Abstract
This chapter identifies ways in which laws are capable of responding to child maltreatment, both as an immediate regulator of conduct, and as an influence on a society’s cultural development and approach to children’s welfare. Informed by practices and experiences in selected common law systems, the chapter provides examples of legal mechanisms that can inform discussion of optimal strategies to identify and manage child maltreatment in many different societies. Both positive and negative aspects of these mechanisms are noted. While controversies arise as to what kinds of laws are best in preventing and responding to child maltreatment, and even, more fundamentally, whether there is a role for law in protecting children, this chapter offers evidence that a variety of legal tools can be employed to address child abuse and neglect, for any cultural setting in which there is willingness to act to prevent and treat its various forms.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Consistent with criminal laws, acts creating rights to civil damages in actions such as battery and negligence, and child protection laws such as the US federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act s 5106 g(2), which defines ‘child abuse and neglect’ as ‘at a minimum, any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm’. A clear challenge is presented by the question of whether and when corporal punishment is ‘physical abuse’; this point will be returned to later.
- 2.
According to Glaser’s (2011) typology, there are five categories of such harmful acts and omissions: first: emotional unavailability, unresponsiveness and neglect; second: interacting with the child with hostility, blame, denigration, rejection or scapegoating; third: developmentally inappropriate or inconsistent interactions with the child; fourth: failure to recognize or acknowledge the child’s individuality and the psychological boundary between the parent and the child, and fifth: failure to promote the child’s socialization within the child’s context, by either active mis-socialization or corruption; isolating the child; or by failing to provide adequate stimulation and opportunities for learning.
- 3.
Consistent with criminal laws regarding neglect, civil laws concerning a parent’s duty of care, and child protection laws.
- 4.
Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs v Teoh (1995) 183 CLR 273. Ratification of the UNCRC creates a legitimate expectation that an executive or administrative decision would be made in conformity with its principles. The legitimate expectation does not amount to a rule of law, and so does not compel a decision-maker to make a particular decision. However, if the decision-maker proposes to settle the issue inconsistently with the legitimate expectation, the decision-maker must give persons affected by the proposed decision an opportunity to present their case against it.
- 5.
One example of a national law that overreached the public’s endorsement and hence compliance was the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, referred to the States for ratification by the U.S. Congress in 1917, prohibiting the sale or consumption of alcohol. After being ratified by 36 of the then existing 48 States, Congress passed enabling legislation in 1919 (The National Prohibition Act, also known as the “Volstead Act”), and the amendment and enabling legislation commenced in early 1920. Supporters strongly opposed the consumption of alcohol on moral and religious grounds. Subsequent to the enactment of the national law, flagrant disobedience by consumers as well as an eruption of criminal activity involving the importation and black market manufacture of alcohol caused public dismay at the unintended consequences of Prohibition. Within very few years, the dismay resulted in the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, via the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This remains the only time in American history that a Constitutional Amendment has been repealed.
- 6.
The essence of the ‘rule of law’ – the concept underpinning common law jurisdictions–is ‘that all persons and authorities within the state, whether public or private, should be bound by and entitled to the benefit of laws publicly and prospectively promulgated and publicly administered in the courts’ (Bingham 2007). Adjudicative procedures should be fair, means must be provided to resolve disputes, and the law must adequately protect fundamental human rights. These are fundamental and indispensable elements of a just society.
- 7.
Note also that law can provide other protections in this context, for example by allowing physicians to take photos, x-rays and conduct other tests without fear of suit for acting without permission as long as the tests are required for the diagnostic procedure of estimating the likelihood of intentionally inflicted trauma.
- 8.
An analysis of child protection agency and criminal court records from California, Delaware and Colorado (N = 833 substantiated cases) found that a voluntary approach was used in different types of cases as follows: physical child abuse (76 %), sexual child abuse (51 %), child neglect (71 %), abandonment (32 %), emotional child abuse (93 %).
- 9.
One issue alone has consumed thousands of pages of research and legal precedent in common law countries is the issue of which statements and testimony of children are admissible to prove sexual abuse: with respect to U.S. law, see Myers (2005). Due process cannot occur unless there are societal commitments and investments to train law enforcement, prosecution and judicial officials, uphold standards of proof, guarantee both the rights of victims and the rights of defendants to respectful investigations and trials, and to provide sufficient resources for these standards to be upheld.
- 10.
For example, see the website of the U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PublicHomeServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US, (Verified April 19, 2012).
- 11.
See generally the website of the RIRB at (http://www.rirb.ie/). The contribution required by the Church is now so large that its capacity to pay is under threat: http://www.irishcentral.com/news/news_from_ireland/Irish-Catholic-Church-unable-to-foot-19-billion-abuse-bill-146552675.html (checked 23 August 2012). See also Mathews 2004.
- 12.
See, for example, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2009) Justice in Matters involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime: Model Law and Related Commentary. New York, United Nations. http://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/Justice_in_matters…pdf (checked 10 September 2012).
References
Abrahams, N., Casey, K., & Daro, D. (1992). Teachers’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about child abuse and its prevention. Child Abuse & Neglect, 16, 229–238.
Ajzen, I. (2005). Attitudes, personality and behavior (2nd ed.). Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (2005). The influence of attitudes on behaviour. In D. Albarracin, B. Johnson, & M. Zanna (Eds.), The handbook of attitudes (pp. 173–221). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Anderst, J., Kellogg, N., & Jung, I. (2009). Reports of repetitive penile-genital penetration often have no definitive evidence of penetration. Pediatrics, 124(3), e403.
APSAC. (1995). Psychosocial evaluation of suspected psychological maltreatment in children and adolescents: Practice guidelines. American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. Elmhurst: IL.
Berkowitz, C. (2008). Child abuse recognition and reporting: Supports and resources for changing the paradigm. Pediatrics, 122, S10–S12.
Berry, J. (1992). Lead us not into temptation: Catholic priests and the sexual abuse of children. New York: Doubleday.
Berry, J. (2011). Render unto Rome: The secret life of money in the Catholic Church. New York: Crown.
Besharov, D. (1990). Recognizing child abuse. New York: Free Press.
Besharov, D. (2005). Overreporting and underreporting of child abuse and neglect are twin problems. In D. Loseke, R. Gelles, & M. Cavanaugh (Eds.), Current controversies on family violence (2nd ed., pp. 285–298). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Bingham, L. T. (2007). The rule of law. Cambridge Law Journal, 66(1), 67–85.
Borkowski, A. (1986). Textbook on Roman law. London: Blackstone Press.
Boyle, P. (1994). Scouts honor: Sexual abuse in America’s most trusted institution. Rocklin: Prima Publishing.
Bross, D. (2009). Involuntary therapy: A good idea? In A. Kellogg (Ed.), Standing at the forefront: Effective advocacy in today’s world (pp. 229–250). Denver: National Association of Counsel for Children.
Bross, D., & Mathews, B. (2012). The battered child syndrome: Changes in the law and child advocacy. In R. Krugman & J. Korbin (Eds.), C. Henry Kempe: A 50 year legacy to the field of child abuse and neglect (pp. 39–50). Springer Scientific. Dordrecht, Netherlands.
Burrus, S., Mackin, J., & Finigan, M. (2011). Show me the money: Child welfare cost savings of a family drug court. Juvenile and Family Court Journal, 62(3), 1–14.
Bussman, K. (2011). Background and legal consequences of the right to be raised without violence. In J. Durrant & A. Smith (Eds.), Global pathways to abolishing physical punishment: Realizing children’s rights (pp. 134–145). New York: Routledge.
Christian, C. (2008). Professional education in child abuse and neglect. Pediatrics, 122(1), S13–S17.
Conley, A., & Berrick, J. (2010). Community-based child abuse prevention: Outcomes associated with a differential response program in california. Child Maltreatment, 15, 282–292.
Cossins, A. (2010). Alternative models for prosecuting child sex offences in Australia. Sydney: National Child Sexual Assault Reform Committee, University of New South Wales.
Cross, T., De Vos, E., & Whitcomb, D. (1994). Prosecution of child sexual abuse: Which cases are accepted? Child Abuse & Neglect, 18(8), 663–677.
Cummins, P., Scott, D., & Scales, B. (2012). Report of the protecting Victoria’s vulnerable children inquiry. Melbourne: State of Victoria Department of Premier and Cabinet.
Daly, K. (2008). Setting the record straight and a call for radical change: A reply to Annie Cossins on ‘Restorative justice and child sex offences’. British Journal of Criminology, 48(4), 557–566.
Daly, K., & Proietti-Scifoni, G. (2011). Reparation and restoration. In M. Tonry (Ed.), Oxford handbook of crime and criminal justice (pp. 207–253). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dalziel, K., & Segal, L. (2012). Home visiting programmes for the prevention of child maltreatment: Cost-effectiveness of 33 programmes. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 97, 787–798.
de Mause, L. (Ed.). (1974). The history of childhood. New York: Psychohistory Press.
Deb, S., & Mathews, B. (2012). Children’s rights in India: Parents’ and teachers’ attitudes, knowledge and perceptions. The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 20, 1–24.
Ditton, P. (1999). Mental health treatment of inmates and probationers. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Drake, B., & Jonson-Reid, M. (2007). A response to Melton based on the best available data. Child Abuse & Neglect, 31, 343–360.
Dubowitz, H. (2000). What is child neglect? In H. Dubowitz & D. DePanfilis (Eds.), The handbook for child protection. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Durrant, J., & Smith, A. (Eds.). (2011). Global pathways to abolishing physical punishment: Realizing children’s rights. New York: Routledge.
Eisenberg, L. (1981). Cross-cultural and historical perspectives on child abuse and neglect. Child Abuse & Neglect, 5, 299–308.
Faria, M. (2002). Medical history: Hygiene and sanitation. Medical Sentinel, 7(4), 122–123.
Feng, J.-Y., & Levine, M. (2005). Factors associated with nurses’ intention to report child abuse: A national survey of Taiwanese nurses. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29(7), 783–795.
Finkelhor, D. (1990). Is child abuse overreported? The data rebut arguments for less intervention. Public Welfare, 48(1), 23.
Finkelhor, D. (2005). The main problem is underreporting child abuse and neglect. In D. Loseke, R. Gelles, & M. Cavanaugh (Eds.), Current controversies on family violence (2nd ed., pp. 299–310). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Finkelhor, D. (2008). Childhood victimization. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Finkelhor, D., & Jones, L. (2006). Why have child maltreatment and child victimization declined? Journal of Social Issues, 62(4), 685–716.
Finkelhor, D., & Jones, L. (2012a). Have sexual abuse and physical abuse declined since the 1990s? Durham: Crimes Against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire. http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/pdf/CV267_Have%20SA%20%20PA%20Decline_FACT%20SHEET_11-7-12.pdf.
Finkelhor, D., & Jones, L. (2012b). Trends in child maltreatment. The Lancet, 379, 2048–2049.
Finkelhor, D., Jones, L., & Shattuck, A. (2011). Updated trends in child maltreatment, 2010. Durham: Crimes Against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire. http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/pdf/CV203_Updated%20trends%202010%20FINAL_12-19-11.pdf.
Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., Ormrod, R., & Hamby, S. (2010). Trends in childhood violence and abuse exposure: Evidence from 2 national surveys. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 164(3), 238–242.
Flaherty, E., Sege, R., Price, L., et al. (2006). Pediatrician characteristics associated with child abuse identification and reporting: Results from a national survey of pediatricians. Child Maltreatment, 11(4), 361–369.
Flaherty, E., Sege, R., Griffith, J., et al. (2008a). From suspicion of physical child abuse to reporting: Primary care clinician decision-making. Pediatrics, 122(3), 611–619.
Flaherty, E., Sege, R., & Hurley, T. (2008b). Translating child abuse research into action. Pediatrics, 122, S1–S5.
Fryer, G., Bross, D., Krugman, R., et al. (1990). Good news for CPS workers: An Iowa survey shows parents value services. Public Welfare, 48(1), 38–41.
Gardner, J. (1986). Women in Roman law and society. London: Routledge.
Gershoff, E. (2002). Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 539.
Gershoff, E., & Bitensky, S. (2007). The case against corporal punishment of children. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 13(4), 231–272.
Ghosh, B. (2009). Trafficking in women and children in India: Nature, dimensions and strategies for prevention. International Journal of Children’s Rights, 13(5), 716–738.
Giarretto, H. (1976). Humanistic treatment of father-daughter incest. In R. Helfer & C. H. Kempe (Eds.), Child abuse and neglect, the family and the community (pp. 143–158). Cambridge: Ballinger Publishing.
Gilbert, R., Fluke, J., O’Donnell, M., et al. (2012a). Child maltreatment: Variation in trends and policies in six developed countries. The Lancet, 379, 758–772.
Gilbert, R., Fluke, J., O’Donnell, M., et al. (2012b). Authors’ reply. The Lancet, 379, 2049.
Glaser, D. (2002). Emotional abuse and neglect (psychological maltreatment): A conceptual framework. Child Abuse & Neglect, 26, 697–714.
Glaser, D. (2011). How to deal with emotional abuse and neglect—Further development of a conceptual framework (FRAMEA). Child Abuse & Neglect, 35, 866–875.
Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children. (2012). Prohibiting all corporal punishment of children: progress and delay. http://www.crin.org/docs/Progress%20and%20delay%20leaflet%20October%202012%20EN%20singles.pdf
Gostin, L. (2008). Public health law: Power, duty, restraint (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press.
Government of Victoria. (2006). The Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 and The Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005: A framework to promote children’s safety, wellbeing and development. Melbourne: Government of Victoria. http://www.cyf.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/41728/ecec_fact2_april_2006.pdf.
Gray, J. (Ed.). (2010). World perspectives on child abuse (9th ed.). Aurora: International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.
Hawkins, R., & McCallum, C. (2001). Mandatory notification training for suspected child abuse and neglect in South Australian schools. Child Abuse & Neglect, 25, 1603–1625.
Howell, J. (1980). The role of law enforcement in the prevention, investigation, and treatment of child abuse. In C. H. Kempe & R. Helfer (Eds.), The battered child (3rd ed., pp. 306–329). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Hoyano, L., & Keenan, C. (2007). Child abuse: Law and policy across boundaries. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Janson, S., Langberg, B., & Svensson, B. (2011). A 30-year ban on physical punishment. In J. Durrant & A. Smith (Eds.), Global pathways to abolishing physical punishment: Realizing children’s rights (pp. 241–255). New York: Routledge.
Jenny, C., Hymel, K., Ritzen, A., et al. (1999). Analysis of missed cases of abusive head trauma. Journal of the American Medical Association, 282(7), 621–626.
Jones, R., Flaherty, E., Binns, H., et al. (2008). Clinicians’ descriptions of factors influencing their reporting of suspected child abuse: Report of the child abuse reporting experience study research group. Pediatrics, 122(2), 259–266.
Kalichman, S., & Brosig, C. (1993). Practicing psychologists’ interpretations of and compliance with child abuse reporting laws. Law and Human Behavior, 17(1), 83–93.
Kempe, C. H. (1976). Approaches to preventing child abuse. The health visitors’ concept. American Journal of Diseases of Children, 130, 941–947.
Kempe, C. H., Silverman, F., Steele, B., Droegemueller, W., & Silver, H. (1962). The battered-child syndrome. Journal of the American Medical Association, 181, 17–24.
Kenny, M. (2004). Teachers’ attitudes toward and knowledge of child maltreatment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28, 1311–1319.
Kohl, P., Jonson-Reid, M., & Drake, B. (2009). Time to leave substantiation behind: Findings from a national probability study. Child Maltreatment, 14(1), 17.
Krugman, R. (2009). Time to medicalise child maltreatment. The Lancet, 373, 19.
Lamond, D. (1989). The impact of mandatory reporting legislation on reporting behaviour. Child Abuse & Neglect, 13, 471.
Landeros v Flood. (1976). 551 P.2 d. 389.
Landsford, J., Dodge, K., Pettit, G., et al. (2002). A 12 year prospective study of the long-term effects of early child physical maltreatment on psychological, behavioural, and academic problems in adolescence. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 156, 824.
Law Commission of Canada. (2000). Restoring dignity: Responding to child abuse in Canadian institutions, executive summary. http://www.lcc.gc.ca/en/themes/mr/ica/2000/pdf/execsum.pdf
Levi, B., & Crowell, K. (2011). Child experts disagree about the threshold for mandated reporting. Clinical Pediatrics, 50(4), 321–329.
Levi, B., & Loeben, G. (2004). Index of suspicion: Feeling not believing. Theoretical Medicine, 25, 277–310.
Levi, B., & Portwood, S. (2011). Reasonable suspicion of child abuse: Finding a common language. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 39, 62–69.
Mabo v Queensland [No 2]. (1992). 175 CLR 1.
Mathews, B. (2004). Queensland government actions to compensate survivors of institutional abuse: A critical and comparative evaluation. Queensland University of Technology Law & Justice Journal, 4(1), 23–45.
Mathews, B. (2011a). Female genital mutilation: Australian law, policy and practical challenges for doctors. Medical Journal of Australia, 194(3), 139–141.
Mathews, B. (2011b). Teacher education to meet the challenges of child sexual abuse. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 36(11), 13–32.
Mathews, B. (2012). Exploring the contested role of mandatory reporting laws in the identification of severe child abuse and neglect. In M. Freeman (Ed.), Current legal issues volume 14: Law and childhood studies (pp. 302–338). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mathews, B. (2013). Legal, cultural and practical developments in responding to female genital mutilation: Can an absolute human right emerge? In C. Sampford, R. Maguire, & B. Lewis (Eds.), Human rights and shifting global powers. London: Routledge.
Mathews, B., & Bross, D. (2008). Mandated reporting is still a policy with reason: Empirical evidence and philosophical grounds. Child Abuse & Neglect, 32(5), 511–516.
Mathews, B., & Kenny, M. (2008). Mandatory reporting legislation in the USA, Canada and Australia: A cross-jurisdictional review of key features, differences and issues. Child Maltreatment, 13, 50–63.
Mathews, B., Fraser, J., Walsh, K., Dunne, M., et al. (2008). Queensland nurses’ attitudes towards and knowledge of the legislative duty to report child abuse and neglect: Results of a state-wide survey. Journal of Law and Medicine, 16(2), 288–304.
Mathews, B., Payne, H., Bonnet, C., & Chadwick, D. (2009a). A way to restore British paediatricians’ engagement with child protection. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 94(5), 329–332.
Mathews, B., Walsh, K., Rassafiani, M., et al. (2009b). Teachers reporting suspected child sexual abuse: Results of a three-state study. University of New South Wales Law Journal, 32(3), 772–813.
McCarthy, C. (2008). Doing the right thing: A primary care pediatrician’s perspective on child abuse reporting. Pediatrics, 122, S22.
McGillivray, A. (2011). Children’s rights, paternal power and fiduciary duty: From Roman law to the supreme court of Canada. International Journal of Children’s Rights, 19, 21–54.
Melton, G. (2005). Mandated reporting: A policy without reason. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 9–18.
Mercy, J. (1999). Having new eyes: Viewing child sexual abuse as a public health problem. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 11(4), 317–321.
Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs v Teoh. (1995). 183 CLR 273.
Myers, J. (2005). Myers on evidence in child abuse, domestic violence and elder abuse cases. New York: Aspen Publishers.
Naylor, B., & Saunders, B. (2012). Parental discipline, criminal laws, and responsive regulation. In M. Freeman (Ed.), Current legal issues volume 14: Law and childhood studies (pp. 506–529). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
O’Donnell, M., Scott, D., & Stanley, F. (2008). Child abuse and neglect – Is it time for a public health approach? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 32(4), 325.
Olds, D. (2012). Moving towards evidence-based preventive interventions for children and families. In R. Krugman & J. Korbin (Eds.), C. Henry Kempe: A 50 year legacy to the field of child abuse and neglect (pp. 165–173). Dordrecht: Springer.
Patel, M., & Hardy, D. (2001). Encouraging pursuit of court-ordered treatment in a state hospital. Psychiatric Service, 52, 1656–1657.
Pinker, S. (2011). The better angels of our nature. New York: Viking.
Radford, L., Corral, S., Bradley, C., & Fisher, H. (2012). Trends in child maltreatment. The Lancet, 379, 2048.
Rajabi-Ardeshiri, M. (2009). The rights of the child in the Islamic context: The challenges of the local and the global. International Journal of Children’s Rights, 17, 475–489.
Rasheed, S., Abd-Ellah, A., & Yousef, F. (2011). Female genital mutilation in Upper Egypt in the new millennium. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, 114, 47–50.
Reiniger, A., Robison, E., & McHugh, M. (1995). Mandated training of professionals: A means for improving reporting of suspected child abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 19, 63–69.
Runyan, D. (2012). Foreword. In R. Krugman & J. Korbin (Eds.), C. Henry Kempe: A 50 year legacy to the field of child abuse and neglect (p. v). Dordrecht: Springer.
Runyan, D., Hunter, W., Everson, M., et al. (1994). The intervention stressors inventory: A measure of the stress of intervention for sexually abused children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 19(4), 319–329.
Runyan, D., et al. (2010). International variations in harsh child discipline. Pediatrics, 126(3), e701–e711.
Scott, D. (2006). Towards a public health model of child protection in Australia. Communities, Families and Children Australia, 1(1), 9.
Sedlak, A., Gragg, F., Mettenburg, J., et al. (2008). Fourth national incidence study of child abuse and neglect (NIS-4) design and methods summary. Rockville: Westat.
Shipman, K., & Taussig, H. (2009). Mental health treatment of child abuse and neglect: The promise of evidence-based practices. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 56, 417–428.
Smarsh, T., Myers, B., & Elswick, R. (2006). Child abuse potential among mothers of substance-exposed and nonexposed infants and toddlers. Child Abuse & Neglect, 30(2), 145–156.
Springer, K., Sheridan, J., Kuo, D., et al. (2007). Long-term physical and mental health consequences of childhood physical abuse: Results from a large population-based sample of men and women. Child Abuse & Neglect, 31, 517.
Starling, S., Heisler, K., Paulson, J., et al. (2009). Child abuse training and knowledge: A national survey of emergency medicine, family medicine, and pediatric residents and program directors. Pediatrics, 123(4), e595–e602.
Ten Bensel, R., Rheinberger, M., & Radbill, S. (1997). Children in a world of violence: The roots of child maltreatment. In M. Helfer, R. Kempe, & R. Krugman (Eds.), The battered child (5th ed., pp. 3–28). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. (1992). Legal intervention in child maltreatment cases. Child Abuse & Neglect, 16, 807–821.
Trocme, N., Fallon, B., MacLaurin, B., et al. (2005). Canadian incidence study of reported child abuse and neglect—2003: Major findings. Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services.
Turnock, B. (2009). Public health: What it is and how it works (4th ed.). Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett.
US Department of Health and Human Services. (2007). Child maltreatment 1990–2005: Reports from the states to the national child abuse and neglect data system. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
US Department of Health and Human Services. (2009). Child maltreatment 2007. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
US Department of Health and Human Services. (2010a). Child maltreatment 2009. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
US Department of Health and Human Services. (2010b). Child maltreatment 2008. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
US Department of Health and Human Services. (2011). Child maltreatment 2010. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
Walker, J. (2012). Bad old days surface as through a boozy haze. The Weekend Australian, 13-14 October 2012, p. 21.
Walsh, K., Bridgstock, R., Farrell, A., et al. (2008). Case, teacher and school characteristics influencing teachers’ detection and reporting of child physical abuse and neglect: Results from an Australian survey. Child Abuse & Neglect, 32(10), 983–993.
Wolfe, D., Aragona, K., & Kaufman, J. (1980). The importance of adjudication in the treatment of abusive and neglectful parents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 4(2), 127–135.
Wood, J. (2008). Report of the special committee of inquiry into child protection services in New South Wales. Accessible at http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/cpsinquiry.
Worcel, S., Furrer, C., Green, B., et al. (2008). Effects of family treatment drug courts on substance abuse and child welfare outcomes. Child Abuse Review, 17(6), 427–443.
World Health Organisation. (2006). Preventing child maltreatment: A guide to taking action and generating evidence. Geneva: World Health Organisation and International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.
Zellman, G. (1990). Child abuse reporting and failure to report among mandated reporters. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 5(1), 3–22.
Zolotor, A., Theodore, A., Chang, J., et al. (2008). Speak softly – and forget the stick: Corporal punishment and child physical abuse. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 35(4), 364–369.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mathews, B., Bross, D.C. (2014). Using Law to Identify and Manage Child Maltreatment. In: Korbin, J., Krugman, R. (eds) Handbook of Child Maltreatment. Child Maltreatment, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7208-3_26
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7208-3_26
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-7207-6
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-7208-3
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)