Current Issues in Child Protection: An Overview of the Debates in Contemporary Journals

Correspondence to Celia Doyle, School of Behavioural Studies, Nene College, Northampton NN2 7AL Summary This article provides an overview of the current debate andconcerns in child protection work as reflected in current, mainlyBritish, academic and professional journals. Some of the concernswhich have been expressed during the past twenty years are stillpart of contemporary discourse. These include the divide betweenphysical punishment and abuse, child fatalities, assessment,procedures, intervention and prevention. Some more recent themeshave also emerged, in particular ritual abuse, the links betweendomestic violence and child maltreatment, children as witnessesand the plight of children with disabilities and young corers.Perhaps the most prominent feature is the overwhelming pre-eminenceof articles about child sexual abuse. Physical neglect remainson the sidelines while emotional abuse, as the main or soleform, merits barely a mention.     

Return visits and belonging to countries of origin among young people from refugee backgrounds

In this article, we explore the return visits of resettled young people from refugee backgrounds to their personal and/or ancestral countries of origin. We draw on qualitative data from a longitudinal study of people who fled their country of origin at an early age, many of whom were born or lived for protracted periods in countries of asylum, and resettled in Australia. We demonstrate that return visits are not simply a homecoming; the young people's narratives reflect ambivalent relationships to the homeland experienced across multiple domains of belonging. Accounts of return visits refer to three core domains of belonging – practical national belonging, family connection, and attachment to material places. We argue that a return visit gives these youths a valued opportunity to negotiate and develop their homeland connections, though not necessarily an unambiguous opportunity to belong.     

Sexual abuse: giving help to the children: A practical guide for concerned proiessionals

SUMMARY. This paper has been written for those professional workers who may have to deal with situations involving child sexual abuse, while having only limited knowledge and training. There are two sections. The first examines some of the key issues needed to increase understanding, and includes a preliminary discussion on the emotional impact of sexual abuse on Professional workers. Following a clarification of definitions, family aspects and incidence, this section focuses first on the child victims and then on the perpetrator. Finally, there is an examination of the consequences of child sexual abuse. The second section gives guidance on how a professional worker might respond if confronted with a case—from recognising the signs to facilitating disclosure. Suggestions are made about supporting the child during the investigation and heaving the child afterwards.     

Foster Families for Adolescents: the healing potential of time-limited placements

Correspondence to Dr Celia Downes, Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of York, Heslington, York YO1 5DD Summary This paper describes a research project which explored how familyplacements may function reparatively. It identified and analysedthe dynamic processes at work within foster families who havedifficult adolescents placed with them for time-limited periods. The conceptual framework which was developed from the findingselaborated upon the idea of some of the psychosocial tasks ofparticular concern to these adolescents. Understandings drawnfrom Attachment Theory and Family Systems Theory were then integratedto provide a framework for considering patterns of interactionbetween adolescents and foster-parents. It is argued that what needs repairing is the adolescent's capacityfor attachment. This is manifested in several ways, includingtheir capacity for emotional and physical distance regulationbetween themselves and significant others. Negotiations betweenadolescent and foster-parents across the boundary between thefamily and the world outside provide a promising arena for change.These critical negotiations often occur in connection with thepsychosocial tasks of concern to the adolescent.