The objective of this study was to determine some of the effects of child protective service investigations on families, children and the workers, when the allegations are determined to be unfounded and no abuse and/or neglect is further suspected.

This study was conducted in an effort to explore the attitudes and knowledge held by law enforcement officers regarding child maltreatment. This study was completely exploratory in nature, with no hypothesis about the outcome.

Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies / MPM

Barnmisshandel genom sjukvårdsinsatser (BMSI) innebär att ett barn blir utsatt för onödiga sjukvårdskontakter med olika undersökningar och behandlingar. Personen som definieras som förövare är vanligtvis den biologiska modern till barnet, men det kan även vara en annan person i barnets närhet. Studiens syfte var att undersöka socialsekreterares erfarenhet av BMSI samt att undersöka hur samverkan mellan socialtjänst, polis, åklagare, barnläkare och barnpsykiatriker organiseras. Vidare undersöktes om socialsekreterare som jobbat med denna typen av fall kan urskilja specifika framgångsfaktorer i arbetet med BMSI. Frågeställningarna var: Vilka erfarenheter beskriver socialsekreterarna när det gäller BMSI? Hur organiseras samverkan mellan socialtjänst, polis, åklagare, barnläkare och barnpsykiatriker när det föreligger misstanke om BMSI? Vilka framgångsfaktorer anser socialsekreterare är viktiga i ärenden med misstanke om BMSI? För att besvara syfte och frågeställningar genomfördes en kvalitativ intervju och 73 enkäter lämnades ut till en grupp för socionomer. Systemteori användes som teoretiskt perspektiv för analysen eftersom socialarbetare behöver se på barnets situation i och mellan dess omgivning. Resultatet av studien visar att det finns en hög risk för att BMSI inte anmäls till socialtjänsten samt en risk för att ärenden inte utreds som BMSI på grund av kunskapsbrist. Annan vårdnadshavare eller anhöriga var de som i lägst grad anmälde oro för ett utsatt barn trots att det kan antas att de som är närmast bör vara de som slår larm först. Slutsatserna som kunde dras utifrån resultatet var att samverkan och ökad kunskap var två viktiga framgångsfaktorer. / Medical child abuse (MCA) means that a child is exposed to unnecessary health contacts with various examinations and treatments. The person defined as the perpetrator is usually the biological mother of the child, but it may also be another person in the child's vicinity. The aim was to investigate social secretaries’ experience of MCA and to investigate how collaboration between social services, police, prosecutors, pediatricians and pediatric psychiatrists is organized. It was also investigated whether social secretaries who have worked with these types of cases can discern specific success factors in their work with MCA. The questions were: What experiences does the Social Secretaries describe regarding MCA? How is collaboration between social services, police, prosecutors, pediatricians and child psychiatrists organized when there is a suspicion of MCA? What success factors do social secretaries consider important in cases of suspicion of MCA? A qualitative interview was conducted, and 73 questionnaires were handed out to a group for social workers. System theory was used as a theoretical perspective for the analysis as social workers need to see the child's situation in and between its surroundings. The results of the study show that there is a high risk that MCA will not be reported to the social services and a risk that cases will not be investigated as MCA due to a lack of knowledge. Other custodians or relatives were those who reported the least concern for a vulnerable child, although it may be assumed that those closest to them should be the ones who ‘sound the alarm’ first. The conclusions drawn from the results were that collaboration and increased knowledge were two important success factors.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Literature and Philosophy)) --University of Limpopo, 2021 / The purpose of this study is to examine the violation of men’s rights in selected Xitsonga drama texts. The study is guided by qualitative approach. The approach involves collecting and analysing non - numerical data to understand concepts, opinions or experiences. In this study purposive sampling is employed. The researcher deliberately chooses who to include in the study based on their ability to provide the necessary data. Data are collected using content and document analysis from sampled drama texts. Like other analytical methods in qualitative research methods, documents analysis requires that data be examined and interpreted in order to elicit meaning, gain understanding and develop empirical knowledge. The advantage of document analysis includes, efficiency which means that it is not time consuming but is more efficient than other research methods. Its effectiveness entails that it is less costly and makes it the method of choice. Thematic analysis is also used as the method of systematically identifying, organising and offering insight into patterns of meaning (themes) across dataset. The process involves a careful more focussed, re – reading and review of data. Two main reasons to use thematic analysis are its accessibility and flexibility. Nhlonipha theory is tested in this study. Hlonipha can be described as politeness register originating from Nguni and primarily used by Zulu women before and after marriage (Rudwick & Msibi, 2016). The motive behind using this theory is that if you hlonipha you cannot violate another person’s rights but you will have to respect them. The study finds out that men become victims of abuse, and the violation of their rights is just as criminal as the violation of the rights of their female counterparts. This study also inspires harmony and peaceful coexistence among consumers of its content. It is recommended that more studies of similar kind should be undertaken to influence humanity to desist from violating the rights of other human beings. KEYWORDS Man abuse, woman abuse, child abuse, human rights, violation of rights, nhlonipha

La maltraitance des enfants est un problème critique qui touche environ un milliard d'enfants dans le monde chaque année. Les blessures qui persistent toute leur vie, les handicaps ou même la mort sont des conséquences risquées découlant de la maltraitance des enfants. Plusieurs approches, y compris les Jeux Sérieux (SGs), ont été conçues pour éduquer les individus sur la maltraitance des enfants et comment la prévenir. Cependant, les SGs qui sont présentement en existence se concentrent uniquement sur l’intimidation ou les abus sexuels chez les enfants et non sur toutes les formes possibles de maltraitance des enfants. De plus, la plupart des ressources concernant la prévention de la maltraitance des enfants s'adressent aux adultes et non aux enfants. Ce travail se concentre sur la conception d'un SG appelé ZeroAbuse qui englobe les quatre types de maltraitance des enfants: Physique, Émotionnel, Abus Sexuel et Négligence. Il combine les principes d'apprentissage, les éléments pour immerger le joueur dans le jeu et les critères de qualité des programmes de prévention. ZeroAbuse s'adresse aux enfants âgés de 9 à 11 ans, qui sont exposés de manière homogène à tous les types de maltraitance. Il tient également compte des compétences cognitives et physiques propres aux enfants de cet âge. La conception du SG a pris en compte les perspectives d'experts en prévention de la maltraitance des enfants et a été testée sur la population cible afin d’améliorer l'expérience de jeu et valider l'approche d'apprentissage. / Child abuse is a critical problem affecting approximately one billion children worldwide annually. Lifelong injuries, disabilities, or even fatalities are risky consequences derived from child abuse. Several approaches, including Serious Games (SGs), have been designed to educate individuals about child abuse and how to prevent it. However, existing SGs focus only on bullying or sexual abuse and not all possible forms of child abuse. In addition, most of the existing resources for child abuse prevention are aimed at adults and not at children. This work focuses on designing an SG called ZeroAbuse that encompasses the four types of child abuse: Physical, Emotional, Sexual abuse and Neglect. It combines the principles of learning, the elements to immerse the player into the game, and the quality criteria of prevention programs. ZeroAbuse is aimed at children aged 9 to 11 years, given that they show homogeneous participation in all types of abuse. It also considers the cognitive and physical competencies of children at this age. The SG design considers the perspectives of experts in child abuse prevention and was tested on the target population to enhance the game experience and validate the learning approach.

Over the past several years, increasing public emphasis on preventing child maltreatment has resulted in substantial changes to Florida's child abuse and neglect central registry. Many of these recent changes, aimed at preventing child maltreatment, have resulted in over one million false, unsubstantiated, and inconclusive reports of child abuse and neglect within the last decade. While the information held in reports may be useful for identifying and preventing potential child abuse or neglect, due process concerns have been raised with regards to the process of placing a person's name in a report without providing a hearing for challenging or removing inaccurate information. Focusing on Florida law, this research concentrates on: 1) the child maltreatment reporting process, 2) the procedures for maintaining reports, and 3) the accessibility of these reports in order to determine whether due process constitutional rights are protected under Florida's child abuse and neglect reporting laws. The intent of this thesis is to analyze the occurrence of unsubstantiated cases of child maltreatment, incidences of false reporting, and legal remedies available for those wrongfully accused of abusing or neglecting a child. Through the analysis of case law, federal and state statutes, available statistics, child abuse resources, and personal interviews with members of the Florida Legislature, evidence shows that due process constitutional rights are not protected under Florida's child abuse and neglect reporting laws. By raising awareness of the areas of child protection that require legal re-evaluation, this thesis aims to discover the balance between protecting children from harm and protecting adults from the severe ramifications resulting from false and improper allegations of child abuse and neglect.

Thousands of children are abused each year in Sweden. Those children may be harmed physically or psychologically, and it often leads to psychic and emotional damage. This provides consequences both for the individual and for the society. Under Swedish law, the nurse is obligated to report suspected child abuse. Despite this, research shows that only fifty percent of the actual child abuse is reported by the health care staff. The aim of this study has been to investigate the nurses' experience of suspected child abuse. It was carried out as a literature study where ten articles were reviewed. The result shows that by observing the child and parents the nurse can discover some signs and abnormal behavior in the child, parents or both. Those can point in a direction that leads to suspicion of child abuse. Nurses with long professional experience were the ones who were safest in their assessment. The nurses were also influenced by their personal experience and their own values, ethics and morals. Nurses feel that suspected child abuse is a difficult matter that evoke much emotion. It is desirable with support from management and colleagues and time for self-reflection. Education leads to increased competence and safer conclusions by the nurses. It requires a great amount of courage to want to observe and dare question. With proper knowledge the nurse has a key role in being able to identify the signs and symptoms of abuse. She will also have the opportunity to act as the child's representative to protect the children.

Several studies have found a number of internalizing (i.e., depressive and anxiety disorders) and externalizing (i.e., attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, oppositional-defiant disorder) disorders to be prevalent among youth who have experienced child maltreatment. Several studies have also demonstrated that aspects of the maltreatment experiences and family environment may potentially predict the severity or magnitude of psychopathology among maltreated children. The purpose of this study was to determine potential abuse-related (i.e., frequency, severity, relation to perpetrator, age at onset, other forms of maltreatment) and family environment (i.e., cohesion, adaptability) predictors of psychological comorbidity in sexually abused children with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Participants included 75 (56 female) clinically-referred children and adolescents aged 5.89-17.12 years (mean=10.95, SD=3.114) and their parents. Measures included the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children, Epidemiological Version, the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales, third edition, and a questionnaire assessing demographic and abuse-related information. Based on diagnostic status, participants were assigned to the Simple PTSD group (no comorbid diagnoses), the Internalizing group (met criteria for a depressive or anxiety disorder but no externalizing disorders), or the Global group (met criteria for an externalizing disorder and may or may not have met criteria for an internalizing disorder). Multinomial logistic regression models were estimated and odds ratio cutoff values were utilized to determine clinically significant predictors of comorbidity group. Results indicated that males were more likely to be in one of the comorbid groups (either Internalizing or Global groups) than females, and those who were abused multiple times were more likely to be in one of the two comorbid groups than participants who experienced one incident of abuse. Similarly, participants who had lower levels of family cohesion and adaptability were more likely to be in one of the comorbid groups than those who had higher levels of family cohesion and adaptability. Younger participants and those who had experienced penetration were more likely to have an externalizing diagnosis (i.e., be in the Global group) than older participants and those who had experienced less physically invasive forms of sexual abuse. Results are discussed in light of previous research and theoretical models of heterogeneous presentations of childhood traumatic stress.

Introduction The aims of this thesis were twofold. The first was to systematically review the literature, on the influence of childhood trauma on psychopathology, across a range of forensic settings. The second was to complete an empirical study that examined the relationship between childhood trauma and insecure attachment patterns and psychopathology, risk, and engagement in therapy, in a forensic population. Method For the first aim database searches and hand searches of journals assessed against predefined criteria, identified 13 papers that were eligible for review. For the research study, 64 participants from three forensic secure hospitals completed three self-report questionnaires as part of a retrospective cross-sectional design. Data was also obtained from hospital records and clinical staff. Results The systematic review identified ten studies that were rated to be of good quality, two that were rated to be of fair quality and one that was rated as weak. Results identified a relationship between childhood trauma and psychopathology, but it is difficult to generalise findings due to the heterogeneity of this population. The research study found both childhood trauma and insecure attachment significantly predicted psychopathology and risk. No associations with engagement in therapy were found, but methodological reasons for this outcome were considered. Conclusion The systematic review highlighted that research in the area of childhood trauma and psychopathology in forensic settings is at an early stage, as most studies are small and cross-sectional. It discussed the need to develop further research to improve psychological treatment and reduce recidivism. Recommendations were made in the research study to routinely assess for childhood trauma and consider attachment patterns. Limitations in the design of the study were also acknowledged.