Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

1. Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

2. Introduction – challenges and perceptions of child abuse Current policy context and recent legal changes Definitions of child abuse - civil and criminal law Taking Action - legal responsibilities of social workers and others in child protection Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

3. Why is this a difficult or challenging topic? Personal feelings and experiences Issues of power and powerlessness Concern about risk provokes defensive reactions Emotive media coverage leading to polarised views Complexity of the subject Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

4. Difficulties and Challenges Abuse is not always obvious - Perpetrators may not admit, acknowledge or recognise - Victims may not disclose (or recognise) - Professionals may not notice Different and changing views about what constitutes Abuse Privacy and Family Life – Interference or Protection Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

5. Cawson (2002) Child Maltreatment in the Family The meeting was ‘too formal’ – ‘they say loads of big words to me and others… If I didn’t understand I asked what they meant’. The few who were able to approach professionals for help often found that they responded poorly or that help was ineffective in preventing further maltreatment. Friends were more likely to be chosen as confidants than adults. Providing help for these young people requires a rethink about the accessibility of child protection services… It would be a good idea if social workers did not have ‘so many people to look after so you get to see them a bit more for a longer time’. Interviews with ‘looked after’ children under 12 Aubrey and Dahl (2006)

6. How common is child abuse? NSPCC study random sample of 2869 18-24 year olds 7% of those interviewed were found to have suffered serious physical abuse as children 6% found to have suffered serious physical neglect at home 6% found to have suffered multiple attacks on their emotional well-being and self confidence 1% had been sexually abused by a parent & 3% by another relative Cawson et al, 2000 Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

7. Shifting Perceptions of Child Abuse Physical abuse Neglect Sexual abuse Emotional abuse Bullying Witnessing violence Lack of respect / rights Incident Context Long term Impact Family (private) Professional carers - children ‘in care’ (public) Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

8. 1974 The inquiry report into the death of Maria Colwell 7 year old Maria was killed by her stepfather after months of physical and emotional abuse and neglect. Previously removed from her mother by social workers as an infant as a result of poor care, she had lived with an aunt under social work supervision. Having remarried and had four more children, her mother asked to have Maria home again. Social workers thought it would be in her interests to be with her birth mother so, against Maria’s wishes, she was returned. The next few months before her death were terrible. She was treated as a servant, not a daughter, and made to do many heavy tasks such as collecting large sacks of coal. She was also poorly fed and lost weight. She was severely beaten on several occasions, before finally dying from her injuries. Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

9. 2000 The death of Victoria Climbie´ and the Inquiry Report 2003 Victoria’s death shocked the public because, despite being seen by numerous professionals during the preceding months, none had accurately seen the abuse she was enduring. She was 8 years old when she died from hypothermia, and the post-mortem found 128 separate injuries on her body as a result of having been beaten with a range of sharp and blunt instruments. She was born in the Ivory Coast but moved to London 11 months earlier, after a short stay in Paris. In London she was known to four social services departments, three housing authorities, two police child protection teams, two hospitals and an NSPCC family centre. Munro, 2007 p.23 http://www.victoria-climbie-inquiry.org.uk/ Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

10. 2000 The death of Victoria Climbie´ and the Inquiry Report 2003 Victoria ‘was observed by several people, lay and professional, to be fearful and ill-at-ease with her ‘carers’, who adopted an authoritarian and punitive attitude towards her’. Hodgson, 2007 in Mclaren and Leathard eds. Lord Laming ‘recalled the sheer numbers of people who could have done something, if only by asking a basic question like: “why is this 8 year old not in school, and what does she do all day?”’ Professional Social Work, May, 2003 p10. Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

11. Current policy context and recent legal changes Every Child Matters: Change for Children 2004 ‘…shift from intervention to prevention’ and ‘services working together more effectively’(p12) • Children’s Trust arrangements: • Integrated front-line services • Common processes - • Core of Skills & Knowledge • Assessment Framework (CAF) • Information Sharing (Contact point) • Planning and Commissioning • Inter-agency Governance Outcomes Framework Being healthy Staying safe Enjoying and achieving Making a positive contribution Achieving economic well-being Performance Indicators Inspection Criteria http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/ Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

12. Children Act 2004 Safeguarding & Child Protection Part 2 S10 Duty of co-operation‘with a view to promoting the wellbeing of children’ Children’s Wellbeing Outcomes CA04 s10(2) S11 Duty to safeguard and promote child welfare extended to new bodies Duty to safeguard & promote child welfare S12 Secretary of State power to establish child databases aka Children’s Information Index aka Contact Point S13 Local safeguarding children boards (LCSBs) statutory replacement for Area Child Protection Committees (ACPCs) responsible for co-ordinating agencies’ safeguarding activity Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

13. Children Act 2004 Safeguarding & Child Protection cont’d Part 5 S53 LA duty to take account of children’s wishes in relation to services to safeguard and promote welfare S58 removal of ‘reasonable punishment’ defence for offences other than common assault For detailed summaries, please see separate handout and refer to Children Act 2004 explanatory notes @ http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/en2004/2004en31.htm Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

14. Children’s Well-being Outcomes CA04 s10(2) physical and mental health and emotional well-being (being healthy) protection from harm and neglect (staying safe) education, training and recreation (enjoying and achieving) contribution made by them to society (making a positive contribution) social and economic wellbeing (economic well-being) Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

15. Safeguard and promote welfare of children CA04 s11 Duty to make arrangements for ensuring ‘functions are discharged having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children’ s11(2) Children’s services, district councils, health authorities/bodies, Police, Probation, Connexions, YOTs, governors of Youth Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres, education providers Local education authorities and governing bodies are under this duty by virtue of the Education Act 2002 s175. Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

16. Safeguarding is defined as: • Protecting children from maltreatment • Preventing impairment of children’s health and development • Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances • consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and • Undertaking that role so as to enable those children to have • optimum life chances and to enter adulthood successfully • Child protection is defined as: • ‘a part of safeguarding and promoting welfare. This refers to • the activity which is undertaken to protect specific children • who are suffering or are at risk of suffering significant harm’ • Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2006 Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

17. Universal Children’s well-being Outcomes ECM03,CA04 s2 Integrated Services eg. Extended Schools Children’s Trusts Children’s Centres Common Assessment Framework Assessment Framework 2000 (Initial & Core) Local Safeguarding Children Boards Child Protection Procedures Working Together 2006 Safeguard & promote welfare … of children CA04 s11 …of children in need CA89 s17 children suffering or likely to suffer significant harm CA89 s47, s31 Targeted Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

18. Definitions of child abuse in law and policy Abuse is ‘a violation of an individual’s human and civil rights by any other person or persons’ No Secrets – Guidance on Developing and Implementing Multi-agency Policies and Procedures to Protect Vulnerable Adults from Abuse (Dept of Health, 2000), para. 2.5 Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional or community setting, by those known to them or, more rarely, by a stranger. They may be abused by an adult or adults, or another child or children. Working Together to Safeguard Children (2006) para. 1.29 Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

19. The Human Rights Act 1998 and the Articles No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment HRA98 Sch.1 Art 3 Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence Art 8 Prohibition of discrimination in respect of Convention rights and freedoms Art 14 What other articles of the European Convention on Human Rights are relevant to child protection? Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

20. UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 ‘States parties shall render appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in the performance of their child rearing responsibilities…’ Article 18(2) ‘States parties shall take all appropriate… measures to protect the child from all form of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parents, legal guardians or any other person who has care of the child.’ Article 19(1) What other articles of the UNCRC are relevant to child protection? Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

21. Forms of Child Abuse • Physical Abuse • Neglect • Sexual Abuse • Emotional Abuse path of recognition Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2006, paragraphs 1.29-1,33 Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

22. Physical abuse Physical abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces illness in, a child. Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

23. Emotional abuse Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

24. Emotional abuse It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond the child’s developmental capability, as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child participating in normal social interaction. It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another. It may involve causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur alone. Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

25. Sexual abuse Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, including prostitution, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative (rape, buggery or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts. They may involve non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, pornographic material or watching sexual activities, or encouraging children to act in sexually inappropriate ways. Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

26. Neglect Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food or clothing, shelter including exclusion from physical and emotional harm or danger, failure to ensure adequate supervision including the use of inadequate caretakers, or the failure to secure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs. Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

27. Children in Need CA89 s17 (1) & (10) General duty of local authority to safeguard and promote welfare of children in need and promote upbringing by their families where consistent with this duty, by providing range and level of services appropriate to children’s needs A child is taken to be in need if - unlikely to achieve or maintain…reasonable standard of health or development…without … services - health or development likely to be significantly impaired, or further impaired without .. services - disabled Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

28. “ill-treatment” includes sexual abuse and non- physical forms Significant Harm CA89 s.31 ‘“harm” = ill-treatment or impairment of health or impairment of development … incl. eg from seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another s31(9) “health” means physical or mental … “development” means physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural … Significant? Harm? Tests for court orders: 1. threshold test child is suffering, or is likely to suffer? Signif. impairment of h & d = compared with what could reasonably be expected of a similar child attributable to care given (or likely to be given if order not made) or child being beyond parental control s31(2) care given not being what it would be reasonable to expect a parent to give 2. welfare test child’s welfare paramount, delay is likely to be prejudicial to the child’s welfare no unnecessary orders Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

29. Significant Harm CA89 s31 Harm = ill-treatment (cause) or impairment of health or development (effects) Significant = not defined by statute – not a question of law but of fact use dictionary definitions (rule of statutory interpretation): ‘considerable’ or ‘noteworthy’ or ‘important’ Humberside County Council v B [1993] 1 FLR at p263 Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

30. Significant Harm CA89 s31 Significant impairment of health or development must be ‘compared with that which could reasonably be expected of a similar child S31(10) ‘The standard should only be that which it is reasonable to expect for the particular child, rather than the best that could possibly be achieved…’ CA89 Guidance Vol. 1, para. 3.20 ‘…a child of equivalent intellectual and social development…and not merely an average child Re O (A Minor) (Care Order:Education: Procedure) [1992] 2 FLR 7 Significant ill-treatment may involve substantial injurybutalso significant for what it suggests / indicates eg. significance of sexual abuse in context, relationships, perspective of victim as well as potential impact? [Note: retention of reasonable punishment defence in criminal proceedings for common assault CA04 s58] Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

31. Significant Harm CA89 s31 …the child is suffering – when? when protective action was taken by the local authority, using compulsory or voluntary means Re M (A Minor) (Care Order: Threshold Criteria) (1994) Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

32. Significant Harm CA89 s31 Evidence and the Standard of Proof - tensions between civil & criminal law? Standard of proof = balance of probability but the more serious the allegation of abuse, the more evidence would be required to show it had probably occurred ‘likely to suffer’ means a real possibility (not a balance of probability ie. more likely than not) But the claim that significant harm is likely must be based on facts, rather than suspicions. These facts must be established on a balance of probability. Re H (Minors) (Sexual Abuse: Standard of Proof) [1996] AC 563 Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

33. Significant Harm CA89 s31 harm … attributable to care given(or likely to be given)? s31(2)(b)(i) Normally the parents but where care shared between parents and a child-carer, it included the child-carer. Where it was unclear who had caused the harm, the threshold criteria were met. (If it was clear that the child-carer had caused the harm, the court may well decide not to make an order, applying the welfare principle.) But in a case where it was not clear whether parents or a stranger had caused the harm, the criteria would not be met. Lancashire County Council v B [2000] 1 FCR 583 Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

34. Criminal Law Civil maintain public order resolve disputes act & intent effect of act punishment rectify damage beyond reasonable doubt more likely than not Historical link: no civil proceedings without criminal prosecution. Children Act 1989 – removed previous link between grounds for criminal prosecution and grounds for civil action. Is there still a link when making judgements about ‘significant harm’?See Working Together to Safeguard Children (2006) para. 1.25 http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/resources-and-practice/IG00060/ Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

35. Cruelty to persons under sixteen any person who has attained the age of sixteen years and has responsibility for any child or young person under that age, wilfully assaults, ill-treated, neglects, abandons, or exposes him, or causes or procures him to be assaulted, ill-treated, neglected, abandoned, or exposed, in a manner likely to cause him unnecessary suffering or injury to health (including injury to or loss of sight, or hearing, or limb, or organ of the body, and any mental derangement), will be liable to criminal prosecution. s1(1) Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting the right of any parent [or (subject to s.548 of the Education Act 1996) any other person] having the lawful control or charge of a child or young person to administer reasonable punishment to him. s1(7) Children and Young Persons Act 1933 Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

36. A v UK 1998 (European Court of Human Rights) Protecting Children, Supporting Parents (Department of Health, 2000) Children Act 2004 s58 Reasonable punishment defence limited to cases of common assault (no longer applies to offences involving actual bodily harm or worse) Guidelines for Crown Prosecution Service Injuries considered as common assault for adults will be charged as ABH for children, ‘although prosecutors must bear in mind that the definition of common assault occasioning actual bodily harm requires the injury to be more than transient and trifling’ (eg. grazes, scratches, abrasions, minor bruising, swelling, superficial cuts, black eye, reddening of skin which stays for hours or days) http://www.dfes.gov.uk/publications/section58review/index.shtml Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

37. Taking Action – Any Person • Children Act 1989, s3 (5) • A person who- • does not have parental responsibility for a particular child; but • (b) has care of the child, • may (subject to the provisions of this Act) do what is reasonable • in all the circumstances of the case for the purpose of • safeguarding or promoting the child’s welfare. Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

38. Taking Action - Professionals Working with Children Safeguarding duty - Children Act 2004, s11 What To Do If you’re Worried A Child is Being Abused, 2003 What To Do If You’re Worried A Child Is Being Abused The Human Rights Act 1998 – public authorities Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

39. The Human Rights Act 1998 The Principle of Proportionality applies to decisions and actions taken by public authorities (including the courts) Degree of intervention should be proportionate to the risk faced by the child i.e. the least intrusive measure that provides adequate protection A child suffering abuse has a right to state protection if the state knows of ought to know of the abuse. This can be under Articles 3 or 8. E v UK (2003) Removing a child from parents involves an interference in the parent’s rights under Article 8. However, this can be justified under Article 8(2) if necessary in the Interests of the child. Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

40. The Human Rights Act 1998 Removing a child should be regarded as temporary and steps should be taken where appropriate to return the child to the family as soon as possible Johansen v Norway (1997) Article 8 right to privacy and family life highlights obligations to respect confidentiality and to seek consent for any proposed action, including sharing of information. Interference with these rights must be justifiable (lawful, necessary in public interest, for prevention of disorder or crime, protection or health or morals, protection of rights & freedoms of others. How are children’s rights to privacy and family life upheld? Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

41. Taking Action - Social Workers The Children Act 1989: Partnership and Protection Part V Child Protection Part IV Care and Supervision Part III Family Support Slide 27 Statutory Guidance: Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families 2000 Working together to Safeguard Children 2006 http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/_files/AE53C8F9D7AEB1B23E403514A6C1B17D.pdf Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

42. Three Tiers of Intervention inquiry – investigation urgent protective action (long term) care Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

43. Local Authority Duties – Inquiries s47 • To make inquiries they consider necessary to enable them to decide what action they should take to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare • … where reasonable cause to suspect child … is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm s47(1)(b) • Duty to inquire also applies where local authority is • informed • - a child is subject to emergency protection order s44 • or a child is in police protection s46 • or a child has contravened a curfew order CDA98 Pt1 • - a court in family proceedings directs inquiries s37 Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

44. Local Authority Duties – Inquiries s47 Child must be seen unless satisfied there is sufficient information s47(4) Duty to ascertain child’s wishes and feelings and give these due consideration (having regard to age and understanding) s47(5A) Duty to apply for order where refused access to child or denied information, unless satisfied that child’s welfare will be safeguarded without doing so S47(6) Otherwise decision as to whether to apply for court orders is matter of discretion Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

45. Court Orders & the Court’s Discretion Orders local authority might apply for (take careful note of specific grounds for each order): Child Assessment Order Emergency Protection Order Interim Care or Supervision Order Care or Supervision Order Only a local authority may apply for a care order The court may not make a care order without an application (other than an interim care order) The court may make any of the orders that are available in family proceedings (as long as the grounds and the relevant principles are satisfied Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

46. Court Orders & the Court’s Discretion Orders are actions authorised or required by the court - Note that ‘Police protection’ is not an order. - Where local authority is granted an EPO, it is authorised to exercise powers that it would not otherwise have – but powers must not be used unless necessary Courts can issue directions attached to orders Courts cannot normally make an order without an application but have discretion to do so in specific circumstances - power to make interim care order in private proceedings when ordering LA to make inquiries s37, courts can make family assistance orders without application Courts must apply relevant criteria and principles applicable to each order Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

47. inquiry - investigation S47 duty to make… inquiries where … reasonable cause to suspect child … is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm S17 duties - to safeguard and promote welfare of children in need and provide services for children and their families urgent protective action + application for order? Child Assessment Order (CAO) Emergency Protection Order (EPO) …including accommodation - child, alleged perpetrator (long term) care Interim (ICO), Care Order (CO), Supervision order (SO) Other orders available to court in family proceedings Provision of support services eg. advice, guidance financial, respite care etc Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

48. Links http://www.victoria-climbie-inquiry.org.uk/ http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/ http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/socialcare/safeguarding/ http://www.childrenareunbeatable.org.uk/ http://www.nspcc.org.uk/inform http://www.childrenscommissioner.org/ Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

49. What To Do If You’re Worried A Child Is Being Abused • Listen carefully to the child, reassure them they are not to blame • Don’t try to investigate or ask leading questions but allow them to talk freely • Explain that if they, or another child, are at risk of harm you will need to tell someone else who can help them • A child, like an adult, has human rights to respect and privacy. • You should consult with the child and seek their agreement to • any steps proposed. Where a conflict of rights arises, the • public interest in safeguarding the child’s welfare • overrides the duty of confidentiality. Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse

50. What To Do If You’re Worried A Child Is Being Abused • Report your concerns to the Designated Person or their deputy. They will advise on next steps, including how & when parents will be contacted • Record what the child has said, what you have replied and what you have observed with dates and times. • Include the child’s name, age, ethnicity and any disability or special needs they may have. Give your report to the Designated Person or their deputy • Find out about more about the Framework for the assessment of children in need and their families, 2000 Safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse