New publication: Safeguarding without stigmatising

Our first publication from the Safeguarding Project was published online today in The Australian Journal of Social Issues. This international review of policies and guidelines about child abuse and neglect highlighted use of language and approaches that implicitly blame or label families, whilst largely ignoring the broader context. Evidence shows that instead of blaming families, we must effectively address health, social and economic factors that make child abuse more likely. For example, reducing the prevalence and impact of poverty, domestic violence, social isolation, poor physical/mental health and intergenerational trauma.

Although circumstances are never an excuse for child abuse and neglect, addressing the broader factors contributing to abuse would reduce the need for costly child removals and criminal proceedings. Policies and guidelines frame how health and social care professionals understand and respond to child abuse, but blaming and shaming families can lead to counter-productive outcomes. At present, families who experience adversities that impact upon parenting experience social stigma and blame. Yet when families perceive stigma and blame from professionals, they are unlikely to reach out for essential support..

Our review found only one approach that minimised stigmatising language. This was ‘safeguarding’ as practiced in the UK and Ireland. Safeguarding refers to promoting the health and wellbeing of all children. Protecting children from abuse is just one aspect of safeguarding. A safeguarding approach may be transferable to the Australian context as a shared language for professionals caring for children and families to reduce stigmatisation. Reducing labelling and stigmatising language is especially important to prevent ongoing marginalisation of priority populations such as First Nations people in Australia.

With increasing prevalence of child abuse and neglect, a safeguarding approach is one possible way to reframe current understandings of child abuse to reduce blame and recognise the complex interplay of health, social, economic and structural factors. However, our review did not assess the effectiveness of the policies and guidelines, so further research is needed to explore what impacts safeguarding may have for Australian children. Consideration also needs to be given to how safeguarding could be enacted in culturally safe ways for First Nations communities who are overrepresented in child protection systems.

You can read the full article here.