Definitions of child abuse and neglect bibliography

This article examines the intersection between intimate partner violence and child abuse from a child-centred point of view. With reference to the international literature, the authors first discuss the impact of intimate partner violence on children and the frequent coexistence of intimate partner violence and child abuse. They then examine the use of professional language in the experience of - and the framing of - child abuse, the inclusion of children's voices in understanding child abuse, and whether witnessing intimate partner violence should be defined as child abuse.

This resource sheet provides definitionsof the categories of child abuse, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional and psychological abuse, and neglect. The document provides examples of each category and considers problems in arriving at clear definitions of types of abuse. This resource sheet updates and replaces an earlier version first published in December 2004.

Definitions of child abuse and domestic violence are generally based on physical harm or the risk of physical harm, and do not recognise the experience or consequences of non physical contact (NPC) abuse. This paper discusses forms of NPC abuse with the purpose of heightening awareness of the abuse and its effects on the victims, usually women and children. The paper first defines NPC abuse. It then presents a model, with case examples, for identifying different forms of NPC abuse within relationships and provides a framework to distinguish between relationship conflict and domestic violence.

"This book aims to critically evaluate the development of policy and legislative measures to control sex offenders. The last 15 years has seen increasing concern on the part of the government, criminal justice agencies, the media and the public, regarding child sexual abuse. This concern has been prompted by a series of events including cases inviting media attention and involving the abduction, sexual abuse and murder of young children. The response to this wave of child sexual abuse revelation has been to introduce increasingly punitive legislation regarding the punishment and control of sex offenders - the only group of offenders in British legal history to have their own act - both in custody and in the community. Against the backdrop of a crisis in public confidence regarding the behaviour of child protection professionals, it is argued here that legislation has developed in a reactionary way in response to media and public anxiety regarding the punishment and control of sex offenders, and the perceived threat of such offenders in the community."--Book jacket.

"Public policy responses to child sexual abuse are dominated by interventions designed to take effect only after offenders have already begun offending, and after children have already been sexually abused. Comparatively little attention has been given to alternative prevention strategies - particularly to those aimed at preventing sexual abuse before it might otherwise occur. Considerable knowledge has been accumulated on the characteristics, modus operandi and persistence of offenders, the characteristics, circumstances and outcomes for victims, and the physical and social settings in which sexual abuse occurs, but little work has been done to systematically apply this knowledge to prevention. This book aims to fulfill this objective through integrating clinical and criminological concepts and knowledge to inform a more comprehensive and effective public policy approach to preventing child sexual abuse. Empirical and theoretical knowledge concerning child sexual abuse is integrated with broader developments in evidence-based crime and child maltreatment prevention, leading to new ideas about understanding and preventing child sexual abuse."--Book jacket.

Wangmann (22(2) AJFL) recently expressed a number of concerns about the Australian Institute of Family Studies report examining allegations of family violence and child abuse in family law children's proceedings - most notably, that the authors' call for the need to differentiate between different kinds of intimate partner violence 'does not flow from the data'. In this article, the authors respond to these various concerns. Specifically they identify and seek to correct a number of misinterpretations and misrepresentations made by Wangmann. In moving the debate forward in this complex field of inquiry, the authors note an ongoing need on the part of all researchers and commentators for clarity, precision and balance. (Journal abstract)

A number of court cases in Australia in recent years has brought to attention the fact that females are capable of committing sexual crimes against children and adolescents. This article discusses attitudes towards women's sexual offending against minors. It considers the difficulties in, and approaches to, defining female-perpetrated sexual abuse, and investigates ways in which such offenders may be categorised.

The term 'incest' is used to describe both consensual sex and sexual abuse or rape. This article explains why the term is inappropriate and misleading, and the implications of its continued use, particularly within a legal context. The legal view of incest is that it is consensual and therefore cannot be rape. The article describes the recent case of John and Jennifer Deaves, and comments on its coverage in the Australian media. It then discusses the attitudes of legal professionals towards intrafamilial sexual abuse, and the effects of those attitudes in undermining or negating the experiences of victims of intrafamilial sexual abuse.

This booklet was developed by the staff of SideStreet Counselling Service to assist service providers working with young people who have disclosed sexual abuse. SideStreet is a service of UnitingCare Wesley Adelaide for young people aged 12-25 who are homeless and who have been subjected to sexual abuse. The booklet outlines: definitions of sexual abuse; how young people may disclose; creating opportunities for disclosure; myths; tactics of abusers; effects; worries and concerns young people may have about disclosing; ways to support a young person who has experienced sexual abuse; mandatory notification; worker issues, and consultancy.

There are definitional issues around child maltreatment in two main areas: those primarily of a conceptual nature, and those primarily related to implementation or measurement. This paper presents a set of conceptual definitions of abusive and neglectful behaviours: maltreatment, physically abusive behaviour, sexually abusive behaviour, neglectful behaviour, psychologically abusive or neglectful behaviour and witnessing family violence. It looks at the point when 'abusive and neglectful behaviours' become 'abuse' and 'neglect', the components of 'a child in need of protection', and legislative definitions of 'a child in need of protection' in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.

This book dicusses theory, policy and research developments in the areas of child neglect, assessment of parenting capacity, the detection of neglect, and social work with neglected children. The definition and framework of neglect is considered, as well as reviewing what is known about best practice in intervention. This text is illustrated with examples from British social services.

This textbook for undergraduate and graduare students helps explain more fully the etiology, prevalence, treatment, policy issues, and prevention of child maltreatment. It includes discussions on bullying, family violence, and child exploitation via the internet. This text also includes material to help prepare students for careers in child welfare, with interviews with professionals in the field, case studies, practice and policy considerations, and the psychological impact on professionals.

In this editorial on vulnerability, the author discusses varying definitions and differentiates the concepts of 'risk' and 'vulnerability'. He argues that the public health approach to child protection and abuse prevention addresses the multiple facets of vulnerability through the recognition that abuse and maltreatment is situated within a societal framework.

This article comments on the research report, 'Allegations of family violence and child abuse in child-related disputes in family law proceedings', published by the Australian Institute of Family Studies in 2007. The author discusses problems with the judicial definitions and comprehension of domestic violence, and how the responsibility for male violence - its allegations and evidence - is placed on mothers.

The Australian Capital Territory's Children and Young People Act 1999 supports the legal requirement of certain professional groups to report non accidental physical injury and/or sexual abuse of children and young people. This paper provides information to mandated reporters and other professionals concerning the making of a report. It covers: definitions of child abuse and neglect; how child abuse can be identified; types of abuse; non accidental physical injury; sexual abuse; emotional abuse; neglect; legislative context; legislative principles; reporting requirements; voluntary reporting; mandatory reporting; reasonable grounds; penalties; making a report to Family Services; interstate issues; what to do if you are not sure whether what you are seeing constitutes abuse or neglect; information required when making a report; protection for reporters; confidentiality provisions; action following a report; responding to a disclosure made by a child or young person; frequently asked questions and contact numbers.

This manual is a resource for disaster and emergency relief workers, offering guidance on preventing sexual exploitation or sexual abuse of children in disaster and emergency situations. It includes preparing for disasters, response work in the immediate aftermath, and working in the longer term reconstruction phase. The manual also discusses terminology, factors and contexts, working with local organizations, unaccompanied children, checklist of key actions, codes of conduct, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

"The overarching goal of this book is to identify research definitions and methodologies that have a high probability of establishing a useful, scientific framework for the field of child abuse and neglect. It is important, however, that such definitions and methodologies be considered within the legal, social, and political contexts that have always accompanied and informed the field of child abuse and neglect. The authors [present] evidence about 1) linkages between theory and the development of a valid and reliable definition and classification system for child abuse and neglect, 2) current approaches to definition and measurementin this area, and 3) the role the legal system and public policy play in settings priorities for research and practice."--P. 18.

This book is concerned with identifying victims of intimate partner abuse when they come in contact with the health care system. It discusses current and historical professional attitudes to domestic violence, prevalence, the effect of abuse on the victim and on their children, barriers to identification, screening issues, professional education, and initial interventions and support.

Concerns about the impact of the Federal Government's amendments to the Family Law Act on victims of violence are explored. Research on family law has found that the current system has not worked well to protect those affected by family violence or child abuse. This article argues that the reforms will only make the situation worse. It discusses conflicting principles, research on existing problems in family law, problems with equal shared parental responsibility, 'reasonable' grounds to show abuse, a narrow definition of child abuse, punitive measures for false allegations, and Family Relationship Centres.

This report provides an overview of New Zealand's responses to family violence and current trends in government and community initiatives. It discusses definitions of family violence, child abuse, elder abuse and intimate partner violence; incidence and prevalence of these types of violence; consequences of these types of violence; programs and service approaches to child abuse; deaths and hospitalisations from partner violence and elder abuse; risk factors for child abuse, elder abuse and partner violence; recognising diversity in perpetration of violence and differences in coping trajectories for 'targets of violence'; intervention and prevention efforts for partner violence, child abuse and elder abuse; health care interventions; school and employer based programs; gender; mass media campaigns; advocacy; legal responses to partner violence; arrest policies and alternative sanctions; interventions for batterers; coordinated community responses; co occurrence of child abuse and partner abuse; economic costs; a framework for violence prevention; and policy and research recommendations.

Investigations into the widespread possession of online child sexual abuse images reveal enormous variety in the types of images collected by adults with a sexual interest in children. While there is almost universal condemnation of the sexual exploitation of children through such images, it is not possible to define precisely what constitutes an illegal child sexual abuse image. This is because the concept is broad, changeable and, at the margins, elusive. Nonetheless, the use of criminal law to regulate any activity requires that the proscribed conduct be clearly defined. This paper reviews the ways in which child sexual abuse images can be categorised and, in particular, examines the impact of the viewer's perception on the definition of child pornography offences in Australia. (Author abstract)

"Sexual Assault: The Victims, The Perpetrators, and The Criminal Justice System provides an overview of the crime of sexual assault and its related issues. It provides a synthesis of the most current information relating to sexual assault. The authors approach the topic of sexual assault in a unique way by examining it from a criminal justice perspective. In giving an overview of sexual assault, examining its victimology, discussing the sexual offender, and looking at the role the criminal justice system plays, this book presents a comprehensive and thoroughly informative study of the crime."--Book jacket.

The phenomenon of Fabricated or Induced Illness by Carers (FIIC) is explored in this paper. A history and definition of FIIC is provided, consideration given to whether FIIC exists and its prevalence. The paper discuses the characteristics of parents who fabricate or induce illness in their children, the link between FIIC and multiple unexplained deaths, legal issues and implications for child protection.

"[This book] offers a new and empirically rich perspective on the question of why we now place such psychological significance on victimization in people's lives. Focusing on the case of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, [the author] shows how the idea of innocence shaped the emergence of trauma psychology and informs accounts of the past and hopes for the future in therapy with survivor clients."--Book jacket.

Some of the controversies and debates surrounding family violence are discussed in this chapter. The chapter considers issues such as the theoretical and methodological frameworks used in studies of violence in the home, and intergenerational transmission of violence. It covers the terms and definitions used to define violence in the home, family violence as a social and public issue, sources of information on family violence in Australia, homicide, the links between child maltreatment and family violence, the effect on children of witnessing or experiencing violence, elder abuse, explanations for family violence, resource theory, patriarchal terrorism and common couple violence.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has been collating national child protection data since 1990-91. These data are provided to the Institute by State and Territory community service departments who have responsibility for child protection matters. While there are nationally agreed definitions and counting rules used to compile the data, each jurisdiction has their own legislation, policies and practices in relation to child protection which impact on the data they provide to the Institute. The comparability of the data across states and territories is examined and some of the major differences between jurisdictions are highlighted. It is hoped that changing the method of collecting the data will alleviate some of these problems. At present the data is provided in aggregate format, but this will move to a unit record file collection within the next two years. The development of the national reporting framework and data definitions is discussed, as is the collections' potential to provide more detailed data for use by policy makers and researchers interested in child protection. (Author abstract)

This help sheet is designed to assist organisations that deal directly with children and young people to take the first steps in minimising the risk of exposure to child abuse. Organisations working with children and young people have a responsibility to prevent placing children in a situation where they are at risk of child abuse. This article covers the following areas: definitions of child abuse; the extent of child abuse; developing child abuse policies, procedures and standards; appropriate behaviour towards children and young people; mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse; and useful Australian web sites and contacts.

The first section of this paper explores the 'discovery' of organised ritual abuse and reviews the literature with particular attention to the developing knowledge base, the question of credibility, the silencing of debate, and the ongoing research. The second section considers the central research issues. The question of definition is discussed and the adoption of 'organised ritual abuse ' as a working definition is proposed. The four aspects of organised ritual abuse, which analysis of the literature suggests are its key defining features, are then discussed. Finally, consideration is given to the importance of values in this field of research. (Journal abstract)