Portrayals of Child Abuse Scandals in the Media in Australia and England: Impacts on Practice, Policy, and Systems

This article describes how the media have played a key role in placing the issue of child maltreatment and the problems associated with child protection high on public and political agendas over the last 50 years. It also describes how the influence of the media is far from unambiguous. Although the media has been crucial in bringing the problems into the open, it often does so in particular ways. In being so concerned with scandals and tragedies ∗ Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Bob Lonne, School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Queensland 4059, Australia. Electronic mail may be sent to [email protected]. in a variety of institutionalized and community settings, the media have portrayed the nature of child maltreatment in ways which deflect attention from many of its core characteristics and causes. A focus on the media is important because of the power the media have to help transform the private into the public, but at the same time, to undermine trust, reputation, and legitimacy of the professionals working in the field. This concern is key for those working in the child protection field and has been a source of tension in public policy in both Australia and England for many years

Reunification of intrafamilial child sex abusers

There is consensus held across cultures and continents that child sexual abuse is a social and moral problem and a violation of the human rights of a child. Subsequently a controversial issue for agencies working in context of child protection is the issue of family reunification. This chapter will explore the reunification of adult sex offenders and their families (biological children) and the reunification of adult sex offenders where vulnerable children reside (partner’s children as relevant). This will be explored in context of child protection in Australia, the professional agency responsible for making determinations about reunification of sex offenders to the family home. Research examining the prevalence of child sexual abuse, rates of recidivism and the impact of sexual abuse will be explored. Theoretical notions of attachment will be used to inform considerations for reunification