Abstract:Key Practitioner Messages
Child abuse is a complex social problem that is often deeply rooted in the cultural, economic and social practices of the country in which it exists.
Child abuse in China is understood as deliberate and harmful acts, while many Western societies also include acts of omission such as neglect.
There is a complex relationship between public awareness, media coverage and state intervention.
“…We are all increasingly aware of the power of the media in influencing public opinion and policy discourse (Lonne and Parton, ; Qiao et al ., ). Those taking lead roles in child protection in all organisations have to know how to deal with the media and engage in strategic communication around safeguarding and child protection (Royal College of Nursing, ).…”
Section: Media Coverage In Child Protectionmentioning
“…We are all increasingly aware of the power of the media in influencing public opinion and policy discourse (Lonne and Parton, ; Qiao et al ., ). Those taking lead roles in child protection in all organisations have to know how to deal with the media and engage in strategic communication around safeguarding and child protection (Royal College of Nursing, ).…”
Section: Media Coverage In Child Protectionmentioning
“…Our next two papers both explore child maltreatment in China – the most populous nation on Earth and one where the issues facing practitioners and policymakers may be very different from those in the West. As Dong Ping Qiao and colleagues () point out, ‘China is currently in a period of social transformation, which has seen large‐scale migration from rural communities to large cities… This has led to changes in traditional family structures, child‐rearing practices and social stability as the capacity of families to protect their children has been put under pressure.’ (p. 379)…”
Section: Child Maltreatment In Chinamentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Or, as in one of the cases cited by Qiao et al . (), to fend for themselves as best they can. The authors cite Duan et al .…”
Section: Child Maltreatment In Chinamentioning
confidence: 99%
“…It is encouraging that the Ministry of Civil Affairs has set up the Minors (Left‐behind Children) Protection Department, but, as Qiao et al . () point out, at present the country just would not have the resources to intervene. Creative solutions are required, and perhaps above all, continued advocacy on behalf of all those children in China who suffer the effects of abandonment by their parents, emotional and physical abuse, and harsh physical and emotional punishments.…”
“…Another paper, this time from mainland China and available online through Early View explores how public attitudes to the issue of child maltreatment have changed over recent years (Qiao et al, 2017). After they analysed 3565 relevant news reports during 2010-15, Qiao et al revealed that the cases which were most frequently reported had been those with serious physical harm to children.…”
Child maltreatment is a complex global problem which remains difficult to study and address. Over the last decade, we have seen considerable interest by governments globally in learning the lessons from different countries and comparing experiences as systems are adapted and refined. International organisations such as the World Health Organization and UNICEF are increasingly prioritising activities to protect children from harm, with important reports on violence against children and strategies for preventing child maltreatment (UNICEF, 2014; World Health Organization, 2002, 2006. In turn, we have begun to see a growing body of literature that has started to provide data and insight into areas such as prevalence rates and developing models of safeguarding as they emerge across an expanding range of countries (e.g. Fang et al., 2015;Hutchinson et al., 2015;Leung et al., 2008;Schmid and Patel, 2016;Sidebotham, 2016).However, the dearth of international literature specifically comparing approaches to safeguarding children demonstrates how challenging it is to undertake research in this field and draw cross-national comparisons of models of child protection (Munro et al., 2011). The difficulty has largely arisen from a lack of common definitions and inconsistency in the way in which child maltreatment is classified, reported, recorded and managed. Yet, we remain interested in this as we also know that the type of model adopted within a country can have a significant impact upon the response subsequently made to children with safeguarding needs. As developing countries look to borrow or import models from overseas, questions are raised concerning cultural adaptation, encompassing the broader debate concerning universalism, indigenisation, the dangers of professional imperialism and the place of international child protection standards.This special issue of Child Abuse Review presents a series of papers which demonstrate how different models of child protection have been developed and implemented in different countries and consider the implications for the treatment and protection of children. It provides examples of cross-national learning and examines the policymaking context behind child protection models and where such learning has not always had positive outcomes for children. The papers cover a range of different approaches or models of child protection. Some of the papers adopt a qualitative approach to explore aspects
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