The purpose of this article is to find out the significance of international perspectives for research on child abuse and neglect. Child abuse is not a new phenomenon. Increased international communication and exposure has brought awareness in many that child abuse is a phenomenon intrinsic to all human society since the beginning of time. Abuse…

As a result of the rapid increase in technological development and the widespread use of computer-based communication and information sharing via the internet, regulation relating to child protection has become a serious issue of concern. This concern is shared across many countries around the world, including those in Africa. But the issue of…

War is so devastating that if at all possible, it should be avoided. But if reasoning and negotiation fail to yield peace between nations and countries and war results, the loss to children must be minimized. In the last decade, two million children have been killed in wars and conflicts, 4.5 million have been disabled and 12 million have been…

The problem of child sexual abuse has gained an increasing amount of national attention in the past decade. Intra-familial sexual relations, incest, appears to be the predominant form of child sexual abuse. Seventy to 80 percent of sexual abuse occurs with affinity systems--families, relatives, friends, and neighbors. Child sexual abuse has been…

At the beginning of this paper what is known about the effects of maltreatment on children is described. From that discussion, a general impression of the nature and quality of current knowledge emerges, with a focus on theoretical and methodological implications. It is concluded that reports on the physical, social, emotional, and…

Efforts to prevent the abuse and neglect of children requires: professionals and citizens who care to make a difference; development of multidisciplinary units, teams, or organizations to deal with specific parts of the problem; a clear statement of child protection policy; programs that work; commitment to research and program evaluation; and a…

Inadequate preparation for parenting during the prenatal period, and the inability to provide adequate parenting have been cited as major reasons for a myriad of problems experienced by parents. This study examined support and education programs based on the aggregate 7-year experience of over 75 support and education programs funded by the…

The paper describes a federally funded project of the University of Alberta (Canada) addressing sexual assault and sexual abuse of people with disabilities. Written in outline style, the paper briefly describes project activities and general conclusions. Phase I of the project documented the nature and extent of the problem. It was concluded that…

This paper provides an introduction to the nature and extent of the various forms of child abuse, including physical injury, neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional maltreatment. It identifies the behavioral, emotional, and physical characteristics of abuse and neglect, as manifested within the school setting; lists factors that pose a risk for…

With heightened national attention to the problem of child sexual abuse, school districts have responded by seeking out and implementing prevention programs in an attempt to prevent abuse from occurring. Unfortunately, many such programs are based on questionable assumptions, limited understanding of how children learn and process information, and…

Professional educational organizations such as The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) recognize the special needs of abused and neglected children and the responsibility of the entire professional community to offer services to meet these needs. CEC is presently involved in the design of a training program for educators that combines a…

This paper discusses the development of evaluation strategies for a nonprofit child abuse prevention agency in Maryland. The Family Tree, an organization associated with National Parents Anonymous and the National Exchange Club Foundation for the Prevention of Child Abuse, serves more than 15,000 people per year through community training,…

The Abuse Prevention program of the Santa Barbara (California) public schools has been providing presentations to students for the past 18 years. This study examined the impact of this abuse prevention program through the self-reports of former participants. Data were collected from 138 high school students, 84 of whom were male. Approximately…

The FamiliesFirst project in Davis, California is a child abuse prevention project designed to keep abused children safely at home. During the first year of operation, FamiliesFirst provided in-home prevention services to 59 children in 26 families referred by county Child Protective Services as an alternative to out-of-home placement. Therapists,…

The number of child sexual abuse prevention programs incorporated into school curricula has increased steadily in the past decade. This longitudinal study evaluated the effects of a school-based, child sexual abuse prevention program on child abuse reports in nine school districts over a five-year period. Districts had been randomly assigned to…