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The Government sees strong, well-functioning families as the cornerstone of our society, and we recognise that children are our nation’s most precious resource.
With these words, on 28 March 2001, the Federal Minister for Community Services, the Hon Larry Anthony, launched two child abuse prevention initiatives. The first was the Choose with Care kit developed by ECPAT (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking), designed to prevent child abuse, particularly sexual abuse, from occurring in different kinds of children’s services. The second initiative launched was the National Child Protection Clearinghouse report Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect: Findings from an Australian Audit of Prevention Programsby Adam M. Tomison and Liz Poole, published by the Australian Institute of Family Studies.
Eighteen months in the making, the Audit represents the most comprehensive attempt to describe the state of the nation in this field, and is the most recent in an ongoing series of audits of child abuse prevention programs that have been conducted at the Clearinghouse. It was developed in order to provide an overview of child abuse prevention initiatives currently being undertaken nationally; to identify trends and any gaps in service provision; to identify programs from which service providers can learn, and thus avoid duplicating program development; and to generate discussion of future directions in child abuse prevention and the promotion of child and family wellbeing.
The findings of the Audit provide evidence of the development of a strong foundation of child abuse prevention activity across the nation. Importantly, the development and operation of prevention initiatives was associated not only with large government departments or non-government agencies, but with "grass roots" community groups or small agencies.
Minister Anthony praised the Audit, noting that:
The development of an effective child abuse prevention strategy requires governments to be well informed about the state of child abuse prevention activity, and to learn from what has already been achieved. This Audit is the first attempt to map child abuse prevention initiatives in Australia, and provides a baseline by which we will measure activity and progress in the future . . . I’m happy to say that the findings of the Audit provide evidence of a strong foundation of child abuse prevention activity across the country . . . And I can assure you that the report will also go a long way in influencing the future directions of government policies to prevent child abuse.
The Audit reflects the volatility of the child abuse prevention field and the rapidly changing nature of service provision, identifying a number of clear policy and service delivery trends.
It also provides some evidence of the professional recognition of the benefits of interagency and cross-sectoral collaborations in the prevention of a variety of social ills, including child maltreatment. This was most clearly demonstrated by the increased acceptance to address the "totality" of violence present in families — that is, to prevent child maltreatment and domestic violence.
The Audit, and the resultant National Child Abuse Prevention Programs database, which provides detailed information on all programs included in the Audit, provide the only effective means of describing the state of the nation in the prevention of child abuse and neglect. The complete Child Abuse Prevention Programs database is able to be searched via the internet on the Clearinghouse and Australian Institute of Family Studies homepages at: http://www.aifs.gov.au/na2.htm.
The Clearinghouse is currently giving consideration to undertaking further National Audits of child abuse prevention programs as a means of monitoring progress and of identifying changes, issues and trends in child abuse prevention across Australia.
Copies of Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect: Findings from an Australian Audit of Prevention Programs, by Adam M. Tomison and Liz Poole, National Child Protection Clearinghouse, published by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2000 (208 pages), have been forwarded to all agencies and individuals who contributed material to the Audit. If you have not received your copy, please contact Clearinghouse Project Officer Ellen Fish at the Institute: (03) 9214 7862. Copies of the report are also available on request to the Institute or can be downloaded (gratis) at: http://www.aifs.gov.au/nch/pubs/auditreport.html.
The author discusses an information and training program developed by ECPAT Australia to assist children's organisations to achieve best practice in child abuse prevention
Choose With Care is a practical guide to preventing the infiltration of sex offenders into children's programs, and minimising opportunities for abuse to occur. The program was conceived in 1992 from a personal realisation of the apparent ease in which sex offenders target and infiltrate children's organisations. Over a 20-year career as a social worker and children's rights campaigner, I have worked alongside or befriended at least two child sex offenders. The first was eventually convicted for the offences, and the second, a known offender keeping one step ahead of the police, took his life when the police traced his location for the last time.
What was striking to me personally was that these individuals gave no clear indication of their behaviour - but were there signs? Were there indicators in their words, actions, behaviours that triggered some questions that I dismissed or ignored? If they were repeat and known offenders, how could they enter one children's organisation after another without being noticed?
These are the sorts of questions I have heard repeated countless times in the years that I have been researching and inquiring into institutional child sexual abuse. In nearly every case I have read or discussed with colleagues there was someone in the organisation who felt concern about their colleague's behaviour but felt unable or unwilling to raise these questions with management and/or authorities.
From the grim starting point of experience I began the inquiry into identifying the dynamics of sexual abuse in children's organisations, and strategies for its prevention.
International research and local press coverage indicates that sexual abuse of children does indeed occur in children's organisations, programs and activities, in significant numbers, although not nearly to the extent of child sexual abuse in the home and extended family. It is apparent that sex offenders will target these programs and organisations to gain access and build relationships with children and young people. Their motive is the eventual abuse of one or more of the children they meet in the facility, either on the premises or through building a relationship with the child and/or their family outside of program hours.
The issue has been addressed in various ways by professionals in the field, with perhaps the most well know being Ray Wyre's (1996) concept of the "aware culture". The aware culture involves linking all aspects of the environment to ensure the program is protective, enriches the lives of its children and families, and is clear about the boundaries between the personal and professional lives of staff (Kiraly 1998).
There has also been research and analysis of recruitment and selection practices in children's organisations, and this was the focus of the first Choose with Care publication (Kiraly 1998), produced by ECPAT (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking) Australia.
Choose With Care is a proactive, preventative and participatory approach to building and maintaining child safe organisations. It aims to inspire child focused organisations, large and small, to become informed about the nature of child abuse, to recognise how it can and does exist in these organisations, and to assist them to take decisive, informed and manageable steps towards establishing and maintaining child safe environments.
The new handbook edition of Choose With Care: Building Child Safe Organisations (2001) provides a holistic model of child abuse prevention that can be applied by the smallest sports group or the largest welfare institution. It focuses on the prevention of child sexual abuse, but many of the strategies provided are generic and will assist in preventing all forms of child abuse. Choose With Care provides a 12-step practical guide to preventing the infiltration of sex offenders into children's programs, and minimising opportunities for abuse to occur. It can be used as guide for those groups and programs venturing into establishing child protection strategies for the first time. It should also be used as a tool for assisting review of current practices, and a guide for addressing gaps or weaknesses in practices - that is, reporting complaints, or identifying and managing risks.
This edition of Choose With Care is a world first in that it provides a cyclic approach to building child safe organisations by addressing planning, implementation and review, returning to planning and so on. It brings together international best practice in child abuse prevention and human services management.
The first section, "Towards a child safe organisation", is planning oriented and presents the context of the Choose With Care program. It provides an overview of what is meant by a "child safe organisation". The second section, "Developing child safe policies and procedures", is action oriented and outlines the specific steps required in establishing child safety in organisations. These steps include child protection policy development, recruitment, selection and screening of staff and volunteers, and management and supervision. The third section, "Maintaining a child safe organisation" is reflection oriented and recognises that organisations are inherently organic and must remain responsive to change in order to maintain best practice. The strategies, models and checklists offered in Choose With Care are intended to assist organisations to start immediately to examine and review their practices and environments with a child safety perspective. We have demystified and simplified the processes of policy development and recruitment, screening and selection so that it is accessible to as many groups and organisations as possible. The argument for this style is that the more approachable and user-friendly the model, the more likely it is to be sustained and used within organisations in the long term.
Our extensive consultation with groups and programs has revealed that all too frequently these groups feel ill-equipped and under-resourced to address child protection and operate on the hope that child abuse is not occurring and will not occur in their group. Choose With Care is intended to reach these groups and provide the resource for the process. Their contribution is of time, energy, participation and a firm commitment to providing the safest environment possible to the children and young people in their care. Indeed, as time moves along, providing the safest environment possible is becoming a legal as much as a moral imperative. The overall aim of Choose With Care is to provide a systematic and user friendly child abuse prevention guide.
In concluding, I would like to acknowledge the outstanding work of the vast majority of carers and volunteers working safely with children. The contribution these men and women make in the lives of so many children and young people in the community is recognised, affirmed, and valued. Choose With Care aims to support these workers by promoting strategies, models and skills that will assist in making child and youth organisations a safer environment for everyone.
Finally, Choose With Care remains a work in progress. As long as children and young people continue to be abused and exploited in groups and programs in which they have every right to feel safe and secure, the work of identifying new and more effective strategies for rethinking and adapting high risk environments and practices will continue. To this end the feedback and comments from organisations and individuals accessing and applying the Choose With Care package is encouraged.
References
Kiraly, M. (1998), "Residential Child Care Staff Selection", School of Public Health, Latrobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
Wyre, R. (1996), "Preventing sexual abuse through organisational strategies", in Facing the Issues Together: A Response to Sexual Abuse Within the Church, Melbourne, Australia.
Bernadette McMenamin is National Director of ECPAT Australia, and the project manager of the Choose With Care program. Bernadette joined the ECPAT campaign in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1992, and established the Australian campaign in 1993. The author gratefully acknowledges the
assistance of ECPAT Researcher Paula Fitzgerald in compiling this article.
The handbook edition of Choose With Care is a Victorian pilot project funded by the Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services, and the Department of Human Services Victoria.
Inquiries and orders can be directed to ECPAT Australia. Telephone: (03) 9645 8911. Email: ecpat@ecpat.org
ECPAT stands for Ending Child Prostitution Pornography and Trafficking. It is a global network of organisations and individuals working together for the elimination of child prostitution, child pornography and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes. It seeks to encourage the world community to ensure that children everywhere enjoy their fundamental rights, free and secure from all forms of commercial sexual exploitation.
ECPAT Australia has been at the forefront of program innovation in preventing the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and young people in Australia and overseas. In acknowledgement of these achievements, ECPAT Australia has received many major awards, including the 1996 Australian Human Rights Award, and the 1999 ACFOA Human Rights Award.
The author offers other views and other evidence in response to Paul Drielsma's article about the importance of children's early experience in building social capital, published in the last Clearinghouse Newsletter.
In the last Clearinghouse Newsletter (vol 8, no. 2, pp. 6-11), Paul Drielsma's article 'Hard wiring young brains for intimacy' drew heavily on Bruce Perry's work to establish a case for the importance of children's early experience and brain development in building social capital. His argument can be summarised in the following quote from p. 7 of his article:
The implication of the development of an infant's capacity to connect and relate is that the creation of social capital is largely dependent on early healthy childhood experiences. . . . We cannot hope to build strong sustainable families and communities without the members of the community having this critical experience-mediated capacity for social affiliation and connection.Perry's work has been very helpful in getting the message about the need to invest in early brain development onto the public agenda and in encouraging funding for early intervention projects. There are, however, several concerns about the material promulgated by Perry and by Drielsma, and the possibilities for under-estimating the complexities and for unfortunate or unintended consequences. There are other views and other evidence about early experience and brain development that need to be considered.
'Zero to Three' - too late and too early
The first concern is that, in the words of Deborah Phillips (2000), the focus on the 'zero to three' age group 'starts too late and ends too early'. Phillips is the co-editor with Shonkoff of the recent reputable report, From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. 'Zero' is too late because it ignores the prenatal environment and the well-established and increasing empirical evidence about the effects of the pre-natal environment on children's development, including their brain development. 'Three' suggests that the die is cast at a very early age, ignoring the evidence of continuing brain plasticity well beyond the age of three, and even into adulthood, especially for some of the more complex functions. The danger of an unbalanced emphasis on the first three years is that it implies that there is little point in intervening after this time.
In Drielsma's terms, this is because there are critical periods or 'windows of opportunity' which, if missed, mean that it will not be possible to 'meet the genetic potential of that system' (Drielsma, p. 8). There are, however, alternative views on what is meant by 'early', and new and different conceptions of 'critical periods' and the plasticity of brain functioning. For example, 'early' may mean either 'early in life' or 'early in the pathway'. Both are important and have their place depending on the issue or problem. Different 'problems' are likely to require different strategies and different timing.
A focus on intervening early in the pathway and at particular transition points arises from concern about the cumulative effect of various life events and risk and protective factors on later development. The key here is to interrupt the chain of negative events and to divert the child from a pathway leading to an adverse outcome to a more positive one.
The emphasis on intervening early in life is based on concerns about the impact of early experience on brain development and what Keating and Hertzman (1999) have referred to as the 'biologically embedding' of behaviour and developmental health. This presumes that there are 'critical' and 'sensitive' periods in early development, during which particular experiences are crucial and have an impact on later development 'independent of intervening experience' (Keating and Hertzman 1999: 7).
The example Drielsma cites of children who never develop normal vision if they have had cataracts during the early months of life represents one type of 'critical period' or developmental process - what Greenough and Black (1992) call 'experience-expectant' synaptogenesis. In this process, brain growth, including the growth of synaptic connections, relies on particular forms of environmental exposure or species specific experience. In the cataract example, the visual cortex 'expects' and 'needs' exposure to light and patterned visual information to develop normal visual functioning.
Greenough and Black (1992) contrast this with 'experience-dependent developmental processes or synaptogenesis in which idiosyncratic experiences throughout life help to trigger brain growth and refine existing brain structures' (Shonkoff et al. 2000: 54). The other example Drielsma cites to support the argument for early experience concerns the subtle changes in brain functioning of people who have become stringed instrument musicians. This is an example of 'experience-dependent' development but does not rely on the experience occurring before the age of three, as Drielsma's quote implies.
Drielsma then generalises from these examples to other areas of development, saying: 'This observation about learning and development applies to behavioural, mental and physical long-term health outcomes as well' (p. 8). But there is no evidence as yet to support this claim. There is, however, evidence that these other areas of development show more plasticity and are open to influence from new experience and learning across childhood and even into adulthood. To quote Shonkoff et al. (2000: 216):
For the vast majority of brain development, including areas of the brain involved in cognitive, emotional, and social development, either questions regarding critical or sensitive periods have not been explored or it appears that the brain remains open to experiences across broad swaths of development. This makes sense. Adaptation depends on the rapid consolidation of capabilities essential to survival and the life-long flexibility to adjust to changing circumstances and lean new skills. As a result, assertions that the die has been cast by the time the child enters school are not supported by neuroscience evidence and can create unwarranted pessimism about the potential efficacy of interventions that are initiated after the preschool years.Premature statements about the negative effects of some early experiences
A second and related concern is the premature nature of some of the statements about the impact of stress on brain development and the effect it has on restricting an individual's 'sphere of concern'. While there is certainly abundant evidence of the poor developmental outcomes for children subjected to abuse and neglect, and there is also emerging evidence suggesting that the chronic activation of stress mechanisms may have deleterious effects on brain development, there are few peer-reviewed studies involving humans in this area, and Perry's web-site reference is not among them.
The one peer-reviewed study by DeBellis et al. (1999), cited by Shonkoff et al. (2000: 256-257), did indicate significant differences in brain volume and inter-connections between the left and right brain for children exposed to chronic physical and sexual abuse compared with children matched for age and sex. The effects were correlated with duration of the abuse, but not with the age of onset. As Shonkoff et al. (2000) point out, 'there is no reason to interpret these results as indicating permanent impairment', particularly in the light of studies showing the recovery of abused and neglected children who are then well cared for. It is not helpful for such children to be treated as if they will be permanently impaired and such beliefs can have unfortunate policy consequences if they are adopted uncritically.
Parent-child relationships as the sole basis for social capital development?
Third, the main argument proposed by Drielsma is that social capital formation is based on an individual's 'sphere of concern', which is turn a function of the security of children's early attachments. Drielsma (p. 9) states, for example, that: 'The ®sphere of concern' which makes us feel connected to and responsible for other people is related to attachment, which is related to reward. There is a relationship between the reward part of our brain and the attachment part of our brain.' The discussion that follows in Drielsma's article focuses on the reward system for both mother and infant in the mother-infant relationship and the neuro-biological underpinning of the reward and the attachment parts of our brain. It is certainly well accepted now that attachments with the primary care-givers set the stage for children's relationships with others, and there is some preliminary evidence about the role of responsive caregivers in buffering physiological stress reactions. But it is by no means certain 'how secure attachments function to promote and protect early development' (Shonkoff et al. 2000: 237). It is certain, however, to be much more complex than the picture provided by Perry about the link between the 'reward and attachment parts of our brains'. However, there are several conceptual issues in this argument that go beyond the adequacy of the scientific evidence, and they concern the underlying model. Although Drielsma starts with Putnam's ideas about social capital and later refers to Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, the implication of his use of the mother-infant relationship as the building block of social capital is that we need work only on this level. Bronfenbrenner's model, however, involves complex transactions within and between the individual, family, community and social levels. There is also much more involved in the formation of social capital described by Putnam than a reliance on the parent-child relationship. A great deal in social capital formation depends on what the community provides or makes possible.
Further, the approach outlined by Drielsma suggests that the influence is all in one direction, that it is simply a matter of the environment providing the child with the experiences required for children to meet their full genetic potential. While the way they are cared for by adults and others, especially in their early years, can have a significant impact on the way children develop and learn to regulate their behaviour, children with different temperaments and abilities present different challenges to caregivers. There is now considerable evidence that children have a marked effect in creating and affecting their own environment, with temperamental and other characteristics affecting the way parents, peers, and other adults relate to them. It is a complex transactional process.
More importantly, the implication that the parent-child relationship provides an overall 'fix', including the base for social capital formation, has further unfortunate policy consequences. This applies both when we ask how generational cycles of abuse and neglect can be broken, and when we ask broader questions about how the social capital of families and communities can be promoted.
Summary
In summary, none of these criticisms of Perry's and Drielsma's account are meant to deny the value of early intervention or the crucial importance of warm and responsive care-giving for children. There is certainly no reason for complacency about the significance of early experience for children's development, and it is important that we do invest in promoting and providing optimal care for young children. It is important, however, not to foreclose prematurely on single solutions.
No one denies the importance of the two goals: breaking generational cycles of abuse and neglect and the promotion of social capital at the family and community level. It is important, however, to consider more than one point of view, not to accept any uncritically, and to be careful to consider the data it is based on, and the likely policy implications.
References
Drielsma, P. (2001), 'Hard wiring young brains for intimacy', Child Abuse Prevention, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 6-11.
Keating, D.P. and Hertzman, C. (1999), Developmental Health and the Wealth of Nations, Guilford Press, New York.
Perry, B. (1998), 'Physiological measurements in the assessment of maltreated children: The physical impact on the developing brain', Invited keynote presentation at the Twelfth International ISPCAN Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect, 'Protecting children: Innovation and Inspiration', Auckland, New Zealand, 6-9 September.
Phillips, D. (2000), 'Integrating the science of early childhood development', Presented at the seminar Rethinking Early Childhood Development, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, 13 November.
Shonkoff, J.P., Phillips, D.A., and Keilty, B. (eds), Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development; Board on Children, Youth, and Families; National Research Council; Institute of Medicine (2000), Early Childhood Intervention: Views from the Field: Report of a Workshop, National Academy Press, Washington DC.
Shonkoff, J. and Phillips, D. (eds), Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development, Board on Children, Youth, and Families. (2000), From Neurons To Neighbourhoods: The Science Of Early Development, National Academy Press, Washington DC.
Paul Drielsma is the Senior Manager, Regional Centres, UnitingCare Burnside, in New South Wales.
Since the modern discovery of child physical abuse in the 1960s, knowledge of the nature and types of child abuse and neglect that may be experienced by children and young people has continued to grow. In the field of child sexual abuse, the development of the internet has led to the rapid development of a strong paedophile and child pornography cyberspace presence. For many, paedophile behaviour on the Internet represents the most recent (and quite virulent) form of child sexual abuse/exploitation that must be combated and prevented.
As a result, efforts have begun to focus on creating a safe environment for children who surf this new virtual world, and ensuring the right of children to protection from harmful and illegal material.
Developed under the auspices of UNESCO, The World Citizens' Movement to Protect Innocence in Danger (IID) in March 2000, an Australia-based non-profit organisation, kIDs.ap, has been formed to provide information to the Asia-Pacific region that helps to eradicate child pornography and the activities of child molesters or paedophiles on the Internet.
Following the aims of Innocence in Danger Í "to support their endeavours to protect children online, to sensitise world opinion and to mobilise resources" (Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO) Í kIDs.ap has mobilised regional support for an online presence designed to provide information to parents, children, professionals, volunteer workers, academics and others who accept responsibility to protect and empower children against sexual exploitation via the Internet (online services). It aims to prevent the sexual exploitation of children via online services in the Asia-Pacific region by providing a website that highlights this problem through the provision of timely information of general and academic value.
Stage One of the development of kIDs.ap Internet resources was the successful launch of the kIDs.ap website in March, 2001. The site provides: a guide to safe surfing and safety tips; material describing the dynamics of paedophile activity and the use of child pornography; and the activities of paedophiles online. It also contains an online survey that enables visitors to anonymously provide information about their use of safe surfing tips, experiences of online child exploitation/pornography, and their views on the site and its future development.
A key component of the Stage One website is a confidential email system that enables parents, children and other users to access professional advice from a large number of professionals located in countries across Asia-Pacific. kIDs.ap is continuing to actively recruit professionals from across the region to join the expert panel of supporters who provide specialist email advice. Interested professionals are encouraged to contact the Executive for further information.
In Stage Two, further development of the website will include the creation of an email forum for kIDs.ap members to facilitate information sharing and networking, to produce a comprehensive list of the services available in member countries for families, and to provide access to current research material.
The Executive of kIDs.ap are all professionals working full-time in the areas of victims/offender counselling, child protection advocacy, and law enforcement. For logistical reasons they are all based in Victoria, Australia; however, the aim is to include executive members from other countries in the region over time. kIDs.ap members, contributors and supporters are child protection professionals and concerned citizens resident in the Asia/Pacific region.
What has been achieved to date, has been done without corporate sponsorship and would not have been possible without the generous support of ECPAT Australia, kIDs.ap's sponsoring non-government agency, Echo Beach TNW who designed the website, Dr Chris Yates (IT specialist), and Ms Alice MacDougall (Freehill, Hollingdale and Page, Solicitors). kIDs.ap is currently seeking corporate sponsorship to fund the organisation.
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