CHILD2015 August 23, 2010

Hello.

I concur with your suspicions that health professionals are quite reluctant to engage in child abuse and neglect issues.

In my part of the world, several persons including the health personnel tend to find it even difficult deciding which situations are those of child abuse (except, of course, the extreme cases). This may stem from the fact that several situations in which, by definition, a child is actually being abused, are seen as the "normal" things to do. A 6-year old who is not in school and has to hawk several items "to improve the family economics by assisting his/her parents" is actually being abused but this is considered "normal" in many settings. Parents/caregivers beat their children/wards mercilessly because of one error or the other on the part of the child, so much so that the child has to be taken for medical attention. These situations are not recognized by most persons as child abuse hence, they do not get reported even by the health professionals who ought to know better.

Unfortunately, the agencies to which these should be reported are either not well enlightened about the situation, or empowered to deal with such situations. Individuals who have attempted reporting some cases of abuse get ridiculed by our enforcement agencies so they do not bother to report further cases. Some persons are of the opinion that parents are allowed to bring up their children in any manner they deem fit without outside interference. Children are subsequently abused in their homes and no one bats an eyelid.

In many societies, the rights of a child ends on the paper on which they are written.

I think more advocacy, voices for the children, enlightenment and empowerment of our child welfare agencies as well as the police, would help the situation to some extent.

Finally, health professionals should live up to their expectations and report at least the few cases that get to them and ensure they get good response from the welfare agencies.

Discussions on this would definitely throw more light on the many grey areas of this issue.

Thanks.
Patience.

CHILD2015 profile: Obiagwu Patience is a Resident paediatrician at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. sinatra134 AT yahoo.com

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From: Margaret Lynch malynchuk AT gmail.com
To: CHILD2015 - Child Healthcare Information and Learning Discussion-group CHILD2015@dgroups.org
Sent: Fri, August 20, 2010 3:51:43 AM
Subject: [CHILD2015] Child Protection Training

At the beginning of July I posted a link to a questionnaire relating to the development of Child Protection Training for Doctors and other health workers in East Africa. Myself and a colleague had funding to work with colleagues in that region to produce a training program. The response has been very limited and the posting on CHILD2015 resulted in only one response and No completed questionaires. I was not all together surprised as the responses to my David Morley lecture earlier in the year and summarised on CHILD2015 were also very limited especially when compared with the interest generated by other topics. I detect a reluctance among health professionals to engage with child and abuse and neglect, particularly when it is occurring within the home. Your observations would be welcome.

Margaret Lynch

CHILD2015 profile: Margaret Lynch is emeritus professor of community paediatrics at King's College, London. Her interests include child protection. malynchuk AT gmail.com

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