Child Protection or Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults - Case Study Example

Child abuse: To this day, child abuse is a common problem throughout the world, including the UK. Despite the adoption of various legislative acts, the problem remains and children continue being exposed to different types of violence by adults or other children. There are many examples of children who have been victims of maltreatment: Victoria Climbie, Daniel Pelka and many other children. There are various definitions of child abuse, yet a common understanding of the problem suggests that, “an abused child is a girl or boy under the age of 18, who has suffered physical injury, neglect, emotional or sexual abuse” (The North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Board n.d.). Not only adults, but also other children can become the source of violence. Child abuse has very negative consequences for the health and future life of the child. If the childs parents are the source of violence, as a result, the child is able to lose confidence in the rest of the world, because the relationship with parents is the basis for building relationships with other people around the child (ASCA n.d.). A child who has faced child abuse is much more likely to have difficulties in communicating with his/her peers. Child abuse has a negative impact not only on the psyche, but also on the physical and mental condition of the child. Poor mental and physical health are connected with the fact that victims of violence are prone to depressive state which is often accompanied by drinking, smoking and even drug use. Statistics on child abuse in the UK: Despite the constant improvement of the UK legislation, the problem remains unresolved. Moreover, one can observe an increase in the number of cases of child abuse (The Statistics Portal n.d.). In fact, in the UK, “each week between one and two children die at the hands of his or her parents/carers” (The North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Board n.d.). Types of Child abuse: In general, one can identify the following four types of child abuse: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. Physical abuse may be represented by different forms of physical impact (hitting, throwing, burning, suffocating, etc.), which lead to any physical injury, as well as to the childs death. This type of violence is one of the most common. Emotional abuse leads to no less serious negative consequences for the child, because it affects the emotional and psychological state of the child, causing depression, poor self-esteem, anxiety disorders, etc. “Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the childs emotional development” (NSPCC 2009, p. 1). Sexual abuse “involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities” (NSPCC 2009, p. 2). Sexual abuse can include not only sexual contact with penetration, but also kissing, stroking the genitals and so on. Neglect. It may seem that neglect does not bear such risk as physical or sexual abuse, but it is not true. Neglect manifests itself in the form of ignoring physical or physiological needs of the child. As a result> the child may have serious health problems that can lead to his/her death. Child protection legislation in the UK The legislative framework of the United Kingdom is presented by several documents, which are designed to protect children from various forms of violence (physical, sexual, emotional, and neglect). The current legislative framework is based on the Children Act 1989, which was designed to improve existing laws aimed at protecting childrens rights. The Children Act uses a number of principles. One of them is the paramountcy principle. Its essence lies in the fact that it draws attention to a childs welfare that is recognized as a priority “when making any decisions about a childs upbringing” (NSPCC 2012, p. 2). In addition, the concept of parental responsibility also plays a particularly important role. The section 3 defines it as “the rights, duties, powers and responsibilities which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property” (cited in NSPCC 2012, p. 2). The document defines the specific actions that need to be made by the courts and local authorities to ensure and protect the welfare of children. The legislative framework of the United Kingdom also offers a number of documents that are designed to help professionals in their understanding of when they can consider conditions in which children live as having a risk to their safety. In particular, one of these documents is Working together to safeguard children: a guide to interagency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. It gives definitions of child abuse, as well as determines the actions that need to be made by agencies to prevent child abuse. Another manual entitled The Framework for the assessment of children in need and their families reveals the risk of child abuse in families. Given that child abuse occurs in families quite often, the value of this guide is rather important. After the Children Act 1989, the UK government decided to adopt a number of new laws aimed at improving the protection of childrens rights, in particular, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, the Human Rights Act 1998, the Education Act 2002, and the Adoption and Children Act 2002. The Human Rights Act 1998 is the application of the European Convention on Human Rights in relation to the legal system of the United Kingdom. The document has a number of innovations, including: Article 2: points to the right of everyone to be protected in the face of the law. Every child has the right to be protected in case if he/she is in a potential danger (Davies, 2012). Article 3: prohibits the use of any type of abuse (physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological) to any human. Public authorities are seen as responsible for the prevention of violence and providing treatment for a person who is facing any danger (Davies, 2012). The Children Act 2004: This law is not a substitute for the Children Act 1989, as its main objective is to integrate various services designed to protect the safety of children. The welfare of children is seen as the most important principle that determines the fact that the law considers the responsibility of not only local authorities but also their partners (the police, health service providers as well as the youth justice system) in the protection of childrens rights. In addition, the policy of the UK government involves a number of legal acts, aimed at protecting children “by monitoring adults who pose a risk, creating offences with which they can be charged and stopping them from working with children” (NSPCC 2012, p. 6). This involves the use of such documents as the Sex Offenders Act 1997, the Sexual Offences Act 2003, the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003, the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, the Forced Marriage Act (Civil Protection) 2007, and the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. Participation of non-governmental agencies It is necessary to indicate the fact that the fight against child abuse is performed not only by governmental agencies, designed to protect the rights and welfare of children. Given the complexity of the problem, various non-governmental agencies are also involved in this process. One of such organizations, ECPAT was established in Bangkok in 1990 to fight against Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism. Gradually, members of the organization decided to start a global fight against sexual exploitation of children in various forms. Today ECPAT is composed of 80 organizations designed to protect the rights of children in 74 countries. The organizations activities involves a number of areas, and the main purpose is to help in particular the UK government solve the problem of child trafficking and exploitation in the UK. Pursuing this goal, the organization conducts various researches and provides consulting work with both governmental and non-governmental organizations to improve the theoretical and practical aspects of combating this problem. In addition, in the United Kingdom, there are non-governmental agencies, which are aimed at reducing sexual abuse in the United Kingdom. The Lucy Faithfull Foundation belongs to such organizations. Based on professional knowledge about child sexual abuse, the Lucy Faithfull Foundation (n.d.) offers the following services: assessments, intervention and treatment of known offenders, case specific advice and support, training and development courses and workshops, educational programmes for internet offenders and their families, circles of support and accountability and internet safety seminars for schools (teachers, parents and children). Conclusion The legislative framework of the United Kingdom is well developed, however, it cannot solve the problem of child abuse, while the perpetrators of violence continue bringing harm to children. Solution to the problem is possible by continuous monitoring of children who may be victims of violence. In this regard, both governmental and non-governmental organizations should unite their efforts to reduce the level of child abuse. In addition, it is necessary to carry out actions that will enable children to better know their rights provided by the state. Reference List ASCA n.d., Impact of child abuse, viewed 15 January 2015, . Davies, M 2012, Social work with children & families. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingtoke. ECPAT n.d., About us, viewed 15 January 2015, . NSPCC 2012, An introduction to child protection legislation in the UK, viewed 15 January 2015, . NSPCC 2009, The definitions and signs of child abuse, viewed 15 January 2015, . The Lucy Faithfull Foundation n.d., Welcome to The Lucy Faithfull Foundation, viewed 15 January 2015, . The North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Board n.d., What is child abuse?, viewed 15 January 2015, . The Statistics Portal n.d. , Number of police recorded cruelty to children/young persons in England and Wales from 2002/03 to 2013/14, viewed 15 January 2015, < http://www.statista.com/statistics/303514/child-cruelty-abuse-in-england-and-wales-uk-y-on-y/>. Read More