A Child-Centered Approach to Protecting Children from Abuse - Essay Example

?Safeguarding Babies and Children Accessed on 10 February from http i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/11/15/article-1085563-0279DB00000005DC-520_468x337.jpg Baby P is a child who suffered several physical, emotional, and psychological abuses in the presence of relevant authorities. He was the son of Tracey Connelly. Report about Baby P’s death indicates that his mother and her violent boyfriend were to blame. Criticism of Baby P’s death sites negligence of authority to protect children’s lives. The marginalization of child protection has serious consequences to the children’s services. Despite the provisions by Children Protection Act, many abuses, many of which lead to death keep occurring since those with the responsibility of protecting the children as stipulated in the act are not aware that such abuses occur of are ignorant. Some child-abuse cases go unnoticed due to poor policies that guide children department. Investigative reports indicate that many children suffer abuse in their families, some child abuse cases are not recorded in social workers dairies (Corby, 2011:73). The confidence to intervene whenever a child is at risk has reduced over the past decades because there is no clear understanding on the statutory role in child protection (Kay, 2003: 42). Generally, child protection is an aspect attracting many stakeholders in the social field as well as professionals in the medicine field. For instance, children with complications attract the interest of medical practitioners who prefer the right treatment to their complexities. This report investigates the existing child protection policies and their failure to provide protection to child abuse. This paper investigates the death of Baby P, the impact of child abuse to the society, and gives recommendations on how to handle issues related to children in the society. Baby P suffered under close care of his mother and social workers (Channel 4 News). In a period of about 17 months, the child had registered about 50 injuries. The baby visited the relevant authorities about sixty times, yet the authorities did not in the slightest change the condition and ultimately Baby P died. This information is quite fascinating since it raises many questions about the existing policies that aim at protecting children. In addition, it also raises questions on the role played by the authority concerned with issues related to children. At his death, it was evident that some negligence or poor policy structures took place. The public has drawn criticism to the social department, which failed to protect the boy. A social worker who reported the first case of abuse noted that Baby P had bruises and injuries that might have occurred due to abuse by the parents. From the Daily chronicle of Baby P's pain revealed, the first report came on 13 October 2006 when the baby was only seven months old. Information given by the parent argued that the injuries that baby P registered occurred due to accidental fall on stairs. Dr Jerome Ikwueke of GP examined him. The second case in which Baby P registered harm was in 11 December 2006 when specialists from Whittington Hospital found bruises on Baby P forehead, sternum, and right shoulder, and on his nose (Metro). Child abuse investigation team took up the case and Baby P remained hospitalized until December 15, 2006 before his discharge. A family friend Angela Godfrey took care of the Baby. The intention of Angela was to provide protection to the baby following the accusation of the baby’s mother together with the grandmother. The police investigated the case of the baby and arrested the mother of the baby on 19 December 2006. Her conviction at Old Bailey was allowing death or causing death of the baby. In a bid to find adequate information regarding the abuse, the police interviewed the grandmother of the boy at Hornsey Police Station. Baby P made three visits to hospital from 21 December 2006 to January 17, 2007. The intention of these visits was to X ray his leg. During these visits, Agnes White who is a social worker dropped to the hospital to examine the condition of Baby P. White did not only stop at the hospital, but went a head to check the contact of the baby’s mother who was attending child protection conference. It is important to note that Baby P’s mother had a direction to attend Child Protection Conference in order to learn the need to protect children from abuse. Another important point to notice is that the authority assigned a different social worker to the family with an aim of protecting the welfare of the child. Maria Ward took charge of the family social work in February 2007. Until the time that Baby P died, she made 10 visits to the baby’s home. April 9, 2007 was another occasion when Baby P visited North Middlesex hospital with swelling and bruises on the head. According the mother, Baby P registered the bruises when another child pushed him into the fire (Metro). On April 10, 2007, Baby P’s social worker referred him to child protection clinic after realizing that the Baby P liked banging his head. The baby got his discharge the following day. On June, the police visited the baby’s home three times and ceased his toys. The police photographed the furniture, which the mother had claimed to have caused the injuries. Baby P was under the care of Anne Walker, a child minder who had argued that reports on the child injury were neglected by department of social work (Corby, 2011:73). Report provided by Baby P’s mother three days before his death claimed that the mother was stressed accusation of harming Baby P and social services provided to the family (Metro). Examination of Baby P by Dr. Al Zayyat on 1 August 2007 failed to notice the broken back and fractured ribs. The doctor’s report claimed that the baby was crying and miserable and that making a full examination was difficult. The investigation report of Baby P provides clear evidence that policies in social work sectors provided a room for abuse of the child (Lindon, 2008:84). The baby was subject to frequent abuse and it would have been wise to take precaution before his death. The involvement of professionals in handling the case of Baby P raises several questions. First, the social workers failed to recognize the need to seclude the baby from the mother. Second, arguing from the frequent visits in hospital was a proof that the child was subject to abuse. Family problems usually contribute to child abuse (Smith, 2009:48). From the report, Baby P’s mother experienced personal problems that exposed Baby P to abuse. Neglect by the child helpline is a factor that crops in Baby P’s case. It was within the docket of the child helpline to come up with amicable way of protecting a child whose life is in danger. The physical abuse of the child clearly indicates that child protection act should take a different approach in order to protect the live of children who are at risks (Evening Standard). Largely, children who have health complication are susceptible to abuse. In the case of Baby P, the mother did not understand the complexity of her child. Her treatment to the child indicates that she was not interested in protecting the life of the child. Attempts by the social department to invite her to child protection conference did not bear any fruit since Baby P continued suffering from abuse by the mother. Director of child helpline Christine Renouf asserts that on third of cases of child abuse involve close family members (Kay, 2003:62). According to her, these cases are often ignored or not reported. The local authorities may not be aware of child molestation of abuse when not reported. Child protection involves providing care against physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. Many cases about neglected children often lead to adoption of the neglected child by the charities or orphanages. Neighbors or people who are close to the family may volunteer to provide information about neglected children during police investigations (Sheerman, 2010:57). The department of social services and child protection has received overwhelming number of phone calls following the death of Baby P. They believe that the phone calls come from parents who fear similar situation to Baby P. It is important to note that the society has a greater role to play in protecting the rights of a child. For instance, many cases of child abuse received by children department come from neighbors and relatives who wish to protect the rights of a child (Sheerman, 2010:87). Key players in child abuse involve the parents of the child and other relatives who might be closer to the child. Further, other people who tender the child might also abuse children physically or sexually. Some parents may neglect their children by failing to provide essential services to the child. At some point Baby P was hospitalized because of nappy rush. The parents were in a position of providing protection to the child. Physical assault to children often leads to injuries of internal organs and eventual death as in the case of Baby P and Victoria Climbie (Sikes, 2010:85). The report provided by the social workers in the case of Victoria did not vindicate the parents from physical abuse. Largely, it indicated that the child suffered neglect. Some previous cases of child abuse include the case of Victoria Climbie’, Maria Colwell among others. In the case of Victoria, she registered 128 injuries yet the social workers and other responsible authorities did not prevent her death. A common trend in both cases is that social workers’ responsibility is to provide childcare services. Physical abuse, emotional abuse and are some common abuses experienced by the above children. Presently, sexual abuse is another form of child that many children experience. A reflection into the deaths of Victoria and Baby P indicate that cost, both professional and personal, of failing to prevent the abuse and death of Baby P hung on the head of the concerned parties. Linking the above issues to the understanding of child abuse leads to the argument that social workers, teachers, managers, and care staffs apply self-protective method, which aims at protecting their careers. In many cases, the professional who are responsible for child protection would provide similar report. For instance, in the case of Baby P, the examination report by Dr. Al Zayyat did not provide information about the physical abuse of Baby P. (Batty, 2009.) The child needs the care of parents or caregiver in order to develop. The person who attends to a child has to identify the special needs of the child. Negligence on the part of the social worker would promote child abuse. Childcare has many challenges to practitioners. One of such challenges includes keeping a consistent record about a vulnerable child in the children register. Child register helps in providing information on the consistencies on child growth and development. Wrong information entered into the register would not give clear information about the welfare of the child. The standard and policies set by the child department should accommodate the emerging needs of children. Cultural challenge is another headache that has posed great challenge to professionals (Great Britain, Dept. for Education and Skills). Some social workers have argued that many parents have limited information about care giving. Sometimes they receive phone calls, which are unwarranted. It is the duty of the society to learn about the child welfare since it is a collective responsibility. Social workers, teachers, or medical practitioners alone are not able to protect children from abuse. A number of issues have emerged since the death of Baby P in child sector. Charities operating in UK require clearance from police in order to handle children. This move aims at reducing child abuse in these charities. Workers who handle children in these charities must get clearance from Criminal Bureau Checks (Dimind, 2011:130). The shortcoming of this move is that it does not extend to parents or close relatives of children. The government has embarked on a move that aim at identifying child sex offenders to provide information to communities where this offenders live (Dimind, 2011:130). Introduction of programs in school, which aim at teaching children how to handle child offenders, is another move that aim at protecting children from abuse. Information communicated to a child usually helps in protecting ugly incidences in the society. A girl, witness in Baby P case provided information that led to the sentencing of her oppressor because she could vividly remember what the molester did to her. It is not common for children to vindicate innocent victim (Wilson, & James, 2007:127). Psychological examination of the child provided a proof to this statement. Policy makers and government intervention is vital in protecting children against abuse (Banakar, 2010:121). The methods, which media houses use to handle information in the society usually, influence the action of people in the society. It is evident that media activities would influence the society and create awareness against child abuse. Media coverage of Baby P drew attention of people across the divide, thus creating awareness about the need to protect children. A child-centered approach is one of the recommendations of this paper. In this approach, family consideration, environmental context, and family history require regular assessment in order to establish possible condition that would lead to child abuse. Joint work between social workers, parents, and medical practitioners is important in ensuring child protection. (Munro, 2008:45). The assessment should be a continuous process in order to provide room for necessary action whenever is need. Introduction of training to social workers and other stakeholders is important in equipping the parties involved with current information about child abuse and protection. Sharing of information among professionals is very important since it enhances information dispensation (Daly, 2003: 75). Further, community awareness is necessary since it would influence the approach taken by irate parents or child abusers. The government should enact policies, which protect children from early abuse when detected. In conclusion, child protection is a collective responsibility that the society can only achieve through involvement of the following parties; parents, teachers, social workers, medical practitioners and the government. Child abuse involves physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse and psychological abuse. Proper policies which aim at protecting children provides a frame work that guide professionals when handling children matters. Bibliography Banakar, Reza. 2010. Rights in context: law and justice in late modern society. Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Batty, David. 2009. The Guardian. Reports of child abuse soar since Baby P death. Retrieved on 9th February 2012 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/aug/03/child-abuse-baby-p Channel 4 News. 2009. Background: Baby P child abuse. Retrieved on 9th February 2012 from http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/uk/background%2Bbaby%2Bp%2Bchild%2Babuse/3304662.html Corby, Brian. 2011. Child abuse: towards a knowledge base. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University. Daly, Christine. 2003. The child protection system : a guide to the law. Essex: Children's Legal Centre Dimind, C. Bridgit. 2011. Legal Aspects of Occupational Therapy. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Evening Standard. Baby P: the damning dossier. LONDON TODAY. Retrieved on 9 February, 2012, from http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23588518-baby-p-the-damning-dossier.do Great Britain, Dept. for Education and Skills. 2004. Every Child Matters: Change for Children in Schools. Department of Education & Skills. Kay, Janet. 2003. Protecting children: a practical guide 2nd ed. New York; Continuum International Publishing Group Lindon, Jennie. 2008. Safeguarding children & young people: child protection 0-18 years 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, USA. Metro. Daily chronicle of Baby P's pain revealed. Retrieved on 9th February from http://www.metro.co.uk/news/407272-daily-chronicle-of-baby-ps-pain-revealed Munro, Eileen. 2008. 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