Change is needed in the language of child protection policies

Policies are essential to inform effective prevention and response to child abuse and neglect. However, the way that problems are described in policies frames the ways services and professionals can respond. For example, whether child abuse is framed as single events requiring urgent interventions, or as children/families experiencing adversities requiring support to enable their children to thrive.

Our recent paper in Children and Youth Services Review reports a review of Australian policies for child abuse and neglect to see how responses to child abuse and neglect were described. Importantly, this paper highlighted that while policies advocated for broadly similar approaches, there were no unifying principles to inform a shared vision to prevent and address child abuse in Australia. Furthermore, there was no specific guidance for how health professionals, such as nurses, can effectively collaborate within the interdisciplinary team to partner with children and families. This lack of consistency and guidance undermines effective intersectional collaboration to support the complex and dynamic needs of children and families. As a result, we recommended that future policies are based upon consistent language and principles to inform a shared vision, and provide greater clarification for the roles of health professionals working with children and families.