Introduction to Child Abuse and Neglect

Introduction to Child Abuse and Neglect

Child abuse and neglect represents a profound failure of the proper alignment of authority and responsibility. Children are, by definition, unequal to adults in terms of physical size and abilities, intellect, and understanding of the social and emotional world. They do not have the same legal rights and cannot access the resources available to adults. Adults who are bigger and more powerful are entrusted with children and expected to manage themselves physically, sexually, and emotionally in ways that do not hurt children.

Children are more often abused by those within their family or immediate circle, by a person who has formed a relationship of trust who exploit the child’s earlier attachment relationships. This is a profound betrayal as the abuser takes a process which is positive and life affirming and the basis for future significant relationships and uses it to gain the trust and co-operation of the child. This implicates the child in the abuse and leaves them with a belief that they were complicit and to blame and locks them into silence. If the abuse is initially framed as ‘a game’ that may be confusing but not physically hurtful or disturbing, it may only be that as the behaviours escalate or the child becomes older that they begin to become distressed. By now they feel that this was mutual and agreed upon and carry responsibility that does not belong to them. Not only has the abuser shamed the child and made them feel they colluded in creating the abuse, but it also calls into question the reliability and protectiveness of other adults. This may be exploited by the abuser who tells the child that their parent asked them to ‘teach’ the child these things and that this is an ordinary and normal activity or should they speak no-one will believe them. Alternately they may tell the child that if they disclose the abuser will go to jail or kill themselves. Such consequences are particularly horrifying where the adult has become a special person in the life of a child who was neglected in the family but became ‘special’ to this person. A tangle of lies, deception and distortion of experience and fact leave a child carrying the responsibility but with no capacity to manage the consequences.

Those who abuse are often skilled at managing the relationships around the child to further protect themselves. They may connect with the parent and develop a position of trust within the family which gives them ready access to the child and further undermines the child’s conviction that they will be believed. As the abuse continues the child will find themselves increasingly different from their peers and if they do attempt to confide in friends find they are not understood, further enhancing their isolation.

Application of the Bower Place Approach

The Bower Place Method with its four meta-frames provides a structure to analyse and effectively intervene in matters which are deeply distressing to families, workers, and practitioners. The structure ‘holds’ the practitioner as they make sense of complex and confusing stories and explanations and appeals from competing sources to view the situation through their eyes. Central to this is a child who has already been hurt who the practitioner has been entrusted to guide through the disarray.

As in all matters, the primary meta frame is that of authority and responsibility which has been corrupted by the abuse…

To read the full article, subscribe to Advanced.

To see the full article as well as complete access to our bower(Knowledge), sign up to one of our subscription packages here.