scholarly journals Childhood sexual abuse: disclosure and mandatory reporting – ethical and clinical implications

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-144
Author(s):  
William Burbridge-James
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Mandatory Reporting ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
List Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
Abuse Disclosure

SUMMARYThe widespread nature of child sexual abuse is increasingly recognised and in the public domain following high-profile cases. Children and vulnerable people need protecting from such abuse. At the heart of the dilemma facing clinicians is the need to feel supported by the legislative framework to maintain confidentiality and use their clinical discretion in the best interests of their patients, ensuring that they receive the help they need, but also protecting others at risk. There are compelling arguments both for and against strengthening legislation to improve child protection.LEARNING OBJECTIVES•To understand the context for the potential introduction of mandatory reporting.•To understand the arguments for and against mandatory reporting of childhood, including historic, sexual abuse.•To reflect on the implications of mandatory reporting of childhood, including historic, sexual abuse for readers clinical practice.DECLARATION OF INTERESTNone.

scholarly journals Child Abuse And Neglect: Mandatory Reporting and the Legal Profession

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Deverson
Keyword(s):  
Child Abuse ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Child Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Mandatory Reporting ◽  
Vulnerable Children ◽  
Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Protection Legislation ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
Legal Professional ◽  
Reporting Laws

Child abuse and neglect affects approximately 42 500 children in Australia each year. Parliaments in all Australian states and territories have introduced mandatory reporting into child protection legislation to protect vulnerable children by requiring certain individuals to report suspicions of abuse or neglect. However, lawyers are prevented from reporting because of the rules governing legal professional privilege and confidentiality. This article begins by examining the problem of child abuse and neglect in Australia and outlines the current legislative framework of mandatory reporting laws in Part II. Part III discusses the current rules governing lawyers and examines legal professional privilege and the duty of confidentiality. Part IV provides arguments for and against requiring lawyers to report suspected abuse and also considers the lawyer-client relationship and the special position of domestic violence victims. Part V offers recommendations for the proposed legislative reform. This article concludes that lawyers should be required to report child abuse and neglect.

scholarly journals Comparing Reports of Child Sexual and Physical Abuse Using Child Welfare Agency Data in Two Jurisdictions with Different Mandatory Reporting Laws

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Ben Mathews ◽  
Leah Bromfield ◽  
Kerryann Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Physical Abuse ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Mandatory Reporting ◽  
Child Physical Abuse ◽  
Positive Effects

Empirical analysis has found that mandatory reporting legislation has positive effects on case identification of child sexual abuse both initially and over the long term. However, there is little analysis of the initial and ongoing impact on child protection systems of the rate of reports that are made if a reporting duty for child sexual abuse is introduced, especially when compared with rates of reports for other kinds of child maltreatment. This research analysed government administrative data at the unique child level over a seven-year period to examine trends in reports of child sexual abuse, compared with child physical abuse, in two Australian states having different socio-legal dimensions. Data mining generated descriptive statistics and rates per 100,000 children involved in reports per annum, and time trend sequences in the seven-year period. The first state, Western Australia, introduced the legislative reporting duty in the middle of the seven-year period, and only for sexual abuse. The second state, Victoria, had possessed mandatory reporting duties for both sexual and physical abuse for over a decade. Our analysis identified substantial intra-state increases in the reporting of child sexual abuse attributable to the introduction of a new legislative reporting duty, and heightened public awareness resulting from major social events. Victoria experienced nearly three times as many reports of physical abuse as Western Australia. The relative burden on the child protection system was most clearly different in Victoria, where reports of physical abuse were relatively stable and two and a half times higher than for sexual abuse. Rates of children in reports, even at their single year peak, indicate sustainable levels of reporting for child welfare agencies. Substantial proportions of reports were made by both legislatively mandated reporters, and non-mandated community members, suggesting that government agencies would benefit from engaging with communities and professions to enhance a desirable reporting practice.

scholarly journals Anogenital warts in children: sexual abuse or unintentional contamination?

2001 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 1383-1391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisieux Eyer de Jesus ◽  
Oscar Luís Lima e Cirne Neto ◽  
Leila Maria Monteiro do Nascimento ◽  
Rejane Costa Araújo ◽  
Andréa Agostinho Baptista
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Perinatal Transmission ◽  
Anogenital Warts ◽  
Transdisciplinary Approach ◽  
The Public ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
Social Counseling

Anogenital warts (AGW) were recently recognized in children, and their significance as an index of childhood sexual abuse is controversial. We report our transdisciplinary approach (including a pediatric surgeon, psychologist, social worker, ethics expert, and occasionally law enforcement agents) and its results in a group of 17 children with AGW treated at the public pediatric referral hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during a 3-year period (1996-1999). All children were treated by electrocauterization of the warts, tested for other STDs, and submitted to perineal examination under anesthesia. Families received psycho-social counseling as necessary and cases were referred to child protection and law enforcement agents when indicated according to Brazilian legislation. We identified a high incidence of sexual abuse (8 children, 5/7 > 5 years old), with 3 patients inconclusive as to sexual abuse and 7 cases of perinatal transmission (5/8 < 4 years old). We conclude that AGW are indeed a strong sign of suspicion for sexual abuse in children, especially but not exclusively > 5 years of age. However, strong support and a transdisciplinary approach to the children and their families is necessary to identify it.

scholarly journals Why Cleveland Still Matters: Connections with a New Era

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Bacon ◽  
Susan Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Abuse ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Sexually Abused ◽  
Abused Children ◽  
New Era ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Sexually Abused Children

This chapter explores the lasting impact of 1987 Cleveland child abuse crisis in the UK in which 127 children were diagnosed by two paediatricians as having been sexually abused. It highlights how this resulted in tensions, misunderstandings and stresses in the interface between the public and the child protection system, and persistent challenges of creating and sustaining a successful multidisciplinary approach to intervention and protection. It argues that the experience in Cleveland provided unique information about the effects of intervening in child sexual abuse, especially where children are trapped in silence and only come to light by way of a proactive intervention. These children remain difficult to help and the best way of intervening remains contentious. The authors challenge the ethos that leaves sexually abused children vulnerable in the face of investigative and evidential hurdles and suggest ways forward.

scholarly journals The Challenge of Social Workers in Handling Cases of Child Sexual Abuse

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-36
Author(s):  
Alit Kurniasari
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Worker ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Sexual Experience ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Child Victims ◽  
The Social

This article discusses the Social Workers who work in the field of Child Protection, especially those who handle cases of child victims of sexual violence. In many cases, both victims and perpetrators need serious handling in order not to cause further problems. Social workers role are very important in restoring the trauma of children as victims, and addressing children's issues as behaviors including intervening with their families and the environment. During the practice of his profession, it can cause emotional reactions to the child's behavior, such as shock, trust and distrust because the child's sexual experience exceeds his or her age. In addition it can experience burnout, which can affect the practice of his profession. The condition can not be seen as the inability to run the profession, but rather as a challenge for the Social Worker, to improve his professional skills. This paper attempts to provide an alternative solution to minimize the emotional reactions in dealing with cases of Child Sexual Abuse, through a victim-centered approach with the best interests of the child, as a way of resolving conflict in intervention.

scholarly journals An Analysis of Charlie’s Law and Alfie’s Law

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-246
Author(s):  
David I Benbow
Keyword(s):  
Case Law ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Best Interest ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
The Public ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Young Infants ◽  
Foucauldian Theory ◽  
Limits Of Medicine

Abstract The Charlie Gard and Alfie Evans cases were high-profile cases involving disagreements between the parents of young infants and medical practitioners, which have given impetus to pre-existing calls for law reform that have been rebranded as ‘Charlie’s Law’ and ‘Alfie’s Law’. I argue against the proposal to replace the best interest test, which is currently determinative in such contentious cases, with a significant harm test, as it would render UK law divergent from international law. I also employ critical theory to rebut the notion that parents are the best decision makers and refute criticisms of clinicians (who reflexively acknowledged the limits of medicine). I utilise theories of distributive justice to demonstrate that legal reform may exacerbate unfairness, and case law to show that it may be unworkable. Nonetheless, I apply critical and Foucauldian theory to critique the lack of patient and public empowerment within the NHS and I endorse the proposal to ensure that mediation is offered in contentious cases, as this may empower patients and their carers. I also aver that the best interests test should be informed by clearer criteria regarding the allocation of finite resources, which the public should influence via the democratisation of the NHS.

scholarly journals Early Prevention of Maternal Sexual Abuse

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena Gerke ◽  
Tatjana Dietz
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Early Prevention ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Hebrew University ◽  
Research Findings

AbstractChild sexual abuse has been discussed thoroughly; however, marginalized groups of victims such as victims of child sexual abuse in early childhood and victims of maternal sexual abuse have rarely been considered. This essay combines these two relevant perspectives in child protection and aims to pin out future directions in the field of child abuse and specifically maternal sexual abuse and its early prevention. In the course of the 7th Haruv International PhD Workshop on Child Maltreatment at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, in 2019 the topics of maternal sexual abuse and early prevention of child maltreatment in Germany were discussed and intertwined. Problems concerning the specific research of maternal sexual abuse in early childhood and prevention were identified. Both, maternal sexual abuse as well as sexual abuse in early childhood, i.e. before the age of three, are underreported topics. Society still follows a “friendly mother illusion” while recent cases in German media as well as research findings indicate that the mother can be a perpetrator of child sexual abuse. Similarly, sexual abuse in early childhood, namely abuse before the age of three, is existent; although the recognition of it is difficult and young children are, in regards to their age and development especially vulnerable. They need protective adults in their environment, who are aware of sexual abuse in the first years of life. Raising awareness on marginalized or tabooed topics can be a form of prevention. An open dialog in research and practice about the so far marginalized topics of maternal sexual abuse and sexual abuse in early childhood is crucial.

Re-municipalization of local public services: incidence, causes and prospects

2021 ◽  
pp. 002085232110064
Author(s):  
Daniel Albalate ◽  
Germà Bel ◽  
Raymond Gradus ◽  
Eoin Reeves
Keyword(s):  
Public Management ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
The Public ◽  
Local Public Services ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Global Trend ◽  
The Us ◽  
House Production ◽  
Shed Light

Since the turn of the century, a global trend of re-municipalization has emerged, with cities reversing earlier privatizations and returning infrastructure and public service delivery to the public sector. The reversal of privatization measures is not an entirely new phenomenon. In the US, for example, returning public services to in-house production has been a long-standing feature of ‘pragmatic public management’. However, many cases of re-municipalization that have occurred since the early 2000s represent a distinctive shift from earlier privatization policies. High-profile cases in cities including Paris and Hamburg have thrust re-municipalization into the limelight as they have followed public campaigns motivated by dissatisfaction with the results of privatization and a desire to restore public control of vital services, such as water and energy. Just as the reform of public services towards privatization spawned a vast body of scholarship, the current re-municipalization phenomenon is increasingly attracting the attention of scholars from a number of disciplinary perspectives. The articles contained in this symposium contribute to this emerging literature. They address some of the burning issues relating to re-municipalization, but they also point to issues yet to be resolved and shed light on a research agenda that is still taking shape.

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