‘A lad tried to get hold of my boobs,so I kicked him’: an examination of attempts by adults with learning difficulties to initiate their own safeguarding

People with learning difficulties are considerably more likely to experience sexual and other forms of violence than non-disabled people. Nevertheless, several respondents in this study have demonstrated some self-protective competencies. Most knew of their right not to be violated and a number of participants described situations when they had attempted to initiate their own safeguarding. Some had asked others for help with this. However, appropriate assistance was not always provided. This indicates that risk may be aggravated by social barriers. This paper focuses on highlighting the resistance skills that are prevalent amongst some people with learning difficulties. It concludes with suggestions on ways in which individuals may be further supported to realise their potential to play a more active role in directing and regaining their own protection.     

Children in immediate danger: Emergency removals in Finnish and Irish child protection

This paper presents a qualitative analysis of front‐line practices regarding emergency removals in Finnish and Irish child protection. It examines how the responses to children's immediate danger are framed by legislation and how front‐line practitioners assess the child's situation and make emergency placement decisions. The data consist of interviews with 16 Irish and 33 Finnish social workers. These child welfare protection systems respond differently to a task that appears to be similar. The Irish team‐based practice rests on the social workers' shared assessment of the child's needs, and the formal decision is made by the courts (or police officers at night‐time); and the Finnish practice involves only one single social worker who makes both the assessment and the removal decision. The Irish system is tightly time regulated, whereas the Finnish system provides a more flexible time frame. Both approaches put a lot of stress on social workers' practice, which also includes creative workarounds (e.g., “planned emergency removals” in Finland). Future research will need to explore these features from the point of view of a child's right to protection.     

A divergence of opinion: how those involved in child and family social work are responding to the challenges of the Internet and social media

This discussion paper suggests that there is possibly a divergence of opinion taking place within the field of child and family social work and that the stated positions are influencing how practitioners identify and deal with risks and opportunities afforded by the Internet and social media. The suggested divergence is examined and the conclusion drawn is that what is taking place mirrors the fact that the introduction of any new technology inevitably brings with it division and debate. In seeking to understand the reaction to digital technology, consideration is given to a series of wider social discourses on childhood and risk, which includes the controversial notion that the profession is a harbinger of moral panic and that the management of risk has been broadened from child protection to child safety. The discussion paper concludes by calling for child and family social work practitioners to have a balanced debate that needs to be informed not only by current research but also by an open and honest discussion about personal use and an acknowledgement that there will be difficult moral and ethical questions to work through.     

Cash Transfers and Children's Education and Labour among Malawi's Poor

This article examines the impact on children's education and labour of monthly cash grants targeted on ultra‐poor households and designed to reduce poverty and enable families to invest in human development. It conducts a randomised community trial, with baseline and endline surveys of intervention and control households; verifies school enrolment; and completes key‐informant interviews and focus‐group discussions. Compared with non‐beneficiaries, intervention children experienced a 5 percentage point difference in enrolment, higher educational expenditures, fewer absences, and a 10 percentage point decrease in labour outside the home. Qualitative data confirm the quantitative findings. Transfers to poor households had a positive impact. However, the Malawian educational system needs to be improved for short‐term impacts to lead to long‐term development in human capital.     

Financial policy innovation for social change: a case study of China's green credit policy

Financial policy impacts on a range of social issues such as poverty alleviation, education, pollution control, etc. Making good use of financial policy and applying innovation to existing financial systems can generate positive outcomes for society. This article is to discuss the case of green credit policy in China. This policy was jointly announced in 2007 by financial and environmental regulators. According to this policy, banks were encouraged to give more loans to environmental friendly companies than to others. Such policy has made great progress, and it became a more formal document entitled ‘Green Credit Guideline’ in 2012. This guideline included a comprehensive definition on green credit and specified several requirements at practical levels. Despite the great success, challenges of implementing such policy still remain. First, information about corporate environmental performance is insufficient; second, market incentives for green credit policy are not high enough; third, most banking staff lack knowledge and capacity to handle environmental affairs. Nevertheless, this case still sheds light on how financial policy innovation drives social changes. The key is to identify the connection between social issues and financial issues, and then to make a business case that creates pressures or incentives for financial institutions. This requires a market where social and environmental cost is appropriately priced and internalized to those who generate it. Ideally, financial policies should help shape such a market so that society can share values created by financial institutions.     

THE RELEVANCE OF THE CONCEPT OF DISSOCIATION IN CHILD PROTECTION

This paper explores one aspect of unresolved trauma, namely dissociation. Its relevance to child protection is discussed with reference to two aspects: emotional neglect and choice of partner. There is an exploration of the implications for both assessment and treatment. The central place of shame in relation to dissociation is also explored. It is argued that dissociation is an important concept in child protection assessments and that social work assessments should be alert to this.     

Who owns the trauma? A Kleinian perspective on the dialogue between child protection social workers and the media

The present paper makes use of the developmental model of movement between mental positions that was formulated by psychoanalyst Melanie Klein, aimed at understanding the dialogue that takes place between the media and social workers in the field of child welfare, centring around incidents of murder within the family. The basic concept in the paper is that when working with children who are victims of abuse and with their parents, and when reporting on them as well, the feeling of personal control is severely undermined, being associated with the loss of the hallowed social value known as ‘unconditional love of a parent for his child’. The paper illustrates these theoretical ideas by describing two cases that took place in Israel and recommendations are made regarding ways of promoting the dialogue between the professions.     

澳大利亚生态环境保护的举措及经验借鉴

澳大利亚在发展经济的同时,较早地对生态环境进行有效保护,使经济发展与生态环境相互协调,同步推进;澳大利亚把生态环境保护纳入国家战略、建立全民参与的环境保护机制、坚持依法依规治理环境、实现城市建设和管理的生态化、强调尊重自然规律等,都是值得学习和借鉴的一些成功做法;当然,澳大利亚在生态环境保护方面也存在一些利己主义行为,对全球环境保护不利。