The Contemporary Discourse of Child Protection

Abstract

For much of the time since the early 1970s child abuse has been seen as a significant and growing social problem and has been subject to considerable media, public and political interest and debate (Aldridge, 1994; Franklin and Parton, 1991). In the UK a whole range of detailed policies and procedures have been developed and new legislation introduced. When we survey the changes between the early 1970s and mid 1990s, at one level it seems that we have seen little more than the general growth and refinement of procedures which in themselves have reflected wider developments and changes in thinking and understanding. While procedures have grown and the general priority and significance given to this area of work has increased, the changes, superficially, seem incremental. Effectively the system of child abuse management established in the early to mid 1970s seems to be still with us even though the labels and language may have changed.