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Protecting children from familiar and trusted perils

01 Jun 2022

  • The interlinked role of parents, communities, and child protection services highlighted  
BY Sumudu Chamara The tragic death of a nine-year-old girl in Atulugama, Bandaragama, according to activists, is just another incident that highlights how unsafe children can be when they are in society with no trustworthy adult around. One of the tragic realities this incident points out is that such environments can even be within a few hundred feet of a child’s home, in an environment which everyone assumes is safe for a child.  How safe households and neighbourhoods actually are, is at the forefront of this discussion, and the said incident raises the importance of ensuring children’s safety even in familiar environments and among known individuals. In this regard, there are many steps that parents and communities can take, and many warning signs to be vigilant about. Parents’ responsibilities The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families in the US has issued several recommendations with a focus on raising awareness to prevent child abuse. Among the recommendations for parents and individuals are: Disciplining children thoughtfully (parents refraining from trying to discipline children when the former are upset, taking time to calm down, using privileges to encourage good behaviour in children, and using timeouts to help children regain control); examining behaviour (being a nurturing parent, while using parents’ actions to show children and other adults that conflicts can be settled without hitting or yelling); parents educating themselves and others (conducting after-school activities, parent education classes, mentoring programmes, and respite care with a focus on keeping children safe from harm, and being a voice in support of these efforts in one’s community); teaching children their rights (when children are taught that they are special and have the right to be safe, they are less likely to think that abuse is their fault and are more likely to report an offender); knowing what child abuse is (the awareness that children can be emotionally abused when they are rejected, berated, or continuously isolated); being aware of the warning signs (apart from obvious signs of abuse such as unexplained injuries, being vigilant about other signs such as depression, the fear of a certain adult, difficulty trusting others or making friends, sudden changes in eating or sleeping patterns, inappropriate sexual behaviour, poor hygiene, secrecy, and hostility is crucial, as they are often signs of family problems and may indicate a child is being neglected or physically, sexually, or emotionally abused); reporting abuse (those who witness a child being harmed or see evidence of abuse are urged to report the incident to child protective services or the local police, and, when talking to a child about abuse, listening carefully, assuring the child that he or she did the right thing by telling an adult, and affirming that he or she is not responsible for what happened). At the same time, parents have a massive responsibility to be vigilant about signs that may indicate that a child is being sexually abused. Among them are: a child having bruises or showing signs of bleeding around the genitals; having torn, bloody, or stained underwear; contracting a sexually transmitted disease; trying to engaging in inappropriate sexual behaviour with other children or adults; and having sexual knowledge or activity that does not match their age.  What is more, when it comes to identifying perpetrators, experts recommend that parents be vigilant about individuals that children fear or dislike without a known or explainable reason, and instances where children do not like to be left alone with specific persons.  Community responsibilities The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families issued recommendations also include several recommendations for communities. They are: volunteering time (getting involved with other parents in the community, and helping vulnerable children and their families, one example being starting a playgroup); supporting prevention programmes (in a context where intervention often occurs only after abuse is reported, greater investments are needed in programmes that have been proven to stop abuse before it occurs); and investing in children (encouraging leaders in the community to be supportive of children and families, asking employers to provide family friendly work environments, and asking local and national lawmakers to support legislation to better protect our children and to improve their lives). According to a publication titled “A common responsibility: The role of community-based child protection groups in protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation” issued by Save the Children, community-based child protection groups (groups of people, often volunteers, who aim to improve the protection and wellbeing of children in a village, urban neighbourhood, or other community) are widespread and are increasingly being scaled up in many parts of the world, and they are a vital component of a broader child protection system that operates at the community, district, state, and national levels. While noting that these groups could be effective in many ways for a community to address child abuse-related matters and thereby reduce and prevent them, the publication added: “Community-based child protection groups can work on a range of child sexual abuse and exploitation-related issues, including child trafficking, exploitative or abusive child labour, early marriage, gender-based violence, child prostitution, sexual abuse and exploitation within schools, and sexual abuse within the family, among others.  “Sexual abuse and exploitation has been reported by some communities as an especially complex issue to deal with. This may be because of difficult decisions about formal reporting and engagement with the law enforcement and the judicial system, and the social implications in terms of attitudes and stigma.  “However, there are a number of community-based child protection groups that include a specific focus on sexual abuse and exploitation. For instance, anti-trafficking committees in India are tackling the issue of child trafficking for the purposes of exploitative forms of labour such as domestic work and false marriage, both of which can lead to sexual abuse.  “Activities they have been successful in include prevention work, raising public awareness about traffickers and what constitutes trafficking, identifying and supporting particularly vulnerable children, monitoring the whereabouts of traffickers, and ensuring that all children are enrolled in school and therefore less likely to be at risk of being trafficked. In West Africa, selected women have been trained and supported to be gender-based-violence focal points within a community, for issues of sexual abuse and exploitation. These women are demonstrating the capacity to respond to individual cases, assess a child’s needs and wishes, undertake sensitive referrals, and provide practical support to child victims where services do not exist.” Community-based child protection groups’ duties include: awareness raising and community mobilisation on children’s rights, child protection and care issues and the benefits of children’s participation; increasing children’s life skills; monitoring and acting as watchdogs for child protection; identifying vulnerable children and families; supporting caregivers and members of the extended kin network around positive parenting practices; supporting the community in livelihood, social protection and education provision; and advocating to local and national Government for better service delivery, policy improvements and the effective implementation of laws and programmes for child protection. Save the Children added that a key role for community prevention work is to empower children to better protect themselves without giving them sole responsibility for their own protection, and that these groups should facilitate this role through awareness-raising activities with children to highlight the risks in the local community and through finding practical ways to minimise them; informing children of how to identify potential abusers in a community, working with local social workers to identify the information needed by children, and finding engaging ways to get messages across to children, highlighting places that children can go to for help, including an accessible reporting procedure, supporting life-skills training around sexual relationships and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and in leading resilience-building activities. Caring for children facing abuse According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) – a body of the Department of Health and Social Care in England – while taking steps to prevent child abuse is important, it is also crucial to understand the risk factors that make children vulnerable to abuse. NICE’s guidelines with regard to child abuse and neglect also point out how various parties such as parents and children should be dealt with. When working with children and young people, the guidelines say that it is important to take a child-centric approach and to involve them in the decision making process to the fullest extent possible (depending on their age and developmental stage). It is also recommended to use a range of methods (drawing, books or appropriate activities) to communicate with children and young people, and ask for permission and inform them about what is about to happen when it is necessary to touch them during the conversation. In addition, ensuring that these conversations take place somewhere private and where the child or young person feels comfortable are also matters that require attention, according to the guidelines. Where there are concerns about child abuse and neglect, it is recommended to explain confidentiality and when the person dealing with the children might need to share specific information, to be sensitive and empathetic; listen actively and use open-ended questions; find out their views and wishes; check your understanding of what the child has told you; be sensitive to any religious or cultural beliefs; use plain language and explain any technical terms; work at the child or young person’s pace; give them opportunities to stop the conversation or leave the room and follow up if this does happen; and explain what will happen next and when. The guidelines to dealing with parents include actively listening to them; being open and honest; seeking to empower them and engaging them in finding solutions; avoiding blame even if they may be responsible for the child abuse or neglect; inviting, recognising and discussing any worries they have about specific interventions they will be offered; being sensitive to religious or cultural beliefs; providing clear information about whom to contact, including in an emergency; and keeping them informed, including explaining what information has been shared and with whom. Vulnerability factors  NICE has listed several vulnerability factors in its guidelines, and explained that vulnerability factors are factors that are known to increase the risk of child abuse and neglect.   Among factors involving the family are: substance misuse problems; a history of domestic abuse including sexual violence or exploitation; emotional volatility or having problems managing anger; and mental health problems which have a significant impact on the tasks of parenting. It added that these factors may be compounded if the parent or carer lacks support from family or friends. Vulnerability factors for recurring or persistent child abuse and neglect include the parent or carer refusing to engage with the services; one or more previous episodes of child abuse or neglect having been reported; the parent or carer having a mental health or substance misuse problem which has a significant impact on the tasks of parenting; the presence of chronic parental stress;  and the parent or carer having experienced abuse or neglect as a child. With regard to factors involving children, the guidelines noted: “Be aware of the impact of a child or young person’s age or gender on their vulnerability to child abuse and neglect, and the likelihood of recognition. For example, boys and young men may be less likely to disclose sexual exploitation, and recognise that disabled children and young people are more vulnerable to child abuse or neglect.” Pointing out the importance of recognising child abuse when the victim does not disclose information about what they faced, the guidelines explained several reasons for such reluctance, which should receive the attention of the parents and communities. They are: having feelings of confusion, shame, guilt and of being stigmatised; the victim not recognising their own experiences as abusive or neglectful; being coerced by or may be attached to the person or people abusing or neglecting them; fearing the consequences of telling someone, for example that no one will believe them, that the abuse or neglect might get worse, that their family will be split up or excluded by their community, or they will go into care; and having communication difficulties. Even though it is the law enforcement authorities that are expected to address child abuse, their role revolves more around taking legal action against perpetrators. However, experts underscore that the prevention of such incidents should be given more attention, and parents, communities, and child protection services play a big part in this. Simple acts such as being open to children’s concerns and making sure children are always with someone trustworthy can make a big difference.


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