Child Protection and Disabled Children - Rights at Risk

1
Child Protection and Disabled Children - Rights
at Risk

• Prof Kirsten Stalker, Dr Pam Green Lister,
• Jennifer Lerpiniere, Katherine McArthur
• University of Strathclyde

2
Study Aims

• to scope current knowledge about child protection
  and disabled children
• to review current social policy and practice in
  the field in the UK
• to pilot ways to seek disabled children's views
  about child protection services

3
Methods

• literature review
• policy analysis England, Wales, Scotland and
  Northern Ireland
• 10 key informant interviews at national level
• interviews with four disabled children using
  child protection services

4
Headlines from Literature Review

• incidence of abuse 3.4 times greater for disabled
  children
• those with communication impairments, behavioural
  disorders, learning disabilities and sensory
  impairments most at risk

5
Literature Review contd

• evidence of under-reporting in UK and other
  countries
• increased vulnerability factors for disabled
  children
• unhelpful myths stereotypes
• indications that disabled children get lesser
  treatment in UK safeguarding systems

6
Child Protection Policy England

• mainstreaming approach
• generic guidance highlights implications for
  disabled children
• separate guidance re disabled children 2006
  updated 2009
• social exclusion/ social model of disability
  focus
• wide-ranging substantial policies
  cross-referenced between disability and
  safeguarding arenas

7
Child Protection Policies Wales

• Wales tends to follow English lead although no
  dedicated guidance
• has addressed CP/ disabled children
  systematically, often in detail
• social exclusion/ social model of disability
  focus

8
Child Protections PoliciesNorthern Ireland

• no dedicated guidance
• balance between including disabled children in
  generic guidance and highlighting their
  vulnerability/ support needs
• new legislation has potential to put them at the
  forefront of CP practice.

9
Child Protection Policy Scotland

• 2002 CP Reform Programme very littler attention
  to disabled children
• mainstreamed to near invisibility in a series
  of documents
• new draft guidance has 3 pages on risks for
  disabled children and some references in generic
  sections

10
Key Informant Views

• under reporting of abuse
• communicating with disabled children
• differential treatment in CP system
• joint working

11
Implications for Policy and Practice

• governments should publish nos. of disabled
  children on CP registers
• closer joint working between childrens teams in
  social work, and across social work, health,
  education, police and vol orgs
• joint training at all levels with involvement of
  disabled people

12
Implications for Policy and Practice contd.

• a child protection system more accessible to
  disabled children and sensitive to needs
• safety training, sex education and rights
  awareness for disabled children
• need more preventive and therapeutic work
• inspection processes to pay particular attention
  to disabled children