The Definitions Are Legion: Academic Views and Practice Perspectives on Violence Against Children

Abstract

Both research and child protection practice are still far away from having uniform definitions of violence against children. The different disciplines involved in the sectors of national child protection systems rely on separate discourses and terms; definitions are sometimes rather general or implicit, and operationalizations of important elements are rare. The various terms in use -child maltreatment, child abuse and neglect, child endangerment, children at risk, children in need, etc.speak of the variety not only of concepts, but also of practices. With respect to the latter, definitional issues are also issues of the scope and thresholds of intervention. This manuscript provides an overview of major terms and definitional approaches to violence against children and identifies eminent differences between them. Findings from several studies on the Swiss child protection system, including the first multi-sectorial national survey on agency responses to child maltreatment, illustrate how professionals use definitions and the consequences of having multiple definitional concepts for documenting reported cases. We conclude by advocating for a consensusbased interdisciplinary process of developing shared definitions of violence against children.

Participatory Research on Child Maltreatment with Children and Adult Survivors

“…Unfortunately, academia and child protection practice have not yet converged regarding a uniform and operationalised definition for child maltreatment; varied definitional approaches are still abundant (e.g. Jud & Voll, 2019). Consequently, epidemiological research on the prevalence of child maltreatment is associated with large variances and lack of comparability (e.g.…”

Consensus building on definitions and types of child maltreatment to improve recording and surveillance in Europe: protocol for a multi-sectoral, European, electronic Delphi study

“…Different sectors involved in child protection practice and research use their own terminology and tend to use differing definitions. 17 Definitions can often be non-specific or implicit and operationalisations of important terms and concepts are frequently lacking. 17 In addition, the definition and interpretation of CM depends on sociocultural values and norms, which vary within and between countries, and change over contexts and time.…”

Medizinischer Kinderschutz während des Corona-Lockdowns

“…Die Aussagekraft der Ergebnisse ist durch die unterschiedlichen Standards der in den Kliniken und Ambulanzen dokumentierten Daten sowie durch die unterschiedlichen Definitionen für Fälle und Misshandlungsformen limitiert. Für die Verbesserung der Qualität und Auswertbarkeit der Daten zu Fällen im medizinischen Kinderschutz sollten Standards zur einheitlichen Dokumentation und Definitionen entwickelt werden [ 13 ].…”