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60 Child Protection and Welfare Practice Handbook 3.2.1 Age of the child Risk factors and early years – the vulnerabilities of infants • The majority of child deaths from abuse and neglect are of children under the age of 4, when children are most vulnerable to physical attacks and to dangers created by lack of supervision and severe neglect, and are isolated from professionals, such as teachers, who might intervene to protect them. • This age group is more at risk of being maltreated when they are growing up in families affected by parental substance misuse, domestic violence and mental ill health. • Experiences of abuse and neglect can cause distress, emotional and physical pain, and overwhelming fear or terror in response to sudden separations, experiencing neglect, being assaulted or witnessing violence. • Exposure to trauma affects every dimension of an infant’s psychological functioning (e.g. emotional regulation, behaviour, response to stress and interaction with others). Very young infants may be overwhelmed with intense negative emotions, manifesting in incessant crying, inability to be soothed, feeding problems, sleep disturbances, hyper-arousal and hyper-vigilance, and intense distress during transitions. Toddlers may experience intense separation anxiety, wariness of strangers, social avoidance and withdrawal, and constricted affect and play. They are likely to have reduced tolerance of frustration and problems with emotional regulation, evident in intractable tantrums, non-compliance and negativism, aggression and controlling behaviour. Risk factors and adolescents Risks factors specific to adolescents and young people include: adolescent mental health problems; • self-harm and/or suicide; • involvement with, or fear of, gang-related violence; • sexual exploitation; • teenage domestic violence. • The neglect of older children and adolescents is difficult to recognise and too often goes unnoticed (see p. 21, ‘Indicators of neglect in older children’).
3.2.2 Domestic and Sexual Violence Social Work Procedures and Practice Domestic violence occurs across society regardless of age, gender, race, sexuality, wealth and geography. Domestic violence is generally underreported, but the 2005 study Domestic Abuse of Women and Men in Ireland: Report on the National Study of Domestic Abuse shows that 1 in 7 women and 1 in 17 men surveyed experienced severely abusive behaviour from an intimate partner at some time in their lives (National Crime Council and ESRI, 2005). Messages from research Even though men are also victims of domestic violence, the majority of victims are women. A major study of police reports and crime surveys in the UK, USA and Canada found that between 90% and 97% of perpetrators of violence in intimate relationships are men. The Women’s Aid report Annual Statistics 2010 finds: 1,658 specific incidents of child abuse disclosed by callers to the • Helpline in the preceding year. These are incidents where the perpetrator was directly abusing the children of the relationship, as well as the mother. The kinds of abusive tactics used directly against children living in • domestic violence situations disclosed to the National Freephone Helpline in 2010 include: the abuser smacking and hitting children including with household items; the abuser physically and sexually abusing children; and abusers constantly shouting in children’s faces. In addition to the 1,658 specific incidents of child abuse • reported in 2010, in another 2,946 calls it was directly disclosed that children were living in situations where their mother was experiencing domestic violence. In the majority of these incidents, it is likely that children will have witnessed or heard the abuse of their mother as a form of emotional abuse of children. 97% of callers were female, while 297 callers to the Helpline were • identified as minority callers, 81% of whom were migrant women. • Women who experience domestic abuse have, on average, experienced it 35 times before they ask for help and then make between 5 and 12 different contacts in an effort to end the violence. (continued) 61
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National contacts for HSE Children
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National contacts for HSE Children
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WESTMEATH Social Work Department, A
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References Dearden, C. and Becker,
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Index A abuse categories of, 10-14
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Children First Implementation Offic
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hazards, exposure of children to, 1
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Q qualified privilege, defence of,
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NOTES
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What is the Child Protection and We
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