How can we talk about child protection without talking about child protection?
Language used by professionals when describing or speaking with parents of children within child protection services can be stigmatizing and harmful. Professionals across health, welfare and childhood education sectors frequently encounter parents who are experiencing multiple social, economic, and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Child Protection and Practice |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950193825000282 |
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| _version_ | 1850056680748875776 |
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| author | Lauren Elizabeth Lines Sarah Hunter Amy Marshall Tahlia Johnson Megan Aston |
| author_facet | Lauren Elizabeth Lines Sarah Hunter Amy Marshall Tahlia Johnson Megan Aston |
| author_sort | Lauren Elizabeth Lines |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Language used by professionals when describing or speaking with parents of children within child protection services can be stigmatizing and harmful. Professionals across health, welfare and childhood education sectors frequently encounter parents who are experiencing multiple social, economic, and health adversities that impact their children's health, development, wellbeing, or physical safety. Families experiencing multiple adversities are often caught within intergenerational cycles of disadvantage and marginalisation which are difficult to escape. A public health response to child protection responds to those experiencing adversities and provides prevention, early support, and responses before situations escalate to where children's safety is under threat. Nurses, social workers, physicians, midwives, and lawyers are some examples of professionals who form the broader network of health, welfare, and early childhood professionals who are well-placed for child protection public health responses to prevention and early intervention that empowers families to disrupt intergenerational disadvantage. Language used throughout society and across health, welfare and education sectors to respond to families experiencing adversities including violence and maltreatment may inadvertently further marginalise these families and reduce their willingness to seek and accept support. This language has particularly significant consequences when used across government policy, health and welfare systems and by service providers and practitioners to enact a child protection public health response. This paper firstly summarises the historical and social context shaping the language used when supporting families impacted by violence and child maltreatment, and concludes with strategies to address unhelpful language that can perpetuate marginalisation and stigma. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1129b5a63deb404686d3003289cc4c3d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2950-1938 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Child Protection and Practice |
| spelling | doaj-art-1129b5a63deb404686d3003289cc4c3d2025-08-20T02:51:39ZengElsevierChild Protection and Practice2950-19382025-04-01410012110.1016/j.chipro.2025.100121How can we talk about child protection without talking about child protection?Lauren Elizabeth Lines0Sarah Hunter1Amy Marshall2Tahlia Johnson3Megan Aston4Caring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, 5001, South Australia, Australia; Corresponding author.Caring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, 5001, South Australia, AustraliaCaring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, 5001, South Australia, AustraliaCaring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, 5001, South Australia, AustraliaSchool of Nursing, Faculty of Health, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, CanadaLanguage used by professionals when describing or speaking with parents of children within child protection services can be stigmatizing and harmful. Professionals across health, welfare and childhood education sectors frequently encounter parents who are experiencing multiple social, economic, and health adversities that impact their children's health, development, wellbeing, or physical safety. Families experiencing multiple adversities are often caught within intergenerational cycles of disadvantage and marginalisation which are difficult to escape. A public health response to child protection responds to those experiencing adversities and provides prevention, early support, and responses before situations escalate to where children's safety is under threat. Nurses, social workers, physicians, midwives, and lawyers are some examples of professionals who form the broader network of health, welfare, and early childhood professionals who are well-placed for child protection public health responses to prevention and early intervention that empowers families to disrupt intergenerational disadvantage. Language used throughout society and across health, welfare and education sectors to respond to families experiencing adversities including violence and maltreatment may inadvertently further marginalise these families and reduce their willingness to seek and accept support. This language has particularly significant consequences when used across government policy, health and welfare systems and by service providers and practitioners to enact a child protection public health response. This paper firstly summarises the historical and social context shaping the language used when supporting families impacted by violence and child maltreatment, and concludes with strategies to address unhelpful language that can perpetuate marginalisation and stigma.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950193825000282Social Determinants of healthViolenceChild abuseChild healthParentsHealth workforce |
| spellingShingle | Lauren Elizabeth Lines Sarah Hunter Amy Marshall Tahlia Johnson Megan Aston How can we talk about child protection without talking about child protection? Child Protection and Practice Social Determinants of health Violence Child abuse Child health Parents Health workforce |
| title | How can we talk about child protection without talking about child protection? |
| title_full | How can we talk about child protection without talking about child protection? |
| title_fullStr | How can we talk about child protection without talking about child protection? |
| title_full_unstemmed | How can we talk about child protection without talking about child protection? |
| title_short | How can we talk about child protection without talking about child protection? |
| title_sort | how can we talk about child protection without talking about child protection |
| topic | Social Determinants of health Violence Child abuse Child health Parents Health workforce |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950193825000282 |
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