Child maltreatment: how can friends contribute to safety?

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debra Sue Allnock
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Emotional Abuse ◽  
Sexual Exploitation ◽  
Community Safety ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Rich Information

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a study of support received by 60 young adults who experienced sexual, physical or emotional abuse and neglect in childhood. It is focussed on the support provided by friends in particular, and draws out relevant learning for child sexual exploitation (CSE). Design/methodology/approach – In all, 60 young people completed a questionnaire, complemented by a two hour follow-up interview to explore experiences of formal and informal support in disclosing abuse. In total, 13 young people were recruited on the basis of their prior participation in a larger, associated study of child abuse and neglect, with the remainder recruited via open invitation. Findings – There is rich information in the interviews about the ways that friends provided support to participants. Friends provided practical, moral and emotional support. They intervened to keep their friends safe. They offered emotional “escape” and a conduit to adults who could help keep them safe. Importantly, friends recognised that participants were in distress even when they did not know the participants were being abused. Practical implications – The results highlight that friends have a crucial role to play in helping children to keep safe and to feel safe, provided that they are equipped with information and knowledge of how to respond and where to seek help. Originality/value – The paper is original in considering the role of friends within a community safety framework. In addition, the study sample is larger than other studies of its kind, and considers a wider variety of child maltreatment experiences than previous studies, making clear links to CSE.

Utilising the arts to tackle child sexual exploitation

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-55
Author(s):  
Claire Cody
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Sexual Exploitation ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Community Safety ◽  
Creative Arts ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Child Sexual Exploitation ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Potential Use

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider the potential use of creative, arts-based methods to address child sexual exploitation (CSE) through connecting with and supporting young people affected by CSE; and engaging the wider community through awareness-raising and education to help keep young people safe. The use of the arts in building understanding, promoting agency, educating and countering negative portrayals of those affected by CSE are also explored. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review identified that there is currently a limited evidence-base surrounding the use of arts in addressing the negative outcomes for young people affected by CSE and promoting the inclusion and safety of young people in the community. To explore the potential use of the arts in engaging young people and the communities they inhabit, this paper draws from research with other “hard to engage” and stigmatised groups, and learning from efforts to tackle other sensitive and challenging issues that impact on communities. Findings – The paper suggests that despite the relatively young evidence base concerning the role of creative, arts-based methods to tackle CSE, there is relevant transferable learning that suggests that there is potential in utilising the arts to help prevent CSE and promote community safety. Research limitations/implications – There is a clear need to consider the ethical implications of this work and to further examine how the arts may be utilised to tackle CSE and bring about positive outcomes for both individuals and for the wider community. Originality/value – The paper brings together bodies of literature from other fields to explore the potential use of creative arts-based methods to tackle a significant contemporary issue of community safety.

Safe foster care for victims of child sexual exploitation

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucie Elizabeth Shuker
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Young People ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Sexual Exploitation ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Community Safety ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Child Sexual Exploitation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on an evaluation of a pilot of specialist foster care for children at risk, or victims, of child sexual exploitation (CSE) and/or trafficking. Design/methodology/approach – The research adopted a multi-case study approach, gathering placement documentation, interviews and weekly monitoring logs throughout the duration of the 13 placements. Findings – This evaluation found that safety for those at risk, or victims, of CSE within the in-care population has both a physical and a relational element. The most successful placements were able to deploy restrictive safety measures effectively by tipping the balance of care and control towards demonstrations of compassion and acceptance. Good relationships in these foster homes unlocked other positive outcomes, including reduced missing incidences and increased awareness of exploitation. Research limitations/implications – The small sample size within this pilot project suggests the need for further research to test the applicability of the notion of multi-dimensional safety to young people’s welfare more generally. Practical implications – The findings confirm previous research that highlights the importance of stable relationships in child protection. They have implications for current tendencies to commission short-term CSE interventions that are unlikely to create the relational security that can improve community safety for young people. Originality/value – This is the first published evaluation of specialist accommodation for those affected by CSE in the UK, and its findings will therefore be of most value to commissioners and providers of care to looked after young people. The concept of multi-dimensional safety will be relevant to those with responsibility for child welfare/safeguarding.

scholarly journals Invisible students: institutional invisibility and access to education for undocumented children

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Meloni ◽  
Cécile Rousseau ◽  
Alexandra Ricard-Guay ◽  
Jill Hanley
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Community Partnership ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Community Stakeholders ◽  
Policies And Practices

Purpose In Canada, undocumented children are “institutionally invisible” – their access to education to be found in unwritten and discretionary practices. Drawing on the experience of a three-year university-community partnership among researchers, institutional and community stakeholders, the purpose of this paper is to examine how undocumented children are constructed as excluded from school. Design/methodology/approach The establishment of this collaborative research space, helped to critically understand how this exclusion was maintained, and highlighted contradictory interpretations of policies and practices. Findings Proposing the analytical framework of “institutional invisibility”, the authors argue that issues of access and entitlement for undocumented children have to be often understood within unwritten and ambiguous policies and practices that make the lives of young people invisible to the institutional entities with which they interact. Originality/value The notion of institutional invisibility allows the authors to integrate the missing link between questions of access and deservingness. The paper also reflects on the role of action research in both documenting dynamics and pathways of institutional invisibility, as well as in initiating social change – as both horizontal, and vertical mobilisation.

scholarly journals Understanding coaching efficacy in education through activity systems: privileging the nuances of provision

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel M. Lofthouse ◽  
Anthea Rose ◽  
Ruth Whiteside
Keyword(s):  
Activity Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Coaching Efficacy ◽  
Range Of Functions ◽  
Cultural Historical Activity ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Specific Challenge

PurposeThe research demonstrates the role of activity systems based in Cultural Historical Activity Theory as a means of analysing characteristics and efficacy of specific provisions of coaching in education.Design/methodology/approachThree examples of coaching in education were selected, involving 51 schools in England. The three examples were re-analysed using activity systems. This drew on existing evaluation evidence, gathered through interviews, questionnaires, focus groups and recordings of coaching.FindingsIn each example, the object of the coaching was to address a specific challenge to secure the desired quality of education. Using activity systems it is possible to demonstrate that coaching has a range of functions (both intended and consequential). The individual examples illustrate the potential of coaching to support change in complex and diverse education settings.Research limitations/implicationsThe use of existing data from evaluations means that direct comparisons between examples are not made. While data were collected throughout the duration of each coaching programme no follow-up data was available.Practical implicationsThe analysis of the examples of coaching using activity systems provides evidence of the efficacy of specific coaching provision in achieving individually defined objectives related to sustaining and improving specific educational practices.Originality/valueThe research offers insights into how coaching in education might be better tuned to the specific needs of contexts and the challenges experienced by the individuals working in them. In addition, it demonstrates the value of activity systems as an analytical tool to make sense of coaching efficacy.

Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, and Neglect and Childhood Behavior Problems: A Meta-Analysis of Studies in Mainland China

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 206-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naixue Cui ◽  
Jianghong Liu
Keyword(s):  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Behavior Problems ◽  
Emotional Abuse ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Childhood Behavior ◽  
Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Childhood Behavior Problems

The relationship between three types of child maltreatment, including physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect, and childhood behavior problems in Mainland China, has not been systematically examined. This meta-analysis reviewed findings from 42 studies conducted in 98,749 children in Mainland China and analyzed the pooled effect sizes of the associations between child maltreatment and childhood behavior problems, heterogeneity in study findings, and publication bias. In addition, this study explored cross-study similarities/differences by comparing the pooled estimates with findings from five existing meta-analyses. Equivalent small-to-moderate effect sizes emerged in the relationships between the three types of maltreatment and child externalizing and internalizing behaviors, except that emotional abuse related more to internalizing than externalizing behaviors. Considerable heterogeneity exists among the 42 studies. Weak evidence suggests that child gender and reporter of emotional abuse may moderate the strengths of the relationships between child maltreatment and behavior problems. No indication of publication bias emerged. Cross-study comparisons show that the pooled effect sizes in this meta-analysis are about equal to those reported in the five meta-analyses conducted in child and adult populations across the world. Findings urge relevant agencies in Mainland China to build an effective child protection system to prevent child maltreatment.

Child injury, maltreatment, and safeguarding

2018 ◽  
pp. 208-211
Author(s):  
Geoff Debelle ◽  
Qingfeng Li ◽  
Delan Devakumar
Keyword(s):  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Emotional Abuse ◽  
Economic Transition ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
Sexual Exploitation ◽  
Child Injury ◽  
Street Kids ◽  
Intentional Injuries ◽  
Public Health Challenges

Child maltreatment and intentional injuries are major public health challenges, incurring huge costs for both individuals and society. Violence is an abuse of power comprising acts of commission and omission, and can have lasting consequences for survivors. It includes abuse in the home and collective violence, resulting in children being orphaned or abandoned, forced to become child soldiers, ‘street kids’ or trafficked for domestic work or sexual exploitation. In addition to physical violence, emotional abuse can involve bullying and seeing or hearing the ill treatment of another, such as a child witnessing intimate partner violence. Child maltreatment rates are higher in countries affected by war, famine, social inequality, and economic transition and in communities with marginalised indigenous and disabled groups. Comprehensive interventions, based on child rights principles, are needed that focus on prevention, detection, and intervention.

Radical reform and reforming radicals in Australian schooling

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eve Mayes
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Attorney General ◽  
Young Person ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Radical Reform ◽  
Violent Extremism ◽  
Radical Education

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider historical shifts in the mobilisation of the concept of radical in relation to Australian schooling. Design/methodology/approach Two texts composed at two distinct points in a 40-year period in Australia relating to radicalism and education are strategically juxtaposed. These texts are: the first issue of the Radical Education Dossier (RED, 1976), and the Attorney General Department’s publication Preventing Violent Extremism and Radicalisation in Australia (PVERA, 2015). The analysis of the term radical in these texts is influenced by Raymond Williams’s examination of particular keywords in their historical and contemporary contexts. Findings Across these two texts, radical is deployed as adjective for a process of interrogating structured inequalities of the economy and employment, and as individualised noun attached to the “vulnerable” young person. Social implications Reading the first issue of RED alongside the PVERA text suggests the consequences of the reconstitution of the role of schools, teachers and the re-positioning of certain young people as “vulnerable”. The juxtaposition of these two texts surfaces contemporary patterns of the therapeutisation of political concerns. Originality/value A methodological contribution is offered to historical sociological analyses of shifts and continuities of the role of the school in relation to society.

Factors influencing product involvement among young consumers

2010 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 499-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tali Te'eni‐Harari ◽  
Jacob Hornik
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Market Segmentation ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Product Category ◽  
Product Knowledge ◽  
Product Involvement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Young Consumers

PurposeIn light of the core role of product involvement as a variable in consumer behavior, the current study seeks to examine which variables influence product involvement among young people. This paper aims to explore five variables: age, subjective product knowledge, influence of parents, influence of peers, and product category.Design/methodology/approachThe research was founded on a quantitative field study, whose sample was comprised of 252 young people, ages 4‐15.FindingsThe findings among the entire sample imply that young people's product involvement is explained by all of the variables that were examined. Interesting findings came to light for each one of the age groups: Young children's product‐involvement level was influenced by parents and peers. The product‐involvement level for children was influenced by peers and product category. Adolescents' product‐involvement relies on subjective product knowledge and product category.Originality/valueThese findings expand the existing knowledge about young consumers' behavior patterns and show that the existing models provide a partial picture. In addition, the product‐involvement variable must be seen as a basis for market segmentation of the younger populations. The recommendation is to carefully create segments that examine the different product‐involvement levels among each age group.

Understanding children’s non-disclosure of child sexual assault: implications for assisting parents and teachers to become effective guardians

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Marie Wager
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Sexual Exploitation ◽  
Adult Survivors ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Child Sexual Assault ◽  
Concern For Others ◽  
The Right ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine adult survivors’ of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) retrospective reflections on their motives for not disclosing their abuse. The aim was to identify factors that might facilitate early disclosure in order to both enhance the future safety of young people who have experienced sexual victimisation and to offer a means of reducing the numbers of future victims. Design/methodology/approach – This was a retrospective web-based, mixed-methods survey which was completed by 183 adult survivors of CSA. The data presented here is in relation to answers offered in response to an open-ended question which were thematically analysed. Findings – In all, 75 per cent of the survivors of CSA indicated that they had not told anyone of the abuse whilst they were a child. Analysis of the responses revealed five barriers to disclosure which included: a lack of opportunity, normality/ambiguity of the situation, embarrassment, concern for others and a sense of hopelessness. Additionally, some respondents highlighted implicit attempts to disclose and others reported later regret over non-disclosure. Practical implications – A timely disclosure of CSA, which is appropriately responded to, has the potential to reduce the risk for subsequent sexual exploitation/revictimisation, and to foreshorten the predations of offenders. To achieve this, responsible and trusted adults in the lives of children need to learn how to invite a genuine disclosure of CSA. Originality/value – This paper offers practical suggestions for parents and teachers on what signs indicate that an invitation might be warranted and for creating the right context for their invitation to be accepted.

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