Reflection Paper on film (2-3 pages MAX)

HISTORY OF CHILD MALTREATMENT

Nydia Y. Monagas, Psy.D.

What places children at risk?

 What are the sources of greatest risk to the development of children?

 Poverty

 Violence

 Economy

 Dissolution of families

 Educational problems

 Mental health issues

 Drug and alcohol use

Cultural Relativism v Universality

 Universality

 The view that universal moral principles exist to

determine good and bad

 Cultural Relativism

 Posits that good and bad should be determined by

one’s culture

 “Gray” areas in abuse/neglect

DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN VIEWS

OF CHILDREN

Era 1: Children as Property

 Prior to 15th century, children 7+ were adults with

adult responsibilities and rights

 Infanticide common

 Pederasty an accepted practice in ancient Greece

 Marriages arranged, and often consummated, very

early

 Incest taboo is nearly universal

Era 2: Discovery of Childhood –

Distinct Developmental Phase

 16th-18th centuries

 Particularly in upper classes, children seen as having

special needs; children received only what their

parents could afford (e.g., education)

 View of the needs depended upon philosophical

positions regarding the basic nature of people:

Calvin v Rousseau

 What is your philosophical position?

Era 2: Economic Issues

 Families heavily dependent upon children economically

 Many indentured out or working in jobs more easily done by them (chimney sweeps, mines)

 Elizabethan Poor Laws (1601) –children who were

orphaned or abandoned were to be afforded

protection by local parishes

 Beginning of voluntary child welfare societies

Era 3: Child Saving-Philosophical and

Economic Basis

 19th-mid 20th century

 View of children as torch bearers of future, with special physical and mental needs that should be considered apart from adults

 Probably made possible by increasing survival rates

 Also industrialization and growth of middle class decreased family economic dependency on children

Era 3: Victorian views

 Rigid sexual standards

 Extreme consequences for masturbation

 Yet…

 Sexual abuse flourished behind closed doors

 Pornography and child prostitution

 Freud and the discovery and denial of child sexual

abuse

Era 3: Social Issues

 Major social movements: abolition of slavery, women’s

suffrage, labor movement

 Development of movement focused on protecting

children from abusive caretakers/employers

 Movement also encouraged governmental

interference

 Mary Ellen Wilson, 1873

Era 3: Major Developments in

Child Welfare

 Orphan Trains

 Child labor laws

 1938 – Fair Labor Standards Act – minimum age of

employment and limits on number of hours minors can

work

 Social Security Act of 1935 – mandated services

for neglected and dependent children and children

in danger of becoming delinquent

Era 3: Major Developments in Child

Advocacy

 Compulsory public education

 Juvenile rights in justice system

 In re Gault (1967) – juveniles accused of a crime have

right to due process as adults, including right to counsel,

right to oppose witnesses, rights against self

incrimination

Era 4: Governmental Responses to

Child Maltreatment

 Late 20th century; civil rights, women’s movement

 Increased professional recognition: battered child

syndrome, professional societies

 Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (1974)

 Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act

(1980): family preservation

 Adoption and Safe Families Act (AFSA) (1997):

safety and permanency first

Era 4: Critique of Governmental

Responses

 Concerns about effect of “system” on children:

foster care drift, increased understanding of role of

attachment

 Concerns about disproportionality, and distrust of

“system” by members of disempowered groups

 Increased attention to rights/voices of youth

Questions to Consider

 How do we define child maltreatment

 What is the balance between child protection and family preservation

 How much should child maltreatment be addressed as a:

 Criminal problem

 Psychological problem

 Social problem

Questions to Consider (cont)

 You have probably heard newscasters make

statements such as, “Our children are at a greater

risk today than ever. There is an epidemic of child

abuse.”

 Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

 Why or why not?