Lecture 11b: Child Maltreatment

Define family violence.

• includes a range of abusive behaviours that occur within relationships based on kinship, intimacy, dependency or trust

• abusive behaviour that can be physical, sexual, psychological or financial

• can take forms of physical or emotional neglect

Define child maltreatment.

includes physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, as well as neglect and exposure to family violence

Common features of child protection legislation in Canada?

• best interests of the child must be considered

• parent’s primary responsibility for child-rearing is respected

• continuity of care and stability is important for children

• views of child are important

• cultural heritage should be respected

What 4 factors lead to a duty to report a child in need of protection?

• physical harm, or risk of physical harm

• sexual abuse or exploitation, or risk of

• child requires treatment to cure, prevent, or alleviate physical harm/suffering which is not provided

• child has or is likely to suffer emotional harm, demonstrated by serious: anxiety, depression, withdrawal, self-destructive or aggressive behaviour, or delayed development

Define reasonable grounds.

information that an average person, using normal and honest judgement, would need in order to decide to report

Child protection agencies responsibilities?

• receive and investigate reports of possible child abuse and neglect

• provide services to families who need assistance in the protection and care of their children

• arrange for children to live with kin, foster families, or licensed group home facilities when they are not safe at home

• arrange permanent adoptive homes for children

• arrange and support independent living services for youth leaving foster care

What are the 3 main recommendations for possibilities of change?

1. Respect children as equal persons within society

2. Develop an infrastructure of support for parents

3. Reform child protection laws and systems

What 4 elements are a part of the recommendation: respect children as equal persons within society?

• include children in public social life

• abolish corporal punishment

• consider what coercive control means in relation to children

• critically analyze dominant social deblieds about children

What 4 elements are a part of the recommendation: develop an infrastructure of support for parents?

• ensure resources to support families’ basic needs

• address the exploitation of reproductive labour

• address the isolation of children and women in the privacy of the family home

• critically analyze dominant discriminatory scial beliefs about families, including colonial influences for Indigenous people that hinder socially just approaches

What 4 elements are a part of the recommendation: reform child protection laws and systems?

• redistribute funding to address prevention and priorities public health approaches

• challenge mandatory reporting legislation

• decentralise decision-making power regarding child protection concerns