Child Protection and Child Abuse - Coursework Example

Child Protection “Discuss whether child abuse is more likely to be symptomatic of violence in some form or other between the parents or carers of the child.” Introduction Evidence from studies support the notion that child abuse is more likely to be symptomatic of violence in some form or other between parents or carers of the child (Richards, 2011). Domestic-violence within the home set up is a cause of child abuse projected through child neglect, physical, social, and psychological consequences. The National Child Protection Clearing House (NCPC) (July 1994) reports that domestic-violence is now one of the most rooted forms of violence as identified in the political realm although child-abuse has not received the same degree of attention. Children’s exposure to violence has detrimental impact to development and psychological well-being of children as identified by the Australian Institute of Criminology (Richards 2011). For some reason domestic-violence is reported by media to occur highly among some culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) and Indigenous populations indicating subsequent high child exposure and abuse in these populations. This report provides the scope domestic-violence as a form of abuse and neglect in Australia, and explains the co-occurrence of domestic-violence and child abuse in families afflicted with violence. Consequences of domestic-violence in different development stages of a child are explained; as well as strategies to curb domestic-violence to prevent intergenerational transmission of violence and provide a safe and secure environment for children. Defining Domestic-violence Mitchell’s (2011) study shows that domestic-violence entails acts of family violence, spousal battering, and abuse as well as intimate partner violence. It entails violent situations between individuals currently or previously in an intimate relationship leading to physical/psychological/emotional, and or sexual torture from one spouse to the other (Morgan and Chadwick, 2009). While most people’s perspective of domestic-violence is physical and sexual assault, other forms such as financial and economic abuse, spiritual abuse, social, and psychological abuse are also regarded as domestic-violence (VicHealth, 2009). It is also widely accepted that most perpetrators of domestic-violence are males and victims are females yet on the contrary some studies have found that both men and women are perpetrators of domestic-violence against their partners in equal measure (Mulnorey & Chan, 2005). Domestic-violence in same sex relations also increases the chance of both genders to be equal perpetrators, or victims (Moss, 2009). Some Indigenous and some CALD groups prefer the term ‘family violence’ to contemplate the effects of violence at a collective rather than individual family level (Blagg 2000, cited in Schmider & Nancarrow, 2007). Certain communities, especially indigenous and rural Australian populations tend to be more vulnerable than others in experiencing domestic-violence (Carrington & Phillips, 2006) as the severity of offences varies between socioeconomic, age, and cultural groups (NCRVWC, 2009). Some women may be more vulnerable as victims and find it difficult to exit violent relationship because of age, indigenous/ethnicity status, living arrangements and communication abilities using the English language (KPMG Management Consulting, 2009) thus prolonging the period of child exposure to violence. Children exposed to violence in the home are victims of child-abuse as exposure can occur through listening (Humphreys, 2007) and other forms such as the child being coerced to watch or participate, spy on a parent, or used as a hostage to defend and or intervene in halting the violence, resulting in psychological, physical, and trauma of the witnessing child (Kaufman & Little, 2003). Domestic-violence as a form of Child Abuse Laing (2003) reveals in a study that domestic-violence is now recognized in the political realms as one of the most pervasive forms of violence, although similar attention is yet to be directed to child-abuse. Many children in Australia are subjected to physical, psychological, and sexual harm as a result of the violence they are exposed to in their homes. However, this abusive trend is going on almost unnoticed as the issue is regarded as a private matter within the family home (Tilbury, 2009). In the conventional sense, the family is perceived as a source of love and support hence, violence and abuse are often denied at both individual and community levels (Barber & Delfabbro, 2002). It is difficult to establish the extent of domestic-violence and the co-occurring child abuse because of low reporting rates and insufficient collection of official data (Humphreys, 2008). Reluctance to report domestic-violence can be due to avoidance of criminal implications and strong feelings of denial, as well as an attempt to minimize the nature of the abuse (Liang, 2003). The diverse cultural mix of Australia is also a contributory factor to low reporting of violence in families, which is partially due to a lack of understanding and the treatment of some Immigration and refugee populations who are often treated as a single homogeneous group by the mainstream support services, which could be perceived to be of low cultural sensitivity. Difficulties in using the English-language and, or lack of effective translators and interpreters can make these populations reluctant to report issues of violence. This lack of reporting can indicate prolonged exposure of children to violence (NCRVWC, 2009, cited in Morgan & Chadwick, 2009). Diverse aspects of child abuse in a domestic-violence situation include physical abuse, where the child is harmed together with the victim being abused by the perpetrator. The child can be accidentally injured in physical fights of the adult-carers, and/or the child is subjected to neglect as an effect of the violence as the adult carer, is unable to protect the child’s physical and emotional well being whether intentionally or unintentionally. The child is also exposed to excessive controlling behaviours where a dominating partner uses fear, shame or guilt, to control the other during the violence. Severe consequences of domestic-violence can render vulnerable groups such as women and children homeless after violent incidences erupt and can lead to trauma of victimized parent and subsequent child neglect from the deprived basic needs. According to Aldemir (2009), the abused children deserve protection from families marred with domestic-violence, and this can be provided in form of a safe-home to house the affected child. This calls for effective child protection policies as the child’s growth and developmental stages takes place in life. Impact of domestic-violence in early stages of lives: Foetal stage According to several studies (cited in Domestic-violence and its impact on children’s development, 2002) many women experience domestic-violence during pregnancy. An experiment conducted by Dr Julie Quinlivan (2000, cited in the article) showed the relationship between high stress situations and production of the cortisol hormone in mammals. Cortisol, which is produced in high amounts during stressful situations, can lead to poor foetal growth. Poor foetal growth relates to poor brain growth and development and adverse effects on the central nervous system which points to problems with cognitive function. Also, subsequent development of diseases in adulthood is related to poor foetal growth. Pregnant women in high stress situations from an environment of abuse are likely to affect child development at the foetal stage. Therefore, removing a pregnant woman from such adverse environments, or removing the person who is violent is critical for the future well-being of her infant, and thus should be considered as another possible intervention in modern obstetrics. Also, pregnant women exposed to domestic-violence are subject to other adverse consequences such as miscarriage, still births, and giving birth to a low weight or disabled child. The stress of violence to a pregnant woman may lead to her failing to attend medical checkups and treatment, and/or obtain appropriate rest and adequate nutrition. Infancy Infants may be directly involved in domestic-violence as a mother may have hold of her baby, who then becomes a shield when objects or fists are being thrown at her. Also, infants are very sensitive to their environment and as they lie seemingly passively in their cots they can absorb the carer’s ensuing emotional signals such as fear, anger, anxiety, and depression resulting from domestic-violence (Domestic-violence and its impact on children’s development, 2002). This clearly illustrates the detrimental psychological and physical stress that an infant is exposed to unwillingly, hence a form of child-abuse. Domestic-violence effect to the developing brain: According to several studies cited in ‘Domestic-violence and its impact on children’s development (2002)’, maltreatment of a child during the early ages can cause impairment on brain development of which the regulatory functioning is more observable in the later years of childhood. One study explains that at birth, the child’s brain is 25 percent of the adult’s brain weight, which increases, to 66 percent by the end of the first year due to the brain growth spurt. As this development occurs, the baby brain is most susceptible to the effect of traumatic experiences. Exposure to extreme traumatic events leads to reorganization of the brain leading to difficulties in dealing with stressful issues later in life. Increased levels of cortisol at a frequent and prolonged period have an impact on the brain’s major stress-regulating system and chronic stress can compromise the immune function and other body functions controlled by the brain. Cortisol levels are also linked with attachment, a concept used to define infant-carer relationship in modern day studies. Cortisol levels being elevated in infants are heightened, even after mild stressors and can lead to insecure attachments to the parent/carer. Insecure infants with high cortisol levels can be very reactive and are shown to be hyper vigilant and can anticipate danger (cited in Domestic-violence and its impact on children’s development, 2002). Childhood Dangerous situations with home life may imply that a child finds it difficult to develop trust and security. Children exposed to domestic-violence by the age of three may respond to adult anger with great distress, and increased aggressive behaviour towards their peers. Demonstrating extreme aggressive behaviour, suspecting others to have ill or hostile motives, poor academic performance, school phobia, and difficulties in attention and concentration are consistently demonstrated in studies as behaviour present in children exposed to domestic-violence at an early age (Cumming & Davies, 1994, cited in Domestic-violence and its impact on children’s development, 2002). According to McIntosh (2000, cited in Domestic-violence and its impact on Children’s Development, 2002) the child develops a lack of meaning to the violence they experience. The violence can have an adverse affect on a child’s perspective of the world and themselves, their conception about the meaning and purpose of life, as well as expectations for future happiness and moral development. Such children’s age-appropriate development is disrupted. Adolescence The impact of domestic-violence is more severe to an adolescent who has been in an abusive situation for a longer period of time, as compared to one who is first experiencing it in adolescence. Adolescents that experience domestic-violence are more likely to be homeless as a consequence of abuse and neglect (Department of Education Training and Youth Affairs, 2002). The stressors linked with violence in the home can lead to trying/wanting to escape behaviours, or in worse cases participation in family violence, and extend the violence to their peers (Howard, 1995; McInnes, 1995). Also, experience of abuse during childhood increases the chance of being victimized as an adult (cited in Morgan& Chadwick, 2009). A study found out that young people who have been exposed to violence in the home when growing up had twice the likelihood of being forced to have sex, and four times as likely to have admitted that they coerced a partner to have sex in later life (Indemaur, 2001). The effect of domestic-violence on brain development of the adolescent is exhibited in altering the youth’s worldview on relationships, the meaning of life, and their moral obligations which affects how they present themselves as adults in the society. As young adults, they are at the edge of becoming self-sufficient adults and parents seem to seek their favour. The young adult can also be overburdened by assuming the responsibility of taking care of his or her younger siblings in the event of child-neglect, as a consequence of family violence (Higgins & Katz, 2008). The effects of Domestic-violence on children According to the Brighter Futures Practice Resource (2008), domestic-violence severely affects the process of child development. The physical, emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing of children from all ages and living with domestic and family violence is adversely affected, as well as disruption to their age appropriate development (Gillingham, 2006. In regards to the Western Culture, childhood is a period of special rights and protection; hence childhood is expected to occur within secure and nurturing surroundings (Domestic-violence and its impact on Children’s Development, 2002). In environments afflicted with violence and fear, young people develop various problems including issues related to cognitive, emotional, and social functioning and development, later leading to behavioural and learning difficulties. The risk of mental health issues can also heighten and the child may experience depression and anxiety disorders. Education and employment prospects can be hampered and the violence presents a detrimental impact on their future parental skills (cited in Morgan & Chadwick, 2009). The likelihood of drug and substance abuse later in adulthood is very high (Keys, 2009; Wilson, 2009). Domestic-violence can lead to intergenerational transmission of violent attitudes and behaviours and people who witnessed abuse as children are more likely to victimize or be victimized by others in their youth and adulthood. Family Violence among Indigenous populations of Australia Compared to non-indigenous families many children from the Indigenous and rural communities in Australia have witnessed domestic-violence. Studies (cited in Schmider & Nancarrow, 2007) reveal that incidences of family violence are higher in indigenous families as compared to non-indigenous families although this could be because of biased media reporting which tends to focus more in these communities. In some family cases, the mother and the child are subjected to physical or emotional abuses by the perpetrator. The chance that an indigenous woman will be a victim of domestic-violence is understood to occur from a confluence of risk factors relating to social stressors, such as alcohol and substance-abuse, living in a remote community, resources availability, and measures of individual, family, and community functionality (Byrant & Willis, 2008). Higher rates of domestic-violence are shown by research to occur in households with children. The ABS (2006) Personal Safety Survey revealed that 49 percent of partners facing domestic-violence had children in their care while 27 percent admitted that the children had witnessed the violence. Co-occurrence of domestic-violence and child abuse Research from a wide orient confirms that domestic-violence and child abuse co-occur within same families (Laing, 2003). Research from Australian studies show that over 60 percent of children under child protection are victims of child abuse and neglect resulting from domestic-violence (Wulczyn, 2009). Child protection to foster the safety of children on both physical and psychological wellbeing is required (Farrell, 2004; Daro & Dodge, 2009). According to the National Strategic Plan for Protecting Australia’s Children (2012) early interventions in child protection is necessary to help children overcome consequences of abuse. What needs to be done Early intervention is required as the trauma consequences from domestic violence are increased if the child is exposed during the first three years of life (Vinchon, et al., 2005). Early childhood and family based prevention, and school-based programs, are some of the intervention strategies supported by an expanding body of evidence to effectively prevent circumstances of child abuse through violence (NCRVWC, 2009, cited in Chadwick & Morgan, 2009). A holistic approach is required to ensure that children live in a safe and secure environment. Coordination and collaboration across relevant governmental and non-governmental sectors should be the basis for any program focusing on violence intervention and prevention. The coordination between domestic-violence and child protection services should be improved to assist in preventing early exposure to domestic-violence and intimate relationships (Humphreys, 2007). Whereas early exposure prevention must be integrated, the programs should take a holistic approach and also deal with related aspects such as physical and sexual abuse, neglect, emotional abuse, and alcoholism to help prevent the intergenerational transmission of violent attitudes and behaviours, and/or subsequent victimization (Tomison, 2000). Early intervention and educational programs including school-based programs targeted at young people can help to shape desired attitudes towards women and violence, hence an important strategy in breaking the cycle of violence (Indermaur, 2001; NCP, 2001, cited in Morgan & Chadwick, 2009) and subsequent child abuse and neglect. Conclusion Evidence from the research given has strongly supported the notion that domestic-violence and child abuse frequently co-occur within the same families, thus child abuse is symptomatic of violence in one form or another between the carers of the child. Early exposure of a child to violence has detrimental impacts on the developing brain and leads to issues related to mental health, cognitive, emotional, and social functioning, education prospects, and the child’s future parenting capacity as attitudes of violence are transmitted through generations. 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