Understandings of disability are situated within social, political and economic circumstances. Internationally, medical conceptualisations of disability prevail, influencing policy and practice, creating a discourse which encourages categorisation, diagnosis and prescribed ways of understanding behaviour. This body of knowledge has a profound…

In May 2012, nine men from Rochdale were convicted and jailed for grooming girls with alcohol, drugs and gifts before forcing them to have sex with multiple men. Following the case in Rochdale similar cases of grooming and sexual abuse/exploitation of young girls came to light in various towns and cities across the UK. In 2017, the BBC aired the…

This paper offers a genealogical account of safeguarding in sport. Drawing specifically on Foucault's work, it examines the "politics of touch" in relation to the social and historical formation of child protection policy in sports coaching. While the analysis has some resonance with the context of coaching as a whole, for illustrative…

Child services organisations need policies that minimise the risk of sexual abuse of the children in their care. In particular, managers (and the public) are justifiably concerned when abuse is perpetrated by individuals who should not have been working with children in the first place. Unfortunately, there has been relatively little work on…

In the UK, the discourse of innocence currently prevails as a major way of understanding children. This article argues that the strength of this discourse lies in its prevalence, its resistance to challenges and the ways in which it connects ideas of innocence and vulnerability. The moral quality of the discourse of innocence works in conjunction…

The present paper provides an overview of child sexual exploitation in Northern Ireland and related issues. It focuses on Barnardo's response to the problem of sexual exploitation and sets it in both a historical and a contemporary context. The paper considers the importance of recognising exploitation as child abuse and addresses specific myths…

This study identified and investigated the incidence of childhood trauma and psychopathology across a population of parents with intellectual disabilities (IDs) known to a parenting service in the United Kingdom over a 5-year period and examined the emotional and physical welfare of their children. Data were gathered from 49 parents with ID and 58…

This discussion paper, which addresses the abuse of children in residential establishments, is presented in outline form and includes comments and contributions from a wide range of professionals working in various settings. An introduction notes the reported increase in sexual abuse of children in institutions, a variety of proposed monitoring…