unlikely to be able to address the menace unless the Government of India and the State Governments take effective measures for proper implementation of the same. A total of 48,338 child rape cases was recorded from 2001 to 2011. These include 7,112 cases in 2011; 5,484 cases in 2010; 5,368 cases in 2009; 5,446 cases in 2008; 5,045 cases in 2007; 4,721 cases during 2006; 4,026 cases during 2005; 3,542 during 2004; 2949 cases during 2003, 2,532 cases during 2002 and 2,113 cases during 2001.1 The registration of cases of child rape have been consistently increasing and India saw an increase of 336% of child rape cases from 2001 (2,113 cases) to 2011 (7,112 cases). These are only the tip of the iceberg as the large majority of the cases of child rape are not reported to the police while children regularly become victims of other forms of sexual assault too. Many of the child rape cases take place in juvenile justice homes2 i.e. observation home, special home, or children’s home or shelter home set up, certified or recognized and registered respectively under sections 8, 9, 34, sub-section (3) of section 34 and section 37 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act [JJ(C&P) C Act]. At the end of financial year 2011-2012, about 733 juvenile justice homes in India had received grants under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It will not be an understatement to state that juvenile justice homes, established to provide care and protection as well as re-integration, rehabilitation and restoration of the juveniles in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection, have become India’s hell holes where inmates are subjected to sexual assault and exploitation, torture and ill treatment apart from being forced to live in inhuman conditions. The girls remain the most vulnerable. It matters little whether the juvenile justice homes are situated in the capital Delhi or in the mofussil towns. This report highlights 39 emblematic cases of systematic and often repeated sexual assault on children in juvenile justice homes. Out of the 39 cases, 11 cases were reported from government-run juvenile justice homes such as observation homes, children homes, shelter homes and orphanages, while in one case a CWC member was accused of sexual harassment during counseling sessions. The remaining 27 cases were reported from privately/NGO run juvenile justice homes such as shelter homes, orphanages, children homes, destitute homes, etc. Majority of privately/NGO run homes are not registered under Section 34(3) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act (as amended in 2006) which provides that “Without prejudice to anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, all institutions, whether State Government run or those run by voluntary organisations for children in need of care and protection shall, within a period of six months from the date of commencement of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Act, 2006, be registered under this Act in such manner as may be prescribed.” In the case of government-run juvenile justice homes, the perpetrators were staffs including the caretakers, security guards, cooks and other Class IV employees, and the senior inmates. In two cases, the sexual abuses were committed by the senior inmates in collusion with the staff. With respect to the privately/NGO-run juvenile justice homes, the perpetrators include managers/directors/owners/founders and their relatives and friends, staff members such as caretakers, wardens, cooks, drivers, security guards, gatekeepers, senior inmates and outsiders including security forces. Out of the 27 cases in privately/NGO-run homes, inmates were responsible for the offences in five cases and out of these, in one case offence was committed in collusion with the staff. In most cases, sexual assault in the juvenile justice homes continues for a long period as the victims are not able to protest and suffer silently in the absence of any inspection by the authorities under the JJ(C&PC) Act. While authorities are the main predators, the absence of separate facilities, in many cases for boys and girls, and in most cases as per age i.e. for boys and girls up to 12 years, 13-15 years and 16 years and above as provided under Rule 40 of the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection of Children Rules 2007 facilitates sexual assault on the minor inmates by the senior inmates. The sexual assault on children the juvenile justice homes continues unabated as the Government of India i.e. the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the State Governments have failed to implement the JJ(C&PC)Act in letter and spirit. It failed to address four critical areas indispensable for addressing child sexual abuse in juvenile justice institutions i.e. functional Inspection Committees, registration of all juvenile justice homes, effective and functional Child Welfare Committees and separation of inmates on the basis of the nature of the offences, sex and age. Details: New Delhi: Asian Centre for Human Rights, 2013. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 4, 2013 at: http://www.achrweb.org/reports/india/IndiasHellHoles2013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: India URL: http://www.achrweb.org/reports/india/IndiasHellHoles2013.pdf Shelf Number: 128667 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild RapeChild Sexual Abuse (India)Child Sexual ExploitationJuvenile Detention Centers |
Author: Asian Centre for Human Rights Title: Nobody’s Children: Juveniles of Conflict Affected Districts of India Summary: In the wake of the gruesome rape of a young woman on 16th December 2012 in Delhi, a heated debate has been raging at national level with respect to lowering the age of juveniles to 16 years. However, there are 184 districts (58 districts notified as “disturbed” under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and 106 districts declared as Left Wing Extremism affected, the edifice of juvenile justice do not exist. In 140 out of the 184 districts i.e. 76% of the total conflict afflicted districts do not have Observation Homes and Special Homes implying that juveniles who are taken into custody are kept in police lock up or camps of the army and para-military forces in clear violation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 [JJ(C&PC) Act] and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Juvenile Justice Boards exist only paper as funds are siphoned off. In the meanwhile, arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, extrajudicial executions, and sexual assault on the girls continue unabated. Details: New Delhi: Asian Centre for Human Rights, 2013. 83p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 6, 2013 at: http://www.achrweb.org/reports/india/JJ-Nobodys_Children2013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: India URL: http://www.achrweb.org/reports/india/JJ-Nobodys_Children2013.pdf Shelf Number: 128668 Keywords: Child MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseJuvenile DetentionJuvenile Justice Systems (India) |
Author: International Labour Organization Title: World Report on Child Labour: Economic vulnerability, social protection and the fight against child labour Summary: This new report is the first in a series to be published annually by the ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour. It brings together research on child labour and social protection, identifying policies that are designed to achieve multiple social goals. It discusses the role of poverty and economic shocks in rendering households vulnerable to child labour and considers the impact on child labour of cash transfers, public employment programmes, social insurance and other social protection initiatives as they have been implemented around the world. The report distils a broad range of research in economic and social policy and should be of interest to those looking for ways to combat poverty in the present and reduce its burden on the next generation. Details: Geneva, SWIT: International Labour Organizations, 2013. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 13, 2013 at: http://www.ilo.org/washington/WCMS_178184/lang--en/index.htm Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.ilo.org/washington/WCMS_178184/lang--en/index.htm Shelf Number: 128718 Keywords: Child Labor (International)Child MaltreatmentChild ProtectionEconomicsPoverty |
Author: Ray, Patricia Title: Still On The Street - Still Short Of Rights. Analysis of policy and programmes related to street involved children Summary: This report provides an analysis of the situation of street involved children and highlights programmatic initiatives being implemented by international and local non-governmental organisations. The report begins with an explanation of why this research on street involved children was conducted and continues with main chapters 2 to 8, each of which end with a concluding section that pulls together the main points of the chapter.• Chapters 2, 3 and 4 discuss who street involved children are, how they come to be there and what they experience whilst involved with the street. • Chapter 5 analyses the legal frameworks which are pertinent to street involved children • Chapter 6 describes approaches to policy and programme work with street involved children.• Chapters 7 and 8 examine the prevention and response to street involvement by children, and in Chapter 8 the main conclusions and recommendations of the report are brought together Details: London: Consortium for Street Children; Geneva: Plan International, 2011. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 15, 2013 at: http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/sites/default/files/documents/3849.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/sites/default/files/documents/3849.pdf Shelf Number: 128745 Keywords: Child ProtectionStreet Children |
Author: Thomas de Benítez, Sarah Title: State of the World's Street Children: Research Summary: Commissioned by CSC, State of the World's Street Children: Research brings together a comprehensive collection of literature about street children from the last decade. It draws on over 400 pieces of research, determining where advances have been made in the knowledge about this often over-looked group and dispelling some unfounded assumptions. It also identifies where the gaps are in current knowledge to reveal areas where further exploration is needed. The book is aimed at scholars, researchers, practitioners, NGOs and anyone with an interest in street children. Details: London: Consortium for Street Children, 2011. 104p. Source: Internet Resoruce: Street Children Series 2: Accessed May 15, 2013 at: http://www.streetchildren.org.uk/_uploads/publications/State_of_the_Worlds_Street_Children_Research_final_PDF_online.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.streetchildren.org.uk/_uploads/publications/State_of_the_Worlds_Street_Children_Research_final_PDF_online.pdf Shelf Number: 128746 Keywords: Child ProtectionStreet Children (International) |
Author: Whitman, S. Title: Children and Youth in Marine Piracy: Causes, Consequences and the Way Forward Summary: According to the Failed States Index Data 2011, created by the Fund for Peace Organization, 6 countries most affected by piratical activity fall within the top 15 most fragile states. This includes Somalia, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Pakistan, Yemen and Nigeria. Piracy is not the main factor as to why these countries are fragile, at the same time, not all fragile littoral states have marine piracy. However, this does demonstrate the importance of looking at the broader social, political and economic environment that enables piracy. Understanding the human factors associated with piracy activity and the root causes is critical to the development of solutions to address piracy. The Dalhousie Marine Piracy Project (DMPP) has undertaken such an integrated and interdisciplinary approach to addressing the problem of contemporary piracy and its impact on the shipping and coastal communities. In so doing, it comprehensively examined the four interdependent themes of Law and Governance, Socio-Economic, Operational Responses, and Information Management; assessed current literature on the topic of contemporary marine piracy; and, through analysis of that work, highlighted potential areas for policy development and implementation. Piracy appears to develop where weak or non-existent government and enforcement capabilities, impoverished coastal communities, and shipping targets exist in relatively close proximity. Other elements such as organized criminality, youth unemployment, political conflict and even natural disasters may also contribute to the likelihood of piracy emerging as a major threat to shipping in a particular region. The DMPP has examined the economic, political and social conditions, which have led to contemporary outbreaks of piracy with the intention of identifying and evaluating the effectiveness of current and proposed responses to piracy. This paper highlights an important and growing issue identified from the DMPP research. Of deep concern is the increasing evidence that children and youth are being recruited by piracy gangs with little recognition among those responsible for addressing piracy and the complexities this introduces. For this particular problem, however, it is important to note that systematic collection of data on this matter does not currently exist and as such, it has been difficult to conduct a clear, evidenced-based assessment of the situation. As such, three key objectives of this paper are: (i) to raise the awareness of the failure to address the question of the involvement of children and youth by those involved in either studying or addressing piracy and (ii) to provide a rationale for the collection and accessibility of disaggregated data on those committing piracy by those who are capturing, releasing, reporting and prosecuting those involved in piracy activity and (iii) to provide possible alternatives to addressing marine piracy by focusing on the challenges posed by the involvement of children and youth. In addition, it should be noted that many who are involved in studying or addressing marine piracy have failed to pose questions regarding the involvement of children and youth. This means that a critical gap in the data collection, research, and responses to marine piracy have yet to be considered as a potential approach in the overall effort to halt or reduce marine piracy. Details: Halifax, Nova Scotia: Dalhousie Marine Piracy Project, 2012. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Marine Affairs Program Technical Report #5: Accessed May 20, 2013 at: http://marineaffairsprogram.dal.ca/Files/Dalhousie-Marine-Affairs-Program-Technical-Report-%235-2012-12.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://marineaffairsprogram.dal.ca/Files/Dalhousie-Marine-Affairs-Program-Technical-Report-%235-2012-12.pdf Shelf Number: 128759 Keywords: Child ProtectionMaritime CrimePirates/PiracyYouth Gangs |
Author: Turner, Catherine Title: Out of the Shadows: Child Marriage and Slavery Summary: This report reviews the literature available on child marriage to show that a potentially high proportion of children in marriage are in slavery. Despite a good deal of publicity around child marriage its links with slavery have received very little attention to date. As not all child marriage (involving under 18 year-olds) is slavery, the report outlines the relevant international slavery framework to help clarify when child marriage could amount to slavery. It also notes gaps at the international level for addressing child marriage as a slavery issue, and at the national level in terms of tackling it in law and practice. It also deals with the complexity of root causes. Details: London: Anti-Slavery International, 2013. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 25, 2013 at: http://www.antislavery.org/includes/documents/cm_docs/2013/c/child_marriage_final.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.antislavery.org/includes/documents/cm_docs/2013/c/child_marriage_final.pdf Shelf Number: 128826 Keywords: Child MarriageChild ProtectionChild SlaveryForced Marriage |
Author: Asian Centre for Human Rights Title: India’s Child Soldiers: Government defends officially designated terror groups’ record on the recruitment of child soldiers before the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child Summary: This report is the first comprehensive report on the recruitment and involvement of children in India’s burgeoning internal armed conflicts which currently afflicts 197 out of 640 districts. It has been prepared for submission as a shadow report to the Periodic Report of the Government of India on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. India had submitted its Periodic Report in 2011 and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is scheduled to consider it during its 66th pre-sessional working group to be held in Geneva from 7-11 October 2013. Apart from the field research, this report has been prepared based on the “Technical Seminar on Preparation of the Shadow Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict” organised by Asian Centre for Human Rights on 23-24 March 2013 in New Delhi. The participants included mainly activists from the conflict affected areas and their names are being kept confidential as disclosure may put them at risk of reprisals from the armed opposition groups (AOGs) which have been recruiting children. This report also includes India’s periodic report, proceedings before the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on recruitment of children as boy orderlies under the Madhya Pradesh Police Regulation, India’s surrender and rehabilitation policies on the AOGs, and finally, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict for awareness raising in India. Details: New Delhi: Asian Centre for Human Rights, 2013. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 30, 2013 at: http://www.achrweb.org/reports/india/JJ-IndiasChildSoldiers2013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: India URL: http://www.achrweb.org/reports/india/JJ-IndiasChildSoldiers2013.pdf Shelf Number: 128857 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Soldiers (India)Extremist GroupsTerrorism |
Author: Sahovic, Nevena Vuckovis Title: ENOC Study report on National Human Rights Institutions and Child/Juvenile Delinquency Summary: The Survey: A first step in the survey on NHRIs and child/juvenile delinquency was to develop and distribute a questionnaire. The questionnaire on the monitoring role of the NHRIs in dealing with the rights of child/juvenile delinquents (C/JD) was sent in May 2012 to all ENOC member institutions (to date ENOC is made up of 41 members). The members were asked to provide some basic information on their involvement in the protection of the rights of C/JD. The questionnaire consisted of groups of questions which covered all measures of implementation in the area of the rights of C/JDs, with special attention to the rights of children who are alleged as, accused of or sentenced as having infringed the Penal law. However, children below the age of criminal responsibility also perpetrate offences (sometimes crimes) as well as “status” offences, for which they are deprived of liberty, taken into custody and intervened against. Therefore, children of all ages were subject of this survey. Structure of the Questionnaire: The questions were grouped into three chapters: Chapter one, dealing with basic information on the protection of the rights of C/JD in ENOC members’ States; Chapter two dealing with the role of NHRIs in the implementation of general measures needed for the realization of the rights of C/JD and Chapter three dealing specifically with the role of NHRIs in monitoring and evaluation of prevention and intervention in the area relevant for C/JD. Each Chapter was divided into sections The Questionnaire was elaborate but simple, with most questions requiring yes or no answers. Members were asked to provide comments and proposals for improvement for each group of questions. Structure of the Report This report follows the structure of the questionnaires and is thus divided in three Chapters and sections within. Details: Strasbourg: ENOC - European Network of Ombudspersons for Children, 2012. 61p. Source: Internet Resource: ECOC Survey 2012: Accessed May 30, 2013 at: http://www.kinderrechtencommissariaat.be/sites/default/files/bestanden/enoc_report_juvenile_justice_2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Europe URL: http://www.kinderrechtencommissariaat.be/sites/default/files/bestanden/enoc_report_juvenile_justice_2012.pdf Shelf Number: 128873 Keywords: Child ProtectionJuvenile DelinquencyJuvenile Offenders |
Author: United Nations Children's Fund. Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary on Violence against Children Title: Protecting Children from Harmful Practices in Plural Legal Systems with a Special Emphasis on Africa Summary: Across regions, millions of children continue to suffer from various forms of harmful practices, including female genital mutilation, early and forced marriage, breast ironing, son preference, female infanticide, virginity testing, honour crimes, bonded labour, forced feeding and nutritional taboos, accusation of witchcraft, as well as a great number of other less known practices. Harmful practices may be traditional or emerging, but generally have some cultural, social or religious underpinning. Common for most harmful practices is that they have devastating consequences on the child’s life, development, health, education and protection. The UN Study on Violence against Children urged states to prohibit by law all forms of violence against children, including harmful practices. This recommendation is a key priority for the mandate of the Special representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children as well as for Plan International. To advance progress in the implementation of this recommendation, they co-organized an expert consultation, in June 2012. This thematic report was informed by those important discussions. Details: New York: UNICEF, 2012. 51p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 6, 2013 at: http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/sites/default/files/publications_final/SRSG_Plan_harmful_practices_report_final.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Africa URL: http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/sites/default/files/publications_final/SRSG_Plan_harmful_practices_report_final.pdf Shelf Number: 128966 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionChildren, Crimes AgainstForced MarriageHonor Related ViolenceViolence Against Children (Africa) |
Author: Corcoran, Su Title: Evaluating Outcomes: Retrak’s use of Child Status Index to measure wellbeing of street-connected children Summary: Retrak’s vision is a world where no child is forced to live on the street. The child is always at the centre of our work and therefore measurements of organisational impact must place the progress of the child at the centre of assessment. In establishing a system of measurement to effectively and consistently monitor the changes in the lives of children as a result of Retrak’s work, the Child Status Index (CSI) has been adapted to apply to the context of children connected to the street. This paper is the initial review of the findings of the CSI in the pilot period, 2011 and 2012, as a measurement of child wellbeing and a tool for tracking children’s progress along their Retrak journey to establish the impact of Retrak’s programmes in both Ethiopia and Uganda. The CSI, developed by Measure Evaluation1, allows Retrak to trace the progress of the child along the Retrak journey, as they transition from the street to family homes, and comprises of a system of indicators to assess the multidimensional wellbeing of the individual child. The CSI assessments were conducted with cohorts of children on streets who access Retrak’s drop-in centres (baseline); at the point of reintegration with their families (placement); and again at intervals of approximately six months during follow-up with the child and their family (follow-up within six months of placement, between six months and one year of placement, and more than one year since placement). Each indicator of wellbeing on the CSI is given a score between one and four. Children scoring one or two, a deprivation score, for any indicator are considered to be at risk in that domain of wellbeing. Retrak’s aim is to ensure that children’s wellbeing improves after their placement at home, and continues to progress, and that they become deprivation free. Summary of findings This pilot study has demonstrated that Retrak’s reintegration programmes contribute to improvements in children’s wellbeing. Through analysing children’s wellbeing on their journey with Retrak in both Ethiopia and Uganda it is possible to show that: • The wellbeing of the children improved across all areas of wellbeing during their time in Retrak’s reintegration programmes. Family reintegration programmes with street children are successful. We have shown that such programmes are able to overcome children’s prevalent deprivations in shelter, care, abuse and exploitation and legal protection experienced when they are living alone on the street at an increased level of vulnerability. • Performance and access to education were areas of wellbeing which were slow to improve at the placement and follow up level. This could be partially a result of the national education systems and its ability to support the successful reintegration of vulnerable children into the classroom. • In Ethiopia, wellbeing in the areas of emotional health and social behaviour were also slow to improve at placement and follow-up. Much of this is to do with the survival traits developed by the children to help to combat stigmatisation while on the streets. • In Uganda it was shown that wellbeing in the areas of food security, shelter and legal protection were of concern at all stages of a child’s journey with Retrak. Analysing the data collected for each child reflecting their life on the street, highlights the following trends: • Street-connected children and youth in Ethiopia, over 14 years old, have more deprivations than those under 14; and all new arrivals to the street in Ethiopia have fewer deprivations than those who have spent a number of months there. The longer a child spends in the street the more deprivations they experience. • In Uganda children aged 14 or 15 years have fewer deprivations than those aged 13 years and younger. Unlike the Ethiopia data, those aged 14 years and younger when they migrated to the street have fewer deprivations than those children aged over 14 years. • There is a relationship between the level of schooling achieved by the children in Ethiopia and the number of deprivations they experience: the longer the child spends in school before migrating to the street the lower the number of deprivations on average. • There appears to be little distinction between region of origin and level of deprivation for both countries. In Uganda the data showed that children on the streets of Kampala and originating from Kampala and the surrounding district are just as disadvantaged as their peers from further afield, showing that their proximity to their family is of little benefit. Recommendations This pilot study has demonstrated that reintegration programmes contribute to improvements in children’s wellbeing and that the Child Status Index is an extremely useful tool to monitor reintegration programmes through tracking children’s wellbeing. In addition, this study has shown that the risks children face on the streets vary according to age, education and other variables. Details: Retrak, UK: Retrak; 2013. 43p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 18, 2013 at: http://www.retrak.org/uploaded/Retrak%20Research%20Evaluating%20Outcomes%20May%2013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Africa URL: http://www.retrak.org/uploaded/Retrak%20Research%20Evaluating%20Outcomes%20May%2013.pdf Shelf Number: 129016 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild WelfareFamily ReintegrationRunawaysStreet Children (Uganda, Ethiopia) |
Author: Newiss, Geoff Title: Taken: A Study of Child Abduction in the UK Summary: This study gives an account of the current knowledge stock on child abduction. In July 2011, the ‘strategic and operational lead’ on missing and abducted children was transferred to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP). Understanding what is known – and not known – about child abduction should equip CEOP and its partners with a good sense of what the priorities are for protecting children from abduction. This knowledge could also contribute to establishing how best to respond when a child is abducted. There is no single, comprehensive definition of child abduction in the UK. Different laws in different parts of the UK criminalise various acts which involve the taking of a child. This study examines different types of child abduction including; • parental abduction (often resulting in a child being taken overseas). • abduction by a stranger. • abduction resulting from exploitation, revenge or financial gain. The Aims of this Study -- 1. To examine the number of abductions of children which occur in the UK. 2. To establish the different types of child abduction and provide information on the circumstances in which they occur. 3. To explore how data collection on child abduction can be improved so as to provide an effective measure of trends. 4. To identify any immediate policy and practice issues in response to child abduction. Details: London: Parents and Abducted Children Together (PACT) and Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, 2013. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 25, 2013 at: http://ceop.police.uk/Documents/ceopdocs/TAKEN_Final%20Copy.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://ceop.police.uk/Documents/ceopdocs/TAKEN_Final%20Copy.pdf Shelf Number: 129157 Keywords: Child Abduction (U.K.)Child ProtectionKidnappingMissing ChildrenParental Abduction |
Author: U.S. Attorney General's National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence Title: Report of the Attorney General’s National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence Summary: Exposure to violence is a national crisis that affects approximately two out of every three of our children. Of the 76 million children currently residing in the United States, an estimated 46 million can expect to have their lives touched by violence, crime, abuse, and psychological trauma this year. In 1979, U.S. Surgeon General Julius B. Richmond declared violence a public health crisis of the highest priority, and yet 33 years later that crisis remains. Whether the violence occurs in children’s homes, neighborhoods, schools, playgrounds or playing fields, locker rooms, places of worship, shelters, streets, or in juvenile detention centers, the exposure of children to violence is a uniquely traumatic experience that has the potential to profoundly derail the child’s security, health, happiness, and ability to grow and learn — with effects lasting well into adulthood. Exposure to violence in any form harms children, and different forms of violence have different negative impacts. Sexual abuse places children at high risk for serious and chronic health problems, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, suicidality, eating dis-orders, sleep disorders, substance abuse, and deviant sexual behavior. Sexually abused children often become hypervigilant about the possibility of future sexual violation, experience feelings of betrayal by the adults who failed to care for and protect them. Physical abuse puts children at high risk for lifelong problems with medical illness, PTSD, suicidality, eating disorders, substance abuse, and deviant sexual behavior. Physically abused children are at heightened risk for cognitive and developmental impairments, which can lead to violent behavior as a form of self-protection and control. These children often feel powerless when faced with physical intimidation, threats, or conflict and may compensate by becoming isolated (through truancy or hiding) or aggressive (by bullying or joining gangs for protection). Physically abused children are at risk for significant impairment in memory processing and problem solving and for developing defensive behaviors that lead to consistent avoidance of intimacy. Intimate partner violence within families puts children at high risk for severe and potentially lifelong problems with physical health, mental health, and school and peer relationships as well as for disruptive behavior. Witnessing or living with domestic or intimate partner violence often burdens children with a sense of loss or profound guilt and shame because of their mistaken assumption that they should have intervened or prevented the violence or, tragically, that they caused the violence. They frequently castigate themselves for having failed in what they assume to be their duty to protect a parent or sibling(s) from being harmed, for not having taken the place of their horribly injured or killed family member, or for having caused the offender to be violent. Children exposed to intimate partner violence often experience a sense of terror and dread that they will lose an essential caregiver through permanent injury or death. They also fear losing their relationship with the offending parent, who may be removed from the home, incarcerated, or even executed. Children will mistakenly blame themselves for having caused the batterer to be violent. If no one identifies these children and helps them heal and recover, they may bring this uncertainty, fear, grief, anger, shame, and sense of betrayal into all of their important relationships for the rest of their lives. Community violence in neighborhoods can result in children witnessing assaults and even killings of family members, peers, trusted adults, innocent bystanders, and perpetrators of violence. Violence in the community can prevent children from feeling safe in their own schools and neighborhoods. Violence and ensuing psychological trauma can lead children to adopt an attitude of hypervigilance, to become experts at detecting threat or perceived threat — never able to let down their guard in order to be ready for the next outbreak of violence. They may come to believe that violence is “normal,” that violence is “here to stay,” and that relationships are too fragile to trust because one never knows when violence will take the life of a friend or loved one. They may turn to gangs or criminal activities to prevent others from viewing them as weak and to counteract feelings of despair and powerlessness, perpetuating the cycle of violence and increasing their risk of incarceration. They are also at risk for becoming victims of intimate partner violence in adolescence and in adulthood. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 2012. 256p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 3, 2013 at: http://www.justice.gov/defendingchildhood/cev-rpt-full.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.justice.gov/defendingchildhood/cev-rpt-full.pdf Shelf Number: 129237 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChildren and ViolenceChildren, Crime AgainstCommunity ViolenceFamily ViolenceViolenceViolence Against Children (U.S.) |
Author: Healy, Claire Title: Report for the Study on Typology and Policy Responses to Child Begging in the EU Summary: Child begging is a common sight in cities such as Budapest, Sofia, Paris or Warsaw. It is not so common, and in fact has all but disappeared, in Stockholm, Copenhagen or Vienna. One of the purposes of this report is to examine the reasons behind these differences, in relation to legislation, policy and responses, as well as the characteristics and causes of child begging across Europe. Begging children occupy a place at the lowest echelons of society, come from poor backgrounds, are often badly dressed and badly cared for, and mostly treated as a nuisance by the authorities, rather than as a child protection concern. Their visibility on the streets of European cities casts doubt upon the viability of child protection frameworks and reminds passers-by of the intolerable levels of poverty, inequality, exclusion and child abuse that exist in Europe today. During the last few years, there has been increasing attention in many EU Member States and other European countries on the phenomenon of child begging. Whilst a consensus exists among Member States that child begging needs to be addressed, there has been little evidence thus far on what is the best policy approach. In order to provide a comprehensive understanding and rigorous empirical research on child begging, it is necessary both to conduct research at a national level, and to bring the research down to a local level, to examine the reality of the phenomenon as it affects the children themselves and as it plays out in European localities. Therefore research was conducted first at a national level in 15 European countries – 13 EU Member States and 2 non-EU countries, as well as, in a second phase, in a total of thirty European cities, on the phenomenon of child begging. The Country Sections included in this Report present a complex phenomenon that is by no means homogenous in nature, and involves children of various backgrounds and in different situations. Nevertheless, there are some key features common to a number of cities, setting out the main scenarios that child begging represents. Details: Brussels: European Commission, 2012. 337p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 6, 2013 at: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/e-library/documents/policies/organized-crime-and-human-trafficking/cybercrime/docs/child_begging_final_11jan2013_en.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Europe URL: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/e-library/documents/policies/organized-crime-and-human-trafficking/cybercrime/docs/child_begging_final_11jan2013_en.pdf Shelf Number: 129259 Keywords: Child Begging (Europe)Child ExploitationChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionRunawaysStreet Children |
Author: Roudi-Fahimi, Farzaneh Title: Ending Child Marriage in the Arab Region Summary: This policy brief presents the latest data on child marriage in the Arab region, which includes members of the League of Arab States (stretching from Morocco to Oman). It explains how ending child marriage would help countries achieve their Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that aim to combat poverty and improve health and quality of life for all. The brief emphasizes the importance of taking a broad approach to end child marriage, including mandating more years of compulsory education, setting and enforcing the legal minimum age of marriage, raising community awareness about the harm caused by early marriage, and involving families to find ways to prevent child marriage. Details: Washington, DC: Population Reference Bureau, 2013. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Policy Brief: Accessed July 9, 2013 at: http://www.prb.org/pdf13/child-marriage-arab-region.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.prb.org/pdf13/child-marriage-arab-region.pdf Shelf Number: 129341 Keywords: Child Marriage (Arab Region)Child ProtectionForced Marriage |
Author: Mkombozi Centre for Street Children Title: Police Round-ups of Street Children in Arusha are Unjust, Inhumane and Uunconstitutional Summary: This position paper provides an overview of the current situation of street children round-ups in Arusha, specific violations of domestic and international law that occur during the round-ups and detentions and concludes with recommendations to ensure that round-ups are stopped and street children are provided with appropriate child protection and juvenile justice services. Details: Moshi, Tanzania: Mkombozi, 2005. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 17, 2013 at: http://www.crin.org/docs/mkombozi_tan.pdf Year: 2005 Country: Tanzania URL: http://www.crin.org/docs/mkombozi_tan.pdf Shelf Number: 129435 Keywords: Child ProtectionJuvenile JusticeStreet Children (Tanzania) |
Author: Hilferty, Fiona Title: Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect Through a Common Approach to Assessment, Referral and Support: Evaluating the Trial (Stage 2) Summary: This report presents the findings of a formative evaluation of a trial of the Common Approach to Assessment, Referral and Support (CAARS). The Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) commissioned researchers at the Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) to undertake the evaluation in April 2011. CAARS is an innovative tool that facilitates conversations between a wide range of practitioners and client children and families. The aim of CAARS is to help universal practitioners identify early signs of need in clients, and provide appropriate forms of support. The development of CAARS was funded by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA). CAARS is identified as a National Priority Project within the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009). This Framework promotes child protection as ‘everyone’s responsibility’ and CAARS attempts to achieve this by ensuring that universal practitioners who come into daily contact with children and families, know how to engage families in conversations that assist in the early identification of problems and the provision of support. Given the formative nature of the evaluation, the focus has been on highlighting lessons from the trial to further develop the tool and improve implementation. The key objectives of the evaluation are to: 1. Examine the appropriateness of CAARS in different contexts and with different client groups; 2. Examine how CAARS impacts on the working practices of practitioners who use the tool; 3. Examine the impact of CAARS on interagency collaboration in primary prevention; 4. Develop a better understanding of how families engage with CAARS; and 5. Provide insight into the process of implementation of CAARS in specific geographic locations and how this is likely to impact on any larger rollout of CAARS. Details: Sydney: Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales,, 2012. 66p. Source: Internet Resource: SPRC Report 7/13: Accessed August 19, 2013 at: https://www.sprc.unsw.edu.au/media/SPRCFile/Report7_13_SPRC_CAARS_Final_Report_November.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: https://www.sprc.unsw.edu.au/media/SPRCFile/Report7_13_SPRC_CAARS_Final_Report_November.pdf Shelf Number: 129651 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (Australia)Child MaltreatmentChild Protection |
Author: Walts, Katherine Kaufka Title: Legal Services Assessment for Trafficked Children: Cook County, Illinois Case Study Summary: Child trafficking is one of the most disturbing human rights abuses of our time, involving cases of boys and girls exploited for labor and/or commercial sexual services. These children may suffer physical, sexual, and emotional violence at the hands of traffickers, who can be pimps, employers, and even family members. Trafficking schemes may involve various forms of force, fraud, and coercion, which can be physical and/or psychological in nature. Current research indicates that legal services are a critical component of a comprehensive service delivery model for victims of human trafficking and a realization of human rights. However, little to no effort has been made to identify the various legal needs of child trafficking victims, a particularly vulnerable population. In February 2012, the Center for the Human Rights of Children (CHRC) initiated a legal needs assessment project for child trafficking victims, using Cook County Illinois as a case study. The project identified: - Existing service providers working with both US citizen and foreign national child trafficking survivors - The legal needs of trafficked children - Current legal services available to this population - Gaps in those services in Cook County We chose Cook County as a case study for several reasons. It is the second most populous county in the nation, and houses the city of Chicago, which has been recognized as one several human trafficking hubs across the United States., Cook County has an established community of service providers and advocacy organizations working with survivors of human trafficking in various capacities, and two task forces. The project also included a preliminary assessment of legal services for child trafficking victims offered by organizations around the country as a comparison to the results of our research in Cook County. Select Findings - Child trafficking victims have various legal needs across multiple legal systems, including (but not limited to) criminal justice, juvenile justice, immigration, labor, civil, child welfare, family, and education. - While 85% of survey respondents believed access to competent legal services is critical in leading to positive outcomes for child trafficking victims, less than 10% believed that the legal needs of child trafficking victims in Cook County were being fully met. - Interdisciplinary collaboration between legal and nonlegal service providers is a critical component of any service delivery model for trafficking victims. - There are considerable systemic barriers to ensuring that child trafficking victims receive appropriate legal services and protections, including limited organizational capacity and training, financial and personnel resources, and lack of data and research: - The definition of child trafficking is confusing and sometimes controversial. Many child serving agencies are not aware of federal and/or state definitions of child trafficking. Some organizations have misconceptions about the legal statutory framework, or believe it negatively impacts their clients. This impacts identification of new cases and referrals to appropriate legal service providers. - Child trafficking cases are often very complex and resource intensive. Providing services is becoming more challenging with the narrowing of both federal and state budgets, restricting access to critical services across all sectors. - Service providers who first identify children as victims may not be equipped to identify all relevant needs (e.g., legal, psychological, social). This is true even amongst legal service providers who may specialize in a particular area of the law, and are unable to identify other legal needs. - There are no standardized mechanisms for data collection and research. Only a few organizations have begun to collect data on child trafficking. Existing data on human trafficking often does not disaggregate adults from minors. Details: Chicago: Center for the Human Rights of Children, Loyola University Chicago, 2013. 71p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 11, 2013 at: http://www.luc.edu/media/lucedu/chrc/LegalServicesAssess_TraffickedChildren_2013_CHRC_Final.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.luc.edu/media/lucedu/chrc/LegalServicesAssess_TraffickedChildren_2013_CHRC_Final.pdf Shelf Number: 131615 Keywords: Child LaborChild ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual ExploitationChild TraffickingHuman Trafficking |
Author: Parents Against Child Sexual Exploitation (Pace) Title: Are Parents in the Picture? Professional and parental perspectives of child sexual exploitation Summary: Educating children in secondary school and providing parental support and information are considered the top ways of preventing cases of CSE. Professionals consider a lack of parental knowledge as the main barrier in identifying and preventing cases of CSE with half of professionals (51%) disagreeing that parents have the right information and knowledge they need to safeguard their children from CSE. For a minority of children in England, parents are the individuals that a child needs to be protected from; but for the majority of children their parents are their main safeguarders from risks including sexual exploitation. These survey results are important as parents are currently on the peripheries of statutory safeguarding strategies with often only passing mention to them in recommendations. For children to be protected from sexual exploitation parents need to brought more into the centre of the prevention picture. Working through schools, community groups and local public campaigns, parents with age appropriate children can be effectively and efficiently identified and provided with information that will enable them to safeguard their children. At least 70% of the parents interviewed said they would attend such a briefing at their child's school. Families with children already identified at particular risk could be given extra support and information to assist in safeguarding their child. Parental awareness of child sexual exploitation -- 1. Six out of ten of parents (63%) and professionals (60%) think that society in the UK acknowledges CSE but it should be more openly discussed. 2. Parents continue to focus more on stranger danger than risks from family or friends. 3. Six out of ten parents know 'something' about CSE and would most likely turn first to the police for support and advice. One in ten (13%) admit that they know 'not very much' about the dangers of CSE. Over half of parents (56%) are concerned that cases of CSE may occur in their local area. 4. It appears parents are aware of sexual exploitation but over half (53%) of professionals think that parents do not understand what CSE is. This professional concern is supported by the fact that 40% of parents stated that they would not be confident in recognising the difference between indicators of child sexual exploitation and normal challenging adolescent behaviour. Details: London: YouGov, 2013. 77p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 23, 2013 at: http://www.paceuk.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/YouGovReport-Parents-in-the-Picture-FINAL-for-release-19112013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.paceuk.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/YouGovReport-Parents-in-the-Picture-FINAL-for-release-19112013.pdf Shelf Number: 131663 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual Exploitation (U.K.) |
Author: United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Title: Children on the Run: Unaccompanied Children Leaving Central America and Mexico and the Need for International Protection Summary: Since 2009, UNHCR has registered an increased number of asylum-seekers - both children and adults - from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala lodging claims in the Americas region. The United States recorded the largest number of new asylum applications out of all countries of asylum, having received 85% of the total of new applications brought by individuals from these three countries in 2012. The number of requests for asylum has likewise increased in countries other than the U.S. Combined, Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Belize, documented a 432% increase in the number of asylum applications lodged by individuals from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. In the United States, the number of adults claiming fear of return to their countries of origin to government officials upon arriving to a port of entry or apprehension at the southern border increased sharply from 5,369 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 to 36,174 in FY 2013.25 Individuals from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala and Mexico account for 70% of this increase. Beginning in October 2011, the U.S. Government recorded a dramatic rise - commonly referred to in the United States as "the surge" - in the number of unaccompanied and separated children arriving to the United States from these same three countries - El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The total number of apprehensions of unaccompanied and separated children from these countries by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) jumped from 4,059 in FY 2011 to 10,443 in FY 2012 and then more than doubled again, to 21,537, in FY 2013. At the same time, a tremendous number of children from Mexico have been arriving to the U.S. over a longer period of time, and although the gap is narrowing as of FY 2013, the number of children from Mexico has far outpaced the number of children from any one of the three Central American countries. For example, in FY 2011, the number of Mexican children apprehended was 13,000, rising to 15,709 in FY 2012 and reaching 18,754 in FY 2013. Unlike the unaccompanied and separated children arriving to the U.S. from other countries, including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, most of these children were promptly returned to Mexico after no more than a day or two in the custody of the U.S. authorities, making it even more difficult to obtain a full picture of who these children were and why they were coming to the U.S. While recognizing a significant contextual difference between the situation in Mexico and in the Northern Triangle of Central America, the common denominator is that all four countries are producing high numbers of unaccompanied and separated children seeking protection at the southern border of the United States. UNHCR's research was to ascertain the connection between the children's stated reasons, the findings of recent studies on the increasing violence and insecurity in the region, and international protection needs. UNHCR Washington conducted individual interviews with 404 unaccompanied or separated children - approximately 100 from each country - who arrived to the U.S. during or after October 2011 and, in the context of the current regional and national environments and the tremendous number of displaced children arriving to the U.S. from these four countries, analyzed the children's responses in order to answer two questions: Why are these children leaving their countries of origin? Are any of these children in need of international protection? Details: Washington, DC: UNHCR, 2014. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 13, 2014 at: http://www.unhcrwashington.org/sites/default/files/UAC_UNHCR_Children%20on%20the%20Run_Full%20Report.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Central America URL: http://www.unhcrwashington.org/sites/default/files/UAC_UNHCR_Children%20on%20the%20Run_Full%20Report.pdf Shelf Number: 131896 Keywords: Asylum SeekersChild ProtectionRunawaysUnaccompanied Children |
Author: Mytton, Julie Title: The Feasibility of Using a Parenting Programme for the Prevention of Unintentional Home Injuries in the Under-Fives: A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial Summary: Most injuries in preschool children occur at home, and many are preventable. Parenting programmes,supporting parents to make changes to their behaviour, have been shown to improve outcomes in children. This study explored whether or not a parenting programme could prevent home injuries in preschool children. We were asked to target parents whose child had recently been injured. We were concerned that parents asked to take part would fear that they were considered poor parents. We know that parents are interested in learning first aid, so we developed a programme to include first aid and safety advice to make it more appealing. To find out if it would be feasible to run a trial of the parenting programme, we tried to recruit 96 parents from eight children's centres to a small study with four randomly chosen centres providing the programme and four not doing so. After 10 months we had recruited only 40 parents, so we opened the study to all parents, whether or not their child had been injured. This helped us engage another 11 parents over 2 weeks. We ran the programme four times and 15 parents completed the course. Based on our experience we have made improvements to the programme and made recommendations about how a future trial could be run, including making it available to all parents using children's centres in disadvantaged areas. We have advised how to measure the number of injuries in children, and how to find out if the programme provides value for money. Details: Southampton, UK: National Institute for Health Research, Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme, 2014. 212p. Source: Internet Resource: Health Technology Assessment, 18(3): Accessed March 20, 2014 at: http://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/98451/FullReport-hta18030.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/98451/FullReport-hta18030.pdf Shelf Number: 131982 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionChildhood InjuriesCrime PreventionParenting Programs |
Author: Rape Crisis Network Ireland Title: The Older Child and Sexual Violence Summary: One in five girls and one in six boys (aged 0-17) experience contact sexual abuse. There is increasing evidence that children from 13 to 17 years of age experience sexual violence in a way that is significantly different to the younger child in terms of nature, context, relationship to abuser and duration of abuse. This was most recently evidenced in the RCNI's Hearing Child Survivors of Sexual Violence report, (Oct., 2013), regarding children attending specialist sexual violence services in Ireland. This report found that the under 13 child was most likely to experience sexual assault in their own home or the abusers, by a male family member over a period of years. However, the child between 13 and 18 years old was most likely to experience rape, by a friend, acquaintance or neighbour, with the violence lasting for hours and taking place in outdoor or location other than the home. These stark differences demand differences in responses and prevention. With statutory responsibility for children dispersed across a wide range of statutory agencies it has become critical to ask if we are confident that the specific needs of the older child are being fully understood and met. This question is not confined to the Irish context a set of recommendations at European level have been developed by stakeholders, including the RCNI, and are included in the recent Youth Sexual Aggression and Victimisation Report of 2013. When we live in a culture highly sensitised to protecting our children from the less-common 'stranger danger' and the older predator, it can leave the child being threatened and abused in other ways, for example, by a peer, isolated and vulnerable. Ireland is gaining a new understanding of these different experiences of sexual victimisation dependent on age and gender of the child. In general, it can be said, Irish child protection infrastructure is a response to the needs of the younger child. It therefore struggles to respond to the different nature and context of abuse of the teenage child. It is imperative to undertake a comprehensive review of Irish child protection infrastructure and services with regards to the older child. Three critical questions to stimulate discussion and engagement are: 1. How well informed are we about the older child's social realities? 2. Is our child protection infrastructure sufficiently joined up to ensure an appropriate response to teenagers who may experience abuse that more commonly reflects adult experiences than the younger child? 3. Does Ireland's child protection response need a specific 13 to 18 year old focused response? Details: Galway: Rape Crisis Network Ireland, 2014. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 28, 2014 at: http://www.rcni.ie/wp-content/uploads/Older-Child-Policy-Document-FINAL.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Ireland URL: http://www.rcni.ie/wp-content/uploads/Older-Child-Policy-Document-FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 132004 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseRapeTeenagers |
Author: Frydman, Lisa Title: A Treacherous Journey: Child Migrants Navigating the U.S. Immigration System Summary: A Treacherous Journey: Child Migrants Navigating the U.S. Immigration System addresses the issues raised by the recent historic and unabated increase in the number of children coming unaccompanied - without a parent or legal guardian - to the United States. From 6,000-8,000 unaccompanied children entering U.S. custody, the numbers surged to 13,625 in Fiscal Year 2012 and 24,668 in Fiscal Year 2013. The government has predicted that as many as 60,000 or more unaccompanied children could enter the United States in Fiscal Year 2014. These children come from all over the world, but the majority arrive from Mexico and Central America, in particular the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Children come unaccompanied to the United States for a range of reasons. Numerous reports and the children themselves say that increasing violence in their home communities and a lack of protection against this violence spurred them to flee. Children also travel alone to escape severe intrafamilial abuse, abandonment, exploitation, deep deprivation, forced marriage, or female genital cutting. Others are trafficked to the United States for sexual or labor exploitation. Upon arrival, some children reunite with family members they have not seen in many years, but their migration is often motivated by violence and other factors, in addition to family separation. Their journeys may be as harrowing as the experiences they are fleeing, with children often facing sexual violence or other abuses as they travel. The children's challenges continue when U.S. immigration authorities apprehend them, take them into the custody of the federal government, and place them in deportation proceedings. There, they are treated as "adults in miniature" and have no right to appointed counsel and no one to protect their best interests as children in the legal system. In addition, existing forms of immigration relief do not provide sufficient safeguards to protect against deportation when it is contrary to their best interests. Details: San Francisco: Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, University of California Hastings College of the Law; Washington, DC: Kids in Need of Defense, 2014. 104p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 28, 2014 at: http://www.uchastings.edu/centers/cgrs-docs/treacherous_journey_cgrs_kind_report.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.uchastings.edu/centers/cgrs-docs/treacherous_journey_cgrs_kind_report.pdf Shelf Number: 132011 Keywords: Child ProtectionIllegal ImmigrationsImmigrant ChildrenImmigration EnforcementRunawaysUnaccompanied ChildrenUndocumented Immigrants |
Author: Beckett, Helen Title: Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation: A Study of Current Practice in London Summary: In autumn 2013, London Councils and the London Safeguarding Children Board commissioned a team of researchers from the University of Bedfordshire to map current responses to child sexual exploitation (CSE) across London. The study was conducted in October/November 2013. The findings are drawn from an in-depth quantitative survey (completed by 30 London boroughs and local safeguarding children boards) and eight semi-structured interviews with statutory and voluntary sector providers. The report provides a snapshot of current responses to CSE across London, in relation to: - Local scoping of the issue; - Local policies and procedures; - Training and awareness raising; - Identification and early intervention (re. victims and perpetrators); - Responding to cases of CSE (re. victims and perpetrators); and - Overarching reflections on progress and challenges. Although there is still much progress to be made, the report encouragingly demonstrates that significant work is underway. Details: London: London Councils, 2014. 62p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 19, 2014 at: http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/policylobbying/children/safeguardingchildren/csefinalandsummaryreports.htm Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/policylobbying/children/safeguardingchildren/csefinalandsummaryreports.htm Shelf Number: 132067 Keywords: Child ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual Exploitation |
Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office Title: Child Welfare: Federal Agencies Can Better Support State Efforts to Prevent and Respond to Sexual Abuse by School Personnel Summary: While all child abuse is troubling, sexual abuse by school personnel raises particular concerns because of the trust placed in schools. Federal laws prohibit sexual harassment, including sexual abuse, in federally-funded education programs and set minimum standards for state laws on reporting suspected child abuse. GAO was asked to review efforts to address child sexual abuse by school personnel. GAO examined: (1) states' and school districts' steps to help prevent such abuse, (2) their reporting requirements and approaches for investigating allegations, and (3) federal agencies' efforts to address such abuse. GAO reviewed relevant federal laws, regulations, and guidance; surveyed state educational agencies in 50 states and the District of Columbia; and visited four states and six of their districts. States were selected based on actions taken in response to past allegations of abuse. GAO interviewed state agencies, school districts, local law enforcement and child protective service agencies, and experts identified through a systematic literature review. GAO recommends that Education collaborate with HHS and Justice to compile and disseminate information to states; identify a way to track the prevalence of sexual abuse; and that Education also clarify and disseminate information on how Title IX applies to personnel-to-student sexual abuse in the K-12 setting. Education and HHS provided technical comments and Education concurred with our recommendations. Justice had no comments. Details: Washington, DC: GAO, 2014. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: GAO-14-42: Accessed April 22, 2014 at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/660375.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/660375.pdf Shelf Number: 132124 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseSchool Crime |
Author: Boles, Sharon Title: Sacramento County Dependency Drug Court Year Seven Outcome and Process Evaluation Findings Summary: The Sacramento County Dependency Drug Court (DDC) began in October 2001. The Sacramento DDC was developed as part of a system-wide reform effort to address the needs of families with substance use disorders in the child welfare system. The Sacramento DDC operates parallel to the dependency case proceedings, which are conducted on a regular family court docket. Compliance reviews and management of the recovery aspects of the case are heard by the DDC officer throughout the life of the parents' participation in the dependency drug court. Parents begin DDC services promptly to pre-empt the possibility of noncompliance of court orders regarding substance abuse treatment participation. The focus of this report includes: 1) a description of the program participants; 2) findings regarding treatment engagement, retention and completion; and 3) 12, 18, and 36 month findings regarding child safety and permanency. For this report, the 24 month findings are presented in Appendix A. For a complete description of the DDC model and programmatic components, please contact the authors for a report issued in April 2002. Details: Irvine, CA: Children and Family Futures, 2010. 84p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 23, 2014 at: http://www.cffutures.org/files/publications/Year%207%20Summary%20Report%20Final.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.cffutures.org/files/publications/Year%207%20Summary%20Report%20Final.pdf Shelf Number: 132149 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild WelfareDrug CourtsDrug Offender TreatmentDrug OffendersProblem Solving Courts |
Author: Great Britain. House of Commons. Culture, Media and Sport Committee Title: Online Safety. Sixth Report of Session 2013-14 Summary: The internet has revolutionised communications and information sharing. It provides an ever increasingly important platform for creativity and economic growth. Online social media services are providing new ways of interacting and keeping in touch. Online communications enable expressions of human behaviour both positive and negative; sometimes downright criminal. Our inquiry has focused on three disparate aspects of online content and behaviour, all of which are of widespread concern: illegal content, especially images of child abuse; harmful adult content being made freely available to children; bullying and harassment on social media. Both the publication and possession of child abuse images are rightly illegal. While these offences are bad enough, it must not be forgotten that such images represent crime scenes, often of the most horrific kind. There is a clear need to ensure that the police have adequate resources to track down and arrest online paedophiles in sufficient numbers to act as a meaningful deterrent to others. If necessary, additional funding should be provided to recruit and train a sufficiently large number of police officers adequate to the task. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Command, now part of the new National Crime Agency, has a well-deserved reputation as a lead body in tackling child abuse. It has been increasingly effective not least because it is not solely a criminal justice organisation: its education and social care work has also been very important in increasing public understanding of the problem of child abuse and in offering means of countering abusers. All three elements of its mission - education, social care and criminal justice - need to be actively pursued and publicised. The Internet Watch Foundation, too, has played a crucial role in removing and blocking child abuse images online. We very much welcome their new commitment to embark on proactive searching for online child abuse images. The sooner these can be found and removed, the better. However, we are concerned that the additional staff resources being allocated to this task could prove woefully insufficient to achieve substantial progress towards what must be an important intermediate goal: the eradication of child abuse images from the open internet. Tracing paedophiles who share images on peer-to-peer networks and the so-called hidden internet continues to challenge both the police and the internet service providers; it is a challenge that, by working together, they must overcome. Legal adult pornography is widely consumed. This includes explicit "hard core" material that attracts an R18 certificate from the British Board of Film Classification. Parents and carers clearly have a key role, not to mention interest, in preventing harmful material of this kind becoming available to children. However, they should have access to more information and help where and when they need it. In the off-line world, it is the newsagent, not the parent, who voluntarily places some adult magazines on a top shelf out of reach of children. It is the local authority, not the parent, which administers the licensing of sex shops selling R18 pornography to which children may not be admitted. Some level of analogous protection ought to be provided in relation to online material. At the moment, little is. Legal adult sites could restrict access by children in a number of ways. In general a robust age verification process should be in place; as part of this, sites could use a combination of the following: requiring payment by a credit card linked to an adult; shielding the content behind a warning page; attaching metadata to the website to make it easier for filters to operate and for search engines not to return the material when operating in a safe search mode. Filters may not be failsafe, but they continue to improve and are an important way of protecting children from harmful content. We very much welcome the introduction of whole home filtering solutions that prompt account holders with a choice to apply them. The main internet service providers should have contacted all their customers by the end of the year to offer this valuable service. We want to see all other ISPs following suit. Publishing adult pornography in a way that makes it readily available to children is likely to be an offence under the Obscene Publications Act 1959. We do not believe the police should be deterred from bringing to book publishers of adult pornography who make little attempt to shield children from their product. While acknowledging that the enforcement of obscenity legislation is fraught with difficulty, not least in the context of the internet, we believe there is scope for greater enforcement in this area to provide some deterrent effect. There may also be scope for blocking particularly harmful adult websites that make no serious attempt to hinder access by children. As part of its existing media literacy duties, Ofcom has an important role in monitoring internet content and advising the public on online safety. However, we are anxious to avoid suggesting a significant extension of formal content regulation of the internet . Among the unintended consequences this could have would be a stifling of the free flow of ideas that lies at the heart of internet communication. Rather, more needs to be done to signpost the advice and educational resources available to both parents and teachers. This is all the more pressing given the growing use of social media and its misuse by some - both adults and children. Today, one in five 12-16 year-olds think being bullied online is part of life. Social media providers should offer a range of prominently displayed options for, and routes to, reporting harmful content and communications. They should act on these reports expeditiously, keeping the complainant and-where appropriate-the subject of the complaints informed of outcomes and actions. Given that Facebook and Twitter are aware of the extent to which their services are accessed by younger children, thanks to age verification processes that are at best flimsy, we expect them to pay greater attention to factoring this into the services provided, the content allowed and the access to both. The same applies to other social media companies in a similar position. Some of the worst online bullies and trolls are being brought to book in the courts. Much of the abuse and bullying that takes place online is covered by existing laws, but these need to be clarified with guidance updated for the online space. Young people especially are distinguishing less and less between their lives on the internet and in the real world. Bullying that takes place in the playground can merge seamlessly with bullying on smart phones and tablets. Sometimes this ends with the tragedy of teenage suicide. It is just one reminder that staying safe off-line includes staying safe online too. Details: London: The Stationery Office, Limited, 2014. 166p. Source: Internet Resource: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmcumeds/729/729.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmcumeds/729/729.pdf Shelf Number: 132037 Keywords: BullyingChild AbuseChild PornographyChild ProtectionChild Sexual ExploitationComputer CrimesInternet CrimesOnline CommunicationsOnline SecurityOnline VictimizationPedophiliaPornography |
Author: Mooney, Ann Title: The Health of Children and Young People in Secure Settings Summary: This small-scale descriptive study was commissioned by the Children and Young People's Public Health team within the Department of Health, in partnership with Offender Health, in order to inform preparation and implementation of an Offender Health Strategy document for children and young people. The overall aim was to review what is currently known about healthcare for children and young people in the secure estate, covering all three types of setting (Young Offender Institution, Secure Training Centre and Secure Children's Home) and all aspects of health, but with a particular focus on physical health since more is already known about mental health and substance misuse among young people in secure settings. The study took a multi-method approach involving a focused overview of relevant literature, interviews with key stakeholders, analysis of the most recent full inspection report (obtained for 42 of the 45 institutions holding young people under 18), and case studies of promising practice. It did not include primary research in secure settings, and a number of important caveats concerning the available data are discussed in the report. The strength of the report is that it brings together in one place information about healthcare for children and young people in the secure estate, and begins to identify key issues that need to be addressed. However, further research is needed to validate the conclusions of this study. Details: London: Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London, 2007. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 28, 2014 at: http://eprints.ioe.ac.uk/53/1/Health_children_in_secure_settings.pdf Year: 2007 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://eprints.ioe.ac.uk/53/1/Health_children_in_secure_settings.pdf Shelf Number: 132188 Keywords: Child ProtectionHealth CareJuvenile Detention FacilitiesJuvenile OffendersTreatment Programs |
Author: Winokur, Marc Title: Kinship Care for the Safety, Permanency, and Well-Being of Children Removed from the Home for Maltreatment: A Systematic Review Summary: BACKGROUND Every year a large number of children around the world are removed from their homes because they are maltreated. Child welfare agencies are responsible for placing these children in out-of-home settings that will facilitate their safety, permanency, and well-being. However, children in out-of-home placements typically display more educational, behavioural, and psychological problems than do their peers, although it is unclear whether this results from the placement itself, the maltreatment that precipitated it, or inadequacies in the child welfare system. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effect of kinship care placement compared to foster care placement on the safety, permanency, and well-being of children removed from the home for maltreatment. SEARCH METHODS We searched the following databases for this updated review on 14 March 2011: the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Sociological Abstracts, Social Science Citation Index, ERIC, Conference Proceedings Citation Index-Social Science and Humanities, ASSIA, and Dissertation Express. We handsearched relevant social work journals and reference lists of published literature reviews, and contacted authors. SELECTION CRITERIA Controlled experimental and quasi-experimental studies, in which children removed from the home for maltreatment and subsequently placed in kinship foster care were compared with children placed in non-kinship foster care for child welfare outcomes in the domains of well-being, permanency, or safety. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Two review authors independently read the titles and abstracts identified in the searches, and selected appropriate studies. Two review authors assessed the eligibility of each study for the evidence base and then evaluated the methodological quality of the included studies. Lastly, we extracted outcome data and entered them into Review Manager 5 software (RevMan) for meta-analysis with the results presented in written and graphical forms. RESULTS One-hundred-and-two quasi-experimental studies, with 666,615 children are included in this review. The 'Risk of bias' analysis indicates that the evidence base contains studies with unclear risk for selection bias, performance bias, detection bias, reporting bias, and attrition bias, with the highest risk associated with selection bias and the lowest associated with reporting bias. The outcome data suggest that children in kinship foster care experience fewer behavioural problems (standardised mean difference effect size -0.33, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.49 to -0.17), fewer mental health disorders (odds ratio (OR) 0.51, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.62), better well-being (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.64), and less placement disruption (OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.69) than do children in non-kinship foster care. For permanency, there was no difference on reunification rates, although children in non-kinship foster care were more likely to be adopted (OR 2.52, 95% CI 1.42 to 4.49), while children in kinship foster care were more likely to be in guardianship (OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.40). Lastly, children in non-kinship foster care were more likely to utilise mental health services (OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.35 to 2.37). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS This review supports the practice of treating kinship care as a viable out-of-home placement option for children removed from the home for maltreatment. However, this conclusion is tempered by the pronounced methodological and design weaknesses of the included studies. Details: Oslo: The Campbell Collaboration, 2014. 292p. Source: Internet Resource: Campbell Systematic Review 2014:2: Accessed May 5, 2014 at: http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/lib/project/51/ Year: 2014 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 132244 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child Maltreatment Child ProtectionChild Welfare |
Author: Darkins, Tina Title: The Anger Change Programme Research Report Summary: The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of the Anger Change Programme for Mothers. The Anger Change programme is a New Zealand-based child abuse prevention programme, developed in 1990 by Pye Bowden, as a specialised therapeutic intervention for mothers who were abusing their children or who were afraid that they might do so. The format is a therapeutic group process, using discussion, mind/body techniques and psychodynamic processes to create healing. Counselling services who took part in the study were: Jigsaw North, Whangarei who were the lead agency for the study; Family Works - Hawkes Bay; East Coast Family Works (Hastings); Family Support Service - Whanganui Trust (trading as Jigsaw Whanganui); and Presbyterian Support Services - South Canterbury (Family Works). The research question is: How effective has the Anger Change for Mothers Programme been from the prospective of graduate mothers over the past four-plus years and from the prospective from other stakeholders associated with the programme' and what is the current level of community need for the programme? Details: Whangarei, New Zealand: Jigsaw North, 2013. 274p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 7, 2014 at: http://www.communityresearch.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/formidable/The-Anger-Change-Programme-For-Mothers-Report-2013-Jigsaw-North.pdf Year: 2013 Country: New Zealand URL: http://www.communityresearch.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/formidable/The-Anger-Change-Programme-For-Mothers-Report-2013-Jigsaw-North.pdf Shelf Number: 132278 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild Abuse PreventionChild ProtectionDomestic Violence (New Zealand)Family Violence |
Author: McGuinness, Kate Title: Community Education and Social Marketing Literature Review: To inform a campaign to prevent child abuse and neglect in the Northern Territory Summary: The aim of this review is to inform a community education and social marketing strategy to improve the safety and wellbeing of children in the Northern Territory (NT). Examining national and international literature provides an overview of the current research on i) what helps communities and families to keep their children safe; ii) the use and effectiveness of social marketing and community education approaches for the prevention of child abuse and neglect and/or approaches in remote and/or Aboriginal contexts and iii) their applicability to the NT context. In doing so the review seeks to answer the following questions: - Why is there a need for a community education and social marketing campaign in the NT? - Why do strategies need to reach Aboriginal families? - What helps communities and families to keep their children safe? - What methods of delivery (what strategies) are best for achieving change? - Who should key messages be targeted at? Details: Darwin, NT, AUS: The Centre for Child Development and Education, Menzies School of Health Research, 2013. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 8, 2014 at: http://ccde.menzies.edu.au/sites/default/files/Menzies-SocialMarketing-Review-Final-May.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Australia URL: http://ccde.menzies.edu.au/sites/default/files/Menzies-SocialMarketing-Review-Final-May.pdf Shelf Number: 132292 Keywords: AboriginalsChild Abuse and Neglect (Australia)Child ProtectionCrime PreventionIndigenous PeoplesMedia CampaignsPublicity Campaigns |
Author: Matthews, Adrian Title: "What's Going to Happen Tomorrow?" Unaccompanied Children Refused Asylum Summary: This report brings together a range of concerns that the Office of the Children's Commissioner has had for a number of years about how unaccompanied children navigate the asylum system they are channelled through when seeking permission (leave) to remain in the United Kingdom. The primary focus of the research for this report was on young people who had been unsuccessful in their asylum claims and who were now young adults (or on the cusp of becoming so).These young people are expected to leave the UK and return to their countries of origin - often war zones or countries whose Governments violate the rights of its citizens. Their voices and experiences feature throughout. The report is presented in two halves. Part 1 defines what is meant by unaccompanied children, provides an overview of their numbers in Europe and the UK, and looks at what happens to those whose claims are unsuccessful. It also considers care arrangements and the impact of how losing their asylum claim affected their status in the care system. The final chapter in part 1 reviews the legal assistance available to help children and young people put their cases before decision makers. At the end of part 1 we make a series of recommendations to Government, the Legal Aid Agency and others designed to allow children to participate fully and have their voice heard in legal proceedings that affect their lives and outcomes. Part 2 focuses on what young people told us about their journey from leaving their own country to final refusal of asylum, and the barriers they face in returning home. It highlights what would be good practice for agencies in dealing with unaccompanied children in the asylum system. The conclusion of this report considers how the Government might reconfigure current arrangements for those who do not meet the stringent criteria for asylum to provide a more realistic prospect of them leaving the UK at an appropriate time. The approach builds on discussions that have emerged in Europe suggesting that young migrants should be permitted to remain in the host state to complete a life project that prepares them for return to their country of origin or moving on elsewhere. At the end of part 2 we make a series of recommendations on how this may be achieved. Details: London: Office of the Children's Commissioner, 2014. 106p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 8, 2014 at: http://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/content/publications/content_794 Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/content/publications/content_794 Shelf Number: 132295 Keywords: Asylum SeekersChild ProtectionUndocumented ChildrenUndocumented Immigrants |
Author: Mak, Jodi Title: Prevention and Combat Child Abuse and Neglect. International Report of Workstream 2. Experiences of Parents and Professionals: What Works? Summary: A partnership of six institutions from five European countries has been granted a two-year project (2011 - 2012) within the framework of the Daphne III programme: preventing and combating violence against children, young people and women and protecting victims and groups at risk. This project is called Prevent and Combat Child Abuse: What works? An overview of regional approaches, exchange and research. The aim of the project is to generate relevant knowledge on current strategies for the prevention of child abuse and neglect (CAN) in Europe. It will focus on interventions and strategies that target the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect. It will compare five European countries: Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Sweden and the Netherlands. The final output of the project will be a manual with data on what works in the prevention and treatment of child abuse. The project is coordinated by the Netherlands Youth Institute and has been carried out in collaboration with the Swedish Orebro regional council, the Hungarian Family Child Youth Association, the German Youth Institute, CESIS from Portugal and the Verwey-Jonker Institute from the Netherlands. The aim of this research was to generate information about the experiences of parents and professionals concerning the prevention and combating of child abuse and neglect: what are the successful elements of an effective approach? Knowledge about these elements gives the opportunity to improve both the policy and practice of combating child abuse and neglect. Therefore the research had to provide an answer to the following question: Do national prevention strategies and actions against child abuse and neglect correspond to what works in practice, as experienced by parents and professionals? We chose a combination of research methods, applied through two phases. The first phase involved a total of ten interviews with parents. The second phase consisted of (a) focus group meeting(s) with professionals. The goal of this mixed method was to obtain inside information about the subject matter, which is hard to achieve solely through in-depth interviews. Furthermore, by using this mixed methodology, we have a greater sense of validity when it comes to adequately portraying and representing each target group. All five countries made a national report on the results. Based on these reports and the discussion about the results during the international meetings, the Verwey-Jonker Institute wrote this international report. Details: Utrecht: Verwey-Jonker Institute, 2012. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 10, 2014 at: http://www.youthpolicy.nl/yp/downloadsyp/Daphne-final-report-workstream-2.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Europe URL: http://www.youthpolicy.nl/yp/downloadsyp/Daphne-final-report-workstream-2.pdf Shelf Number: 132316 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (Europe)Child ProtectionEvidence-Based Practices |
Author: National Child Abuse and Neglect Training and Publications Project Title: The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act: 40 Years of Safeguarding America's Children Summary: The story of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) is one of interrelationships among advocates, researchers, policymakers, and public and private agencies. At times a story of challenges and obstacles, this rich history is ultimately one of cooperation and collaboration in addressing the critical issue of child maltreatment. It is a story told by the pioneers, past and present: Those who have led the field of child maltreatment research and practice, as well as those who continue to respond to the daily challenges of ensuring that children have an opportunity to grow into healthy and productive adults. CAPTA and the work that it has engendered are understood best in the context of politics, cultural events, and societal changes. Over four decades, CAPTA has progressed from responding primarily to the occurrence and effects of child maltreatment to focusing more on risk, protection, and prevention. This evolution has included broad recognition of the need for a multidisciplinary approach and development of vital cross-system partnerships. CAPTA is also a story of the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN) and its successor, the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect (OCAN). In 1974, CAPTA recognized that a national problem required a national response and mandated the creation of a National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect to spearhead federal efforts. NCCAN, and later OCAN, provided leadership and funded the vital programs that helped to inform and transform child protection throughout the nation. The National Conferences on Child Abuse and Neglect are also woven into this rich history. Since 1976, the National Conferences have served to simultaneously drive and respond to the field by focusing on the most current thinking on child maltreatment issues and trends. The themes and content of these major training and technical assistance events reflect both the changing CAPTA requirements and the emerging work of NCCAN and later the Children's Bureau's OCAN, their stakeholders and partners. The story of the next 40 years is already being written: through innovative Children's Bureau-supported projects throughout the country; in the technical assistance being provided to states to improve child protection systems; and in the strong partnerships with states and tribes, national organizations, and recognized experts who help guide and support these efforts. The goal may be the most ambitious ever undertaken: a comprehensive child welfare system that supports children, families, and communities in ways that will prevent the occurrence - or recurrence - of maltreatment in the future Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau, 2014. 107p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 12, 2014 at: http://childlaw.sc.edu/doc/CAPTA.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://childlaw.sc.edu/doc/CAPTA.pdf Shelf Number: 132332 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (U.S.)Child MaltreatmentChild Protection |
Author: World Health Organization Title: Preventing Violence: Evaluating Outcomes of Parenting Programmes Summary: Violence is both a serious human rights violation and a major public health concern. It affects the general well-being, physical and mental health, and social functioning of millions of people; it also puts strain on health systems, lowers economic productivity, and has a negative effect on economic and social development. In particular, the number of children affected by violence each year is a major concern. Child maltreatment affects children's physical, cognitive, emotional and social development. It can lead to the body's stress response system being overactive, which can harm the development of the brain and other organs, and increase the risk for stress-related illness and impaired cognition (the capacity to think, learn and understand). Maltreatment is a risk factor for mental health, education, employment and relationship problems later in life. It also increases the likelihood of behavior that is a risk to health, such as smoking, drinking heavily, drug use, over-eating and unsafe sex. These behaviours are, in turn, major causes of death, disease and disability, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes and suicide - sometimes decades later. Victims of maltreatment are also more likely to become perpetrators and victims of other types of violence later in life. Child maltreatment negatively affects a country's economy, due to expenses relating to treating victims' health problems, welfare costs, lowered economic productivity and so forth. In the United States of America (USA), in 2010, the lifetime cost for each victim of non-fatal child maltreatment was estimated to be US$ 210 012. The many serious economic, physical and mental health consequences of child maltreatment mean that it makes sense to develop and implement effective prevention strategies. Child maltreatment is more likely in families that have difficulties developing stable, warm and positive relationships. Children are at increased risk of being maltreated if a parent or guardian has a poor understanding of child development, and therefore has unrealistic expectations about the child's behaviour. This is also the case if parents and guardians do not show the child much care or affection, are less responsive to the child, have a harsh or inconsistent parenting style, and believe that corporal punishment (for example, smacking) is an acceptable form of discipline. Strengthening parenting therefore plays an important role in preventing child maltreatment. One way of strengthening parenting is through parenting programmes. Although many parenting programmes do not specifically aim to reduce or prevent violence, those which aim to strengthen positive relationships through play and praise, and provide effective, age-appropriate positive discipline, have the potential to do so. Parenting programmes to prevent violence usually take the shape of either individual or group-based parenting support. An example of individual parenting support is home visits, which involve trained home visitors visiting parents (typically only the mother) in their homes both during and after their pregnancy. The home visitor supports and educates parents so as to strengthen parenting skills, improve child health and prevent child maltreatment. Group-based parenting support, on the other hand, is typically provided by trained staff to groups of parents together. These programmes aim to prevent child maltreatment by improving parenting skills, increasing parents' understanding of child development and encouraging the use of positive discipline strategies. Most parenting programmes that have proven to be effective at preventing violence have been developed and tested in high-income countries such as the USA and the United Kingdom. There is very little work on parenting programmes in lowand middle-income countries. However, there is evidence from low-resource settings that positive parent-child relationships and a positive parenting style can buffer the effects of family and community influences on children's development, including violent behaviour later in life. From what is already known, there is good evidence to support promoting parenting programmes across different cultural and economic backgrounds. Because we do not know enough about parenting programmes in low- and middle-income countries, evaluations of programmes are critical. First, we need to confirm that desired results are achieved in new contexts. Second, because of the lack of resources available to fund programmes in poorer countries, evaluations can prevent time and money from being wasted on programmes that do not work. Third, the results from outcome evaluations can be used to influence governments to fund parenting programmes. This document was designed to help strengthen the evidence for parenting programmes aimed at preventing violence in low- and middle-income countries. The intended audiences are: - policy-makers; - programme developers, planners and commissioners; - high-level practitioners in government ministries, such as health and social development; - nongovernmental organisations; - community-based organisations; and - donors working in the area of violence prevention. Details: Geneva, SWIT: World Health Organization, 2013. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 14, 2014 at: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/85994/1/9789241505956_eng.pdf?ua=1 Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/85994/1/9789241505956_eng.pdf?ua=1 Shelf Number: 104859 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionCrime PreventionDelinquency PreventionParenting Programs |
Author: Harwin, Judith Title: Changing Lifestyles, Keeping Children Safe: an evaluation of the first Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) in care proceedings Summary: This report presents the findings from an independent evaluation of the pilot Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC). FDAC is an innovative approach to care proceedings where parental drug or alcohol misuse is a key feature of the case. The FDAC pilot began in January 2008 at the Inner London Family Proceedings Court in London. The pilot was funded by the Department for Education, the Ministry of Justice, the Home Office, the Department of Health and three inner-London local authorities (Camden, Islington, and Westminster) - the pilot local authorities. Since April 2012, when government funding came to an end, the FDAC specialist team has been funded by a consortium of five London authorities, including Southwark and Hammersmith & Fulham as well as the original three. The specialist team is provided by a partnership between the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust and the children's charity, Coram. Parental substance misuse is a formidable social problem and a major risk factor for child maltreatment. It is a factor in up to two-thirds of care applications and parents with substance misuse problems are often involved in repeat care proceedings in relation to subsequent children. There has also been a rise in the number of care proceedings since 2008, so the scale of the problem is substantial. FDAC has been adapted to English law and practice from a model of Family Treatment Drug Courts (FTDCs) that is used widely in the USA and shows positive results. The US national evaluation of over 2,000 cases found that, compared to proceedings in the ordinary court, more FTDC parents and children were able to remain together safely, and there were swifter alternative permanent placement decisions for children if parents were unable to stop misusing, all of which meant savings on the cost of foster care during and after proceedings. The catalysts for the UK pilot were the encouraging evidence from the US evaluation and concerns about the response to parental substance misuse through ordinary care proceedings in England. These concerns were about poor child and parent outcomes; insufficient co-ordination between adult and children's services; late intervention to protect children; delay in reaching decisions; and the soaring costs of proceedings, linked to the length of proceedings and the cost of expert evidence. Details: Uxbridge, UK: Brunel University, 2014. 188p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 17, 2014 at: http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/sites/default/files/files/FDAC_May2014_FinalReport_V2.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/sites/default/files/files/FDAC_May2014_FinalReport_V2.pdf Shelf Number: 1322487 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionDrug Abuse and AddictionFamily CourtsProblem-Solving CourtsSubstance Abuse |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: "Where Do You Want Us to Go?" Abuses against Street Children in Uganda Summary: Over half of all Ugandans are under the age of 15 and children are the single largest demographic group living in poverty. Street children in Uganda's urban centers face the risk of violence, abuse, and discrimination at the hands of the police and the population at large. They lack basic necessities, including access to clean water, food, medical attention, shelter, and education. Based on interviews with over 130 current and former street children, "Where Do You Want Us to Go?" documents human rights violations against street children by the police, local government officials, older street children and adults, and members of the community. Police and other officials, such as those from the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), have beaten, extorted money, and arbitrarily detained street children often in roundups. Although Uganda has put in place a legal framework designed to protect child rights, including those of street children, key state child protection agencies are failing to respond adequately or effectively to the needs of these children. Human Rights Watch calls on the government of Uganda to end to the roundups and abuses against street children and implement its child protection system. Those responsible for abuse, including police and officials, should be investigated and prosecuted. International partners should consider supporting civil society organizations involved in child protection and activities directly targeting street children throughout the country. Details: New York: HRW, 2014. 83p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 17, 2014 at: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/uganda0714_forinsert_ForUpload.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Uganda URL: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/uganda0714_forinsert_ForUpload.pdf Shelf Number: 132705 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionHomeless YouthPovertyStreet Children |
Author: Woodman, Jenny Title: The GP's Role in Responding to Child Maltreatment: Time for a Rethink? An overview of policy, practice and research Summary: 1. A public health approach There are increasing calls for a public health approach to child maltreatment. A public health approach prioritizes prevention and early intervention. Within healthcare services, opportunities for a public health approach are located in the contact between professionals and children or their parents or carers and are likely to be characterised by identifying and responding to parental risk factors for maltreatment and harmful parent-child interaction. Defining the spectrum as 'maltreatment-related' concerns This report focuses on the role of GPs for marginally maltreated children (in the grey area around the threshold for defining 'maltreatment') as well as for children whose experiences can obviously and definitively be labelled as maltreatment. We use the term 'maltreatment-related concern' to capture the full range of professional concern which is relevant to child maltreatment. 2. Structure and methods This overview of policy, practice and research was based on a series of literature and policy reviews and answered five questions: - Chapter 3: Why focus on GPs? - Chapter 4: How far does policy and practice guidance support GPs' direct responses to families? - Chapter 5: What do we know from research and practice about direct responses to maltreatment-related concerns by GPs? - Chapter 6: What do we know about how parents, young people, adolescents and children view the doctor-patient relationship in general practice? - Chapter 7: What is the way forward? Details: London: NSPCC, 2014. 88p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 21, 2014 at: http://www.rcgp.org.uk/news/2014/july/~/media/Files/CIRC/Safeguarding%20Children/RCGP-GP-Role-responding-to-child-maltreatment-July-2014.ashx Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.rcgp.org.uk/news/2014/july/~/media/Files/CIRC/Safeguarding%20Children/RCGP-GP-Role-responding-to-child-maltreatment-July-2014.ashx Shelf Number: 131261 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (U.K.)Child MaltreatmentChild ProtectionHealthcareMedical Profession |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: Tobacco's Hidden Children: Hazardous Child Labor in United States Tobacco Farming Summary: Children working on tobacco farms in the United States are exposed to nicotine, toxic pesticides, and other dangers. Based on interviews with 141 children, ages 7 to 17, working on farms in the states of North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and, Virginia where 90 percent of US tobacco is grown, Tobacco's Hidden Children documents children getting sick while working with vomiting, nausea, headaches, and dizziness-symptoms consistent with acute nicotine poisoning. Children reported working excessively long hours without overtime pay, often in extreme heat, with no suitable protective gear. Many children said tractors sprayed pesticides in nearby fields. Many also described using dangerous tools and machinery, lifting heavy loads, and climbing several stories into barns to hang tobacco for drying, risking serious injuries and falls. The world's largest tobacco companies buy tobacco grown on US farms. However, none of the companies have child labor policies that sufficiently protect children from hazardous work on tobacco farms. Under US law, children working in agriculture can work longer hours, at younger ages, and in more hazardous conditions than children in any other industry. Children as young as 12 can be hired for unlimited hours outside of school hours on a farm of any size with parental permission, and there is no minimum age for children to work on small farms. Human Rights Watch calls on tobacco companies to enact policies to prohibit children from engaging in any tasks that risk their health and safety. Human Rights Watch also calls on the Obama administration and Congress to take action to protect children from the dangers of tobacco farming. Details: New York: HRW, 2014. 137p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 28, 2014 at: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/us0514_UploadNew.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 132796 Keywords: Child Labor (U.S.)Child ProtectionTobacco Industry |
Author: Restrepo, Dan Title: The Surge of Unaccompanied Children from Central America. Root Causes and Policy Solutions Summary: Over the past few years, and in particular over the past few months, the number of children and families leaving the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras and arriving in neighboring countries and at our southern border has grown significantly. Already in fiscal year 2014, more than 57,000 children have arrived in the United States, double the number who made it to the U.S. southern border in FY 2013. The number of families arriving at the border, consisting mostly of mothers with infants and toddlers, has increased in similar proportions. In fiscal year 2013, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, apprehended fewer than 10,000 families per year; yet, more than 55,000 families were apprehended in the first nine months of fiscal year 2014 alone. The majority of unaccompanied children and families who are arriving come from a region of Central America known as the "Northern Triangle," where high rates of violence and homicide have prevailed in recent years and economic opportunity is increasingly hard to come by. Officials believe a total of at least 90,000 children will arrive on the U.S.-Mexico border by the end of this fiscal year in September. This brief aims to shed light on this complex situation by putting the numbers of people leaving the Northern Triangle into context; analyzing the broad host of drivers in Central America that have caused a significant uptick in children leaving their countries; and prescribing a series of foreign policy steps to facilitate management of this crisis and also to address the long-term root causes pushing these children to flee their home countries. This brief, however, does not delve into the needed domestic policy changes in the areas of immigration and refugee law. Details: Washington, DC: Center for American Progress, 2014. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 29, 2014 at: http://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/CentAmerChildren3.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/CentAmerChildren3.pdf Shelf Number: 132808 Keywords: Asylum SeekersChild Protection ImmigrationUndocumented Children Undocumented Immigrants |
Author: KidsRights Title: Minors Not Miners. Hazardous Child Labour, with a focus on gold mining in Burkina Faso Summary: An estimated 115 million children from 5 to 17 years old work in hazardous conditions across the world. Hazardous child labour is classed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) as one of the worst forms of child labour. The ILO describes it as "work in dangerous or unhealthy conditions that could result in a child being killed, or injured and/or made ill as a consequence of poor safety and health standards and working arrangements". The ILO estimates that some 22,000 children are killed at work every year. Those who survive can develop health problems later in life due to poor working conditions while their bodies and minds are still growing and developing. They also suffer from the lack of an education, as few manage to attend school when working long hours in harsh conditions. The ILO has set the minimum age for hazardous work at 18, a convention which has been ratified by 166 member countries including Burkina Faso. Poverty is one of the main drivers of hazardous child labour. Families are left with no other choice but to send their children to work. Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world, suffering from recurring droughts. It was drought which first forced families into gold mining in 1980, and the gold rush spread quickly. Gold has now become Burkina Faso's number one export commodity, and small-scale mining sites are to be found throughout the country, employing children as young as six years old. Small-scale artisanal mining is difficult to monitor or regulate. Small groups or families find a remote site and start digging; it's low-tech and illegal. The smaller the operation, the more likely it is to involve children. Because of their size and agility, they are useful in the narrow tunnels and shafts underground. They're cheap to employ, and don't ask questions or stand up for their rights. Working in hot, cramped goldmines leaves children with serious respiratory conditions, hearing and sight problems, and joint disorders. Exposure to mercury can lead to serious physical and neurological disorders. Temporary mining sites lack sanitation, health services and regular access to clean water. Schools, if accessible at all, are often kilometers away. Malnutrition is common among child miners, along with a host of diseases. Some 3 million children in Burkina Faso remain unregistered from birth, and invisible to the authorities. The country's legal minimum age for hazardous work is 18, and there is a special government directorate for child labour. However, small-scale gold-mining remains prolific and difficult to regulate. UNICEF estimated in 2012 that 20,000 children were working in mines in five of Burkina Faso's 13 regions. Due to the illegitimate feature of small scale mining it is expected to be far more widespread in Burkina Faso society. Immediate action and enhancing the monitoring of children working under hazardous conditions in the gold mines is desperately needed. School education is one of the most powerful tools in the fight against child labour in the mines. Children can learn the skills to lift them out of poverty, while they grow and develop in a safe environment. Globally, the effort needs to be continued to ensure that all children attend school until the minimum age for work. In order to stop children working in hazardous conditions in gold mines, the government of Burkina Faso must increase the number of labour inspectors and ensure continuous support for programmes offering alternatives to children withdrawn from the mines. Economic opportunities for families need to be enhanced, and awareness raised in mining communities about the safety risks and health consequences for children working in gold mines. Details: Amsterdam: KidsRights Foundation, 2014. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 13, 2014 at: http://www.kidsrights.org/Portals/1/About%20us/KidsRights%20Report-Minors%20Not%20Miners%20digitaal%20def.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Africa URL: http://www.kidsrights.org/Portals/1/About%20us/KidsRights%20Report-Minors%20Not%20Miners%20digitaal%20def.pdf Shelf Number: 133035 Keywords: Child Labor (Burkina Faso)Child ProtectionMining Industry |
Author: KidsRights Title: Not So Sweet: Hazardous Child Labour, with a focus on cocoa plantations in Ivory Coast Summary: An estimated 115 million children from 5 to 17 years old work in hazardous conditions across the world. Hazardous child labour is classified by the International Labour Organization (ILO) as one of the worst forms of child labour. The ILO describes it as "work in dangerous or unhealthy conditions that could result in a child being killed, or injured and/or made ill as a consequence of poor safety and health standards and working arrangements". The ILO estimates that some 22,000 children are killed at work every year. Those who survive can develop health problems later in life due to poor working conditions while their bodies and minds are still growing and developing. They also suffer from the lack of an education, as few manage to attend school when working long hours in harsh conditions. The ILO has set the minimum age for hazardous work at 18, a convention which has been ratified by 166 member countries, including Ivory Coast. Since the cocoa bean was first introduced to Ivory Coast in the late 19th century, it has played a crucial role in the country's economy. Ivory Coast now accounts for 35% of the world's cocoa production. Around 900,000 farmers grow the bean, and 3.5 million people depend on it for their livelihoods. The most recent data shows that an estimated 819,921 children worked in the 2008/2009 harvest season. Most cocoa farms are small, family-run operations which struggle to survive on tiny, unstable proceeds. Only 3% of the final retail price reaches the cocoa producers, and global prices are volatile. "Cocoa farming is very labour intensive," reports the Cocoa Initiative, "and producers face strong pressures to keep labour costs down. At peak times all family members, including children, are involved". Fairtrade certification of chocolate helps to ensure a fair price for farmers, but less than 10% of the world's chocolate so far meets the standard. In Ivory Coast, certification schemes are not applied industry-wide, and should be given priority by the government. Agriculture is identified as one of the three most hazardous sectors worldwide; the ILO deems it too dangerous for workers under the age of 18. Heavy agricultural work puts children at risk of lifelong disability; machinery at risk of injury; toxic substances at risk of poisoning. Still, 59% of the worlds child labourers work in agriculture; that's 98 million children. In 2012 the government of Ivory Coast adopted the National Action Plan Against Trafficking, Exploitation and Child Labour (2012-2014). Around 3,364 children - mostly boys - have been trafficked from neighbouring countries and forced into hazardous labour in the cocoa plantations. But the majority of children working in the cocoa industry are working informally with their own families, making intervention difficult. It remains a challenge to reduce the number of children working under hazardous conditions in the cocoa sector. The number of children working in the cocoa sector in Ivory Coast remains high and current and accurate date are not available. More data is urgently needed if hazardous child labour in Ivory Coast is to be properly addressed. Good quality, accessible education is vital in the fight against child labour. Schooling in Ivory Coast is not compulsory, and fees make it impossible for many, as well as patchy provision, along with the seasonal nature of work on the cocoa plantations. The government needs to make education compulsory, and freely accessible to all children. Globally, the effort needs to be continued to ensure that all children attend school until the minimum age for work. Economic opportunities for families need to be enhanced, and awareness raised in farming communities about the safety risks and health consequences for children working in the sector. Details: Amsterdam, NETH: KidsRights Foundation, 2014. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 22, 2014 at: http://www.kidsrights.org/Portals/1/About%20us/KidsRights%20Report-Not%20So%20Sweet-digitaal%20-website.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Africa URL: http://www.kidsrights.org/Portals/1/About%20us/KidsRights%20Report-Not%20So%20Sweet-digitaal%20-website.pdf Shelf Number: 133081 Keywords: Child Labor (Ivory Coast)Child Protectionchild Trafficking |
Author: Macvean, Michelle Title: Evidence review: An analysis of the evidence for parenting interventions in Australia Summary: Overview This analysis of parenting programs was conducted by the Parenting Research Centre for the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), the funders of Family Support Programs (FSP) in Australia. The report provides an analysis of the evidence for parenting interventions, with a focus on: target populations; target child, parent and family outcomes; and ratings of effectiveness. Factors to consider when implementing programs in the Australian context are also presented. Methods Step A: Program information and effectiveness ratings were collated from international web-based clearinghouses and evidence for additional programs was sought from systematic reviews of parenting programs. Step B: A Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) of Australian evaluations of parenting programs was conducted. Published and unpublished literature dated 2002-2012 was included, with programs rated for effectiveness. Findings The analysis found 34 international and 25 Australian programs with strong evidence, with only two programs with strong evidence at both the international level and within Australia (i.e., Triple P and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy). A large proportion of the programs with good evidence targeted child behaviour specifically in children with identified behavioural problems. Other outcomes, in particular basic child care, were targeted infrequently in the programs with strong evidence. There is little evidence for programs targeting specific groups of parents, such as those with intellectual disabilities or mental illnesses and teen parents. Conclusions and limitations Further rigorous program evaluations are needed to determine the effectiveness of many of the reviewed programs. Although systematic in its approach, this analysis was time-limited and some programs may have been missed from review. Readers are advised to seek updated evidence before selecting and implementing programs. Details: Melbourne: Parenting Research Centre, 2013. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 22, 2014 at: http://www.parentingrc.org.au/images/stories/evidence_review_parenting_interventions/main_report_evidencereviewparentinginterventions.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.parentingrc.org.au/images/stories/evidence_review_parenting_interventions/main_report_evidencereviewparentinginterventions.pdf Shelf Number: 133083 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionDelinquency PreventionInterventionsParenting Programs |
Author: KidsRights Title: Innocence Last: Child Marriage in a Global Context, with a Focus on Malawi Summary: Child marriage, according to international human rights authorities, is defined as any marriage below the age of 18 years. Sometimes involving boys, but mostly girls, it is a global issue which affects children before they are physically or emotionally mature enough to deal with the consequences. The practice violates a host of children's rights including the right to an education and the right to protection from sexual abuse. 14 million girls under 18 get married every year, in some poorest countries of the world. Marriage is seen as the only option for most of these girls, whose families often struggle to pay for their upkeep, and receive a bride wealth on the occasion of their marriage. Young wives must leave school, and often become pregnant, facing the increased risks of mortality and complication that early pregnancy brings. Worldwide, 70,000 girls under 19 die every year in pregnancy or childbirth, and infants born to mothers under 18 are 60% more likely to die in their first year. Malawi has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, with one in 36 women dying in pregnancy or childbirth. Malawi has the eighth highest rate of child marriage in the world, with over half of girls marrying under the age of 18. It is one of the world's poorest countries, with 61% of the population living below the poverty line. Despite the Malawian government's efforts to eradicate child marriage through national legislation, the practice continues to be accepted within communities, reinforced by customary laws. Child marriage is almost twice as prevalent in rural areas of the country. The legal minimum age of marriage in Malawi is 18; or 15 with the consent of parents. It is illegal to force any child into marriage, but not technically criminal (just "discouraged") for a child younger than 15 to marry. Children have been known to marry as young as 12 years old. The government of Malawi is currently reviewing its minimum age legislation, and a national debate is taking place about whether the minimum age with parental consent should be raised to 18. Gender inequality is part of the problem in Malawi; girls are at a disadvantage not just at home but also in wider society, where their economic alternatives are extremely limited. Often married to older men, in exchange for a sum of money, young wives are very vulnerable to domestic violence. Education is seen as the most powerful tool in the fight against child marriage. Those girls who stay longer at school improve their economic potential, and are statistically far less likely to marry young. At the moment, only 5% of girls in Malawi complete their secondary education. For child marriage to end, the practice must be kept high on the global human rights agenda. In Malawi, local perceptions of the practice need to change. Girls, their families and their communities must be informed of the risks of early pregnancy, the benefits of an extended education, and the human rights to which all children are entitled. Details: Amsterdam: KidsRights Foundation, 2014. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 22, 2014 at: http://www.kidsrights.org/Portals/1/About%20us/KidsRights%20Report%20Malawi%20DEF.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Malawi URL: http://www.kidsrights.org/Portals/1/About%20us/KidsRights%20Report%20Malawi%20DEF.pdf Shelf Number: 133085 Keywords: Child Marriage (Malawi)Child Protection |
Author: KidsRights Title: No Place To Hide: Physical Child Abuse in a global context, with a focus on Moldova Summary: One in four children around the world suffer from severe and frequent physical abuse, much of it at the hands of their parents in the privacy of their own home. It can leave them with physical and emotional scars, disability or even death. It is a cycle which repeats itself from generation to generation. Violence in the home is often seen by society as an acceptable form of discipline. Corporal punishment is, however, a clear violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. So far only 36 countries in the world have prohibited corporal punishment by law, and elsewhere it is condoned as a mainstream practice. Non-violent methods of child discipline are far from universal, and in many cases, unheard of. Poverty and economic hardship are key factors in child abuse, creating tension within the family that leads to violence. Poverty undermines the support structures, both formal and informal, that might otherwise alleviate family stresses. However it has been shown that child abuse comes at a financial cost to society. Every 1 invested in preventing violence in Europe produces a social return of $87.60. Moldova is an Eastern European country which gained its independence from Russia in 1991. Poverty is widespread and unemployment high. 23% of the country's income is generated by family members who work abroad and send money back home. Despite a raft of laws and strategies against physical child abuse, including a ban on corporal punishment, UNICEF considers physical child abuse in Moldova to be "a major problem". The organisation has found that one third of the deaths of children under five are caused by violence and injuries. 48% of children aged 2-14 years old suffer physical violence at home (and 59% of 2-4 year olds), and hitting is considered an acceptable form of discipline. Children in Moldova are made more vulnerable by a number of risk factors which include poverty, migration, alcohol use, limited economic opportunities, public tolerance of violence and a lack of knowledge about positive disciplining methods. The government of Moldova is making good progress towards its goals of deinstitutionalisation, replacing large-scale community services with family-based individual care for children. It is in the early years of its Strategy for the Protection of the Child and the Family: 2013 to 2020, and in partnership with UNICEF, the government is currently distributing information about non-violent forms of discipline to 700,000 families. There is a scarcity of data on physical child abuse in Moldova; this is a difficult field of research in general violence in the home is a private practice, and often goes unreported by its victims. More thorough and continuous data-collection is needed, both globally and in Moldova itself. Globally, the factors, which lead to physical child abuse, must be addressed, and children empowered to stand up for their rights. States should strive to change attitudes towards "acceptable violence", and prohibit all forms of corporal punishment. The government of Moldova should make the prevention of child abuse a continuous priority, improving the child helpline, integrating reporting mechanisms, enhancing data collection, and training parents in non-violent methods of discipline. The Strategy for the Protection of the Child and the Family: 2013 to 2020 must be closely monitored and kept in line with developments in best practice. Details: Amsterdam: KidsRights Foundation, 2014. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 22, 2014 at: http://www.kidsrights.org/Portals/1/About%20us/KidsRightsReport%20Moldova%20Physical%20child%20abuse%202%20def.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Moldova URL: http://www.kidsrights.org/Portals/1/About%20us/KidsRightsReport%20Moldova%20Physical%20child%20abuse%202%20def.pdf Shelf Number: 133086 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (Moldova)Child ProtectionCorporal Punishment |
Author: United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children Title: Toward a World Free from Violence: Global Survey on Violence Against Children Summary: Every year, and in every region of the world, millions of children suffer the cumulative impact of physical, mental and emotional violence, and millions more are at risk. Violence against children takes place in every setting, including those where children should be safest - in schools, in care institutions and at home. Like a contagion, violence spreads through communities and is transmitted to future generations. Across regions and countries, it threatens children's survival and development, erodes family structures, jeopardizes education, generates social insecurity and consumes precious national resources. The Global Survey on Violence against Children, conducted under the auspices of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children, examines the measures in place around the world to ensure follow-up to the recommendations set out in the 2006 UN Study on Violence against Children, especially those recommendations intended to prevent violence against children, protect child victims and hold perpetrators to account. The Survey reveals that there has been some progress on these issues since the 2006 study, but this progress has been too slow, too uneven and too fragmented to bring violence to an end. Most girls and boys who are exposed to violence still live in isolation, loneliness, and fear. Many children simply do not know where to turn for help, especially when the perpetrator is a family member, caregiver, teacher or anyone else responsible for their protection and well-being. Freedom from violence is a fundamental human right, enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The CRC is clear and unambiguous: any form of violence against children is unacceptable and children must be protected from any practice that threatens their well-being and human dignity. Freedom from violence is a right that the international community has promised to safeguard for all children, everywhere and at all times. It is time to deliver on that promise. Details: New York: United Nations, 2013. 161p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 2, 2014 at: http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/sites/default/files/documents/2013_unicef_-_toward_a_world_free_of_violence1_0.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/sites/default/files/documents/2013_unicef_-_toward_a_world_free_of_violence1_0.pdf Shelf Number: 133171 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionChildren as VictimsViolence Against Children |
Author: Human Trafficking and the State Courts Collaborative Title: A Guide to Human Trafficking for State Courts Summary: The National Association for Court Management Guide to Addressing Human Trafficking in the State Courts (HT Guide) provides state court practitioners a comprehensive resource for: - clarifying the types and dynamics of sex and labor human trafficking involving U.S. citizens and foreign nationals present in jurisdictions across the nation; - identifying how traffickers and victims might appear in different types of state court cases, including criminal, family, juvenile, child protection, ordinance violation, and civil cases; - accessing tools and guidelines for using the tools to help courts identify and process cases where trafficking is involved; and - accessing links to other resources to help courts address trafficking-related problems. HT Guide is intended to support the efforts of courts not only in their traditional role of independent adjudicators, but also in their role as justice system and community leaders. Consequently, even though state court judges and personnel are the primary audience for the HT Guide, we are confident that numerous other groups concerned about human trafficking- such as health and human service organizations, law enforcement agencies, and victim advocates- should find it valuable too. In large part, because the role of state courts in addressing human trafficking is a recent topic to many court practitioners, the HT Guide includes considerable background and context-defining information about numerous aspects of human trafficking as well as practical guidelines and tools for directly assisting court practitioners in cases involving traffickers and trafficking victims. Chapter 1: Addressing Human Trafficking in the State Courts: Background and Approach Chapter 2: Community Courts, Specialized Dockets, and Other Approaches to Address Sex Trafficking Chapter 3: Human Trafficking and Immigrant Victims Chapter 4: Child Trafficking Victims and the State Courts Chapter 5: Identifying and Responding to Sex Trafficking Chapter 6: Ethical Issues for Judges and Court Practitioners in Human Trafficking-Involved Cases Chapter 7: The Affordable Care Act: Assisting Victims of Human Trafficking in Rebuilding Their Lives Chapter 8: Tribal Justice and Sex Trafficking Chapter 9: Addressing Complexities of Language and Culture in Human Trafficking-Involved Cases Chapter 10: Labor Trafficking Chapter 11: Human Trafficking Education Resources for Judges and Court Practitioners Details: Denver, CO: Human Trafficking and the State Courts Collaborative, 2014. 204p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 9, 2014 at: http://www.htcourts.org/wp-content/uploads/Full_HTGuide_desktopVer_140902.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.htcourts.org/wp-content/uploads/Full_HTGuide_desktopVer_140902.pdf Shelf Number: 133187 Keywords: Child ProtectionHuman TraffickersHuman Trafficking (U.S.)Immigrant VictimsSex TraffickingSexual ExploitationState CourtsVictims of Human Trafficking |
Author: United Nations Children's Fund - UNICEF Title: Hidden in Plain Sight: A statistical analysis of violence against children Summary: Interpersonal violence - in all its forms - has a grave effect on children: Violence undermines children's future potential; damages their physical, psychological and emotional well-being; and in many cases, ends their lives. The report sheds light on the prevalence of different forms of violence against children, with global figures and data from 190 countries. Where relevant, data are disaggregated by age and sex, to provide insights into risk and protective factors Details: New York: UNICEF, 2014. 206p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 9, 2014 at: http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_74865.html Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_74865.html Shelf Number: 133249 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild HomicideChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseEmotional AbuseFamily ViolenceViolence Against Children |
Author: Jay, Alexis Title: Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham (1997 - 2013) Summary: No one knows the true scale of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Rotherham over the years. Our conservative estimate is that approximately 1400 children were sexually exploited over the full Inquiry period, from 1997 to 2013. In just over a third of cases, children affected by sexual exploitation were previously known to services because of child protection and neglect. It is hard to describe the appalling nature of the abuse that child victims suffered. They were raped by multiple perpetrators, trafficked to other towns and cities in the north of England, abducted, beaten, and intimidated. There were examples of children who had been doused in petrol and threatened with being set alight, threatened with guns, made to witness brutally violent rapes and threatened they would be next if they told anyone. Girls as young as 11 were raped by large numbers of male perpetrators. This abuse is not confined to the past but continues to this day. In May 2014, the caseload of the specialist child sexual exploitation team was 51. More CSE cases were held by other children's social care teams. There were 16 looked after children who were identified by children's social care as being at serious risk of sexual exploitation or having been sexually exploited. In 2013, the Police received 157 reports concerning child sexual exploitation in the Borough. Over the first twelve years covered by this Inquiry, the collective failures of political and officer leadership were blatant. From the beginning, there was growing evidence that child sexual exploitation was a serious problem in Rotherham. This came from those working in residential care and from youth workers who knew the young people well. Within social care, the scale and seriousness of the problem was underplayed by senior managers. At an operational level, the Police gave no priority to CSE, regarding many child victims with contempt and failing to act on their abuse as a crime. Further stark evidence came in 2002, 2003 and 2006 with three reports known to the Police and the Council, which could not have been clearer in their description of the situation in Rotherham. The first of these reports was effectively suppressed because some senior officers disbelieved the data it contained. This had led to suggestions of cover-up. The other two reports set out the links between child sexual exploitation and drugs, guns and criminality in the Borough. These reports were ignored and no action was taken to deal with the issues that were identified in them. In the early 2000s, a small group of professionals from key agencies met and monitored large numbers of children known to be involved in CSE or at risk but their managers gave little help or support to their efforts. Some at a senior level in the Police and children's social care continued to think the extent of the problem, as described by youth workers, was exaggerated, and seemed intent on reducing the official numbers of children categorised as CSE. At an operational level, staff appeared to be overwhelmed by the numbers involved. There were improvements in the response of management from about 2007 onwards. By 2009, the children's social care service was acutely understaffed and over stretched, struggling to cope with demand. Seminars for elected members and senior officers in 2004-05 presented the abuse in the most explicit terms. After these events, nobody could say 'we didn't know'. In 2005, the present Council Leader chaired a group to take forward the issues, but there is no record of its meetings or conclusions, apart from one minute. By far the majority of perpetrators were described as 'Asian' by victims, yet throughout the entire period, councillors did not engage directly with the Pakistani-heritage community to discuss how best they could jointly address the issue. Some councillors seemed to think it was a one-off problem, which they hoped would go away. Several staff described their nervousness about identifying the ethnic origins of perpetrators for fear of being thought racist; others remembered clear direction from their managers not to do so. In December 2009, the Minister of State for Children and Families put the Council's children's safeguarding services into intervention, following an extremely critical Ofsted report. The Council was removed from intervention thirteen months later. The Rotherham Safeguarding Children Board and its predecessor oversaw the development of good inter-agency policies and procedures applicable to CSE. The weakness in their approach was that members of the Safeguarding Board rarely checked whether these were being implemented or whether they were working. The challenge and scrutiny function of the Safeguarding Board and of the Council itself was lacking over several years at a time when it was most required. In 2013, the Council Leader, who has held office since 2003, apologised for the quality of the Council's safeguarding services being less than it should have been before 2009. This apology should have been made years earlier, and the issue given the political leadership it needed. There have been many improvements in the last four years by both the Council and the Police. The Police are now well resourced for CSE and well trained, though prosecutions remain low in number. There is a central team in children's social care which works jointly with the Police and deals with child sexual exploitation. This works well but the team struggles to keep pace with the demands of its workload. The Council is facing particular challenges in dealing with increased financial pressures, which inevitably impact on frontline services. The Safeguarding Board has improved its response to child sexual exploitation and holds agencies to account with better systems for file audits and performance reporting. There are still matters for children's social care to address such as good risk assessment, which is absent from too many cases, and there is not enough long-term support for the child victims. Details: Rotherham, UK: Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, 2014. 159p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 11, 2014 at: http://www.rotherham.gov.uk/downloads/file/1407/independent_inquiry_cse_in_rotherham Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.rotherham.gov.uk/downloads/file/1407/independent_inquiry_cse_in_rotherham Shelf Number: 133285 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild RapeChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual Exploitation (Rotherham, UK)Child TraffickingSex Offenders |
Author: Gohir, Shaista Title: Unheard Voices: The Sexual Exploitation of Asian Girls and Young Women Summary: The purpose of this pilot study is to uncover the hidden experiences of Asian / Muslim girls and young women so that we may better understand how to support and protect them. It is important to stress that this study is not suggesting that sexual exploitation is more of a problem in Asian and / or Muslim communities. In any case the scope of this research does not enable us to make such propositions. In fact, this research shows that sexual grooming is not about race but about vulnerability, the exploitation of that vulnerability and opportunism. By raising awareness that Asian / Muslim girls and young women are also victims of sexual exploitation, it is hoped that they will not continue to be overlooked by service providers and support agencies and that their experiences are also taken into account when determining new policies and resources to tackle this issue. It is important that vulnerable girls and young women from all backgrounds are helped and supported. Details: Digbeth Birmingham, UK: Muslim Women's Network UK, 2013. 126p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 12, 2014: http://www.mwnuk.co.uk//go_files/resources/UnheardVoices.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.mwnuk.co.uk//go_files/resources/UnheardVoices.pdf Shelf Number: 129920 Keywords: AsiansChild Abuse and NeglectChild ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse (U.K.)Child Sexual ExploitationMuslims |
Author: Hughes, Karissa Title: Literature Review: Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Summary: - While various promising program models and strategies for providing services to victims of the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) have been occurring for over a decade, the lack of a current evidence-base related to prevention, identification and interventions available to inform such programs and practices underscores the need for additional work in this area. - Currently, federal (Federal Strategic Action Plan on Services for Victims of Human Trafficking, 2013-2017) and state (the California Child Welfare Council CSEC Action Team) efforts are underway to strategically respond to the existing gaps in knowledge and practice around CSEC, in order to better identify and meet the needs of victims. - In the meantime, while not exhaustive this literature review intends to highlight an array of current efforts and components that merit additional attention when considering residential placement types and the provision of services to this vulnerable population. - The perception that victims of CSEC should be handled in the juvenile justice system as opposed to the child welfare system is changing with evidence supporting the key role child welfare agencies play. Even if child welfare agencies are not currently required to intervene with CSEC victims under the existing California Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 300, the reality is CWS staff are already working with a significant number of victims and survivors of these crimes, whether or not they recognize them as such. Thus two roles emerge, preventing CSEC among populations already involved in child welfare, and identifying/assisting CSEC victims in their care. - Understanding the extreme physical, psychological, emotional and social harms associated with CSEC and the stages of change youth experience as they attempt to exit CSE informs the need for a range of victim services across a number of agencies and a continuum of care model to fully address their spectrum of needs. Therefore broad-based multi-sector response including interagency collaborative approaches/community coalitions should be utilized. - Coordinated communication between service providers is necessary in order to share information on available resources, services and trends which will allow involved systems/agencies/service providers to more efficiently and effectively provide the services needed at any given point in the restoration process. - Based on the literature more support is needed for comprehensive and specialized programs that provide youth with a safe place to stay, positive support networks that address their needs and empower them to make safe choices; and interventions for trauma and behavioral issues that make it difficult for them to function in traditional settings. - Components of promising services and strategies identified by providers who serve CSEC victims include safety planning, collaboration across providers, trust and relationship building to foster consistency, culturally appropriate services, trauma-informed programming, and survivor involvement in the development and implementation of programming. Services for CSEC victims and those at-risk should also be informed by a comprehensive and standardized screening assessment that evaluates particular needs and levels of risk. - In terms of shelter/housing additional residential placements are needed to specifically serve CSEC with appropriate security features to prevent access by exploiters, clear protocols, allowance to return following runaways, and qualified personnel. - Several promising models for better understanding and serving CSEC victims via the child welfare system are shared across the nation. Such policies and procedures may provide beneficial for California, particularly to integrate this population into their missions and mandates. Broadly, the main areas include: designating CSEC as a specific form of child abuse to improve case management, requiring reporting to child protective services, raising awareness and building capacity in child welfare, and developing child welfare system guidelines, protocols and tools for working with CSEC victims. - Additionally in May 2013, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released as part of their Human Trafficking Briefing Series Emerging Practices within Child Welfare Responses, highlighting 10 promising practices already underway in child welfare agencies across the United States. This is included in Section X of the literature review. - In addition to the work of child welfare, law enforcement, and other governmental organizations, several nongovernmental and community-based organizations play a key role in providing direct services to victims. These include the 10 programs identified by the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse (CEBC) for Child Welfare in the area of "Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents: Services for Victims." While some of these may offer promise for replication locally, at this point none of these ten programs have been given a scientific rating by the CEBC, meaning currently there are not sufficiently published, peer-reviewed research evidence examining outcomes for these programs. - Recently there has been an emphasis on the importance of expanding outreach to the at-risk population so they can better protect themselves from CSEC and recognize risky situations. Disseminating educational materials and providing training programs to these youth as well as to CSEC victims and service providers will increase awareness of CSEC and the services available to victims. Examples of existing CSEC training and prevention programs are provided in Section XII. - In conclusion a range of web resources, resource guides, action plans, publications and reports on the topic are offered for additional information and further developments on the topic of CSEC. Details: San Diego, CA: Academy for Professional Excellence at San Diego State University School of Social Work, 2014. 112p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 15, 2014 at: https://theacademy.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/sachs-csec-lit-review-02-2014.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://theacademy.sdsu.edu/programs/SACHS/literature/SACHS_CSEC_Lit_%2https://theacademy.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/sachs-csec-lit-review-02-2014.pdf Shelf Number: 133302 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationChild WelfareVictim Services |
Author: Gilad, Michal Title: The Young and the Helpless: Re-Defining the Term 'Child Victim of Crime' Summary: Children are the most highly victimized segments of our society. The victimization of children is estimated to be the most costly public health and public safety problem today. Despite the urgency of the problem, and the proliferation of literature and policy proposals pertinent to childhood victimization, thus far, no significant efforts have been made to design a coherent definition to the term 'child victim of crime.' Existing definitions fail to account for the distinct developmental needs of children, and the unique effect of crime on children. The result of this lacuna is a colossal failure of our legal system to protect the most vulnerable and impressionable group, our children. It also leads to wasteful and inefficient utilization of public funds, and compromises public safety. This article provides a comprehensive framework, that bridges theory and practice, to develop an innovative evidence-based definition to the term 'child victim of crime'. Implementation of the proposed definition will enable the protection and treatment of millions of children crippled by crime, who currently fall beyond the boundaries of narrow policies designed for adults and unsuitable for children. It will also help improve public safely, and save invaluable public resources. Details: Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania School of Law, 2014. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: U of Penn Law School, Public Law Research Paper No. 14-23 : Accessed September 15, 2014 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Papers.cfm?abstract_id=2467182 Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Papers.cfm?abstract_id=2467182 Shelf Number: 133322 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild VictimizationChild Victims (U.S.)Child WitnessesChildren Exposed to Violence |
Author: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Title: Report to Congress on the Runaway and Homeless Youth Program Fiscal Years 2012 and 2013 Summary: Almost 40 years ago, the groundbreaking Runaway and Homeless Youth Act created the first line of defense for young people who had run away from home, become homeless, or been asked to leave home by their families. Congress recognized the precarious circumstances of young people who could not return home but did not yet have the financial, social, or emotional resources to live successfully on their own. Runaway and homeless youth have often been traumatized by violence and abuse at home or in their communities. They have never had, or have lost contact with, supportive adults who could provide guidance and model healthy decision‐making. Also, these young people often fail to develop the educational and job‐readiness skills that are so crucial to financial and housing stability in adulthood. Young people who live on the streets are at high risk of developing serious, life‐long health, behavioral, and emotional problems. They suffer from high rates of depression, substance abuse, and post‐traumatic stress disorder. They are often survivors of physical and sexual abuse. The longer they live on the streets, the more likely they are to fall victim to sexual exploitation and human trafficking. For all these reasons, programs that keep young people from being homeless - whether by providing preventive services or rapid, effective family reunification (if appropriate) or case management once youth are on the streets - are key components of the social safety net for our Nation's most vulnerable youth. Today, that safety net is woven by the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, most recently reauthorized by the Reconnecting Homeless Youth Act of 2008, and administered by the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) within the Administration for Children & Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act authorizes the three Runaway and Homeless Youth Grant Programs that enable community‐based organizations and shelters in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories to serve and protect runaway, homeless, missing, and sexually exploited youth. These three programs are: The Basic Center Program, authorized under Part A, provides emergency shelter. The Transitional Living Program, authorized under Part B, offers longer‐term care that helps prepare older youth for self‐sufficiency and adulthood. The Street Outreach Program, authorized under Part E of the Act, makes contact with youth on the streets, with the goal of connecting them to services. Bolstering these frontline services is a network of support, including: A National Communications System, which serves as a national hotline connecting young people to programs, services, and transportation back home, authorized under Part C; and FYSB's coordinating, training, research, and other activities, which provide the means through which the federal government can continually refine and improve its response to youth homelessness as well as the ability of the youth‐services field to assist young people in need, authorized under Part D of the Act. To ensure that the local programs FYSB funds effectively meet the needs of runaway and homeless youth, the Runaway and Homeless Youth Program Monitoring System assesses each program's services. This report documents the ways that FYSB, continuing its longtime commitment to combating youth homelessness, worked to create a range of services available to young people across the Nation, so that they had somewhere to turn in fiscal years (FYs) 2012 and 2013. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014. 78p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 18, 2014 at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/fysb/rhy_report_to_congress_fy1213.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/fysb/rhy_report_to_congress_fy1213.pdf Shelf Number: 133376 Keywords: Child ProtectionHomeless YouthHomelessnessRunaways (U.S.)Sexually Exploited Youth |
Author: Myers, Juliette Title: Untying the Knot: Exploring Early Marriage in Fragile States Summary: Tying the knot: an expression that for most of us evokes happy memories of one of the best days of our lives. However, the fun of planning the wedding and the heady excitement of the first weeks of marriage will not be the experience of 13.5 million girls this year. Instead, fearing threats, and encouraged or coerced into marriage as a means of protection, nearly one-in-three girls in developing countries will marry before the age of 18. The younger the girl, the more harmful the consequences: I have seen girls as young as eight being married off to men decades older than them. The impact of sexual activity on children who are too young can be catastrophic. Children having children continues to be a common phenomenon across the developing world, with deaths caused by early pregnancy and birth complications the biggest cause of mortality for girls aged 15-19. Beyond the physical harm they face, is the complete loss of childhood. Children who marry do not play with their friends, are often not attending school, do not have access to opportunities for their future, and are confined within roles which bring responsibilities that they did not choose and often do not understand. This report unravels the links between fragility and early marriage. By showing how marriage is used as a perceived means of 'protection' for girls, this report is a unique contribution to the evidence base of factors driving early marriage prevalence. Revealing the complex causes of this harmful practice, World Vision also identifies key actions that can be taken, both globally and by the UK Government, to reduce the stress on communities and provide families with alternative, effective means of really protecting their daughters. Details: Fox Mine, Milton Keynes, UK: World Vision UK, 2013. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 25, 2014 at: http://www.worldvision.org/resources.nsf/main/press-reports/$file/untying-the-knot_report.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.worldvision.org/resources.nsf/main/press-reports/$file/untying-the-knot_report.pdf Shelf Number: 133420 Keywords: Child MarriageChild ProtectionForced MarriageGender-Based ViolenceSexual Violence |
Author: Maharjan, Ram Krishna Title: Child Marriage in Nepal: Research Report Summary: Child marriage is a global problem which affects millions across the world but especially girls in South Asia. The Government of Nepal has signed many international instruments designed to tackle this problem and has passed a law forbidding child marriage but has found it difficult to eradicate the phenomenon due to weak enforcement and low levels of awareness. Details: Kathmandu, Nepal: Plan Nepal, 2012. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 25, 2014 at: http://www.wvi.org/nepal/publication/child-marriage-nepal Year: 2012 Country: Nepal URL: http://www.wvi.org/nepal/publication/child-marriage-nepal Shelf Number: 133421 Keywords: Child Marriage (Nepal) Child ProtectionForced Marriage |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Title: Study on the Effects of New Information Technologies on the Abuse and Exploitation of Children Summary: This Study on the effects of new information technologies on the abuse and exploitation of children was prepared pursuant to Economic and Social Council resolution 2011/33 on Prevention, protection and international cooperation against the use of new information technologies to abuse and/or exploit children, in which the Council expressed concern that increasingly rapid technological advances have created new possibilities for the criminal misuse of new information and communication technologies. The study is based primarily on open source research and the outcomes of an informal expert group meeting on ICT facilitated abuse and exploitation of children, held in Vienna from 23 to 25 September. In accordance with Council resolution 2011/33, relevant information from the 2013 Comprehensive Study on Cybercrime prepared for the consideration of the open-ended intergovernmental expert group on cybercrime is also taken into account. The study is divided into four chapters and contains a glossary as an annex. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2014. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 9, 2014 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/commissions/CCPCJ/CCPCJ_Sessions/CCPCJ_23/E-CN15-2014-CRP1_E.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/commissions/CCPCJ/CCPCJ_Sessions/CCPCJ_23/E-CN15-2014-CRP1_E.pdf Shelf Number: 133926 Keywords: Child AbuseChild ProtectionChild Sexual ExploitationComputer CrimesCybercrime (International)Internet CrimesOnline CommunicationsOnline Victimization |
Author: Brown, Ashley Title: Call to keep children safe from sexual abuse: A study of the use and effects of the Stop it Now! UK and Ireland Helpline Summary: Child sexual abuse is recognised by policy makers and the general public as a significant threat to the safety and long-term wellbeing of children. Alongside revelations about "historical" abuse, there is evidence about the ongoing prevalence of sexual abuse committed by adults and between children themselves. Research, interventions and prosecutions all illuminate the scale and significant harm of child sexual abuse - showing the many ways it can occur and the widespread effort and vigilance which are required to keep children safe. Responses to child sexual abuse focus on child protection and offender management. These are essential elements of any comprehensive response, but there is also growing interest in a broader "public health" approach to prevention. Responding to child sexual abuse as a public health matter highlights the role that can be played by a much wider set of agencies and individuals, making child protection something to which all adults can contribute. This report presents findings from research conducted on a project (run by the Lucy Faithfull Foundation) which takes a public health approach to preventing child sexual abuse: Stop it Now! UK and Ireland. It sets out the research on the Stop it Now! UK Helpline, which provides free information, advice, guidance and support to people concerned about child sexual abuse, and is delivered over the telephone and by email. The research assessed its operation and impacts on three sets of users who can play a key role in protecting children: - adults concerned about their sexual thoughts, feelings or behaviour towards children; - adults concerned about other people posing a sexual risk towards children; - professionals. The research involved qualitative research and a feedback questionnaire with Helpline users, investigating use of the service and its ability to protect children from sexual abuse. It received ethical approval from the NatCen Research Ethics Committee, in line with ethics requirements of the Economic and Social Research Council and Government Social Research Unit Research. The study was part of a wider research project examining how the Stop it Now! programmes in the UK and in the Netherlands can contribute to protecting children from sexual abuse. The research was financially supported by the Daphne III programme of the European Union1 and was conducted by NatCen Social Research in the UK and by de Waag in the Netherlands. There were four components to the research project: - Assessing the operation of the Stop it Now! UK and Stop it Now! Netherlands Helplines - Identifying the potential of these Stop it Now! Helplines to change behaviour of actual and potential abusers, and to contribute to protecting children from sexual abuse. - Presenting an economic analysis of Stop it Now! UK and Stop it Now! Netherlands. - Providing a "toolkit" for developing and implementing a child sexual abuse prevention Helpline in other European countries. Details: London: NatCen Social Research, 2014. 91p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October, 13, 2014 at: http://www.natcen.ac.uk/media/338805/stop-it-now-uk-findings-.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.natcen.ac.uk/media/338805/stop-it-now-uk-findings-.pdf Shelf Number: 133990 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse (U.K.)Child Sexual Abuse PreventionChild Sexual ExploitationPedophiliaVictim Services |
Author: Bowles, Roger Title: Economic analysis of the Stop it Now! UK and Stop it Now! Netherlands Helplines: Summary Summary: The report summarises findings from a review of economic aspects of the Stop it Now! UK and Ireland Helpline run by the Lucy Faithfull Foundation (LFF) Stop it Now! Netherlands Helpline run by de Waag with Meldpunt Kinderporno. The Helplines' objectives in relation to the reduction of child sexual abuse (CSA) and the organisations providing them, can be broad and they vary across the organisations reviewed here. The target groups may be different as may routes of referral to support services and the style of call handling. The report reviews the range of possible benefits that might be anticipated and then comments on the scale of activities conducted by the two Helpline programmes and the associated costs and benefits. We note that each programme's focus will likely reflect the context within which they are funded and delivered. Tackling CSA can be approached from many angles including mental health based service provision, work with individuals who are (or will be) charged with an offence and victim/survivor support. Details: London: NatCen Social Research, 2014. Source: Internet Resource: accessed October 13, 2014 at: http://www.stopitnow-evaluation.co.uk/media/828428/stop%20it%20now!%20economic%20analysis.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.stopitnow-evaluation.co.uk/media/828428/stop%20it%20now!%20economic%20analysis.pdf Shelf Number: 133889 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse (U.K.; Netherlands)Child Sexual Abuse PreventionEconomic AnalysisPedophiliaVictim Services |
Author: Bachan, Keshet Title: Girls in Cyberspace: Dangers and Opportunities. Summary: "Girls in Cyberspace: Dangers and Opportunities" examines both the challenges and empowering possibilities facing girls when accessing ICTs (Information Communication Technologies). In many ways, technology has facilitated girls' ability to do what they were already doing: connecting, learning and sharing. ICTs have also increased their opportunities to do these things and to interact beyond their immediate communities. Although adolescent girls are not a homogenous group, and the way they choose to interact with ICTs may vary according to their location, social-economic status, capacity for mobility and personal inclination, there are some common threads emerging from Plan's analysis. Based on original research undertaken in Brazil by Plan for the 2010 "Because I am a Girl" report (together with the Child Protection Partnership), this paper will outline the opportunities ICTs provide adolescent girls and analyze the potential dangers and exploitative behaviours that are facilitated through them. Details: Warwick, RI: Plan-International, 2010. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 22, 2014 at: http://www.planusa.org/becauseiamagirl/docs/girlsincyberspace.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.planusa.org/becauseiamagirl/docs/girlsincyberspace.pdf Shelf Number: 133787 Keywords: Child ProtectionInformation TechnologiesInternet Crimes (Brazil)Internet SafetySexual Exploitation |
Author: Thompson, Amy Title: A Child Alone and Without Papers: A report on the return and repatriation of unaccompanied undocumented children in the United States Summary: Every year, the United States apprehends tens of thousands of undocumented children under the age of 18 - many of whom travel to this country unaccompanied, without their parent or legal guardian. Some of these children come to the U.S. to flee violence or the sex trade, others poverty. The children's motivations are complex, their stories unique. Most of the unaccompanied undocumented children who come into custody are removed from the U.S. by federal authorities and repatriated to their country of origin. Repatriation, for the purposes of this report, begins at the point that the United States relinquishes physical custody of the child in his native country. Given the circumstances that lead to child migration and the inherent vulnerabilities of children, removal and repatriation can prove detrimental to the child when not carefully regulated. As such, it is essential that U.S. immigration policies and procedures recognize our child welfare standards, for both the good of the individual child and to preserve our core values regarding the treatment of all children. It is also essential for the United States to have clear, transparent, and consistent mechanisms for removal and repatriation in order to avoid undue risk to the child's safety and well-being. What really happens to the estimated 43,0001 unaccompanied undocumented children who are removed from the United States? And what is the effect of repatriation on these children? A Child Alone and Without Papers explores these issues via analyses of U.S., Mexican, and Honduran policies, interviews with 82 personnel from these countries, and interviews with 33 undocumented and unaccompanied Mexican and Honduran children. In Mexico, we interviewed eight girls and 18 boys, ranging from age seven to 17; in Honduras: seven boys, ranging from age 15 to 17. Mexico and Honduras were selected as they are the most common countries of origin for unaccompanied children and are representative of the two divergent systems for the removal of unaccompanied children: neighboring versus non-neighboring country systems. Details: Austin, TX: Center for Public Policy Priorities, 2008. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 30, 2014 at: http://forabettertexas.org/images/A_Child_Alone_and_Without_Papers.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://forabettertexas.org/images/A_Child_Alone_and_Without_Papers.pdf Shelf Number: 133875 Keywords: Child ProtectionIllegal ImmigrantsImmigrantsImmigrationUnaccompanied ChildrenUndocumented Children (U.S.) |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: No Way Out: Child Marriage and Human Rights Abuses in Tanzania Summary: Four out of every 10 girls in Tanzania marry before they reach age 18. Some are as young as 7. Child marriage in Tanzania is driven by poverty and the payment of dowry, child labor, adolescent pregnancy, child abuse and neglect, as well as limited access to education and employment opportunities for women and girls. No Way Out: Child Marriage and Human Rights Abuses in Tanzania, is based on in-depth interviews with 135 girls and women in Tanzania. The report documents the detrimental impact of child marriage including the impact on girls' education, the increased exposure to sexual and reproductive health risks, and domestic violence by husbands and extended family members. It also shows how child labor and female genital mutilation are pathways to child marriage. Tanzania lacks a uniform minimum marriage age of 18 for both boys and girls. Gaps in the child protection system, the lack of protection for victims of child marriage, and the many obstacles girls and women face in obtaining redress compel them to endure the devastating and long-lasting consequences of child marriage. Human Rights Watch calls on the Tanzanian government to enact legislation setting 18 as a minimum marriage age and to take immediate measures to protect girls and women from child marriage and other forms of violence to ensure the fulfillment of their human rights, in accordance with Tanzania's international legal obligations. Details: New York: HRW, 2014. 85p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 30, 2014 at: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/tanzania1014_forinsert_ForUpload.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Tanzania URL: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/tanzania1014_forinsert_ForUpload.pdf Shelf Number: 133882 Keywords: Child Marriage (Tanzania)Child ProtectionDomestic ViolenceForced MarriageHuman Rights Abuses |
Author: United Nations Children's Fund - UNICEF Title: Ending Child Marriage: Progress and Prospects Summary: Worldwide, more than 700 million women alive today were married before their 18th birthday. More than one in three (about 250 million) entered into union before age 15. Boys are also married as children, but girls are disproportionately affected. In Niger, for instance, 77 per cent of women aged 20 to 49 were married before age 18 in contrast to 5 per cent of men in the same age group. Even in countries where child marriage is less common, the same gender differences are found. In the Republic of Moldova, for example, 15 per cent of women aged 20 to 49 were married before age 18 compared to 2 per cent of men. Furthermore, girls are often married to considerably older men. In Mauritania and Nigeria, more than half of adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 who are currently married have husbands who are 10 or more years older than they are. Child marriage is a manifestation of gender inequality, reflecting social norms that perpetuate discrimination against girls. Child marriage among girls is most common in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and the 10 countries with the highest rates are found in these two regions. Niger has the highest overall prevalence of child marriage in the world. However, Bangladesh has the highest rate of marriage involving girls under age 15. South Asia is home to almost half (42 per cent) of all child brides worldwide; India alone accounts for one third of the global total. Details: New York: UNICEF, 2014. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 3, 2014 at: http://www.unicef.org/media/files/Child_Marriage_Report_7_17_LR..pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://www.unicef.org/media/files/Child_Marriage_Report_7_17_LR..pdf Shelf Number: 133935 Keywords: Child Marriage (Africa, Asia)Child ProtectionRights of the Child |
Author: Child Protection Monitoring and Evaluation Group Title: Measuring Violence against Children - Inventory and assessment of quantitative studies Summary: Research and data on violence against children are scarce and inconsistent, especially in low- and middle-income countries. As a result, rigorous evidence on the extent, nature and impact of violence against children and on the underlying social norms and attitudes that perpetuate it is limited. Robust data are needed to develop evidence-based programmes and policies that can prevent and respond to violence, to establish baselines and monitor progress, and for advocacy. Such data are also needed to inform the development of and improve campaigns, laws, regulations and services that contribute to children's protection and well-being. The last two decades have witnessed a proliferation of different measurement activities aimed at filling the existing gaps, primarily through population-based sample surveys. Initiatives have been undertaken by or with the support of international agencies, international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government institutions and researchers. The fact that governments and others have expressed interest in advancing in this area and have invested in improving related data-collection efforts is a positive step forward. While many organizations and individuals are active in research on violence against children, no gold standard for measuring this sensitive issue has been agreed upon internationally. As a result, different approaches have been developed to gather data, including the use of diverse indicators, questionnaires and study designs. This combination of factors has often led to the collection of inconsistent and unreliable data. It has also raised important questions about the risks and ethical issues that arise when the data-collection process involves children. The Child Protection Monitoring and Evaluation Reference Group's (CP MERG) Technical Working Group on Data Collection on Violence against Children was established to provide guidance in this area and to produce outputs that can assist countries and partners in their efforts to gather data that are both reliable and useful and obtained in an ethically sensitive manner. The goal is to support, facilitate and coordinate the development of guidelines, standards and tools for the collection of data on violence against children at global, regional and national levels. With these objectives in mind, the Working Group decided to undertake a review of quantitative studies on violence against children to provide an overview of some recent data-collection activities that will feed into the development of guidelines. This review focused mainly on studies conducted in low- and middle-income countries; however, three studies from Western Europe (Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom) and one study from the United States were also included. The review was based upon interviews with key informants, the identification of large-scale studies on violence against children, and an in-depth assessment of surveys from six countries and one subregion: Chile, the Eastern Caribbean, Georgia, India, the Republic of Moldova, the United Kingdom and the United Republic of Tanzania. Surveys conducted as part of larger international survey programmes, such as the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys and Demographic and Health Surveys, were not included in the review. Details: New York: Division of Data, Research and Policy, UNICEF,2014. 109p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 18, 2014 at: http://data.unicef.org/corecode/uploads/document6/uploaded_pdfs/corecode/CP-MERG-REPORT_205.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://data.unicef.org/corecode/uploads/document6/uploaded_pdfs/corecode/CP-MERG-REPORT_205.pdf Shelf Number: 134137 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionSocioeconomic Conditions and CrimeViolence Against Children |
Author: Saavedra, Enrique Title: Invisible no more: Children of Incarcerated parents in Latin America and the Caribbean. Case study from Brazil, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Uruguay Summary: Over the past two decades, the number of people incarcerated in Latin America has skyrocketed, with more than 1.2 million prisoners overcrowding correctional facilities across the region. Accompanying this, we estimate that the number of children with an incarcerated parent in the region is currently around 1,5 to 1,9 million (see Appendix A for more details). This marginalized and vulnerable group of young people has been neglected by, and remained virtually "invisible" to public policies, programs and civil society. In order to assess the situation and needs of these children, and following the recommendations made by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child during its Day of General Debate in 2011, CWS, with the technical leadership of Uruguayan NGO Gurises partnered with organizations in Brazil, Dominican Republic and Nicaragua to conduct the first regional study of children with incarcerated parents. The participating organizations surveyed 193 children with an incarcerated parent (or adult referent), and 50 of these children and 46 of their caregivers or guardians were interviewed. 23 government officials and regional experts working in child protection were also surveyed. The results of this study demonstrate the profound impact that the incarceration of a parent has on the life of a child. Families face increased financial strains which force many children to work outside the home or assume adult roles in their household. Children undergo emotional changes, becoming sad, withdrawn or sick, and they face social stigmatization and discrimination in their communities. Their experience with police and the justice system typically creates a negative perception of these authorities, and these elements combine to alter the development of childrens' self-identity, leading some to develop identities based on resistance to existing social structures. Research confirms that maintaining the child-parent relationship during the incarceration is one of the best ways to help children cope with such difficulties. However, it is difficult for families to maintain such relationships when their only face-to-face interaction is through prison visits, where children must endure unhealthy prison conditions, invasive body searches, and mistreatment from prison guards. Government officials and experts working in the area acknowledge the vulnerability of this group of children, and provide important insight into their situation. They describe the justice and penal systems as "adult-centric," looking at matters only from the perspective of the adults involved. In fact, no country in the region even systematically documents or registers the number of children of prisoners. Without any idea of the scope of the problem, it is nearly impossible to create policies and programs to address it. Likewise, the judicial system does not account for the best interests of related children when it decides appropriate punishment for those convicted of crimes. While the legal rights and responsibilities of fathers and mothers are identical, some experts prioritize the issue of incarcerated mothers, particularly those whose children live with them in prison. It appears that the incarceration of a mother has a more dramatic impact on family dynamics and significantly increases vulnerability of children. Whether it is the mother or father that is convicted of a crime, the use of alternative punishments (eg. open and semi-open prisons) would lessen the negative impact on children. Likewise, improved coordination between state actors involved in the justice system and child protection would improve services and support to children of incarcerated parents. It is clear that governments are the main responsible of protecting the rights of all children, and that they should, in coordination with civil society, begin to develop policies, programs and initiatives that support and empower children of incarcerated parents. Details: Buenos Aires: CWS Regional Office Latin America and Caribbean and Gurises Unidos, 2013. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 26, 2014 at: http://www.cwslac.org/en/docs/Invisible_no_more.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Latin America URL: http://www.cwslac.org/en/docs/Invisible_no_more.pdf Shelf Number: 134264 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild WelfareChildren of Prisoners (Latin America)Families of Inmates |
Author: Wanless, Peter Title: An Independent Review Of Two Home Office Commissioned Independent Reviews Looking At Information Held In Connection With Child Abuse from 1979-1999 Summary: 1. The Home Secretary appointed us to conduct an independent review of two previous pieces of work commissioned by her Permanent Secretary. Review 1 had been invited to consider: What, if any, material was provided to the Department [Home Office] in relation to alleged organised child abuse; and What, if any, action was taken in relation to such allegations and whether relevant materials were passed to the police or law enforcement body to investigate; and Whether any member of Home Office staff was alleged or found to be involved or implicated in organised child abuse and what action was taken. 2. Review 2 looked into whether the Home Office ever directly or indirectly funded the Paedophile Information Exchange [PIE]. 3. The initial acceptance by the Home Office that 114 files were 'missing' without further information fuelled speculation that something untoward had occurred. Having considered and been permitted to make public much more detailed information about those files, it will be apparent why, in our consideration of Review 1, we did not confine our work to a straightforward repeat of the initial reviews but wanted to consider material beyond that held at the Home Office itself. 4. Although we have summarised our findings, it is important to consider the full extent of our work alongside the detail included in Review 1 and not consider any part of either review in isolation. Details: London: Home Office, 2014. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 8, 2014 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/372915/Wanless-Whittam_Review_Report.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/372915/Wanless-Whittam_Review_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 134283 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (U.K.)Child ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse |
Author: U.S. Attorney General's Advisory Committee on American IndianAlaska Native Children Exposed to Violence Title: Ending Violence so Children Can Thrive Summary: Day in and day out, despite the tremendous efforts of tribal1 governments and community members, many of them hindered by insufficient funding, American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children suffer exposure to violence at rates higher than any other race in the United States. The immediate and long term effects of this exposure to violence includes increased rates of altered neurological development, poor physical and mental health, poor school performance, substance abuse, and overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system. This chronic exposure to violence often leads to toxic stress reactions and severe trauma; which is compounded by historical trauma. Sadly, AI/AN children experience posttraumatic stress disorder at the same rate as veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and triple the rate of the general population.2 With the convergence of exceptionally high crime rates, jurisdictional limitations, vastly under-resourced programs, and poverty, service providers and policy makers should assume that all AI/AN children have been exposed to violence. Through hearings and Listening Sessions over the course of 2013-14, the Attorney General's Advisory Committee on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence3 examined the current epidemic of violence and evaluated suggestions for preventing violence and alleviating its impact on AI/AN children. This report presents the Advisory Committee's policy recommendations that are intended to serve as a blueprint for preventing AI/ AN children's exposure to violence and for mitigating the negative effects experienced by Al/AN children exposed to violence across the United States and throughout Indian country. The primary focus of the report is the thirty-one wide-ranging findings and recommendations that emerged from hearings and Listening Sessions. The Advisory Committee also examines the reports of the Attorney General's National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence in 20124 and the Indian Law and Order Commission (ILOC) in 2013,5 and incorporates some of the recommendations from these important reports that most strongly impact AI/AN children exposed to violence. This report contains five chapters: (1) "Building a Strong Foundation"; (2) "Promoting Well-Being for American Indian and Alaska Native Children in the Home"; (3) "Promoting Well-Being for American Indian and Alaska Native Children in the Community"; (4) "Creating a Juvenile Justice System that Focuses on Prevention, Treatment and Healing"; and (5) "Empowering Alaska Tribes,6 Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Attorney General's Office, 2014. 258p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 8, 2014 at: http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/defendingchildhood/pages/attachments/2014/11/18/finalaianreport.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/defendingchildhood/pages/attachments/2014/11/18/finalaianreport.pdf Shelf Number: 134286 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (U.S.)Child MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChildren and ViolenceIndians of North AmericaIndigenous Peoples |
Author: Walker, David Title: Sexual exploitation of adolescent girls in Uganda. The drivers, consequences and responses to the 'sugar daddy' phenomenon Summary: The phenomenon of cross-generational sex - defined as sexual relationships between an adolescent and a partner who is older, usually by 10 or more years - can be linked to many immediate and life-long negative consequences for both girls and boys. These can include entering into transactional sexual relationships - one in which the exchange of commodities and obligations can be considered as payment - as well as increased exposure to major health risks and several foregone opportunities. In development studies and other disciplines, the study of these exploitative relationships has largely been neglected, or examined as a public health issue - most often with respect to HIV&AIDS. Systematic examinations of cross-generational sex as a child protection issue - in which the impacts of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation are highlighted - are negligible, and are desperately needed to help development practitioners understand the issue and find long-lasting solutions. This study therefore seeks to understand the multiple and overlapping reasons behind cross-generational relationships in Uganda, as well as associated interventions, in order to promote more comprehensive responses to the issue. Through on-the-ground research we explore the consequences of adolescent experiences of these exploitative relationships, and analyse the extent to which policy and programming are currently failing this phenomenon. In particular, the research looks at the extent to which income poverty collates with discriminatory social norms in Uganda which contribute to this particular form of child protection violation. The study is part of a two-year Oak Foundation-funded programme of work that explores the potential for greater linkages between child protection and anti-poverty work in low- and middle-income countries. It is one of three country case studies that looks at sexual violence and exploitation, physical violence, early marriage and inadequate care, and their relationship to income poverty in Uganda, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Details: London: Overseas Development Agency, 2014. 9p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 9, 2014 at: http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/9274.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Uganda URL: http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/9274.pdf Shelf Number: 134291 Keywords: AdolescentsChild ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual Exploitation (Uganda)Females |
Author: Moestue, Helen Title: Digitally Enhanced Child Protection: How new technology can prevent violence against children in the Global South Summary: The last decade has witnessed growing appreciation of the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to protect children from violence. The issue of violence against children (VAC) is of singular importance. And while the full scope and scale of VAC remains hidden from view there is wide spread consensus that "every year and in every region of the world, millions of children suffer the cumulative impact of physical, mental and emotional violence, and millions more are at risk". Although ICT innovation for child protection is comparatively advanced in North America and Western Europe, there is less known about new tools in lower- and middle-income settings in the Americas, Africa and Asia. This Strategic Paper begins filling this knowledge gap and reviews the emerging character and functions of ICTs to prevent VAC in the global South. Drawing on assorted cases from Benin, Brazil, Kenya, Uganda and other countries, it provides a hint of the diversity of emerging experiences around the world. In the process, the Strategic Paper provides insights into emerging trends, typologies, and threats. Key findings include: - Mobile and digital technology are being harnessed in multiple ways to protect children, including through: (a) the digitization of existing child protection systems (b) helplines (c) citizen reporting and crowd mapping (d) mobile research and survey tools(e) big data analysis, and (f) tech-driven campaigning and information sharing; - These initiatives frequently combine the offer of assistance to children with the collection of real time data. This model in turn generates critical information for advocacy and can inform future child protection interventions; - Such approaches save time and money, and are breaking down the social, cultural and practical barriers to violence reporting. However, digital data collection raises important ethical questions about consent and confidentiality; - Innovation is emerging from a wide range of fields, including child protection, social development, the humanitarian sector, public health and the wider violence prevention field, and is often facilitated by creative public-private partnerships. Different disciplines are using the same tools; - Basic SMS based reporting systems have immense potential. Certain open source digital platforms offer the potential for scaling-up, especially systems such as Frontline SMS, Rapid SMS and Ushahidi, which integrate basic mobile phones for crowd-sourcing violence reporting and community mapping; and - There is a widening array of initiatives that enable children themselves to be informed, empowered and included in their own protection. Digitized survey tools, that can be used for and by children even in emergency settings, include Open Data Kit and Kobo Toolbox. The Strategic Paper considers the emerging landscapes of ICTs for VAC. It first sets the scene exploring the character and dynamics of violence against children, especially in low- and middle-income settings. The opening section also considers the expansion of ICTs and ethical implications in their application among children and youth. The second section introduces a typology of different ICTs including the digitization of child protection systems, child helplines, citizen reporting and crowd mapping, mobile research tools, Big Data analytics and technology-enabled campaigns. Section three explores how different sectors and disciplines are engaging with these new tools - including child protection experts, relief and development professionals and the public health community. The Paper closes with a brief consideration of next steps in the evolution of ICTs to prevent and reduce VAC. Details: Rio de Janeiro: Igarape Institute, 2014. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Strategic Paper 10: Accessed January 28, 2015 at: http://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Artigo-estrategico-10-Child-Protection-4.pdf Year: 134475 Country: International URL: http://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Artigo-estrategico-10-Child-Protection-4.pdf Shelf Number: 134475 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionChildren, Crimes AgainstDigital TechnologiesViolence Against Children |
Author: Swain, Shurlee Title: History of Child Protection Legislation Summary: This paper surveys the legislation relating to the out-of-home care of children. It identifies four chronological but overlapping waves of legislation. The first, beginning in the 1860s, documents the ways in which different jurisdictions structured their child welfare system, initially influenced by concerns around vagrancy, but later revised in the light of the child rescue movement. The second, dating from the 1860s, focuses on regulating care providers, establishing systems of inspection and regulations covering punishment and employment. The third concerns the ways in which legislation constructed the childrens parents, initially seeking to deter them from foisting their children on the state but, from the 1880s, introducing measures designed to keep families together. The fourth covers legislation designed to deal with children seen as requiring special provision: child migrants, Aboriginal children, infants, and children with disabilities. The survey concludes that child welfare provision in Australia is better described as a patchwork than a coordinated model. Poorly resourced and often slow to respond to international developments in the field, it left children exposed to a system which had more interest in economy and deterrence than in ensuring their rights and best interests. Details: Sydney: Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, 2014. 93p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 30, 3015 at: http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/documents/published-research/historical-perspectives-report-1-history-of-instit.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Australia URL: http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/documents/published-research/historical-perspectives-report-1-history-of-instit.pdf Shelf Number: 134494 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (Australia)Child ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Welfare |
Author: CP MERG Title: Ethical principles, dilemmas and risks in collecting data on violence against children: A review of available literature Summary: Ethical guidelines are crucial when carrying out research on violence against children (VAC). Such guidelines help to minimize the risk of potential harm resulting from the data collection process to participants, researchers and others, and ensure that any remaining risks are outweighed by the potential benefits. Research ethics and methodologies are closely linked, with ethically sound research protocols and tools adding to the value of the research. Recent years have seen growing efforts to collect data on VAC and close gaps on child protection monitoring, evaluation and research. However, there are, as yet, no internationally recommended or agreed upon ethical guidelines for VAC research. This literature review is a contribution to the foundations for the development of such ethical guidelines. It aims to capture current thinking around ethical issues and provide empirical support to guide recommendations for ethical research practice and decision-making in collecting data on VAC. The review was prepared on behalf of the Technical Working Group on Data Collection on Violence against Children (part of the Child Protection Monitoring and Evaluation Reference Group). A sister project that has been carried out simultaneously to this research provides a more detailed inventory and assessment of existing tools and methods to collect data on VAC. This review examines documentation, including both published and 'grey' literature that is of specific relevance to research ethics in collecting data on VAC. It includes ethics guidelines, codes, protocols and practice-related documentation, as well as research-based publications. An Internet-based search was used to identify and locate documentation for review. The review has six main sections: 1. An introduction to the review and its aims. 2. A discussion of the scope and methodology of the review. 3. A review of ethics documentation, such as guidelines, codes and standards, focusing on aspects relevant to VAC. This starts with an overview of ethical principles and frameworks to provide a philosophical context for the paper, followed by a review of the documentation used to guide the implementation of ethics in research with children, and ethical policy and codes. 4. A review of publications relevant to ethics in research on VAC. 5. A discussion of the ethical challenges and dilemmas that emerged during the review process and possible recommendations from the literature. 6. Concluding comments. Details: New York: Statistics and Monitoring Section/Division of Policy and Strategy, UNICEF, 2012. 93p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 7, 2015 at: http://data.unicef.org/corecode/uploads/document6/uploaded_pdfs/corecode/EPDRCLitReview_193.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://data.unicef.org/corecode/uploads/document6/uploaded_pdfs/corecode/EPDRCLitReview_193.pdf Shelf Number: 134563 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionCriminal Justice EthicsViolence Against Children |
Author: Brandon, Marian Title: Missed opportunities: indicators of neglect - what is ignored, why, and what can be done? Summary: Neglect is the most common form of child maltreatment in England (Department for Education, 2013; Radford et al, 2011) and the USA (Sedlak et al., 2010). In England, almost half (43%) of child protection plans are made in response to neglect, and it features in 60% of serious case reviews (Brandon et al., 2012). Radford and colleagues' study for the NSPCC found that 9% of young adults had been severely neglected by parents or guardians during their childhood (Radford et al, 2011). Yet a number of high profile child deaths (see Laming, 2003; Lock, 2013) have shown that it is extremely difficult for professionals with safeguarding responsibilities to identify indicators of neglect, to assess whether what they have observed is sufficiently serious for them to take action, and to decide on the most appropriate course of action. The purpose of this report is to help practitioners understand the research evidence and practice learning concerning indicators of actual, current neglect and risk factors that are associated with a likelihood of actual harm or future harm in very young children. The report is also intended to inform new guidance for social workers and all other professionals involved with parents and their children. The broad research questions established at the beginning of the project were as follows: 1. To help practitioners understand the research and practice related evidence concerning risk factors in the environment, the parent and the child that are associated with a likelihood of actual harm or future harm in very young children. 2. To help practitioners understand the research and practice related evidence about indicators of actual, current neglect in very young children. This report was prepared by members of an expert advisory group which met three times and was convened by the Department for Education. The purpose of the project was to discuss and reach a consensus on these research questions and draw on the learning from numerous existing literature reviews rather than setting out exhaustive new searches. The research and literature reviewed in this report is all in the public domain and has not raised ethical issues. Appendix 1 explains the search strategy and the contributions of the members of the expert group who were supported by the researcher Clare Lushey. The report has been subject to independent peer review. Details: London: Department of Education, 2014. 46p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 11, 2015 at: http://www.cwrc.ac.uk/documents/RR404_-_Indicators_of_neglect_missed_opportunities.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.cwrc.ac.uk/documents/RR404_-_Indicators_of_neglect_missed_opportunities.pdf Shelf Number: 134592 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (U.K.)Child MaltreatmentChild Protection |
Author: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Title: Too Much Pain: Female Genital Mutilation and Asylum in the European Union Summary: Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. This harmful traditional practice is most common in the western, eastern, and north-eastern regions of Africa; in some countries in Asia and the Middle East; and among migrant and refugee communities from these areas in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States of America. FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. The practice also violates a person's rights to health, security and physical integrity; the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; and the right to life when the procedure results in death. The practice of FGM is also considered as a criminal act in all EU Member States. This statistical overview has been prepared on the occasion of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) study on FGM in the European Union and Croatia. Little is known about FGM in the European Union in general, and this statement holds true about FGM and asylum more specifically. In light of the recognized need for country- and community-tailored responses, this study provides some of the statistical evidence needed to advance the discussion on the necessary policies and tools to address the specific vulnerabilities of female asylum-seekers with FGM in the asylum system on the one hand, and of refugee girls and women living with FGM and integrating in EU Member States on the other hand. In addition, in the absence of statistical data on asylum claims relating to this harmful traditional practice, this document also provides estimates that draw attention to the specific needs for international protection girls (and their parents) as well as women may raise in relation to FGM. Details: Geneva, SWIT: UNHCR, 2013. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 12, 2015 at: http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/512c72ec2.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/512c72ec2.pdf Shelf Number: 134617 Keywords: Asylum SeekersChild Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionFemale CuttingFemale Genital Mutilation Gender-Related ViolenceHuman Rights AbusesViolence Against Women |
Author: Kendrick, Andrew Title: Protecting and Safeguarding Children in Care : A Review of Developments in Services for Children in Care in Scotland Summary: This review will focus on developments to protect and safeguard children and young people in residential and foster care that have happened, for the most part, over the past 25 years, although it will touch on longer term developments when necessary. It will complement and update the Shaw Historical Abuse Systemic Review (1). It will bring together existing evidence on changes in legislation, policy and practice which have been aimed at improving the quality and safety of residential and foster care, and it will identify gaps in existing knowledge. This review does not focus specifically on the abuse of children in care but rather the developments in care practice which have been triggered by reviews and inquiries into abuse in care. Previous work on the abuse of children in care settings has identified three key aspects of residential and foster care practice which have been linked to the safety and protection of children in care: recruitment, selection, support and training of carers; inspection, monitoring and standards; and listening to children and children's participation (2). This review will use these three areas as a framework to discuss developments in residential and foster care in Scotland. Details: Glasgow: University of Strathclyde, Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland, 2014. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 16, 2015 at: http://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/50417/1/Kendrick_2014_Protecting_and_safeguarding_children_in_care.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/50417/1/Kendrick_2014_Protecting_and_safeguarding_children_in_care.pdf Shelf Number: 134630 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (Scotland)Child MaltreatmentChild ProtectionFoster CareResidential Care |
Author: Lerpiniere, Jennifer Title: The Sexual Exploitation of Looked After Children in Scotland: A scoping study to inform methodology for inspection Summary: In December 2012 the Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland (CELCIS) was awarded the tender for a research project to investigate the sexual exploitation of looked after children in Scotland. The research was commissioned by Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland also known as the Care Inspectorate and related in particular to children in Scottish care services for which the Inspectorate has responsibility. To comply with funding arrangements and operational imperatives, the Care Inspectorate required this research to be conducted and reported within a very short timescale (three months), and within a fixed budget. Researchers often face restrictions such as these and must find creative ways to work within these limitations whilst also being honest about what is possible and what might realistically be achieved within the limits that prevail. CELCIS has over-lapping areas of interest with the Care Inspectorate; this has allowed the study to be somewhat more intensive than would otherwise have been possible, it will also facilitate any necessary follow-on work. This allows us to meet the requirements of the Care Inspectorate and to ensure that the research is conducted in a robust and responsible way. This report draws together research related to sexual exploitation of looked after children in Scotland from four strands of this study and from earlier work done by others. This information will inform the work of the Care Inspectorate. Some strands of the study will continue to receive information via on-going participation in the various research activities already initiated. These data will be used to develop a more detailed and nuanced picture which will be made available to the Care Inspectorate in the form of an 'Update Report' in due course. The full analysis will also be used to inform CELCIS's work and that of partners across the looked after children's sector. Details: Glasgow: University of Strathclyde, Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland, 2013. 108p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Report RR-2013-05: Accessed February 16, 2015 at: http://www.celcis.org/media/resources/publications/Sexual-Exploitation-of-Looked-After-Children.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.celcis.org/media/resources/publications/Sexual-Exploitation-of-Looked-After-Children.pdf Shelf Number: 134631 Keywords: Child ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual Exploitation (Scotland) |
Author: Child Welfare Information Gateway Title: Establishment and Maintenance of Central Registries for Child Abuse Reports Summary: This publication examines State laws and procedures for maintaining records of child abuse and neglect. Most States maintain a central registry, which is a centralized database of child abuse and neglect investigation records. In some States, the individual State agencies that received the reports of suspected abuse or neglect are required to maintain these records. Central registry reports are typically used to aid social services agencies in the investigation, treatment, and prevention of child abuse cases and to maintain statistical information for staffing and funding purposes. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau, 2014. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 19, 2015 at: https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/centreg.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/centreg.pdf Shelf Number: 134648 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (U.S.)Child MaltreatmentChild Protection |
Author: Berelowitz, Sue Title: Summary: It has been one year since the Office of the Children's Commissioner (OCC) published the final report of our ground-breaking Inquiry into child sexual exploitation in gangs and groups. Using our unique statutory powers, we gathered a huge body of evidence and published six influential reports covering children in care; the prevalence and nature of child sexual exploitation in gangs and groups; the impact on children of viewing adult pornography; young people's understanding of consent; sexual exploitation in gang-involved neighbourhoods; and the final report which set out a framework for tackling this crime and supporting victims. This report sets out the progress that has been made in tackling child sexual exploitation (CSE) in England since the Inquiry. There is encouraging evidence that many of the Inquiry recommendations are being taken seriously. We are pleased to see that there are areas and agencies across the country where progress is being made. The strong leadership from the Home Office is also welcome. At the same time, much remains to be done. There are still too many places where those who have responsibility for the protection of children are failing to face up to the realities of CSE. In other areas, while strategic leaders are committed and determined, the messages have not filtered to the frontline so good intentions are not yet leading to better practice. In addition, the Government's promised revision of the definition of sexual exploitation and a myth busting guide on information sharing have not been delivered. Limited understanding of sexual exploitation and failure to share information means children are still slipping through the net. Despite calls from young people and experts, the Department for Education (DfE) has failed to make relationships and sex education compulsory in all schools. Details: London: Office of the Children's Commissioner, 2015. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 19, 2015 at: http://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/content/publications/content_920 Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/content/publications/content_920 Shelf Number: 134656 Keywords: Child ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual Exploitation (U.K.)PornographyYouth Gangs |
Author: World Health Organization Title: Improving efforts to prevent children's exposure to violence: a handbook for defining programme theory and planning for evaluation in the new evidence-based culture Summary: As part of a global movement to direct greater attention and resources to child protection, programmes aimed at reducing children's exposure to violence are being implemented with increasing frequency across the world. These programmes are diverse and range from raising public awareness of the issues to widening and strengthening government policies and protective structures, improving children's and families' access to medical, therapeutic and legal support, and increasing children's and parents' protective skills. Over the last several decades a substantial body of research has accumulated, providing much needed information about the experience of violence in childhood. We now know that child abuse, neglect, peer violence, sexual victimization and exposure to domestic and community violence are suffered by very large numbers of children. We understand much more about the serious negative consequences of violence exposure on children's physical and mental health, effects that can carry through from generation to generation. In addition, we have come to appreciate that children's health and safety concerns often cluster together, and that children and families with the fewest resources often suffer from disproportionate levels of exposure to violence. Evaluation research has also helped us to identify which prevention and intervention strategies work well and make the biggest difference to children's well-being. What is needed now is a global movement to build on this knowledge in order to channel programme efforts in increasingly effective ways. Given the seriousness of the problem of children's exposure to violence and the scarcity of resources with which to tackle it, our focus should be to ensure that: - new programmes and initiatives are grounded in research knowledge; - programmes are routinely evaluated so that we continue to learn more about what works and what does not. It is only by sharing, using and growing the evidence base that we will hasten our positive impact on the lives and well-being of children worldwide. This handbook is intended to help implementing agencies (e.g. nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), development/foreign aid agencies, community-based organizations, not-for-profit agencies) make better use of existing research and plan for evaluation when designing and implementing child violence prevention programmes, and also to convey these intentions to potential funding organizations. Details: Geneva, SWIT: WHO, 2014. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 12, 2015 at: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/144308/1/9789241507882_eng.pdf?ua=1 Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/144308/1/9789241507882_eng.pdf?ua=1 Shelf Number: 134911 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionEvidence-Based PracticesViolence Against Children |
Author: United Nations General Assembly. Human Rights Council Title: Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of punishment Summary: In the present report, the Special Rapporteur focuses on children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In the report, the Special Rapporteur explores the international legal framework and standards protecting children deprived of their liberty from being subjected to torture or other ill-treatment and from experiencing developmentally harmful and torturous conditions of confinement. He also examines specific statutes and standards applying to prevent torture and ill-treatment of children deprived of liberty, and shortcomings in the practical implementation of legal standards. Details: New York: UN General Assembly, 2015. 21p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 18, 2015 at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Torture/SRTorture/Pages/SRTortureIndex.aspx Year: 2015 Country: International URL: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Torture/SRTorture/Pages/SRTortureIndex.aspx Shelf Number: 134946 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child Maltreatment Child ProtectionJuvenile Detention Torture |
Author: Nobody's Children Foundation Title: The Problem of Child Abuse: Comparative Report from Six East European Countries 2010-2013 Summary: The goal of the study was to assess attitudes towards child abuse and corporal punishment as well as parental practices in six countries participating in the project "Childhood without Abuse: Towards a Better Child Protection System in Eastern Europe" financed by OAK Foundations. The same measurements were applied in 2010 and 2013 to provide an objective evaluation of the change that occurred during the project as well as comparison between countries. The results from earlier studies were also utilised to address the changes in attitudes towards corporal punishment and, in effect, findings from years 2005-2013 have been compared. To achieve the above mentioned goal, the following research questions were stated: - How do the respondents estimate the dynamics of various aspects of child abuse? - What are the respondents' self-reported attitudes toward parental use of physical punishment of children? - What are their attitudes towards a legal ban on different forms of corporal punishment? - What institutions in the broadly understood field of child protection provide help for abused children? - How do parents punish their children? Details: Warsaw, Poland: Nobody's Children Foundation, 2013. 61p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 23, 2015 at: http://www.canee.net/files/OAK_Comparative_Report_Child_Abuse_6_Countries_2010-2013_.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Europe URL: http://www.canee.net/files/OAK_Comparative_Report_Child_Abuse_6_Countries_2010-2013_.pdf Shelf Number: 135001 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (Europe)Child MaltreatmentChild ProtectionCorporal Punishment |
Author: Marshall, Kathleen Title: Child Sexual Exploitation in Northern Ireland: Report of the Independent Inquiry Summary: In September 2013, a Ministerial Summit was held on the theme of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Northern Ireland. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) referred to Operation Owl, an investigation of allegations of CSE in Northern Ireland, which had resulted in a number of adults being interviewed and some being arrested. Two weeks later, the then Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety, Edwin Poots, announced three actions to address this issue: an ongoing PSNI investigation focusing on 22 children and young people; a thematic review of these cases by the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland (SBNI); and an independent, expert-led inquiry into CSE in Northern Ireland, to be commissioned by the Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety and the Minister of Justice. The Minister for Education agreed that the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) would enjoin the Inquiry in relation to schools and the effectiveness of the statutory curriculum with respect to CSE. The Inquiry was to focus on both children and young people living at home in the community and those living in care. The Terms of Reference of the Inquiry were to: - Seek to establish the nature of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Northern Ireland and a measure of the extent to which it occurs. - Examine the effectiveness of current cross sectoral child safeguarding and protection arrangements and measures to prevent and tackle CSE. - Make recommendations on the future actions required to prevent and tackle CSE and who should be responsible for these actions. - Report the findings of the Inquiry within one year of its commencement. In addition, the Inquiry should: - Consider specific safeguarding and protection issues for looked after children, taking into account the ongoing thematic review by the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland (SBNI). - Seek the views of children and young people in Northern Ireland and other key stakeholders. - Engage with parents to identify the issues they are facing and seek their views on what needs to be done to help them keep their children safe from the risk of CSE. Details: Belfast: Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland, 2014. 196p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 7, 2015 at: http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/csereport181114.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/csereport181114.pdf Shelf Number: 135170 Keywords: Child PornographyChild ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse (Northern Ireland)Child Sexual Exploitation |
Author: Rosenblum, Marc R. Title: Unaccompanied Child Migration to the United States: The Tension between Protection and Prevention Summary: Between 2011 and 2014, the number of Central American children and "family units" - parents traveling with minor children - who arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border increased rapidly, reaching a peak of 137,000 in fiscal year 2014. While many of these migrants have valid claims for asylum or other forms of humanitarian relief, others are chiefly driven by economic concerns and a desire to reconnect with family members. This mixed flow has challenged the capacity of the United States to carry out its core immigration functions of preventing the admission of unauthorized immigrants while also providing protection to those who cannot be safely returned to their home countries. Media coverage of Central American arrivals in 2014 portrayed their entry as a failure of border security, but the actual policy failures were in the processing and adjudication of claims for relief from migrants presenting in a mixed migration flow of humanitarian and irregular migrants. Inadequate judicial and legal resources left some migrants waiting two years or more for a hearing before an immigration judge. Such delays amounted to a de facto policy of open admission for children and families. Furthermore, the Obama administration's responses to the rising Central American flows, including greater law enforcement resources at the border, expanded detention facilities, and the establishment of dedication child and family immigration court dockets, focused exclusively on immediate needs rather than longer-term solutions and they failed either to adequately protect vulnerable immigrants or to prevent future unauthorized flows. This report explains the shifting patterns of Central American migration between 2011 and 2014, analyzes the root of the policy challenges posed by these flows, and outlines U.S. and regional policy responses to address the crisis. It also makes recommendations on policies that advance both critical protection and enforcement goals in situations of complex, mixed flows, and provides additional policies that the United States, Mexico, and the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras might adopt to better manage child and family migration pressures today and in the future. Details: Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2015. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 8, 2015 at: http://migrationpolicy.org/research/unaccompanied-child-migration-united-states-tension-between-protection-and-prevention Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://migrationpolicy.org/research/unaccompanied-child-migration-united-states-tension-between-protection-and-prevention Shelf Number: 135193 Keywords: Asylum SeekersBorder SecurityChild ProtectionHuman SmugglingIllegal ImmigrationImmigrationUnaccompanied Children (U.S.) |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: Ripe for Abuse: Palestinian Child Labor in Israeli Agricultural Settlements in the West Bank Summary: Hundreds of Palestinian children work for low wages on Israeli settlement farms in the occupied West Bank, where they grow, harvest and pack agricultural produce, much of it for export. Based on interviews with 38 children and 12 adults who work on settlement farms in the Jordan Valley area, Ripe for Abuse documents dangerous working conditions to which children employed on Israeli settlement farms are subjected, in violation of international standards. Children described working in high temperatures, carrying heavy loads, and spraying or being exposed to pesticides. Some children said they had to pay themselves for medical treatment for work-related injuries or illness. Many said they dropped out of school before completing the 10 years of basic education that are compulsory under Palestinian as well as Israeli laws. Discriminatory Israeli policies have allocated 86 percent of the land in the Jordan Valley to settlements. The Jordan Valley covers about 30 percent of the West Bank. In addition, Israel has restricted Palestinian access to farmland and water in the area, contributing to high Palestinian poverty rates. Human Rights Watch calls on Israel, which does not meaningfully enforce labor rights for Palestinian children working on Israeli settlement farms, to end unlawful settlement policies and in the meantime to prohibit settlers from committing human rights abuses against Palestinian children. Other countries and businesses should uphold their own responsibilities not to benefit from or contribute to these abuses by ending business relationships with settlements, including imports of agricultural produce grown on the settlements. Details: New York: HRW, 2015. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 16, 2015 at: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/isrpal0415_forUPload_2.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Israel URL: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/isrpal0415_forUPload_2.pdf Shelf Number: 135242 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child Labor (Israel) Child Protection |
Author: Wasem, Ruth Ellen Title: Unaccompanied Alien Children: Demographics in Brief Summary: The number of children coming to the United States who are not accompanied by parents or legal guardians and who lack proper immigration documents has raised complex and competing sets of humanitarian concerns and immigration control issues. This report focuses on the demographics of unaccompanied alien children while they are in removal proceedings. Overwhelmingly, the children are coming from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The median age of unaccompanied children has decreased from 17 years in FY2011 to 16 years during the first seven months of FY2014. A greater share of males than females are represented among this population. However, females have steadily increased in total numbers and as a percentage of the flow since FY2011. The median age of females has dropped from 17 years in FY2011-the year that was the median age across all groups of children-to 15 years in the first seven months of FY2014. Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2014. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: R43734: Accessed April 29, 2015 at: http://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R43734.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R43734.pdf Shelf Number: 135420 Keywords: Child Protection Immigration Policy Unaccompanied Alien Children Unaccompanied Children (U.S.)Undocumented Immigrants |
Author: Brackenridge, Celia Title: Child Exploitation and the FIFA World Cup: A review of risks and protective interventions Summary: This review was commissioned by the Child Abuse Programme (CAP) of Oak Foundation, a large international philanthropic organisation. It forms part of CAP's effort to win societal rejection of practices such as the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents around major sporting events (MSEs), and to embed prevention and protection from exploitation as a permanent concern for global sports-related bodies. This review is intended to inform action in countries that host MSEs and to provide some suggestions on how hosting countries can avoid past pitfalls and mistakes in relation to child exploitation, especially economic and sexual exploitation. Importantly, it also acts as a call to action by those responsible for commissioning and staging MSEs, such as FIFA and the IOC, to anticipate, prepare for and adopt risk mitigation strategies and interventions. Positive leadership from these culturally powerful bodies could prove decisive in shifting hearts, minds and actions in the direction of improved safety for children. A three-pronged research design was adopted: more than 70 experts in NGOs, sport organisations and government departments were approached for interviews; a systematic search of relevant literature was conducted; and, several case studies were selected from past child protective interventions associated with MSEs. The work was intended to discover the extent of the evidence base supporting protective interventions associated with MSEs that address risk mitigation in general and child economic and sexual exploitation in particular. The many benefits of MSEs for child development related to learning, healthy lifelong physical activity, civic pride and multi-cultural sensitisation are well documented. These benefits should obviously be weighed against concerns about child exploitation and MSEs. The review found that: - some commercial enterprises associated with MSEs - both legal and illegal - still use child labour; - children are frequently victims of the community displacement typically associated with MSEs; - child sexual exploitation linked to MSEs appears to be hidden behind other social problems such as diverted services, family stress, poverty and domestic violence; - human trafficking for sexual exploitation associated with MSEs appears adult-focussed, responsive to advocacy interventions and difficult to measure. Where it does occur it is likely to mask harms to children. Whilst the risks of child exploitation were found to have increased during some of MSEs, the examples discussed all highlight the universal rarity of reliable empirical data concerning child exploitation around these events. In future, robust research designs, focused specifically on children, are essential in order to verify the many assertions that were uncovered. Responses to minimise the impact of risks for children associated with MSEs were found to be wide-ranging. It is evident from the literature, and from our consultations, that dedicated child-focussed responses are scarce. Very few programmatic or advocacy interventions are age-specific and most address general rather than particular risks. Also, human trafficking appears to overshadow all other risks in relation to the attention, resources and priority afforded to it by programmers, irrespective of the relative significance of this risk for children. There is very little material on programmes and advocacy related specifically to child labour, child sexual exploitation and displacement. This skew in the literature opens up interesting issues for future research. Importantly, it also masks the fact that children are all-too-often victims when adults close to them are exploited. So, whilst many of the initiatives described in the review are targeted at adults it should be recognised that they can also have important prevention benefits for children. Details: London: Brunel University London, Brunel Centre for Sport, Health and Wellbeing, 2013. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 30, 2015 at: http://www.brunel.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/369273/Child-Protection-and-the-FIFA-World-Cup-FINAL.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.brunel.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/369273/Child-Protection-and-the-FIFA-World-Cup-FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 135428 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationSporting Events |
Author: Brackenridge, Celia Title: Sport, Children's Rights and Violence Prevention: A Sourcebook on Global Issues and Local Programmes Summary: UNICEF is the world's largest child protection agency. The work of UNICEF is delivered through diverse agencies and national settings. Frequently, sport is used by the agency as a mechanism for repairing broken communities after human conflicts or natural disasters. However, sport itself is by no means neutral when it comes to the safety and welfare of the child. In 2007 this issue was recognised as a gap in the provisions of UNICEF. To their credit, and thanks largely to the persuasive powers of Susan Bissell, then working at the UNICEF International Research Centre in Florence, Italy, the staff at UNICEF convened a roundtable of experts in research and policy on welfare in sport. Over the next few years, the group drew together a report on the state of evidence about violence to children in sport and a summary of available prevention policies. This report, authored by Celia Brackenridge (UK), Kari Fasting (Norway), Sandra Kirby (Canada) and Trisha Leahy (Hong Kong) was published as a United Nations Innocenti Research Centre Review in 2010 and entitled Protecting Children from Violence in Sport: A review with a focus on industrialized countries. It was not possible within that relatively short document to provide many details of the research and policy issues that it addressed. Hence it was agreed that a second, companion volume would be compiled to give interested readers further information and practical examples of both global and local projects to prevent violence to children in sport. For several reasons, that companion volume sat on the presses for some years. We have decided to publish it here in the state that it was left in 2008, to stand as a record of the issues at that time and to fill a gap in the ever-widening trail of literature about child rights and safety in sport. Inevitably, both science and practice have moved on in the intervening years. Several significant initiatives for child athlete welfare have started and the growth of scientific studies in this field has been exponential. As one example, the editors launched BIRNAW in 2010, a network of some 45 interested researchers, policy makers, sport organisations and other stakeholders who wish to advance the field, whose first publication is available as a free download (Brackenridge and Rhind, 2010, see Note 1 below). There are also now new websites, research projects and coalitions of advocates and scientists across the world that were not active before 2008. We make no apology for omitting these here: others are working on texts that will take the story forward from 2008. For our part, this book represents simply one step in recording the journey towards child safety in and through sport. Details: London: Brunel University London, 2012. 202p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 30, 2015 at: http://www.brunel.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/369293/2012-Sport-and-childrens-rights-edited-book.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.brunel.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/369293/2012-Sport-and-childrens-rights-edited-book.pdf Shelf Number: 135429 Keywords: AthletesChild ProtectionSports Violence |
Author: Arizona Firearm Injury Prevention Coalition Title: Firearm Injuries in Arizona: With a Focus on Children Summary: Firearm injuries have recently replaced auto accidents as the most frequent injury causing deaths in Arizona. Too often the victims are young children or teens. In this booklet, Arizona Firearm Injury Prevention Coalition cites multiple sources, including Arizona Department of Health Services; Centers for Disease Control; Arizona Criminal Justice Commission; Phoenix Police Department; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; National Opinion Research Center; and Arizona Child Fatality Review, to outline the extent of the problem of firearm injuries in Arizona children and to guide future interventions to reduce those injuries. Arizona always ranks near the top of states with high firearm death rates, and we also have very high rates of nonfatal firearm injuries. Survivors often incur permanent disabilities associated with chronic pain and limitation of activity. Gunshot wounds can profoundly reduce the lifetime potential of children. Parents may suffer financially from large medical bills, and they often suffer emotional trauma from the knowledge that greater vigilance could have prevented their child's tragedy. We hope this booklet will raise awareness of the danger of firearms that are easily accessible to young children and teens, and that readers, especially firearm owners, will be moved to take measures to make firearms inaccessible to children. Details: AFIPC, 2010. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 30, 2015 at: http://afipc.typepad.com/files/2010.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://afipc.typepad.com/files/2010.pdf Shelf Number: 135432 Keywords: Child ProtectionFirearmsGun-Related InjuriesGun-Related Violence (Arizona)Homicides |
Author: Perista, Pedro Title: Combating child abuse and neglect in Portugal Summary: This report contains six chapters. The first chapter describes the definition and prevalence of child abuse and neglect, the main governmental policy on child abuse and neglect and the child welfare system in Portugal. Chapter two describes universal and preventive services regarding child abuse, chapter three detection, reporting and stopping it and chapter four the available treatment services in Portugal. Chapter five is about the integration of services and chapter six describes the education and training of professionals in Portugal. We conclude with an overall summary. Details: Utrecht: Netherlands Youth Institute, 2011. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Project Daphne: Accessed May 1, 2015 at: http://www.youthpolicy.nl/yp/downloadsyp/Daphne-report-Portugal.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Portugal URL: http://www.youthpolicy.nl/yp/downloadsyp/Daphne-report-Portugal.pdf Shelf Number: 135451 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (Portugal) Child Maltreatment Child Protection |
Author: Warner, Ann Title: More Power to Her: How Empowering Girls Can Help End Child Marriage Summary: The International Center for Research on Women's report, "More Power to Her: How Empowering Girls Can Help End Child Marriage", shows how and why investing in girls is critical to the global movement to end child marriage. The practice, which cuts across global cultures and religions, turns more than 14 million girls worldwide into child brides every year, violating their basic human rights - and hindering larger international development efforts. ICRW has been at the forefront of exposing the harms caused by child marriage, and identifying solutions to prevent it, for more than 15 years. In 2011, ICRW identified five promising strategies to prevent child marriage. With this latest study, ICRW set out to discover how programs in Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia and India are working to empower both girls at-risk of child marriage as well as already married girls, and how empowerment leads to changes in knowledge, attitudes and practices. Based on four case studies - programs run by CARE (Ethiopia), BRAC (Bangladesh), Save the Children (Egypt) and Pathfinder International (India) - ICRW's findings show that girl-focused programs expand girls' ability to make strategic life choices by providing them with access to critical resources. The information, skills and social support that they gain help to instill a transformation within girls: increasing their self-awareness, their self-efficacy and their aspirations. They also introduce girls to alternatives to marriage, such as school and livelihood opportunities, and enhance their ability to influence key 'gatekeepers' in their lives, such as parents, husbands or community leaders Details: Washington, DC: International Center for Research on Women, 2014. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 4, 2015 at: http://www.icrw.org/sites/default/files/publications/More%20Power%20pages%20Web.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://www.icrw.org/sites/default/files/publications/More%20Power%20pages%20Web.pdf Shelf Number: 135497 Keywords: Child MarriageChild ProtectionForced Marriage |
Author: Young, Douglas Title: Traversing Two Systems: An Assessment of Crossover Youth in Maryland Summary: Awareness about the vulnerabilities of children who are involved in both the juvenile justice and child welfare systems has grown exponentially over the past decade. The emergent challenge with helping crossover youth - those involved at some point in their lives in the dependency and delinquency systems - is not due to a lack of available guidance about what should be done for them. Rather, the challenges for addressing crossover youth include properly identifying them and their needs, and implementing evidence-based practices tailored to those needs. The present study was designed to begin to build a knowledge base to address these challenges in Maryland. Employing a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, the research focused on the five most populous jurisdictions in the state, Baltimore City, and Anne Arundel, Montgomery, Prince George's, and Baltimore Counties. Based on interviews with 26 officials in state and local agencies and survey responses from a representative sample of 164 stakeholders working with crossover youth, our review of state and local practices suggests a picture with preliminary signs of progress against a backdrop of general inattention to this population. Several state-led initiatives are promising in that they incorporate practices encouraged in the crossover youth practice literature, although none focus specifically on this group. Interview and survey results revealed some local efforts involving information sharing, collaborative case reviews, and joint attendance at court hearings on dual-system cases. About 60 percent of survey respondents reported using routines for identifying dual-system youth, providing cross-system notifications on proceedings, and holding family and multi-disciplinary team meetings for these cases. However, there was little use of formal, structured efforts, such as collaborative funding agreements, joint attendance at all hearings, or consolidated case planning or supervision. Survey results showed stakeholders were well aware of crossover youths' risks and needs and the challenges of working with these youth. Organizational expertise on crossover youth, and attention and resources paid to this population were given low ratings. Consistent with prior studies, quantitative analyses comparing samples of crossover youth (N=526) and delinquency-only youth (N=601) showed crossover youth were engaged in the juvenile justice system in deeper and more chronic ways, with their first arrest at an earlier age and having more arrests and referrals. Detention, placement, and commitment outcomes for crossover youth were particularly frequent, outsizing observed differences with delinquency-only youth on charges, filings, and adjudication hearings and suggesting that crossover youth face more harsh responses in the juvenile justice system. Compared with the delinquency-only group, crossover youth had less favorable results on risk, need, and protective measures on school attendance and performance, peer and adult relationships, and attitudes reflecting empathy, remorse, and self-control. The groups' most stark differences were on objective indicators of mental health needs. Analyses of Baltimore City crossover youth (N=200) and a dependency-only sample (N=200) showed the crossover group to have somewhat different and more persistent family problems, more placements, and longer length of placement. These findings, together with the interview and survey results suggest a consensus need for more focused efforts on crossover youth in Maryland. Several practices already in use - the one judge/one family court model, case identification, family and multi-disciplinary meetings, information sharing, collaborative case reviews, joint hearing attendance - should be expanded, routinized, and sustained. Results from the risk and needs analyses underscore the importance of responding to the mental health treatment needs of crossover youth in the state. These Maryland findings reinforce and extend those reported in prior research, providing detailed information on needs and protective factors and risk factors related to maltreatment. More generally, the results should heighten the urgency of increasing attention to this population. Details: College Park, MD: Institute for Governmental Service and Research, University of Maryland, College Park, 2014. 154p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 9, 2015 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/248679.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/248679.pdf Shelf Number: 135539 Keywords: At-Risk YouthChild ProtectionChild Welfare SystemJuvenile OffendersJuvenile Offenders (U.S.) |
Author: Mathews, Ben Title: Mandatory reporting laws for child sexual abuse in Australia: A legislative history Summary: 1.1 Scope and purpose of this report 1. History of Australian mandatory reporting legislation for child sexual abuse The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is required to inquire into, among other things, 'what institutions and governments should do to achieve best practice in encouraging the reporting of, and responding to reports or information about, allegations, incidents or risks of child sexual abuse and related matters in institutional contexts'. An aspect of the nature of allegations of child sexual abuse occurring within institutional contexts is that they often relate to events that took place years and sometimes decades before the allegations are brought to light. This report is intended to assist in understanding the development of mandatory reporting laws and to establish a means of determining the existence and scope of mandatory reporting laws in any jurisdiction at a given point in time. To assist the Royal Commission in addressing our terms of reference, the major focus of this report is to review and explain the legislative principles for mandatory reporting to child welfare agencies of child sexual abuse in each state and territory of Australia, and to trace changes in the development of the laws since their inception to the present day. In doing so, the report identifies differences within and between state and territory laws over a period of 44 years, from 1969 to 2013. The report does not discuss obligations to report criminal conduct to law enforcement agencies in detail (see Part 2.6). It is not the purpose of this report to make recommendations for reform of law, policy or practice. Nevertheless, the outcomes of the legal analyses indicate areas for possible reform, enhancement and research. The law and historical developments in each state and territory are detailed in Part 3 of this Report. A timeline is also provided for each jurisdiction showing the major developments in graphic form. Nine tables in the Executive summary of this report display the most essential information in summary form. 2. Precursors to and reasons for the introduction of the laws in each jurisdiction, and for substantial amendments to the laws A second purpose of this report is to identify why the legislation changed in each jurisdiction. This task involved research into publicly available records in each state and Letters Patent for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, S No 12 of 2013, 11 January 2013, territory, focusing on significant government inquiries and law reform reports, and parliamentary debates. Findings regarding the precursors to legal developments are integrated within the treatment of the historical legal developments in Part 3 of this report. Discussion of these precursors is presented in shaded boxes. In addition, Table 9 in the Executive summary of this report highlights the major influential factors. 3. Overseas learnings A third, minor aspect of the report is to summarise other jurisdictions' reporting laws and developments over time, to identify issues of interest. For feasibility, this is limited to selected jurisdictions having the most detailed experience of mandatory reporting laws and the most detailed data about child protection. Details: Sydney: Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, 2014. 149p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 9, 2015 at: http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/documents/royal-commission-report-ben-mathews-for-rc-publica.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Australia URL: http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/documents/royal-commission-report-ben-mathews-for-rc-publica.pdf Shelf Number: 135548 Keywords: Child MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationChild Welfare |
Author: Emory University School of Law. Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic Title: Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Georgia: Service Delivery and Legislative Recommendations for State and Local Policy Makers Summary: The exploitation of children through prostitution is big business in Atlanta, and changing that situation was a priority during Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin's terms in office. In 2005, the Mayor's office published a paper titled Hidden In Plain View which explained the problem of commercial sexual exploitation of young girls in Atlanta, brought the importance of addressing the issue home by providing stories of real victims, and identified Atlanta's strengths and areas of need related to this problem. This 2008 paper builds on that foundation, and expands the scope to include all child victims, including boys, across Georgia. It examines approaches taken by other jurisdictions to address the commercial sexual exploitation of children, and makes legislative and policy recommendations for addressing the problem in Georgia. Details: Atlanta, GA: Emory Law School, Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic, 2008. 66p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 14, 2015 at: http://bartoncenter.net/uploads/fall2011updates/status_other/CSEC-recs-for-policy-makers.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://bartoncenter.net/uploads/fall2011updates/status_other/CSEC-recs-for-policy-makers.pdf Shelf Number: 135643 Keywords: Child ProstitutesChild ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual Exploitation |
Author: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) Title: Child-friendly justice - Perspectives and experiences of professionals on children's participation in civil and criminal judicial proceedings in 10 EU Member States Summary: All European Union (EU) Member States have a duty to ensure that children's best interests are the primary consideration in any action that affects them. This consideration is of particular importance when children are involved in criminal and civil judicial proceedings. Such proceedings can be stressful for anyone. Even more so for children, who may become traumatised if the procedures are not child friendly, the settings unsuitable and the professionals involved inadequately trained. Thousands of children are affected. Data show that in 11 EU Member States alone, around 74,000 children were victims of crime and 495,000 were affected by parental divorce in 2010. The treatment of children in judicial proceedings is an important fundamental rights concern, addressed by the United Nations in its Convention on the Rights of the Child, which all EU Member States have ratified and which celebrated its 25th anniversary in November 2014. The EU further shows its commitment to this issue by promoting the Council of Europe's 2010 Guidelines on child-friendly justice and helping its Member States improve the protection of child rights in their judicial systems. These Council of Europe guidelines promote children's rights to be heard, to be informed, to be protected and to nondiscrimination. To determine the extent to which these rights are respected and fulfilled in practice, the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), in cooperation with the European Commission, collected and analysed data through interviews with professionals and children who experienced judicial proceedings. The present report, which is the first part of this work, examines the responses of 570 judges, prosecutors, lawyers, court staff, psychologists, social workers and police officers interviewed in 10 EU Member States. These professionals are in daily contact with children going through judicial proceedings. The evidence they provided shows that there is a long way to go to make justice more child-friendly across the EU. The second report of this FRA research will concentrate on the responses of the children who were interviewed. Practices of child participation in criminal and civil judicial proceedings vary considerably not just across, but also within Member States, pointing to a need for clear and consistent standards and guidelines and the systematic monitoring of their implementation. Children are not sufficiently supported when participating in a criminal or civil proceeding, court settings that can be intimidating for children are not always adjusted to their needs. Concrete measures, such as preventing a child from directly confronting defendants or witnesses in court or ensuring that a child is informed about and understands the proceedings, are not yet common practice. The research also revealed, however, a number of promising practices, outlined in this report. Details: Vienna: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2015. 133p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 14, 2015 at: http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra-2015-child-friendly-justice-professionals_en.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Europe URL: http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra-2015-child-friendly-justice-professionals_en.pdf Shelf Number: 135645 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild WitnessesJudicial ProceedingsJuvenile Justice Systems |
Author: Martin, Shawn M. Title: Policy Evaluation of Hillsborough County's Family Dependency Treatment Court Summary: Child abuse and neglect is a troubling issue all too familiar with courts in the United States. The problem becomes even more complicated when substance abuse is involved. In 2004, approximately 500,000 children were removed from their homes because of abuse and neglect issues1. In the past few years, a judicial model appeared to address both substance abuse and child dependency issues. This model, entitled Family Dependency Treatment Court (FDTC) enables the court to mandate treatment for parents and make reunification dependent on treatment compliance. The FDTC program in Hillsborough County, Florida is now in its second year and has raised a host of policy and procedural issues. As such, 20 key FDTC informants and 6 clients were interviewed to identify strengths and weaknesses of the program. Key areas identified as requiring improvement include increasing communication and collaboration among key stakeholders, training on FDTC inclusion criteria, and increased funding for treatment services and resources. Identified strengths included being a court-based treatment program, providing a supportive atmosphere for clients, and maintaining reunification as a goal. The results of this evaluation emphasize the importance of diverse organizations working collaboratively to achieve this often difficult objective within the child welfare setting. Details: Tampa, FL: Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida, 2013. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications. Paper 579; Accessed May 23, 2015 at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1578&context=mhlp_facpub Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1578&context=mhlp_facpub Shelf Number: 135773 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionChild WelfareFamily Treatment CourtsProblem Solving Courts |
Author: de Boer, Jennifer Title: Sweet Hazards: Child Labor on Sugarcane Plantations in the Philippines Summary: This report aims to illustrate the hazardous labor done by children worldwide by highlighting one particular case. Being illustrative, the report aims at telling the stories of the children's daily working conditions at the sugarcane plantations in Leyte, the Philippines. It does not attempt to be complete in its account of these working and living conditions, nor does it pretend to speak for all children involved in hazardous work of any kind. However, it is Terre des Hommes' conviction that the children from the sugarcane plantations around Ormoc face and voice problems that are of equal importance to other children in the world. Details: The Hague: Terre des Hommes Netherlands. 2005. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 28, 2015 at: http://www.eldis.org/go/home&id=20107&type=Document#.VWdjX09FDct Year: 2005 Country: Philippines URL: http://www.eldis.org/go/home&id=20107&type=Document#.VWdjX09FDct Shelf Number: 129954 Keywords: Child LaborChild Protection |
Author: Galm, Beate Title: Combating Child Abuse and Neglect: Child Protection in Germany Summary: The Federal Republic of Germany is a federal state with 16 partially sovereign constituent Lander (Federal States). The authorities of the Lander extend to legislation. The distribution of legislative and other competences between the federal government and the Lander is governed by the German Constitution, which is binding for all. The constitution stipulates the basic rights of its 82 million citizens. To promote and protect the child's rights, the constitution stipulates the distribution of responsibilities between parents and government as follows: Childcare and the education of children are the right and duty of the parents. The national community monitors their activities. Only if the parents fail to fulfill their care and educational duties sufficiently, then state is not only entitled to intervene but also mandated. This happens in child endangerment cases, which the parents themselves cannot or do not want to avert. Moreover the state has the general duty to support families in their task of care and education. So far, there is no significant information available in Germany about how often cases become known in the children and youth protection system, where violence against children transgresses the threshold of child endangerment. In fact, there is a nationwide unified official child and youth welfare statistic; however, it focuses on actions and not on cases or case situations. Currently, a Federal Child Protection Act (Bundeskinderschutz-gesetz) is under way which is likely to come into force in 2012. It provides for expanding the child and youth welfare statistic with the objective of collecting the number of cases of child endangerment known in the area of child and youth welfare. In general, only limited assertions can be made concerning the extent of various types of violence against children in Germany. These are based on few studies with a representative selection of the population, on methodologically insufficient estimates (overview in Pothmann, 2006), and on smaller samples in the area of healthcare and Children and Youth Services. Moreover, various statistics (e.g. child and youth statistic, the crime statistic of the police, the statistic of the cause of death) provide information about various partial quantities, e.g. cases of abuse, which are criminally prosecuted or cases, in which children are removed from the family for a short or long-term. In light of the widespread child neglect and psychological child abuse there is a recent representative study (Hauser et al., 2011). Lesser intensity of neglect included, almost 50% of the respondents (juveniles and adults were surveyed, n = 2504) report physical neglect and nearly 50% report emotional neglect in their childhood and adolescence. Serious physical neglect was experienced by 10.8%, serious emotional neglect by 6.6%. The proportion auf psychological abuse reported is 15%, if moderate intensity is included and 1.6% for serious psychological abuse. Non-representative data suggest that child neglect is by far the most common form of endangerment known in the area of child and youth welfare. This assertion is strengthened by the tendency that the situation is similar in all countries, which so far have examined the frequency of various forms of child endangerment (Galm et al., 2010, p. 38-40). In the case of Germany, this was confirmed by a study based on cases over which the family court had to decide about an intervention concerning the parental care (Munder et al., 2000, n = 318). In nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of the cases, the presence of child neglect was affirmed by the social workers. In every second case (50 percent), it was seen as the main cause for endangerment. The same study described psychological child abuse as the second most frequent form of endangerment after child neglect and before physical abuse and sexual abuse of children. Moreover, there is a high rate of overlapping between various forms of child endangerment. These findings are reflected internationally as well (e.g. Jonson-Reid et al., 2003). The few representative study results suggest, that the majority of parents in Germany - even with a decreasing trend - still use at least some minor forms of corporal punishment against their child such as a light slap in the face or a spanking (Bussmann, 2004, 2005, 2008, Wetzels, 1997, Pfeiffer et al., 1997, 1999, Baier et al., 2009). In this connection, Germany is in a middle position in a European comparative study about corporal punishment (Bussmann, 2008). This study also shows that most parents - in Germany about 90% - are aiming to raise their children free of violence. In a summary of German study results, Engfer (2005) concludes that 10% to 15% of parents use more severe and more frequent corporal punishments. In the survey of Hauser et al. (2011) 12% of the respondents re-port physical and 2.8% serious physical violence. In three representative surveys, women, men (Wetzels & Pfeiffer, 1995, Wetzels, 1997, Bienek et al., 2011, Hauser, 2011), juvenile girls, and boys (repeat survey of BZgA, 2010) are asked among others about sexual violence during their childhood and youth. The results show that based on a wider definition of sexual violence up to 19% of women and 8% of men were affected by sexual violence during childhood in Germany. The follow up survey (n = 11,428) by Bienek et al. (2011) is interesting: The results show a significant reduction of sexual violence in the last 20 years. Depending on the definition, in international studies the figures fluctuate between 7% and 36% in affected women and between 3% and 19% in affected men concerning the extent of sexual violence (Finkelhor, 2005). Since the end of the last century the awareness of the negative effects of partnership violence on children has increased in Germany (Kavemann, 2006) According to international studies, partnership violence, which has a special potential for injury and which is embedded in forms of control and debasement is mainly initiated by men toward their partners (research over-views e.g. in Johnson, 2001, Saunders, 2002). In Germany, these findings are confirmed by a representative study (a representative community sample of 10,000 women from all over Germany) concerning living situations, security, and health of women commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Families, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (Muller et al., 2004). This study concludes that at least every fourth woman (25 %) between the ages of 16 and 85 years, who has lived in a partnership, has experienced one or several times physical (23 %) or - in part additionally - sexual (7 %) violence by their partner (Muller et al., 2004, p. 8). Compared to the prevailing data from other European studies (overview in Hagemann-White 2001), these results are in the medium to upper level, whereby the methods and instruments of the survey, the topic and content of focus as well as the included age and examination samples vary greatly and make a comparison the more difficult. In this survey 60% of the women, who had experienced a violent relationship were living with children at the time (N=485). Asked about how they thought this affected their children 57% of these women reported that the children had overheard violent situations, 50% that children had seen these situations and 25% stated that children had tried to defend them against their violent partner. 23% of the women believed that the children had not noticed the partnership violence at all. (Muller et al., 2004, pp. 276-277) In surveys of unreported incidents with juveniles (Enzmann & Wetzels, 2001), approx. 7 % of the ones surveyed stated that they experienced frequent violence of the (social) father against the mother or of both parents against one another during the year prior to the survey. Details: Munich: Deutsches Jugendinstitut e.V., 2011. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 4, 2015 at: http://www.youthpolicy.nl/yp/downloadsyp/Daphne-report-Germany.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Germany URL: http://www.youthpolicy.nl/yp/downloadsyp/Daphne-report-Germany.pdf Shelf Number: 135901 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChild WelfareCorporal Punishment |
Author: Malby, Steven Title: Study on the Effects of New Information Technologies on the Abuse and Exploitation of Children Summary: This Study on the effects of new information technologies on the abuse and exploitation of children was prepared pursuant to Economic and Social Council resolution 2011/33 on Prevention, protection and international cooperation against the use of new information technologies to abuse and/or exploit children, in which the Council expressed concern that increasingly rapid technological advances have created new possibilities for the criminal misuse of new information and communication technologies. The study is based primarily on open source research and the outcomes of an informal expert group meeting on ICT facilitated abuse and exploitation of children, held in Vienna from 23 to 25 September 2013. In accordance with Council resolution 2011/33, relevant information from the 2013 Comprehensive Study on Cybercrime prepared for the consideration of the open-ended intergovernmental expert group on cybercrime is also taken into account. The study is divided into four chapters and contains a glossary as an annex. Details: New York: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2015. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 13, 2015 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/organized-crime/cybercrime/Study_on_the_Effects.pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/organized-crime/cybercrime/Study_on_the_Effects.pdf Shelf Number: 135996 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual Exploitation Cybercrime Online Victimization |
Author: United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) Title: Unaccompanied Alien Children: Actions Needed to Ensure Children Receive Required Care in DHS Custody Summary: From fiscal years 2009 through 2014, DHS apprehended more than 200,000 UAC, and the number of UAC apprehended in fiscal year 2014 (about 74,000) was more than four times larger than that for fiscal year 2011 (about 17,000). On the journey to the United States, many UAC have traveled thousands of miles under dangerous conditions. The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 included a provision for GAO to, among other things, review how DHS cares for UAC. This report examines, among other things, the extent to which DHS has developed policies and procedures to (1) screen all UAC as required and (2) care for all UAC as required. GAO reviewed TVPRA and other legal requirements, DHS policies for screening and caring for UAC, fiscal year 2009 through 2014 apprehension data on UAC, and 2014 Border Patrol UAC care data. GAO also randomly sampled and analyzed case files of Mexican UAC whom Border Patrol apprehended in fiscal year 2014. GAO interviewed DHS and HHS officials in Washington, D.C., and at Border Patrol and OFO facilities in Arizona, California, and Texas selected on the basis of UAC apprehension data. What GAO Recommends GAO recommends that DHS, among other things, provide guidance on how agents and officers are to apply UAC screening criteria, ensure that screening decisions are documented, develop processes to record reliable data on UAC care, and document the interagency process to transfer UAC from DHS to HHS. DHS concurred with the recommendations. Details: Washington, DC: GAO, 2015. 113p. Source: Internet Resource: GAO-15-521: Accessed July 15, 2015 at: http://gao.gov/assets/680/671393.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://gao.gov/assets/680/671393.pdf Shelf Number: 136062 Keywords: Child ProtectionIllegal ImmigrantsIllegal ImmigrationImmigrant DetentionUnaccompanied Alien Children |
Author: Great Britain. Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary Title: In harm's way: the role of the police in keeping children safe Summary: Between January 2014 and June 2015, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) conducted 21 inspections of different aspects of the police response to child protection issues. These comprised: - eight inspections of individual forces as part of the National Child Protection Inspection programme, which is examining the child protection work of every police force in England and Wales; and - 13 other inspections (conducted either alone, or jointly with other organisations) which contain a child protection theme. This report summarises findings from all these inspections. By drawing them together in this report, we are able to provide a comprehensive overview of the experiences of vulnerable children who come to the attention of the police, highlighting both good practice and areas for improvement. Details: London: HMIC, 2015. 91p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 17, 2015 at: http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/in-harms-way.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/in-harms-way.pdf Shelf Number: 136099 Keywords: At-Risk YouthChild ProtectionPolice-Citizen Interactions |
Author: Jutte, Sonja Title: How Safe Are Our Children? The Most Comprehensive Overview of Child Protection in the UK Summary: Our report compiles and analyses the most robust and up-to-date child protection data that exists across the 4 nations in the UK for 2015. The report sets out 20 different indicators. Each indicator looks at the question of 'how safe are our children?' from a different perspective. They also include historic data, to help track progress over time Key messages More support is needed for the victims of abuse We've seen a rise in the number of people coming forward about their experiences of abuse. The support must match this increased willingness to speak out. Victims of child abuse need more therapeutic support, and age-appropriate support at every stage of the criminal justice process. We must not lose sight of neglect While child sexual exploitation is dominating the media, it's important to remember that neglect remains the most common form of child abuse across the UK. We need to continue to gather evidence into what works in tackling neglect. Early intervention is key We need to intervene early to address problems before they become more serious and entrenched. By intervening early we can protect children more effectively and save money. Key findings All 4 countries in the UK have seen the number of recorded sexual offences against children increase over the last year. There's been an increase in contacts to the NSPCC helpline and ChildLine about sexual abuse. Neglect remains the most common form of child abuse in the UK. The number of children dying as a result of homicide or assault remains in long term decline. Details: London: NSPCC, 2015. 88p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 24, 2015 at: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/how-safe-children-2015-report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/how-safe-children-2015-report.pdf Shelf Number: 136151 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse |
Author: Great Britain. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary Title: Online and on the edge: Real risks in a virtual world. An inspection into how forces deal with the online sexual exploitation of children Summary: Taking, possessing and distributing indecent images of children or grooming them online, can result in the commission of serious crimes against the most vulnerable. These crimes are not necessarily confined to the online world. There is a risk that perpetrators are also committing sexual offences against children in person or may do so in the future. This report sets out the findings from fieldwork in Devon and Cornwall, Kent, Lancashire, North Wales, Northumbria and Staffordshire where HMIC inspectors reviewed a total of 124 cases selected at random, and conducted interviews with police officers and staff. Although we did not inspect every force, we anticipate that our findings and recommendations will be relevant in whole, or in part, for all police forces throughout England and Wales. The first part of this report sets the scene, looking at the reasons and background to why children are sexually exploited online. The second part sets out our findings on the police service's efforts to tackle online child sexual exploitation. Although this report does not specifically focus on the police's use of technology when dealing with this type of offending, in our annual assessment of policing in England and Wales, published in November 2014, we stressed the need for the police service to refresh and improve its capabilities on a regular basis. The police will need to make a major leap forward in capability to keep pace with the crime threat, and this is particularly true of crimes against children facilitated by online activity. In 2012, HMIC carried out fieldwork as part of an inspection on how police forces performed in their work to prevent online child sexual exploitation - facilitated and enabled by the internet. This fieldwork identified opportunities to undertake coordinated law enforcement activity to apprehend offenders across England and Wales. As a result, operation Notarise was established as a large scale police operation between the National Crime Agency and the police service. So far 745 people have been arrested, 900 premises searched, and nearly 10,000 devices capable of storing indecent images of children have been seized. Over 500 children have been identified and safeguarded as a result of this activity. From time to time, in the course of our inspection work, we come across live police operations. We do not make public any material that might compromise current operations or pending criminal trials. Details: London: HMIC, 2015. 78p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 3, 2015 at: http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/online-and-on-the-edge.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/online-and-on-the-edge.pdf Shelf Number: 136301 Keywords: Child PornographyChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationInternet CrimesOnline Victimization |
Author: Spangaro, Jo Title: Health Interventions for Family and Domestic Violence: A Literature Review for NSW Kids and Families Summary: This review describes eleven different areas of intervention for health services responding to domestic violence supported by the research literature. Section 2 of this document briefly outlines the methods used to search the literature, followed by definitions of terms used in Section 3. A summary table of the eleven areas of intervention and the recommendations for each as well as additional recommendations specific to programs or populations comprises Section 4 of the document. A full description of each intervention type, the evidence for it, risks and limitations of each and a more expanded version of each recommendation constitutes Section 5 of the document. Sections 6 and 7 then outline additional issues identified in the literature for specific programs and populations, followed by Section 8 which constitutes a list of the 45 recommendations arising from the evidence. Details: Sydney: School of Social Sciences, University of New South Wales, 2014. 85p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 14, 2015 at: http://www.kidsfamilies.health.nsw.gov.au/media/276626/final-spangaro-health-interventions-for-family-and-domestic-violence-a-literature-reiew-18-november-2014-3-.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Australia URL: http://www.kidsfamilies.health.nsw.gov.au/media/276626/final-spangaro-health-interventions-for-family-and-domestic-violence-a-literature-reiew-18-november-2014-3-.pdf Shelf Number: 136405 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child ProtectionDomestic Violence Family Violence Interventions Mental Health Services |
Author: Kandel, William A. Title: Unaccompanied Alien Children: An Overview Summary: In FY2014, the number of unaccompanied alien children (UAC, unaccompanied children) that were apprehended at the Southwest border while attempting to enter the United States without authorization increased sharply, straining the system put in place over the past decade to handle such cases. Prior to FY2014, UAC apprehensions were steadily increasing. For example, in FY2011, the Border Patrol apprehended 16,067 unaccompanied children at the Southwest border whereas in FY2014 more than 68,500 unaccompanied children were apprehended. In the first 8 months of FY2015, UAC apprehensions numbered 22,869, down 49% from the same period in FY2014. UAC are defined in statute as children who lack lawful immigration status in the United States, who are under the age of 18, and who either are without a parent or legal guardian in the United States or without a parent or legal guardian in the United States who is available to provide care and physical custody. Two statutes and a legal settlement directly affect U.S. policy for the treatment and administrative processing of UAC: the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-457); the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296); and the Flores Settlement Agreement of 1997. Several agencies in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS's) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) share responsibility for the processing, treatment, and placement of UAC. DHS Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehends and detains unaccompanied children arrested at the border while Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) handles custody transfer and repatriation responsibilities. ICE also apprehends UAC in the interior of the country and represents the government in removal proceedings. HHS coordinates and implements the care and placement of unaccompanied children in appropriate custody. Foreign nationals from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico accounted for almost all UAC cases in recent years, especially in FY2014. In FY2009, when the number of UAC apprehended at the Southwest border was 19,688, foreign nationals from Mexico accounted for 82% of all UAC apprehensions at the Southwest border and the three Central American countries accounted for 17% of these apprehensions. In FY2014, the proportions had almost reversed, with Mexican UAC comprising only 23% of UAC apprehensions and unaccompanied children from the three Central American countries comprising 77%. To address the crisis, the Administration developed a working group to coordinate the efforts of federal agencies involved. It also opened additional shelters and holding facilities to accommodate the large number of UAC apprehended at the border. In June 2014, the Administration announced plans to provide funding to the affected Central American countries for a variety of programs and security-related initiatives; and in July, the Administration requested $3.7 billion in supplemental appropriations for FY2014 to address the crisis. Congress debated the supplemental appropriations but did not pass such legislation. For FY2015, Congress appropriated nearly $1.6 billion for the Refugee and Entrant Assistance Programs in ORR, the majority of which is directed toward the UAC program (P.L. 113-235). For DHS agencies, Congress appropriated $3.4 billion for detection, enforcement, and removal operations, including for the transport of unaccompanied children for CBP. The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, FY2015 (P.L. 114-4) also permits the Secretary of Homeland Security to reprogram funds within CBP and ICE and transfer such funds into the two agencies' "Salaries and Expenses" accounts for the care and transportation of unaccompanied children. P.L. 114-4 also allows for several DHS grants awarded to states along the Southwest border to be used by recipients for costs or reimbursement of costs related to providing humanitarian relief to unaccompanied children. Congressional activity on two pieces of legislation in the 114th Congress (H.R. 1153 and H.R. 1149) would make changes to current UAC policy, including amending the definition of UAC, altering current law on the treatment of unaccompanied children from contiguous countries, and amending several asylum provisions that would alter how unaccompanied children who assert an asylum claim are processed, among other things. Several other bills have been introduced without seeing legislative activity (H.R. 191/S. 129, H.R. 1700, H.R. 2491, and S. 44). Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2015. 21p. Source: Internet Resource: CRS Report R43599: Accessed August 26, 2015 at: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R43599.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R43599.pdf Shelf Number: 136587 Keywords: Child ImmigrantsChild Protection Immigrant ChildrenUnaccompanied Alien ChildrenUndocumented Children Undocumented Immigrants |
Author: Buchanan, Emily Title: 'Child Neglect is Everyone's Business': Achieving a Greater Sense of Shared Responsibility for Tackling Neglect: Findings from LARC6 Summary: In essence, neglect is a failure to meet children's basic needs, to provide them with the support and care they need to thrive. Child neglect has profound negative consequences for children and young people, and even low-level neglect is harmful to children's health and development. There are thresholds against which organisations can assess the level of neglect occurring and, for cases of higher need that meet these thresholds, formal support will be put in place for a family. However, the ways in which low-level or early indicators of neglect are identified and addressed are less formalised. Local authorities have no statutory duty to address low-level neglect themselves, although the majority offer or are developing 'early help' services and signposting support. This research examined the role of families and the wider community by addressing the question: 'How can we (local authorities) work differently to identify child neglect at an early stage and encourage effective, low-cost solutions drawing particularly on the strengths of the family network and the wider community?' The research involved interviews with 271 participants, including parents1, young people, community representatives and practitioners from a range of services (such as education, health and social care services). It was carried out by nine local authorities with support from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) and Research in Practice (RiP). The research found that parents and community representatives have some idea of how to identify a neglected child and most think they have a role to play in identifying and helping to address neglect, although there were mixed views about whether everyone in the wider community sees it as their role. Most of the parents who had had concerns about a child in the past had acted by speaking to the families themselves, or seeking advice from a professional. But some community members and young people said they would not know how to identify neglect or where to turn for advice if they suspected a child was suffering from neglect. Details: Slough, UK: National Foundation for Educational Research, 2015. 61p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 5, 2015 at: https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/LRCN01/LRCN01.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/LRCN01/LRCN01.pdf Shelf Number: 136700 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild Protection |
Author: Taylor, Alice Title: "She Goes With Me in My Boat": Child marriage and adolescent marriage in Brazil Summary: Brazil - like the rest of Latin America - has been absent from many global discussions and actions around child and adolescent marriage, which largely focus on hotspot areas such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The available evidence within the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region, however, shows prevalence levels of child marriage are highest in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Brazil and that absolute numbers are highest in Brazil. This study, the first of its kind in Brazil, explores attitudes and practices around child and adolescent marriage in Para and Maranhao, two Brazilian states with highest prevalence of the practice. The results confirm the mostly informal and consensual nature of unions involving girls under the age of 18 in the settings studied. The analysis highlights the ways in which a child or adolescent marriage may create or exacerbate risk factors (i.e., related to health, education, security) while often being perceived by girls or family members as offering stability in settings of economic insecurity and limited opportunities. Details: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:: Promundo, 2015. 148p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 14, 2015 at: http://promundoglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SheGoesWithMyBoat_ChildAdolescentMarriageBrazil.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Brazil URL: http://promundoglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SheGoesWithMyBoat_ChildAdolescentMarriageBrazil.pdf Shelf Number: 136740 Keywords: Child MarriageChild Protection |
Author: U.S. Department of Justice. Civil Rights Division Title: Investigation of the St. Louis County Family Court, St. Louis, Missouri Summary: Following a comprehensive investigation, the Justice Department today announced its findings regarding the Family Court of the Twenty-First Judicial Circuit of the state of Missouri, commonly known as the St. Louis County Family Court. The Justice Department found that the family court fails to provide constitutionally required due process to children appearing for delinquency proceedings, and that the court's administration of juvenile justice discriminates against Black children. The investigation was conducted under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which gives the department the authority to seek a remedy for a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the constitutional or federal statutory rights of youths in the administration of juvenile justice. "The findings we issue today are serious and compelling," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. "Missouri was at the forefront of juvenile corrections reform when it closed its large juvenile institutions and moved to a smaller, treatment-focused system and we are hopeful that Missouri will rise to this challenge to, once again, be a leader in juvenile justice reform. This investigation is another step toward our goal of ensuring that children in the juvenile justice system receive their constitutionally guaranteed rights to due process and equal protection under the law." Since opening this investigation in November 2013, the Civil Rights Division has analyzed data relating to nearly 33,000 juvenile cases, including all delinquency and status offenses resolved in St. Louis County Family Court between 2010 and 2013; and has reviewed over 14,000 pages of documents, including family court records, transcripts, policies, procedures and external reports. In June 2014, Justice Department attorneys and its consultants-a law school clinical professor and experienced juvenile defense attorney and a nationally-recognized expert on measuring juvenile justice disparities through statistical analysis-visited the family court and interviewed a number of court personnel, including all of the judges and commissioners as well as the heads of many of family court programs and services. They also collected information from both the state and local public defender's offices, private attorneys with experience in the family court and the parents of youth who had been involved in delinquency proceedings with the family court. The Justice Department found a number of constitutional violations, including: -Failure to ensure youth facing delinquency proceedings have adequate legal representation; -Failure to make adequate determinations that there is probable cause that a child committed the alleged offense; -Failure to provide adequate due process to children facing certification for criminal prosecution in adult criminal court; -Failure to ensure that children's guilty pleas are entered knowingly and voluntarily; -An organizational structure that is rife with conflicts of interest, is contrary to separation of powers principles and deprives children of adequate due process; and -Disparate treatment of Black children at four key decision points within the juvenile justice system. The department has opened four cases examining whether juvenile justice systems comply with children's rights since 2009. In 2012, the department settled its first investigation of this kind, reaching an agreement with the Juvenile Court of Shelby County, Memphis, Tennessee that calls for comprehensive due process, equal protection and facility reforms. On June 19, 2015, the Justice Department announced a partial settlement of its lawsuit alleging violations of children's due process rights in Lauderdale County, Mississippi. In March 2015, the department announced its investigation of due process and disability discrimination issues in the Dallas County Truancy Court and Juvenile District Courts. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, 2015. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 16, 2015 at: http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2015/07/31/stlouis_findings_7-31-15.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2015/07/31/stlouis_findings_7-31-15.pdf Shelf Number: 136300 Keywords: Child ProtectionDue ProcessFamily CourtsJuvenile Justice SystemsJuvenile OffendersProblem-Solving CourtsRacial BiasRacial Disparities |
Author: National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Title: Helpline Highlight: The Under-Reporting of Sexual Abuse Summary: Between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2012, the NSPCC was contacted 5,360 times about child sexual abuse. This was 13% of all calls made to the NSPCC (42,755) during that period. 39% (2,071) of contacts about sexual abuse were so serious they had to be referred to social services or the police. 34% (1,800) of the contacts we received about sexual abuse came from parents or carers. This is a higher proportion than for any other type of abuse (18% of contacts about emotional abuse were from parents or carers, 14% for physical abuse and 12% for neglect). The data on contacts to the NSPCC about sexual abuse support the findings of previous studies that children may be more likely to disclose abuse to close family members and friends rather than to professionals. Adults tend to report concerns about child sexual abuse more readily than other forms of abuse but 33% of callers to the helpline waited over a month. This can have potentially devastating effects for the child or young person. Details: London: NSPCC, 2012. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 17, 2015 at: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/helpline-highlights/helpline-highlight-report-sexual-abuse.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/helpline-highlights/helpline-highlight-report-sexual-abuse.pdf Shelf Number: 1136797 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse |
Author: Morna, Janine Title: Vulnerable Students, Unsafe Schools: Attacks and Military Use of Schools in the Central African Republic Summary: Vulnerable Students, Unsafe Schools: Attacks and Military Use of Schools in the Central African Republic was launched in New York on September 10, 2015 and highlights the risks students and teachers face in schools in the Central African Republic (CAR). Based on field research, the report details attacks on schools by parties to the conflict and military use of schools by armed groups and, on occasion, international peacekeeping forces. It also provides policy recommendations to key stakeholders, including the Transitional Government of CAR, armed groups, humanitarian actors, and United Nations agencies, to strengthen children's right to education. Details: New York: Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, 2015. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 18, 2015 at: http://watchlist.org/vulnerable-students-unsafe-schools-attacks-and-military-use-of-schools-in-the-central-african-republic/ Year: 2015 Country: Africa URL: http://watchlist.org/vulnerable-students-unsafe-schools-attacks-and-military-use-of-schools-in-the-central-african-republic/ Shelf Number: 136819 Keywords: Child ProtectionSchool SafetySchool SecurityViolence Against Children |
Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office Title: Youth Athletes: Sports Programs' Guidance, Practices, and Policies to Help Prevent and Respond to Sexual Abuse Summary: Media reports of the sexual abuse of youth athletes by their coaches have raised questions about how athletic organizations protect against such abuse. Research shows that the power dynamic between coaches and athletes aiming for high performance makes those athletes uniquely vulnerable to abuse. Although states are primarily responsible for addressing abuse, federal laws may apply, such as those that prohibit sex discrimination, including sexual abuse, in federally-funded education programs, require reports of campus crimes, and set minimum standards for state child abuse reporting laws. GAO was asked to review efforts to prevent and respond to the sexual abuse of youth athletes under age 18. GAO examined (1) the role of federal agencies in preventing and responding to sexual abuse of youth athletes, and (2) steps selected athletic programs aimed at high performance take to prevent and respond to such abuse. GAO reviewed relevant federal laws, regulations, guidance, and literature; visited a non-generalizable sample of 11 athletic programs in three states selected on factors including sport popularity, gender participation, and geographic diversity; and interviewed federal agencies, relevant associations, and experts. Details: Washington, DC: GAO, 2015. 46p. Source: Internet Resource: GAO-15-418: Accessed September 18, 2015 at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/670543.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/670543.pdf Shelf Number: 136832 Keywords: Athletes Athletic Programs Child ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse Sports |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: "What ... if Something Went Wrong?" Hazardous Child Labor in Small-Scale Gold Mining in the Philippines Summary: In the small-scale gold mines of the Philippines, children risk their lives digging for gold. Some dive for hours, breathing through tubes, at risk of drowning. Some work underground in deep pits, where children have suffocated or been injured. Many process gold with mercury, a toxic metal that is particularly harmful to children. Based on 135 interviews, "What If Something Goes Wrong?" documents the hazards children face when working in small-scale gold mines in the Philippines, including the case of a 17-year-old boy who died in an underground mine in 2014. The report also demonstrates the government's failure to protect children and enforce mining laws and regulations. Human Rights Watch calls upon the Philippines government to monitor child labor; support the most vulnerable families; improve children's access to education and legal employment opportunities for those old enough; and establish a legal, child-labor-free small-scale gold mining sector. As part of these efforts, it should ratify the Minamata Convention on Mercury and introduce mercury-free gold processing methods. As a part of their responsibility not to benefit from child labor, the Philippines Central Bank and international gold trading companies should establish robust safeguards to trace the gold back to its origin and ensure that children have not mined the gold they buy. Details: New York: HRW, 2015. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 5, 2015 at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/philippines0915_brochure_web.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Philippines URL: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/philippines0915_brochure_web.pdf Shelf Number: 136945 Keywords: Child LaborChild Protection |
Author: Lerpiniere, Jennifer Title: Overseen but often overlooked: Children and Young People 'Looked After at Home' in Scotland. Report 2: Identifying needs and outcomes Summary: More than 5,000 children and young people are looked after at home in Scotland; this represents around a third of all looked after children. Children and young people looked after at home are subject to a compulsory supervision order, but without a requirement to be placed in a particular setting (such as kinship care, foster care, residential care, etc). This type of legal supervision order is unique to the Scottish system of child legislation, children who are supervised in this way are "looked after" by a local authority whilst still living at home with a parent or relevant person. Home supervision has been used since the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, a period of more than forty years. Despite this long history and extensive use, little is known about home supervision or the experiences of the children who are subject to this intervention. This study seeks to begin to remedy this situation. The study covers considerable ground, and so, a decision was taken to report the findings in three separate reports: - Report 1 in this series reports the findings of a literature review undertaken to identify what research has been conducted into the unique needs, outcomes and experiences of children and young people looked after at home. - This document is Report 2; it focuses on what we learned about the needs and outcomes of children and young people on home supervision and compares this to what was found in the literature review. This report also provides the background to the study and describes the methods used in the primary research. Details: Glasgow: Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland (CELCIS), 2015. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 19, 2015 at: http://www.celcis.org/media/resources/publications/Overseen_but_often_overlooked-Report-2-needs_outcomes.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.celcis.org/media/resources/publications/Overseen_but_often_overlooked-Report-2-needs_outcomes.pdf Shelf Number: 137001 Keywords: At-Risk YouthChild Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChild WelfareFamiliesHome Supervision |
Author: Welch, Vicki Title: Overseen but often overlooked: Children and Young People 'Looked After at Home' in Scotland. Report 1: Reviewing the literature Summary: This document is the first report from a study commissioned by Barnardo's Scotland. The study explores experiences, needs and outcomes for children and young people in Scotland who are (or have been) looked after at home (ie subject to a home supervision requirement or order). The research aims to do several things: determine in what ways outcomes for this group differ from their peers, address factors which are unique to this group and which may contribute to any differences in outcomes, and investigate emerging models of practice to support young people who are, or have been, looked after at home. The study seeks to capture and summarise what is currently known, identify what the needs of this group are likely to be and recommend future actions related to services, policies and research. This first report details the findings of a comprehensive review of literature sources to identify, analyse and synthesise existing knowledge. The review was systematic inasmuch as the methods are made explicit. However, literature directly focused on home supervision is rare so we have used a two-tiered approach to identify wider material which is likely to throw light on the situation of this group of children and young people. The review process was influenced by a five-stage approach originally developed for scoping studies (Arksey & O'Malley, 2005). Identification of sources was based on a number of searches and personal requests for recommendations by those with knowledge of the field. The review was not restricted to peer-reviewed sources and other good quality sources were considered where they were sufficiently pertinent. Documents were screened according to a number of inclusion and exclusion criteria and if selected they were included in the appropriate section of the review: Section A, concerning research which specifically identifies needs, outcomes or characteristics of children and young people looked after at home, or Section B, concerning other research likely to be relevant to the needs, outcomes or characteristics of children and young people on home supervision. Details: Glasgow: Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland (CELCIS),2014. 46p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 20, 2015 at: http://www.celcis.org/media/resources/publications/Overseen_but_often_overlooked-Report-1-literature.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.celcis.org/media/resources/publications/Overseen_but_often_overlooked-Report-1-literature.pdf Shelf Number: 137022 Keywords: At-Risk Youth Child Abuse and Neglect Child Maltreatment Child Protection Child Welfare FamiliesHome Supervision |
Author: Young, Emma Title: Overseen but often overlooked: Children and Young People 'Looked After at Home' in Scotland. Report 3: Exploring service provision Summary: This report is part of a series of documents outlining the findings of a study funded by Barnardo's Scotland and conducted by researchers from the Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland. This document is Report 3; it explores what we learned in this study in relation to provision of services for children and young people currently or previously on home supervision. In this document we include findings from different strands of the study including the survey, interviews and service case studies where relevant. We cover the types of services responding to the survey along with the numbers and groups of children served (including age ranges). Results include the proportion of children on home supervision or previously looked after at home who use the services, the types of outcomes that services address in their work with children and young people, and current plans to make service changes. This report is accompanied by a separate document (Annex 3a) which contains more detailed descriptions of five services which provide examples of a range of supports for children and young people on or formerly on home supervision. These small case studies are important; they provide valuable real-life context, illustrate some of the challenges faced by children and provide examples of how providers are responding to these. Details: Glasgow: Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland (CELCIS), 2015. 39p., app. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 20, 2015 at: http://www.celcis.org/media/resources/publications/Overseen_but_often_overlooked_Report-3-Service-provision.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.celcis.org/media/resources/publications/Overseen_but_often_overlooked_Report-3-Service-provision.pdf Shelf Number: 137023 Keywords: At-Risk Youth Child Abuse and Neglect Child Maltreatment Child Protection Child Welfare FamiliesHome Supervision |
Author: United Nations Children's Fund. Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary on Violence against Children Title: Safeguarding the rights of girls in the criminal justice system: Preventing violence, stigmatization and deprivation of liberty Summary: Girls often face significant barriers to accessing justice, whether they are victims of crime, witnesses or alleged offenders. All too often, legislation and criminal, administrative and civil proceedings are inadequate for the safeguarding of their rights, while appropriate policies for heir protection are absent or poorly implemented. Many countries lack specialized judges, prosecutors, lawyers and other personnel qualified to work with girls, in addition to sufficient resources to provide the requisite training. The result is that institutions including the police and courts, are often poorly equipped to deal with the situation of girls and their specific vulnerabilities. Even when girls do overcome these barriers, it often transpires that, far from affording support and protection, criminal justice systems are the setting for still more violence and stigmatization: at the hands of police, criminal justice officials and, in the case of detention, prison staff and other detainees. In short, as a consequence of their age and gender, girls face a double challenge when they come in contact with criminal justice systems, a challenge rooted in discriminatory attitudes and perceptions that persist in societies around the world. Details: New York: United Nations, 2015. 78p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 20, 2015 at: http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/sites/default/files/publications_final/girls_in_detention/safeguarding_the_rights_of_girls_in_the_criminal_justice_system.pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/sites/default/files/publications_final/girls_in_detention/safeguarding_the_rights_of_girls_in_the_criminal_justice_system.pdf Shelf Number: 137029 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child Maltreatment Child ProtectionGender-Based Violence Violence Against Women, Girls |
Author: Munro, Eileen Title: Hear no evil, see no evil: Understanding failure to identify and report child sexual abuse in institutional contexts Summary: The Royal Commission has developed a comprehensive research program to support its work and to inform its findings and recommendations. The program focuses on eight themes: 1. Why does child sexual abuse occur in institutions? 2. How can child sexual abuse in institutions be prevented? 3. How can child sexual abuse be better identified? 4. How should institutions respond where child sexual abuse has occurred? 5. How should government and statutory authorities respond? 6. What are the treatment and support needs of victims/survivors and their families? 7. What is the history of particular institutions of interest? 8. How do we ensure the Royal Commission has a positive impact? This research report falls within theme three. The case studies examined in this report explore many of the organisational factors that influence how well children are protected: the recruitment process, training in recognising and responding to indications of abuse, and formal policies about what people should do both to prevent and react to abuse. Our study highlighted less tangible but equally influential aspects of organisations that were also evident in the case studies, including: Local rationality: People do what they think is right or sensible at a given time, and inquiries such as this need to find out what local rationalities may have influenced their actions. Organisational culture: This is partly created by the explicit strategies and messages of senior managers but is also strongly influenced by covert messages that are transmitted throughout organisations, influencing individual behaviour. These can significantly affect the rigour with which policies and procedures are implemented. Balancing risks: Policies and actions that protect children can also create dangers. Workers who are fearful of being wrongly suspected of abuse may keep their distance from children and not provide the nurturing, healthy relationships that children need to have with adults. Organisations have to reach some conclusion as to what level of concern should be reported. Making it compulsory to report even a low level of concern will identify more cases of abuse but at the cost of including numerous non-abusive cases. Efforts therefore need to be made to create a culture that understands the ambiguity of the behaviour so that innocent people's reputations are not tainted by false reports. Details: Sydney: Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, 2015. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 3, 2015 at: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/620678bb-6c9d-45da-94c3-63c4b40e648f/Hear-no-evil,-see-no-evil Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/620678bb-6c9d-45da-94c3-63c4b40e648f/Hear-no-evil,-see-no-evil Shelf Number: 137192 Keywords: Child MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseCorrections-Based Sexual AbuseInstitutional CareSex Offenders |
Author: Volmert, Andrew Title: "It's Hard to Wrap Your Head Around": Mapping the Gaps Between Expert and Public Understandings of Child Maltreatment and Child Sexual Abuse in Alberta Summary: This research, conducted by the FrameWorks Institute in partnership with the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative and sponsored by the Norlien Foundation, analyzes and compares expert and public views of child maltreatment, with a particular focus on child sexual abuse. In "mapping the gaps" between expert and public perspectives, the report lays out the key communication challenges for strategic reframing efforts. Future communications research will address these challenges by developing and testing framing strategies to enhance public understanding and boost support for effective ways of addressing child maltreatment generally, and child sexual abuse specifically Details: Washington, DC: Frame Works Institute, 2015. 53p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 5, 2015 at: http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/assets/files/canada/albertamtgchildmaltreatmentabusereport.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Canada URL: http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/assets/files/canada/albertamtgchildmaltreatmentabusereport.pdf Shelf Number: 137199 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse |
Author: Children's Commissioner for England Title: Protecting children from harm: A critical assessment of child sexual abuse in the family network in England and priorities for action Summary: This is the first report of the Children's Commissioner's inquiry into child sex abuse within the family and its network. Although child sex abuse is the subject of considerable public concern, abuse within families has been largely absent from the national conversation. This is despite the fact that the majority of victims are abused by someone within their family network, which has a particular impact on the victims themselves and the entire family structure. This report is a critical analysis of the scale and nature of this form of child sex abuse, bringing to light revealing statistics about the extent of abuse known to authorities and estimates of that which goes unreported. Details: London: Children's Commissioner for England, 2015. 112p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 28, 2015 at: http://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/Protecting%20children%20from%20harm%20-%20full%20report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/Protecting%20children%20from%20harm%20-%20full%20report.pdf Shelf Number: 137345 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse |
Author: Macvean, Michelle Title: The PATRICIA project: PAThways in research In collaborative inter-agency working Summary: This paper details a review conducted by the Parenting Research Centre (PRC) and the University of Melbourne at the request of Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS). It forms part of a broader project - PAThways and Research In Collaborative Inter-Agency working, or the PATRICIA project - led by the University of Melbourne with partners from five universities, three government departments and eight community sector organisations which specialise in domestic and family violence (DFV). The PATRICIA project focuses on the relationship between statutory child protection, family law, and community-based services which seek to support women and children exposed to domestic violence. This review aims to address the following research question: What processes or practices do child protection services and specialist domestic violence services or family law engage in so that they can work better together to improve service responses for women and children living with and separating from family violence? Details: Melbourne: Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS), 2015. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 28, 2015 at: http://apo.org.au/files/Resource/14_4.5_landscapes_patricia_f.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: http://apo.org.au/files/Resource/14_4.5_landscapes_patricia_f.pdf Shelf Number: 137353 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionCollaborationCommunity-Based ServicesDomestic ViolenceFamily ViolenceGender-Related ViolencePartnerships |
Author: Heilman, Anja Title: Equally Protected? A review of the evidence on the physical punishment of children Summary: The physical punishment of children is still a common parenting practice in Scotland and the rest of the UK. Although legal reform to protect children from all physical punishment in all settings is now regarded as an obligation under international human rights law, its use is lawful in the home and in private foster care1 in all four UK jurisdictions. This means that children do not have the same level of legal protection from violence as adults. The use of physical punishment, however, is becoming more and more controversial. There is increasing recognition that physical punishment constitutes a violation of children's human rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), and research evidence on its detrimental effects on children's health and development is fast accumulating. The last decade has seen a surge in the number of research articles on the outcomes of physical punishment for children, as well as in the rate at which states across the world have legislated to prohibit all forms of physical punishment and give children equal protection. Over the same period, child policy in Scotland has increasingly been developed with reference to a children's rights framework. The Scottish Government's overarching approach to child wellbeing ('Getting it Right for Every Child') is based on the twin principles of prevention and early intervention, and clearly articulates the right of all children to be nurtured, kept safe and have the best start in life. This research project was commissioned by NSPCC Scotland, Children 1st, Barnardo's Scotland and the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland, with the aim of updating the findings of a previous review on physical punishment published in Northern Ireland in 2008 ('NI Review'). The current review summarises the evidence that has become available in the years since the NI Review, focusing on the following three research questions: 1. What are the prevalence of / attitudes towards different types of parental physical punishment in the UK and other OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries? In particular, a. What are the trends over time? b. What evidence is there of changes in prevalence / attitudes in countries which have made physical punishment illegal? 2. What are the outcomes of physical punishment for child health and development, and later-life health and wellbeing? 3. Is parental use of physical punishment related to an increased risk of child maltreatment? Details: London: NSPCC, 2015. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 28, 2015 at: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/equally-protected.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/equally-protected.pdf Shelf Number: 137356 Keywords: Child MaltreatmentChild ProtectionCorporal PunishmentParenting |
Author: Kissick, Katherine Title: Clark County Family Treatment Court: Striding Towards Excellent Parents (STEP) Vancouver, WA - Process, Outcome, and Cost Evaluation Report Summary: Drug treatment courts are one of the fastest growing programs designed to reduce drug abuse and criminality in nonviolent offenders in the nation. The first drug court was implemented in Miami, Florida, in 1989. As of June 2014, there were nearly 3,0000 drug courts including more than 1,900 adult and juvenile drug courts and 300 family treatment courts in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands (NDCRC, 2015). In a typical drug court program, participants are closely supervised by a judge who is supported by a team of agency representatives that operate outside of their traditional adversarial roles. These include addiction treatment providers, district attorneys, public defenders, law enforcement officers, and parole and probation officers who work together to provide needed services to drug court participants. Family Drug Treatment Courts (FTCs) work with substance-abusing parents with child welfare cases. FTCs are a "problem-solving" court modeled after the adult drug court approach. Similar to adult drug courts, the essential components of FTCs include regular, often weekly, court hearings, intensive judicial monitoring, timely referral to substance abuse treatment, frequent drug testing, rewards and sanctions linked to service compliance, and generally include wraparound services (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 2004; Edwards & Ray, 2005). The FTC team always includes the child welfare system along with the judicial and treatment systems, (Green, Furrer, Worcel, Burrus, & Finigan, 2007). Second, while adult drug courts work primarily with criminally involved adults who participate in the drug court in lieu of jail time, participants in FTCs may not be criminally involved; rather, FTC participants typically become involved in drug court due to civil family court matters. NPC Research partnered with the Clark County Family Treatment Court to conduct an evaluation of the Family Treatment Court as part of their Children Affected by Methamphetamines (CAM) grant, awarded to Clark County in 2010 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The purpose of the grant was to enhance the FTC program by adding more services for parents and their children, specifically mental health/family counseling, an at home support specialist, parenting assistance (including home, in office one-on-one and group classes around parenting skills) and evidenced based practices for parenting (Triple P and Parent Child Interaction Therapy). Participants opting into CAM services also received a neuropsychological exam intended to help identify participant and family needs to better plan which additional services were most appropriate. Details: Portland, OR: NPC Research, 2015. 161p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 27, 2016 at: http://npcresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/Clark-County-CAM-Process-Outcome-Cost-Evaluation_1015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://npcresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/Clark-County-CAM-Process-Outcome-Cost-Evaluation_1015.pdf Shelf Number: 137668 Keywords: Child AbuseChild Abuse PreventionChild ProtectionDrug CourtsDrug OffendersParenting ProgramsProblem-Solving CourtsSubstance Abuse Treatment |
Author: Women's Aid Title: Nineteen Child Homicides Summary: This report should not need to be written, that much is disturbingly obvious. First, while it is impossible to prevent every killing of a child, when the risks are known no other consideration should be more important - yet there is evidence here that other considerations were rated more highly. Second, starkly similar findings more than 10 years ago led to the publication of guidance which, if followed, would have made these killings less likely. Yet here we are. Nothing in this report should be used to blame individual professionals for the deaths of these children. Only those who killed them deserve blame. But we have a duty to the children and their families to identify what more should have been done to protect them - particularly when guidance on how to do so has been available since 2008, following the publication of Women's Aid's previous report on child homicides and child contact arrangements, a decade ago. This report shows, that whatever the stated requirements on the family courts, there is a deeply embedded culture that pushes for contact with fathers at all costs. This is supported by the testimony to Women's Aid of mothers who have survived domestic abuse and the specialist services that support them. The knowledge that severe abuse has taken place does not stop this relentless push to maintain as close a bond between father and child as possible. A father who has abused his child(ren)'s mother is routinely seen as a "good enough" dad. The impact of abuse on the whole family, particularly persistent, coercive and controlling behaviour which continues after the relationship has officially ended, is routinely misunderstood. The evidence here is a stark reminder of the dangers of power without accountability: perpetrators of abuse who have accumulated all power over their partners' and children's lives, and courts which persist in dangerous misunderstandings and assumptions, effectively colluding in the terrorising - and in some cases serious harm - of women and children. We call on Government and the senior judiciary to ensure that no more children die as a result of a simple failure to follow the guidance that exists. We call on judges to take responsibility for their own understanding of coercive control, how it works, and how it affects both women and children. And then, finally, to act on that understanding. In another ten years, we must not yet again be repeating the same investigation, with the same findings. In fact, of course, ten years is far too long. Details: Bristol: Women's Aid, 2016. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 5, 2016 at http://www.benhoarebell.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Womens-Aid-Nineteen-Child-Homicides-Jan-2016.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.benhoarebell.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Womens-Aid-Nineteen-Child-Homicides-Jan-2016.pdf Shelf Number: 137781 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild HomicidesChild ProtectionFamilicideFamily ViolenceHomicides |
Author: European Parliament. Directorate-General for Internal Policies. Policy Department C Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs Title: Cross-border Parental Child Abduction in the European Union Summary: Upon request by the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), this study aims at analysing the international, European and national legal framework applicable to cross-border parental child abduction, with a view to proposing recommendations for the improvement of the current system. In light of available statistics and case law, five recurrent scenarios giving rise to child abduction legal disputes have been identified. One common scenario is the wrongful removal of a child, which results in the reversal of the balance previously settled in a judicial decision for the exercise of parental rights. A judicial "fast track" through the "automatic" enforcement of foreign decisions on return prescribed by EU Regulation 2201/2003 can be said to have improved the regime of the existing Hague Convention on Child Abduction. In turn, case law shows that when child abduction takes the form of an "illegal transfer of a child's primary residence abroad" by the primary care-giver, national courts tend to explore more in-depth the "best interests of the child". The development of appropriate structures of mediation in order to organise the transfer of a child's residence abroad with one of the parents should prevent "abductions" and improve, in most cases, the relationship between the parents having joint responsibility for the child. In addition to a preventive mediation scheme, a remedial mediation scheme is proposed. If, despite the preventive and remedial mediation schemes, a request return is brought to court in complex situations, it is important to avoid contradictory decisions by the EU judges in the jurisdiction of the present and the former place of residence of the child and to allow careful analysis of the overall situation of the child. To this end, a "joint-decision" reached through the active cooperation of specialised national courts within the EU is proposed. This involves special judicial training - with language and intercultural skills - for international family disputes. Details: Brussels: European Parliament, 2015. 415p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 10, 2016 at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2015/510012/IPOL_STU(2015)510012_EN.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Europe URL: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2015/510012/IPOL_STU(2015)510012_EN.pdf Shelf Number: 137838 Keywords: Child CustodyChild ProtectionKidnapping, ParentalParental Child Abduction |
Author: Reimer, J.K. Title: A System Just for Children: Voices of child victims and witnesses about their experiences Summary: Over the past two decades, Cambodia's justice system has improved markedly. More people are being processed through the system, with greater fairness and speed than ever before. More complaints are being investigated and perpetrators are more likely to be convicted and serve at least part of their sentence. Solid protocols and procedural documents governing the rights of children are firmly in place and frequently cited by high-ranking officials. However, implementation of "child-friendly justice" remains limited. This research is one of the first conducted in Cambodia to look in detail at the experience of child witnesses and victims who go through the Cambodian criminal justice system. It particularly aims to give voice to children's views in order to contribute to the development of criminal court procedures that more fully reflect the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), especially Article 12. Details: Hagar, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, UNICEF, 2015. 164p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 10, 2016 at: http://www.unicef.org/cambodia/A-System-Just-for-Children_FINAL_Jan-2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Cambodia URL: http://www.unicef.org/cambodia/A-System-Just-for-Children_FINAL_Jan-2015.pdf Shelf Number: 137839 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild VictimsChild WitnessesCriminal Justice SystemsJuvenile CourtJuvenile Justice Systems |
Author: Research in Practice Title: Working Effectively to Address Child Sexual Exploitation: An evidence scope Summary: This evidence scope draws on knowledge from research, practitioner expertise and young people's experience to identify the barriers to dealing with CSE, and the approaches and interventions that can make a difference to young people. The scope, accompanied by an executive summary, examines different models of CSE, how risks and needs are identified and assessed, and what interventions appear to be most promising. It offers six key principles for service design and practice development, highlighting the importance of young-person-centred practice and participatory approaches, considering what might be most effective in terms of early help and education, as well as focusing on the critical issue of how to ensure multi-agency working, and what support the workforce needs. Details: Dartington Hall, Totnes, UK: Research in Practice, 2015. 107p., app. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 17, 2016 at: https://www.rip.org.uk/resources/publications/evidence-scopes/working-effectively-to-address-child-sexual-exploitation-evidence-scope-2015/ Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.rip.org.uk/resources/publications/evidence-scopes/working-effectively-to-address-child-sexual-exploitation-evidence-scope-2015/ Shelf Number: 137873 Keywords: Child PornographyChild ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationSex Offenders |
Author: Greater London Authority Title: Confronting Child Sexual Exploitation in London Summary: Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is not new, but recent high profile investigations and criminal trials have raised awareness of the possible widespread nature of these offences and the gravity of their impact. Professor Alexis Jay's report, the Independent Inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham (the Jay Report), and cases such as those in Rochdale, Oxford and Derby, have uncovered the previously hidden scale and organised nature of much CSE. Our investigation examines London's approach to safeguarding children in the light of the lessons that can be learned from tackling CSE in Rotherham. There is an expectation that the local response to CSE is led by Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs). LSCBs have a statutory duty to bring agencies together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. They have a range of functions and play a key role in developing local safeguarding children policy and procedures and scrutinising local arrangements - including CSE. The multi-agency London Safeguarding Children Board provides strategic advice and support to London's 32 LSCBs. Its membership is made up of representatives from London boroughs, police, health, probation and independent, voluntary and community agencies in London. We would welcome assurance from London's Directors of Children's Services, the lead professionals responsible for the provision of children's services in London, the London Safeguarding Children Board and LSCBs that all London boroughs have robust mechanisms in place to protect London's children and young people from CSE. No one knows the true scale of CSE. The Jay Report made a conservative estimate that approximately 1,400 children were sexually exploited in Rotherham over the 16 year inquiry period. The Met anticipates it will receive between 1,800 and 2,000 referrals a year. From January 2014 to October 2014, the Met reported 1,612 referrals of CSE, including 265 positive interventions and 55 detections. High profile cases of CSE have raised concerns about how the police and other services work together to respond to CSE. The Jay Report documented a number of ways the police and partner agencies failed to prevent abuse or prioritise dealing with CSE in Rotherham and the Serious Case Review into CSE in Oxfordshire reported multiple missed opportunities by agencies to act rigorously. Rotherham had many policies and plans to tackle CSE. However, inspection reports describe how children's social care was typically understaffed, overstretched and struggling to cope with demand. Thresholds for action were identified as very high and there were significant weaknesses in scrutiny and challenge within Rotherham's governance system. Professionals ignored warnings about the scale of CSE and failed to recognise and believe victims and young people at risk of CSE. Similarly, the Serious Case Review in Oxfordshire found that it took agencies too long to recognise CSE, used language that blamed the victims, and a lack of understanding led to insufficient inquiry. Many London boroughs have made significant developments in their response to CSE over the past few years. Policies and procedures have been developed, multi-agency groups have been established, and investment in training increased. The Met has shown positive progress in developing its approach to CSE. In February 2014, the Met launched The London Child Sexual Exploitation Protocol. The protocol sets out the procedures for the Met and partner agencies for safeguarding and protecting children from sexual exploitation. Our report, Keeping London's children safe welcomed the protocol and recommended the Met should review the evidence and impact of the CSE Protocol on reporting and identifying CSE in London, and the level of resource dedicated to tackling CSE. The Met told us it has scheduled a review of the Pan-London CSE Protocol to start in January 2015 and will also publish a good practice guide. CSE is not a MOPAC 7 priority.6 We were told that as borough police are not measured on CSE it becomes less of a "priority" in some areas. This is a concern. MOPAC is establishing a performance monitoring framework for crimes that fall out of the MOPAC - However, while the Met has made progress in recording CSE data, MOPAC is yet to establish its performance monitoring framework. MOPAC must set out a clear performance monitoring framework for holding the Met to account on its safeguarding children duties, including CSE, as a matter of urgency. National guidance requires local areas to have appropriate policies and procedures in place to tackle CSE. We found that CSE is a strategic priority for London boroughs and the challenge is to ensure boroughs work together to deliver a system that can effectively implement strategies, plans and protocols to tackle CSE and safeguard children across the whole of London. Strategies, policies and procedures need to be robustly monitored and regularly reviewed to ensure effectiveness. While Rotherham had good inter-agency CSE policies and procedures, members of the Safeguarding Board rarely checked whether they were being implemented or effective. Strong leadership and full commitment from partner agencies is essential. We ask that LSCBs have robust governance mechanisms in place to ensure effective monitoring, oversight and regular review of the local response to CSE. This should include well-defined links with other safeguarding children strategies and robust reporting structures between the LSCB and the Community Safety Partnership and Children's Board. Agencies must work together to tackle CSE. While we are encouraged by local arrangements and the progress made by the police, local authorities and other partners that have come together to tackle CSE, partnership working is one area where further work is required. Details: London: Greater London Authority, 2015. 37p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 18, 2016 at: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/gla_migrate_files_destination/Confronting%20CSE%20in%20London%20-%20final.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/gla_migrate_files_destination/Confronting%20CSE%20in%20London%20-%20final.pdf Shelf Number: 137878 Keywords: Child PornographyChild ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationChild WelfareInteragency Cooperation |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: Teens of the Tobacco Fields: Child Labor in United States Tobacco Farming Summary: Each year, children work on tobacco farms in the United States, where they are exposed to nicotine, toxic pesticides, and other dangers. The US government has failed to protect children from hazardous work in tobacco farming. Since 2014, some tobacco companies have prohibited the employment of children under 16 on farms from which they purchase tobacco. These policies are an important step forward, but they exclude 16 and 17-year-old children. Teens of the Tobacco Fields: Child Labor in United States Tobacco Farming is based on interviews with 26 children ages 16 and 17, as well as parents, health experts, and tobacco growers. It builds on Human Rights Watch's 2014 report on hazardous child labor in tobacco farming, Tobacco's Hidden Children, and documents the dangers of tobacco farming for 16 and 17 year olds. Most teenage children interviewed suffered symptoms consistent with acute nicotine poisoning. Many also reported working in or near fields that were being sprayed with pesticides and becoming ill. Several tobacco companies prohibit children under 18 from many hazardous tobacco farming tasks, but none have policies sufficient to protect all children from danger. Teenage children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of the work because their brains are still developing. Nicotine exposure during adolescence has been associated with mood disorders, and problems with memory, attention, impulse control, and cognition later in life. Human Rights Watch calls on tobacco companies and the US government and Congress to take urgent action to ban all children under 18 from hazardous work on tobacco farms. Details: New York: HRW, 2015. 79p., app. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 25, 2016 at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/us1215tob_4up.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/us1215tob_4up.pdf Shelf Number: 137966 Keywords: Child LaborChild Protection |
Author: Allnock, Debbie Title: What Evidence Exists about the Scale of Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales? Evidence Briefing Summary: 1.1 This scoping review was undertaken on child sexual abuse to inform the development of an overarching National Policing Action Plan on child protection. The context, aims, methodology, policy context and background can be found in an associated document. The purpose of this briefing, and other similar briefings, is to provide the National Policing Lead for Child Protection and Abuse Investigation with evidence for consideration in the development of a national strategy. This particular briefing focusses on what is known about the scale of child sexual abuse (CSA) in England and Wales based on the range of information available. Literature pertaining to the context of child sexual exploitation (CSE) (which is recognised as a particular form of CSA) will be written up separately in order to address the characteristic patterns and dynamics that make it a unique form of CSA. 1.2 There is no single source of data on the scale of child sexual abuse in the United Kingdom (UK). Our knowledge in the UK can be derived from three main sources: 1) Self-report abuse and neglect studies (for example, population based studies such as the NSPCC study on child abuse and neglect in the UK; and to a more limited extent, self-report data from Childline) 2) The child protection system (child protection plans/registers); and 3) Recorded crime statistics on sexual offences. 1.3 All of these data sources have their own limitations that must be considered in making sense of the scale of child sexual abuse. It is widely recognised and accepted by child protection and abuse experts that all of these sources under-estimate the reality of the problem. Details: Luton, Bedfordshire, UK: University of Bedfordshire, International Centre Research Child Sexual Exploitation, Violence and Trafficking, 2015. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 26, 2016 at: https://www.beds.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/484694/CSA-and-prevalence-briefing-FINAL.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.beds.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/484694/CSA-and-prevalence-briefing-FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 137980 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (U.K.) Child Maltreatment Child ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse Child Sexual Exploitation |
Author: Kandel, William A. Title: Unaccompanied Alien Children: Potential Factors Contributing to Recent Immigration Summary: Since FY2008, the growth in the number of unaccompanied alien children (UAC) from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras seeking to enter the United States has increased substantially. Total unaccompanied child apprehensions increased from about 8,000 in FY2008 to 52,000 in the first 8 1/2 months of FY2014. Since 2012, children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras (Central America's "northern triangle") account for almost all of this increase. Apprehension trends for these three countries are similar and diverge sharply from those for Mexican children. Unaccompanied child migrants' motives for migrating to the United States are often multifaceted and difficult to measure analytically. Four recent out-migration-related factors distinguishing northern triangle Central American countries are high violent crime rates, poor economic conditions fueled by relatively low economic growth rates, high rates of poverty, and the presence of transnational gangs. In 2012, the homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants stood at 90.4 in Honduras (the highest in the world), 41.2 in El Salvador, and 39.9 in Guatemala. International Monetary Fund reports show economic growth rates in the northern triangle countries in 2013 ranging from 1.6% to 3.5%, relatively low compared with other Central American countries. About 45% of Salvadorans, 55% of Guatemalans, and 67% of Hondurans live in poverty. Surveys in 2013 indicate that almost half of all unaccompanied children experienced serious harm or threats by organized criminal groups or state actors, and one-fifth experienced domestic abuse. In 2011, Mexico passed legislation to improve migration management and ensure the rights of migrants transiting the country. According to many migration experts, implementation of the laws has been uneven. Some have questioned whether passage of such legislation has affected in some way the recent flows of unaccompanied children. However, the impact of such laws remains unclear. Although economic opportunity may motivate some unaccompanied children to migrate to the United States, labor market conditions for low-skilled minority youth have worsened in recent years, even as industrial sectors employing low-skilled workers enjoy improved economic prospects. Educational opportunities may also provide a motivating factor to migration as perceptions of free and safe education may be widespread among the young. Family reunification is reported to be one of the key motives of unaccompanied children. Many have family members among the sizable Salvadoran, Guatemalan, and Honduran foreign-born populations residing in the United States. While the impacts of actual and perceived U.S. immigration policies have been widely debated, it remains unclear if, and how, specific immigration policies have motivated children to migrate to the United States. Misperceptions about U.S. policies may be a contributing factor. The existence of long-standing humanitarian relief policies confounds causal links between them and the recent surge in unaccompanied children. A notable and recent exception is revised humanitarian relief provisions for unaccompanied children included in the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2008, which affects asylum claims, trafficking victim protections, and eligibility for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. Some argue that unaccompanied children and their families falsely believe they would be covered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative and legalization provisions in proposed comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) legislation. Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Services, 2014. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: R43628: Accessed March 12, 2016 at: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R43628.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R43628.pdf Shelf Number: 138183 Keywords: AsylumChild Protection Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)Illegal Immigrants Illegal Immigration Immigrant Detention ImmigrationUnaccompanied Alien Children |
Author: Whalley, Paul Title: Child Neglect and Pathways Triple P: An evaluation of an NSPCC service offered to parents where initial concerns of neglect have been noted Summary: Pathways Triple P (Positive Parenting Programme) is a service for parents of children who have, or are at risk of developing, behavioural problems. Triple P aims to help parents find practical parenting strategies that improve relationships with their children and build up a strong bond. We delivered this service at home for families of children aged 2-12. We've tested the effectiveness of Pathways Triple P for the first time with families where there are concerns about neglect. We compared child outcomes with families who received an NSPCC family support service for neglect between 2006 and 2009. Our report evaluates Pathways Triple P to see how it works and whether it works effectively to improve outcomes for neglected children. Details: London: National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 2015. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed march 12, 2016 at: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/pathways-triple-p-evaluation-report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/pathways-triple-p-evaluation-report.pdf Shelf Number: 138187 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child Maltreatment Child ProtectionParenting Programs |
Author: Williams, Mike Title: Evidence Based Decisions in child neglect: evaluation of an exploratory approach to assessment using the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale Summary: The Evidence Based Decisions (EBD) service aims to support social workers to make the right decision at the right time when working with families where there are concerns about child neglect. NSPCC practitioners worked in partnership with local authority social workers using the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale (NCFAS-G) to focus on improving evidence, understanding and decision-making. This report describes the different ways the EBD review was used and looks at how and why it differs from everyday practice, Key Findings: Social workers felt the review helped them make the right decisions for families: with 94% of the surveys returned, the professional felt that the review had influenced decisions. Professionals found the following features of the EBD helpful: requirement to be evidence-based - the EBD review required a score in each area of family-functioning and an explanation for how the data fit the scoring criteria professional challenge - the social worker and NSPCC practitioner were able to question and challenge each other about data underpinning their scores for family functioning more time given to the family - time dedicated to the review gave social workers more time to observe parent-child interactions in the home focus on parenting strengths as well as weaknesses. Some social workers said NCFAS-G provided more concrete evidence than assessments they commonly used, such as the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) triangle, and led to a more accurate assessment. Joint working helped improve the quality of evidence and understanding. Whilst one practitioner talked to the parents, the other practitioner was able to focus on listening. Sometimes issues such as workload or a lack of focus on identifying the key concerns relevant to neglect influenced social workers' ability to get the most out of the review. Some social workers felt that having the support of the NSPCC on a way forward gave them confidence to argue for a decision. The usefulness of the EBD review was sometimes limited if social workers already had evidence and a good understanding of what was happening with a family. Details: London: NSPCC, 2015. 84p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 12, 2016 at: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/evidence-based-decisions-evaluation-report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/evidence-based-decisions-evaluation-report.pdf Shelf Number: 138189 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChild Welfare Agencies |
Author: Churchill, Gill Title: SafeCare: Evidence from a Home Based Parenting Programme for Neglect Summary: SafeCare is a preventative programme working with parents of children under 6 years old who are at risk of experiencing significant harm through neglect. The programme is delivered in the home by trained practitioners, over 18 to 20 sessions and focuses on 3 key areas: parent-infant/child interaction; home safety and child health. SafeCare originated at the National SafeCare Training and Research Centre at Georgia State University and has been evaluated by the NSPCC in six sites across England. The evaluation has incorporated quantitative and qualitative methods, and considered evidence from a number of perspectives (referral agency, practitioner, parent). This report presents the analysis of outcome data to consider the extent to which SafeCare's intended outcomes for parents have been achieved. In addition, the results of a survey of referrers is presented and analysis of programme attrition. The key findings from the analysis presented in the report are: - Outcome data taken from inbuilt programme assessments, practitioner assessments and parent self-ratings suggest the programme has been effective in improving parenting skills and reducing neglectful behaviours. Before receiving SafeCare, 32 families were assessed by practitioners to be presenting difficulties significant enough to warrant a statutory intervention for neglect. By the end of the programme, 21 (66%) of those families had improved to a point where statutory intervention was no longer considered necessary. - All referrers responding to the survey had seen positive changes in the families they had referred, particularly in the areas of home safety, parent child interaction and health. 91% of referrers said they would refer similar families to SafeCare in the future. Some referrers would have liked more feedback about progress so they could more effectively co-ordinate the provision of services for the family. - Families referred to SafeCare (in common with many other social care programmes) exhibited high rates of programme attrition, with only 27% of parents completing it in full. Although attrition is commonly associated with negative connotations, practitioners recorded a range of positive outcomes that were achieved by families who exited the programme prior to completion. - The average case length for families who completed the programme was 42 weeks, which is significantly longer than the 18-20 weeks delivery period anticipated when the programme was implemented. It is important that future studies of SafeCare consider the reasons for extended periods of delivery as well as the implications, both for the families receiving the service and for the organisations implementing the programme. In the absence of a comparison group, it is not possible to attribute the changes reported directly to the SafeCare Programme. However, SafeCare has been the subject of various studies examining its efficacy and effectiveness in the US, including impact studies using randomised controlled trials (e.g. Chaffin et al., 2012). The NSPCC evaluation supports the existing body of evidence that SafeCare can be an effective way of promoting positive parenting knowledge and behaviours and reducing child neglect. Based on the analysis presented here, there do not appear to be any significant barriers to SafeCare having an impact within a UK context for parents who engage with the programme. Details: London: NSPCC, 2015. 100p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 12, 2016 at: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/safecare-evidence-evaluation-report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/safecare-evidence-evaluation-report.pdf Shelf Number: 138193 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child Maltreatment Child Protection Parenting Programs |
Author: South, Sandra Title: Scoping review: Evaluations of pre-employment screening practices for child-related work that aim to prevent child sexual abuse Summary: The aim of this scoping review was to map evaluations of pre-employment screening practices for child-related work that aim to prevent child sexual abuse. It was conducted by the Parenting Research Centre and the University of Melbourne for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. This report describes the methods used to conduct the scoping review and the findings of the scoping review. Methods Systematic searches for existing evaluations of pre-employment screening practices for child-related work that aim to prevent child sexual abuse were conducted using an extensive list of electronic databases and websites, manually searching website publication lists (when no search engine was available) and searching the reference lists of potentially relevant studies. Results were then synthesised across study characteristics, including the methods employed and relevant key findings, and this was followed by a narrative interpretation of findings. Characteristics of the included evaluations Electronic database searches located 1,464 papers after duplicates were removed. A further 186 new papers were identified through website searches, through a concurrent review of child sexual abuse prevention in out-of-home care and via reference list checks. Twenty-five of these 1,650 papers were found to be suitable for inclusion in this scoping review. The 25 relevant evaluations were categorised into three general pragmatic categories of evaluation approaches in order to facilitate an overview of their relevance. They consisted of: 1. 19 retrospective case studies or surveys (including six public or ministerial inquiries) 2. Four qualitative analyses of submissions or hearings 3. Two evaluations of classification tools. The evaluations of the classification tools (category 3 above) found that tools for pre-employment screening that aimed to predict whether individual applicants would be at a high risk of committing sexual offences were neither sufficiently effective nor ethically feasible. As such, these two evaluations were not considered further in this scoping review beyond an explanation as to why such tools are unlikely to be reliable and valid. Evaluations were conducted in Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Evaluations were located in all the countries identified at the outset of this scoping review as most relevant for the work of the Royal Commission, with the exception of Canada. The target group (that is, the type of employment) addressed most commonly was child-related work, broadly defined. These studies addressed both paid employees and volunteers. Additional target groups included teachers and other private and public school staff, including volunteers; residential care providers or staff at children's homes; volunteers at organisations serving children and/or youth; and foster care providers and other adults who live and/or work in these settings. It is noteworthy that the majority of both the potentially relevant papers and the included evaluations were reports identified through website searches. Thus, the scientific discourse around these practices appears to be largely communicated through governmental and non-governmental agencies' reports (so-called 'grey literature') and to a lesser degree in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Relevant key findings stated by evaluation authors The review team compiled the findings, suggestions and recommendations of evaluation authors in each of the included studies in an effort to present a more nuanced understanding of the studies. These were not screened by the scoping review authors for methodological rigour and should be treated solely as the opinions of the authors, as stated in their evaluations. The authors of many of the included evaluations emphasised that criminal background checks appear to be universally considered as an important component of pre-employment screening practices. However, such statements were almost never made without emphasising the limited effectiveness of using criminal background checks as the only pre-employment screening practice to safeguard children from sexual abuse by staff. Indeed, many concerns were raised regarding factors that limit the feasibility and effectiveness of criminal background checks as a safeguard protecting children from sexual abuse, including (in order of most frequently to least frequently mentioned): - Time delays in the recruitment process due to the time needed to complete a criminal background check and/or the resulting decision to employ a person before the check is complete - The costs associated with conducting criminal background checks - The risk that an applicant may have changed their name, or give a pseudonym or nickname - The need to check for criminal offences in other jurisdictions (such as international or interstate jurisdictions) - The risks posed by those exempt from mandatory criminal background checks (for example, parents who volunteer when their child is present, and other adults who share the home with the caregiver and child) - A lack of reporting, confirmation and, therefore, criminal background checks of other adults who may be living in institutions (including foster or childcare homes) - Issues related to conflicting child protection and child welfare legislation regarding the need for, and actions to be taken based on, criminal background checks - Ethical concerns regarding infringing on a persons right to exoneration, privacy and/or rehabilitation due to sharing information about served, pardoned and quashed criminal convictions. The pre-employment screening practices other than criminal background checks (often referred to as sources of 'soft information' in the literature) that evaluation authors identified as necessary components of a comprehensive pre-employment screening procedure included (in order of most frequently to least frequently mentioned): - Conducting thorough reference checks (for example, those obtained directly from previous employers by asking direct questions about any concerns regarding the applicant's suitability to work with children) - Holding employment interviews that focus on determining the applicant's suitability to work with children (such as value-based interviewing; for more information, see Erooga, 2009) - Checking suspected or substantiated child abuse against other sources of information, such as child-abuse registries, children's court decisions or disciplinary body proceedings - Critically examining an applicant's employment history and/or written application (to identify gaps in their employment history and thus clarify their cause, or to explain ambiguous responses to direct questions about criminal history) - Verifying the applicant's identity using methods such as photo-based documents or fingerprinting - Verifying the applicant's education or qualifications (in order to determine if they are qualified to undertake child-related work). The need for comprehensive pre-employment screening practices was supported and underscored by many case examples where such practices were not followed and, as a result, unsuitable people gained employment in child-related work and went on to sexually abuse the children in their care. That people identified as unsuitable to work with children following pre-employment screening should be disqualified from doing so was implicit in all the literature identified in this scoping review. However, case examples examined in the included evaluations highlight that enforcing employment prohibitions, even in the face of evidence of child sexual abuse, was not always a matter of course. Details: Sydney: Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, 2014. 58p., app. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 22, 2016 at: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/3828bdcb-3689-4011-98a3-d2ebbf277718/Evaluations-of-pre-employment-screening-practices Year: 2014 Country: Australia URL: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/3828bdcb-3689-4011-98a3-d2ebbf277718/Evaluations-of-pre-employment-screening-practices Shelf Number: 138367 Keywords: Background ChecksChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseCriminal BackgroundsPre-Employment Screening |
Author: Fernandez, Elizabeth Title: A Study of the Children's Court of New South Wales Summary: Australia's child welfare system can be traced to the period of white settlement. Significant child welfare problems emerged in this period when mortality rates and levels of neglect and deprivation were high (Liddell 1993). From the earliest days of the New South Wales colony, concern was expressed about the care and protection of convict children who roamed the streets and who were thought to be responsible for petty crime. A charity set up by Governor King's wife was to provide schooling for these vulnerable children. As early as the mid nineteenth century state involvement in children and families is evident through the establishment of universal schooling and industrial schools (Van Krieken 1991). Later in the nineteenth century child labour laws and compulsory education were established, along with policies to board out children rather than accommodate them in institutions (Picton and Boss 1981, Tomison, 2001). Unsurprisingly, child care and juvenile justice were seen hand-in-hand both to protect children and to protect the wider society from crime. This report is concerned with reviewing this complex system for the twenty-first century. Details: Sydney: University of New South Wales, 2014. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 30, 2016 at: http://www.childrenscourt.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/chcourt%20assessment.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Australia URL: http://www.childrenscourt.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/chcourt%20assessment.pdf Shelf Number: 138498 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild WelfareJuvenile CourtJuvenile Offenders |
Author: Drew, John Title: An Independent Review of South Yorkshire Police's Handling of Child Sexual Exploitation 1997-2016 Summary: The review was announced in March 2015 by the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Dr Alan Billings, following the publication of reports by Professor Alexis Jay and Louise Casey that highlighted the scale of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham, and a BBC report that alleged child sexual exploitation in Sheffield had been ignored by South Yorkshire Police. All this severely damaged public confidence in the Force. The review has been commissioned to look at how the Force has handled reports of child sexual exploitation across the whole of South Yorkshire to ensure that everything that can be reasonably known about the past is known and that matters are now being dealt with in a very different manner. Led by Professor Drew, the report will establish whether South Yorkshire Police has understood and acted upon the findings of reports and inspections into matters of child sexual exploitation. It will also look at whether the Force's response to safeguarding children and young people has been adequate across all districts - Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield. In setting out the Terms of Reference, Dr Billings has considered the scope of other ongoing investigations and inspections by the National Crime Agency (NCA), the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) to avoid unnecessary duplication as well as the ongoing criminal investigations by South Yorkshire Police and pending prosecutions the Crown Prosecution Service. The review launched on 30 September, following a period of scoping, and will last for 3 months. A report will be presented to the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner and will be made public early in 2016. Details: The Author: 2016. 107p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 1, 2016 at: http://www.drewreview.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/SYP030-Final-report.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.drewreview.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/SYP030-Final-report.pdf Shelf Number: 138523 Keywords: Child PornographyChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationPolice EffectivenessPolice Performance |
Author: Yarrow, Elizabeth Title: Getting the Evidence: Asia Child Marriage Initiative Summary: In 2014 and 2015, as part of the Asia Child Marriage Initiative (ACMI), Plan International and Coram International undertook a research study in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia. The purpose of the ACMI research was to gather in-depth and detailed evidence on the root causes of child marriage practices. It focused on exploring social attitudes, values and norms concerning child marriage, and identifying the structural and environmental factors which influence them. In addition, the research informed the development of an index for measuring environmental factors associated with the acceptability of child marriage which will be used by Plan International to track progress and improve the effectiveness of our child marriage programming globally. The research found rates of child marriage of girls to be high across all three countries, particularly in Bangladesh; rates of marriage of boys were found to be highest in Pakistan. The research found that the number of years a girl spends in education is associated with her age of first marriage; girls who stay in school longer tend to marry later. Furthermore, male sexual violence and control of female sexuality underlie the practice of child marriage, whilst improved access to sexual and reproductive health rights reduces child marriage acceptability. Details: London: Plan International, 2015. 110p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed April 2, 2016 at: https://plan-international.org/getting-evidence-asia-child-marriage-initiative#download-options Year: 2015 Country: Asia URL: https://plan-international.org/getting-evidence-asia-child-marriage-initiative#download-options Shelf Number: 138533 Keywords: Child Marriage Child ProtectionGender-Based Violence Violence Against Women, Girls |
Author: Georgetown University. Law Center. Human Rights Institute Title: The Cost of Stemming the Tide: How Immigration Enforcement Practices in Southern Mexico Limit Migrant Children's Access to International Protection Summary: The dramatic increase in the number of children migrating from the Northern Triangle countries to Mexico and the United States has garnered international attention. What is more concerning, though, is the lack of protection of the human rights of the children who are migrating. A report published today by the Georgetown Law Human Rights Institute (HRI) finds that Mexico is currently falling short of its human rights obligations and is putting migrant children at risk of being returned to violent and dangerous situations in their home countries by failing to provide adequate access to international protection. The report, The Cost of Stemming the Tide: How Immigration Enforcement Practices in Southern Mexico Limit Migrant Children's Access to International Protection, is the product of months of research, including dozens of interviews with affected children and families, advocates and government officials and agency staff. Many of the Central American children interviewed were seeking asylum in Mexico. The researchers also found that migrant children in Southern Mexico are systematically detained, often in poor conditions, for long and unpredictable periods. Detention conditions - coupled with the prospect of being detained for months while awaiting a decision on their status - deters children from seeking asylum. The United States has invested significant political and fiscal resources in the fortification of Mexico's southern border. But encouraging increased apprehension and deportation of children at Mexico's southern border may come at a significant cost to children's rights. International law requires that countries receiving migrants, like Mexico, meaningfully inform them of their right to seek asylum and provide access to procedures to determine whether they merit asylum or other forms of international protection. Although Mexico's laws, policies, constitutional provisions are meant to guarantee these protections, the report found that they are failing to do so in practice. Details: Washington, DC: Human Rights Institute, 2016. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 4, 2016 at: http://www.law.georgetown.edu/academics/centers-institutes/human-rights-institute/fact-finding/upload/HRI-Fact-Finding-Report-Stemming-the-Tide-Web-PDF_English.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.law.georgetown.edu/academics/centers-institutes/human-rights-institute/fact-finding/upload/HRI-Fact-Finding-Report-Stemming-the-Tide-Web-PDF_English.pdf Shelf Number: 138536 Keywords: Asylum SeekersChild MigrantsChild ProtectionHuman Rights AbusesImmigrant DetentionMigrant Children |
Author: Leon, Lucy Title: Boys Don't Cry: Improving identification and disclosure of sexual exploitation among boys and young men trafficked to the UK Summary: Knowledge and awareness of human trafficking has increased in recent years, prompting the Government to introduce a Modern Slavery Act, which received Royal Assent in March 2015, and was intended to drive a more effective response to modern slavery and human trafficking. Recognition of the scale of child trafficking into, as well as within the, UK has also grown as implementation of the National Referral Mechanism1 has revealed the numbers of children and young people being trafficked into the UK. At the same time - although as a separate development - there has been a burgeoning recognition of child sexual exploitation across the country with inquiries taking place in Rochdale, Rotherham, Oxford and other towns that have exposed the extent of a previously hidden crime. Anecdotally, professionals in the field of child trafficking have identified links between the two issues - including the movement of young people into the UK specifically for sexual exploitation, and the targeting of unaccompanied asylum seeking children who have been placed in local authority care for trafficking within the country for sexual exploitation. Despite these developments - and an acknowledgement that these children are amongst the most vulnerable in the country - there remains a danger that attention, and action, will hone in on some aspects to the detriment of others. The focus for policy and practice around child sexual exploitation and trafficking has predominantly been on girls and young women. However, recent research and our practice experience has identified a need to look at how boys and young men are affected. This report specifically focusses on the needs of boys and young men who are trafficked into the UK, not those who are trafficked within the UK. The findings presented here will improve understanding of a complex and often obscured issue and can inform the work of those who support trafficked boys and young men. Details: London: The Children's Society, 2016. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 9, 2016 at: http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/boys-and-trafficking-report-lowres-pcr059.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/boys-and-trafficking-report-lowres-pcr059.pdf Shelf Number: 138615 Keywords: Child ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual ExploitationChild TraffickingMale Victims |
Author: Vaithianathan, Rhema Title: Impact of the Family Start Home Visiting Programme on Outcomes for Mothers and Children: A Quasi-Experimental Study Summary: Family Start workers make regular home visits and, using a structured program, seek to improve parenting capability and practice. Workers also actively work to promote breastfeeding, reduce home hazards, connect infants to immunisation and primary health services, promote children's participation in early childhood education, and connect families to services that could help address family violence, substance abuse, mental health and other challenges they face. The programme is delivered by contracted providers with the aim of ensuring services are provided in a manner that is responsive to each community. Providers include iwi, Pacific, faith-based and other Non-Government Organisations. Families are referred to Family Start by a range of individuals and agencies including midwives, Well Child/Tamariki Ora nurses, Child Youth and Family (CYF) and Police. Families can also self-refer. Children are generally enrolled either before birth or in their first year, and can remain in the programme until the family "graduates" or the child reaches school age. Family Start workers deliver services at varying levels of intensity depending on the family's needs, and visits are weekly or fortnightly. A central programme component is delivery of a child development and parent education curriculum. A number of studies and reviews of Family Start have been conducted over the years. These have tended to find that families selected to be interviewed value the programme. But they have also highlighted variation in practice and performance across providers. None of these previous studies has been able to establish the effectiveness of Family Start in improving outcomes. This new study was commissioned to fill that gap. The results indicate that the enhanced Family Start programme that was phased in to new areas between 2005 and 2007 was associated with statistically significant positive impacts in a number of domains. Positive impacts are found for Family Start children overall, and for Maori and Pacific children who participated in the programme. Details: Auckland: Ministry of Social Development, 2016. 99p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 12, 2016 at: https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/evaluation/family-start-outcomes-study/index.html Year: 2016 Country: New Zealand URL: https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/evaluation/family-start-outcomes-study/index.html Shelf Number: 138640 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionParenting Programs |
Author: Dobson, Rebecca Title: From a Whisper to a Shout: A Call to End Violence Against Children in Alternative Care Summary: The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) recognises children as the subjects of rights, as well as their vulnerability and need for "special safeguards and care". Marking its 25th anniversary this year, the UNCRC is notably one of the most ratified UN conventions in history and has done much to progress the rights of children globally. And yet, in our global society with international conventions endorsing the "rights" of all, some of our most vulnerable children continue to suffer from extreme forms of violence and abuse. This report demonstrates that even when children are presumed to be in the care of society itself they are vulnerable to and at risk of violence. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has identified "children not living with their biological parents, but in various forms of alternative care" as one of the groups of children who are "likely to be exposed to violence". Without the fundamental protection of a caring family, these children are vulnerable to abuse and neglect. Without "suitable" quality care, they risk violence at the hands of their caregivers, families, peers and the wider community. In 2009, the UN endorsed the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children (the Guidelines). These set out "desirable orientations for policy and practice" to "enhance" the implementation of the UNCRC for children in alternative care. The Guidelines reiterate the right of "Every child and young person [to] live in a supportive, protective and caring environment that promotes his/her full potential". This report draws on evidence from an extensive global literature review, and assessments of the implementation of the Guidelines in 21 countries around the world. It makes bold claims about high levels of vulnerability and risk of violence facing children in alternative care, but concludes that violence is not inevitable, and with an emphasis on providing quality care it is possible to mitigate the risks of harm for all children. Details: Innsbruck,Austria: SOS Children's Villages International; Luton, UK: University of Bedfordshire, 2014. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 13, 2016 at: http://www.sos-childrensvillages.org/getmedia/345ec018-7dd1-4ad1-a387-48fdabfb7297/From-a-whisper-to-a-shout-A4-EN-WEB-final.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://www.sos-childrensvillages.org/getmedia/345ec018-7dd1-4ad1-a387-48fdabfb7297/From-a-whisper-to-a-shout-A4-EN-WEB-final.pdf Shelf Number: 138643 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionViolence Against Children |
Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office Title: Unaccompanied Children: HHS Should Improve Monitoring and Information Sharing Policies to Enhance Child Advocate Program Effectiveness Summary: Thousands of unaccompanied children arrive in the United States each year. For a small number of especially vulnerable children - about 1 percent in fiscal year 2015 - ORR provides an independent child advocate to develop safety and well-being recommendations to stakeholders, such as immigration judges. The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 directed HHS to expand the program and included a provision for GAO to review the child advocate program. This report examines (1) the extent to which ORR increased the number of program locations, (2) the extent to which ORR ensured vulnerable children received advocate services, and (3) the program's benefits and challenges. GAO reviewed relevant federal laws and regulations; analyzed data from fiscal years 2012-2015 on the number and characteristics of child advocate cases served and recommendations made to stakeholders; and interviewed officials at ORR and the Department of Justice's immigration judges, and child advocate service providers in Chicago, Ill.; Brownsville, Tex.; and Washington, D.C. - selected to obtain variation in the number of children served and amount of time the program was operational, among other factors. What GAO Recommends GAO recommends that ORR improve its efforts to monitor care provider referrals and contractor decisions, and ensure that the contractor has timely access to key information on the children. HHS agreed with GAO's recommendations. Details: Washington, DC: GAO, 2016. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: GAO-16-367: Accessed April 20, 2016 at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/676687.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/676687.pdf Shelf Number: 138702 Keywords: Child MigrantsChild ProtectionImmigrationUnaccompanied Children |
Author: Save the Children Title: Childhood Under Siege: Living and dying in besieged areas of Syria Summary: This report aims to shed light on the terrifying reality of life and death that is being endured by people - particularly children - in besieged areas of Syria, and show the urgent need for the international community to take action. Save the Children and partners have conducted 22 focus groups with 126 mothers, fathers and children living in besieged areas of Syria, as well as 25 extensive interviews with local aid groups, doctors, teachers and individuals. These discussions painted a picture of enormous suffering and injustice, of sick children dying while the medicine they need is on the other side of a checkpoint, and of children forced to eat animal feed or leaves just a few kilometres from warehouses of food. Freezing families unable to get fuel rip the stuffing from mattresses in search of something to burn, while children hide in fear of the shelling and barrel bombs - large metal barrels filled with explosives and dropped indiscriminately - that continue to pound the trapped population. Doctors operate without electricity and basic equipment, and schools move underground in a desperate attempt to keep children safe from the blasts. Details: Washington, DC: Save the Children, 2016. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2016 at: http://www.savethechildren.org/atf/cf/%7B9def2ebe-10ae-432c-9bd0-df91d2eba74a%7D/CHILDHOOD%20UNDER%20SEIGE%20REPORT-%20EMBARGOED%20UNTIL%207PM%20EST%20MARCH%208-SM.PDF Year: 2016 Country: Syria URL: http://www.savethechildren.org/atf/cf/%7B9def2ebe-10ae-432c-9bd0-df91d2eba74a%7D/CHILDHOOD%20UNDER%20SEIGE%20REPORT-%20EMBARGOED%20UNTIL%207PM%20EST%20MARCH%208-SM.PDF Shelf Number: 138711 Keywords: Child ProtectionChildren Exposed to Violence |
Author: Foussard, Cedric Title: Addressing Juvenile Justice Priorities in the Asia-Pacific Region Summary: The International Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO) is proud to present the 'Addressing Juvenile Justice Priorities in the Asia-Pacific Region(link is external)' report. The aim of this report is to identify and analyse the priority issues for juvenile justice systems in the Asia-Pacific region. Accordingly, the report deals with the issues of violence against children in the juvenile justice system, restorative justice, cross-border issues and diversionary and alternative measures. It was produced by the IJJO's Asia-Pacific Council for Juvenile Justice, with the support of the Department for Juvenile Observation and Protection of the Ministry of Justice of Thailand. This report is unique in the sense that it is comprised of a theoretical framework, snapshots from countries in the Asia-Pacific region and policy-oriented workshops. Promising practices are presented to give an overview of what can be done, in practice, to improve the development of juvenile justice systems in line with human rights standards. The report outlines the need to improve the juvenile justice system in accordance with human rights standards, including safeguards and policies in this area. The report is based on the Second Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Council for Juvenile Justice held in Phuket in May 2015. Representatives from governments in the Asia-Pacific region, academia, judiciary and NGO's discussed "Policy Recommendations on Violence against Children; Alternatives to Detention; Restorative Justice in the Asia-Pacific Region". The meeting focused on three areas in particular: violence against children, alternatives to detention and restorative justice. Each of these subjects was tackled using a multilayered approach. The first theme that is discussed in the report is violence against children. As children find themselves in particular vulnerable circumstances when they are in contact with the law, children can be easy targets of different types of violence: psychological pressure, abuse of power, degrading treatment and physical violence are only a few examples. This violence often remains invisible, causing it to be unrecorded and unprosecuted. Tackling this issue is a priority for governments and requires specific safeguards and complaint and monitoring mechanisms. The second theme that is addressed in the report concerns diversionary measures and alternatives to detention. Detention is an overused measure to bring children to justice. Custody for children and young people should only be used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time. Children are extremely vulnerable when they are in detention, so the necessary safeguards must be put in place. Furthermore, effective diversion and alternative measures based in the community facilitate reintegration into society. Governments should make it a priority to implement effective diversion and alternative measures in order to promote the development of the child and to limit the amount of children deprived of their liberty. The last theme that is analysed in the report is restorative justice. Restorative justice can be used as a diversionary or alternative measure. Restorative justice is particularly interesting because it can be used to address the child's specific needs. Furthermore, restorative justice aims to promote reconciliation between the parties, adding a rehabilitative purpose. The last section of the report specifies the priorities of the Asia-Pacific Council for Juvenile Justice in the region. The APCJJ Subcommittee for ASEAN has established that cross-border safeguards for children in contact with the law should be brought to the attention of the member states. As member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are working towards opening their borders, this issue becomes extremely relevant. The report concludes with some key recommendations on every topic that was addressed. The most important recommendations represented in this report are, in summary: 1.Reducing the number of children in contact with the justice system, for instance, by avoiding criminalization of statutory offences and setting an appropriate age of criminal responsibility, which is an effective way to avoid the risk of secondary victimization within the justice system; 2.Ensuring that deprivation of liberty is only used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time, by promoting available and effective options of diversion, as well as alternatives to detention; 3.Fostering diversion measures, as it allows to reduce the cost of court proceedings and generally proves to be more responsive to the needs of first time and non-serious offenders; 4.Ensuring that legislation guarantees the recourse to diversion at every stage of the criminal justice proceedings; 5.During restorative processes, both the offender and the victim shall enjoy fair trial guarantees to avoid secondary victimization and ensure fairness of the proceeding. Restorative principles, such as voluntary participation, confidentiality and neutrality of the mediator, should be guaranteed by law; 6.Facilitators shall be offered high quality training, both as a precondition to get in contact with children, as well as throughout their experience in restorative practices; 7.National legislation shall ensure that every child has the right to equal and fair treatment, regardless of their nationality; 8.Legislation shall enshrine the right to privacy of children: any information collected in the course of the proceeding is not to become public, even after the child has reach 18 years of age. Details: Brussels: International Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO), 2016. 58p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed April 23, 2016 at: http://www.apcjj.org/sites/default/files/oijj_asia-pacific_council_2016.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Asia URL: http://www.apcjj.org/sites/default/files/oijj_asia-pacific_council_2016.pdf Shelf Number: 138793 Keywords: Alternatives to IncarcerationChild Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionJuvenile Justice SystemsRestorative JusticeViolence Against Children |
Author: Astinova, Mihaela Title: The Crime of Child Pornography: European Legislative and Police Cooperation Initiatives Summary: Records of cases describing illegal contact with children have not been discovered and criticized just recently. Such cases have existed before. The process of development of child pornography has been traced back to 1960's when the crime started to be produced mainly in magazines and films. In 1970's child pornography was acknowledged as an unimaginable threat to children and was criminalized in some countries like England. Nowadays it is obvious that the illegal practices from the past have been developed and continued by transferring the old images along with the new ones to a digital bearer, uploaded and sent from one computer to another, from one country to another via the internet.2 Broadly, the crime of child pornography can be described as any records of sexual activity with children. Those can be photographs, video, written materials or sound files. However, sometimes photographs can be taken independently, and sometimes they can be extracted from video clips or movies. Notwithstanding, the graphic content of the pictures not always shows explicit sexual conduct with children and the collectors may avoid prosecution and conviction. This is dictated by the severity of the content and is further elaborated in the first chapter of the thesis. However, it is clear that production, possession of child pornography and its dissemination for commercial purposes all constitute child abuse and exploitation. In my opinion, however, criminalizing child pornography materials has a preventive function as well in case access to such materials provokes further child abuse and exploitation. It cannot be argued that child pornography has been considered a tremendous problem which nowadays is getting more and more difficult to track. Computers, internet, emails, external storage devices have facilitated the pornography makers to grow in number and hide effectively from the law enforcement agencies. Technology advancement and the proliferation of private computers have made it easy for the offenders to do criminal activities and still hide in the dark.3 Children need access to all new technologies by which to develop their abilities and knowledge. But taking into account the presence of innovative methods for exposure of personal information and data makes them open to injure and difficult to protect from being involved in an irreversible situation such as to become victims of child pornography. The purpose of the thesis is to give an answer to the central research question which is "in what ways do the new European legislation and international police cooperation help combat the proliferation, production and possession of child pornography". All the information and findings in this thesis are based on desk research, aiming to give answers to the following sub-questions in order to understand in detail the central research question: a) What is the current International and European legislation on child pornography? b) What new initiatives does the European Union take in order to facilitate the minimization of the crime and to support the legislative measures? c) What law enforcement mechanisms does the European Law Enforcement agency (Europol) has at its disposal in accordance to this particular crime? d) What operations against child pornography have been conducted? e) What is the outcome of the operations? f) What are the most common obstacles for the teams during joint operations against child pornography offenders and how were they handled? Details: Tilburg, NETH: Tilburg University, 2013. 58p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed April 25, 2016 at: http://arno.uvt.nl/show.cgi?fid=133077 Year: 2013 Country: Europe URL: http://arno.uvt.nl/show.cgi?fid=133077 Shelf Number: 138805 Keywords: Child PornographyChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual Exploitation |
Author: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) Title: Guardianship for children deprived of parental care - A handbook to reinforce guardianship systems to cater for the specific needs of child victims of trafficking Summary: The EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings 2012-2016 recognises the importance of comprehensive child-sensitive protection systems, for which a robust guardianship system serves as a touchstone. Effective guardianship systems are key to preventing abuse, neglect and exploitation. Yet the roles, qualifications and competences of guardians vary from one Member State to another. This handbook, a joint publication of the European Commission and the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, is designed to help standardise guardianship practice, ensuring also that it is better equipped to deal with the specific needs of child victims of trafficking. It provides guidance and recommendations to EU Member States on strengthening their guardianship systems, setting forth the core principles, fundamental design and management of such systems. By promoting a shared understanding of the main features of a guardianship system, it aims to improve conditions for children under guardianship and promote respect for their fundamental rights. Details: Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2015. 118p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 4, 2016 at: http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2014/guardianship-children-deprived-parental-care-handbook-reinforce-guardianship Year: 2015 Country: Europe URL: http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2014/guardianship-children-deprived-parental-care-handbook-reinforce-guardianship Shelf Number: 138924 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild TraffickingHuman TraffickingVictims of Trafficking |
Author: Women's Refugee Commission Title: A Girl No More: The Changing Norms of Child Marriage in Conflict Summary: Marriage under the age of 18 is widely considered a human rights violation, though it is legal with parental consent in many countries. It falls within the definition of gender-based violence. Married girls are at risk of intimate partner violence and exposure to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Marriage often means the end of a girl's education and limits her vocational opportunities. Ninety percent of early first births happen within the context of child marriage and complications during pregnancy and delivery are the second leading cause of death among 15- to 19-year-olds. Nine of the top 10 countries with the highest rates of child marriage are considered fragile states. Similarly, many countries particularly vulnerable to natural disasters have the highest child marriage prevalence. Fragility and conflict impact child-marriage decisions. However, the role they play is complex and not fully understood. The need to protect girls from rape, as well as the stigma of surviving rape; from pregnancy outside marriage; and from the influence of other communities are factors that lead to child marriage. Poverty, exacerbated in displacement, is a driver of early marriage as parents hope to secure a daughter's future or to meet basic needs. Child marriage is both exacerbated by barriers to education and an impediment to school for the girls. Additionally, marriage isolates adolescent girls from friends and programs that would help them overcome the challenges of marriage. In 2011, the Women's Refugee Commission began a project to understand how traditional practices around child marriage may change during conflict, and what factors contribute to those practices. We researched internally displaced Ugandans in Mucwini, Northern Uganda; Congolese in Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda; Syrians in the Al Marj Settlement in Lebanon; and Somalis at the Kobe Refugee Camp in Ethiopia. We found that in order to reduce child-marriage practices, programmers must ensure that the basic needs of families are met during the acute phase of an emergency, and ensure that programming is designed to promote the agency and value of adolescent girls. Details: New York: Women's Refugee Commission, 2016. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 5, 2016 at: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Changing-Norms-of-Child-Marriage-in-Conflict.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Changing-Norms-of-Child-Marriage-in-Conflict.pdf Shelf Number: 138941 Keywords: Child MarriageChild ProtectionGender-Based Violence |
Author: Fortson, Beverly L. Title: Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect: A Technical Package for Policy, Norm, and Programmatic Activities Summary: This technical package represents a select group of strategies based on the best available evidence to help prevent child abuse and neglect. These strategies include strengthening economic supports to families; changing social norms to support parents and positive parenting; providing quality care and education early in life; enhancing parenting skills to promote healthy child development; and intervening to lessen harms and prevent future risk. The strategies represented in this package include those with a focus on preventing child abuse and neglect from happening in the first place as well as approaches to lessen the immediate and long-term harms of child abuse and neglect. These strategies range from a focus on individuals, families, and relationships to broader community and societal change. This range of strategies is needed to better address the interplay between individual-family behavior and broader neighborhood, community, and cultural contexts. This package supports CDC's Essentials for Childhood framework for preventing child abuse and neglect. In particular, it articulates a select set of strategies and specific approaches that can create the context for healthy children and families and prevent child abuse and neglect (Goals 3 and 4 of the framework) Commitment, cooperation, and leadership from numerous sectors, including public health, education, justice, health care, social services, business/labor, and government can bring about successful implementation of this package. Details: Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 5, 2016 at: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/can-prevention-technical-package.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/can-prevention-technical-package.pdf Shelf Number: 138994 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild Protection |
Author: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) Title: Guardianship systems for children deprived of parental care in the European Union: With a particular focus on their role in responding to child trafficking Summary: Children who are deprived of parental care and are unaccompanied or separated from their primary caregiver are particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. They are entitled to special protection. Effective guardianship systems are key to preventing abuse, neglect and exploitation and they protect child victims of trafficking. Children who are separated from the parents are at heightened risk of exploitation, including falling victims of trafficking in human beings. In other cases, children have been separated from their primary care givers as they were also involved in exploiting the child they were responsible for. The EU Strategy towards the eradication of trafficking in human beings 2012-2016 underlines the importance of comprehensive child-sensitive protection systems to prevent and address child trafficking. Robust guardianship arrangements are a cornerstone of such child protection systems. Yet the roles, qualifications and competences of guardians vary substantially from one Member State to another. In June 2014, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), in close cooperation with the European Commission, published a handbook on Guardianship for children deprived of parental care - A handbook to reinforce guardianship systems to cater for the specific needs of child victims of trafficking. The handbook offers EU Member States comprehensive guidance and recommendations on strengthening national guardianship systems. The handbook lays down the core principles that should guide national guardianship systems and suggests how national authorities, as well as guardians, could strengthen guardianship arrangements to respond better to the needs of child victims of trafficking. By promoting a shared understanding of the main features of a guardianship system, the handbook aimed at improving conditions and respect for the fundamental rights for all children deprived of parental care. It also sought to respond better to the specific needs of child victims of trafficking. The agency mapped national guardianship systems with the aim of identifying common challenges and promising practises. This report presents the main findings of this background research, which were also used to develop the handbook. These two publications are the latest results from FRA's longstanding commitment to promote and protect the rights of the child. This comparative report may assist Member States to understand better the strengths and weaknesses of their national system. It may also assist them to take measures to promote the effective protection of all children and, more specifically, find an adequate response to the needs and rights of those who are in the most vulnerable situation, such as child victims of trafficking. Details: Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2015. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 5, 2016 at: https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/guardianship_systems_for_children_deprived_of_parental_care_in_the_european_union_en.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Europe URL: https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/guardianship_systems_for_children_deprived_of_parental_care_in_the_european_union_en.pdf Shelf Number: 138952 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Trafficking Human Trafficking Victims of Trafficking |
Author: Meyer, Peter J. Title: Unaccompanied Children from Central America: Foreign Policy Considerations Summary: Since FY2011, the number of unaccompanied alien children (UAC) traveling to the United States from the "northern triangle" nations of Central America - El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras - has increased sharply. U.S. authorities encountered more than 52,000 unaccompanied minors from the region at the U.S. border in FY2014, a more than 1,200% increase compared to FY2011. This unexpected surge of children strained U.S. government resources and created a complex crisis with humanitarian implications. U.S. apprehensions of unaccompanied minors from the northern triangle declined by 45% in FY2015. They increased in the first five months of FY2016, however, and experts warn that significant migration flows will continue until policymakers in the countries of origin and the international community address the poor socioeconomic and security conditions driving Central Americans to leave their homes. The 2014 migration crisis led to renewed focus on Central America, a region with which the United States historically has shared close political, economic, and cultural ties. The United States engages with Central American countries through a variety of mechanisms, including a security assistance package known as the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) and the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). Over the past two years, the Obama Administration has sought closer cooperation with Central American governments to dissuade children from making the journey to the United States, target smuggling networks, and repatriate unauthorized migrants. The Administration also has introduced a whole-of-government "U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America" designed to increase economic opportunity, reduce extreme violence, and strengthen the effectiveness of state institutions in the region. The Administration requested $1 billion through the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development to implement the strategy in FY2016, and it has requested more than $770 million through those two agencies to continue implementation in FY2017. The governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are undertaking complementary efforts under their "Plan of the Alliance for Prosperity in the Northern Triangle." Congress has expressed considerable concern about increased migration from Central America, with Members holding numerous hearings, traveling to the region, and introducing legislation designed to address the situation. Although Congress opted not to appropriate supplemental funding for programs in Central America in FY2014, it appropriated more than $570 million for the region in FY2015, which was $241 million more than the Administration originally requested. The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L. 113-235), also directed the Administration to develop a comprehensive strategy to address the key factors contributing to the migration of unaccompanied children to the United States. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (P.L. 114-113), appropriated $750 million in support of the Administration's Central America strategy in FY2016. The act also placed a number of conditions on the assistance, requiring governments in the region to take steps to improve border security, combat corruption, increase revenues, and address human rights concerns, among other actions. As Congress debates the Administration's FY2017 budget request and other legislative options to address increased migration from Central America, it might take into consideration a variety of interrelated issues. These issues might include the humanitarian implications of the current situation, the international humanitarian response, Central American governments' limited capacities to receive and reintegrate repatriated children, Central American governments' abilities and willingness to address poor security and socioeconomic conditions in their countries, and the extent to which the Mexican government is capable of limiting the transmigration of Central Americans through its territory. Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Services, 2016. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: R43702: Accessed May 25, 2016 at: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R43702.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Central America URL: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R43702.pdf Shelf Number: 138656 Keywords: Child ProtectionHomeland SecurityHuman SmugglingImmigration EnforcementUnaccompanied Children |
Author: Katz, Ilan Title: Modernising Child Protection in New Zealand: Learning from system reforms in other jurisdictions Summary: Child maltreatment and the provision of effective child care and protection services are a topical issue worldwide. Child care and protection services are focused on responding to increasing demand and pressure on the system, and improving the outcomes of children in care. To address these issues, child care and protection services have undergone recent reforms that have changed their focus, function and delivery. This report was prepared by the University of New South Wales Social Policy Research Centre and has been written specifically for the Modernising Child, Youth and Family Expert Panel. The Panel is reviewing the focus and operations of Child, Youth and Family (CYF) to achieve better outcomes for vulnerable children, young people and families. The report captures a snapshot of child care and protection services in other jurisdictions and highlights their challenges and actions taken. Other jurisdictions included in the report are Australia (New South Wales), England, the United States, Canada (Ontario) and Norway. These jurisdictions were selected as being similar to New Zealand in their basic approach to child protection. The report also includes one jurisdiction (Norway) which offers a contrasting approach. This report is based on a search of peer-reviewed and 'grey' literature. Details: Wellington: Social Policy Evaluation and Research Unit, 2016. 57p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 31, 2016 at: http://www.superu.govt.nz/sites/default/files/Modernising%20Child%20Protection%20report.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://www.superu.govt.nz/sites/default/files/Modernising%20Child%20Protection%20report.pdf Shelf Number: 139243 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild Protection |
Author: Parenting Research Centre Title: Implementation best practice:A rapid evidence assessment Summary: The purpose of this review is to support the Royal Commissions work in developing recommendations for both preventing institutional child sexual abuse and improving institutional responses to this type of abuse. To do this, the review summarises the evidence for characteristics of implementation best practice. With an understanding of best practice in implementation, the Royal Commission will be able to develop recommendations with the greatest chance of being implemented and having their intended effect. Details: Sydney: Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, 2016. 143p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 7, 2016 at: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/3db55367-f556-4337-bed4-41a4055e9b5a/Implementation-Best-Practice Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/3db55367-f556-4337-bed4-41a4055e9b5a/Implementation-Best-Practice Shelf Number: 139307 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse |
Author: UBS Optimus Foundation Title: Sexual victimisation of children in South Africa: Final report of the Optimus Foundation Study: South Africa Summary: UBS Optimus Foundation and conducted by researchers from the University of Cape Town and the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention. The findings indicate that both boys and girls are equally vulnerable to sexual abuse over their lifetime, although the form of abuse often differs. Tip of the iceberg? According to the study, 784,967 young people in South Africa are likely to have been the victims of sexual abuse by the age of 17. This number would fill the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg eight times. 351,214 of these cases of sexual abuse would have occurred in 2015 alone. The sexual abuse and maltreatment of children is preventable, but until now, a lack of data has hindered the development of systems needed to protect and support children. While previous research has almost unfailingly underscored the particular vulnerability of young girls to sexual abuse, the study found that boys were more likely as girls to have experienced some form of sexual abuse (36.8% of boys, 33.9% of girls), but that girls are more likely to experience "contact sexual abuse" than boys, who reported higher levels of "no-contact" sexual abuse. Both forms of abuse, however, can be equally harmful and both should be taken equally seriously. But when it comes to reporting incidents of sexual abuse to authorities, the study found that young people were unlikely to report these cases. Only 31% of girls and no boys reported sexual abuse to the police. Young males are especially disinclined to report, across all categories of abuse. Details: Zurich, SWIT: UBS Optimus Foundation, 2016. 138p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 11, 2016 at: http://www.cjcp.org.za/uploads/2/7/8/4/27845461/08_cjcp_report_2016_d.pdf Year: 2016 Country: South Africa URL: http://www.cjcp.org.za/uploads/2/7/8/4/27845461/08_cjcp_report_2016_d.pdf Shelf Number: 139398 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child Maltreatment Child ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse Child Sexual Exploitation Sexual abuse |
Author: Canada. Public Safety Canada Title: 2013-2014 Evaluation of the National Strategy for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation on the Internet Summary: The National Strategy for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation on the Internet (the National Strategy) is a horizontal initiative providing a comprehensive, coordinated approach to enhancing the protection of children on the Internet and pursuing those who use technology to prey on them. The evaluation covered the activities delivered under the National Strategy by Public Safety Canada, including: the Canadian Centre for Child Protection as a funding recipient for the management of the national tipline Cybertip.ca, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (through NCECC-National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre, a national division of the Canadian Police Centre for Missing and Exploited Children/Behavioural Sciences Branch) and the Department of Justice. The evaluation included the Contribution Program to Combat Child Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking and its administration by Public Safety Canada. The scope of the evaluation covered the time period over the past five years (July 2008 to December 2013). There is a continued need to address the sexual exploitation of children on the Internet. Evidence shows increasing trends in the number of reported offences, the availability of material and the severity of these criminal acts. The increasing use of the Internet, mobile technologies and social media have facilitated the sexual exploitation of children. Concerns about child pornography have extended to the availability of material on peer-to-peer networks, the "dark Web" and through encrypted technologies. The problem extends well beyond Canada's borders. Law enforcement faces increasing challenges posed by transnational child sex offenders in addition to online child sexual exploitation offences in general. These types of international investigations are appropriately characterized as increasingly complex. The National Strategy remains relevant to ensure national collaboration and a consistent national approach, as well as cooperation with the international community. The evaluation points to a continued need for improved data collection, increased research efforts and enhanced information exchange at the national level in order to better understand the underpinnings and contributing factors surrounding online child sexual exploitation. There may be a need to revisit the current mandate as a number of areas of concern are expanding (e.g. transnational child sex offenders, self-peer exploitation or "sexting", cyberbullying, sextortion, sexualized child modelling) that were not originally envisioned by the National Strategy. Increased public reporting continues to put resourcing pressures on the law enforcement community. There is also evidence to indicate that there is still a need to increase knowledge and awareness about Internet child sexual exploitation and that the issue needs to be addressed through a multi-faceted approach (e.g. socially through education and prevention, and complemented by law enforcement efforts). The National Strategy aligns with federal priorities and the departmental mandates of the federal Strategy partners. The safety and security of children is central to the federal strategic priorities as reflected in numerous legislative initiatives, ministerial press releases, official documents and initiatives, and is consistent with the federal commitment made most recently in the 2013 Speech from the Throne. The National Strategy aligns with federal legislative roles and responsibilities of Strategy partners and the broad role of the federal government in the safety and security of Canadians. Investigations cross jurisdictions and require the collaboration and coordination of many stakeholders nationally and internationally. There is an opportunity for PS to provide greater leadership at the national level in areas of cooperation and in facilitating data collection, research and information sharing. The National Strategy also supports international commitments aimed at combating child sexual exploitation on the Internet. Evidence suggests that initiatives by other jurisdictions or non-profit organizations tend to complement the National Strategy. However, there may be opportunities for greater synergy and collaboration, especially between the federal government and provinces and territories in order to ensure that federal investments are targeted to areas of greatest need. In support of this, Strategy partners continue to develop partnerships with provinces, non-governmental organizations and private industry as well as participate in the Federal/Provincial/Territorial committees. From an enforcement perspective, the Strategy helps avoid duplication by providing a centralized coordinated approach and central point of contact for investigations that cross multiple jurisdictions nationally and internationally. Without a centralized coordinated approach, it was suggested that the system in Canada would be disparate. Despite the different organizations involved at various levels, efforts aimed at coordinating investigations internationally are seen as complementary rather than duplicative. Details: Ottawa: Public Safety Canada, 2015. 67p. Source: Internet Resource: 2015-05-27: Accessed July 25, 2016 at: http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/vltn-prtctn-chldrn-2013-14/vltn-prtctn-chldrn-2013-14-eng.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Canada URL: http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/vltn-prtctn-chldrn-2013-14/vltn-prtctn-chldrn-2013-14-eng.pdf Shelf Number: 139843 Keywords: Child PornographyChild ProtectionChild Sexual ExploitationInternet CrimesOnline VictimizationSexting |
Author: Queensland Family and Child Commission Title: When a Child is Missing: Remembering Tiahleigh: A report into Queensland's Children Missing from Out-of-Care Summary: In November 2015, the Premier requested for the Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC) to undertake a broad whole-of-government systems review into children missing from out-of-home care following the disappearance of Tiahleigh Palmer. The Premier asked two things when calling for this review. Could more have been done when concerns were first raised about Tiahleigh's disappearance and how can systems be improved to provide timely and appropriate information that is actioned responsively when critical incidents occur. The review examined current legislative frameworks, policies and guidelines for key government agencies in sharing information and responding when a child in out-of-home care is missing or absent from their placement. The QFCC worked closely with government agencies including, the Queensland Police Service, the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services, the Department of Education and Training, Queensland Health, the Office of the Public Guardian and the Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation. The QFCC also worked with non-government agencies throughout the review, specifically Bravehearts, CREATE Foundation, Foster Care Queensland, the Family Inclusion Network and the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak. The review contains 29 recommendations to achieve whole-of-government system improvements in responding to children missing from out-of-home care. The recommendations are designed to provide quality systems and improved responses through revised policies and procedures, a marked cultural shift across agencies, enhanced media campaigns and improved information sharing between agencies. Details: Brisbane: The Commission, 2016. 219p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 1, 2016 at: http://www.qfcc.qld.gov.au/when-a-child-is-missing Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://www.qfcc.qld.gov.au/when-a-child-is-missing Shelf Number: 139907 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionMissing ChildrenMissing Persons |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: "The Harvest is in My Blood": Hazardous Child Labor in Tobacco Farming in Indonesia Summary: Indonesia is the world's fifth-largest tobacco producer, with more than 500,000 tobacco farms. Thousands of children, some as young as eight years old, work in hazardous conditions on these farms, exposed to nicotine, toxic pesticides, and other dangers. This work can have lasting consequences for their health and development. Large Indonesian companies, as well as some of the largest multinational tobacco companies in the world, buy the vast majority of tobacco grown in Indonesia and use it to manufacture tobacco products sold domestically and abroad. None of these companies do enough to ensure children are not working in hazardous conditions on farms in their supply chains. Based on interviews with more than 130 child workers, This report documents how child tobacco workers suffer symptoms consistent with acute nicotine poisoning, handle toxic chemicals, cut themselves with sharp tools, faint while working in extreme heat, and face other dangers. Few of the children interviewed, or their parents, understood the health risks of the work or were trained on safety measures. Children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of tobacco farming because their brains and bodies are still developing. Nicotine exposure during childhood has been associated with mood disorders, and problems with memory, attention, impulse control, and cognition later in life. Human Rights Watch urges the Indonesian government and tobacco companies to ban children from work that involves direct contact with tobacco. Details: Hew York: HRW, 2016. 127p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 1, 2016 at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/indonesia0516web_0.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Indonesia URL: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/indonesia0516web_0.pdf Shelf Number: 139921 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild LaborChild ProtectionHuman Rights AbusesTobacco |
Author: Chaudhuri, Eliana Riggio Title: Thematic Report: Unrecognised Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children in Child, Early and Forced Marriage Summary: When girls attain sexual maturity, their vulnerability to sexual violence rises, along with parental apprehension about their safety. Especially in traditional and poor communities where girls' roles are often expected to be that of mothers and wives, puberty may coincide with school dropout and early marriage. Parents who marry their children before they reach legal age are typically motivated by predetermined social and sexual norms, low value attached to daughters, poverty or humanitarian crises. Confronted with social pressure and family hardship, they may seek in marriage a form of protection to shield their he implications of CEFM for human and social development have been placed in sharper focus in recent years, with concern especially growing for the violation of sexual and reproductive rights suffered by underage child brides and mothers, who are more prone to experiencing maternal and child mortality and malnutrition, as well as sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV and AIDS. As its significant ramifications for the survival, adequate growth and healthy development of children have been increasingly appreciated, more limited attention has been paid to the violation of the entire range of child rights to ascertain how prematurely entering a marital union increases overall vulnerability. To contribute to filling persisting gaps in knowledge and awareness, ECPAT International and Plan International have endeavoured to investigate the impact of child marriage on child protection, analysing, in particular, the various forms that sexual abuse and exploitation of children take in the context of such a universally revered social institution. Sexual violence suffered in early marriage is arguably one of the most severe levels of violation experienced by victims of a set of other rights infringements. Deciding if, when and whom to marry is one of the most important life choices a person can make. It is also a fundamental human right. International law recognises that CEFM is a harmful practice and a serious human rights violation. While child marriage is outlawed in most countries of the world, legal provisions are widely unknown, ignored or unenforced. As efforts have been progressively mounting to address sexist gender norms and behaviours, encourage school education, especially for girls, build national birth and marriage registration systems and strengthen law enforcement mechanisms to ensure that marriage is entered into only by consenting adults, there is still a need to understand in further depth the effects of marriage on children's safety, balanced development and emotional wellbeing. This thematic report aims to contribute to deepening the appreciation of the interconnections linking CEFM to sexual abuse and exploitation of children, also of a commercial nature. It proposes a conceptual framework through which to analytically examine the various forms children from of sexual violence being perpetrated in the context of early marriage. CEFM is an important constituent in the continuum of harm affecting adolescent girls. It forces girls to live in sexually threatening environments, engage in premature regular sexual activity, and often become victims of physical, psychological, emotional and sexual abuse by their husbands and his family members. In addition to serious reproductive and sexual health consequences, such as unwanted pregnancies and higher exposure to sexually transmitted infections, girl children suffer deep psychological trauma, even displaying symptoms of child sexual abuse and post- traumatic stress. Multiple pregnancies, restricted access to education and income generation opportunities, enforced social seclusion, early widowhood and abandonment are common consequences of child marriage, trapping survivors in a cycle of sexual exploitation and violence that may continue for the rest of their lives. Details: Bangkok: ECPAT International, 2015. 108p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 3, 2016 at: http://www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Child%20Marriage_ENG.pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: http://www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Child%20Marriage_ENG.pdf Shelf Number: 139962 Keywords: Child MarriageChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual Exploitation |
Author: Sethi, Dinesh Title: European report on preventing child maltreatment Summary: Child maltreatment is a leading cause of health inequality, with the socioeconomically disadvantaged more at risk. It worsens inequity and perpetuates social injustice because of its far-reaching health and development consequences. In spite of child maltreatment being a priority in most countries in the WHO European Region, few have devoted adequate resources and attention to its prevention. this report outlines the high burden of child maltreatment, its causes and consequences and the cost−effectiveness of prevention programmes. It makes compelling arguments for increased investment in prevention and for mainstreaming prevention objectives into other areas of health and social policy, reflecting the whole-of-society approach promoted by Health 2020 and the need for increased intersectoral working and coordination. the report offers policy-makers a preventive approach based on strong evidence and shared experience to support them in responding to increased demands from the public to tackle child maltreatment. Prevention programmes that stop maltreatment from occurring in the first place and reduce children's exposure to adversity have wide-ranging public health and societal benefits. Details: Copenhagen: World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, 2013. 130p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 4, 2016 at: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/217018/European-Report-on-Preventing-Child-Maltreatment.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/217018/European-Report-on-Preventing-Child-Maltreatment.pdf Shelf Number: 130005 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild protection |
Author: Brackenridge, Celia Title: Child Exploitation and the FIFA World Cup: A review of risks and protective interventions Summary: Ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, a new report by Brunel University London reviews the risks of child exploitation around major sporting events, and the protective measures in place (or lacking) to prevent their occurrence. While major sporting events are not themselves a direct cause of an increase in child exploitation, their organisation gives rise to conditions that lead to child labour and child sexual exploitation, including human trafficking to this end. The report is intended not only for future host countries to recognise the need for protection policies by looking at past pitfalls, but also for global sports-related bodies such as FIFA and the International Olympic Committee to establish child protection criteria as a requirement of bidding for all major sporting events. Details: Uxbridge, UK: : Brunel University London, 2013. 58p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 5, 2016 at: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/10635/1/FullText.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/10635/1/FullText.pdf Shelf Number: 130033 Keywords: Child Human TraffickingChild ProtectionChild Sexual ExploitationSporting Events |
Author: Children's Commissioner for England Title: Barnahus: Improving the Response to Child Sexual Abuse in England Summary: In England, it is estimated that only 1 in 8 victims of child sexual abuse are identified by the authorities 1 . Children who disclose that they have been sexually abused face multiple interviews with social workers, the police and medical professionals in a variety of settings. Interviews are often the only source of evidence in sexual abuse cases, yet for many children the interviews led by the police do not enable them to provide the best possible evidence 2 . Repeat interviews can be confusing and cause children, particularly young children, to give inconsistent evidence which, i n many cases, will lead to the perpetrator not be ing charged. Children can be traumatised by having to giv e an account of their abuse to multiple professionals in multiple locations . They can also then face long waiting list s to access specialist therapeutic support 3 . The current system is not child - centred, and does not achiev e the best results, either for children or the criminal justice system . We have identified a possible way forward in the Barnahus (childr e n 's house) model in use in Iceland. Since its introduction in 1998 , the Barnahus has delivered compelling results - a trebling of the number of perpetrators charged, a doubling of the number of convictions, and better therapeutic outcomes for children and their families. T his paper outlines the potential of the model for substantially improving the response to child sexual abuse in England. Details: London: Children's Commissioner for England, 2016. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 25, 2016 at: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/Barnahus%20-%20Improving%20the%20response%20to%20child%20sexual%20abuse%20in%20England.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/Barnahus%20-%20Improving%20the%20response%20to%20child%20sexual%20abuse%20in%20England.pdf Shelf Number: 140029 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: Extreme Measures: Abuses against Children Detained as National Security Threats Summary: Conflict-related violence and the rise of extremist armed groups such as the Islamic State and Boko Haram has also brought an increase in the detention of children perceived to be "security threats." In countries embroiled in civil strife or armed conflict, children are apprehended and detained without charge for months or even years on suspicion of, or involvement in, violent activity, or due to links to non-state armed groups. Many are subjected to torture, and an unknown number have died in custody. This multi-country report looks at the detention of children perceived as a threat to national security in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Nigeria, Syria, and by the United States. Human Rights Watch urges governments to immediately end all use of detention without charge for children, transfer children associated with armed groups to child protection authorities for rehabilitation, and ensure that children charged with a recognizable criminal offense are treated in accordance with international juvenile justice standards. Details: New York: HRW, 2016. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 27, 2016 at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/crd_detained0716web_1.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/crd_detained0716web_1.pdf Shelf Number: 140056 Keywords: Child ProtectionConflict-related ViolenceExtremist GroupsJuvenile DetentionNational Security |
Author: Hillis, Susan D. Title: THRIVES: A Global Technical Package to Prevention Violence Against Children Summary: THRIVES, developed by the Centers for Disease Control, is a collection of select strategies that have been graded to various critieria, showing that they are both effective/promising and include prudent practice. These strategies have been found to reflect the best available evidence to help countries sharpen their focus on priorities with the greatest potential to reduce violence against children. THRIVES includes the following strategies: T - Training in parenting H - Household economic strengthening R - Reduced violence through legal protection I - Improved services V - Values and norms that protect children E - Education and life skills S - Surveillance and evaluation Details: Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control, 2015. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 27, 2016 at: https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/31482 Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/31482 Shelf Number: 140058 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionViolence Against ChildrenViolence Prevention |
Author: Piza, Caio Title: Short- and Long-Term Effects of a Child-Labor Ban Summary: This is the first study to investigate the short- and long-term causal effects of a child-labor ban. The study explores the law that increased the minimum employment age from 14 to 16 in Brazil in 1998, and uncovers its impact on time allocated to schooling and work in the short term and on school attainment and labor market outcomes in the long term. The analysis uses cross-sectional data from 1998 to 2014, and applies a fuzzy regression discontinuity design to estimate the impact of the ban at different points of individuals' lifecycles. The estimates show that the ban reduced the incidence of boys in paid work activities by 4 percentage points or 27 percent. The study finds that the fall in child labor is mostly explained by the change in the proportions of boys working for pay and studying, and observes an increase in the proportion of boys only studying as a consequence. The results suggest that the ban reduced boys' participation in the labor force. The study follows the same cohort affected by the ban over the years, and finds that the short-term effects persisted until 2003 when the boys turned 18. The study pooled data from 2007 to 2014 to check whether the ban affected individuals' stock of human capital and labor market outcomes. The estimates suggest that the ban did not have long-term effects for the whole cohort, but found some indication that it did negatively affect the log earnings of individuals at the lower tail of the earnings distribution. Details: Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2016. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Policy Research working paper; no. WPS 7796; Impact Evaluation series: Accessed August 29, 2016 at: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/146211471281195366/pdf/WPS7796.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Brazil URL: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/146211471281195366/pdf/WPS7796.pdf Shelf Number: 140074 Keywords: Child LaborChild ProtectionChild Welfare |
Author: Sidebotham, Peter Title: Pathways to harm, pathways to protection: a triennial analysis of serious case reviews 2011 to 2014 Final report Summary: A serious case review (SCR) is a local enquiry carried out where a child has died or been seriously harmed and abuse or neglect are known or suspected, and there is cause for concern about professional working together - This study is the fifth consecutive analysis of serious case reviews in England undertaken by the same research team dating back to reviews from 2003- 2005. The study considers a total of 293 SCRs relating to incidents which occurred in the period 1 April 2011- 31 March 2014. These most recent reviews are also analysed in the context of learning from SCRs over the ten years since 2003-2005. The aim of the study is to provide evidence of key issues and challenges for agencies working singly and together in these cases. It is also to provide the government with evidence of what is changing as a result of their reforms, and to identify areas where further change may be required to support organisations to learn from serious case reviews and to keep children safe. Key Findings : What do SCRs tell us about the child protection system? The pattern of serious case reviews over time shows that once a child is known to be in need of protection, for example with a child protection plan in place, the system is working well. There has been an increase in the number of serious case reviews carried out since 2012, but this has been against a backdrop of a steady year -on- year increase in child protection activity. There has been no change in the number of child deaths linked directly to maltreatment and, if anything, a reduction in the fatality rates for all but the older adolescent age group. Furthermore, only a small minority of children at the centre of a serious case review (12%) had a current child protection plan at the time of their death or serious harm - This is at a time when nationally numbers of children with a child protection plan have been rising dramatically - There are still, however, pressure points at the boundaries into and out of the child protection system, where cases are 'stepped up' from universal and targeted services and 'stepped down' from child protection and children in need. While fewer than half of SCRs revealed current involvement with children's social care, almost two thirds of the children had at some point been involved with children's social care at least to the level of child in need. With hindsight, it is apparent that m any of these children's cases had either been closed too soon or lacked the ongoing support services and monitoring that the children and families needed. This highlights the need for long- term planning and support where children have known risks or vulnerabilities and especially where they have already suffered maltreatment. Details: London: U.K. Department of Education, 2016. 277p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 6, 2016 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/533826/Triennial_Analysis_of_SCRs_2011-2014_-__Pathways_to_harm_and_protection.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/533826/Triennial_Analysis_of_SCRs_2011-2014_-__Pathways_to_harm_and_protection.pdf Shelf Number: 147877 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionSerious Case Review |
Author: Cashmore, Judy Title: The Impact of Delayed Reporting on the Prosecution and Outcomes of Child Sexual Abuse Cases Summary: This report examines how the criminal justice systems in New South Wales and South Australia deal with complaints of child sexual abuse reported to the police in childhood compared with those in which the report is delayed until adulthood, which is often referred to as historical child sexual abuse. The research investigates the trends in delayed disclosure and reporting of child sexual abuse, and maps the prosecution process and outcomes associated with varying degrees of delay in reporting to the police, together with other case characteristics such as the age of the complainant victim, and the relationship between the complainant and the alleged offender. RESEARCH QUESTIONS The research focuses on the following questions: 1. What are the trends in recorded reports to police of historical child sexual abuse over a recent 20-year period compared with reports made during childhood in two Australian states - New South Wales and South Australia? 2. What are the trends in the number of prosecutions of cases of historical child sexual abuse over a recent 20-year period compared with child sexual abuse reported during childhood in two Australian states? 3. What factors - including characteristics of the complainant, the type of offence, the relationship between the complainant and the alleged offender, and the delay in reporting to police - are associated with the matter proceeding from a report to the police to prosecution? 4. What is the likelihood of cases reported in childhood and in adulthood resulting in conviction? 5. What factors (as above) are associated with the matter resulting in a conviction or not, and a custodial or other type of sentence? 6. Is there any difference in the rate of appeals, the grounds of appeals, and the outcome of appeals in cases in New South Wales: o where there are delayed complaints compared with cases reported in childhood? o that involved 'institutional' child sexual abuse compared with intra-familial cases of abuse and other extra-familial cases? Details: Sydney: University of Sydney Law School; Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, 2016. 311p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 7, 2016 at: http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/e3312f1c-d58f-490d-a467-221684c050c9/The-impact-of-delayed-reporting-on-the-prosecution Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/e3312f1c-d58f-490d-a467-221684c050c9/The-impact-of-delayed-reporting-on-the-prosecution Shelf Number: 147893 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseProsecutionSex Offenders |
Author: United Nations Children's Fund - UNICEF Title: Uprooted: The Growing Crisis for Refugee and Migrant Children Summary: Around the world, nearly 50 million children have migrated across borders or been forcibly displaced. This report presents - for the first time - comprehensive, global data about these children - where they are born, where they move and some of the dangers they face along the way. The report sheds light on the truly global nature of childhood migration and displacement, highlighting challenges faced by child migrants and refugees in every region. Details: New York: UNICEF, 2016. 134p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 8, 2016 at: http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Uprooted_growing_crisis_for_refugee_and_migrant_children.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 140249 Keywords: Child MigrantsChild ProtectionChild RefugeesMigrant ChildrenMigrants |
Author: Bentley, Holly Title: How Safe are Our Children? The Most Comprehensive Overview of Child Protection in the UK: 2016 Summary: Ask people what childhood should be like, and they'll say it's about playing with friends and exploring new worlds. We want our children to have a childhood full of fun and learning and love. Contrast this with the fact that, in the last year, there were more than 23,000 ChildLine counselling sessions with children about their experiences of abuse and neglect, and a rise in the number of counselling sessions with young people about suicidal feelings. This is not what we want childhood to be like. It's time to fight for the childhoods we want our children to have. That fight starts with adults knowing how to spot the signs of abuse and being prepared to take action to keep children safe. The good news is that more and more adults appear to be ready to take on this responsibility. Over the past five years we've seen increasing numbers of reports of abuse and neglect to social services, the police and the NSPCC. For example, there was a 29 per cent rise in the number of contacts to the NSPCC helpline about abuse and neglect between 2011/12 and 2015/16. Details: London: NSPCC, 2016. 88p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 14, 2016 at: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/how-safe-children-2016-report.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/how-safe-children-2016-report.pdf Shelf Number: 140277 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild HomicidesChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionSuicide |
Author: Moore, Tim Title: Our Safety Counts: Children and Young People's Perceptions of Safety and Institutional Responses to their Safety Concerns Summary: This report has been published by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. It attempts to better understand children and young people's perceptions of safety within institutions, and their views on how adults and institutions are responding to their safety needs. It is not a prevalence study and does not attempt to quantify the extent to which children and young people have encountered abuse. Instead, it asks them to consider how they, adults and institutions currently demonstrate that they are safe; and the ways they believe adults and institutions act and would act to keep them safe if they were in a situation where their safety was compromised. Details: Melbourne: Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University, 2016. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 15, 2016 at: http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/614b6cc6-ab14-495b-8ce0-ce2e1d3a8c19/Our-safety-counts Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/614b6cc6-ab14-495b-8ce0-ce2e1d3a8c19/Our-safety-counts Shelf Number: 140299 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse |
Author: Lynch, Margaret A. Title: National Study on Violence against Children in Georgia: 2007-2008 Summary: The Global Report on the United Nations Secretary-General's Study on Violence against Children brought to the attention of the whole world the high scale of all forms of violence against children. It encouraged and recommended countries to undertake further research and analysis on the magnitude of violence against children. The Study on Violence against Children in Georgia commissioned by UNICEF in collaboration with local governmental and non-governmental sectors and the International Society for the Prevention of Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) is therefore the result of these recommendations. The National Study on Violence against Children describes the scale of child abuse and neglect in families, schools, residential settings for children deprived of parental care, and collective centres for internally displaced persons throughout Georgia. It illustrates the experience of Georgian children living through violence and it provides directions for preventing violence and protecting children from its consequences. The Study reveals that the incidence of violence against children in Georgia is as high as all studied settings in Europe and in other countries where the same tool has been used. Overall, in the year 2007 approximately 80% of boys and girls in Georgia suffered from some form of physical and psychological violence (79.8% and 82.3% for physical and psychological violence). While the most common forms of reported physical punishments may not be considered severe (smacking on the bottom with a hand, pulling hair and twisting ears), there are instances of more severe forms. The most common psychological punishments are yelling, calling derisory names and cursing the child. There are also instances noted of positive discipline approaches, which need to be built upon and strengthened. Both Global and National studies published in Georgian and English, provide a strong basis for the development of policies aimed to protect children from violence and to prevent all forms of violence against children, raise public awareness, and train professionals working with children to take appropriate action. Both studies will guide the State and other entities to implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Details: Tbilisi: Public Health Foundation of Georgia (PHF), 2008. 156p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 15, 2016 at: http://phmdf.ge/22eng/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Violence_Study_ENG.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Georgia URL: http://phmdf.ge/22eng/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Violence_Study_ENG.pdf Shelf Number: 140310 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionViolence Against Children |
Author: ten Kate, Albert Title: Beauty and a Beast: Child labour in India for sparkling cars and cosmetics Summary: This report focuses on child labour in Jharkhand/Bihar for mica mining and processing, and the role of Dutch companies and main manufacturers of pearlescent pigments globally. Recent documented cases substantiate the significant use of child labour: - During field research by SOMO in October 2015, a dozen children under ten were seen working in places where locally mined crude mica is gathered. This was in the subdistricts Tisri and Domchance, and outside school hours. - During the field research, a local representative of BBA for the mica mining village Dhab (around 4,500 inhabitants) stated that about 10% of the children presently don't go to school and likely work in the mines. - BBA's district coordinator for Jharkhand/Bihar told SOMO in October 2015 that Giridih district is a very difficult area to effectively ban child labour. BBA's work in twenty villages in the district is ongoing, but they constantly observe that groups of children in the district still go to the mines. - In late January 2016, Kalpana Pradhan, a journalist accompanying SOMO during its field investigation, went back to the rural area of subdistrict Tisri. She saw a mine within the forest where at least nine young girls (aged between nine and thirteen) were working. - In January 2016 a team from television broadcaster France 2 went to a mica mine in the area, and estimated that a third of the miners were under twelve years old. "They start at five or six years old, when they are able to recognize mica. They harvest it with us," said one mother. - In March 2015, a ten-year-old girl was crushed to death when the roof of a mica mine collapsed on her. In March 2014, the same happened to two other children. - In August 2015 Agence France-Presse (AFP) interviewed an eight-year-old girl who was mining and not attending school. Additionally, a father-of four acknowledged that his children spent their days mining mica to keep the family's heads above water. Details: Amsterdam: Stichting Onderzoek Multinationale Ondernemingen (SOMO), Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations, 2016. 86p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 19, 2016 at: https://www.somo.nl/beauty-and-a-beast/ Year: 2016 Country: India URL: https://www.somo.nl/beauty-and-a-beast/ Shelf Number: 147956 Keywords: Child LaborChild ProtectionGold MiningIllegal Mining |
Author: Wolak, Janis Title: Child Victims of Stereotypical Kidnappings Known to Law Enforcement in 2011 Summary: This bulletin summarizes findings on the incidence and characteristics of stereotypical kidnappings of children in 2011 and compares them with 1997 findings. The key findings include the following: - An estimated 105 children were victims of stereotypical kidnappings in 2011, virtually the same as the 1997 estimate. Most kidnappings involved the use of force or threats, and about three in five victims were sexually assaulted, abused, or exploited. - Victims were, most commonly, ages 12 to 17, girls, white, and living in situations other than with two biological or adoptive parents. Half of all stereotypical kidnappings in 2011 were sexually motivated crimes against adolescent girls. - Most perpetrators of 2011 stereotypical kidnappings were male, were ages 18 to 35, and were white or black in equal proportions. About 70 percent were unemployed, and roughly half had problems with drugs or alcohol. - Fewer stereotypical kidnappings ended in homicide in 2011 than in 1997 (8 percent versus 40 percent). Most kidnappers were not violent at first contact with victims; instead, they lured almost 70 percent of victims through deception or nonthreatening pretexts. Kidnappings involving 92 percent of child victims in 2011 ended in recovering the child alive, compared with 57 percent of victims in 1997. - 2011 estimates of child victims being detained overnight were three times the 1997 estimates (80 percent versus 26 percent). - Technologies, such as cell phones and the Internet, helped law enforcement to solve crimes involving two-thirds of the victims. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2016. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 19, 2016 at: http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/249249.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/249249.pdf Shelf Number: 140355 Keywords: Child ProtectionKidnappings |
Author: All-Party Parliamentary Group for Runaway and Missing Children and Adults Title: Inquiry into the safeguarding of 'absent' children. 'It is good when someone cares.' Final Report Summary: In recent years missing children have been moving up the local and national policy agenda. Increased awareness of the link between going missing and child sexual exploitation, prompted by horrific cases across the country, as well as by reports from this APPG and the Office of the Children's Commissioner (OCC) have led to more concerted efforts across all agencies to disrupt exploitation and lessen the risks to children who go missing. The changes that the government introduced to improve the safeguarding response to children in residential care and the publication of the revised statutory guidance in 2014 on missing children also created opportunities to review and strengthen local responses to missing children. The greater awareness of the risks missing children face has not necessarily resulted in improved responses to missing children across the country however. Cuts to children's social care and police funding, on-going reforms and an increase in the numbers of children who require help from children's social care services has meant that often only cases identified as high risk are getting prioritised for response. It has been acknowledged in written submissions and through the roundtables for this inquiry that there are many positive examples of agencies working well together to protect missing children, particularly those identified to be at risk of harm. There is a lot more clarity around what a good response looks like when the child is recognised to be at high risk of harm and categorised as 'missing', even though a lack of consistency in the implementation of good practice prevails. It has been acknowledged in a recent HMIC report that 'in most straightforward cases the police's response is timely, proportionate and appropriate'. At the same time the inquiry heard that absent children, for whom the police establish there to be 'no apparent risk', often end up not being on the radar of other services, like children's social care, until things in their lives get much more serious. As one roundtable participant said, 'It is perverse, because children need to go up tariff, and things must become more serious before they can get a service and yet we know that early support reduces the risk of repeated missing incidents'. At one of the roundtables the National Policing Lead, Chief Constable Mike Veale voiced concerns that 'risk assessments are not completed consistently throughout the service' and that for some police forces the 'absent' category may be 'not doing very much more than recording an event'. 14 These are important concerns to address, particularly given that those in social care appear to rely excessively on the police getting the risk assessment right on every occasion and therefore believe their lack of response to absent children is evidenced When children's social care do not to properly participate in the risk assessment, such a position is not justifiable and children can be left at terrible risk which could have been prevented. Further evidence submitted to the inquiry by organisations providing return interviews questioned decision making around the use of the 'absent' category. 'In areas where we work where the absent category is used we are worried that children 'fall through the net' as they are not being properly identified and supported. Where absent episodes are not correctly referred to agencies, families and children are prevented from accessing preventative and early intervention support'. 'Whatever happens to the category of 'absent' there is going to have to be changes to what call handlers base their decisions on because we all have got examples where young people are classified wrongly'. The inquiry identified a number of issues that contribute to making the absent category unsafe. Details: London: Children's Society, 2016. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 24, 2016 at: http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/appg-absent-inquiry-final-report-may-2016.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/appg-absent-inquiry-final-report-may-2016.pdf Shelf Number: 140445 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual ExploitationMissing ChildrenMissing PersonsRunaways |
Author: Pona, Iryna Title: Safeguarding children and young people who go missing in London Summary: Each year around 100,000 children and young people in the UK run away from home or care - Around 60% of all missing persons cases reported to the police involve children and young people with majority of them being adolescents aged 12 to 17. From our research and work with children and young people we know that running away is a signal that all is not well in a child's life. When things go wrong young people do not always know how, or feel able, to ask for help. Instead, many of them run away from home or care and become exposed to great risks in order to survive - staying with strangers or begging and stealing to survive. In some cases going missing signals that a child is under the influence of a predatory adult or even peers trying to exploit them, enticing them away from home with promises of fun and excitement. In recent years there has been a growing awareness of the risks of running away, particularly in relation to child sexual exploitation and, increasingly, involvement in criminal activity. Changes to national and local policies have been made aimed at improving responses to this vulnerable group of children and young people and ensuring that agencies are working together to keep young people safe. Despite the progress made, many young runaways still do not have an offer of help when they need it and continue slipping through the net of services until their cases are deemed 'high risk' or only get a tokenistic support that is not sufficient to help them resolve the issues they face. The Children's Society has over 30 years' experience of research , campaigning and direct work with children and young people who run away from home or care. In July 2015, The Children's Society launched a network of services across London to tackle the risks facing the city's vulnerable young people, specifically looking at providing responses to young people who run away or go missing in London. This report explores the scale of children running away or going missing in the capital and looks at how recent national policy changes have impacted on local responses to children who are reported as missing from home or care. The report is based on responses to our Freedom of Information requests to 33 London boroughs and the Metropolitan Police Service - Throughout the report we have also used anonymised cases studies and quotes from our direct work with young people who run away or go missing. Details: London: The Children's Society, 2016. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 24, 2016 at: http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/safeguarding-children-and-young-people-who-go-missing-in-london_reduced.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/safeguarding-children-and-young-people-who-go-missing-in-london_reduced.pdf Shelf Number: 146107 Keywords: Child ProtectionMissing ChildrenMissing PersonsRunaways |
Author: UK Council for Child Internet Safety Title: Sexting in schools and colleges: Responding to incidents and safeguarding young people Summary: This advice is for designated safeguarding leads (DSLs), their deputies, headteachers and senior leadership teams in schools and educational establishments in England. What does this advice cover? This advice covers: - Responding to disclosures - Handling devices and imagery - Risk assessing situations - Involving other agencies, including escalation to the police and children's social care - Recording incidents - Involving parents - Preventative education What is the status of this advice? This advice has been produced on behalf of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) a group of more than 200 organisations from across government, industry, law, academia and charity sectors, working in partnership to help keep children safe online. Details: s.l.: The Council, 2016. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 8, 2016 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/551575/6.2439_KG_NCA_Sexting_in_Schools_WEB__1_.PDF Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/551575/6.2439_KG_NCA_Sexting_in_Schools_WEB__1_.PDF Shelf Number: 145374 Keywords: Child ProtectionSextingSocial Media |
Author: Dwyer, R. Gregg Title: Protecting Children Online: Using Research-Based Algorithms to Prioritize Law Enforcement Internet Investigation Summary: here is increasing public and professional concern about Internet sexual offending, as reflected in increasing law enforcement cases and clinical referrals. While all instances of Internet offending against minors require intervention, the number of cases and the overarching goal of protecting children require law enforcement to prioritize cases. This project used data from 20 Internet Crimes Against Children task forces across the United States -- offender characteristics, crime characteristics, and online behavior -- to develop empirically-based recommendations to assist law enforcement in prioritizing: (1) cases involving production of child pornography over possession/distribution; (2) cases involving online luring for the purpose of meeting the minor to commit sexual offenses, over luring restricted to online behavior such as sexual chat or exchanging pornographic images; and (3) cases involving offenders who have committed contact sexual offenses against children over cases involving offenders with no known history. The research builds on a previous OJJDP-funded project by increasing the number of task forces and thereby sample size in order to develop practical recommendations, and adding a new component - a geographical analysis of cases - that will assist decision makers in the allocation of training and resources across the United States in order to combat online sexual exploitation and abuse of children. Details: Charleston, SC: Medical University of South Carolina, 2016. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 8, 2016 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/250154.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/250154.pdf Shelf Number: 145106 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild PornographyChild ProtectionChild Sexual ExploitationOnline Victimization |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: Summary: Thirty-seven percent of girls in Nepal marry before age 18 and 10 percent are married by age 15, in spite of the fact that the minimum age of marriage under Nepali law is 20 years of age. Boys also often marry young in Nepal, though in lower numbers than girls. UNICEF data indicates that Nepal has the third highest rate of child marriage in Asia, after Bangladesh and India. In interviewing dozens of children and young people, Human Rights Watch learned that these marriages result from a web of factors including poverty, lack of access to education, child labor, social pressures, and harmful practices. Cutting across all of these is entrenched gender inequality, and damaging social norms that make girls less valued than boys in Nepali society. Details: New York: HRW, 2016. 131p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 13, 2016 at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/nepal0816_web.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Nepal URL: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/nepal0816_web.pdf Shelf Number: 145535 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MarriageChild ProtectionHuman Rights AbusesRights of the Child |
Author: Kaufman, Keith Title: Risk profiles for institutional child sexual abuse: a literature review Summary: The Royal Commission commissioned this literature review to synthesise international evidence regarding risk and protective factors related to child sexual abuse in institutional contexts. Risk and protective factors are considered in relation to three primary review areas of institutional child sexual abuse: victims, perpetrators and institutional settings. Literature review methodology The methodology for this review was built on the Royal Commission's broad definition of institutional child sexual abuse as provided in its terms of reference which includes but is not limited to schools, sporting clubs, children's services, foster care, residential care facilities, religious organisations, and government organisations. The first step in the review process was to identify a wide range of relevant search terms. The authors developed a preliminary list of search terms and circulated it among experts in the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia to solicit additional terms. A similar process was conducted to identify databases that would yield the most relevant articles for this review. After feedback, the authors developed final lists of search terms and databases for use in this literature review. Simultaneous, independent literature reviews of each of five identified areas were conducted using the final search terms. These reviews were conducted by the authors' project team, the Australian Institute of Family Studies (Australia), the National Child Advocacy Center (US), the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (US) and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (UK). The reviews focused on scientific research literature as well as 'grey literature' such as reports, inquiries, evaluations and dissertations. Pertinent documents identified in the reviews were also closely examined for references to literature that could be included in this project. The project team created brief summaries of each pertinent article, which were used by the authors to craft the various sections of the literature review. Article summaries were also used to develop critiques for each section and recommendations for future directions related to each sub-topic, as well as to create an overall review. Royal Commission staff members reviewed the draft review document and made suggestions for revisions, which were made by the primary authors. The nature of the reviewed literature This review yielded more than 400 relevant documents, primarily comprising research studies from professional journals. The literature was not only distributed across the three key review areas of victim, perpetrator and institution, but also further divided across six specific types of institutional setting including faith-based settings; early childhood education, care and schools; healthcare; out-of-home care; sport; and public inquiries and case reviews. The identified documents are best described as a series of related literature with limited integration. In particular, the documents specific to victim, perpetrator and institution are quite distinct, with little overlap and minimal cross-referencing. Additionally, articles describing child sexual abuse in various types of institutional setting are also highly 'siloed'. The separate nature of these research sub-areas is an important dimension for understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the available literature on child sexual abuse in institutions. Findings The following section highlights the big-picture findings regarding risk and protective factors pertinent to victims, perpetrators and institutions, as well as the role of prevention of institutional child sexual abuse. Details: Sydney: Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, 2016. 133p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 14, 2016 at: http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/399a6b99-aa14-449e-bf6d-2d5d5beb773f/Risk-profiles-for-institutional-child-sexual-abuse Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/399a6b99-aa14-449e-bf6d-2d5d5beb773f/Risk-profiles-for-institutional-child-sexual-abuse Shelf Number: 144808 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse |
Author: Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention Title: Connected Dot Com: Young People's Navigation of Online Risks Summary: This study explores young people's use of social media, the dangers faced online, and the ways in which young people negotiate their own safety online. It was conducted through focus groups in 93 schools across SA in tandem with the 2012 National School Violence Study. Details: Cape Town, South Africa: CJCP, 2013. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 19, 2016 at: http://www.cjcp.org.za/uploads/2/7/8/4/27845461/connected_dot_com.pdf Year: 2013 Country: South Africa URL: http://www.cjcp.org.za/uploads/2/7/8/4/27845461/connected_dot_com.pdf Shelf Number: 145877 Keywords: Child ProtectionOnline VictimizationSocial Media |
Author: Shalev Greene, Karen Title: Repeat reports to the police of missing people: locations and characteristics Summary: Hundreds of thousands of people are reported missing to the police each year. Out of the 313,000 reports to British police in 2011-2012 (SOCA, 2013) 64% involved children. Most research on missing persons tends to focus on the causes for going missing or the vulnerability of the people who go missing (for example, CEOP, 2011; NPIA, 2011; Rees, 2011). However, relatively little research attention has been given to the locations from which people go missing (Bartholomew, Duffy & Figgins, 2009; Parr & Stevenson, 2013; Stevenson, Parr, Woolnough & Fyfe, 2013). The current study focuses on the locations from which people are reported missing repeatedly in a one year period. Some of these locations are individual households but the majority are organisational facilities. Thus, our aim is to highlight issues surrounding the 'duty of care' and 'safeguarding' responsibilities of agencies in relation to people who go missing from organisational addresses (such as mental health establishments and children's care homes); specifically in relation to preventing them from going missing in the first place and the responsibility of the organisations helping to locate them. The data in this study was gathered from ONE Police force which uses the COMPACT database. This database holds the reports for all missing person reports where the person has been missing for over 2 hours. In 2011, 2,745 missing person cases opened and closed in this police force (or 40% of over 6,000 missing person cases overall). Given that the focus of this study is the location from which people went missing, only cases where the same address was linked to three cases or more in one year were included. Thus, the analysis in this report is based on 1,321 cases and 149 addresses. In the current study young people make up the great majority of those reported missing three times or more in a year. Missing people, in our sample, do not travel very far, usually travelling under 5 miles. In terms of missing persons vulnerability, only a minority of young people, in this sample, are categorised as 'high risk' and only a small minority report injury or harm while missing or are known to be involved in criminal activity. Proportionally, the highest risk group are older people, over the age of 50 years. However, the findings in this study raise some concerns about the risk assessment process and the extent to which the type of location from which a person is reported missing is used (or can be used) as an indicator of potential risk. The results show that people went missing from a variety of locations but that private care homes (57.1%) were the most common place. Almost all (99.5%) of those who went missing from private care homes were young people aged 18 years and under. Going missing from a home address (16.0%) was the next most common location; followed by mental health units (9.9%) and hospitals (7.7%). In 2011, 149 different addresses in the police force we examined reported people missing three times or more. The study highlights the impact that a few organisations have on police workload, with one private care home making 93 missing person reports in the year 2011. The cost to the police of responding to reports from the top 10 locations is estimated to be £482,250 to £879,060 (Shalev Greene & Pakes, 2013a). These repeat reports should raise the issue of the duty of care and responsibilities of health and social care organisations towards the vulnerable people for whom they are caring. The authors recognise that repeated incidents of going missing is often a reflection of the life situations of the people within these individual settings as they will often have personal difficulties, find it difficult being away from 'home' far from their family and friends, etc. However, the study raises the question of why organisations that report people missing so frequently do not always share with the police the responsibility of locating those who go missing. Details: Portsmouth, UK: University of Portsmouth, Centre for the Study of Missing Persons, 2014. 21 p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 8, 2016 at: http://www.port.ac.uk/media/contacts-and-departments/icjs/csmp/Repeat-reports-to-the-police-of-missing-people.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.port.ac.uk/media/contacts-and-departments/icjs/csmp/Repeat-reports-to-the-police-of-missing-people.pdf Shelf Number: 145318 Keywords: Child ProtectionMissing ChildrenMissing PersonsRunaways |
Author: Beckett, Helen Title: Evaluation of Safe Choices/PSNI Co-Located Pilot Initiative Summary: In 2012, Barnardo's Safe Choices service and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) commenced a 20 month pilot initiative in which a specialist missing/child sexual exploitation (CSE) senior practitioner was co-located with a police Missing and Vulnerable Persons Officer (MVPO) in a Public Protection Unit (PPU) in a Belfast police station. The pilot initiative was developed in response to accumulated learning about the need for, and benefits of, multi-agency working in the fields of missing and CSE, and the specific contribution that co-location can make to the effective facilitation of this (Jago and Pearce 2008; DCSF 2009; Beckett 2011; Jago et al 2011). This report presents the findings of an externally commissioned evaluation of this pilot initiative, undertaken by 'The International Centre: Researching Child Sexual Exploitation, Violence and Trafficking' at the University of Bedfordshire. The evaluation was small-scale in nature, focusing on high level outcomes and process learning, rather than any detailed assessment of benefits to individual stakeholders engaged in the pilot initiative. That said, the triangulated approach adopted enables evidence-informed commentary on the benefits delivered to various stakeholder groups and the procedural and contextual factors that facilitated or hindered effective delivery of these benefits. The report commences with an overview of the pilot initiative and the anticipated outcomes identified by the project partners. These provide the core framework for the evaluation and consequently the structure of the report. Before reporting on outcome delivery, an overview of the evaluative approach is presented, alongside a commentary on the challenges experienced within this and the implications of these for the commentary contained within this report. The report proceeds with an overview of the identified benefits of the pilot initiative, presented by the stakeholder cohort: the project partners, young people, parents/carers and colleagues from other professions. It concludes with an exploration of potential barriers and enablers and associated learning for future similar endeavours. Details: Ilford, UK: Barnardo's, 2014. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 8, 2016 at: http://www.barnardos.org.uk/sc_pilot_initiative_revised_evaluation_report.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.barnardos.org.uk/sc_pilot_initiative_revised_evaluation_report.pdf Shelf Number: 146282 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationMissing Children |
Author: Llewellyn Gwynnyth Title: Disability and Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Context Summary: Children and young people with disability are often absent in discussions about child sexual abuse as people with disability are left out of discussions about violence, abuse and neglect. This is due in part to individuals with disability being excluded from society, hidden away in institutions or in family homes. Community attitudes contribute to and are informed by the fact that people with disability, including children, are often seen in segregated, special and demeaning settings. This situation is changing slowly. People with disability are taking their rightful place as citizens actively contributing to and increasingly benefiting from all that our society has to offer. Segregation and exclusion in closed institutional contexts away from public scrutiny leaves children (and adults) with disability at heightened risk of violence and harm including sexual abuse. Further, when children with disability are stereotyped as dependent and passive and unable to 'speak up', they are at heightened vulnerability to being segregated, abused, overlooked and not heard. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recognised early on the likely particular vulnerabilities of children with disability and the institutional contexts which they encounter. This commissioned discussion paper set out to provide a reasoned analysis of the historical, social and policy context surrounding children with disability and to examine the evidence about prevalence and prevention of sexual abuse of children with disability in institutional contexts. To achieve this aim we proceeded iteratively and conceptually, drawing on our expertise and cumulative experience of over 60 years in disability, child and family studies, and care and protection. We used reports, submissions, position papers and scientific literature in Australia to analyse past approaches to children with disability and the present context of the changing nature of disability services in Australia. While the paper draws from materials that are relevant to Australia as a whole, some documents from New South Wales are used to illustrate specific points. Just as children and young people with disability are rarely present in discussions about sexual abuse, they are also remarkably absent from Australian literature on this subject. This is a major failing: we do not know the extent of sexual abuse of Australian children with disability. We therefore turned to international literature to identify prevalence figures and to examine the interactions between impairment and environment and their potential influence on the risk of sexual abuse. We found that internationally there is no clearly developed evidence base for the prevalence and risk of sexual abuse of children with disability. We provide an analysis and critique of international prevalence and risk figures and the application of these in the Australian context. Quality of care and safeguarding processes form the basis of the disability reform agenda in Australia and also of the incoming market approach to specialist support and service delivery, which relies on mainstreaming, and building inclusive and accessible communities. This has led to debate on possible fail-safe governance mechanisms and prevention strategies, although with remarkably less focus on children and young people with disability. There is an absence of empirical data in Australia on strategies to prevent sexual abuse of children with disability in institutional contexts. Again, we turned to the international literature to source information on relevant key factors. We approached this from a public health perspective that recognises the need to implement both population-based and targeted interventions. In this discussion paper we argue the need to put aside the community perception that disability is embedded within the child. This is not the official understanding of disability in Australia. Instead, disability is understood as arising from interactions between individuals with impairment and the various barriers that may hinder (their) full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. This understanding comes from the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). We adhere to the key frameworks of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). These international covenants require that children with disability are considered as children first, with disability considered as only one feature and not the defining feature of their everyday lives. We also present an analysis and critique of the available literature on prevention of sexual abuse, noting the pitfalls in assuming a ‘special group’ approach to children with disability or a broad-brush approach to diversity. The human rights perspective is embedded within Australian legislation and policy directives in disability. It provides an excellent foundation to ensure that children with disability and their rights are more visible and to give them the same priority as other children. This is essential to ensure children with disability are safe in institutional contexts in the future. Details: Sydney: Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, 2016. 98p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 28, 2016 at: http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/0f4f0eb9-2a04-4f5b-967d-6e658a5db53c/Disability-and-child-sexual-abuse-in-institutional Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/0f4f0eb9-2a04-4f5b-967d-6e658a5db53c/Disability-and-child-sexual-abuse-in-institutional Shelf Number: 147909 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseDisabilities |
Author: Great Britain. Department for Culture, Media and Sport Title: Child Safety Online: Age Verification for Pornography Consultation Response Summary: The manifesto commitment: 'We will stop children's exposure to harmful sexualised content online, by requiring age verification for access to all sites containing pornographic material' As was set out in our consultation, the Government's preferred approach to delivering this commitment is to establish a new law, requiring age verification (AV) controls for online pornography this was the manifesto commitment, and following consideration of the consultation responses, remains the Government’s intention. To underpin this, we will also establish a new regulatory framework, and we will ensure a proportionate approach by enabling the regulator to act in a sufficiently flexible and targeted way. Following analysis of the responses to the consultation, Government will now take several next steps. We will: 1. Bring forward legislation, in the Digital Economy Bill, to establish a new law requiring age verification for commercial pornographic websites and applications containing still and moving images, and a new regulatory framework to underpin it 2. Continue to work with payments firms and ancillary companies to ensure that the business models and profits of companies that do not comply with the new regulations can be undermined 3. Maintain ongoing engagement with pornography providers, age verification providers, and other parts of the industry, to ensure that the regulatory framework is targeted and proportionate, to achieve maximum impact and to enable compliance 4. Continue to work on broader internet safety issues, including work led by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS), and raising awareness and resilience Details: London: Department for Culture, Media & Sport, 2016. 37p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 28, 2016 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/534965/20160705_AVConsultationResponseFINAL__2_.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/534965/20160705_AVConsultationResponseFINAL__2_.pdf Shelf Number: 147419 Keywords: Child ProtectionInternet SafetyOnline CommunicationOnline VictimizationPornography |
Author: Macdonald, Geraldine Title: The effectiveness, acceptability and cost-effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for maltreated children and adolescents: an evidence synthesis. Summary: BACKGROUND: Child maltreatment is a substantial social problem that affects large numbers of children and young people in the UK, resulting in a range of significant short- and long-term psychosocial problems. OBJECTIVES: To synthesise evidence of the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and acceptability of interventions addressing the adverse consequences of child maltreatment. STUDY DESIGN: For effectiveness, we included any controlled study. Other study designs were considered for economic decision modelling. For acceptability, we included any study that asked participants for their views. PARTICIPANTS: Children and young people up to 24 years 11 months, who had experienced maltreatment before the age of 17 years 11 months. INTERVENTIONS: Any psychosocial intervention provided in any setting aiming to address the consequences of maltreatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Psychological distress [particularly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety, and self-harm], behaviour, social functioning, quality of life and acceptability. METHODS: Young Persons and Professional Advisory Groups guided the project, which was conducted in accordance with Cochrane Collaboration and NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination guidance. Departures from the published protocol were recorded and explained. Meta-analyses and cost-effectiveness analyses of available data were undertaken where possible. RESULTS: We identified 198 effectiveness studies (including 62 randomised trials); six economic evaluations (five using trial data and one decision-analytic model); and 73 studies investigating treatment acceptability. Pooled data on cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for sexual abuse suggested post-treatment reductions in PTSD [standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.44 (95% CI -4.43 to -1.53)], depression [mean difference -2.83 (95% CI -4.53 to -1.13)] and anxiety [SMD -0.23 (95% CI -0.03 to -0.42)]. No differences were observed for post-treatment sexualised behaviour, externalising behaviour, behaviour management skills of parents, or parental support to the child. Findings from attachment-focused interventions suggested improvements in secure attachment [odds ratio 0.14 (95% CI 0.03 to 0.70)] and reductions in disorganised behaviour [SMD 0.23 (95% CI 0.13 to 0.42)], but no differences in avoidant attachment or externalising behaviour. Few studies addressed the role of caregivers, or the impact of the therapist-child relationship. Economic evaluations suffered methodological limitations and provided conflicting results. As a result, decision-analytic modelling was not possible, but cost-effectiveness analysis using effectiveness data from meta-analyses was undertaken for the most promising intervention: CBT for sexual abuse. Analyses of the cost-effectiveness of CBT were limited by the lack of cost data beyond the cost of CBT itself. CONCLUSIONS: It is not possible to draw firm conclusions about which interventions are effective for children with different maltreatment profiles, which are of no benefit or are harmful, and which factors encourage people to seek therapy, accept the offer of therapy and actively engage with therapy. Little is known about the cost-effectiveness of alternative interventions. LIMITATIONS: Studies were largely conducted outside the UK. The heterogeneity of outcomes and measures seriously impacted on the ability to conduct meta-analyses. FUTURE WORK: Studies are needed that assess the effectiveness of interventions within a UK context, which address the wider effects of maltreatment, as well as specific clinical outcomes. Details: London: National Institute for Health Research, 2016. 508p. Source: Internet Resource: Health Technology Assessment Volume: 20, Issue:69: Accessed December 2, 2016 at: https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/hta/hta20690/#/abstract Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/hta/hta20690/#/abstract Shelf Number: 140266 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child Maltreatment Child Protection |
Author: Hanson, Elly Title: Exploring the relationship between neglect and child sexual exploitation: Evidence Scope 1 Summary: Although any young person could become a victim of sexual exploitation, some young people may be more vulnerable to the risk of CSE in part as a result of their current or earlier adverse life experiences (Berelowitz et al, 2012; Pittenger, Huit and Hansen, 2016). This scope focuses on the ways in which experience of neglect may heighten vulnerability to CSE. Why explore the role of neglect in particular? Firstly, it is found to be the most prevalent form of child maltreatment (Radford et al, 2011), so there is a particular urgency in understanding its repercussions and potential impact on later victimisation – understanding and tackling any vulnerability neglect may create has the potential to exert a large impact across society. Secondly, attention has traditionally been focused on the link between child sexual abuse and later sexual exploitation (see for example, Pittenger, Huit and Hansen, 2016), meaning that the relationships between other forms of child maltreatment and CSE have been less widely understood. Despite it being the most prevalent form of child maltreatment, the study of neglect has itself been neglected (eg, Stoltenborgh, Bakermans-Kranenburg and van IJzendoorn, 2013). There are a variety of plausible ways in which neglect might interact with and contribute to vulnerability to CSE and, so far, these have not received adequate attention, despite their potentially significant implications for preventing the occurrence and impact of child maltreatment. This scope is therefore intended to stimulate research and reflective practice, and so help shift this state of play. This scope has sought to avoid presenting a picture that contributes to mother or family-blaming for CSE, which is a danger when focusing on neglect in childhood and its potential relationship with subsequent CSE. Other risks of focusing on this area include deflecting attention away from much-needed action around perpetrator behaviour, and the inappropriate generalisation of interventions (for example, where treatments aim to tackle vulnerabilities which are only relevant to some young people). Focusing on neglect and how it might affect vulnerability to CSE is not to downplay the other significant factors at play, such as the behaviour of perpetrators (with whom the responsibility clearly lies), and wide systemic factors such as cultural values and poverty. Rather, this scope focuses on this potential relationship as it is here that practitioners and services in the children’s sector can exert most influence. Of course, efforts at preventing and tackling sexual exploitation must clearly involve a focus on perpetrators; it is perpetrators who take advantage of the vulnerabilities in order to abuse. However, a better understanding of what might exacerbate vulnerability in young people is crucial for informing prevention and early intervention efforts. Such an understanding might highlight particular groups of children in need of support who might not otherwise qualify for help. There may also be factors that not only increase the risk, and vulnerability to CSE, but also the risk of a young person becoming entrenched within it or experiencing worse impact – such an understanding will inform both efforts at prevention and interventions that seek to address the impact of CSE. The scope’s areas of focus and structure This scope is one of three linked evidence scopes commissioned by Action for Children and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) with Research in Practice. Scope 2 considers the potential relationship between neglect and intra-familial child sexual abuse (IFCSA) (Allnock, 2016); Scope 3 considers the potential relationship between neglect and children and young people developing harmful sexual behaviours (HSB) (Hackett, 2016). This scope explores the following questions: > Does neglect (in infancy, adolescence, or throughout childhood) contribute to a vulnerability to subsequent CSE? > Does neglect in adolescence create or contribute to a vulnerability to concurrent CSE? And does experience of CSE itself contribute to vulnerability to neglect? > If neglect does contribute to a vulnerability to CSE, which factors (psychological, social, behavioural, material, systemic) might explain this relationship? In other words, what might be the underlying reasons for any relationship between neglect and CSE (including, potentially, the actions of statutory systems). > Are there factors that increase or reduce the strength of any relationship between neglect and CSE? (this brings into discussion issues of resilience). > What are the implications for practice, policy and further research? This scope does not explore how childhood neglect could contribute to becoming a perpetrator of CSE, although some of the findings discussed may be of relevance to considering such a relationship. Scope 3 also offers some relevant messages in this respect. In answering these questions, the scope explores both areas of relative consensus and ideas that are more speculative – there are some questions that can be relatively conclusively answered on the basis of current research, and many others which cannot be, but for which the research provides clues and invites hypotheses to guide future research and practice. Details: Totnes, Devon, UK: Research in Practice, 2016. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 7, 2016 at: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/neglect-child-sexual-exploitation-evidence-scope-1.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/neglect-child-sexual-exploitation-evidence-scope-1.pdf Shelf Number: 147938 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChild Sexual Exploitation |
Author: Allnock, Debra Title: Exploring the relationship between neglect and adult-perpetrated intrafamilial child sexual abuse: Evidence Scope 2 Summary: This scope aims to explore the relationship between neglect and intra-familial child sexual abuse (IFCSA). Current approaches to the study of child abuse and neglect increasingly highlight the weaknesses in solely focusing on single forms of harm in understanding prevention, identification, impact and overcoming maltreatment and victimisation. While not all children experience multiple forms of harm, the recent literature clustered under areas of study such as ‘poly-victimisation’ (Finkelhor, Ormrod and Turner, 2007), multiple adversities (Davidson, Bunting and Webb, 2012), adverse childhood experiences , multitype maltreatment (Higgins and McCabe, 2001) and revictimisation (Classen, Palesh and Aggarwal, 2005) draw attention to the cumulative nature of harm for a significant group of other children and young people. Researchers in these areas assert the importance of understanding the full victimisation profiles of children and young people in order to address the cumulative impacts of harm comprehensively. This literature has importantly highlighted the complexity of children's victimisation but is in the early phases of describing the factors that may explain these complex experiences. Neglect is one of the most common forms of child maltreatment. In England 43% of child protection plans are initiated in response to identified neglect (Department for Education, 2015a) and in other UK nations neglect is the most common reason for children being on the child protection register (Jütte et al, 2015)2 . Cases recorded in child protection systems are likely to be merely the tip of the iceberg, however; many more cases fall below the threshold for criminal intervention (Dickens, 2007) and Radford et al's general population study (2011) found neglect was the most common form of maltreatment reported within the family. The most recent triennial review of serious case reviews (SCRs)3 found that, of the 175 SCRs reviewed in detail, neglect was a factor in 62% of all cases of non-fatal harm and in 52% of cases where a child had died (Sidebotham et al, 2016). Despite its significance, neglect is one of the least researched areas of maltreatment (see Allnock, forthcoming; Stoltenborgh, BakermansKranenburg and van IJzendoorn, 2013; Stoltenborgh et al, 2015). Oral evidence submitted to the Children's Commissioner’s Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in the Family Environment suggests there may be considerable numbers of children who are identified as experiencing neglect where there are additional concerns around sexual abuse in the family environment (Children’s Commissioner, 2015). It is imperative, then, to think critically about the overlap between neglect and IFCSA and to ask questions of our practice and policy in this regard. Although the evidence is complex, and in some cases lacking altogether, it is important to understand co-occurrence and to think about ways of supporting families to ensure that perpetrators find fewer opportunities to target and abuse children. The scope’s areas of focus and structure This scope is the second of three linked evidence scopes commissioned by Action for Children and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) with Research in Practice. Scope 1 considers the potential relationship between neglect and child sexual exploitation (CSE) (Hanson, 2016); Scope 3 considers the potential relationship between neglect and harmful sexual behaviours (Hackett, 2016). This scope explores three key questions: 1) Do neglect and intra-familial child sexual abuse cooccur? And if so, to what extent? 2) How might features, types and impacts of neglect increase the vulnerability of children and young people to perpetrator methods of targeting, grooming, abusing and silencing children in the family environment? 3) How might IFCSA contribute to neglect? The focus on neglect and IFCSA in this scope does not seek to locate blame for IFCSA within individual parents (and in particular mothers, which is too often the case in the discourse about neglect) and within parenting styles/behaviours (particularly mothers' parenting styles/ behaviours). Such an approach would deflect responsibility away from the perpetrator, without whom there would be no abuse in the first place. Moreover, focusing on individual parents (mothers) would be at the expense of recognising the wider social determinants of neglect, including the ‘wide range of adverse experiences’ associated with what Hooper et al (2006) call 'societal neglect'. These points will be returned to in more detail later in the scope. Additional points to note in relation to this scope include: > The focus of this scope is on concurrent experiences of neglect and IFCSA. (Scope 1 focuses on the relationship with neglect and additional separate forms of victimisation through CSE.) > The focus of this scope is on adult-perpetrated IFCSA. (Scope 3 focuses on the relationship between neglect and harmful sexual behaviours in children and young people, touching briefly on sibling-abuse.) > There is particular emphasis on the specific emotional harm associated with betrayal by a parent, guardian or other family member. This is why the focus of this scope is on the relationship with the perpetrator, rather than the setting in which abuse takes place. > The scope focuses on concurrent experiences of neglect and IFCSA across childhood to adolescence, recognising that neither IFCSA nor neglect is confined to early childhood. > This scope is not intended to be an exhaustive review of the literature; rather it is intended to begin to interrogate these associations and raise questions where relevant about the nature of these forms of harm. Constraints of the current evidence base Very few (almost no) studies were identified that specifically considered neglect and IFCSA. There are also other important limitations to the research evidence considered for this scope (these are described more fully in Appendix A). First, there are very few prospective longitudinal studies on child maltreatment, either in the UK or abroad, and it is these that would provide the best evidence for a link between neglect and IFCSA. Second, despite neglect being the most commonly reported form of maltreatment, research on CSA is far more prevalent than on neglect. Third, research studies have historically focused on one form of abuse only; while studies acknowledging overlapping forms of abuse and adversity are now emerging, this remains an early field of study. Finally, studies on neglect and CSA use varying definitions and measurements of neglect, which makes it difficult to draw comparisons, and studies commonly do not distinguish between IFCSA and other forms of CSA. Despite these limitations, however, there is enough information in the separate literature bases (on neglect and CSA) to begin some commentary on possible ways in which neglect may increase a child’s vulnerability to IFCSA, and how IFCSA might contribute to increased risk of neglect. Details: Totnes, Devon, UK: Research in Practice, 2016. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 7, 2016 at: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/neglect-intrafamilial-child-sexual-abuse-evidence-scope-2.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/neglect-intrafamilial-child-sexual-abuse-evidence-scope-2.pdf Shelf Number: 147939 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationFamily Violence |
Author: Jutte, Sonja Title: Online Child Sexual Abuse Images: Doing More to Tackle Demand and Supply Summary: The production and consumption of child abuse images online is creating a social emergency. Digital technology is making it ever easier for this abuse to proliferate, damaging the many children involved in this vile trade. But by each of us playing a part, and taking collective responsibility to keep our children safe, we can find solutions. Behind each and every child sexual abuse image, abuse has occurred in the "real" world. These children are victims every time their image is viewed, and worse still, the knowledge that the image or film can be repeatedly viewed, and may never be removed, causes on-going trauma that they are forced to live with. And, to further heighten the seriousness of this abuse, we know there have been cases where the viewing of child abuse images escalates into abuse in real life. This is an issue of considerable importance to the NSPCC. The challenge we are faced with is sizeable. There are many praiseworthy endeavours, and much valuable work already happening to try to keep our children safer online. It is almost universally agreed that this material is illegal and wrong. But more must and can be done. Better understanding of the scale, nature and urgency of the challenge is vital. Ensuring that everyone - industry, government, law enforcement and charities like the NSPCC - plays their part is crucial. And a greater public understanding of the problem and its effects on children is also needed. In this report, the NSPCC explores new evidence about size of the problem and presents real, tangible solutions to reduce both the supply of and demand for these images. Children must have the right to easily remove sexual images of themselves that are shared online. More treatment and support services are needed to stop potential perpetrators in their tracks. Most importantly we must continue to seek new preventive solutions to stop these crimes from happening in the first place. This report sheds light on where we should focus our collective effort. Details: London: NSPCC, 2016. 440. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 9, 2016 at: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/online-child-sexual-abuse-images.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/online-child-sexual-abuse-images.pdf Shelf Number: 145578 Keywords: Child PornographyChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseInternet CrimesOnline VictimizationSocial Media |
Author: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Title: Vulnerable Young People: Interactions across homelessness, youth justice and child protection Summary: This report reveals that individuals who experience multiple, cross-sector services in the specialist homelessness, protection or youth justice service areas are a particularly vulnerable group. Clients experiencing 2 or more of these services were more likely than specialist homelessness services-only clients: to report having substance use issues; to report having mental health issues; to have an over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; and to receive more days of support and more support periods from specialist homelessness services agencies. Details: Canberra: AIHW, 2016. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 13, 2016 at: http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=60129557799 Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=60129557799 Shelf Number: 146102 Keywords: At-Risk YouthChild ProtectionDisadvantaged YouthHomeless YouthHomelessnessMental Health ServicesMentally Ill Persons |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: Marry Before Your House Is Swept Away: Child Marriage in Bangladesh Summary: Bangladesh has the highest rate in the world of child marriage of girls under the age of 15 and the fourth-highest overall rate in the world. In the period 2005 to 2013, 65 percent of girls in Bangladesh married before age 18. Marry Before Your House is Swept Away, is based on over a hundred interviews, most of them with married girls as young as age 10, and documents factors driving child marriage in Bangladesh, including poverty exacerbated by natural disasters, lack of access to education, social pressure, harassment, and dowry. The report also describes failure by the Bangladesh government to take adequate steps to prevent child marriage. In 2014, Bangladesh's prime ministervowed to end child marriage. Awareness is growing among the population that marriage of girls under age 18 is illegal under Bangladeshi law. But this awareness is undermined by widespread complicity by local government officials in facilitating child marriages. Married girls are deprived of education, face serious health risks due to early pregnancy, and are at heightened risk for violence and abuse in the home compared to those who marry later as adults. Bangladesh's vulnerability to natural disasters adds additional hardship that increases the risk of child marriage for many girls. The report calls on the Bangladesh government to step up efforts to prevent child marriage by reforming the Child Marriage Restraint Act, investigating and prosecuting crimes under the act, and ensuring and holding to account officials who fail to enforce the ban on child marriage. International donors should integrate strategies to prevent child marriage into assistance programs. Details: New York: HRW, 2015. 140p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 16, 2016 at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/bangladesh0615_web.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/bangladesh0615_web.pdf Shelf Number: 146129 Keywords: Child MaltreatmentChild MarriageChild Protection |
Author: Freeman, Marilyn Title: Parental Child Abduction: The Long-Term Effects Summary: This small-scale qualitative study was undertaken to investigate the lived experiences of those who were abducted many years earlier. The aim was to learn whether, and how, in the views of the participants, these abductions had affected their lives, and whether such effects had continued long-term. The study is based on personal interviews undertaken by the principal investigator with 34 participants including three sets of abducted children and one set of an abducted child and non-abducted sibling. The interviews took place principally in England and the USA in 2011–2012, with an opportunity for updating by email provided in 2014. The study found that a high proportion of the participants reported suffering very significant effects from their abductions in terms of their mental health, and that these effects were ongoing into their adult lives very many years after the abduction. These findings tend, therefore, to support those from earlier studies about the long-lasting effects of abduction which are emphasised in this project by the direct reporting of the abducted children, as adults, long after the event. The study concludes that, as the effects of abducted can be seriously negative and long-lasting, more must be done to protect children against abduction and its effects. Recommendations are made relating to the prevention of abduction, reunification when abduction occurs, and support for abducted children and their families including where the abducted child is not found, or is not returned to the State of habitual residence, as well as when the child is reunified with the left-behind family. Details: Bushey Heats, Herts, UK: International Centre for Family Law and Practice, 2014. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 21, 2016 at: http://www.famlawandpractice.com/researchers/longtermeffects.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://www.famlawandpractice.com/researchers/longtermeffects.pdf Shelf Number: 147764 Keywords: Child AbductionChild ProtectionKidnappingMissing ChildrenParental AbductionParental Kidnapping |
Author: Newiss, Geoff Title: Police-recorded child abduction and kidnapping 2012/13 to 2013/14: England, Wales and Northern Ireland Summary: In 2014 Parents and Abducted Children Together (PACT) sent Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to each police force in the UK. The FOI requests asked forces to provide the number of parental child abductions, non-parental child abductions and child kidnappings recorded in 2012/13 and 2013/14. This statistical paper reports the key findings: Overall, child abduction and child kidnapping offences increased by 13 per cent from 2012/13 to 2013/14, to a total of nearly 900 offences across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Non-parental child abductions increased at more than twice the rate of parental child abductions (14 per cent compared to 6 per cent). Child kidnappings increased at an even higher rate of 18 per cent over the two year period. Whilst increases in this type of offence are clearly alarming, the explanation for their increase may – at least in part – lie in changes to police crime-recording practices. There is enormous variation between regions and police forces in the number, and rate, of child abduction and kidnapping offences. Whilst the large city police forces all recorded higher rates of child abduction and kidnapping offences than the national average, some smaller forces recorded even larger increases. Details: London: Parents and Abducted Children Together (PACT), 2015. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 21, 2016 at: http://www.childabduction.org.uk/images/PACT_Child_Abduction_report_2015_final.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.childabduction.org.uk/images/PACT_Child_Abduction_report_2015_final.pdf Shelf Number: 147796 Keywords: Child Abduction (U.K.)Child ProtectionKidnappingMissing ChildrenParental Abduction |
Author: International NGO Council on Violence Against Children Title: 10 Years On: Global Progress & Delay in Ending Violence Against Children - The Rhetoric & the Reality Summary: The International NGO Council on Violence Against Children formed in 2007, to support strong and effective follow-up to the UN Study on Violence against Children. Now, as the Sustainable Development Goals adopt the call to end all violence against children and the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children take up the mantle of pursuing this goal, the NGO Council publishes its fourth and final report: a warts and all account of the progress made and the work that lies ahead to end violence against children. In the ten years since the Study was published, we have made great strides in learning about the violence that affects children around the world and we have seen great advances in combating some of those forms of violence. Yet for many children, violence is an ever present fact of life. Where progress has been made, it remains tainted by its limitations: the rates at which children are subjected to female genital mutilation are falling rapidly, but because of population increases, the number of women and girls who have experienced this form of violence are actually increasing. The number of countries that have legally prohibited all forms of corporal punishment of children has tripled since the Study was published, yet an estimated one billion children still experience physical violence in the home on a regular basis. Children in detention are among the most vulnerable to violence, and while detention rates in many of the world's juvenile justice systems have fallen sharply over the last decade, we are seeing the detention of children in immigration systems increasing and taking on new forms. Perhaps worse still, many of the most severe forms of violence children experience remain legal, whether in the 14 States that still allow the death penalty for children, the 22 countries that still legally permit certain forms of female genital mutilation, or the 93 that allow girls to marry before the age of 18. The Violence Study set 2009 as a deadline to legally prohibit all of these practices, but we are still far from this goal. The persistence of violence against children is a challenge to us all: why have we not been able to achieve change quickly enough? The contributions from key global experts on violence against children point to some hard truths about our failings, but also to the way ahead. We have failed to effectively challenge the social acceptance of so many forms of violence and struggled to achieve the legal prohibition of all forms of violence that is a necessary basis for eliminating these practices. If we are to realise goal 16.2 of the SDGs to end all forms of violence against children by 2030, we must learn these lessons of our efforts so far. Details: s.l.: The Council, 2016. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 22, 2016 at: http://www.wvi.org/sites/default/files/Int_NGO_Council_VAC_Report2016.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://www.wvi.org/sites/default/files/Int_NGO_Council_VAC_Report2016.pdf Shelf Number: 147788 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child MaltreatmentChild Protection Female Genital MutilationViolence Against ChildrenViolence Prevention |
Author: Harwin, Judith Title: After FDAC: Outcomes 5 Years Later Summary: This report presents the findings from a continuation study of outcomes of cases heard in the first Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) in England. It builds on earlier findings reported in 20142 . It provides information on child and maternal outcomes at the end of the care proceedings using a larger number of FDAC cases than before. It also has a longer followup period, reporting on outcomes up to five years after the end of proceedings. This is the first report in which the longer term outcomes of non-reunified FDAC mothers and their children five years on are also presented. The FDAC evaluation team has been following up the same cohort of cases that entered the London FDAC between 2008 and 2012 and similar cases entering ordinary care proceedings in the same court over the same period (140 FDAC and 100 comparison). It provides a unique opportunity to track cases with the aim of finding out whether the FDAC approach achieved better substance misuse and family reunification outcomes than ordinary court and service delivery. Details: Bailrigg, Lancaster, UK: Lancaster University, 2016. 89p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 25, 2017 at: http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/cfj-fdac/files/2016/12/FDAC_FINAL_REPORT_2016.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/cfj-fdac/files/2016/12/FDAC_FINAL_REPORT_2016.pdf Shelf Number: 145423 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child Maltreatment Child Protection Drug Abuse and Addiction Family Courts Problem-Solving Courts Substance Abuse |
Author: Innocenti Insight Title: Child Trafficking in Europe: A Broad Vision to Put Children First Summary: The UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre Insight entitled Child Trafficking in Europe: A broad vision to put children first examines how the European region is responding to child trafficking. It assesses the legal, policy and implementation frameworks in place to address this phenomenon, which affects the lives of untold numbers of children and families in the region and beyond. Children are trafficked within and across borders in Europe. They are trafficked into hazardous labour, sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, begging, criminal activities – including petty crime – and other exploitative situations. Many children suffer profound and sometimes permanent damage. Child trafficking is a serious violation of human rights that threatens children’s survival and development. It denies children their fundamental rights, including the right to education, health and protection from exploitation and abuse. This report adheres to the international definition of trafficking in human beings and child trafficking, as provided by the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Human Beings, Especially Women and Children (the 'Palermo Protocol'). This study covers 51 countries/entities in Western and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (see Annex, page 47). It investigates the complexity of child trafficking from its origin to destination and maps trafficking patterns as well as targeted law and policy responses in the wide European region. The report addresses child trafficking in the framework of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and focuses on prevention, protection and empowerment. It promotes a child-centred approach that encourages child participation and ensures that children’s views are taken into account for more effective prevention of all forms of child exploitation and abuse. What emerges in the study is a sense of the complexity and dynamics of child trafficking and an understanding that no country or region is immune. The study highlights a number of concrete measures taken by European governments that show that increasing attention is being paid to the special situation and vulnerability of children affected by trafficking. At the same time, the study makes clear that although potentially influential international standards have been adopted, the extent to which such instruments and initiatives have actually been implemented across Europe or used to frame policies and actions is varied, inconsistent and uncoordinated. Some countries have not yet ratified important legal instruments, thus compromising the effectiveness of child protection. Trafficking in human beings is often considered in the broader context of controlling irregular migration, organized crime and sexual exploitation, and insufficient attention is paid specifically to preventing child trafficking and ensuring the rights of affected children. The Insight illustrates that a child-centred strategy to address child trafficking is long overdue. This strategy must place children's rights at the centre of international, regional and national policies and initiatives. It must focus on the prevention of exploitation and abuse of children, as well as on the protection and empowerment of all vulnerable children and child victims. The strategy has to acknowledge children’s evolving capacity for engagement and their right to be heard and to have their views taken into account in all matters concerning them. Child Trafficking in Europe is part of a broader UNICEF IRC research initiative on child trafficking. It follows an earlier analysis of the situation in Africa, including a review of law and policy responses. UNICEF IRC research on child trafficking is also focusing on South Asia. Future research will enhance a global perspective on child trafficking. It will investigate the links to other complex child protection issues, such as the rights of children who move or migrate on their own. The UNICEF IRC Insight also builds on studies completed by the UNICEF Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS). In fact, UNICEF IRC research findings substantiate many conclusions from that region, and confirm their relevance and validity for the wider European region, including within the European Union and other Western European countries. Details: Florence, Italy: UNICEF, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2008. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 28, 2017 at: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/ct_in_europe_full.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Europe URL: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/ct_in_europe_full.pdf Shelf Number: 147291 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild TraffickingHuman Trafficking |
Author: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) Title: Current migration situation in the EU: separated children Summary: Although official figures on the phenomenon are lacking, it is clear that children arriving in the European Union (EU) are often accompanied by persons other than their parents or guardians. Such children are usually referred to as "separated" children. Their identification and registration bring additional challenges, and their protection needs are often neglected. On arrival, these children are often "accompanied", but the accompanying adult(s) may not necessarily be able, or suitable, to assume responsibility for their care. These children are also at risk of exploitation and abuse, or may already be victims. Their realities and special needs require additional attention. The lack of data and guidance on separated children poses a serious challenge. This focus section outlines the specific protection needs of separated children, and highlights current responses and promising practices among EU Member States. Details: Vienna: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2016. 21p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 16, 2017 at: http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-december-2016-monthly-migration-report-separated-childr.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Europe URL: http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-december-2016-monthly-migration-report-separated-childr.pdf Shelf Number: 146279 Keywords: Asylum SeekersChild ProtectionImmigrantsImmigration PolicySeparated Children |
Author: Reichert, Jessica Title: Evaluation of the 2014 Community Violence Prevention Program's Parent Program Summary: State and local child protective services receive 3.5 million reports of child maltreatment for 6.4 million children per year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). The estimated economic burden resulting from maltreatment of children in the U.S. is $124 billion (Fang, Brown, Florencea, & Mercy, 2012). Child maltreatment is the most common harmful childhood experience causing victims significant and sustained losses to subsequent health-related quality of life including depression, substance abuse, and perpetrating violence (Corso, Edwards, Fang, & Mercy, 2008; Sacks, Murphey, & Moor, 2014). The child victims are more likely to be delinquent and arrested in adulthood than those not experiencing maltreatment (Children's Defense Fund, 2005). Child maltreatment risk factors are prior abuse of the perpetrator, lack of familial support, parental alcohol abuse, living in impoverished communities, parental stress or mental disorders, parental aggression, use of corporal punishment, and child behavioral problems (Black, Heyman, & Slep, 2001). Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (Authority) researchers conducted an evaluation of the Community Violence Prevention Program's (CVPP) Parent Program. The program, which ended August 2014, sought to increase protective factors to reduce child maltreatment by employing and training nearly 1,000 Chicago-area parents to lead service projects to help other parents in 20 communities. The Center for the Study of Social Policy stated that effective parenting programs to prevent child maltreatment attempt to improve parent understanding of child development and teach child management (2003). In addition, those that are parent-led promote parental resilience and inter-parent connections. Authority researchers analyzed multiple surveys of more than 3,500 staff and participants, as well as administrative data to obtain feedback on training and general program operations. Key findings Change in participant protective factors to reduce child maltreatment Authority researchers measured four protective factors to reduce child maltreatment created by the Center for the Study of Social Policy. Factors are: 1) family functioning and resiliency, 2) social and concrete support, 3) nurturing and attachment, and 4) child development and knowledge of parenting. Authority researchers administered pre- and post-tests to program participants to measure changes on scores on the protective factors before and after the program. Based on pre- and post-test scores of 300 program participants, all four protective factors had a small increase in average scores. However, two protective had very small changes in the mean scores (social and concrete support; child development and knowledge of parenting); therefore, improvement could be made in those areas of program instruction, particularly as it relates to addressing the protective factors. Parent Cafes All community programs were required to offer parent-led Parent Cafes, a parent engagement strategy that uses small group conversations to facilitate self-reflection, peer-to-peer learning, support, and education on protective factors to reduce child maltreatment. Surveys showed that the parent experiences of Parent Cafes were positive. Almost all participants found information provided to be helpful. The most commonly requested improvement to Parent Cafes was expanding them to more locations in the community and an increase in length and frequency. Incorporating technology and social networking education was also requested, but specifically by parents who are not experienced with the technology their children use frequently. Parent feedback Most parents who participated had learned about the program from a friend, relative, or community agency. Participants rated highly program materials, resources, training, and support from their administrative teams. Almost all respondents rated the program successful and said that they used what they learned in the program in their daily lives. Most said their service projects improved the community and 80 percent thought the service projects increased protective factors of child maltreatment. Some participants suggested expanding the program and making it a year-around program. Staff feedback Program staff, including Program Coordinators and Program Managers rated the program positively; sharing that the training was well-designed, trainers were knowledgeable, and protective factors were covered. Many indicated that the training programs offered opportunity for personal improvement and that there was an excitement to train and share their knowledge and experiences with parent participants. Training feedback Parent Program participants and staff highly rated the content of their training. Most program participants enjoyed sharing, communicating, and interacting with others. Many gained knowledge about parenting. Many staff reported personal improvement with the training and that they were inspired to share their experiences during the training of parent participants. Implications for policy and practice The Parent Program ended in August 2014. However, similar programs created in the future should work to reduce child maltreatment by increasing parents' protective factor of social and concrete support by offering more information on resources for tangible goods and services to help families cope with stress. In addition, programs should improve the protective factor of child development and knowledge of parenting by further promoting the understanding of child development and reasonable expectations for children. An increase the number of Parent Cafes was also recommended to create space for more community discussions on these and other protective factors. The program should target those most at-risk for maltreating children by targeting younger parents and primary caregivers. In addition, programs should work toward more father participation. Finally, the program should collect additional data in order to have a greater understanding of who participated in the program and their program activities. Data include age of participants and their children, as well as data on community service projects and to what extent they fit into the overall program goal of violence prevention by reducing child maltreatment and promoting healthy families. Details: Chicago: Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, 2015. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 20, 2017 at: http://www.icjia.state.il.us/assets/pdf/ResearchReports/CVPP_Parent_Program_080215.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.icjia.state.il.us/assets/pdf/ResearchReports/CVPP_Parent_Program_080215.pdf Shelf Number: 146687 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionParenting Programs |
Author: Herrenkohl, Todd I. Title: Effects of Child Maltreatment, Cumulative Victimization Experiences, and Proximal Life Stress on Adult Crime and Antisocial Behavior Summary: This study sought to replicate and extend research findings on subtypes of child maltreatment, childhood exposure to domestic violence, subsequent forms of victimization, and stress in relation to antisocial behavior, crime, and adulthood IPV perpetration and victimization. The study also investigated protective factors for maltreated children and predictors of self-reported crime desistence among maltreated and multiply victimized children. Data are from the Lehigh Longitudinal Study, an ongoing prospective investigation of children and families that began in the 1970s. The original sample was comprised of 457 children. Over 80% of the children, now adults, were assessed in 2008-2010 at an average of 36 years. Data on child maltreatment and related risk and protective factors were collected much earlier, beginning when participants were preschoolers, 18 months to 6 years of age. Findings of seven publications, the products of this secondary data analysis project, provide further evidence of the relationship between child maltreatment and adult antisocial behavior and crime. They also point to instances in which this relationship is influenced by other variables, including those pertaining to the socialization of peers and partners. Findings raise the possibility that physical, emotional, and sexual abuse relate differently to self-reported crime and that predictors and pathways differ at times on the basis of gender. Further, several analyses highlight the risk-lowering effects of education variables (e.g., educational engagement, academic achievement, high school graduation), suggesting that attention should be given to incorporating perspectives on schooling and education in prevention and criminal justice policy. Details: Report to the U.S. National Institute of Justice, 2017. 21p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 21, 2017 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/250506.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/250506.pdf Shelf Number: 146648 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild Exposure to ViolenceChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChildren, Crimes Against |
Author: Guerrero, Gabriela Title: Understanding Children's Experiences of Violence in Peru: Evidence from Young Lives Summary: This paper describes children's experiences of violence at home in Peru, using a lifecourse approach. Violence against children at home tended to increase with age, as children took on more chores (especially in rural areas), and spent more time away from home (in some cases, in urban areas). The chances of being hit by parents increased when children failed in their responsibilities; spending more time away from home also presented potential dangers for children (e.g., being robbed in the community, joining a gang, etc.), and so violence was used as a means to protect them and to prevent them from being led astray. We discuss how living in poverty affects relationships between parents and children. Meeting the basic economic needs of a family is the priority for parents, who then have limited time, energy and resources to devote to their children. We also found that children exposed to violence in the home are also frequently exposed to corporal punishment at school. Details: Florence, Italy: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Office of Research, (Innocenti) 2016. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Innocenti Working Papers, IWP_2016_17: Accessed February 23, 2017 at: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/IWP_2016_17.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Peru URL: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/IWP_2016_17.pdf Shelf Number: 144850 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionChildren and ViolenceViolence Against Children |
Author: Pankhurst, Alula Title: Understanding Children’s Experiences of Violence in Ethiopia: Evidence from Young Lives Summary: This research report explores children's accounts of everyday violence in Ethiopia, and the ways in which factors at individual, family, community, institutional and society levels affect children’s experiences of violence. The report primarily draws on analysis of four rounds of longitudinal qualitative data gathered over seven years, complemented with analysis of cross-sectional survey data from Young Lives. Findings show that violence affecting children – mostly physical punishment and emotional abuse – is widespread, accepted, and normalized. Differing economic activities affect family dynamics and the likelihood of children experiencing violence, which is often linked to the challenges of poverty and the expectation that children will contribute to the household economy. Details: Florence, Italy: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Office of Research, (Innocenti) 2016. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Innocenti Working Papers, IWP_2016_25: Accessed February 23, 2017 at: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/IWP_2016_25.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Ethiopia URL: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/IWP_2016_25.pdf Shelf Number: 141193 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChildren and ViolenceViolence Against Children |
Author: Huong, Vu Thi Thanh Title: Understanding Children's Experiences of Violence in Viet Nam: Evidence from Young Lives Summary: This paper explores children’s accounts of violence at home in Viet Nam, and the ways in which factors at the individual, family, community and society levels affect their experiences of violence. The paper analyses cross-sectional survey data and qualitative data gathered from Young Lives; it explores what children know about violence, how they experience it, what they think drives violence at home, what they perceive the consequences to be, and finally, the support they find effective in addressing violence. High proportions of children experience violence (mostly physical punishment and emotional abuse). The paper contributes to knowledge about the nature and experience of violence affecting children in resource-poor settings, and concludes with some suggestions for policy, programming and practice. Details: Florence, Italy: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Office of Research, (Innocenti) 2016. 51p. Source: Internet Resource: Innocenti Working Papers, IWP_2016_26: Accessed February 23, 2017 at: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/IWP_2016_26.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Vietnam URL: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/IWP_2016_26.pdf Shelf Number: 146786 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChildren and ViolenceViolence Against Children |
Author: Morrow, Virginia Title: Understanding Children’s Experiences of Violence in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, India: Evidence from Young Lives Summary: This paper explores children's accounts of violence in Andhra Pradesh, India, and the ways in which factors at the individual, family, community, institutional and society levels affect children’s experiences of violence. The paper analyses cross-sectional survey data and case studies from longitudinal qualitative data gathered over a seven-year period, from Young Lives. The paper is divided into four sections – a brief background section, study design and methods, findings from the survey, and findings from case studies. Large proportions of children experience violence (mostly physical punishment and emotional abuse) within their families, at school and, to some extent, within their communities. The findings demonstrate how children's experiences of violence change with age and that gender differences within this dynamic process are very distinct. The paper reveals that a child's disapproval of violence does not necessarily influence behaviour in later life, confirming the need for interventions to prevent and tackle violence as children grow up. Details: Florence, Italy: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Office of Research, (Innocenti) 2016. 53p. Source: Internet Resource: Innocenti Working Papers, IWP_2016_19: Accessed February 23, 2017 at: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/IWP_2016_19.pdf Year: 2016 Country: India URL: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/IWP_2016_19.pdf Shelf Number: 141195 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChildren and ViolenceViolence Against Children |
Author: La Valle, Ivana Title: Child sexual exploitation: support in children's residential homes Summary: While child sexual exploitation (CSE) has attracted considerable attention in recent years and has highlighted how residential children’s homes can be targeted by CSE perpetrators, little is known about the tailored support provided to children affected by CSE who are placed in residential care. This study was commissioned to start filling this evidence gap. More specifically, the study aimed to: • identify approaches already used in children’s homes to support children who have been sexually exploited or are at risk of sexual exploitation. • explore the perceived benefits and impact of the tailored support that has been offered. • distil what seems to work well in supporting children affected by CSE in residential care and offer conclusions on the benefits of sharing the learning more widely. Evidence for the study was gathered through: a rapid review of the international evidence on CSE support; interviews with ten residential children's homes in England that were known for their CSE expertise and high-quality provision; and case studies in four of these homes involving eight children affected by CSE. Details: Feethams, Darlington, UK Department for Education, 2016. 67p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 2, 2017 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/582354/Child-sexual-exploitation-support-in-childrens-homes.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/582354/Child-sexual-exploitation-support-in-childrens-homes.pdf Shelf Number: 141261 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationResidential Care |
Author: Moestue, Helen Title: Digitally Enhanced Child Protection: How new technology can prevent violence against children in the Global South Summary: The last decade has witnessed growing appreciation of the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to protect children from violence. The issue of violence against children (VAC) is of singular importance. And while the full scope and scale of VAC remains hidden from view there is wide spread consensus that "every year and in every region of the world, millions of children suffer the cumulative impact of physical, mental and emotional violence, and millions more are at risk". Although ICT innovation for child protection is comparatively advanced in North America and Western Europe, there is less known about new tools in lower- and middle-income settings in the Americas, Africa and Asia. This Strategic Paper begins filling this knowledge gap and reviews the emerging character and functions of ICTs to prevent VAC in the global South. Drawing on assorted cases from Benin, Brazil, Kenya, Uganda and other countries, it provides a hint of the diversity of emerging experiences around the world. In the process, the Strategic Paper provides insights into emerging trends, typologies, and threats. Key findings include: - Mobile and digital technology are being harnessed in multiple ways to protect children, including through: (a) the digitization of existing child protection systems (b) helplines (c) citizen reporting and crowd mapping (d) mobile research and survey tools(e) big data analysis, and (f) tech-driven campaigning and information sharing; - These initiatives frequently combine the offer of assistance to children with the collection of real time data. This model in turn generates critical information for advocacy and can inform future child protection interventions; - Such approaches save time and money, and are breaking down the social, cultural and practical barriers to violence reporting. However, digital data collection raises important ethical questions about consent and confidentiality; - Innovation is emerging from a wide range of fields, including child protection, social development, the humanitarian sector, public health and the wider violence prevention field, and is often facilitated by creative public-private partnerships. Different disciplines are using the same tools; - Basic SMS based reporting systems have immense potential. Certain open source digital platforms offer the potential for scaling-up, especially systems such as Frontline SMS, Rapid SMS and Ushahidi, which integrate basic mobile phones for crowd-sourcing violence reporting and community mapping; and - There is a widening array of initiatives that enable children themselves to be informed, empowered and included in their own protection. Digitized survey tools, that can be used for and by children even in emergency settings, include Open Data Kit and Kobo Toolbox. The Strategic Paper considers the emerging landscapes of ICTs for VAC. It first sets the scene exploring the character and dynamics of violence against children, especially in low- and middle-income settings. The opening section also considers the expansion of ICTs and ethical implications in their application among children and youth. The second section introduces a typology of different ICTs including the digitization of child protection systems, child helplines, citizen reporting and crowd mapping, mobile research tools, Big Data analytics and technology-enabled campaigns. Section three explores how different sectors and disciplines are engaging with these new tools - including child protection experts, relief and development professionals and the public health community. The Paper closes with a brief consideration of next steps in the evolution of ICTs to prevent and reduce VAC. Details: Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Igarapa , 2014. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Strategic paper 10: Accessed March 4, 2017 at: https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Artigo-estrategico-10-Child-Protection-4.pdf Year: 2014 Country: South America URL: https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Artigo-estrategico-10-Child-Protection-4.pdf Shelf Number: 134475 Keywords: Child ProtectionInformation TechnologyMobile PhonesViolence Against Children |
Author: Victoria Legal Aid Title: Care Not Custody: A new approach to keep kids in residential care out of the criminal justice system Summary: Children living in out-of-home care are some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in our community. Many have been exposed to multiple traumas from a young age resulting from family violence, substance abuse, neglect or abandonment and/or sexual or physical abuse. Unfortunately, as numerous studies have demonstrated, too many of these children are still ending up involved from a young age - often unnecessarily - in our criminal justice system. The over-representation of children from out-of-home care in our criminal justice system is a matter of longstanding concern to Victoria Legal Aid. A recent review of our child protection client data found that: • Almost one in three young people we assist with child protection matters who are placed in out-of-home care later returns to us for assistance with criminal charges; • Young people we assist placed in out-of-home care are almost twice as likely to face criminal charges as those who remain with their families; Young people we assist placed in out-of-home care are more likely than other children to be charged with criminal damage for property-related offending; Our practice experience suggests that this problem is particularly acute with respect to children placed in residential care. This is due at least in part to the continued practice in many residential facilities of relying on police to manage incidents of challenging behaviour by young people. While serious offending by young people may warrant a police response, we also see cases where police have been called to a residential facility to deal with behaviour by a young person that would be unlikely to come to police attention had it occurred in a family home. We have represented children from residential care who have received criminal charges for smashing a cup, throwing a sink plug or spreading food around a unit's kitchen. As the case studies in this report demonstrate, frequently children who may never have had a criminal charge prior to entering care, quickly accrue a lengthy criminal history due to a cycle of "acting out" followed by police responses which develops in a residential unit. The broader reforms to the residential care system being introduced by the Victorian Government provide an important opportunity to address this criminalisation of vulnerable young people. Plans already underway to significantly reduce the number of children placed in long-term residential care and introduce mandatory qualification and training requirements for staff represent big steps forward, but do not do enough to address this specific problem. The present expectation that care providers develop their own guidelines about responding to challenging behaviour and when police should be called leads inevitably to variable and inconsistent responses in the way children are treated. Further guidance, support and training for care providers are clearly needed about more therapeutic ways to manage challenging behaviour so as to minimise the need for police involvement in cases where there is no immediate danger to staff or other young people. In New South Wales and parts of the UK, this has been done through the adoption of protocols that apply across all residential care facilities and explicitly aim to reduce young peoples' contact with the criminal justice system. Such protocols, which have been developed in partnership with care providers and police, provide a clear and consistent structure for decision-making in residential units when a child exhibits challenging behaviour. Together with appropriate training for staff, they have been highly effective in reducing the numbers of offences recorded against children in residential care – in one UK county by as much as 66%. The adoption of a similar Protocol in Victoria would have clear benefits for both staff and young people living in residential care. It would provide staff with a structured process for responding to incidents which distinguishes between behaviour which is merely disruptive or confrontational versus situations that are dangerous for staff and other young people. It would ensure a consistent process across the 240 residential care units in Victoria so that all young people, regardless of geography, are treated equally. Finally, it would provide children and young people with a response that is therapeutic and based on principles of care. Details: Victoria, AUS: Victoria Legal Aid, 2016. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 4, 2017 at: https://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/sites/www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/files/vla-care-not-custody-report.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: https://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/sites/www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/files/vla-care-not-custody-report.pdf Shelf Number: 141330 Keywords: Alternatives to IncarcerationAt-Risk YouthChild ProtectionJuvenile OffendersResidential Care |
Author: Bradshaw, Daragh Title: "Family Links": Evaluation Report Summary: 1. Introduction In partnership with the Irish Prison Service, the Parents Plus Charity, Bedford Row Family Agency and the Irish Penal Reform Trust, the Childhood Development Initiative commenced the implementation of "Family Links", a system of formal and informal supports for fathers in Limerick prison and their families. Within funding from the Katherine Howard Foundation (KHF) and the Community Foundation of Ireland (CFI), these supports, here called the Family Links Initiative, can be taken to mark a sea-change in the way in which the Prison Service views and hopes to work with families affected by imprisonment. These supports include: Changes in visiting arrangements Parenting education for families Officer Training in communication and child protection issues Designated Family Liaison Officer's (FLO's) amongst prison officers. The following report is an evaluation of the pilot of the intervention implemented in Limerick Prison from October 2014 to March 2016. Details: Dublin: Childhood Development Initiative, 2017. 81p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed march 6, 2017 at: http://edepositireland.ie/bitstream/handle/2262/79560/Final_Family_Links_Evaluation_Report_January_2017.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Year: 2017 Country: Ireland URL: http://edepositireland.ie/bitstream/handle/2262/79560/Final_Family_Links_Evaluation_Report_January_2017.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Shelf Number: 141357 Keywords: Child ProtectionChildren of PrisonersFamilies of InmatesFamily Engagement |
Author: Nguyen, Thi Thu Hang Title: School Violence: Evidence from Young Lives in Vietnam Summary: The issue of school violence in Vietnam has previously been addressed in some papers, but only with reference to a specific locality or combined with other issues under the broader theme of child abuse. However, news about school violence is now appearing in Vietnam's national daily media at an increased frequency and intensity, and attracting general public attention. Despite the existence of legal regulations related to child protection in general and prohibiting school violence in particular, cases of school violence still appear regularly in the media. This raises questions about the enforcement of current legislation and whether the key causes of violence have been properly addressed. There is no generally applicable definition of school violence but the term "school violence" used in this paper includes both acts of violence and bullying among students and those performed by teachers on students within the school grounds. In terms of physical violence, quantitative evidence from the Young Lives study shows a higher level of fighting reported by 8-year-olds in 2009, as compared with children of the same age in 2002. Such incidents were common among students in the sample, regardless of their economic status. The data from Young Lives also allow us to track changes in the rate of physical violence as the same group of children grow up (so picking up differences by child age). The rate of children beaten by other children more than tripled between Rounds 1 and 2 (when the Older Cohort were aged 8 and 12). In contrast, cases where teachers beat students dropped from 3.84 per cent in Round 1 to an insignificant level in Round 2. However, when comparing 8-year-old children at two different times (2002 and 2009), we see an increasing trend in physical violence across the board. Analysis of emotional violence was more difficult because the data recorded both answers by caregivers and by students themselves. It is interesting that students reported a lower rate of peer bullying (19.7 per cent) than that reported by caregivers (24.8 per cent). Results from the qualitative data collected from interviews with 36 of the Young Lives children uncovered the long-term impact of school violence as well as its causes. Causes of violence among students vary greatly, and sometimes there is no explicit reason. Therefore, more weight should be given to preventative measures such as improving children?s life skills or raising their awareness about the impacts of school violence. Responses from parents and school to violence among students are very important. The ways in which violence is addressed and disputes are settled can have long-term, even lifelong, impacts on children's futures. The right intervention, therefore, requires effort and closer co-operation between families and schools. Key policy implications of this paper include closer cooperation between the school, family, community and police, accompanied by the introduction of life skills for children into the school curriculum, training in positive discipline for teachers and better data collection. Details: Oxford, UK: Young Lives, 2013. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Young Lives Vietnam Policy Paper 1: Accessed March 29, 2017 at: http://www.younglives.org.uk/sites/www.younglives.org.uk/files/YL-Vietnam-PP1.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Vietnam URL: http://www.younglives.org.uk/sites/www.younglives.org.uk/files/YL-Vietnam-PP1.pdf Shelf Number: 144624 Keywords: Child ProtectionSchool CrimeSchool SafetySchool SecuritySchool Violence |
Author: Macur, Right Honourable Lady Justice Title: The Report of the Macur Review (Redacted Version). An independent review of the Tribunal of Inquiry into the abuse of children in care in the former county council areas of Gwynedd and Clwyd in North Wales since 1974 Summary: 1.1 This Review was established to examine the scope and conduct of the "Tribunal of Inquiry into the abuse of children in care in the former county council areas of Gwynedd and Clwyd in North Wales since 1974", established under the chairmanship of Sir Ronald Waterhouse in 1996 ('the Tribunal'). 1.2 The Review was announced on 8 November 2012 in the midst of the increasing number of allegations of sexual abuse made against the late Jimmy Savile and the implication of the BBC's complicity in concealing and effectively countenancing the same. The extensive media interest that surrounded the affair created the context for allegations against other 'establishment' figures to be aired. It also resurrected the disquiet voiced after publication of the Report, 'Lost in Care' ('the Tribunal Report'), in February 2000 by politicians of the day and journalists, that prominent public figures had been involved in the abuse of children in care in North Wales, but had escaped exposure and public censure by virtue of their standing in society. Many suspected the connivance of government, the police, masonic lodges and/or the Tribunal itself. A significant number have maintained this stance to date. 1.3 In November 2012, a witness to the Tribunal (referred to as in the Tribunal Report), alleged in the media that there had been a wider circle of abusers than those referred to in the Tribunal Report, including businessmen, police officers and a senior Conservative politician, who some believed to be Lord McAlpine. Lord McAlpine, the former Conservative party treasurer, released a statement describing the allegations as "wholly false and seriously defamatory". He made clear his intention to institute defamation proceedings against those circulating rumours on Twitter and other social media. confirmed publicly, after seeing a photograph of Lord McAlpine, that this was not a man who had abused him. The majority of potential defendants to the libel proceedings apologised and agreed to make a charitable donation. Another was ruled to have defamed him. In those circumstances, many expected or called for this Review to be abandoned. 1.4 However, around this time, press reports also contained former ministers' accusations that Sir Peter Morrison, Parliamentary Private Secretary to the late Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, a former deputy chairman of the Conservative party and MP for Chester from 1974 to 1992, who died on 13 July 1995, had been involved in the abuse of children in North Wales. More significantly, the Right Honourable David Jones MP, the immediate past Secretary of State for Wales, informed Sir Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary, of a telephone call he received, he believed in about 2000, said to be from a member of the Tribunal staff, which implicated the late Sir Peter Morrison and appears thereby, at least by reason of cumulative effect, to have triggered this Review. Details: London: House of Commons, 2016. 298p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 10, 2017 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/517098/The_Report_of_the_Macur_Review__Redacted_version__PRINT.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/517098/The_Report_of_the_Macur_Review__Redacted_version__PRINT.pdf Shelf Number: 144769 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse Pedophilia |
Author: Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory Title: Interim Report Summary: There is a strong perception that the system of detention in the Northern Territory is failing. It is failing our young people, it is failing those who work in the system and it is also failing the people of the Northern Territory who are entitled to live in safer communities. This has been made clear to the Royal Commission and Board of Inquiry into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory since it was announced on 26 July 2016. This Interim Report provides a summary of work to date. We are currently holding public hearings and will conduct further hearings over the coming months. Royal Commissions often look to the past in their investigations. We are inquiring not only into the past, but also into systems that are in operation today - we are hearing evidence from people who are currently detained or working in these systems. Despite the significance of much of the evidence received already, we will not be making specific findings or recommendations at this stage. It is too early in our work, while hearings are ongoing, to be able to draw any final conclusions. The Commission is yet to hear evidence on many issues, including evidence from senior management and political leaders in charge of youth detention who provide a perspective that is necessary to inform the work of the Commission. The Commission is also still to hold hearings on the child protection system which is a critical part of our work. The youth justice and child protection systems in the Northern Territory are inextricably linked. Evidence before the Commission reveals that children and young people in out-of-home care are more likely to enter the youth detention system. In the remaining period, the Commission's attention will focus on child protection, including its link to detention. Details: Kingston ACT: The Commission, 2017. 70p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 11, 2017 at: https://childdetentionnt.royalcommission.gov.au/about-us/Documents/RCNT-Interim-report.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: https://childdetentionnt.royalcommission.gov.au/about-us/Documents/RCNT-Interim-report.pdf Shelf Number: 144781 Keywords: Child ProtectionJuvenile DetentionJuvenile OffendersYouthful Offenders |
Author: Mathews, Ben Title: Oversight and regulatory mechanisms aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse: Understanding current evidence of efficacy Summary: The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (the Royal Commission) is required to inquire into, among other things, 'what institutions and governments should do to achieve best practice in encouraging the reporting of, and responding to reports or information about, allegations, incidents or risks of child sexual abuse and related matters in institutional contexts'. Across Australia, oversight bodies enable monitoring of aspects of child welfare, particularly for children in the care and protection system. For this report, the Royal Commission examined oversight bodies including ombudsmen offices (including children's ombudsmen); reportable conduct schemes; children's commissions; community visitors schemes; child advocates and children's guardians; and crime and misconduct commissions. In some instances, these agencies facilitate oversight and responses to child sexual abuse; in other instances, this facility is an implicit or consequential aspect of their authority. These bodies differ across jurisdictions in their form, scope and power. In addition, various regulatory mechanisms exist in Australia. For this report, the Royal Commission has examined regulatory bodies including non-government schools' accreditation boards; early childhood and care regulators; and medical sector regulators. In some instances, agencies' express purpose is to prevent or minimise the likelihood of child sexual abuse; in other instances, this function is an implicit or consequential aspect of their authority. These bodies also have different features across jurisdictions. To assist the Royal Commission in addressing its terms of reference, the report initially focuses on understanding the nature of these oversight and regulatory bodies. This is presented in Part 2. The report then assesses the efficacy of these bodies in protecting children from sexual abuse, focusing on institutional contexts. To fulfil the aims of the study as stated by the Royal Commission, this report covers narrow efficacy and broad efficacy. The report has been informed by regulatory theory, and has used legal analysis, policy analysis and public health research methods, to review and analyse literature for its evaluative purpose. Appendix 2 explains in more detail the concepts of narrow efficacy and broad efficacy, and how they are measured. In sum, the evaluation of narrow efficacy explores the presence and nature of key requirements enabling the protection of children from child sexual abuse in institutional contexts; it does so through synthesis and doctrinal analysis. Broad efficacy is conceptualised as the effect in practice of the oversight or regulatory mechanism in protecting children from sexual abuse in institutional contexts. The evaluation of broad efficacy asks whether the oversight or regulatory body achieves the policy goal of improving protection of children from sexual abuse in institutional contexts. Accordingly, the report first analyses narrow efficacy using selected significant features and parameters of the relevant legislative and regulatory frameworks. This analysis is presented in Part 2, alongside the synthesis of the nature of these bodies. The report then analyses broad efficacy using a systematic review of literature, according to the normal conventions of social science and public health scholarship. This is presented in Part 3. A third, less central, aspect of the report is a summary of evidence about the efficacy of other innovative regulatory models for protecting children from sexual abuse in institutional contexts. This is presented in Part 4. A fourth, again less central, aspect of the report is a summary of models of regulation from other fields or industries that may be applicable or adaptable for protecting children from sexual abuse in institutional contexts. This is also presented in Part 4. Two additional substantial components of the project were added after parts 1-4 were completed. To assist the Royal Commission in addressing its terms of reference, Part 5 explores how components, structures and mechanisms from occupational health and safety regulatory models in Australia could be used to inform a regulatory approach to protecting children from sexual abuse in institutional contexts. Accordingly, Part 5 presents a synthesis of these occupational health and safety regulatory models. It also analyses whether and how their central concepts and mechanisms may inform a regulatory approach to protecting children from sexual abuse in institutional contexts. Finally, to assist the Royal Commission in addressing its terms of reference, and with special reference to different kinds of organisations that serve children and youths, Part 6 explores the regulatory models and approaches that could be used to ensure that smaller organisations with limited resources (namely, sporting, cultural and arts, and recreational groups) are not overburdened with regulation, while still keeping children safe from sexual abuse. As with Part 5, the completion of Part 6 involved research, synthesis and analysis, and the development of reform proposals informed by the relevant principles, theory and evidence. Details: Sydney: Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, 2017. 258p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 11, 2017 at: http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/f6d43e2a-48b2-4999-9867-3938dcbcdf7e/Oversight-and-regulatory-mechanisms-aimed-at-prote Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/f6d43e2a-48b2-4999-9867-3938dcbcdf7e/Oversight-and-regulatory-mechanisms-aimed-at-prote Shelf Number: 144782 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child Institutional AbuseChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse Child Welfare |
Author: Barter, Ken Title: The Hidden Hurt Project: Final report. Summary: This document is intended to provide a substantive reporting of the activities, successes, and challenges experienced by the Research team of the Hidden Hurt Project over the course of phases I, II, and III from August 2002 through December 2004. The Canadian Red Cross RespectED Program and the three partnering schools of social work at Canadian universities (Dalhousie University, Memorial University of Newfoundland, and University of Calgary), with the support and funding of the National Crime Prevention Strategy, aim to prevent the abuse of children and youth by increasing awareness and understanding of the nature and extent of child abuse in Canadian society. This awareness and understanding has been and will continue to be incorporated into and applied to the abuse prevention programming of the RespectED program. The RespectED Program of the Canadian Red Cross has been delivering two primary prevention programs, "Its Not Your Fault"(child/youth maltreatment prevention) and "What's Love Got to Do with It?" (relationship violence prevention) for over twenty (20) years. These two presentations have reached thousands of Canadian children age 12 and over. An integral dimension to the delivery of these two presentations is the voluntary completion of anonymous evaluation forms by the youth who participate in these programs. These forms contain no identifying information pertaining to the youth, however most of the completed forms contain information on gender, age, province, and the date of completion. Responses by program participants documented on these forms contain disclosures of abuse and neglect experiences of youth age 12 and over. Many youth related the information disseminated during the presentations to their own life experiences or the experiences of others known to them. The content of the presentations raised questions based on their own life experiences as well as provided them with information on how and where to seek help for themselves and others. Until this project, this data had not been analysed in any form. Yet the data contains 'hidden pain' for many youth who have found writing down their story after being exposed to information as a way to validate their feelings. These personal stories were going untold. So too was the collective national story of the extent of abuse, neglect, and relationship violence which is occurring outside the awareness of the service system which is mandated to respond to the needs of these youth. The purpose of this project is to tell these stories. The stories will provide insight into the extent of abuse and neglect that many youth are experiencing in their families, schools, and communities. These stories are not disclosed for purposes of intervention (although intervention may accompany disclosure where and when mandated or appropriate.) This is critical information for further insight into the extent and nature of abuse and neglect among youth age 12 and over. This data provides real life examples to heighten awareness and inform education programs. The Hidden Hurt project was designed around three phases of research: Phase I: Identification and Analysis of the Hidden Hurt; Phase II: Development and Implementation of New Prevention Education Programming; and, Phase III: Evaluation of the New Programming and Dissemination of Findings. Details: Memorial University, School of Social Work, St. John's, NL. 2005. 150p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 12, 2017 at: http://www.croixrouge.ca/cmslib/general/hidden_hurt_finalreport.pdf Year: 2005 Country: Canada URL: http://www.croixrouge.ca/cmslib/general/hidden_hurt_finalreport.pdf Shelf Number: 144894 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild Protection |
Author: United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children Title: Ending the Torment: Tackling Bullying from the Schoolyard to Cyberspace Summary: This publication seeks to bring together key elements of the rich global expertise on the issue of bullying in order to share information, ideas and examples of best practice with all those who are interested in tackling such a scourge. It offers a complement to the United Nations Secretary-General's Study on Violence against Children and will hopefully provide further impetus to the drive by countries throughout the world to understand and better prevent the bullying of children and young people in all its ugly manifestations. As on all issues that affect children, it is essential that their ideas and views are sought and heard. The perceptions, experience and recommendations of children are of fundamental importance in tackling any issue of concern to them and their ideas are an important part of this publication. Their views and perspectives feature particularly in the chapter on UNICEF's U-Report. The U-Report is an electronic platform that reaches two million children, the majority in Africa, seeking their views and offering them an opportunity to widely share their experiences. But we also hear their voices in articles from other authors. The key themes of this publication focus on the areas that need to be developed and strengthened in order to prevent bullying and to effectively mitigate its harm. Providing information on, and raising awareness of, the insidious and damaging nature of bullying, as well as providing guidance on coping with its negative impacts are an important part of addressing the issue: so too are efforts to enable children to take action themselves to combat the problem. Their empowerment must be at the heart of any holistic approach to bullying. Chapter 1 of this publication therefore looks at these issues and draws on expertise from different perspectives and regions. From Greece, George Moschos looks at respecting children's rights and promoting a participatory culture of peace and respect in schools. Maria Luisa Sotomayor brings us the responses from the U-Report and considers new approaches to participation and the use of ICTs. And finally, Anne Lindboe and Anders Cameron, from Norway, consider the role of independent human rights institutions in preventing and responding to violence and in particular bullying. In Chapter 2, the publication moves into a consideration of legislation and public policies with the first article by Brian O'Neill, from Ireland, examining a national multi-facetted approach to the prevention of bullying and cyberbullying. The second article, by Eric Debarbieux, considers the school climate in Europe, and France in particular, and looks at the ways in which changing perceptions can lead to a change in public policies. Kirrily Pells, Maria Jose, Ogando Portela and Patricia Espinoza draw on evidence from a number of countries to understand the structural drivers of bullying: these include poverty and inequity. Christophe Cornu and Yongfeng Liu look at the importance of an inclusive and equitable education for all learners in an environment free from discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity/ expression and how this can be supported by governments. And finally, Bernard Gerbaka and Fares BouMitri introduce a new topic with a look at the role of the medical community in addressing bullying. Chapter 3 looks at the essential field of school interventions. In this section Dan Olweus, a pioneer in the field and creator of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, and Susan Limber, consider the building blocks for an effective bullying prevention and response model. Then Sanna Herkama and Christina Salmivalli look at the success of the KiVa anti-bullying programme in Finland, which uses a whole-school approach. Julie Swanson and Katharina Anton-Erxleben, from the USA, give an important and strong gender perspective on bullying and school-related gender-based violence. And finally in this section Ersilia Menesini and Annalaura Nocenti look at tailoring different prevention approaches to the national context in Italy. Chapter 4 examines the importance of data, without which we cannot understand or assess the extent of the problem. Dominic Richardson and Chii Fen Hiu lead off this section with a review of existing data and a look at what is needed to develop a solid response on prevention. This is followed by an article in which Sonia Livingstone, Mariya Stoilova and Anthony Kelly examine the evidence for the claim that new media bring new problems, arguing in conclusion that bullying and cyberbullying are inextricably linked in complex and challenging ways. Patrick Burton takes a look at data on bullying and cyberbullying in southern Africa, while Michael Dunne, Thu Ba Pham, Ha Hai Thi Le and Jiandong Sun, consider the impact of bullying and severe educational stress and the challenges faced in East Asian schools. Maha Almuneef presents a review of bullying in the Arab region, suggesting future policy development directions, and finally in this section, Robertas Povilaitis analyses experiences of projects in Lithuania while the International Child Helpline presents interesting case studies and data. The contributors to this publication represent all regions, their expertise ranges across a number of different fields, and their research examines different aspects of bullying and cyberbullying. Further information on the authors is included later in the publication. This publication has sought to identify issues to which we should be giving greater visibility and prominence, new facets of the problem that should be shared, concerns that should addressed, and examples of good practices that can stimulate and boost action by governments, policy makers, teachers and children themselves in the fight against bullying. Details: New York: Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, 2016. 174p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 14, 2017 at: http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/sites/default/files/2016/End%20bullying/bullyingreport.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/sites/default/files/2016/End%20bullying/bullyingreport.pdf Shelf Number: 144904 Keywords: BullyingChild ProtectionCyberbullyingCybercrimeOnline BullyingSchool BullyingViolence Against Children |
Author: American University. Washington College of Law. Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Title: Protecting Children against Torture in Detention: Global Solutions for a Global Problem Summary: It is my pleasure to introduce the publication "Protecting Children Deprived of Liberty From Torture: Reflections on the Special Rapporteur on Torture's 2015 Thematic Report," which expands upon a key thematic priority explored by the Special Rapporteurship on Torture in 2015. This volume asks a wide variety of stakeholders and thought-leaders to reflect on the report on children deprived of liberty (A/HRC/28/68, available in Annex I) issued by Professor Juan Mendez during his Rapporteurship on Torture at the United Nations (UN). This publication provides additional data and analyses on the myriad of critical issues raised in the report. The publication is an effort of the Anti-Torture Initiative (ATI), a project of the Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law (the Center) at American University Washington College of Law to support the mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment (SRT), a position that Professor Juan Mendez held from November 2010 to October 2016. The Center created the ATI in 2012 as part of its mission to develop new tools and strategies for the creative advancement of international human rights norms. During the time of Professor Mendez's mandate, the ATI expanded the strategies used by the SRT in furtherance of its mandate by supporting, monitoring, and assessing implementation of his recommendations, and providing a multi-dynamic model for effective and comprehensive country-specific and thematic follow-up, in areas such as the torture and ill-treatment of children deprived of liberty. In the aftermath of Professor Mendez's mandate, the ATI has continued its role as a foremost player in the global movement against torture, by continuing to work closely with partners from international agencies, regional organizations, governments and policy-makers, and actors from civil society and academia, in an effort to have a positive impact on the landscape of efforts to fight and prevent torture worldwide, in particular when it affects the most vulnerable and marginalized persons worldwide, such as children deprived of liberty. The 2015 report that serves as the basis for this publication came at a timely moment of growing attention to the plight of the more than one million children who are estimated to be deprived of liberty around the world. The report makes a critical contribution by framing abuses and violence commonly perpetrated against children in various guises of deprivation of liberty as torture and other ill-treatment under international law, and by analyzing the unique vulnerability of children to, and concomitant heighted obligation of States to protect children from, such acts. The report analyzes practices within juvenile, criminal justice systems, and administrative, notably immigration, detention, as well as practices in health- and social-care institutions, and the situation of children in armed conflict. It addresses existing gaps in law and policy that facilitate torture and ill-treatment against children deprived of their liberty worldwide. Constrained as it is by an UN-imposed word limit, the report is meant to be a starting-point for discussion, which the articles in this volume pick up. Following its presentation to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2015, the report generated a considerable amount of interest and discussion on a range of issues explored therein. This volume seeks to contribute to and continue this discussion by creating space to elaborate on the report and the essential legal, policy, and advocacy issues raised in a variety of contexts of deprivation of liberty of children around the world. The publication chronicles part of the robust response by practitioners, advocates, and policy-makers to the cross-cutting issues explored by the report. Section I of this volume provides a broad overview of the problem of children deprived of liberty worldwide, and delves into several key questions of law and policy at the intersection of the torture and other ill-treatment and children's rights frameworks, including the potential of the report as a tool for advocacy to promote the recognition and protection of the rights of children in the context of deprivation of liberty; the unique vulnerability of children to torture and other ill-treatment; the challenge of translating standards into practice; the question of access to justice for children deprived of liberty; the role of the Council of Europe in addressing the deprivation of liberty of children; and avenues for meaningful participation of children and adolescents in the recommendations of United Nations human rights bodies in the context of deprivation of liberty. Section II addresses the unique challenges posed by the deprivation of liberty of children in conflict with the law in juvenile and criminal justice systems, featuring a call for the end of child detention as a form of punishment. It also includes a commentary on the UN Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Children in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice systems. It also analyzes the placement of children in solitary confinement, early diversion, monitoring mechanisms, and models of psychosocial intervention for children deprived of liberty. Section III delves into the situation of migrant, asylum-seeking, and refugee children, and their deprivation of liberty in these contexts. It further refers to the situation of children, including children with disabilities, in institutions and orphanages, as well as the situation of children in armed conflict, child soldiers, and the detention of children on grounds of "national security." Details: Washington, DC: Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law, American University, Washington College of Law, 2017. 442p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2017 at: http://antitorture.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Protecting_Children_From_Torture_in_Detention.pdf Year: 2017 Country: International URL: http://antitorture.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Protecting_Children_From_Torture_in_Detention.pdf Shelf Number: 145060 Keywords: Child ProtectionHuman RightsJuvenile CorrectionsJuvenile DetentionJuvenile OffendersTortureViolence against Children |
Author: Wespieser, Karen Title: Young people and e-safety. The results of the 2015 London Grid for Learning e-safety survey Summary: The focus of the survey was to look at the wide and common online activities of London's young people. As found in previous LGfL surveys, children and young people use technology to have fun, study and communicate with others. Most children and young people have positive experiences online. On the whole they are sensible online and do not put themselves 'at risk'. However, there remain a number of areas where schools can support young people - and their families - in increasing their online safety. Nine out of ten young people access the Internet at home. Ten per cent of pupils therefore do not. Just over a third of young people would like more opportunity to use computers at school. As found in previous LGfL surveys , children and young people use technology to have fun, study and communicate with others. Most children and young people have positive experiences online. They are sensible online and do not put themselves 'at risk'. An increasing number of young people own their own device. Young people access the Internet through a range of devices but there are significant differences between boys and girls; boys use games consoles more than girls and more girls have a mobile device than boys. Very few young people report that they use these devices to access the Internet away from home. The home is therefore the key location for going online, outside of school. Forty per cent of 7-year-olds report that their parents always know what they do online; a percentage that (understandably) drops with age. Just over half of young people use a password on their device at home. This is slightly lower for devices that young people use at school. Of those that use a password, half report that someone else knows it, although the majority identified this person as a family member at home. Of those that use a password, a majority reported they do not change it regularly. Over half say that they never change it. Young people report that they spend their time online doing school work or studying. Three-quarters of young people report that they like playing games online but as they get older they play games less and spend more time on social networks and chat sites. Overall, the use of the Internet becomes more diverse as young people get older. There are also gender differences. More girls than boys listen or download music and use instant messaging. Conversely, more boys than girls report using YouTube and playing games. Many children play games not suitable for their age and a small but concerning minority play 18+ rated games. Of the young people playing age inappropriate games, two-thirds are boys. Furthermore, the greatest proportion of children who report playing these games also report they have parental consent. Unsuitable games include titles such as 'Grand Theft Auto' and 'Call of Duty'. Details: Slough: National Foundation for Educational Research, 2015. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 22, 2017 at; https://www.lgfl.net/downloads/online-safety/LGfL-OS-2015-E-Safety-Survey-Final-Report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.lgfl.net/downloads/online-safety/LGfL-OS-2015-E-Safety-Survey-Final-Report.pdf Shelf Number: 145162 Keywords: Child ProtectionComputer CrimeInternet CrimeOnline SafetyOnline VictimizationSocial Media |
Author: Marcus, Rachel Title: Poverty and violations of children's right to protection in low- and middle-income countries: A review of the evidence Summary: Why do up to 1.5 billion children suffer physical violence every year? Why do up to 2251 million children suffer sexual violence every year? Why are 14.2 million girls every year married off to start adult lives in adolescence or before?2 Why are considerable numbers of young children left alone for long hours without competent adult supervision? Historically, in studies of violence against children in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, explanations emphasised the role of individual psychological factors. The pendulum swung in the 1960s to highlight structural forces contributing to the abuse and neglect of children, in particular poverty and unemployment. In more recent years, understanding of the factors underlying violations of children's right to protection has drawn on an ecological model that emphasises factors at several levels: individual, family, household, community and broader society (Frederick and Goddard, 2007). The international child protection community generally sees three broad sets of factors as underlying many child protection violations: sociocultural norms, weak protective structures and poverty or deprivation. However, within this community there are divergences of opinion concerning the extent to which poverty is a significant underlying or risk factor. Interviews with child protection and poverty specialists and an electronic survey conducted for this research programme revealed a notable split. The majority considered poverty an important and often-neglected factor underpinning many child protection violations, but a significant number of respondents highlighted the fact that abuse, exploitation and neglect of children occurs across all socioeconomic groups, and thus felt economic deprivation played a more minor role. Perspectives varied considerably across different types of violation, with most respondents feeling that economic deprivation was a critical factor in early marriage, inadequate care and sexual exploitation, but relatively fewer convinced it was an important factor underpinning corporal punishment or sexual abuse. The electronic survey, like the majority of the literature examined for this review, focuses on children's vulnerability to protection violations, not whether poverty increases the risk of perpetrating abuse. Broadly, these perspectives concur with insights from the literature examined for this study. Despite increased recognition of the importance of effective joined-up child protection systems (e.g. World Vision, 2011; Wulcyzn et al., 2010), state agencies charged with child protection in most low- and middle-income countries are severely underfunded (Everychild, 2010b; Holmes and Jones, 2009). At the same time, there is a global move towards strengthening social protection - much of which has a partial focus on children in poverty, and thus is directing resources towards realising children's survival and development rights. In this context, there is growing interest in exploring the potential and limitations of social protection, human development and other anti-poverty programmes to reduce violations of children's protection rights - and of action to protect children's rights to promote better anti-poverty and human development outcomes. As a contribution to emerging practice and debate in this area, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and the Oak Foundation are undertaking a two-year programme of work to explore the potential for greater linkages between child protection and anti-poverty work in low- and middle-income countries. This report - the first output of the programme - has two main objectives: 1. To examine how far and in what ways poverty contributes to violations of children's rights to protection in four key areas - child marriage, sexual and physical violence against children and inadequate care of children - and thus to clarify the significance of poverty as an underlying or risk factor for these different violations of children's protection rights; and 2. To assess the strength of evidence concerning the relationship between poverty and child marriage, sexual and physical violence against children and inadequate care of children, and thus to identify knowledge gaps. It reviews evidence from low- and middle-income countries on the linkages between poverty and child marriage, sexual and physical violence against children and inadequate care of children. It also draws selectively on evidence from OECD countries in areas where the low- and middle-income country literature is sparse, or to highlight differences related to income and institutional capacity. It is intended as a detailed resource on the issues explored. Key findings are summarised in a short background note (Marcus, 2013). Other components of this programme include an adapted systematic review of the extent to which child protection policies and programmes involve attention to anti-poverty issues, and the contribution of antipoverty components to effective action on specific child protection issues (Marcus and Page, 2013); an electronic survey of practitioners and key informant interviews; and fieldwork exploring the relationship between poverty and violation of children's protection rights in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Vietnam. The programme is also exploring the potential for and different ways of promoting greater synergies between analysts and practitioners with anti-poverty and child protection foci. Details: London: Overseas Development Institute, 2014. 97p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 1, 2017 at: https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/9309.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/9309.pdf Shelf Number: 145223 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild MarriageChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild WelfarePoverty and CrimeSocioeconomic Conditions and CrimeViolence Against Children |
Author: Great Britain. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary Title: Missing children: who cares? The police response to missing and absent children Summary: Each year thousands of children go missing from their homes. The majority of them will return, or be found soon after they have been reported missing. There are many reasons why children go missing. On very rare occasions they may be abducted. All children who go missing are potentially at risk of harm, and a significant number, because of their circumstances, will face the risk of sexual, criminal or economic exploitation. Although not every child who goes missing is at risk of sexual exploitation and not every child who is at risk of sexual exploitation goes missing, the two are inter-linked. It is often the most vulnerable children who are sexually exploited, and who are targeted by those who intend to commit crimes against them. These children may have been abused or neglected, lack affection or have already experienced trauma in their lives. A number will be in the care of the local authority because of serious concerns about their well-being or the risks they face. Responding to missing incidents places a high demand on police time. Managing this demand is a major challenge for police forces but the consequences of not investigating cases can be extremely serious, leaving some children at risk of exploitation and/or significant harm. Effective outcomes in police responses to children at risk of abuse require specific skills and knowledge and excellent partnership working, in particular with children's social services. But more than this, effective outcomes rely on recognition, by all in the police service, that children are inherently vulnerable by virtue of their age, and that those who come into contact with police for any reason are often the most vulnerable. As the Chief Inspector of Constabulary observed in his recent State of Policing report, the work of the police in child protection is probably the most onerous and demanding of all police work, and it is the most important simply because children have the most to lose. Recent revelations about the scale of child sexual abuse, whether online or involving high-profile individuals, institutions or local communities, have presented the police with a complex challenge. Many crimes go unreported and those who are vulnerable often have greater difficulty in bringing their concerns to the attention of those who are able to help them. In its protective and preventative role, the police service has the responsibility to root out crime and the circumstances in which it may be committed, particularly where the victim is vulnerable, afraid or actively prevented from seeking help. Our inspections in relation to missing and absent children have found some good approaches with prompt action to find missing children and joint work to protect them. However, our principal finding was of inconsistencies in properly assessing risks, managing investigations, and providing support and help to the child. Consequently, our conclusion must be that this is leaving some children at unacceptable risk of harm. This report focuses on the experiences and outcomes of police contact for children who go missing. For the first time, we publish findings from HMIC-commissioned research on children's experiences of police contact. While we found clear evidence of positive experiences and outcomes for some children, we found a weighting towards negative experiences in the majority of cases. In particular, we found evidence of some police officers' negative attitudes towards missing children, which determines their responses, and in turn undermines children's confidence in the police service as a source of protection and help. These findings signal an imperative for cultural change in the police service if children and young people who run away from home or care are to have trust that the police will help them, and if the police are to be better able to afford them that protection. Details: London: HMIC, 2016. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 10, 2017 at: http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/missing-children-who-cares.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/missing-children-who-cares.pdf Shelf Number: 145394 Keywords: Child ProtectionMissing ChildrenMissing PersonsPolice InvestigationPolice ResponseRunaways |
Author: Easton, Claire Title: 'We Should Have Been Helped from Day One': a unique perspective from children, families and practitioners Summary: This summary presents the findings from the fifth round of LARC (Local Authorities Research Consortium), a project led by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) and Research in Practice (RiP). Our report will be of use to anyone with an interest in early intervention; children experiencing neglect; and in improving the ways local authorities and their partners work together to improve outcomes for children, young people and families. The report offers a unique insight into the views of children and parents For this round of LARC, nine local authorities who have been supported by early intervention services, and others, due to issues of (low level to moderate) child neglect. How do we effectively support families with different levels of need across the early intervention spectrum to engage with services within an overall framework of neglect? investigated: The local authorities chose this research topic and carried out their own research, supported by LARC researchers. The research focused on children experiencing the following levels of neglect Level two, related to families where the parent/s mostly met the child's needs. - Level three, where children had some unmet needs; lived in a family home that lacked routines; had parents with poor awareness of safety issues; and the child received limited interaction and affection. - Level four, these were families in which adults' needs were put before the child's, and where the child had low nutrition and scarce stimulation. We did not consider cases where children were at significant risk of harm and should be being supported by statutory services. The data was collected from over 105 practitioners (from education, health, early years settings and authority services) and 40 parents, children and young people. Details: Slough, UK: National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), 2013. 70p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 17, 2017 at: https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/LRCF01/LRCF01.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/LRCF01/LRCF01.pdf Shelf Number: 131250 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionEarly InterventionFamily Intervention |
Author: Scott, Sara Title: South Yorkshire Empower and Protect Child Sexual Exploitation Innovation Project: Evaluation Report Summary: South Yorkshire Empower and Protect (SYEP) involved a new partnership between the local authorities in Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham and Doncaster Children's Services Trust, working with voluntary and community sector (VCS) partner Catch 22. The aim was to develop an original, sub-regional delivery model for young people experiencing or at high risk of sexual exploitation which would enable them to remain safely at home, or in stable foster care in South Yorkshire, rather than being placed in out-of-area residential or secure accommodation. For young people already in care, this involved the recruitment and training of specialist foster carers, intensive support and therapeutic input to help sustain placements and prevent breakdowns. For young people living at home, a parallel provision included working with family members to increase their understanding of child sexual exploitation (CSE), ability to manage risks and provide appropriate care. The project intended to undertake some direct work with families, carers, children and young people while at the same time skilling up other professionals to do this work, through modelling and by providing supervision and training. This workforce development element of the project was to be directed towards staff in fostering, child protection and CSE teams and was intended to help increase reflective social-work practice based upon relationships rather than process. Key Findings The programme has successfully demonstrated that young people who are likely to be placed out-of-area or in secure accommodation because they are being sexually exploited, or are at high risk of CSE, can be safely cared for in their own communities - if sufficient, appropriate support is provided for both them and their carers. Some aspects of a model for providing such support have been tested by the SYEP Innovation and found to be effective. An extremely skilled and committed core team have been successful in achieving some very positive outcomes for a small number of young people. However, the impact of the project has been limited by the following factors: a very short time to co-design a new model; a late start caused by delays in appointing key staff; the huge challenge of recruiting foster carers for very complex adolescents; and a failure to fully engage social workers and managers with the project. This would have been an ambitious project for any single local authority; the complexity of attempting to undertake it across a sub-region was greatly underestimated. The programme needed a more substantial development period in order to build relationships with key stakeholders and existing providers across South Yorkshire; fully involve young people, parents, carers and multi-agency staff in co-producing the model; develop a strategy to bring social care staff on board and recruit foster carers; and negotiate the necessary alignment of policies, procedures and budgets across the 4 authorities. The Innovation has benefited from committed leadership at children's services director level, which has followed through into a commitment to mainstream elements of the innovation in each of the 4 areas. However, there has remained throughout a 'missing middl' at a management level where engagement and ownership were crucial if the hoped-for impacts on workforce development were to be achieved. Details: Feethams, Darlington; UK Department of Education, 2017. 106p. Source: Internet Resource: Children's Social Care Innovation Programme Evaluation Report 25 ; Accessed May 19, 2017 at: http://cdn.basw.co.uk/upload/basw_45246-5.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://cdn.basw.co.uk/upload/basw_45246-5.pdf Shelf Number: 145641 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationFoster Care |
Author: Scott, Sara Title: Wigan and Rochdale Child Sexual Exploitation Innovation Project: Evaluation report Summary: The Wigan and Rochdale Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Innovations Project is a partnership between Wigan and Rochdale local authorities, Greater Manchester Phoenix CSE Project, the Children's Society and Research in Practice, on behalf of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities. It has aimed to address the problem of too many young people affected by sexual exploitation being placed in high cost or secure accommodation that was not always meeting their needs. The project was designed in three phases: 1) a programme of action research to understand more about the problem identified, especially the journeys of young people affected; 2) co-design of a new pilot service, involving young people, parents-or-carers, social workers and key agencies; and 3) implementation of the pilot service to work across Wigan and Rochdale, and a cost-benefit analysis of its impact. Learning from the pilot was intended to lead to the adoption of more effective ways of working in each authority, with the longer-term goal of replicating best practice across Greater Manchester. Details: Feethams, Darlington: UK Department of Education, 2017. 78p. Source: Internet Resource: Children's Social Care Innovation Programme Evaluation Report 26: Accessed May 19, 2017 at: http://cdn.basw.co.uk/upload/basw_54623-8.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://cdn.basw.co.uk/upload/basw_54623-8.pdf Shelf Number: 145642 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationCost Benefit AnalysisFoster Care |
Author: Warrington, Camille Title: Making Noise: Children's voices for positive change after sexual abuse. Children's experiences of help-seeking and support after sexual abuse in the family environment Summary: Overview 1. This study was commissioned by the Children's Commissioner for England and carried out in 2015/16 by staff from the International Centre: Researching Child Sexual Exploitation, Violence and Trafficking, in partnership with the NSPCC. It sought to elicit children and young people's views and experiences of help-seeking and support after child sexual abuse (CSA) in the family environment. 2. The title, and spirit, of the research - 'Making Noise: children's voices for positive change after sexual abuse' - was determined with our Young People's Advisory Group, who have played a critical role throughout the work. It represents our efforts to not only generate new research knowledge, but to simultaneously demonstrate the capacity of children and young people to contribute to enhanced responses to these issues and the importance of challenging the cultures of silence in which abuse and impunity flourish. 3. The research comprised 53 in-depth qualitative interviews with children aged 6 to 19 who were receiving support for experiences of CSA in the family environment. All interviewees were accessed through one of 15 third-sector therapeutic services from across England. This data was supplemented with focus groups (30 participants) and survey data (75 respondents) with more generic cohorts of young people exploring possible barriers to disclosure and service access. 4. The research sought to respond to a recognised gap in evidence from the perspectives of children and young people affected by CSA in the family environment. To our knowledge this study represents data from the largest sample of children and young people in a qualitative study on this issue. 5. The research aims were to improve understanding of participants' experiences of: - recognition, identification and disclosure of CSA in the family environment - help-seeking and support - contact with services as a result of reporting/identification of CSA - care systems, and - criminal justice procedures and to ascertain children and young people's views on how such processes could be improved. Details: Luton, Bedfordshire, UK: University of Bedfordshire, 2017. 184p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 5, 2017 at: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/UniBed_MakingNoise%2020_4_17.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/UniBed_MakingNoise%2020_4_17.pdf Shelf Number: 145917 Keywords: Child Protection Child Sexual Abuse Child Sexual Exploitation Children and Violence Sexual Violence Victim Services Violence Against Women, Children |
Author: UNICEF Title: A Child is a child: Protecting children on the move from violence, abuse and exploitation Summary: Millions of children are on the move across international borders - fleeing violence and conflict, disaster or poverty, in pursuit of a better life. Hundreds of thousands move on their own. When they encounter few opportunities to move legally, children resort to dangerous routes and engage smugglers to help them cross borders. Serious gaps in the laws, policies and services meant to protect children on the move further leave them bereft of protection and care. Deprived, unprotected, and often alone, children on the move can become easy prey for traffickers and others who abuse and exploit them. Alarming numbers of children are moving alone Many children move alone and face particularly grave risks. In parts of the world, the number of children moving on their own has skyrocketed. On the dangerous Central Mediterranean Sea passage from North Africa to Europe, 92 per cent of children who arrived in Italy in 2016 and the first two months of 2017 were unaccompanied, up from 75 per cent in 2015. At least 300,000 unaccompanied and separated children moving across borders were registered in 80 countries in 2015-2016 0- a near five-fold increase from 66,000 in 2010-2011. The total number of unaccompanied and separated children on the move worldwide is likely much higher. Specific reasons motivate children to undertake journeys alone. Many seek to reunite with family members already abroad. Others pursue their families' aspirations for this generation to have a better life. Perceptions of the potential benefits of children moving, especially to certain destinations, filter through social networks. Other factors include family breakdown, domestic violence, child marriage and forced conscription. Without safe and legal pathways, children's journeys are rife with risk and exploitation Whatever their motivation, children often find few opportunities to move legally. Family reunification, humanitarian visas, refugee resettlement spots, and work or study visas are out of reach for most. But barriers to legal migration do not stop people from moving, they only push them underground. Wherever families and children desperate to move encounter barriers, smuggling in human beings thrives. Smugglers range from people helping others in need for a fee to organized criminal networks that deliver children into hazardous and exploitative situations. Once children and families place their fates in the hands of smugglers, the transaction can readily take a turn towards abuse or exploitation - especially when children and families incur debts to pay smugglers' fees. Europol estimates that 20 per cent of suspected smugglers on their radar have ties to human trafficking - they help children cross borders, only to sell them into exploitation, sometimes akin to contemporary forms of slavery. Some routes are particularly rife with risks. In a recent International Organization for Migration survey, over three-quarters of 1,600 children aged 14-17 who arrived in Italy via the Central Mediterranean route reported experiences such as being held against their will or being forced to work without pay at some point during their journeys - indications that they may have been trafficked or otherwise exploited. Traffickers and other exploiters thrive especially where state institutions are weak, where organized crime abounds, and also where migrants become stuck and desperate. Details: New York: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), 2017. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 7, 2017 at: https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/UNICEF_A_child_is_a_child_May_2017_EN.pdf Year: 2017 Country: International URL: https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/UNICEF_A_child_is_a_child_May_2017_EN.pdf Shelf Number: 145948 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChild Sexual ExploitationChildren Exposed to ViolenceHuman SmugglingHuman TraffickingMigrant ChildrenOrganized CrimeUnaccompanied Children |
Author: Humphreys, Cathy Title: PAThways and Research Into Collaborative Inter-Agency practice: Collaborative work across the child protection and specialist domestic and family violence interface: The PATRICIA Project. Final report Summary: PAThways and Research In Collaborative Inter-Agency practice (the PATRICIA Project) is an action research project focused on the collaborative relationship between specialist community-based domestic and family violence (DFV) support services for women and their children, and statutory child protection (CP) organisations. Drawing together a diverse range of participants from five states of Australia, it comprised five components of research, each with its own methodology, set within an action research framework that facilitated a process of changing things while simultaneously studying the "problems" of developing collaborative work and strengthening perpetrator accountability. The intended outcome was to use evidence to foster greater collaboration to support the safety and wellbeing of women and their children, and strengthen accountability for perpetrators of DFV. Its key findings include: - DFV and CP collaboration has not always been straightforward. The PATRICIA project found no silver bullet for making collaborations productive and constructive. However a range of factors were essential to engage in collaborative DFV partnerships. Specifically, the focus on the issues of safety and shifting attention to the risks of the perpetrators' use of violence to the safety and well-being of children and their mothers. The project also found that an authorising environment is foundational to partnership work between statutory and non-statutory organisations. - A Collaborative Practice Framework for Child Protection and Specialist DFV services has been developed to guide and sustain collaboration where DFV involving children occurs. - The case reading project, based on Safe and Together principles developed by David Mandel and colleagues, highlighted practitioners' inattention to the impact of DFV on children and family functioning. The case reading process provided a powerful tool to interrogate DFV practice and for statutory and non-statutory workers to work together using common principles and auditing template for review. - The analysis of specialist case studies pointed to strategies for creating a differential response which ensured that notifications were only made for children who reached the threshold for an investigation. The studies also pointed to the need for stronger community based services for children and their families. Details: Sydney: Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety Limited (ANROWS), 2017. 98p. Source: Internet Resource: Horizons Research Report: Accessed June 29, 2017 at: https://d2c0ikyv46o3b1.cloudfront.net/anrows.org.au/Patricia_Horizons_final.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: https://d2c0ikyv46o3b1.cloudfront.net/anrows.org.au/Patricia_Horizons_final.pdf Shelf Number: 146452 Keywords: Child ProtectionDomestic ViolenceFamily ViolenceViolence Against Women, Girls |
Author: Connolly, Marie Title: The Collaborative Practice Framework for Child Protection and specialist domestic and family violence services: The PATRICIA project: Key findings and future directions Summary: PAThways and Research In Collaborative Inter-Agency practice (the PATRICIA Project) is an action research project focused on the collaborative relationship between specialist community-based domestic and family violence (DFV) support services for women and their children, and statutory child protection (CP) organisations. Drawing together a diverse range of participants from five states of Australia, it comprised five components of research, each with its own methodology, set within an action research framework that facilitated a process of changing things while simultaneously studying the "problems" of developing collaborative work and strengthening perpetrator accountability. The intended outcome was to use evidence to foster greater collaboration to support the safety and wellbeing of women and their children, and strengthen accountability for perpetrators of DFV. It's key findings include: - DFV and CP collaboration has not always been straightforward. The PATRICIA project found no silver bullet for making collaborations productive and constructive. However a range of factors were essential to engage in collaborative DFV partnerships. Specifically, the focus on the issues of safety and shifting attention to the risks of the perpetrators' use of violence to the safety and well-being of children and their mothers. The project also found that an authorising environment is foundational to partnership work between statutory and non-statutory organisations. - A Collaborative Practice Framework for Child Protection and Specialist DFV services has been developed to guide and sustain collaboration where DFV involving children occurs. - The case reading project, based on Safe and Together principles developed by David Mandel and colleagues, highlighted practitioners' inattention to the impact of DFV on children and family functioning. The case reading process provided a powerful tool to interrogate DFV practice and for statutory and non-statutory workers to work together using common principles and auditing template for review. - The analysis of specialist case studies pointed to strategies for creating a differential response which ensured that notifications were only made for children who reached the threshold for an investigation. The studies also pointed to the need for stronger community based services for children and their families. Details: Sydney: Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety Limited (ANROWS), 2017. 18p. Source: Internet Resource: ANROWS Compass, Issue 03/2017):Accessed June 29, 2017 at: https://d2c0ikyv46o3b1.cloudfront.net/anrows.org.au/Patricia_Compass.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: https://d2c0ikyv46o3b1.cloudfront.net/anrows.org.au/Patricia_Compass.pdf Shelf Number: 146453 Keywords: Child ProtectionDomestic ViolenceFamily ViolenceViolence Against Women, Girls |
Author: Appleton, Josie Title: Checking Up: How the Coalition's plans to cut back on criminal records checks have been defeated Summary: Since 2002, more than 40 million criminal records checks have been carried out at a cost of nearly two billion pounds, yet there has never been any significant research showing the effectiveness of mass vetting in child protection terms. In June 2010, the Coalition government promised to 'scale back' criminal records checks to 'common-sense proportions', predicting that its reforms would lead to a halving of checks from around four million to 1.7 million. This has not happened. In 2013-14, there were 3,948,793 criminal records checks at a cost of L211.6 million. Far from being scaled back, in certain ways the vetting system appears to have become more complicated, expansive and expensive. Vetting is encouraged by state agencies, such as local authorities and regulators, who demand checks even beyond current guidance. Furthermore, the interests of the regulators and the private bodies that rely on income from the checks mean that they will have little interest in reducing unnecessary vetting. This report argues that the current scale of investment in vetting is out of proportion to its positive effects. There is a need to go back to the drawing board and to ask if criminal records checks are the best manner in which to be spending L200 million a year. Details: London: Civitas, 2014. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 31, 2017 at: http://www.civitas.org.uk/content/files/CheckingUp.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.civitas.org.uk/content/files/CheckingUp.pdf Shelf Number: 146620 Keywords: Background ChecksChild ProtectionCriminal Records |
Author: Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council Title: Classification of child exploitation material for sentencing purposes: final report Summary: The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Yvette D'Ath asked the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council (the council) to review the classification of child exploitation material (CEM) for sentencing purposes and determine whether any improvements can be made. The review comprised significant consultation across Queensland's criminal justice system involved with detecting, prosecuting and sentencing CEM offences. In addition, the council consulted with key agencies from Queensland's legal community and victim advocates, as well as community members, content experts and relevant agencies in other Australian and international jurisdictions. This broad consultation revealed Queensland is well respected for its professionalism in CEM investigation at national and international levels. Consequently, the council was determined to ensure any system used for classification of CEM in Queensland supports and builds on this reputation. Administrative data collected by criminal justice agencies was analysed to gain an appreciation of the Queensland context of CEM offending and offenders. This report provides the outcomes of this analysis. The report is structured in six chapters, initially introducing the current approach to classifying CEM in Queensland, outlining what is known about CEM offending and CEM offenders, and comparing Queensland's approach to other jurisdictions. The review culminates by proposing a new approach for classifying CEM for sentencing purposes, referred to as the Q-CEM Package. Mechanisms designed to support and evaluate the Q-CEM Package, and Queensland's readiness to continue to meet the many challenges associated with this evolving crime type, are also proposed. Key findings CEM is not a victimless crime. These offences harm real children and the repeated circulation of CEM depicting this abuse continues their victimisation. Victims of CEM report lifelong impacts as a result of the abuse and re-victimisation via sharing of the material. It is difficult to permanently or fully remove images from circulation. Delays are associated with CEM cases. The council's research confirmed anecdotal evidence that delays were associated with the criminal justice response to CEM. The delays are most prevalent between charging an offender and proceeding to a committal hearing. During this period, police undertake typically complex forensic processes and classify detected CEM. CEM is an international crime with a local footprint. CEM is a technology-enabled crime and, as such, will continue to evolve and expand in line with the exponential growth and global interconnectivity of technology. Queensland child victims and Queensland offenders require a suitable response from state and Commonwealth criminal justice agencies. National and international cooperation is essential. All Australian state and territory jurisdictions are seeking a platform to support cooperation at national and international levels. A common platform promotes harmonised classification language to respond to the international dimension of these crimes. Common platforms are designed to address time and welfare burdens on criminal justice agencies by sharing data about CEM encountered in other jurisdictions. They enhance victim identification efforts by enabling a stronger focus on new material. Data analysis, research and a commitment to practice evaluation are important. Identifying how this crime type is shifting remains a critical issue for Queensland. Keeping pace will build on the state's reputation for innovation, and reflects the commitment this state has to protecting Queensland children and families. Queensland needs a system that balances the requirements of all criminal justice agencies. Classification for sentencing must balance the demands on law enforcement to identify victims and offenders with the mechanisms required to prosecute and sentence offenders. The QCEM Package is specifically designed to address these critical functions of a system responsible for removing children from harm and bringing offenders to account. Queensland needs to adopt an enhanced approach to sexting and promoting prevention of CEM offending. Establishing mechanisms to provide support to families, schools and other organisations that can raise awareness among young people about how to remain safe online is essential. There is also a role to encourage offenders and potential offenders into treatment for their sexual interest in children. Details: Brisbane: The Council, 2017. 150p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 31, 2017 at: http://www.sentencingcouncil.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/531503/cem-final-report-july-2017.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: http://www.sentencingcouncil.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/531503/cem-final-report-july-2017.pdf Shelf Number: 146623 Keywords: Child PornographyChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseOnline VictimizationSentencingSex Offenders |
Author: Shuker, Lucie Title: Empowering Parents: Evaluation of Parents as partners in safeguarding children and young people in Lancashire project 2014-2017 Summary: 1. This report presents the findings of an evaluation of the project 'Parents as partners in safeguarding children and young people in Lancashire, June 2014 to May 2017'. The project was delivered by Parents against child sexual exploitation (Pace) and centred around the work of a Parent Liaison Officer (PLO) placed in the multi-agency 'Engage' team in Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire. 2. The PLO offers flexible, one-to-one support to parents and families whose child is at risk, or a victim, of child sexual exploitation (CSE) using the 'relational safeguarding model' developed by Pace. The aims of the evaluation were to explore the impact of the PLO in relation to three key outcomes for parents: increased awareness and understanding of CSE; playing a more active part in safeguarding their child and receipt of support through the judicial process. 3. Semi-structured, individual interviews were undertaken with parents who had received one-to-one support from the Parent Liaison Officer (n=10), and with professionals who had worked alongside the PLO in the Engage team (n=11). This data was supplemented by one focus group with parents (n=4), an evaluation form for parents (n=17), interviews with PLOs (n=3) and observation of the Engage team. Details: Luton, UK: University Bedfordshire, 2017. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 31, 2017 at: http://paceuk.info/wp-content/uploads/Empowering-Parents-UoB-Pace-Evaluation-2017.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://paceuk.info/wp-content/uploads/Empowering-Parents-UoB-Pace-Evaluation-2017.pdf Shelf Number: 146626 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse Child Sexual Exploitation Parenting Programs |
Author: Belton, Emma Title: Assessing the Risk, Protecting the Child: Final Evaluation Report Summary: Assessing the Risk, Protecting the Child (ARPC) is an NSPCC service that assesses men who pose a sexual risk to children and are not in the criminal justice system. The service includes an assessment of the man deemed to be a risk, as well as the capacity of the non-abusing parent/carer to protect the child, and the views and wishes of the children involved. The service was delivered at nine NSPCC sites from 2011-2016. This final evaluation report summarises the findings from the already published qualitative evaluation and integrates this with survey results and tracking data of what happens after assessments are completed. The main findings are: - The voice of the child work was the unique aspect of ARPC, but in over a third of assessments the child's voice was not included as they were either too young or did not feel comfortable taking part. The guide gives some suggestions about how the child's voice can be incorporated in these circumstances, but additional guidance on how to include the child's voice could enhance this work further. - The majority of referrers felt that the assessment reports were of a high quality and helped them form a judgement about the actions needed to protect children. The independent nature of the reports was a key factor in their usefulness. - Referrers, men and protective parents/carers felt that reports could be made more accessible and would find it helpful if the report author discussed it with them face-to-face. The time taken to produce reports could also be shortened. - Although most referrers agreed with report recommendations, one-third of recommendations had not been implemented six months post-assessment, in part because the support suggested was not available locally. Some referrers would have welcomed more guidance on implementing recommendations. The development of the NSPCC Together for Childhood centres may assist in providing the post-assessment professional consultation that some referrers would have found helpful. - Reports assess risk at one particular time-point, and the impact of child protection will be limited to family circumstances remaining the same. Risk should be managed through the lifelong safety plan and, where circumstances change, a referral may be needed to another agency for an updated risk assessment. - The NSPCC is no longer accepting referrals into the ARPC service. This decision follows a strategic review of all of our programmes and resources available to deliver them. Consideration was given to ARPC's fit with our new strategy and the results of this evaluation, and it was felt that greater outcomes for children could be achieved through investment in alternative programmes. The learning from the evaluation may be of use to other agencies delivering this type of work Details: London: National Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children, 2017. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 5, 2017 at: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/evaluation-of-services/assessing-the-risk-protecting-the-child-final-evaluation.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/evaluation-of-services/assessing-the-risk-protecting-the-child-final-evaluation.pdf Shelf Number: 146747 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseRisk Assessment |
Author: Fuller, Tamara Title: Differential Response in Illinois: Final Evaluation Report Summary: In December 2009, the State of Illinois was selected by the National Quality Improvement Center on Differential Response in Child Protective Services (QIC-DR) as one of three sites to implement and evaluate Differential Response (DR). This report presents the final findings of the outcome evaluation and cost analysis, which compared the newly implemented family assessment child protective services (CPS) response (known as "DR" in Illinois) to the traditional investigation response to answer three research questions: 1) How is the assessment response different from the investigation response in terms of family engagement, caseworker practice, and services provided? 2) Are children whose families receive an assessment response as safe as or safer than children whose families receive an investigation? 3) What are the cost and funding implications to the child protection agency of the implementation and maintenance of a differential response approach? The report provides an overview of the development and proliferation of Differential Response over the past two decades, summarizes previous research, and provides descriptions of both the traditional investigation response (IR) and the new differential response (DR). A description of the research design and data collection instruments is offered. Findings are presented that compare the two CPS responses (IR and DR) with regard to parent engagement and satisfaction; service provision; child safety and family well-being; and costs per-case Details: Urbana, IL: Children and Family Research Center, University of Illinois, 2014. 124p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 7, 2017 at: https://cfrc.illinois.edu/pubs/rp_20131001_DifferentialResponseInIllinoisFinalEvaluationReport.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://cfrc.illinois.edu/pubs/rp_20131001_DifferentialResponseInIllinoisFinalEvaluationReport.pdf Shelf Number: 146768 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child Protection |
Author: Berelowitz, Sue Title: If only someone had listened : Office of the Children's Commissioner's inquiry into child sexual exploitation in gangs and groups. Final report Summary: Despite increased awareness and a heightened state of alert regarding child sexual exploitation children are still slipping through the net and falling prey to sexual predators. Serious gaps remain in the knowledge, practice and services required to tackle this problem. There are pockets of good practice, but much still needs to be done to prevent thousands more children falling victim. This is the principal finding of "If only someone had listened" - the Final Report of the Inquiry of the Office of the Children's Commissioner into Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and Groups (CSEGG). In many areas the required agencies have only recently started to come together to tackle the issue despite the statutory guidance issued by the Government in 2009. A comparison of Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCB) current practice against this guidance indicates that only 6% of LSCBs were meeting the requirements in full, with around one third not even meeting half of them. Substantial gaps remain in the availability of specialist provision for victims of child sexual exploitation (CSE). This report outlines the urgent steps needed so that children can be effectively made and kept safe - from decision-making at senior levels to the practitioner working with individual child victims - whether a social worker, police officer, health clinician, teacher or anyone else who has contact with children. Phase 1 of the Inquiry reported that a total of 2,409 children were known to be victims of CSE by gangs and groups. In addition the Inquiry identified 16,500 children and young people as being at risk of CSE. Many of the known victims had been badly let down by those agencies and services that should have been protecting them. The reality is that children and young people are continuing to fall victim to exploitation. Although there are heightened efforts to address this issue, too many agencies and services are still failing to safeguard children and young people effectively. We have seen examples, however, of local services who are putting children at the centre of everything they do. In these places there is a coherent and collaborative response to CSE with utmost commitment from the most senior to frontline staff, thereby offering greater protection for children threatened by, or experiencing, sexual exploitation. These examples have informed our view of what needs to be done in those places where children are not being protected and is encapsulated in the Inquiry's new operational and strategic Framework - See Me, Hear Me. Details: London: Office of the Children's Commissioner, 2013. 123p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 22, 2017 at: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/18861/1/If_only_someone_had_listened_Office_of_the_Childrens_Commissioners_Inquiry_into_Child_Sexual_Exploitation_in_Gangs_and_Groups.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/18861/1/If_only_someone_had_listened_Office_of_the_Childrens_Commissioners_Inquiry_into_Child_Sexual_Exploitation_in_Gangs_and_Groups.pdf Shelf Number: 131717 Keywords: Child ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual Exploitation (U.K.)PornographyYouth Gangs |
Author: Belton, Emma Title: Assessing the Risk: Protecting the Child. Referrers' Perspectives Summary: Assessing the Risk Protecting the Child is a service that works with men who may be a risk to children. Social workers send men to the service to try to help families keep their children safe. Social workers who are worried about a child use the service to see if the man is a danger to the child and whether the parent/carer can keep the child safe from harm. The service also speaks to the child to check how they are feeling about things at home. This report looks at how well social workers thought the assessments went. It also looks at how assessments could be better and how they helped to make decisions such as what can be done to look after the children. This was done by interviewing social workers. Findings from the research show that: - Social workers found that the reports they got back helped them understand more about the family they worked with and how to keep children safe. - Some social workers thought that it took too long to get the reports back. This meant that it took a long time for families to find out what would happen next. Sometimes social workers also thought that the reports were too long and the words used meant that families couldn't always understand them. - Social workers felt that workers at the NSPCC worked well with families so that they could open up and speak more freely. NSPCC staff were seen as being separate from children's service. This meant that families felt like they weren't being judged. - The sessions with children helped them to understand what was going on at home. The sessions with parents/carers helped them by giving them information on how to keep their children safe. This could also encourage parents/carers to make better choices when protecting their children. - Social workers found the ideas the NSPCC had about keeping children safe helpful. Sometimes they would have liked some help with putting the ideas into action. Details: London: National Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children, 2015. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 23, 2017 at: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/evaluation-of-services/assessing-the-risk-protecting-the-child-referrers-perspectives.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/evaluation-of-services/assessing-the-risk-protecting-the-child-referrers-perspectives.pdf Shelf Number: 146882 Keywords: Abusive MenChild Abuse and Neglect Child Protection Child Sexual Abuse Risk AssessmentSocial Workers |
Author: Michigan Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children Title: Report of the Michigan Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children Summary: This report presents the results of work by a legislatively mandated task force to make recommendations 1) for reducing child sexual abuse in the State and 2) for developing school policies that address the sexual abuse of children. Details: Lansing, MI: The Task Force, 2015. 153p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 25, 2017 at: http://www.socialwork.msu.edu/sites/default/files/Project-Reports/MI-Prevention-CSA-Task-Force-Report-June-2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.socialwork.msu.edu/sites/default/files/Project-Reports/MI-Prevention-CSA-Task-Force-Report-June-2015.pdf Shelf Number: 146895 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse |
Author: Scott, Sara Title: Aycliffe CSE innovation project: evaluation report: July 2016 Summary: The rise in concern about sexual exploitation and the difficulties of keeping exploited young people safe in the community has resulted in more referrals of sexually exploited young women to secure accommodation. However, depriving young people of their liberty on welfare grounds is a contentious issue, particularly given a lack of evidence of its effectiveness in improving outcomes. Within this context, the central question being tested by this pilot was: can secure accommodation provide a therapeutic environment, engage sexually exploited young people with appropriate therapeutic support and support their transitions into a safer life in the community? Key Findings Development of the pilot: - The pilot project was efficiently established and, by June 2015, staff for the specialist house were appointed and trained and the first young women were admitted. - A strong core team was created which included Barnardo's and Odysseus staff working alongside residential workers. A shared ethos was developed, although in the first few months, consistency of approach was sometimes impeded by under-staffing and reliance on cover staff. - Over the course of its implementation the planned model of working has evolved with a number of changes made to its original design: - The step-down facility was not pursued; - Individual trauma-focused therapy was not provided for most young women; - After a brief period of education being provided in the house, almost all young women attended Aycliffe's main provision. However, the biggest difference between what was planned and what occurred related to the source of referrals. Rather than coming mainly from the north east, referrals came from much further afield and this has a major impact on the sustainability of the transitional and throughcare support that has been provided. Outcomes for young people: - Over the course of the pilot period, eleven young women have been resident in the specialist house, mainly referred on 3 month orders (with some extended to 6 months). Ages have ranged from 13 to 17 years. - Most of these young women had extremely troubled backgrounds, often including major experiences of violence and abuse. In most cases, the precipitating factor for seeking a secure order was frequency of missing episodes, placement breakdowns and serious concerns for the young women's safety. - The development of positive relationships with staff was a key objective of the pilot and staff succeeded in developing some very postive relationships. However, the attachment difficulties of the young women have presented major challenges. These have been compounded by the time-limited and brief nature of the secure placements as well as the mix of young people in terms of age and need. - There is some evidence for an increase in the young women's understanding of the impact of child sexual explanation (CSE), although this has varied between individuals. - There is also some evidence of improvements in the mental and emotional well-being of some young people during their time at Aycliffe. However, the project has been unable to address the complex underlying difficulties affecting many of the young women referred in the short time available to do so. - Some young people have engaged well with education while at Aycliffe although there has been uncertainty about how best to accommodate education alongside therapeutic needs. Planning for future education or training has been limited by the difficulties of achieving well planned transitions to suitable placements. - In most cases, positive transitions into suitable placements have not been achieved. Local Authority planning has been poor and placements difficult to find. Placements have often been identified only very shortly before young women have been due to move. However, the project has involved families well wherever possible and, despite many placements being far-flung, workers have provided considerable support to young people during and following transitions. Outcomes for Aycliffe - Staff report increased knowledge and confidence in relation to working with CSE affected young people. 100% of staff have completed a 5 day training course on trauma, attachment and CSE which was very positively received. - There is some early evidence that a more therapeutic culture is emerging across Aycliffe and this can partly be attributed to the Innovations project. The introduction of clinical supervision has been welcomed by most staff and is making a difference. - There is evidence that sustaining relationships across transitions from secure accomodation into the community is appreciated by young people, parents and social workers. Details: Feethams, Darlington: UK: Department of Education, 2016. 84p. Source: Internet Resource: Children's Social Care Innovation Programme Evaluation Report 03: Accessed August 28, 2017 at: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/26762/1/Aycliffe_CSE_Project_report.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/26762/1/Aycliffe_CSE_Project_report.pdf Shelf Number: 146924 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationCost Benefit AnalysisFoster CareYoung Adults |
Author: Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action Title: Toolkit on Unaccompanied and Separated Children Summary: This toolkit includes the following: Key international instruments and guidelines relating to UASC Child-specific human rights instruments - United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), 1989 - Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, 2000 - Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, 2000 - Optional Protocol to the CRC on a Communications Procedure, 2011 - Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 1998 - Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 182), 1999 - Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Anti-Trafficking Protocol), 2000 - The Hague Conference on Private International Law - Convention for the Protection of Minors, 1961 - Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, 1980 - Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption, 1993, and its Recommendation Concerning the Application to Refugee Children and Other Internationally Displaced Children, 1994 - Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Cooperation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children, 1996 - Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, 1990 Details: s.l.: The Alliance, 2017. 250p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 11, 2017 at: https://childprotectionallianceblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/tools-web-2017-0322.pdf Year: 2017 Country: International URL: https://childprotectionallianceblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/tools-web-2017-0322.pdf Shelf Number: 147220 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild TraffickingChild WelfareHuman RightsHuman SmugglingRights of the ChildUnaccompanied Children |
Author: Fry, Deborah Title: Bringing the global to the local: review of global trends in the prevalence and services for child maltreatment in order to inform research, policy and practice in England Summary: This paper compiles, for the first time, available global statistics according to the 16 NSPCC indicators collected annually for the UK. Child deaths are declining over time in the UK. Comparative data shows that child homicide and suicide rates have been showing a steady decline over the past several decades in high-income countries globally. Child death rates in the UK are among the lowest in Europe. There is a lack of comparative trend data related to prevalence of child maltreatment. Where we do have data, we know that self-reported prevalence of child maltreatment and harm is lower than the US. When prevalence of various forms of child maltreatment - including physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect - are self-reported in household surveys, the UK shows a lower overall prevalence of child maltreatment than the US when using similar instruments albeit different methods of data collection (e.g. household interviewer administered questionnaires in the UK and telephone surveys in the US). However, the self-reported prevalence of children experiencing physical abuse is similar between the UK and the US and is the most commonly reported form of abuse in both nations. The increasing importance of the Internet in children's lives also increases the risk of experiencing online harm. While children in the UK are generally less likely to report experiencing online harm compared to other EU countries and Australia, the prevalence of cyberbullying is increasing both in the UK and several other EU countries. The prevalence of crime victimisation among adolescents in England is low, around 5%, though children in England are more likely to report being the victim of assault or a hate crime in the past year than children in other European countries such as Denmark, Ukraine and Italy. Children in the UK are more likely to contact the NSPCC Childline about concerns related to abuse or violence compared to child helplines in other high human development index countries. Research has shown that helplines are important avenues for helpseeking for children, especially for forms of violence such as sexual abuse. Comparative data shows that, over time, the UK has seen a pronounced increase in rates of sexual offenses reported to the police, more so than most other high-income countries, but underreporting of sexual abuse to the police is still an issue. England has a higher rate of children referred to social welfare services compared to Australia and this shows an upward trend. The rate of children referred is higher in England than in Australia, even though Australia has mandatory reporting whereas England does not, with an overall increase from 2010 to 2015. Professionals account for over 70% of referrals in England and Australia, but referrals made by parents, relatives and other individuals are more common in Australia and the US compared to England. The composition of child protection plans between countries differs with England having more referrals related to neglect compared to Australia and Canada but far fewer than the US. Of all types of abuse, child sexual abuse was the least common type of abuse subject to a child protection plan across all countries except the US. Overall, children in England spend less time on child protection plans compared to Australia, and the time on plans in England is decreasing over time. The number of looked after children is increasing in England but the number of placements a child has is declining. The number of looked after children is higher in England than Canada, but the number of placements that looked after children have is declining in England, showing trends towards more stability in placements. The UK is a destination country for child trafficking and internal trafficking is an issue, especially for girls. The number of trafficked children identified in the UK is higher than in some European countries such as France but lower than Germany and other countries. In the UK, trafficking of children happens within the country - with increasing reports of girls trafficked internally for sexual exploitation - and children are also trafficked to the UK from other countries with the UK being recognised as one of the top destination countries globally Details: London: NSPCC, 2017. 57p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 14, 2017 at: http://www.eif.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/improving-child-protection_strand5_NSPCC-global_June2017.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.eif.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/improving-child-protection_strand5_NSPCC-global_June2017.pdf Shelf Number: 147256 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild Protection |
Author: Raff, Annie Title: Trends in Child Protection: England Summary: Each year since 2013, the NSPCC publishes the report 'How safe are our children' which is intended to help us understand the extent of abuse and neglect in the UK. Child abuse and neglect is complex and often hidden and there is not one single source of data that allows us to track or measure all child abuse and neglect. What we do have is multiple sources of data, each with its own merits and weaknesses. This report draws on the methodology used by the NSPCC in compiling the 'How safe are our children' reports, but using data specific to England where possible. For each indicator, we have set out the strengths and limitations of the data. The indicators we have used We have compiled 22 different indicators in an effort to understand the extent of abuse and neglect in England. The indicators relate both to deaths due to child maltreatment and the incidence of abuse and neglect. In each case there are multiple ways to measure the extent of child maltreatment. Since there is a wide range of relevant information, we have had to be selective in the measures presented. Our aim has been to provide the most robust and comprehensive picture possible, so we have chosen indicators that: - provide different insights on the extent of child abuse and neglect; - use robust data, where possible based on a large sample and standardised measures. Where there are weaknesses in the data we state these; and - wherever possible, use data that can be tracked over time and is included in the NSPCC How Safe series. What we have not been able to include We have not been able to include data on all forms of child abuse in this report, largely due to the paucity of data available. Often data may be available, yet it will not be broken down by age allowing children to be identified. We have not been able to provide a complete picture of administrative data or self-report data related to all forms of abuse in this report. This is largely due to the paucity of data available or the incomplete nature of the recorded data. Some examples include: - data on assaults in England is recorded by the police and published, but is not broken down by the age of the victims. The police do record this information but it is not currently collected and/or published centrally - there is insufficient data on children's own views about how safe they feel from abuse and neglect - the only large scale dataset that looks at the prevalence of abuse and neglect is the NSPCC study conducted in 2009. There is a need for a new prevalence study to be conducted by the government that looks at all forms of abuse and neglect. For more information or comparisons with other nations in the UK, please see the NSPCC How Safe reports available at https://www.nspcc.org.uk/services-andresources/research-and-resources/2016/how-safeare-our-children-2016/. Details: London: NSPCC, 2017. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 14, 2017 at: http://www.eif.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/improving-child-protection_strand4_NSPCC-England_June2017.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.eif.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/improving-child-protection_strand4_NSPCC-England_June2017.pdf Shelf Number: 147664 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild Protection |
Author: Parkinson, Samantha Title: Child Neglect: Key Concepts and Risk Factors Summary: The NSW Department of Family and Community Services (FACS) Office of the Senior Practitioner commissioned the Australian Centre for Child Protection to work in partnership with FACS to provide evidence from the research literature to inform the development of an updated FACS policy on neglect and other practice resources. Specifically, the Australian Centre for Child Protection were contracted to provide a brief report comprising two components: 1. An overview of the key concepts in defining neglect; and 2. A systematic review of reviews investigating the common risk factors for neglect Simultaneously, the NSW FACS Office of the Senior Practitioner will undertake a review of the literature on the impacts of neglect. As the purpose of this report is to inform NSW FACS, the focus (particularly within Section 1: Key definitional concepts) is on identifying issues of particular relevance to statutory child protection and their implications for practice. Details: Adelaide: UniSA College, Australian Centre for Child Protection, 2017. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 19, 2017 at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/Global/EASS/Research/ACCP/Child%20Neglect,Key%20concept%20and%20risk%20factors%20report.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: http://www.unisa.edu.au/Global/EASS/Research/ACCP/Child%20Neglect,Key%20concept%20and%20risk%20factors%20report.pdf Shelf Number: 147401 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child Maltreatment Child Protection |
Author: Munro, Emily R. Title: Daybreak Family Group Conferencing: children on the edge of care Summary: Daybreak is a charity specialising in the provision of family group conferences (FGCs). Their approach is underpinned by commitment to the active participation of children, young people and their families to support the resolution of family problems. For this Children's Innovation Fund project, Daybreak, in collaboration with Southwark and Wiltshire children's services, offered an FGC to all families to whom a letter of intent to initiate care proceedings (Public Law Outline Letter) was issued between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2016. The aims of the project were to: - demonstrate, codify and evaluate a robust model and approach with a view to raising the quality of FGCs, promoting consistently good outcomes and improving value for money - reduce court costs and delays; fully integrate the voice of the children in decision making, and divert children from care when safe to do so - strengthen adherence to existing policy, in particular the requirements of the Public Law Outline (PLO) and the Children and Families Act 2014 Details: Darlington, UK: Department of Education, 2017. 71p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 9, 2017 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/625372/Daybreak_Family_Group_Conferencing.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/625372/Daybreak_Family_Group_Conferencing.pdf Shelf Number: 148096 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild WelfareFamily CounselingGroup ConferencingSocial Work |
Author: Know Violence in Childhood Title: Ending Violence in Childhood. Global Report 2017 Summary: For a large proportion of the world's population, life is better than it was 30 years ago. Incomes have risen significantly. Life expectancy has increased. Fewer people are living in extreme poverty. Fewer mothers die in childbirth. The global community has also moved in many directions to make the world a more peaceful place for all. And yet, at least three out of every four of the world's children - 1.7 billion - had experienced some form of inter-personal violence, cruelty or abuse in their daily lives in a previous year, regardless of whether they lived in rich countries or poor, in the global North or the global South. It is unfortunate that a culture of silence surrounds violence. As a result, violence against children is still largely invisible in the development discourse. Violence violates the dignity and rights of children, and robs them of the joys of childhood. Childhood violence also disrupts the formation of capabilities, and imposes huge financial and human costs on individuals and societies. The tide is however turning. The 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by all but one of the UN member states, has been the inspiration for national governments and others to end violence against children. With ending violence being a clearly articulated priority of the Sustainable Development Goals, we have a unique opportunity to break the cycle of violence, especially for children and women who bear the brunt of it. This Report has marshalled global evidence to show how collaboration and learning across geographies, disciplines and sectors can unite academics, policy makers and practitioners to end childhood violence. The Report finds large gaps in global knowledge and evidence related to different dimensions of childhood violence. It therefore calls for much greater investment in data, research and evaluation to break the silence around violence and to promote public action across the world. Defining and measuring childhood violence is not easy. The Report makes a beginning by using estimated prevalence rates to develop a global picture of violence in childhood. It calls for States to invest in strengthening data systems to report on all forms of violence experienced by children across ages and settings. This Report also calls for global and local actions to promote child rights and prevent violence. It advocates a shift away from seeing violence as a series of discrete episodes towards recognizing that it is a thread running through the everyday lives of children everywhere. Details: New Delhi: Know Violence in Childhood, 2017. 158p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 20, 2017 at: http://globalreport.knowviolenceinchildhood.org/ Year: 2017 Country: International URL: http://globalreport.knowviolenceinchildhood.org/ Shelf Number: 148271 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionChildren and ViolenceFamily ViolenceInterpersonal Violence |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Title: Handbook on Children Recruited and Exploited by Terrorist and Violent Extremist Groups: The Role of the Justice System Summary: In the past few years, the international community has been increasingly confronted with the recruitment and exploitation of children by terrorist and violent extremist groups. Numerous reports have shed some light on the extent of this disturbing phenomenon. Estimates indicate that, since 2009, about 8,000 children have been recruited and used by Boko Haram in Nigeria. According to a report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, some boys have been forced to attack their own families to demonstrate loyalty to Boko Haram, while girls have been forced to marry, clean, cook and carry equipment and weapons. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights received consistent reports that some boys and girls were increasingly being used as human shields and to detonate bombs. In May 2015, for example, a girl about 12 years old was used to detonate a bomb at a bus station in Damaturu, Yobe State, killing seven people. Similar incidents were reported in Cameroon and the Niger. During attacks by Boko Haram, abducted boys were used to identify those who refused to join the group, as well as unmarried women and girls. In 2015 alone, the United Nations verified 274 cases of children having been recruited by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Syrian Arab Republic. The United Nations verified the existence of centres in rural Aleppo, Dayr al-Zawr and rural Raqqah that provided military training to at least 124 boys between 10 and 15 years of age. Verification of the use of children as foreign fighters has increased significantly, with 18 cases involving children as young as 7 years of age. The use of children as child executioners was reported and appeared in video footage. In Iraq, in two incidents in June and September 2015, more than 1,000 children were reportedly abducted by ISIL from Mosul district. While the lack of access to areas in conflict undercuts the possibility to gather precise data, it is known that recruited children were used to act as spies and scouts, to transport military supplies and equipment, to conduct patrols, to man checkpoints, to videotape attacks for propaganda purposes and to plant explosive devices, as well as to actively engage in attacks or combat situations. These figures are likely to be significant underestimates because of the limited opportunities to gain access and monitor violations against children. Child recruitment is also perpetrated by Al-Shabaab in Kenya and Somalia,5 by the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, Ansar Eddine and Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb in Mali and neighbouring countries and by the Abu Sayyaf Group in the Philippines, to name a few. Owing to the expanding reach and propaganda of terrorist and violent extremist groups, child recruitment and exploitation are in no way limited to conflict-ridden areas. More and more children are travelling from their State of residence to areas controlled by terrorist and violent extremist groups, in order to join them. They may travel with their families or by themselves, and obtaining comprehensive data on their participation in hostilities is often difficult. In the case of ISIL, for instance, information often becomes available only after the children's death, when they are eulogized as martyrs and their country of origin is revealed. Data collected for more than one year, during the period 2015-2016, concerned 89 children who died in hostilities. They included not only nationals of Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic, but also nationals of Australia, France, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Yemen. These figures do not include children taken to ISIL territory by their families. Finally, children may also be recruited to support the groups, or even carry out attacks, in countries that are not experiencing armed conflict. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2017. 160p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 1, 2018 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/Child-Victims/Handbook_on_Children_Recruited_and_Exploited_by_Terrorist_and_Violent_Extremist_Groups_the_Role_of_the_Justice_System.E.pdf Year: 2017 Country: International URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/Child-Victims/Handbook_on_Children_Recruited_and_Exploited_by_Terrorist_and_Violent_Extremist_Groups_the_Role_of_the_Justice_System.E.pdf Shelf Number: 148961 Keywords: Child ExploitationChild ProtectionExtremist GroupsRadicalizationTerrorismTerrorist Recruitment |
Author: Kerr, Jane Title: Responding to child sexual abuse and exploitation in the night-time economy Summary: Following high-profile cases of CSE (such as in Rotherham, Oxford and Rochdale), there have been a range of campaigns aimed at increasing people's awareness of, and capacity to act on, warning signs. Informing those who work in the night-time economy is of particular interest, as perpetrators are known to use fast-food outlets, taxi firms and hotel rooms to facilitate and conduct abuse. For this research, the night-time economy was defined as businesses and services that have direct contact with the public after 6pm. NatCen conducted an online questionnaire with 126 self-defined night-time economy workers across a range of legitimate industries within the public, private and third sectors. Key messages - The study found diversity in workers' awareness of the warning signs of CSA/CSE, knowledge of how to respond, experience of and interest in training, and awareness of campaigns. Key findings were that: - Perceptions of risk ranged from high to none at all across the industries and roles. - Being aware of the risks did not mean workers were clear about the warning signs or about how to respond; this appeared more to be associated with the responsibilities of their role. Participants whose roles include responsibility for child or public protection gave details of how they would respond to warning signs. Those with other roles referred more broadly to contacting the police or social services. - Not all workers in the night-time economy feel equipped to recognise and respond to the warning signs. Factors that appeared to influence how participants said they would react to the warning signs were: 1. The individual's role/remit specifically in relation to child protection; there were workers who did not see responding to CSA, including CSE, as part of their role 2. The extent of their contact with young people 3. The immediate perceived risk to the child. - Levels of training, information and support around CSE varied across industry sectors; training is not widespread across the night-time economy. Interest in receiving training and information was mixed, with a view that the issues and responses were 'common sense' or not part of their role. There was positive feedback on training that had been received, and some interest in receiving more. Those who did want further training mentioned specific training relating to their area of work, or ongoing training. - Two-fifths of participants had heard of one or more recent campaigns around CSE, even though many of those campaigns had targeted specific geographical locations. This research was intended as a preliminary stage of exploration into what night-time economy workers know and do about CSE/CSA. Further research could focus on fully understanding workers' knowledge of this area, evaluating the interventions aimed at night-time economy workers, and informing targeted initiatives and general messaging that the welfare of children and young people in the night-time economy is a responsibility that transcends workers' specific roles. Details: Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse, 2017. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 2, 2018 at: https://www.csacentre.org.uk/research-publications/night-time-economy/responding-to-child-sexual-abuse-and-exploitation-in-the-night-time-economy/ Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.csacentre.org.uk/research-publications/night-time-economy/responding-to-child-sexual-abuse-and-exploitation-in-the-night-time-economy/ Shelf Number: 0 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationNight-time Economy |
Author: Cann, Jenny Title: Assessing the Extent of Discretionary Disclosure under the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) Summary: This study examined the use of discretionary disclosure in the community management of sex offenders. Discretionary disclosure enables the Police and Probation Services, and other agencies working within the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (the framework under which risks posed by dangerous offenders in the community are assessed and managed) to inform members of the public about a convicted child sexual offender, when there is an identified need for public protection. A self-completion questionnaire circulated to all 43 police Areas yielded 40 returns (3 were unable to provide the required information within the time available). The primary reported reason for police or other agencies to undertake disclosure was child protection. A range of recipients of information was reported, the most common being staff working in schools. Almost as commonly reported were an offender's family, friends and partners, their employers and staff working in community services (e.g. leisure facilities). A range of information was reported to be disclosed, most commonly details of the offence of which an offender was convicted. The primary outcome of discretionary disclosure was reported as enhancement of child protection through limitation of opportunities for an offender to access a potentially risky situation. A few Areas also reported that disclosure could add to intelligence-gathering through increased third party awareness of risk factors. However, disclosure to third parties also held the potential for a detrimental impact on those factors thought to be important in stabilising an offender and helping them avoid re-offending, such as the maintenance of stable housing, employment and relationships. In a few instances, following further disclosures made without police or other agency knowledge or consent, offenders had been subject to public order offences. This study recommends ways in which the practice of discretionary disclosure could be improved, including building on national guidance and standardising recording procedures. Details: London: Home Office, 2007. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Home Office Online Report 13/07: Accessed February 5, 2018 at: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.555.2034&rep=rep1&type=pdf Year: 2007 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.555.2034&rep=rep1&type=pdf Shelf Number: 148991 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sex Offenders Collaboration Community Supervision Multi-Agency Public Protection Partnerships Sex Offenders |
Author: Allnock, Debbie Title: Evidence-based models of policing to protect children from sexual exploitation Summary: Key Messages CSA was named as a national threat in England and Wales in March 2015. CSE, particularly online CSE, is now mentioned in the strategic policing requirement. Policing activity to respond to CSE has accelerated in recent years. Inspections have found evidence of good practice and improvements to policing of CSE, but have also documented on-going challenges facing the police. Inspections show that police forces are not using their disruption powers to full effect and research shows that information sharing between police and local authorities can be a major barrier to safeguarding children from CSE. Information on the number of CSE convictions is not readily available: police do not receive intelligence about all CSE-related crimes; many cases are never reported and there are inconsistent approaches to record keeping between and within forces. That said, published offence data for 2015/16 shows an increase in reporting of all sexual offence categories compared to 2014/15. Published research about 'what works' in policing to obtain prosecutions is absent. This is the first study of its kind to document the ways in which some police forces in England have structured their CSE responses. This is also the first study of its kind to assess the features of CSE policing responses in relation to the outcomes for victims. Despite this, understanding of the relationship between policing responses and prosecution outcomes remains elusive in light of problematic data recording within police and CPS systems. Details: Luton, Bedfordshire, UK: University Of Bedfordshire, The International Centre: Researching Child Sexual Exploitation, Violence and Trafficking, 2017. 91p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 14, 2018 at: https://www.beds.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/571145/Evidence-based-models-of-policing.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.beds.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/571145/Evidence-based-models-of-policing.pdf Shelf Number: 149149 Keywords: Child PornographyChild ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual abuseChild Sexual ExploitationPolicing |
Author: Council of Europe. Lanzarote Committee Title: Protection of Children Against Sexual Abuse in the Circle of Trust: The Strategies Summary: Council of Europe's Lanzarote Committee analyses the strategies used by 26 European countries to protect children against sexual abuse in the circle of trust (extended family and persons close to the child who exercise influence over the child). According to the report, states-parties to the Council of Europe's Convention on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (Lanzarote Convention) are undertaking effective steps in this field. Enabling children to take an active part in the development and adoption of policies is a highly promising practice. Almost all parties' national authorities cooperate with civil society organisations and the private sector in awareness-raising, education and training of people working with children to prevent child sexual abuse. The report stresses the important role of the media in informing about child sexual abuse paying particular attention to the full respect for the privacy and the rights of the child. In Croatia and Romania, for instance, it is prohibited to reveal the identity or any other information about the private life of a child. Details: Strasbourg: The Committee, 2018. 66p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 2018 at: https://rm.coe.int/t-es-2017-12-en-final-report-cot-strategies-with-executive-summary/1680788770 Year: 2018 Country: Europe URL: https://rm.coe.int/t-es-2017-12-en-final-report-cot-strategies-with-executive-summary/1680788770 Shelf Number: 149181 Keywords: Child Protection Child Sexual Abuse Child Sexual ExploitationMedia |
Author: Wager, Nadia Title: Rapid Evidence Assessment Quantifying The Extent Of Online-Facilitated Child Sexual Abuse Summary: This rapid evidence assessment (REA) examines what is known about the scale of online-facilitated child sexual abuse (CSA). It was commissioned by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), which is investigating whether public bodies and other non-state institutions have taken seriously their duties to care for and protect children and young people from child sexual abuse and exploitation. This research informs IICSA's investigation into institutional responses to child sexual abuse and exploitation facilitated by the internet (referred to as the internet investigation). The specific objectives were: to identify and appraise the measures currently available in England and Wales, and internationally, that could contribute to quantifying the scale of online CSA to consider what each of these measures say about the scale of online CSA to identify and appraise the range of data sources that are available for quantifying the scale of online CSA to identify gaps in the existing literature. 3 A rapid evidence assessment is a structured way of searching for, assessing the appropriateness of, and synthesising a large body of evidence in a very short time frame. It is less rigorous than a full systematic review and therefore does not provide a fully comprehensive summary of the evidence base. This should be borne in mind when considering the findings. Additional challenges taken into account during the review of the 99 articles and reports covered were dealing with the breadth of definitions used, and the constant changes in technology. Details: Huddersfield, UK: University of Huddersfield, Secure Societies Institute, 2018. 184p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 28, 2018 at: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/document/rapid-evidence-assessment-quantifying-extent-online-facilitated-child-sexual-abuse Year: 2018 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/document/rapid-evidence-assessment-quantifying-extent-online-facilitated-child-sexual-abuse Shelf Number: 149281 Keywords: Child PornographyChild Protection Child Sexual Abuse Child Sexual Exploitation Internet Crimes Online Victimization Social Media |
Author: Davidson, Julia Title: Enhancing Police and Industry Practice: EU Child Online Safety Project Summary: This report draws together the findings from the European Child Online Safety Project which was funded by the European Commission ISEC fund. The project was led by Professor Julia Davidson Middlesex University, UK with partners from University of Tilburg, Netherlands; University of Kore, Enna, Italy; Cyberpsychology Research Centre, Royal College of Surgeons; and the Geary Institute, University College Dublin, Ireland; and FDE Institute of Criminology, Mantova, Italy. The project sought to draw together the evidence base on online offender and victim behaviour including: - online grooming; - possession, collection and distribution of indecent child images; - Identification of policing and industry best practice in prevention. The project also sought to promote cooperation between law enforcement and industry in developing and disseminating good practice models in the area of online CSA. Through collaboration, this will ultimately assist practitioners and professionals: - To develop effective prevention techniques; - In early detection and deterrence; - With the provision of valid and recent research. The project had three primary and interdependent objectives: 1. Link project specific risk characteristics with other risk factors for grooming, like risk-taking and sexual orientation concerns; 2. Creation of victim typologies of cyber-grooming to assist with identification of vulnerable individuals and groups; 3. Development of 'Best Practice' guidelines for industry and law enforcement in the identification and prevention of online childhood sexual abuse. Details: 168p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 8, 2018 at: https://www.mdx.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/250163/ISEC-report-FINAL.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Europe URL: https://www.mdx.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/250163/ISEC-report-FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 149405 Keywords: Child GroomingChild PornographyChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseOnline VictimizationSocial Media |
Author: San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center Title: The Economics of Child Abuse: A Study of San Francisco Summary: "The Economics of Child Abuse: A Study of San Francisco" is a first-of-its-kind report quantifying the economic cost of child abuse to the San Francisco community. The report asses community risk factors that make families of the city vulnerable to abuse. It also discusses protective factors which keep families safe and strong. Key Findings -- Estimated lifetime cost per victim of child abuse in San Francisco is $400,533 - The total estimated costs associated with one year of substantiated cases of child abuse in San Francisco is $301.6 million. - Given significant under-reporting of child abuse, the total economic cost could be as high as $5.6 billion. - San Francisco has community risk factors that make its residents more susceptible to abuse, including: impact of economic instability and homelessness, emigration and immigration, low number of families and young children. - Strengthening protective factors - parental resilience, social connections, concrete support in times of need, knowledge of parenting, and social / emotional competence of children - is critical to preventing child abuse. Details: San Francisco: The Child Abuse Prevention Center, and the Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley, 2017. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed March 14, 2018 at: https://safeandsound.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/economicsofabuse_report_sfcapc1.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://safeandsound.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/economicsofabuse_report_sfcapc1.pdf Shelf Number: 149468 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionCosts of CrimeCosts of Criminal JusticeEconomics of CrimeHealth Care |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: "It's Like We're Always in a Prison": Abuses Against Boys Accused of National Security Offenses in Somalia Summary: The Islamist armed group Al-Shabab in Somalia recruits and uses hundreds of children as fighters. But their hardships and abuses continue even after these children escape or are captured by government forces. "It's Like We're Always in a Prison": Abuses Against Boys Accused of National Security Offenses in Somalia, documents the treatment of children arrested and detained since 2015 for suspected association with Al-Shabab. It is based on over 80 interviews, including with children formerly forced to train with or support Al-Shabab, their relatives, boys who had been detained in intelligence and police custody, lawyers, child protection advocates, and government officials. The report finds that authorities across Somalia are subjecting children in their custody to serious abuses, including coercive confessions and prohibiting access to their family members. Children handed over for prosecution are being tried in military courts in proceedings that fail to meet international juvenile justice standards. Existing and pending laws risk making it easier, not harder, to detain and prosecute children for Al-Shabab-related crimes without basic juvenile justice protections for children. When the authorities do hand children over to child rehabilitation centers, their legal status is often unclear. Human Rights Watch calls on the Somali government to end arbitrary detention of children and allow for systematic independent oversight of children in custody. Children taken into custody should be promptly transferred to child protection actors for rehabilitation and - when feasible - reintegration. Children accused of serious crimes should be tried by civilian courts in line with juvenile justice standards. Details: New York: HRW, 2018. 95p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 16, 2018 at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/somalia0218_web.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Somalia URL: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/somalia0218_web.pdf Shelf Number: 149483 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionChild SoldiersHuman Rights AbusesJuvenile Detention |
Author: Interpol Title: Towards a Global Indicator on Unidentified Victims in Child Sexual Exploitation Material: Technical Report Summary: This report presents the results of a two-part analysis of the multi-country data set contained in the International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) Database housed at INTERPOL and of consultations with law enforcement personnel in relation to the identification of victims and offenders pictured in Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and Child Sexual Exploitation Material (CSEM) seized by law enforcement around the world. It forms one component of a larger programme of the ICSE Database enhancement activities financed by the European Union and carried out between 2016 and 2018 under the title International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database Connectivity and Awareness Raising Enhancements (I-CARE) Project. A ground-breaking cooperation between INTERPOL and ECPAT International, the study is broader in country coverage and possibly in other dimensions than any other previously analysed and publicly reported on. It responds to widespread recognition of the scarcity of reliable data and research on CSAM and CSEM to inform evidence-based policy and programmes to tackle the issue and protect children from online sexual exploitation and abuse across the world. It highlights the urgent need to develop representative international baselines of empirical data on the victimisation of children depicted in CSAM and CSEM, and to enhance the response by law enforcement agencies around the world to this problem. The analysis has been subject to a number of legal, institutional and ethical conditions, which have been duly and carefully considered, and which have been addressed in the exercise. Taken together, a comprehensive perspective on the overall database contents, and a mix of quantitative and qualitative findings from a selected sample of observations, has produced a broad range of findings, whose statistical validity has been confirmed by an expert reviewer. The study provides insight based on visual analysis of images and videos into the profile of unidentified child victims and their abusers, including age, gender, and type and severity of abuse, and further presents the results of analysis of case-related metadata for cases recorded as both identified and unidentified in the ICSE Database. It highlights the multi-faceted challenges presented to the law enforcement and child protection community by rapid evolutions in the means available for online child exploitation and abuse as a distinct subset of child sexual abuse and exploitation, and the increasingly complex role played by youth-produced sexual content in this landscape. Through analysis of confirmed and suspected locations of abuse as recorded in the ICSE Database, the study also considers the relationship between resource allocation for victim identification and rates of identification worldwide. The study acknowledges that there are qualitative limitations inherent in the multi-country and multi-user data set of the ICSE Database, but also highlights the unique nature of the data set resulting from this diverse user base. This in turn underlines the distinctive position and potential of the ICSE Database for further technological evolutions, country connections, and as a tool in victim identification efforts, and reinforces the usefulness the ICSE Database for further research and as focal point for future efforts to build a global indicator. Details: Bangkok: ECPAT, 2018. 104p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 16, 2018 at: http://www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Technical-Report-TOWARDS-A-GLOBAL-INDICATOR-ON-UNIDENTIFIED-VICTIMS-IN-CHILD-SEXUAL-EXPLOITATION-MATERIAL.pdf Year: 2018 Country: International URL: http://www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Technical-Report-TOWARDS-A-GLOBAL-INDICATOR-ON-UNIDENTIFIED-VICTIMS-IN-CHILD-SEXUAL-EXPLOITATION-MATERIAL.pdf Shelf Number: 149496 Keywords: Child PornographyChild ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationComputer CrimesInternet CrimesOnline VictimizationSex Trafficking |
Author: ECPAT International Title: Regional Overview: Combating The Sexual Exploitation of Children in South Asia: Evolving Trends, Existing Responses and Future Priorities Summary: This report offers an overview of the sexual exploitation of children (SEC), including in its commercial forms (CSEC), as it emerges in the eight countries that form South Asia - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - and are members of SAARC, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. A special focus is placed on three manifestations characterising the regional context, namely, online child sexual exploitation (OCSE), SEC in travel and tourism (SECTT) and SEC in child, early and forced marriage (CEFM). Research studies and regular data generation on issues relating to child sexual abuse and exploitation are scanty in the region because of the cultural sensitivity around the problem and lack of regular programme monitoring systems. This study seeks to offer an overview of the situation of children at risk or victims of SEC on the basis of existing evidence by - Exploring emerging socio-economic drivers compounding the problem; - Analysing the main manifestations of SEC in the specific regional context; - Reviewing the policy and legal responses that enable or, to the contrary, hinder child protection and safety, further calling attention to persisting gaps; and - Finally proposing a set of actions necessary to move forward in the fight against sexual violence against children in South Asia. In 2014, ECPAT had produced a similar document titled The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in South Asia. Developments, Progress, Challenges and Recommended Strategies for Civil Society. The present situation analysis not only provides an update of the earlier study, but also a new perspective on the problem. It investigates the various issues relating to SEC from the point of view of a society taking a new development path and undergoing a phase of fast and profound transformation. The point of observation is that of a complex change encompassing substantial economic growth, rapid urbanisation and migration. Increased wealth and mobility, together with the fast penetration of information and communication technologies, are offering unprecedented opportunities to the young generations of South Asians and opening new windows on the rest of the world. The same transformations, however, also expose young people to the risks typically associated with modern living, lifestyles and worldviews. Section 1 of the report, the Introduction, seeks to sketch the backdrop against which SEC is occurring in South Asia as the new does not necessarily replace the old, but rather leads to a stratification of pre-existing and recent manifestations of sexual abuse, exploitation and violence. South Asia is a land of contrasts. As the region is poised to become, with the rest of Asia, the largest global market of the future, a sizeable portion of its population still lives in subsistence economies and traditional communities. The region ranks at the very top globally in a number of significant areas. Economically, South Asia is the fastest growing region worldwide; socially, it is leading the urbanisation of the planet (with the rest of Asia and Africa); and technologically, India alone is one of the three markets with the highest numbers of mobile accounts among young people in the South of the world. However, despite such impressive progress, globally the region still accounts for the largest concentration of people living in absolute poverty; displays some of the worst human development outcomes in areas such as healthcare, schooling and per capita expenditure or income; hosts the majority of modern slaves trapped in forced prostitution, forced marriage, forced labour and organ trafficking; is home to the largest number of child brides and child labourers; is responsible for the bulk of the out-of-school children (together with West Asia and sub-Saharan Africa); and, jointly with Sub-Saharan Africa, accounts for over three quarters of child deaths caused by climate change in recent decades. If history is any guide, the constantly growing size and speed of human and financial flows in the absence of adequate protection policies for vulnerable populations may lead to a hike in sexual violence against children in the future. Research activities in the realm of SEC will need to increasingly focus on such influential trends to analyse how systemic change may impact the safety and protection of children by transforming the root causes of child abuse. Within this backdrop, Section 2 analytically reviews several manifestations of SEC as these emerge in a number of settings such as - Information and communication technologies, whose penetration in South Asia has been growing at a substantially faster pace than other kinds of infrastructure and services necessary for human development, while also, in parallel, rapidly multiplying risks relating primarily to the creation and trade of child sexual abuse material by perpetrators displaying a sexual interest in children, and to sexual harassment and extortion of children online by perpetrators generally known to the victims; - Travel and tourism, in the context of rising trends in international tourist arrivals, matched with a steady increase in domestic travellers who can now reach out to children in novel settings such as homestays or childcare institutions; - Child, early and forced marriage (CEFM), which local cultures may view as a form of protection from sexual harassment for adolescent girls rather than as a condition that can expose girls and women to life-long systematic sexual violence; - Child trafficking still persisting in South Asian countries, despite efforts in this area having been more systematised and institutionalised than in others over time; - Sexual exploitation of children (SEC), continuing in the context of the traditional sex trade and now evolving in technology-facilitated forms; - Child labour, often unrecognised as a vast reservoir for sexual exploitation, but in fact being a major channel to SEC, especially in certain occupations, such as domestic labour, widespread across South Asia; and - Humanitarian crises, conflicts and environmental disasters, which dramatically exacerbate the pre-existing vulnerabilities of children and weaken the capacity of poor communities to protect their families. Section 3 reviews existing legal, policy and programme responses being implemented at local, national and regional levels to address SEC in the areas highlighted in the previous section, while also seeking to identify major gaps and challenges. All South Asian countries have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (OPSC), in addition to other important regional instruments (such as the SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combatting Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution, and the SAARC Convention on Regional Arrangements for the Promotion of Child Welfare in South Asia). However, the Palermo Protocol on Trafficking in Persons has been fully ratified by only Afghanistan, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka, while none of the SAARC countries has so far developed national legislation harmonised with the OPSC, specific laws addressing issues such as SECTT or OCSE, or substantive extraterritorial jurisdiction. Progressive policies have been designed in the areas of protection of children from sexual offences, trafficking, child labour and early marriage by most countries in the region, while initial attempts have been made to respond to online threats, mainly by setting up webbased portals aimed at spreading information on child trafficking, tracking down trafficked and missing children, and supporting confidential reporting. Lack of proper awareness, implementation and enforcement, however, emerges as the main challenge with regard to the implementation of policies and laws. In addition to efforts by governments, the growing South Asian private sector has also started contributing proactively, especially by adopting more stringent corporate social responsibility (CSR) guidelines. Its involvement in the realm of SEC, however, remains rather limited, especially with reference to the ICT and travel and tourism industries whose role in preventing harm by online and travelling child sex predators would be particularly relevant. Civil society organisations continue to play a key role in the fight against the various manifestations of SEC, although the scope of their interventions may be normally limited to the local level and not always receive adequate support or recognition by the government. Children's and young people's groups have become more active in combatting SEC, even though they need more opportunities to access sexuality education, enhance awareness about online and offline threats, and gain further agency. An important platform for coordination among the various partners involved is the South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC), a SAARC Apex body acting, since 2005, as an inter-governmental mechanism committed to promoting the rights and protection of children at the regional level. Especially relevant in the context of SEC has been the recent 4th SAIEVAC Ministerial Meeting, held from 9-11 May 2016 in New Delhi, which led to a joint commitment by SAARC Member States to frame a region-wide strategy with the aim of tackling the sexual of children, especially online, through trafficking, and in travel and tourism. Details: Bangkok: ECPAT, 2017. 168p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 16, 2018 at: http://www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Regional-Overview_South-Asia.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Asia URL: http://www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Regional-Overview_South-Asia.pdf Shelf Number: 149500 Keywords: Child Pornography Child Prostitution Child ProtectionChild Sex TourismChild Sexual Abuse Child Sexual Exploitation Computer Crimes Internet Crimes |
Author: National Conference of State Legislatures Title: Safe Harbor: State Efforts to Combat Child Trafficking Summary: Child trafficking crimes - actions that facilitate the commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor of youth - present difficult criminal justice and human services challenges for government officials. State legislators, through the deliberation and enactment of policy, are at the forefront of the current intergovernmental effort to identify and implement effective procedures to combat child traffickers and pursue justice for survivors. A recent trend in state child trafficking policy focuses on treating trafficked youth as survivors of trauma who should be provided rehabilitative services rather than as perpetrators of crimes they were forced to commit. Policies created for this purpose are a subset of child trafficking measures often referred to as safe harbor laws. This report identifies six themes in state safe harbor laws and provides policy alternatives within each theme. The six themes are: Collaboration and coordination of state entities and resources. Decriminalization and/or diversion for actions of trafficked youth. Funds for anti-trafficking efforts and survivor services. Provision of services for youth survivors. Increased penalties for traffickers of children. Training to recognize and respond to trafficking crimes and its victims Details: Washington, DC: NCSL, 2017. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 19, 2018 at: http://www.ncsl.org/Portals/1/Documents/cj/SafeHarbor_v06.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 149504 Keywords: Child ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sex TraffickingChild Sexual ExploitationChild TraffickingForced LaborHuman Trafficking |
Author: Backbone Collective Title: Seen and not Heard: Children in the New Zealand Family Court. Part One - Force Summary: Six months ago, Backbone released a report about how women who have experienced violence and abuse in their relationships are treated by the New Zealand Family Court. Our concluding remarks in that report were: 'With over 500 women saying that the New Zealand Family Court makes them and their children less safe, leaves them with multiple crippling health conditions and prevents them from rebuilding their lives (and those of their children) - surely those in authority will listen now?' Since then Backbone has made repeated calls for the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Family Court. But sadly, those in authority haven't listened - or if they listened they took no action. We hoped that in writing and releasing the first report the Family Court would be open to the service user feedback we were providing. However, we fear that there has been backlash for some women as they have spoken out about dangerous practices happening in their own cases. Backbone decided to conduct another survey on the Family Court - this time to find out how the Family Court responds to children when they and their mothers have experienced violence and abuse. Through this latest survey we have collected a rich and powerful set of data that is deeply troubling. What we discovered is that children fare very poorly when the Family Court is involved in their lives. Many mothers go to the Family Court for protection upon leaving an abusive partner, some get taken to the Family Court by the abuser, and some are involved in CYFs/MVCOT proceedings. Regardless of their pathway into the court we can now see that the impact on their children is overwhelmingly negative. Not only are the survey results cause for grave concern, but they take the system failures that we identified in our first Family Court report to a whole new level. All of the children in the survey have experienced violence and abuse - by seeing, hearing or knowing about the abuse of their mothers and/or by also being directly physically, sexually and/or psychologically abused. In 95% of cases the abuser was the child/ren's father. We were told about a complex array of trauma these children had suffered from the violence and abuse prior to separation. We were told about the many fears the children had about having contact with their abusive father post separation - with good justification based on the ranges of things mothers described happening at his house. In more than half the cases either the children or their mother told professionals working in the Family Court about the worries they had at the abuser's house but in the majority of cases those worries were not reported accurately to the Court or taken into consideration when care and contact orders were made. Most children are ordered into unsupervised care and contact with the abuser but the range of care arrangements is vast. However, of incredible significance is that when we compared how much time the Family Court is ordering children into care and contact with abusers against how much time the children say they WANT to spend with him - there is a big difference. Children want control over how much time they spend with the abuser and many want no contact at all. We were told that 54% of the children are being forced into care and contact arrangements that they do not want. These 'forced' children are significantly more worried about what happens at the abuser's house (sexual, physical and psychological safety issues) than children who were not forced. Similarly, we looked at the children who refused to attend care and contact visits with their abusive father - they had almost the same levels of worry as the 'forced' children. Therefore, the million-dollar question is why would the Family Court order/force children into the care of abusers with a known history of violence and abuse, when the children are scared of them and have told professionals working in the court that they feel unsafe when alone in the care of their abusive father? It appears that the Family Court is making care and contact orders in the absence of best practice in violence and abuse cases. For example, only 2.2% of mothers told us a risk assessment to determine the risk of dangerousness and lethality had been undertaken in their case. To be making care and contact orders for children who have experienced violence and abuse without any evidence based risk assessment is clear evidence of system failure - the Family Court is out of step with international best practice and the New Zealand Government's position on this: 'The government is committed to reducing family violence, keeping victims safe, and managing perpetrators more effectively so all New Zealanders can live free from violence. We know that identifying risk, intervening earlier and in a more coordinated way is critical to achieving this.'2 In the absence of any risk assessment the Family Court is characterising mothers who raise genuine safety concerns for their children as 'parental alienators'. Both this and our earlier Family Court survey found that professionals in the Family Court use 'parental alienation' or similar terms in nearly half of all cases. Children are not being believed about their experiences of violence an abuse, evidence of it occurring is being disregarded in the court and mothers are being blamed for their children's fears for their safety. Unfortunately, in many cases, the care and contact orders result in terrible health impacts for these children. We were told about a range of health impacts mothers attribute to Family Court proceedings and orders, including physical, psychological, social and behavioural impacts. The list of health impacts mothers detailed are heartbreaking. We found that the health of children of Māori mothers is impacted worse in some areas and this definitely requires further investigation. Backbone also found that the Family Court deems only a very small percentage of abusive men as unsafe to have contact with their children (or step children). Men who are most likely to be designated 'unsafe' by the Family Court are men with a Protection Order against this partner or a previous or subsequent partner, who have been charged with assaulting their child/ren physically or sexually or where the abuser was a step-father. For most of the 63 children involved in these cases the Family Court has ordered that they have no contact at all with the abuser, although some have supervised contact. Surprisingly we found that even though the fathers/step fathers of these 63 children are clearly very dangerous and these children have been exposed to some serious violence and abuse before their parents separated, once they separated and when protected appropriately by the Family Court, these children appear to have had far fewer damaging health impacts that those children whose abusive father was deemed as being 'safe' by the Family Court. Backbone is firmly of the view that the New Zealand Family Court is acting contrary to the legislation which should guide the way we respond to children. The Care of Children Act 2004 says that children MUST be protected from violence. Why then are hundreds of children being ordered by the Family Court directly into violent situations? These children are suffering at the hands of a largely tax payer funded system. These children are being ordered into dangerous situations by the very agencies and institutions that have been set up and funded by the state to protect them. New Zealand now has a new Government and Backbone's 1100 members hope they will see that constitutionally a Royal Commission of Inquiry is the only mechanism that can safely, effectively and fully investigate the practices of the Family Court. There is simply too much to lose by remaining silent on the issue of child safety in New Zealand. We rank the worst in the Western World in terms of violence against women statistics and child abuse and neglect. If we don't start improving the way we respond to these social problems we will only compound the damage done. Details: s.l.: The Collective, 2017. 57p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 20, 2018 at:https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57d898ef8419c2ef50f63405/t/5a3171c59140b743f5abbe36/1513189837189/Seen+and+not+Heard+Children+in+the+Family+Court+%281%29.pdf Year: 2017 Country: New Zealand URL: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57d898ef8419c2ef50f63405/t/5a3171c59140b743f5abbe36/1513189837189/Seen+and+not+Heard+Children+in+the+Family+Court+%281%29.pdf Shelf Number: 149531 Keywords: Child ProtectionChildren Exposed to ViolenceDomestic ViolenceFamily CourtsFamily ViolenceViolence Against Women |
Author: Bovarnick, Silvie Title: Child Sexual Exploitation Prevention Education: A Rapid Evidence Assessment Summary: With their ability to reach the largest number of children and young people, schools have the potential to play an invaluable role in preventative education (Beckett et al 2013; The Education and Training Inspectorate 2014). However, while UK safeguarding policies recognise the unique position of schools and other educational settings in delivering prevention programmes to a 'captive audience' (OUSTED 2012; The Education and Training Inspectorate 2014), relatively little is known about what makes such work effective (Topping and Barron 2009). This briefing is based on a rapid assessment of the available evidence relevant to CSE prevention education. It brings together key messages from research and evaluation about what works to prevent sexual exploitation and promote healthy relationships. As specific evidence is limited, it also incorporates some messages from other kinds of prevention work in educational settings. It explores what successful interventions might look like, how they should be delivered, and what impact such interventions might be expected to achieve. KEY MESSAGES: - A whole school approach, integrating CSE prevention across the curriculum, is shown to be an effective model for school-based prevention. Schools should adopt a 'zero-tolerance' culture and respond appropriately to peer on peer sexual harassment in schools. - Longer-term, more intensive interventions achieve higher impact. Although there is no consistent message about the ideal duration, weekly hour-long sessions over several months e.g. as part of PSHE education, promises better and more sustainable outcomes than one-off sessions. - Young people's participation in the development/delivery of interventions adds authenticity, credibility and acceptability, which are key factors for impact. - Interventions should be based on an assessment of need and be tailored to the specific audience and local context, in which they are delivered. They should include a range of different activities that engage young people and cater for different learning styles. - High risk children and young people need additional resources and targeted support; links between particular vulnerabilities and CSE need to be recognised and incorporated into targeted responses. Clear referral and support pathways are required for high risk children and young people. - Evaluations of school-based prevention programmes in related fields show mixed results. Even high intensity, well-designed programmes have shown little impact on young people's actual behaviour although they can build confidence, increase knowledge and change some attitudes that may legitimize harmful behaviours. Details: Ilford, UK: Barnardo's, 2014. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 23, 2018 at: http://www.barnardos.org.uk/cse_exploitation_education_rea.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.barnardos.org.uk/cse_exploitation_education_rea.pdf Shelf Number: 149546 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationEducational Programs |
Author: Byrne, Kevin Title: Protected on Paper? An analysis of Nordic country responses to asylum-seeking children Summary: This research, commissioned by the Nordic National Committees for UNICEF, examines to what extent the rights of asylum-seeking children are respected and protected in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The report reviews relevant national legislative and policy frameworks; examines how these are implemented; documents good practices; and highlights gaps in national standards and their compliance to international standards. It makes some broad recommendations on how to strengthen and extend legal, policy and practice frameworks to ensure the full realization and protection of child asylum seekers' rights and entitlements in the Nordic region. It further provides country-specific detailed, practical recommendations on how to ensure protection and welfare for asylum-seeking children. It makes country-specific recommendations on how legal, policy and practice frameworks can be strengthened to ensure full protection of children's rights and entitlements. Details: Florence, Italy: UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti, 2018. 112p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 29, 2018 at: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/NORDIC%2028%20LOWRES.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Europe URL: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/NORDIC%2028%20LOWRES.pdf Shelf Number: 149608 Keywords: Asylum SeekersChild MigrantsChild ProtectionRefugees |
Author: Dodsworth, Jane Title: An examination of the perspectives and experiences of police officers working with children and young people at risk of, or involved in, child sexual exploitation Summary: In April 2014 Norfolk and Suffolk Constabulary commissioned The Centre for Research on Children and Families (CRCF) in the School of Social Work at the University of East Anglia to undertake a research study to explore the perspectives and experiences of police officers working in Norfolk with young people involved in, or at risk of, involvement in sexual exploitation (CSE). The objective was to increase understanding of what works well, what works less well and to identify any gaps in policy, procedure or practice, in order to inform service provision Key Findings: What Works Well - Four areas stood out as particular strengths in police officers' work with children and young people involved in CSE. These included officers': - Sense of commitment to and passion for CSE work - Awareness of the vulnerability of young people involved in CSE, including awareness of the links between victimisation and offending - Recognition of three categories of young people involved in internet abuse; 'naive' victims 'wise' victims and 'naive' offenders. - Understanding that prevention and proactive early intervention is key Conclusion Although this study has shown that there are identifiable difficulties, pressures and tensions for police officers in Norfolk working in this complex area, what is clearly evident is the high level of commitment to safeguarding, listening to and understanding children and young people at risk of child sexual exploitation. Details: Norwich, UK: Centre for Research on Children and Families University of East Anglia, 2014. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 4, 2018 at: http://www.uea.ac.uk/documents/3437903/4264977/Police+Perspectives+Research+Nov+14.pdf/2f6eafec-9093-44bb-938c-c46c3d88cf32 Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.uea.ac.uk/documents/3437903/4264977/Police+Perspectives+Research+Nov+14.pdf/2f6eafec-9093-44bb-938c-c46c3d88cf32 Shelf Number: 149666 Keywords: At-Risk YouthChild ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationOnline victimizationPolice Officers |
Author: Allnock, Debbie Title: What Do We Know About Child Sexual Abuse and Policing in England and Wales? Summary: 1.1 The purpose of this briefing is to provide the National Policing Lead for Child Protection and Abuse Investigation with evidence for consideration in the development of a National Policing Safeguarding Action plan. The methodology can be found in an associated document. This briefing distils key messages from research evidence on policing and child protection in the United Kingdom (UK). 1.2Evidence on policing and child protection/ safeguarding in the UK primarily relates to child sexual abuse (CSA), including child sexual exploitation (CSE), although the evidence base is relatively limited. The review identified no significant UK evaluations of police response in tackling child abuse more broadly, or CSA or neglect specifically. The most substantial area of evidence relates to police forensic interviews in cases of CSA. There are a number of small and discrete research studies that have been carried out in relation to particular child protection issues within the criminal justice system (CJS). These have highlighted promising practice and areas for improvement in relation to some aspects of the process, such as attrition and the experiences of children and young people proceeding through 'the system'. Historically, the research on forensic interviews focussed on the aim of obtaining the best evidence for court but there has been a more recent focus on safeguarding and children's well-being during the process. Experts hypothesize that these two issues are inseparable however; improving children and young people's experiences and addressing their well-being can be also seen as a means of improving attrition rates and gathering better quality evidence. 1.3This briefing is structured to reflect the journey through the CJS with additional messages from research on police preparation and planning. In order to limit the briefing to police-relevant information, findings on the court process have been omitted except where they are relevant for policing. The areas covered align in various ways to the four Ps of policing - a framework for responding to serious and organised crime: 1) Prepare: reduce the impact of this criminality where it takes place 2) Protect: increase protection against serious and organised crime 3) Prevent: prevent people from engaging in serious and organised crime 4) Pursue: prosecute and disrupt people engaged in serious and organised crime. Details: Bedfordshire, UK: University of Bedfordshire, Institute of Applied Social Research, 2015. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 9, 2018 at: https://www.uobcsepolicinghub.org.uk/assets/documents/CSA-and-policing-briefing-FINAL.pdf-DA.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.uobcsepolicinghub.org.uk/assets/documents/CSA-and-policing-briefing-FINAL.pdf-DA.pdf Shelf Number: 149734 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseOrganized CrimePolice Effectiveness |
Author: Parkinson, Samantha Title: Child Abuse in Institutional Contexts: The reliability of police data, nature of allegations reported to police, and factors driving reporting rates, Summary: In 2014, the Australian Centre for Child Protection (University of South Australia), Social Policy Research Centre (University of NSW) and the Australian Institute of Criminology completed the research project Child sexual abuse in Australian institutional contexts: Findings from administrative data 2008-13 (hereby referred to as the 'administrative data report'; Bromfield, Hirte, Octoman & Katz, 2017). The report used administrative data to estimate the incidence of child sexual abuse (CSA) in institutional and other contexts, focusing on 'recent allegations' reported to police between 2008 and 2013 and that occurred within five years of reporting. Rates of CSA differed considerably, with NSW having a much higher rate than other jurisdictions. The administrative data report raised questions about data reliability and quality that required further exploration. For example, there was a considerable difference between the nature of contemporary institutional CSA and historical trends (Katz, Jones, Newton & Reimer, 2017). The nature of, and circumstances surrounding, allegations were not discernible from the administrative data. Therefore, other fields (proxy indicators) had to be used to differentiate between CSA in institutional contexts and CSA in other contexts. These fields included 'location of abuse' and 'relationship of victim to person of interest (POI)'. Accordingly, the administrative data report concluded: A follow-up study subjecting a small sample of allegations to a case file review, to determine additional details; address some of the questions pertaining to data quality; and provide greater certainty to the Royal Commission regarding the estimates provided in the [administrative data report] study. (Bromfield et al., 2017, p 215) The purpose of the current report was to determine: - the accuracy and reliability of the data and proxy indicators used to categorise reports as institutional child sexual abuse (ICSA) or non-institutional child sexual abuse (NICSA) in the administrative data report - the nature of, and circumstances surrounding, reports to police concerning ICSA compared to NICSA - the factors that drive different reporting rates for CSA in Australian jurisdictions. The project comprised three phases: 1. a literature review to ascertain what is already known about why the number of reported allegations of CSA may vary across Australian police jurisdictions 2. consultations (qualitative interviews) with data custodians and operational police across the eight Australian jurisdictions to determine if there are any differences in police recording practices and whether these could account for the variation across jurisdictions in rates of CSA reported to police; identify the information held by police that was most relevant for analysis in the project's final phase; and determine the feasibility of extracting this data from the jurisdictions 3. a case file review of a random sample of ICSA and NICSA reports to police in two large jurisdictions to establish: a. the accuracy and reliability of the dataset used in the administrative data report b. the nature of, and circumstances surrounding, reports to police concerning CSA in an institutional context compared with other contexts c. the factors that drive different reporting rates for CSA in Australian jurisdictions Details: Sydney: Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, 2017. 97p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 11, 2018 at: http://search.ror.unisa.edu.au/record/UNISA_ALMA11151668220001831/media/digital/open/9916170511501831/12151668210001831/13151658470001831/pdf Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: http://search.ror.unisa.edu.au/record/UNISA_ALMA11151668220001831/media/digital/open/9916170511501831/12151668210001831/13151658470001831/pdf Shelf Number: 149625 Keywords: Child Institutional AbuseChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbusePolice Practices and Policies |
Author: Arkow, Phil Title: A Link Across the Lifespan: Animal Abuse as a Marker for Traumatic Experiences in Child Abuse, Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse Summary: Until relatively recently, health and social services professionals, researchers, policymakers, and the general public considered animal cruelty as a stand-alone issue, important to animals' well-being but of only marginal significance to individual and community health and safety. This marginalization, based upon cultural themes that animals are merely property, that animal abuse is a normal occurrence among children and adolescents, and that human welfare priorities supersede animals' interests, is somewhat ironic. Other themes deeply embedded in Western philosophy express concern that children who abuse animals may grow up to exhibit escalating and dangerous interpersonal violence and antisocial behaviors. Meanwhile, the child protection movement originated in the animal protection field: the first child abuse cases were prosecuted by societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals and many humane societies had dual roles in child and animal protection for many decades. This paradigm is rapidly shifting today as recent programs, policy, public awareness and research resoundingly redefine animal cruelty and its various manifestations - abuse, neglect, animal hoarding, and animal fighting - as a form of family and community violence. Animal abuse is not only a crime in itself but also often serves as a bellwether, a marker and a predictor of child maltreatment, domestic violence and elder abuse. Details: Shakopee, MN: Academy on Violence and Abuse, 2015. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 18, 2018 at: http://nationallinkcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/AVA-Link-Across-the-Lifespan.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://nationallinkcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/AVA-Link-Across-the-Lifespan.pdf Shelf Number: 149845 Keywords: Animal AbuseAnimal CrueltyChild Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionDomestic ViolenceElder AbuseFamily Violence |
Author: Jay, Alexis Title: Interim Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse Summary: The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse ('the Inquiry') was established as an independent statutory inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005 on 12 March 2015 by the then Home Secretary. The purpose and scope of the Inquiry are set out in its Terms of Reference,1 which state that it is: to consider the extent to which State and non-State institutions have failed in their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation; to consider the extent to which those failings have since been addressed; to identify further action needed to address any failings identified; to consider the steps which it is necessary for State and non-State institutions to take in order to protect children from such abuse in future; and to publish a report with recommendations. The Chair of the Inquiry is Professor Alexis Jay OBE and there are three Panel members: Professor Sir Malcolm Evans KCMG OBE, Ivor Frank and Drusilla Sharpling CBE. The Inquiry's Terms of Reference require it to publish an interim report by the end of 2018. The publication of this report fulfils that responsibility. This report sets out how the Inquiry has undertaken its work (Chapter 2) and describes the nature and effects of child sexual abuse (Chapter 3). It provides an update on the public hearings held by the Inquiry to date (Chapter 4) and on the Inquiry's work considering current responses to tackling child sexual abuse (Chapter 5). The report also considers what the Inquiry has learned so far in relation to four key strategic themes (Chapter 6) and concludes by setting out the Inquiry's work programme for the coming year (Chapter 8). Recommendations for change are made throughout this report - they are also listed in (Chapter 7) for ease of reference. Each recommendation is addressed to an institution. The Inquiry expects institutions to act upon its recommendations and - in the interest of transparency and openness - asks that each institution publishes details of the steps they will take in response to the recommendation, including the timetable involved. This should be done within six months of the publication of this report unless the recommendation says otherwise. Details: London: House of Commons, 2018. 109p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 25, 2018 at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/702667/HC_954-I_-_IICSA_Interim_Report_Web_Accessible.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/702667/HC_954-I_-_IICSA_Interim_Report_Web_Accessible.pdf Shelf Number: 149894 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild RapeChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationChild TraffickingSex Offenders |
Author: Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse Title: Child Migration Programmes: Investigation Report Summary: Over a period of many years before and after the Second World War, successive United Kingdom governments allowed children to be removed from their families, care homes and foster care in England and Wales to be sent to institutions or families abroad, without their parents. These child migrants were sent mainly to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Government departments, public authorities and charities participated in these child migration programmes and were responsible, to varying degrees, for what subsequently happened to the children. Post-war, around 4,000 children were migrated, mostly to Australia. This report sets out the results of the Inquiry's investigation into the experiences of child migrants, and the extent to which institutions took sufficient care to protect these children from sexual abuse. The investigation also examined the extent to which the institutions involved knew, or should have known, about the sexual abuse of child migrants and how they have responded to any such knowledge. Finally, it considered the adequacy of support and reparations for sexual abuse, if any, which have been provided by the institutions concerned. Although the focus of the Inquiry is on sexual abuse, the accounts of other forms of abuse provide an essential context for understanding the experiences of child migrants. Many witnesses described 'care' regimes which included physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect, as well as sexual abuse, in the various settings to which they were sent. Some described constant hunger, medical neglect and poor education, the latter of which had, in several instances, lifelong consequences. By any standards of child care, then or at the present time, all of this was wrong. A former child migrant said his experiences at one school were "better described as torture than abuse", saying he was locked in a place known as 'the dungeon' without food or water for days. Another told of "backbreaking" work on the building of a new school building. Yet another spoke of the failure to give him medical attention, which resulted in the loss of an eye. In some places, there were persistent beatings of boys and girls, and one witness described how he had tried to kill himself at the age of 12. In a particularly awful incident, we heard of the sadistic killing of a pet horse loved by the children, which a group of 15 children were forced to watch as a form of collective punishment for an alleged wrongdoing. This incident took place during what was known as a 'Special Punishment Day' at Clontarf (one of the institutions to which child migrants were sent). This epitomised the brutal and brutalising environment in which many child migrants lived. We heard that there were few, if any, means of reporting abuse and children lived in fear of reprisals if they did so. They were disbelieved and intimidated, often with violence. One witness was told to 'pray' for her abuser, with no further action being taken on the abuse. Another was told not to tell anyone when he reported that he had been raped. For some children, one of the most devastating aspects of their experience was being lied to about their family background, and even about whether their parents were alive or dead. This had a lifelong impact, including on their physical and mental well-being and their ability to form properly, or lost records, effectively robbing these children of their identity. The effects of this carelessness and poor practice cannot be overestimated. The agencies involved in 'sending' children in the migration programmes were mostly voluntary organisations, with a small number being migrated by local authorities. Some organisations, such as the Fairbridge Society and Barnardo's, operated as both sending and receiving institutions, providing schools and homes in the country of migration. Others migrated children to institutions run by other organisations. From evidence available to the Inquiry, there was a sense in which these children were treated by some of the sending institutions as 'commodities' with one institution even referring to its 'requisition' for a specific number of children to be sent to Australia. Many of the voluntary organisations involved failed in their duty to exercise proper monitoring or aftercare, having dispatched children, in some cases as young as 5, to the other side of the world. Although some (such as the Fairbridge Society) had in place a form of post-migration monitoring, these were not robust systems, and some (such as the Sisters of Nazareth, when migrating to Christian Brothers institutions) had no post-migration monitoring system at all. Details: London: The Independent Inquiry, 2018. 174p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed April 28, 2018 at: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/key-documents/4265/view/Child%20Migration%20Programmes%20Investigation%20Report%20March%202018.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/key-documents/4265/view/Child%20Migration%20Programmes%20Investigation%20Report%20March%202018.pdf Shelf Number: 149948 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild LaborChild MigrantsChild MigrationChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationUnaccompanied Children |
Author: Children's Society Title: Safety Net: Cyberbullying's impact on young people's mental health: Inquiry report Summary: Key findings Under-age use of social media is commonplace - Despite most major social media companies - including Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube and Instagram - specifying that users must be 13 years old to have an account, we found that 61% of young people had a first account at age 12 or under. Children and young people are using social media for longer periods and using multiple profiles - Our survey indicated that nearly half (44%) of children and young people spend more than three hours per day on social media, whilst almost 1 in 10 (9%) reported always using social media overnight between midnight and 6am. There is a connection between intensive social media use and mental ill health - Thirty eight percent of young people reported that social media has a negative impact on how they feel about themselves, compared to 23% who reported that it has a positive impact. This was exacerbated for girls, with 46% of girls stating that social media had a negative impact on their self-esteem. Cyberbullying - a new form of bullying - Although our inquiry found that offline bullying remains the most common form of bullying, it is clear that cyberbullying is distinct and potent, particularly due to its potential to be relentless. Children and young people are particularly vulnerable to the effects of cyberbullying - Children and young people who are currently experiencing a mental health problem are more than three times more likely to have been bullied online in the last year. The steps being taken by social media companies in response to cyberbullying are inconsistent and inadequate - Throughout the course of the inquiry, we heard a number of examples from social media companies about positive initiatives they have established to respond to abusive content online, such as cyberbullying, as well as promoting the mental health of their users. Young people concluded that social media companies' current responses to cyberbullying are inadequate - There is an appetite among young people for greater interventions to disrupt cyberbullying, with 83% of young people saying that social media companies should do more to tackle cyberbullying on their platforms. There is a perceived lack of consequences for those who engage in bullying behaviour - Young people told the inquiry that they feel as though the onus is on the person who is experiencing cyberbullying to act. They spoke of a perceived lack of consequences for those who engage in bullying behaviour online, in a way there is not in the offline world. Social media companies need to do more to promote positive mental health and well-being - Young people overwhelmingly told the inquiry that they wanted social media companies to do more to promote positive mental health and interactions on their platforms. - Eighty two percent of young people thought social media companies should do more to promote mental health. Details: London: Children's Society, 2018. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 7, 2018 at: https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/social-media-cyberbullying-inquiry-full-report_0.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/social-media-cyberbullying-inquiry-full-report_0.pdf Shelf Number: 150089 Keywords: Child ProtectionComputer CrimesCyberbullyingCybercrimeCybersecurityInternet CrimesOnline VictimizationSocial Media |
Author: National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Title: "Is this sexual abuse?" NSPCC helplines report: peer sexual abuse Summary: It's normal for children to demonstrate a range of sexual behaviours as they grow up. But sometimes they may behave in a sexualised way that is inappropriate to their age and stage of development. We call this harmful sexual behaviour, because it's harmful to the children who display it, as well as the people it's directed towards. There are many reasons why children display harmful sexual behaviour, but research shows that exposure to trauma can be a key factor in its development (Hackett, 2016). Harmful sexual behaviour can be displayed towards peers, younger children, older children or adults. It ranges from behaviour that is socially inappropriate to behaviour that is unexpected or impulsive, and behaviour with an element of victimisation or violence. This may include unwanted or inappropriate touching; forcing or coercing someone else to watch or take part in sexualised activity; and sexual violence. Around a third of child sexual abuse is committed by other children and young people (Hackett, 2014). We hear from parents and professionals who are concerned about children displaying sexualised behaviour. In 2016/17, there were 663 contacts to our helpline about this. Many of the adults who got in touch weren't confident about deciding whether sexualised behaviour is 'normal' or harmful, and they weren't sure of the best way to respond. Puberty can be a confusing time and peer relationships naturally change as children grow up. This can mean children also find it difficult to identify which sexual behaviours are appropriate and inappropriate. Those who display harmful sexual behaviour may not recognise that they are doing so. Those who experience harmful sexual behaviour may realise it makes them feel unhappy or unsafe, but they aren't always clear about how to respond. In 2016/17, our Childline service delivered 3,004 counselling sessions to children and young people who were concerned about having been sexually abused by their peers. This might be a friend; boyfriend or girlfriend; ex-partner; or another young person who was under the age of 18, and who isn't related to them. Throughout this report we're calling this type of abuse 'peer sexual abuse'. Peer sexual abuse can take place in a range of locations including at school, at home, at social events and online. According to a BBC Freedom of Information request, the number of police-recorded sexual offences by under-18-year-olds against other under-18-year-olds in England and Wales rose by 71 per cent between 2013/14 (4,603) and 2016/17 (7,866) (BBC, 2017). However, it's likely that peer sexual abuse is underreported. Research carried out by Radford in 2009 found that 1 in 3 children sexually abused by an adult didn't tell anyone at the time, and this figure is even higher for children who have experienced peer sexual abuse (Radford et al, 2011). Some young people tell our Childline counsellors they don't want to speak out, for reasons like: - being worried about getting a friend or partner into trouble - being blackmailed or threatened into keeping things secret - being afraid of being bullied - not being sure they will be believed. They may not fully understand whether they gave consent for sexual activity to take place, feel guilty or think they are somehow to blame - especially if alcohol was involved, or if they were involved in sexting (sharing explicit texts, images or videos). We want to help adults support children who are affected by peer sexual abuse more effectively. It's vital that children and young people who have experienced any form of abuse know it wasn't their fault, and are able to get the right help at the right time. So in this report we're sharing what young people have told Childline about their experiences of peer sexual abuse. We've looked at how peer sexual abuse takes place; the impact this has on young people's lives; and the challenges they face accessing support. We're also highlighting what they say helps them get back on track after experiencing peer sexual abuse, what they're telling us about the support they need, and how we can best prevent peer sexual abuse from happening. Details: London: NSPCC, 2018. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 3, 2018 at: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/nspcc-helplines-report-peer-sexual-abuse.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/nspcc-helplines-report-peer-sexual-abuse.pdf Shelf Number: 150451 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseJuvenile Sex OffendersPeer RelationsPeer Sexual AbuseSextingSexual AbuseSocial Media |
Author: Bentley, Holly Title: How Safe are Our Children? The Most Comprehensive Overview of Child Protection in the UK: 2018 Summary: Technology is central to children's lives. In 2017, just over half of children aged 12 had at least one social media account, despite the minimum age requirements for many sites being 13. By age 13, that figure rises to nearly three-quarters. Today's children don't see the division between 'online' and 'offline' worlds. Social media is now a ubiquitous part of childhood, but alongside wonderful opportunities, it opens up an array of potential harms. For too long, social networks have been allowed to treat child safeguarding as an optional extra. We don't have the same protections in place online as offline, and the result is that children are exposed to unacceptable risks, in the spaces where they socialise, trust, and play. After a decade of inaction, the challenge we face is now immense, but not insurmountable. The scale and complexity of the online threat is growing. Most platforms have failed to integrate child safeguarding into their business models or the design of their platforms. Rapidly developing technology creates new opportunities to initiate, maintain and escalate abuse. As this year's How safe are our children? report makes clear, tackling these risks is now at the frontline in the fight for every childhood. What are the risks to children on social networks? Social media is part of the fabric of children's lives. Every moment, every experience is something to be captured online. Posts on social media aren't just a catalogue of 'real' life, they are an integral part of it. The ubiquity of social media carries many risks, from exposure to inappropriate and sexualised content, to the production and distribution of child abuse imagery, through to the growing scale of technology-facilitated grooming. Platforms provide new opportunities to initiate and facilitate abuse. With so many children using social networks, gaming and messaging sites, it means that today's children and young people are increasingly exposed to the threat of abuse or exploitation, from both adults and their peers Through the ease of access afforded by smartphones, groomers can target significant numbers of children, and quickly escalate and maintain their abuse. Groomers can readily move children into the shadows, moving children from well-known platforms to encrypted and hidden sites. New types of technology, notably livestreaming, provide new opportunities for abusers to control and coerce children into increasingly extreme forms of abuse. Self-generated imagery is a considerable issue, accounting for around a third of recent images removed by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF). Although children do not perceive a difference between their online and offline worlds, evidence suggests that lowered inhibitions can mean that children comply with requests that they would not offline. Once a self-generated image has been taken, it opens the door for exploitation and blackmail (including to prevent disclosure). The impact of losing control over an image can be devastating, particularly when it is shared among peers' social networks, sent to family members, or shared much more widely.Social networks have consistently failed to address these problems - and it is clear that their unwillingness to do so has actively fuelled the scale and extent of the risks that children now face. Platforms have failed to build in adequate safeguarding protections, take steps to proactively tackle grooming, and to do enough to proactively tackle child sexual abuse imagery at source. Successive governments have also repeatedly failed to intervene, placing disproportionate weight on the claims made by industry. As a result, for over a decade, social networks have repeatedly failed to protect their child users. Details: London: NSPCC, 2018. 88p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 21, 2018 at: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/how-safe-children-2018-report.pdf?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_content=How%20safe%20are%20our%20children%3F%20The%20most%20comprehensive%20overview%20of%20child%20protection%20in%20the%20UK.&utm_campaign=nitl-newsletter Year: 2018 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/how-safe-children-2018-report.pdf?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_content=How%20safe%20are%20our%20children%3F%20The%20most%20comprehensive%20overview%2 Shelf Number: 150628 Keywords: Child AbuseChild ExploitationChild GroomingChild ProtectionInternet CrimesOnline SafetyOnline VictimizationSocial Media |
Author: Herbert, James Title: National comparison of cross-agency practice in investigating and responding to severe child abuse Summary: The response to severe child abuse (namely abuse requiring police investigation) requires many different workers across agencies and disciplinary backgrounds to work together effectively. This paper reports on the arrangements in place in each state/territory to support a cross-agency response based on characteristics associated with effective cross-agency responses identified in the research literature. This paper was prepared to provide practitioners and policy makers with a national view on cross-agency policies to encourage cross-jurisdictional learning and sharing of approaches. The authors also hope that this paper will lead to a national discussion around effective policies and practices in cross-agency responses. Each state/territory was compared on the characteristics of their response to severe child abuse, arrangements for joint planning, interviewing and investigation, the degree of integration of therapeutic and supportive services, and governance arrangements. Details: Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2017. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: CFCA PAPER NO. 47: Accessed August 30, 2018 at: https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/sites/default/files/publication-documents/47_national_comparison_of_cross-agency_practice_in_investigating_and_responding_to_severe_child_abuse.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/sites/default/files/publication-documents/47_national_comparison_of_cross-agency_practice_in_investigating_and_responding_to_severe_child_abuse.pdf Shelf Number: 151314 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionCriminal InvestigationPolice Investigation |
Author: International Centre for Missing & Exploited Chidlren Title: Studies in Child Protection: Sexual Extortion and Nonconsensual Pornography Summary: The rapid evolution of technology and the increasingly widespread use of the Internet, have changed the face of child sexual exploitation globally. Child sexual exploitation includes, but is not limited to: enticing, manipulating, or threatening a child into performing sexual acts in front of a webcam; grooming children online with the goal of sexually exploiting them; and distributing child sexual abuse material online.2 Sex offenders have become proficient in using technology to engage in child sexual abuse by utilizing the Internet as a vehicle to meet children in order to prepare them for sexual encounters, or even to target, manipulate, and lure them into sex trafficking. While the vulnerability of children to sexual predators is not new, the tools predators use and the language to describe various types of online child sexual abuse have changed remarkably. Two forms of online child sexual exploitation have emerged as pervasive threats to children's safety around the world: sexual extortion, commonly referred to as "sextortion," and nonconsensual pornography or nonconsensual sharing of intimate images, also often referred to as "revenge pornography." Details: Alexandria, VA: The Centre, 2018.46p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 15, 2018 at: https://riselearningnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Sexual-Extortion_Nonconsensual-Pornography_final_10-26-18.pdf Year: 2018 Country: International URL: https://riselearningnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Sexual-Extortion_Nonconsensual-Pornography_final_10-26-18.pdf Shelf Number: 153477 Keywords: Child GroomingChild PornographyChild ProtectionChild Sexual ExploitationOnline Child Sexual AbuseRevenge PornographySextortionSocial Media |
Author: Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council Title: Sentencing for criminal offences arising from the death of a child: Final report Summary: This report presents the advice of the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council (Council) following its review of penalties imposed on sentence for criminal offences arising from the death of a child, referred to the Council by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, the Honourable Yvette D'Ath MP on 26 October 2017. In developing its final report and recommendations, the Council was asked to: - consider and analyse penalties imposed on sentence for offences arising from the death of a child and report on current sentencing practices; - determine whether the penalties currently imposed for these offences adequately reflect the particular vulnerabilities of these victims; - identify any trends or anomalies that occur in such sentencing - for example, the nature of the criminal culpability forming the basis of a manslaughter charge, which may affect any sentence imposed; - assess whether existing sentencing considerations are adequate for the purposes of sentencing these offenders and identify if specific additional legislative guidance is required; - examine the approach in other Australian jurisdictions; - identify and report on any legislative or other changes required to ensure the imposition of an appropriate sentence for these offences; - identify ways to enhance community knowledge and understanding of the penalties imposed for these offences; - consult with the community and other key stakeholders; and - advise on any other matters relevant to this reference. The focus of the review was on sentencing for the offences of murder and manslaughter (referred to throughout this report as 'child homicide offences'). These offences capture offences highlighted in submissions and consultation as being of most concern to the community with respect to current sentencing practices - that is, deaths caused as a result of child abuse and neglect. Details: Brisbane: The Sentencing Advisory Council, 2018. 299p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed Dec. 6, 2018 at: http://apo.org.au/system/files/205141/apo-nid205141-1053826.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Australia URL: http://apo.org.au/system/files/205141/apo-nid205141-1053826.pdf Shelf Number: 153918 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild HomicidesChild ProtectionHomicidesManslaughterSentencing |
Author: International Organization for Migration Title: Standard Operating Procedures to Combat Human Trafficking in Ghana with an Emphasis on Child Trafficking Summary: Over the past 15 years, Ghana has taken significant steps towards restoring justice for victims of trafficking. To succeed in this fight and fully implement the existing law and policy; however, national stakeholders must coordinate their respective efforts to combat human trafficking. One major challenge to coordination has been the lack of common standards for assistance and referral guidelines for all national stakeholders. Guided by law and international good practices, these standard operating procedures (SOPs) answer that call, containing information relevant to all national stakeholders in a position to combat human trafficking. These SOPs were developed through the framework of the Child Protection Compact Partnership, a bilateral agreement between the United States of America and Ghana, and guided by key stakeholder inputs at the national, regional and district levels, and with participation of both government and non-government agencies. As reference material, certain chapters will be more relevant than others depending on the reader's functional role and responsibility. Chapter 1 is widely relevant as it describes identification and screening protocols, a shared responsibility among stakeholders. Chapter 2 is for caregivers, especially social workers, as it explores the trauma-informed assistance process. The second chapter is followed by a special chapter that outlines the human trafficking legal framework and is aimed at a broad audience. Chapter 3 guides law enforcement officials through a victim-centred investigation process, while chapter 4 is also meant primarily for law enforcement officials as it offers strategies to prosecute suspected human traffickers. Finally, chapter 5 presents a data-driven referral and case management system. Details: Geneva, SWIT: IOM, 2017. 368p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 4, 2019 at: https://publications.iom.int/books/standard-operating-procedures-combat-human-trafficking-ghana-emphasis-child-trafficking Year: 2017 Country: Ghana URL: https://publications.iom.int/books/standard-operating-procedures-combat-human-trafficking-ghana-emphasis-child-trafficking Shelf Number: 154801 Keywords: Child Labor Child ProtectionChild Trafficking Human Trafficking |
Author: Baker, Catherine Title: Still in Harm's Way: An update report on trafficked and unaccompanied children going missing from care in the UK Summary: The scale of trafficked and unaccompanied children who go missing from care was first established in 2016, where it was found that child victims of trafficking and unaccompanied children were at high risk of going missing. This research attempts to update the existing data on this issue, which relates to 2014-15. This report quantifies the number of reported trafficked and unaccompanied children in the UK, as well as the number going missing from care. Still in Harm's Way reveals that, in 2017: - 1,015 children were reported by local authorities as identified or suspected victims of trafficking, an increase of 58% (up from 590) from 201415 - 4,765 children were reported as being unaccompanied, which is no significant change from 2014-15 (4,744 unaccompanied children) High numbers of these children were reported missing in 2017: - 24% of all identified or suspected victims of trafficking went missing from care (246 of 1,015) - 15% of all unaccompanied children went missing from care (729 of 4,756) - 190 children who have gone missing have not been found The findings show that this severe child protection issue still requires urgent attention by national and local governments, with a focus on safeguarding children and preventing them from going missing. Investment is needed in robust safeguarding measures and the provision of specialist support for these children. Child trafficking victims are particularly vulnerable to going missing, and are likely to go missing multiple times per year: - In 2017 child trafficking victims went missing on average 7.2 times each. This is an increase from an average of 2.4 times in 2014-15. The research has identified that for some local authorities, missing trafficked or unaccompanied children account for a significant proportion of their overall looked after children numbers: - In one local authority, 15% of the total looked after children population were trafficked or unaccompanied children who had been reported missing. This is concerning, and points to failures to properly safeguard and protect these children at a local level. While the data indicates that there may have been improvements in the identification of child victims of trafficking over the last two years, it is evident that there is continued need for better data recording and reporting on the issue. This report provides the most up to date picture of the scale of trafficked and unaccompanied children going missing, however given the data limitations and the fact that the government does not collect comprehensive data on either of these issues, there remains no comprehensive understanding of the rate of child trafficking and missing in the UK. Details: London: ECPAT UK and Missing People, 2018. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 7, 2019 at: https://www.ecpat.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=96016be0-cc60-48e0-ab9c-635b742f5b7f Year: 2018 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.ecpat.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=96016be0-cc60-48e0-ab9c-635b742f5b7f Shelf Number: 154838 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Trafficking Human Trafficking Missing Children Missing Persons Unaccompanied Children |
Author: Mendes, Philip Title: Good Practice in Reducing the Over-Representation of Care Leavers in the Youth Justice System Leaving Care and Youth Justice: Phase Three Report Summary: Young people leaving state out of home care are one of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in society, and are over-represented in the criminal justice system and youth detention facilities. This report presents findings from phase 3 of the Leaving Care and Youth Justice project, and makes recommendations for policy and practice to prevent and address this over-representation with a trauma-informed approach. Program and policy examples are also included, across the child and family welfare services, youth justice, education, mental health, and youth drug and alcohol services sectors. Details: Melbourne: Monash University, 2014. 104p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 19, 2019 at: https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/pacra/good-practice-reducing-over-representation-care-leavers-youth-justice-system Year: 2014 Country: Australia URL: https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/pacra/good-practice-reducing-over-representation-care-leavers-youth-justice-system Shelf Number: 155051 Keywords: At Risk YouthChild ProtectionChild WelfareChildren in CareFoster CareOut Of Home CareResidential Care |
Author: Avis, William Robert Title: Data on the Prevalence of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Summary: Contents 1. Overview 2. What are the worst forms of child labour and what data sources exist 3. Global prevalence of worst forms of child labour 4. Prevalence of worst forms of child labour across regions and sectors 5. Definitional challenges and methodological issues 6. References Details: Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies, 2017. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 21, 2019 at: http://www.gsdrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/101-Worst-forms-of-child-labour.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.gsdrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/101-Worst-forms-of-child-labour.pdf Shelf Number: 155129 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child Exploitation and Abuse Child Labor Child Prostitution Child ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse |
Author: McDowall, Joseph J. Title: Out-of-home care in Australia: Children and young people's views after five years of National Standards. Summary: In 2011, the Australian government introduced the National Standards for Out-of-Home Care as part of the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children 20092020. The intent was to establish a set of measures and indicators that would apply nationally so that children and young people in each state and territory could expect to receive similar base-level support from the care system in their jurisdiction. As part of the monitoring of these Standards, it was proposed to conduct surveys of the children and young people in out-of-home care to determine how the implementation of the Standards impacted on their life experience. The CREATE Foundation was concerned that it would be difficult to determine if improvements had been made to the system without having measures bench-marking the state of care across Australia before the Standards were introduced. Therefore, in 2012, CREATE began collecting data from children and young people about their lives in the care system using an extensive national survey, the results of which were published in 2013. This study concentrated on placement issues and levels of participation, and dealt with all life domains including education, health, relationships (family and friends), identity, and culture. All states and territories (except Western Australia) participated in this project. An official survey, based on data provided by governments, was partially assembled by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in 2015, and completed in a 2016 publication. While data were presented from over 2000 children and young people, little information was provided on how these participants were selected from each jurisdiction, and for most, their responses were collected with the assistance of caseworkers which limits the independence of the data. The present project represents CREATE's review of the care system five years after its first survey, when the National Standards would have had time to impact on policy and practice, and hopefully to produce improvements in the experiences of children and young people in care. This makes a useful contribution to the body of data being collected that will inform decisions regarding the future of the National Framework for Protecting Australian Children after its scheduled conclusion in 2020. Details: Sydney: CREATE Foundation, 2018. 2-8p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 27, 2019 at: https://create.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/CREATE-OOHC-In-Care-2018-Report.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Australia URL: https://create.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/CREATE-OOHC-In-Care-2018-Report.pdf Shelf Number: 155187 Keywords: child Abuse and Neglect Child ProtectionFoster Care Out-of-Home Care |
Author: Di Pierro, Maria Alejandra Title: Addressing Sexual Exploitation, Trafficking In and Smuggling of Children in CARICOM Member States, 20 Years After Stockholm Summary: The Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN), is a Specialized Organization of the Organization of American States (OAS) in policies related to childhood and adolescence. As such, the IIN assists the States in the development of public policies, contributing to their design and implementation from the perspective of promotion, protection and full respect for the rights of children in the region. The First World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1996, was the event which positioned the issue of commercial sexual exploitation of children in the public eye for the first time. The Congress was organized jointly by UNICEF, the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child and ECPAT International and drew more than 1,900 participants from over 130 countries, including: government representatives of 122 States, the United Nations, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and a delegation of young people (FAPMI-ECPAT Spain, 2012). This is a qualitative study based on secondary sources of information on the Member States of CARICOM: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. The information contained in this paper was obtained from the Reports that States submit to the Committee on the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Concluding Observations that the Committee drafts in response. This report is in two parts. The first contains information compiled from the reports, arranged methodically according to the Stockholm classification. The second part contains conclusions and recommendations arising from an analysis of the information, highlighting common features among the States of the region, issues that show progress and others that should be reviewed in the light of theoretical, conceptual and practical developments that have occurred over the last twenty years and more. Details: Montevideo (11600), URUGUAY: IIN:Inter-American Children's Institute, 2018. 63p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 2, 2019 at: http://www.annaobserva.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/XV-Informe-al-SG_-eng.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Caribbean URL: http://www.annaobserva.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/XV-Informe-al-SG_-eng.pdf Shelf Number: 155265 Keywords: Child Prostitution Child ProtectionChild Sex Trafficking Child Sexual Exploitation Child Trafficking Human Smuggling Human Trafficking |
Author: Friskney, Ruth Title: Public Understanding of Child Sexual Exploitation Summary: A pilot national survey was conducted in 2018 in Scotland, analyzing public understanding of child sexual abuse. This report is a summary of findings based on over 1000 adults who took part in the survey. The research findings offer a good starting point for policy makers to tailor their awareness raising campaigns and other efforts to address the most common misconceptions about this issue in the public and reach their target groups with effective messages. In this report you can find out about the survey methodology, what is considered as child sexual exploitation in Scotland, as well as survey findings, including public understanding of what child sexual exploitation looks like, who carries out and who is affected by it. The key findings from the report are: Public understanding of this phenomenon is still complex and often includes different concepts in different contexts, sometimes even contradictory Women seem to be more engaged in the topic than men People tend to think child sexual exploitation is an issue elsewhere, but not locally There is a lack of understanding that older children can be affected and that children may carry out the exploitation Details: Edinburgh: Barnardo's Scotland, 2019. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 2, 2019 at: https://www.celcis.org/files/7015/5290/8378/FINAL_PDF_Barnardos_Scotland_-_Public_Understanding_of_CSE_in_Scotland.pdf Year: 2019 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.celcis.org/files/7015/5290/8378/FINAL_PDF_Barnardos_Scotland_-_Public_Understanding_of_CSE_in_Scotland.pdf Shelf Number: 155267 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse Child Sexual Exploitation |
Author: Carr, Nicola Title: Care and Justice: Children and Young People in Care and Contact with the Criminal Justice System Summary: The Irish Penal Reform Trust launched an independently commissioned exploratory research study on the connections between care and justice in Ireland on Tuesday 26th February 2019. Care and Justice: Children and Young People in Care and Contact with the Criminal Justice System was supported by a Private Donor Fund at the Community Foundation for Ireland. Research evidence from several countries shows that children with care experience are over-represented in the criminal justice system but, to date, no research has been conducted on this topic in the Irish context. This report aimed to explore the extent to which children with care experience are over-represented in the Irish youth justice system. The report was authored by Dr Nicola Carr (University of Nottingham) and Dr Paula Mayock (Trinity College). The report highlights that contact with the youth justice system is a particular issue for a small cohort of young people. The association between care and justice is an area of concern, particularly at the 'higher end' of the youth justice system, that is, when children are prosecuted in the courts and are placed in detention. This is identified as an issue for children with multiple and complex needs, many of whom are accommodated within residential care. Systemic factors including the profile of care provision, the prosecution of children in care placements and the responsiveness of the youth justice system to children in care are explored. This report identifies a lack of data in Ireland on the extent to which children in care come into contact with the criminal justice system. There is a lack of a coordinated policy between Tusla, care providers and An Garda Siochana in this area and the development of such a policy is recommended. The report also focuses on the transition of children from care into leaving care and aftercare and the lack of information on outcomes for this group. The need for reform is outlined in 12 recommendations made in the report. These include: A joint protocol aimed at addressing the involvement of children in care with the criminal justice system should be developed by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Irish Youth Justice Service with the involvement of An Garda Sochana and Tusla. The Irish Youth Justice Service should consider adaptations to the Bail Support Scheme to ensure equity of service provision for young people in care. Tusla should develop a mechanism to systematically record and report on the numbers of children in care and those in receipt of aftercare services coming into contact with the criminal justice system. In its review of the Youth Justice Action Plan, the Irish Youth Justice Service should consider the specific needs of care-experienced young people. Tusla should revise its guidance on Complex Needs in Aftercare to provide explicit guidance on the needs and supports required for young people in contact with the criminal justice system. Details: Dublin: Irish Penal Reform Trust, 2019. 61p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 10, 2019 at: http://www.iprt.ie/files/Care-and-Justice-web.pdf Year: 2019 Country: Ireland URL: http://www.iprt.ie/files/Care-and-Justice-web.pdf Shelf Number: 155356 Keywords: Child ProtectionFoster CareJuvenile JusticeLocked After ChildrenResidential CareYouth Justice System |
Author: Harwin, Judith Title: The contribution of supervision orders and special guardianship to children's lives and family justice. Summary report Summary: This report is about the use of 'family orders' to support family reunification and placement with family and friends as outcomes of S31 care and supervision proceedings brought under the Children Act 1989 . These proceedings are brought by local authorities for children who they believe have experienced or are likely to experience 'significant harm' as a result of the parenting they have received falling below a reasonable standard. They are amongst the most vulnerable children in society who have met the highest threshold of concern and their futures cannot be decided without the intervention of the court. The main focus is on supervision orders made by the courts to help support birth families to stay together, and on special guardianship when the child is placed with family and friends, with or without a supervision order. It is important to distinguish between these two family orders regarding the support they provide for permanency. A special guardianship order (SGO) lasts until the child reaches the age of 18 but a supervision order is time-limited. A supervision order places a duty upon the local authority 'to advise, assist and befriend the supervised child'. It is initially made for a period up to one year but can be extended after this to a maximum of three years. An SGO gives the carers the main responsibility for the child's care and upbringing but retains the legal link with the birth family. The local authority does not hold parental responsibility when either order is made. The over-arching aim of this study is to understand the opportunities, challenges and outcomes of these orders, and their use at national and regional level. This is the first study of both supervision orders and special guardianship to make use of national (England) population-level data routinely produced by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) concerning all children subject to S31 care and supervision proceedings. It is also the first study to use this data to examine the proportion of SGOs in which a supervision order is also made for the child. The report is being published at a critical time in family justice. The overall trend regarding care demand is upward. Despite a small drop in demand in 2017/18, the number of children in care and supervision applications is still more than double the figure recorded in 2007. This has created huge pressures on the family court and children's services alike. As part of its inquiry into ways of tackling the issues, the recent Care Crisis Review concluded that the family itself is an underused resource (Care Crisis Review, 2018). Since 2013, case law has also affirmed the important role of the court and children's services in promoting permanency orders that keep families together, and most recently called for new guidance on special guardianship. This comes just three years after a major review undertaken by the Department for Education introduced changes to the regulatory framework (Department for Education, 2015). Details: Lancaster, UK: Lancaster University, Centre for Child & Family Research, 2019. 183p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 2, 2019 at: https://www.cfj-lancaster.org.uk/app/nuffield/files-module/local/documents/HARWIN%20main%20report%20SO%20and%20SGOs%20_%204Mar2019.pdf Year: 2019 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.cfj-lancaster.org.uk/app/nuffield/files-module/local/documents/HARWIN%20main%20report%20SO%20and%20SGOs%20_%204Mar2019.pdf Shelf Number: 155602 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionChild SupervisionFamily CourtFamily JusticeParentingSupervision Orders |
Author: Katz, Adrienne Title: Vulnerable Children in a Digital World Summary: There can be no doubt of the significant change connected technology has had on the day to day lives of children and young people, and the pace at which the technology they are using develops is relentless. What is clear from our research is that the support networks around vulnerable children have not yet caught up with the reliance many of them have on their devices and the connectivity it brings them. Although it is readily accepted that some children and young people are more vulnerable than others we must now systematically and thoroughly consider the digital dimension in their lives to ensure we can better protect them from online risk. The Good Childhood Report shows that 18% of children live with seven or more serious problems, such as fear of crime, domestic violence and emotional neglect. One in five children do not have stability because of residential transience. More than a quarter live with a parent who has a mental health difficulty while almost 10% act as young carers for someone in their family. Children and young people may have physical, emotional or mental health problems of their own, including disabilities and special needs or speech and language difficulties. Increasing numbers of our young people have mental health difficulties, while others exhibit emotional distress. When adverse childhood experiences are acknowledged, it is evident that certain children require additional support. Despite these documented adversities, some vulnerable children remain hidden and neglected. The Children's Commissioner for England has raised awareness of many hidden groups and described the risks faced by vulnerable young people as 'the biggest social justice challenge of our time'. It is not surprising therefore that vulnerability should extend to digital life. Online, despite the advantages of technology, some children's vulnerabilities are exacerbated, and others are ill prepared for safe internet use. This briefing paper will highlight how some young people are vulnerable online in specific ways and suggest some solutions. Details: London: Internet Matters, 2019. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 2, 2019 at: https://pwxp5srs168nsac2n3fnjyaa-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Vulnerable-Children-in-a-Digital-World-FINAL.pdf Year: 2019 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://pwxp5srs168nsac2n3fnjyaa-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Vulnerable-Children-in-a-Digital-World-FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 155604 Keywords: Child ProtectionCyberbullyingInternetInternet SafetyOnline VictimizationSocial MediaVulnerable Children |
Author: United Nations Children's Fund - UNICEF Title: The Economic Burden of Violence Against Children in Nigeria Summary: The 2014 National Survey on Violence Against Children in Nigeria (NVACS) indicates that violence in childhood makes men and women significantly more likely to engage in risky behaviours (i.e alcoholism, smoking, drugs abuse), experience negative health outcomes (like mental illnesses, Sexually Transmitted Infection's including HIV) or/and drop out from school. International research has also confirmed that violence of any kind experienced in childhood has a life-long negative impact on the individual's physical, psychological and cognitive development and consequently, affects entire communities and nations by diminishing their human capital. The fact that the human capital is considered the most critical capital in economic development, The Federal Government under the leadership of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning and in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development and UNICEF engaged a renowned scholar in this field, Professor Xiang Ming Fang, Professor of Health Economics at Georgia State University and previously Senior Health Economist with the Division of Violence Prevention at the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) to interrogate the economic burden of Violence Against Children in Nigeria, by estimating the size of the economic burden of VAC and to analyse the index causes using the Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY). The estimate calculates both the years of fully productive life lost to mortality and morbidity caused by VAC and the subsequent economic value of this loss of productivity. These estimations paint a clear picture of the significant impact that VAC has on Nigerian children, and the economic burden on the country as a whole. In summary, this report provides the evidence, especially the economic justification that is needed to prioritize child protection services, especially those that will lead to elimination of violence against children, recognizing the need to arrest the build-up of risks and vulnerabilities throughout the life cycle as associated with the adverse health, education and productivity effects of VAC. I therefore join other stakeholders that make a case that sufficient attention should be place on arresting the negative and avoidable build up that has serious economic cost, human capital development and lifelong impacts associated with VAC. With the current ranking of the country on the Global Human Capital Development Index there is no better opportunity than now to create a fiscal space for child protection especially to specific preventive Child Protection programmes and services. I recommend this report as it provides us with veritable answers to questions that must be asked before budgetary apportionment and expenditures is made. It is also well aligned to the strategic objectives set out in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plans, under "the investing in our people" pillar. We as a people must not only improve the lives of the present generation but also our future generations. Details: Abuja, Nigeria: Author, 2019. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 4, 2019 at: https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/media/2216/file Year: 2019 Country: Nigeria URL: https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/media/2216/file Shelf Number: 155621 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseEconomic AnalysisEconomics of CrimeEconomics of ViolenceViolence Against Children |
Author: Williams, Mike Title: The NSPCC'S Protect and Respect Child Sexual Exploitation Programme: A Discussion of the Key Findings from Programme Implementation and Service Use Summary: This report presents a discussion of the key findings from the evaluation of the NSPCC's Protect & Respect programme, which ran from June 2014 to November 2017. The Protect & Respect programme, provided support to children and young people affected by sexual exploitation, and included the following: - A group work service, where NSPCC practitioners did work with small groups of children and young people (numbering between 2 and 10) on a weekly basis over a period of one to two months. - Four different types of one-to-one service. One-to-one work involved an individual NSPCC practitioner doing work with a child or young person to support them on issues relating to exploitation. The four different services covered prevention, risk reduction, child protection and recovery. Work was sometimes done with carers and professionals who supported the child or young person. - The commissioning of research into child sexual exploitation. -- One piece of research, on the link between child sexual exploitation and neglect, was commissioned and completed during the evaluation period (Hanson, 2016). - An unpublished rapid evidence assessment was conducted on research on service delivery responses to child sexual exploitation published between 2006 and 2018 (Walker et al, 2019). In particular this report summarises and discusses: - The implementation of the Protect & Respect programme. - The findings from the group work service and the one-to-one service, which are detailed more fully in two separate accompanying reports (Williams, 2019a; 2019b). This introductory chapter sets the context to the report by: - Providing a note on the NSPCC's position on the use of child sexual exploitation films and the lessons that the NSPCC has learned over the course of the programme. - Providing a note on the NSPCC's position on children and young people's agency, the use of victim-blaming language and the lessons that the NSPCC has learned over the course of the programme. - Summarising recent policy developments in the area of sexual exploitation. - Looking at the evidence base for the effectiveness of professional responses and services in working on sexual exploitation. - Describing the NSPCC's recent involvement in working with sexual exploitation and the reasons for establishing the Protect & Respect programme. - Summarising the guidance provided to NSPCC managers and practitioners on providing the Protect & Respect programme. - Describing the evaluation methodology used. The description includes an account of how the focus of the evaluation changed over the course of the data collection period. Details: London: NSPCC, 2019. 140p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 9, 2019 at: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/media/1699/a-discussion-key-findings-from-programme-implementation-service-use.pdf Year: 2019 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/media/1699/a-discussion-key-findings-from-programme-implementation-service-use.pdf Shelf Number: 155708 Keywords: child Abuse and NeglectChild GroomingChild PornographyChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual Exploitation |
Author: International Centre for Missing & Exploited Chidlren Title: Studies in Child Protection: Technology-Facilitated Child Sex Trafficking Summary: Trafficking of children for sexual purposes, or child sex trafficking2, is defined internationally as: the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. The Internet and related technologies are increasingly becoming the predominant mechanism by which children are lured, entrapped, and forced into modern-day enslavement for sexual purposes. While child sex trafficking is not a new crime, the use of technology to facilitate this crime is. As the Internet is highly unregulated and provides anonymity, accessibility, and global reach, the use of technology by traffickers will likely become even more prevalent. In general, traffickers are criminals "who enable or partake in the trade and exploitation of human beings." Online traffickers use information and communications technologies (ICTs) to seek out vulnerable children, recruit victims, and advertise/sell victims to offenders through social media, messaging applications, online ads, and peer-to-peer file sharing servers with the intent to exploit the victims for profit. Using the Internet and related technologies, traffickers may lure victims by posting false job advertisements, promising fame or money, expressing love or praise, or threatening harm or death to the victim and/or their family. Traffickers may use social media platforms to gain trust and build relationships by showing admiration or desire for the child, acting as a friend, and eventually employing tactics such as manipulation, coercion, and control to lure them away from their homes and loved ones. Child sex traffickers may be strangers, but they can also be family members, friends, guardians, or acquaintances.10 Nearly half of all identified cases of child trafficking begin with some family member involvement and the extent of family involvement in the trafficking of children is up to four times higher than in cases of adult trafficking. The high demand for children for sexual purposes has generated such high profits that many organized crime groups are turning away from other illicit activities to devote their resources to the trafficking of minors. Human trafficking appeals to criminal organizations as "it is becoming increasingly easy and inexpensive to procure, move and exploit vulnerable girls." Additionally, the relatively low risk of detection and prosecution of technology-facilitated child sex trafficking compared to the risk associated with traditional, "in-person" forms of trafficking makes online sex trafficking an attractive illegal activity in which to engage. One child can generate a profit of several thousand dollars a day for traffickers and can be abused and sold repeatedly, unlike other forms of illicit trade like drug trafficking. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that "globally, two-thirds of the profits from forced labour are generated by forced sexual exploitation, amounting to an estimated US$99 billion per year." Approximately 5.5 million children under the age of 18 are forced into labor, and it is estimated that more than one million are victims of forced sexual exploitation. With the growth of Internet usage, a child's risk of being targeted increases; technology has lowered the bar of entry to the criminal world, which has had an expansive effect on the growth of modern slavery. Our challenge is that technology is taking slavery into a darker corner of the world where law enforcement techniques and capabilities are not as strong as they are offline." Strategies to address technology-facilitated child sex trafficking must address the misuse of ICTs to facilitate it and harness the potential of ICTs to combat it The world has seen an increase in international, regional, and national laws addressing cybercrime and human trafficking; however, international law is silent on several key issues - namely, the use of ICTs to: 1) recruit child sex trafficking victims; 2) advertise the sexual services of these victims; and 3) provide or receive payments or benefits from the sexual exploitation of children. To address these legal gaps, ideally international legislation should be enacted to include: - A uniform definition of technology-facilitated child sex trafficking; - Statutes punishing the use of ICTs to recruit child victims, advertise their sexual services, and send and receive payments for sexual exploitation of children; and - Requisite punishment. The Internet has global reach, which fuels the need for international legal cooperation to develop more stringent, overt laws to protect children from technology-facilitated child sex trafficking. While vast research exists regarding child sex trafficking broadly, this paper specifically focuses on: how and why technology is increasingly used to recruit, advertise, and send/receive payments for child sex trafficking; examining available international and regional legal instruments; reviewing a sampling of relevant national legislation; presenting model legislative language for consideration; and discussing the role of the technology and financial industries to deter traffickers from misusing their platforms to sexually exploit children. The report is further intended to support and promote the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 16.220 on ending the abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against and torture of children, and contribute to reaching the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by demonstrating our organizational commitment, helping raise awareness of the issues, and promoting the rule of law at the national and international levels. Additionally, the report contributes to the Implementation and Enforcement of Laws strategy, the first of the seven INSPIRE strategies developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), in particular core indicators 3.1 through 3.6 (i.e., laws and policies, awareness of laws, review of legal and policy framework)22; and helps to implement the WePROTECT Global Alliance to End Child Sexual Exploitation Online Model National Response (MNR) - specifically capabilities 2 (Research, Analysis and Monitoring) and 3 (Legislation) under Policy and Governance23. Details: Alexandria, VA: The Centre, 2018. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 10, 2019 at: https://www.icmec.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Technology-Facilitated-Child-Sex-Trafficking_final_11-30-18.pdf Year: 2018 Country: International URL: https://www.icmec.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Technology-Facilitated-Child-Sex-Trafficking_final_11-30-18.pdf Shelf Number: 155745 Keywords: Child GroomingChild PornographyChild ProstitutionChild ProtectionChild Sexual ExploitationChild TraffickingForced LaborModern SlaveryOnline Child Sexual AbuseRevenge PornographySextortionSocial Media |
Author: Parke, Sherrelle Title: Measuring the scale and changing nature of child sexual abuse: Analysis of 2017/18 official and agency data Summary: This report looks at data from local authority children's services, where child protection plans and social care initial assessments record where a child has experienced sexual abuse or is considered at risk of it, and data from criminal justice agencies, including the police and courts, that tells us about child sexual abuse offences and prosecutions. While this data provides an important insight into the practice of key agencies in relation to child sexual abuse, it is important to remember that this is not prevalence data (experiences of child sexual abuse in the general population): it is annual case management information as recorded at local and national levels. As such, what is and is not recorded reflects the varying needs and priorities of different agencies. It remains the case that the majority of child sexual abuse is neither reported nor identified during childhood and will therefore not appear in official agency data. However, the extent to which agencies recognise and respond to concerns of child sexual abuse is important, and this report pulls together available public data relating to child sexual abuse in one place. We hope it enables those in the field to better understand the bigger picture and changing context of the issue. Details: Ilford, Esssex, UK: Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, 2019. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 5, 2019 at: https://www.csacentre.org.uk/research-publications/scale-and-nature-of-child-sexual-abuse-and-exploitation/analysis-of-2017-18-official-and-agency-data/ Year: 2019 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.csacentre.org.uk/research-publications/scale-and-nature-of-child-sexual-abuse-and-exploitation/analysis-of-2017-18-official-and-agency-data/ Shelf Number: 156847 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual Abuse Child Sexual Exploitation |