Child Abuse as a Social Issue - Literature review Example

Name: Tutor: Title: Child Abuse as a Social Issue Course: Date The way we understand or construct childhood has a major impact on the way we intervene within the child protection system to protect children Introduction The way childhood is constructed in society today follows a line of path dependency from a dominant neo-liberalist discourse. Such supranational institutions are male constructed and there is an unequal power relation going through these structures. Childhood is a status acknowledged universally by many and throughout history there have been calls for adults to protect children from harm. There are a number of reasons why adults feel that children’s interest should be protected through their intervention and these reasons have emerged through the diverse ways adults have constructed childhood. According to Houston and Griffiths (2000), to be able to efficiently contribute towards child protection, it is essential to fully appreciate childhood construction concepts. A clear understanding of the development stages and the changing patterns of social constructivism is vital. Historical Facts about Children Generally, childhood is a concept that is historically and socially constructed. Studies indicate that modern concept of childhoods began gaining prominence around 18th century. Before this time, children were perceived as “savages” who needed to be controlled strictly and were subjected to corporal punishment. This change of attitude has taken place due to broader social changes, as a result of modern state and liberal thinking. According to Stephens (1995), the development of the modern state as well as national culture is integrally allied to the development of new forms of gendered and age-graded subjects and spaces, along with the creations of institutions variously engaged in spreading these constructions in the society. Therefore, modern childhood concepts correspond to the surfacing of other concepts like family, privacy and individuality, as well as the creation of institutions like school and the welfare state. This era has been associated with the surfacing of a new type of power, which lead to preserving life in order to fulfill human need and more importantly relief suffering. This modern humanitarianism changes ethics from the objective of achieving spiritual salvation to an objective of living a good life (Stephens 1995). The liberal theory, policies and legislations The liberal theory the surfaced within the 18th century challenged the notion of individuals as subjects of a king, and rather introduced the notion of able people who take part within consensual relationships with the state. As a result, the state was given the responsibility of protecting its citizens’ rights. Individuals were the grouped into two; active ones and rational societal agents with rights and those without rights because of their lack of rationality. Rights were given to the rational adult middle and upper class males (Stephens 1995). The early liberal theory perceived children as “citizens in waiting”: potential rights’ bearers, who were expected to exercise rights after reaching a given rational age. According to Stephens (1995), the construction of childhood serves to create and underline hierarchical relationships archetypal of power that had surfaced during this time. Stephens (1995) argues that “the ideological construction of childhood as the advantaged realm of spontaneity, play, freedom, as well as emotion referred to a society containing and drawing on this private realm as the basis for public, culture, discipline, work, restraint, as well as rationality”. Therefore, the modern childhood concept has evolved from new emergent powers; adult power over children and middle class power over the working classes. Consequently, children had to be introduced to the liberal dogma for to become utterly ration, and as a result, finally get full citizenship rights. Gadda (2008) notes that, children subject is viewed as critical and thus children have to be supervised by responsible adults. For this to be institutionalized, institutions like educational and legal systems were established. Ideas regarding children founded on a universal, aspect of childhood resulted from power normalization encountered within contemporary society and underpinned through knowledge creation. For instance, most of knowledge regarding children is governed through psychology disciplines. This knowledge has had an influence on the construction of modern ideals about children, being perceived as innocent and dependent. Consequently, children were more focused in special policies because of their distinct psychological and developmental requirement. Children should be protected from the adult world. For instance, most of policies that were developed within the 19th century regarding education and children control were reacting to a pre-occupation with the maintenance of the social order that was being preserved (Gadda 2008). How Feminism influenced the rights of children In 19th century, an overriding representation of childhood was universalized where mass schooling and new legislations were introduced and they were meant to provide greater protection to the children. As mentioned before, this led to children being perceived as innocent and susceptible. Nonetheless, with the emergence of feminism that sought to liberate humanity, the institution of childhood became a big subject. Domestic violence is one of the reasons why feminism came into play. Child abuse runs simultaneously with domestic violence. Domestic violence is a social threat and a serious crime, whereby most of the victims are women and children because of their depiction as weak. For instance, within late 1960s, feminism or rather feminists argued that the inferior position of women in the society did not indicate their female nature but has resulted from patriarchal influences. In addition, feminists argued that the idea that women were fragile, emotional and reliant was a social construct was used in justifying their oppression (Chaves 2011). This feminism argument was later used by child liberationist theorists to indicate that the susceptible and weak depiction of children did not represent the true nature of children. The child liberationist argument that was based on feminism theory and gained momentum within the 1970s, sought to reinvent the previous perception of children and liberate them from their vulnerable and weak state (Johnny 2006; 20-21). In highlighting the repressive nature of childhood, child liberationists make numerous observations regarding how children are treated and what we expect from them. Some of the key observations include that children are perceived as ineffectual and helpless and suggest that this might be somehow of a self-confirming ideology. This implies that when we have high expectations from children, they will obviously rise to the challenge and develop grand skills and abilities. Similarly, if we perceive children as incompetent and helpless, they can turn out to be socialized into perceiving themselves this way and as a result, their learning will be considerably suppressed (Johnny 2006; 21). These arguments which were based on feminist were influential within the child liberationist movement and afterwards turned out to be the basis that individuals promoted for the equal rights of children. For instance, it was proposed that children required liberating themselves from the repressive childhood institution. Basically, it was thus believed that children are not just supposed to be given welfare rights but also with agency rights like, the right of voting and working. The belief was that children were society members and thus had to be given an opportunity of shaping and influencing societal organization. For that reason, it was argued that the voices of children are supposed to be taken into account when developing laws and social policies. Essentially, child liberationists were seeking to upend the dominant belief that perceived children as incompetent and helpless, with an aim of helping children realize their full potential and turn out to be more independent in their later lives (Johnny 2006; 22). The theory of social constructivist is also imperative in terms of understanding the development of the children. Unlike the feminist theory which mainly derives its arguments from equality, this theory emphasizes the importance of the growth of a child and association with others (Houston, 2000). The theory believes that a child develops well in a group as opposed to being alone. This provides an important concept for the intervention measures as well as the formulation of policies that are aimed at safeguarding the rights of children. As mentioned before, in the past only males had rights. Nonetheless, within 1950s, other groups started engaging in struggles challenging the matchlessness of the rights (Chaves 2011). A good example is the surfacing on a woman’s movement and this time the children’s rights movement emerged. However, children were represented by groups that thought they had an obligation of protecting children. In due course, United Nations espoused Declaration of Children’s Rights in 1929 and United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child was developed in 1959, Geneva Declaration which was established in 1994, and Declaration of Human Rights created in 1994 (Fox 2004). Conclusion Throughout the history, there have been several ideological discourses regarding children. For instance, during early 1990s, children were viewed as individuals who were to be seen and not to be heard. This discourse and others discussed in the essay indicate how societal constructions regarding children can, has, and will go on influencing child protection system (laws and legislation) concerning how adults intervene in the lives of the children. A child protection system that empowers children with voice of expressing their views assists in developing a healthy democratic society. Accordingly, democracy empowers the children to protect themselves against any abuse and also against abuse of their rights. Bibliography Chaves, L, 2011, Sexually explicit, socially empowered: Sexual liberation and feminist discourse in 1960s playboy and cosmopolitan, university of Florida, Florida. Fox, S 2004, A Historical perspective on Children Interventions, Stanford Law: United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), 22(5). Houston, S., & Griffiths, H, 2000, Reflections on risk in child protection: is it time for a shift in paradigms, Child and Family Social Work, 5(1), 1-10. Gadda, A 2008, Edinburg Working paper in Sociology, university of Edinburgh, Edinburgh. Johnny, L 2006, Reconceptualising childhood: Children’s right and youth participation in schools, International educational Journal. Vol.7 (1). Viewed on 24 October, 2012. Stephens, S, 1995, introduction: Children and the Politics of Culture in Late capitalism in S. Stephens (ed) Children and the politics of culture, Princeton, New Jersey. Read More