General Article Time to end the neglect of child neglect

Topic Selected: Child Abuse
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Yet when it comes to providing effective prevention and protection against these harms, it seems neglect is, itself, too often neglected by professionals.
According to campaigners from the UK charity Action for Children and researchers at the University of Stirling, neglect poses real and continuing challenges for researchers, theoreticians and national and local policy makers. Their assessment of services and procedures across the UK concludes that safeguarding and child protections systems are struggling to provide a swift and effective response.
‘All too often children have to endure a chronic lack of physical and emotional care over long periods of time before they receive help. And too often that help is too little, too late,’ they warn in the first of a planned annual series of child neglect reviews.

 

Definition difficulties

As the report recognises, the concept of neglect is difficult to apply. While its florid manifestations – an abandoned, ragged or ill-fed child – may pr...

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