A recent study of child protection practice in Scotland suggests that disabled children fare less well in child protection services than their non-disabled peers. A group of academics highlight the lessons for social workers from the latest studies of safeguarding disabled children

Cameron, Audrey

Franklin, Anita

Fry, Debi

Jones, Chris

Stalker, Kirsten

Stewart, Alasdair

Taylor, Julie

Name not available

Protecting disabled children : what the latest research tells us

University of Strathclyde Institutional Repository

Strathprints Institutional RepositoryStalker, Kirsten and Taylor, Julie and Fry, Debi and Jones, Chris and Cameron, Audrey and Stewart, Alasdair and Franklin, Anita (2015) Protecting disabled children : what the latest research tells us. Community Care. ISSN 0307-5508 , This version is available at http://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/54045/Strathprints is  designed  to  allow  users  to  access  the  research  output  of  the  University  of Strathclyde. Unless otherwise explicitly stated on the manuscript, Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Please check the manuscript for details of any other licences that may have been applied. You may  not  engage  in  further  distribution  of  the  material  for  any  profitmaking  activities  or  any commercial gain. You may freely distribute both the url (http://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/) and the content of this paper for research or private study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge. Any  correspondence  concerning  this  service  should  be  sent  to  Strathprints  administrator: strathprints@strath.ac.ukAn accepted author manuscript of the following article: Stalker, K, Taylor, J, Fry, D, Jones, C, Cameron, A, Stewart, A & Franklin, A 2015, 'Protecting disabled children : what the latest research tells us', Community Care, 14 August. Available: http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2015/08/14/protection-disabled-children-latest-research-tells-us/  Protecting disabled children Kirsten Stalker, professor of disability studies, University of Strathclyde Julie Taylor, professor of child protection, NSPCC Research Centre, University of Edinburgh Debi Fry, child protection lecturer, Moray House Institute of Education, University of Edinburgh Chris Jones, child protection lecturer, NSPCC Research Centre, University of Edinburgh Audrey Cameron, research assistant, NSPCC Research Centre, University of Edinburgh Alasdair Stewart, research assistant, Department of Urban Studies, University of Glasgow Anita Franklin, reader, Children and Family Research Centre, Coventry University Disabled children are 3-4 times more likely to be abused than non-disabled children.1 However, ƌĞĂůƉƌĞǀĂůĞŶĐĞƌĂƚĞƐĂƌĞƉƌŽďĂďůǇŚŝŐŚĞƌďĞĐĂƵƐĞƚŚĞƌĞ ?ƐĂůƐŽĞǀŝĚĞŶĐĞƚŚĂƚƚŚĞabuse of disabled children is widely under-reported2. Children with communication ŝŵƉĂŝƌŵĞŶƚƐ ?ůĞĂƌŶŝŶŐĚŝƐĂďŝůŝƚŝĞƐĂŶĚ ?ďĞŚĂǀŝŽƵƌĂůĚŝƐŽƌĚĞƌƐ ?are particularly vulnerable. The abuse of disabled children appears to start at an earlier age than for other children and boys are disproportionately affected3.  Disabled children are more likely than others to be abused by family members or someone they know but are also vulnerable to maltreatment in care settings.4  A recent study of child protection practice in Scotland5 suggests that disabled children fare less well in child protection services than their non-disabled peers. Despite ƐŽĐŝĂůǁŽƌŬĞƌƐ ?desire to be child-centred, some were anxious about or even resistant to working with disabled children. Where a child had communication impairments, this could be seen as a real ŽďƐƚĂĐůĞ PŽŶĞƐŽĐŝĂůǁŽƌŬĞƌƐĂŝĚ “ŝĨǇŽƵĐĂŶ ?ƚĐŽŵŵƵŶŝĐĂƚĞǁŝƚŚĂĐŚŝůĚ ?ƚŚĞŶǇŽƵũƵƐƚŬŝŶĚŽĨŐŝǀĞƵƉ ? ?KƚŚĞƌ social workers, however, had found creative ways to adapt communication with disabled children and seek their views.   The research raised concerns about the risk of social workers over-empathising with parents, based on the view that having a disabled child was very burdensome. This can take ƚŚĞĨŽĐƵƐĂǁĂǇĨƌŽŵƚŚĞĐŚŝůĚ ?ƐŶĞĞĚƐĂŶĚŵĂǇeven allow neglect or abuse to continue. Some practitioners from other agencies  ? health, education, the police and third sector  ? believed that social workers sometimes applied higher thresholds for action to disabled                                                           1 Jones, L., et al. (2012). Prevalence and risk of violence against children with disabilities: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. The Lancet, 380, 899-907. 2 Stalker K & McArthur K. (2012) Disabled Children and Child Protection: A Literature Review. Child Abuse Review, 21, 24-40 3 Sullivan, P.M. & Knutson J.F. (2000) Maltreatment and Disabilities: A Population-Based Epidemiological Study. Child Abuse and Neglect, 24, 1257-1273 4 Miller and Brown (2014) 'We have the right to be safe': Protecting disabled children from abuse. http://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/research-and-resources/right-to-be-safe/ 5 Taylor J et al. (2014) Disabled Children and Child Protection in Scotland: An investigation into the relationship between professional practice, child protection and disability http://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/46601/1/00447850.pdf An accepted author manuscript of the following article: Stalker, K, Taylor, J, Fry, D, Jones, C, Cameron, A, Stewart, A & Franklin, A 2015, 'Protecting disabled children : what the latest research tells us', Community Care, 14 August. Available: http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2015/08/14/protection-disabled-children-latest-research-tells-us/  children than were ĂĚǀŝƐĂďůĞ ?ŐŝǀŝŶŐĞǆĂŵƉůĞƐŽĨǇŽƵŶŐƉĞŽƉůĞ “ůĞĨƚŝŶƐƋƵĂůŽƌĨŽƌĨĂƌƚŽŽůŽŶŐ ? ? Another study, ĨƵŶĚĞĚďǇƚŚĞE^W ?ĞǆƉůŽƌĞĚĚŝƐĂďůĞĚĐŚŝůĚƌĞŶ ?ƐŚĞůƉ-seeking behaviours following abuse, and how public services respond6.  Three disabled children and seven disabled adults were interviewed.  As children, all had experienced abuse or neglect for several years. Seven had told someone else what was happening at the time, in some cases on several occasions, but for only two people did this lead to positive action which stopped the abuse. Some participants had tried to convey their distress through challenging behaviour, including attempted suicide. Often such behaviours were assumed to be impairment-related. Disclosures were not always handled well by adults, leaving children feeling disbelieved and disempowered. Barriers to effective help-seeking included lack of awareness, among children and practitioners, of what constitutes abuse of disabled children, the low credibility attributed to their accounts, and ƚŚĞǇŽƵŶŐƉĞŽƉůĞ ?ƐŽǁŶfeelings of self-blame, fear and isolation. Lack of communication support was a major hurdle for some, particularly deaf children. Enablers of protection included supportive, trusting relationships, so children felt they could disclose and be believed, and access to professional interpreters.  Only one case was successfully prosecuted, where the perpetrator had been discovered by a police officer. Some adults felt an enduring sense of injustice. Long-term consequences included disrupted education and poor mental health, although a few participants said they had been able to transform childhood adversity into a more satisfying adult life.  Practice learning points   x Work proactively to identify potential signs of abuse: do not assume that disabled children are immune x ƐƐĞƐƐŵĞŶƚƐŽĨĚŝƐĂďůĞĚĐŚŝůĚƌĞŶ ?s needs should be accompanied by assessment of ƚŚĞŝƌƉĂƌĞŶƚƐ ? ?ĐĂƌĞƌƐ ?ĂďŝůŝƚǇĂŶĚǁŝůůŝŶŐŶĞƐƐƚŽĐŽƉĞ  x dĂŬĞƐƚĞƉƐƚŽƌĞĚƵĐĞĚŝƐĂďůĞĚĐŚŝůĚƌĞŶ ?ƐƐŽĐŝĂůŝƐŽůĂƚŝŽŶĞŐ PƚŚƌŽƵŐŚƐƉŽƌƚƐĂŶĚleisure activities or befriending x Early in an investigative process, seek advice from professionals who know the child well (perhaps a teacher or third sector support worker),  x ƌŝŶŐƚŽŐĞƚŚĞƌĞǆƉĞƌƚŝƐĞŝŶĐŚŝůĚƉƌŽƚĞĐƚŝŽŶĂŶĚĐŚŝůĚƌĞŶ ?ƐĚŝƐĂďŝůŝƚǇ x ^ĞĞŬƚŚĞĐŚŝůĚ ?ƐǀŝĞǁĂďŽƵƚǁŚĂƚŝƐŚĂƉƉĞŶŝŶŐĂŶĚǁŚĂƚƐŚŽƵůĚŚĂƉƉĞŶŶĞǆƚ ?adapting communication and providing support as required. Ask a speech and language therapist to help if appropriate  x Arrange independent advocacy and/or a professional interpreter for the child as required x Offer counselling                                                           6 Taylor J. et al (2015) Deaf and Disabled Children Talking about Child Protection. NSPCC, London.   An accepted author manuscript of the following article: Stalker, K, Taylor, J, Fry, D, Jones, C, Cameron, A, Stewart, A & Franklin, A 2015, 'Protecting disabled children : what the latest research tells us', Community Care, 14 August. Available: http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2015/08/14/protection-disabled-children-latest-research-tells-us/  x Ask local schools to provide sex and relationships education and safety skills training for disabled children  x Provide (or seek) training for staff in communicating with disabled children x Provide (or seek) training in protecting disabled children x ŚĂůůĞŶŐĞĂƚƚŝƚƵĚĞƐƚŚĂƚĚŝƐĐƌĞĚŝƚŽƌĚŝŵŝŶŝƐŚĚŝƐĂďůĞĚĐŚŝůĚƌĞŶ ?ƐĐĂƉĂĐŝƚǇƚŽďĞcredible witnesses. Liaise with criminal justice services to ensure appropriate support is available for children meeting the police or attending court.  

http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2015/08/14/protection-disabled-children-latest-research-tells-us/

Protecting disabled children : what the latest research tells us

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