Safeguarding Children and Young People: This essay looks at how to spot child abuse, what to do if child abuse is spotted and how to support children and young people who are victims of abuse.

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Ian Lowenhoff                

Suspected Child Abuse

In this task I am going to use a case study to explain:

  • The factors that would lead to suspicion of child maltreatment or abuse.
  • Appropriate responses when child maltreatment or abuse is suspected
  • The strategies and methods that can be used to support children, young people and their families where abuse is suspected or confirmed.

Consequences of Maltreatment (P3)

Unfortunately the consequences of child maltreatment are usually if not always long term effects on the child. The child may have low self esteem and low confidence in childhood and throughout later life, preventing them from achieving as highly as they might have done if they had not been maltreated. Due to the way their parents brought them up, children who have been abused usually will parent in the same way causing harm, being neglectful and they may even become abusers themselves. Long term effects may include social inadequacy because children who have been abused sexually may find it difficult to form intimate relationships later in life and may be unable to trust other people even people they love because of how their parents treated them.

More obvious consequences of maltreatment are the effects that physical abuse has had on individuals. Children’s immune system may be damaged meaning they are more prone to auto-immune disorders such as arthritis. Physical abuse may include sexual abuse which can result in unwanted pregnancies, STDs and STIs. Shockingly some physical abuse can be so severe that it results in children being disabled for the rest of their life because bodily functions have been damaged.

As a result of the emotional effects of abuse individuals may experience a wide range of mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Unfortunately attempted suicide is not uncommon especially amongst children who have been sexually abused. Children and young people who attempt to commit suicide usually do so because they feel worthless.

The Case Study

This reflective case study’s aim is to provide a written account of how the signs of child maltreatment would be spotted by a support worker at an infant’s school, how the support worker responded to these signs and what strategies and methods they used or might have used to support the child and the family when the abuse had been suspected or confirmed. The names that I am going to use in the case study are totally fictional.

Ronan works as a support worker in a reception class at an infant’s school where the children are aged between 4 and 5 years. The class Ronan works in is very small and one day Ronan notices some changes in the appearance and behaviour of one of the children called Tallulah. Ronan first suspected maltreatment of Tallulah after noticing that she smelled badly of odours as if she had not washed in a long time but Ronan passed these potential maltreatment indicators off because he felt it was not his place to judge how parents looked after their children. Later on when maltreatment had been discovered Ronan reflected that the poor hygiene Tallulah showed was evidence of poor parenting skills or more likely neglect. A few days later Ronan noticed changes to Tallulah’s appearance: she had a bruise on her eye and she had burns on the palms of her hands. When asked why she had these injuries Ronan was given an answer that did not make sense because the reasons Tallulah gave did not point towards the injuries that Tallulah had. After these episodes of events Ronan began to be concerned for Tallulah’s welfare and he began to decide how to respond appropriately.

Before he responded to the suspected maltreatment of Tallulah, Ronan thought about how strangely Tallulah’s behaviour was compared to her other class mates. Tallulah was very quiet and withdrawn in class but this had always been the case and did not necessarily point to child maltreatment alone. However Ronan had also noticed other behavioural signs that when added up did point towards maltreatment. Ronan had noticed that Tallulah although not aggressive had appeared to be stressed on various occasions. He noticed this after occasions where she became very worried about minor events. He also noticed this after Tallulah had displayed some odd behaviour. When sitting in her chair she would rock her head back and forth repetitively, an indication that she had something serious on her mind. Besides showing signs of stress in her behaviour Tallulah’s behaviour also showed that she might be being neglected because she was always saying that she was hungry and when presented with treats to be shared on special occasions Tallulah appeared very greedy which was unusual behaviour by her standards. A final odd behaviour that indicated Tallulah may be being abused at home was noticed when it was time for Tallulah and the other children to go home. Tallulah was always very reluctant to go home and would usually try to find excuses to avoid going home.

Ronan could also remember a week earlier he had met Tallulah’s mother (a rare occurrence) at a parents evening. Ronan thought about how Tallulah and her mother had acted when they were together and he remember something strange about their behaviour and the way that they spoke to each other. The way that they were interacting with each other demonstrated to Ronan a lack of attachment which is odd to see between a mother and her 4 year old child. Ronan also noticed that Tallulah’s mother looked unhealthy and she was covering her arm as if she had cut it – signs of substance abuse which often leads to abuse or neglect of an individual’s children.

Other indicators of maltreatment (P3)

Employees of institutions such as schools and nurseries are often required by local authorities to be trained to spot signs and symptoms of abuse or maltreatment. Employees should also be aware of how to respond when abuse or maltreatment is suspected and the policies and procedures to be followed should always be easily available to look at.

I am now going to explain other factors that indicate maltreatment that I chose not to include in my case study. A physical indicator which is a common indicator of sexual abuse is soreness around the genitals or the anus. Another physical indicator which is a common indicator of sexual abuse is genital and urinary infections. Genital and urinary infects are not always caused by sexual abuse but are also caused by the individual having a weak immune system because they have been neglected.

Aggression is a behavioural indicator that a child is suffering abuse at home. Some children are more aggressive than others. If an individual has always been aggressive then it is much harder to spot that they may be being abused compared to an individual who behaves aggressively and is very out of their usual character. Another behavioural indicator of abuse is low self-esteem. Low self-esteem can be a result of many events unrelated to child abuse but child abuse may cause low self-esteem because the individual who has been abused does not feel valued by their parent(s)/guardian(s) because they have been a victim of violence, sexual abuse or neglect.

Another indicator that I was not able to include in the case study because this indicator would only become noticed over a long period of time is an indicator that affects an individual’s education and is known as ‘development delay’. This is when an individual’s intellectual progression is much slower than it should be because they are being held back by emotional and social problems caused by sexual abuse, exploitation, violence or neglect. This theory of indication is supported by Maslow’s higherachy of needs which explains that individuals cannot function at a higher level if their fundamental needs are not being met.

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Wider factors which may suggest maltreatment of children or young people which need to be considered include:

  • Dysfunctional family relationships: this is where a family become just a group of people living together who are no longer supporting each other in the way you would expect a family to support each other. If an individual is living with a dysfunctional family then they are more likely to be neglected or abused.
  • Child or young person carrying out abuse: this is where the abuse is carried out by another child or young person. This type of abuse is ...

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