Towards child-inclusive practices in child protection in Ghana: Perspectives from parents

Manful, Esmeranda; Cudjoe, Ebenezer; Abdullah, Asm

doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105594

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Emotional skills are manifested by workers who console children or reflect on their life events. They make children feel comfortable (see Manful et al, 2020, p. 6). Children hope that workers help them deal with emotions so that they can share their concerns, bad moods, or sorrows.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Children in the child welfare system have choices similar to those of other children, but some of these choices depend on organisational qualifications and resources, which may limit their possible choices. In addition, there are cultural barriers and perceptions impeding children's right to participate in decisions; for instance, in Ghana, children participating in decision‐making are not seen as appropriate behaviour (Manful et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the 2020s, it has become almost self‐evident to develop child‐inclusive practices within child welfare services by supporting children's participation and building trust with them (Creswick et al, 2019; Kosher & Ben‐Arieh, 2020; Manful et al, 2020; Matsui, 2021; Stafford et al, 2021). However, there are still certain obstacles to children's participation—for instance, the idea of their poor competence or understanding.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A democratic learning process: When young children under 12 years of age in child welfare services express their wishes for participation

Törrönen

Kalliola²,

Paaso³

2022

Children & Society

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This study examined the opinions of 116 Finnish children (mainly aged under 12 years), who were child welfare clients in 2021 regarding how their voices and needs should be heard and met by employees of this system. An abductive thematic analysis revealed that the nature of their participation is connected to Amartya Sen's capability approach. Children considered their rights and capabilities, the possibility to make choices and being safeguarded as important. We found that encounters with employees introduced young children to how society views them and how they can impact the course of their own lives.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A democratic learning process: When young children under 12 years of age in child welfare services express their wishes for participation

Törrönen

Kalliola²,

Paaso³

2022

Children & Society

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“…Even when severe cases of abuse are detected via X-rays, official reporting in Ghana can be hindered by fear of retaliation (Antwi et al, 2019) or to “save face” (Abdullah, Emery, et al, 2020; Abdullah, Manful, et al, 2020). As in many developing countries, child protection services in Ghana are under-resourced (Krueger et al, 2014), and protection principles are mainly borrowed from Western concepts without consideration of important local cultural characteristics (Manful, Abdullah, Cudjoe, 2020; Manful, Cudjoe, Abdullah, 2020). Unsurprisingly, these systems prove to be difficult and costly to implement and are only able to touch the tip of the child maltreatment iceberg (Krueger et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protective Community Norms and Mental Health Risks for Severe Physical Abuse: Lessons From a Nationally Representative Study of Ghana

Emery

Abdullah

Jordan

2023

J Interpers Violence

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Although it has become axiomatic to quote an African proverb in discussions of child well-being, attempts to draw concrete and positive lessons from how African communities respond to and mitigate child maltreatment are comparatively few. This study tested the hypothesis that the collective value of Abiriwatia in Ghana, which supports legitimate norms of community obligations to care for children, could be protective against physical abuse. It also examined the claim that knowledge of the familial situation of community members, generated through Abiriwatia, may help them to act to mitigate the risk of caregiver’s borderline personality disorder (BPD) features. We obtained a nationally representative sample of 1,100 female caregivers from 22 Ghanaian settlements and tested the hypotheses using multilevel models. Controlling for community-level physical abuse, living in a community with high levels of Abiriwatia childcare and community authority values is associated with lower levels of very severe physical abuse, and Abiriwatia childcare may mitigate risk from the caregiver’s BPD features. Within Ghana, encouraging positive and protective aspects of traditional Ghanaian values and working to reinstate respect for these values may have positive outcomes for children. Interventions to reduce child maltreatment should be developed with reference to Abiriwatia childcare values.

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“…Similar issues exist in Ghana where (despite their signing of the UN General Assembly, 1989) the child is 'an obedient recipient of adult decisions' and silenced from talking in meetings with adults (Manful et al, 2020, p. 2). Providing children with separate spaces to share their views with social workers can enable participation (Manful et al, 2020), yet parental resistance to allowing 'alone' social work visits requires skilled, engaging and persistent practitioners (Ferguson, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Wishes and feelings’: Misunderstandings and missed opportunities for participation in child protection proceedings

Dillon

2021

Child & Family Social Work

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The gathering of 'wishes and feelings' in UK child protection proceedings (s.53Children Act 2004) should highlight the child's opinion of social work intervention and services provided. However, with no statutory social work guidance on participation currently in place, children frequently miss opportunities to be involved in their own child protection planning. This paper is drawn from a 3-year study into participation in child protection social work. It includes findings from qualitative interviews, and one focus group, with social workers, parents, children and participation workers, from three local authorities in the United Kingdom. The findings revealed some examples of significant gaps in service provision, particularly from the perspective and understanding of the child. The skewed translation of wishes and feelings legislation, along with its subsequent (and often inadequate) application to practice, prevents children from understanding and responding to social work intervention and can lead to idiosyncratic practice. This paper provides recommendations for a practical response to practitioner dilemmas regarding wishes and feelings and bridges the gap between research and practice.

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Towards child-inclusive practices in child protection in Ghana: Perspectives from parents

Cited by 8 publications

References 29 publications

A democratic learning process: When young children under 12 years of age in child welfare services express their wishes for participation

A democratic learning process: When young children under 12 years of age in child welfare services express their wishes for participation

Protective Community Norms and Mental Health Risks for Severe Physical Abuse: Lessons From a Nationally Representative Study of Ghana

‘Wishes and feelings’: Misunderstandings and missed opportunities for participation in child protection proceedings

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