Levels of violence, abuse and neglect in early childhood are reported internationally as having reached epidemic proportions. The prevalence of all forms of violence to children has been difficult to establish, particularly in low and middle income countries. However, even in countries with a high GDP, the sexual abuse of children and young people by predatory adults may continue undetected for decades. In parts of Africa young children are mutilated and killed for religious reasons. Physical beatings that injure and break bones are still common in the Western world. Pornography and sexual abuse involving young children is propagated worldwide through the internet. The prevention of this violence will require substantial shifts in parental and public attitudes to children and the development and support of national systems of preventive legislation. The last 20 years has seen the emergence of a body of material which interrogates early childhood violence and neglect in a wider range of global settings, particularly those countries with a low GDP. This book aims to highlight important features of national and international initiatives which are rooted in findings from systematic research. The continued abuse and neglect of children has been attributed to social acceptance, not understanding the importance of reporting abuse, and the limitations of child welfare systems. This book will be of interest to practitioners in health care, education, and social work services, as well as field workers implementing programmes to address all forms of abuse at family, community and national level. This book was originally published as a special issue of Early Child Development and Care.

A BOY WITHOUT HOPE is the heart-breaking story of a boy who didn't know the meaning of love. A history of abuse and neglect has left Miller destined for life's scrap heap. But in this turbulent story of conflict and struggle, Casey Watson is determined to help Miller overcome his demons, show him love and give him hope. Casey Watson is back, doing the job she does best - rolling up her sleeves and fostering the children who, on first meeting, seem like hopeless cases. But when she meets Miller and discovers the truth about his disturbing childhood, even Casey begins to doubt if this child will ever be able to accept love. Found naked and alone on a railway track, Miller was just five when he was first admitted into the care system. Emotionally tormented by his biological parents, Miller has never understood how to establish meaningful relationships, and his destructive past, and over 20 failed placements, is sealing his fate in society's social scrap heap. After a torrent of violent behaviour and numerous failed attempts to help Miller, Casey decides to make an intervention, implementing a severe regime that strips Miller of all control. But soon the emotional demands of Miller's case start to take their toll on Casey and Mike. Just how far is Casey willing to go to help Miller and save him from his inner demons?

For the busy frontline practitioner with little time to plan ahead, this hands-on guide presents imaginative and unique methods to engage families and caregivers throughout the process of assessing vulnerable children. Setting the context for each area of assessment, including strengths and resilience, risk and needs and the child's lived experience, the book then describes a series of activities or creative techniques to engage young people and their caregivers within this area. It outlines the materials required, aims of the exercise and method. It includes 'handy hints' based upon practical experience, making it a quick go-to guide for every day practice. It encourages practitioners to focus on building safety into relationships and to adapt their approach to take into account the impact of trauma and abuse on an individual's capacity to engage and to communicate verbally.

This book represents a significant contribution to the highly contested debate surrounding how allegations of child sexual abuse should be evaluated. Despite decades of substantial research in this sensitive area, professional consensus remains elusive. A particular source of contention is the sensitivity vs. specificity debate; whether evaluators should give priority to reducing the number of true allegations that are labelled false or to reducing the number of false allegations that are labelled true. This edited collection aims to address directly and offer new insights into this debate. It responds directly to Kuehnle and Connell's edited volume, The Evaluation of Child Sexual Abuse Allegations: A Comprehensive Guide to Assessment and Testimony (2009), which included chapters which advocated strong specificity positions at the expense of sensitivity. The chapters in this collection feature both challenges to, and replies by, the authors in Kuehnle and Connell's book, making this an essential resource that moves the debate forward. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse.

Heart-rending, shocking and totally gripping, The Slave Across the Street is the incredible true story of how an ordinary girl was lured into the sinister world of human trafficking - and how she eventually escaped and rebuilt her life. 'Flores puts a different face on human trafficking'-- Guardian 'An absolute must read...written by a true warrior' -- ***** Reader review 'A gripping and shocking story' -- ***** Reader review 'A compulsive read' -- ***** Reader review 'Absolutely brilliant book - couldn't put it down. Well worth reading' -- ***** Reader review 'This story truly rocks your foundations to the core' -- ***** Reader review ******************************************************************************* IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU. IT HAPPENED TO THE GIRL NEXT DOOR... When Theresa was 15 she moved to a new school and fell for an older pupil, Daniel. Theresa was thrilled when one afternoon he asked if he could drive her home. But this simple decision would result in her being forced to work as a sex slave for two long years. Daniel was part of a criminal ring that bribed and trafficked Theresa whilst she was still living in her own house, unknown to her parents. Theresa would go to school alongside these boys in the day and be called into service at night... This is the shocking tale of how easily these things can happen. This is the story of her journey from victim to survivor...

Abandoned at two weeks old, Paul came of age in the infamous St Leonard's Children's Home in East London. The children there were routinely abused, often over the course of many years. All were underfed and unloved and told that they would amount to nothing. Angry and frustrated, Paul channelled his rage into boxing - but when an accident shattered his ambition to turn professional, he found his true calling and became a successful trainer, even working as a consultant on the pilots for a top model's fitness video. Paul has now finally found peace and fulfilment beyond anything he could have imagined all those years ago: he is happily married with two children and, through his work, he helps to heal broken bodies, build confidence and transform lives. But he will never forget his past and the unnecessary victims of a broken society...

The sexual abuse of a child creates a devastating family crisis. Parents want to know what to do and say to help their child, both immediately and in the long term. Helping your Child Recover from Sexual Abuse offers practical guidance for parents who courageously face the days and months after a child's abuse. Written in a positive, reassuring jargon-free style, it discusses each stage of a child's recovery. Information for parents appears on the left-hand pages; sample conversations and activities for parent and child together are on the right-hand pages. The book presents the collective wisdom of numerous parents who have been through this experience and have learned how to help their children feel stronger, safer, braver, more lovable, worthwhile, and competent. Topics covered: What to do when abuse is first disclosed; Helping a child cope with the legal system; Responding to the reactions of friends and loved ones; Children's reactions to abuse; How parents and children grieve differently; Rebuilding a child's self-esteem; Dealing with confusion about sexuality; Helping a child feel safe and in control; Typical problems at different ages; Recognizing when a child is getting better.

The brief provides an overview of Dr. Penelope K. Trickett's work and explores her innovations in the areas of theory, measurement, and methodology in the study of child maltreatment. It offers a summary of Dr. Trickett's seminal longitudinal studies on child maltreatment, including their influence on understanding the impact of sexual abuse and child maltreatment on female and adolescent development. Chapters examine the impact of her work on policy and practice and offer present four new empirical studies that have been directly influenced by Dr. Trickett's contributions. The brief concludes with further research recommendations to bridge the current policy and practice gaps. Topics featured in this brief include: Childhood sexual abuse and its effect on eating disorder development in females. The traumatic nature of reporting maltreatment in adolescents. Associations between adolescents' community violence exposure (CVE) and the development of aggressive behavior problems. Child sexual abuse experiences in Korea. Child Maltreatment Research, Policy, and Practice is a must-have resource for policy makers and related professionals, graduate students, and researchers in child and school psychology, family studies, public health, social work, law/criminal justice, and sociology.

The true story of 2 year-old Anna, abandoned by her natural parents, left alone in a neglected orphanage. Elaine and Ian had travelled half way round the world to adopt little Anna. She couldn't have been more wanted, loved and cherished. So why was she now in foster care and living with me? It didn't make sense. Until I learned what had happened. ... Dressed only in nappies and ragged T-shirts the children were incarcerated in their cots. Their large eyes stared out blankly from emaciated faces. Some were obviously disabled, others not, but all were badly undernourished. Flies circled around the broken ceiling fans and buzzed against the grids covering the windows. The only toys were a few balls and a handful of building bricks, but no child played with them. The silence was deafening and unnatural. Not one of the thirty or so infants cried, let alone spoke.

By first describing her methods and subsequently illustrating them with a selection of case studies, Madge Bray shows the reader how abuse can affect the mental well-being of children, and how the repair of the child's trust of adults is crucial to the process of healing. Guiding the reader and the child through the counselling process, she illustrates the devastation which abuse can cause, but also the resilience of children and the means they have to protect themselves from the reality of abuse. Sexual Abuse: The Child's Voice is a unique insight into the minds of abused children, providing a basis for therapeutic work.

This heart-wrenching memoir from Toni Maguire tells the deeply moving story of an idyllic childhood that masked a terrible truth. Underneath her mother's gentility and her father's roguish charm lay horrifying secrets, which eventually led to their only child's near destruction.

The first time her father made an improper advance on Toni, she was six years old. Her father warned her not to tell her mother, or anyone else, because they would blame her and wouldn't love her any more. It had to remain our secret.

When she finally built up the courage to tell her mother what had happened, she was told never to speak of the matter again. With no one to turn to, isolated and alone in rural Ireland, the abuse continued unhindered.

At fourteen Toni fell pregnant by her father, and when her state was discovered she was made to have a late abortion which almost killed her. The truth of her childhood could no longer be kept hidden but, just as her father predicted, Toni found herself judged and rejected by her family, teachers and friends. The blame and anger she was treated with only worsened when her father was sent to prison as a result of his actions. This is the compelling story of her struggle to put the ghost of her childhood to rest, and emerge ultimately triumphant."

Assessment and Intervention with Mothers and Partners Following Child Sexual Abuse provides child protection professionals with the guidance they need to make the right decisions in cases of suspected or proven sexual abuse and ensure the best outcome for the child. Assessments and interventions used for other forms of abuse, such as physical abuse or neglect, elicit a great deal of information, but do not fully address the issues and needs in relation to child sexual abuse. This book lays out a new model for understanding, assessing and working with mothers of sexually abused children or partners of known or suspected sexual offenders - a model which combines offender knowledge with understanding of mothers and partners. It is structured around the following central critical questions: * Did she know it was happening? * Is she able to protect the child? * What do I need to do to ensure that the child is safe? Combining research and empirical evidence with case studies, exercises and practical guidance, this book is essential reading for child protection professionals working with children and families.

When Brooke Axtell was seven years old, her nanny subjected her to sex trafficking. Today, she is a champion and advocate for women around the world who have experienced sexual violence and trauma. Beautiful Justice shares Brooke's own gripping story, both the trauma of sex trafficking and also her pathway through healing, moving on, and reclaiming power. Along the way, she imparts warm wisdom for others who have experienced similar violence, providing lessons from her own life and from the thousands of women, advocates, and lawmakers she's spoken with. Relying on her own experiences and a keen awareness of public policy, she provides a clear-eyed awareness of the ways that our culture and government work against women experiencing violence around the world. Inspiring and powerfully redemptive, Brooke encourages readers to take part in a creative resistance as a path to justice.

When the Sonoma Complex fire came to Elisa Stancil Levine's California doorstep in 2017, her world changed overnight. The devastating fire torched thousands of acres, but for Elisa, a world-class decorative artist, it was her reaction that night that cracked her wide open. A loving wife, mother, and grandmother, Elisa thought she had reckoned with her early childhood trauma. But when she fled the midnight firestorm without alerting a single neighbor, she had to ask herself: Who does that? In This or Something Better, Elisa revisits her past and the one force in which she has always found true kinship: the wild river. Nature, her lifelong ally, gave solace. Through teen pregnancy, her baby's stillbirth, and a mystical near-death experience at eighteen, nature shaped her character, and it later informed her wildly successful career. But was there an unintended consequence? The fresh trauma of the firestorm sparked a quest: what treasure awaited if Elisa learned to trust human nature? Vivid, poetic, and intimate, This or Something Better reveals how true healing of deep wounds happens one exquisite layer at a time-and invites us each to consider and embrace our own path toward wholeness and authenticity.

Aged nine Joss came home from school to discover her father's suicide. She's never gotten over it. This is the true story of Joss, 13 who is angry and out of control. At the age of nine, Joss finds her father's dead body. He has committed suicide. Then her mother remarries and Joss bitterly resents her step-father who abuses her mentally and physically. Cathy takes Joss under her wing but will she ever be able to get through to the warm-hearted girl she sees glimpses of underneath the vehement outbreaks of anger that dominate the house, and will Cathy be able to build up Joss's trust so she can learn the full truth of the terrible situation?

For fourteen remarkable years, the Sophia Project in California served over one hundred mothers and children, all of whom were at risk of or had experienced homelessness and abuse. Drawing on the principles of Camphill and a Waldorf approach to child development, staff worked intensively with families, introducing them to daily rhythms and routines, assisting with job applications, shopping and tax forms, and even tutoring to pass tests and exams. Over a period of five years, the families regained confidence and independence. None returned to homelessness or abuse. Same Light, Many Candles is a definitive account of the Sophia Project: its origins, the journey, the families and its eventual end. Both moving and inspiring, it powerfully demonstrates the effect on real lives of structured, caring intervention based on Waldorf principles.

Interviewing children who may been sexually abused is a daunting task fraught with far-reaching consequences for the children, families, institutions, and professionals involved. With no room for error, forensic and clinical interviewers must navigate the complex and often contradictory evidence that informs their decision making.
Here, Kathleen Coulborn Faller, a leading expert on child sexual abuse, critically analyzes the research on assessing child sexual abuse. Noting that issues such as memory and suggestibility, questioning techniques, the use of media, and false allegations remain hotly contested, chapters guide readers in applying available research to professional judgment while drawing also on best practice guidelines and conceptual, clinical, and consensus-based writings. The only up-to-date resource of its kind, Interviewing Children About Sexual Abuse covers the entire interview process, showing professionals how to structure, document, and follow up on children's responses in interviews; work with children who are very young, have special needs, or come from diverse backgrounds; use standardized tests and measures; formulate conclusions about sexual abuse; and defend those decisions in a courtroom or clinical setting.
Mental health, forensic, and child welfare professionals will find in this volume a wealth of expert information that will guide them through the often murky, always emotional process of interviewing children about sexual abuse.

From the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author comes the poignant and shocking memoir of Cathy s recent relationship with Tayo, a young boy she fosters whose good behaviour and polite manners hide a terrible past.

Tayo arrives at Cathy s with only the clothes he stands up in. He has been brought to her by the police, but he is calm, polite, and very well spoken, and not at all like the children she normally fosters. The social worker gives Cathy the forms which should contain Tayo s history, but apart from his name and age, it is blank. Tayo has no past.

Tayo is an 'invisible' child, kidnapped from his loving father in Nigeria and brought illegally to the UK by his drink and drugs dependent prostitute mother, where he is put to work in a sweat shop in Central London. When he sustains an injury and is no longer earning, he is cast out.

When Cathy takes Tayo to school he points out a dozen different addresses where he has stayed in the last six months, often being left alone. Tayo lies, and manipulates situations to his own advantage and Cathy has to be continually on guard. Tayo s social worker searches all computer databases but there is no record of Tayo he has only attended school for 3 terms and has never seen a doctor. He and his mother have been evading the authorities by living underground .

With his mother recently released from prison, Tayo is desperate to live with his father in Nigeria, but no one can track him down or even prove that he exists."

John was only a baby when his father died. His mother struggled desperately to bring up five kids alone but her own despair led her to alcoholism and blind rages. John's childhood was a nightmare of neglect and beatings, but when he was nine, things became infinitely worse. Preyed on by his mother's lodgers, John was sold into prostitution on the streets around the docks in his hometown of Limerick. By the time he was 16, the legacy of pain from his childhood had left him suicidally depressed, but a stint in the army and a determintion to escape his past gave John the courage to make a better life for himself. He trained as a lawyer and channelled his deep need to pursue justice for himself into his work for others. He built a reputation for defending the criminals of Limerick when nobody else would. One day, the unthinkable happened and he had to make a choice about whether to defend one of his childhood abusers. This is the extraordinary story of a life nearly destroyed by horrors and the hard choices one man made in his fight to recover himself.

Volume 3 of the Child Maltreatment Assessment aims to help readers recognize and comprehend the procedures for the investigation, care, and prevention of child maltreatment. This workbook features topics such as the role of law enforcement officials and medical examiners in child abuse cases, mental health treatment for children who have experienced maltreatment, and methods for preventing abuse in the future. With guides to reporting, testifying, and intervening in cases of abuse, this workbook is a necessity for better preparing professionals and students alike for working with victims of maltreatment. Featuring in-depth descriptions of abusive scenarios along with informational tables and diagrams, this workbook is ideal for professionals who are preparing to investigate and prosecute child maltreatment cases. Each workbook in the Child Maltreatment Assessment series will feature both a test section and photographic atlas at the back of the book. Using this assessment, the reader can review and apply the knowledge they have gained from the chapters within, making this text ideal for self-study or classroom settings. The photographic atlas will contain an additional 80 high-quality images with accompanying case histories.

How do you teach a mother to love her child, when she's still a child herself? Jeanie Doyle nurtures, teaches and cares for young and dysfunctional mums, showing them how to care for their newborn babies, sometimes even taking the mother into foster care before the baby is born. The first in a brand-new series of books by the 'foster super-gran', Wicked Girl is the shocking true story of the very first case Jeanie dealt with: a baby girl who was found abandoned on the steps of a church just before Christmas. While the 14-year-old mother was tracked down, Jeanie took her little daughter into her own care. But while she tried to help the two of them heal and bond, the terrible truth about the baby's father was revealed... A twist on the standard Cathy Glass books, Wicked Girl offers Jeanie's rare perspective of fostering young women alongside their babies. Will mother and daughter be reunited for good, or will the vulnerable young mother make the heartbreaking decision that they are both better off apart?

Juvenile homicide and fatal maltreatment remain serious and pervasive problems in the developed world and especially in the United States, where in 2005 some 1,500 children died from neglect and physical abuse. Alarming statistics such as this, as well as an upsurge in the media attention paid to all things forensic, underscore the pressing need for the utmost rigor in the scientific investigation of child abuse cases. This well timed volume is a response to the climate of public and press interest in such inquiries, where the forensic aspects of the casework generate an enormous amount of attention. The contributions cover a wide range of topics and explore many of the finer details of investigations into juvenile fatalities suspected of being abuse-related. The chapters reflect both the multi-disciplinary nature of such investigations, and also the need for law enforcement professionals to take a rounded, holistic approach to the casework involved. The motivational factors that lead many professionals enter this arena of investigation are, of course, personal and individual. However, at the core of their commitment and their work is a shared need for justice, plain and simple. Victim advocacy and protecting the rights of children, both living and deceased, remains a key impetus for those professionals who specialize in child abuse research. At the heart of this book is the aim of providing both a vital resource for investigators, and a purposeful voice for the young victims of abuse, unable as they are to stand up and speak for themselves.

On a winter morning in 1990, Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota picked up the Bismarck Tribune. On the front page, a small girl gazed into the distance, shedding a tear. The headline: 'Foster home children beaten - and nobody's helping'. Dorgan, who had been working with American Indian tribes to secure resources, was distressed. He flew to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation to meet with five-year-old Tamara and her grandfather. They became friends. Then she disappeared. And he would search for her for decades until they finally found each other again. This book is her story, from childhood to the present, but it's also the story of a people and a nation. More than one in three American Indian/Alaskan Native children live in poverty. AI/AN children are disproportionately in foster care and awaiting adoption. Suicide among AI/AN youth ages 15 to 24 is 2.5 times the national rate. How have we allowed this to happen? As distressing a situation as it is, this is also a story of hope and resilience. Dorgan, who founded the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute, has worked tirelessly to bring Native youth voices to the forefront of policy discussions, engage Native youth in leadership and advocacy, and secure and share resources for Native youth. Readers will fall in love with this heartbreaking story, but end the book knowing what can be done and what they can do.

This insightful guide provides a pragmatic roadmap for treating adult survivors of complex psychological trauma. Christine Courtois and Julian Ford present their effective, research-based approach for helping clients move through three clearly defined phases of posttraumatic recovery. Two detailed case examples run throughout the book, illustrating how to plan and implement strengths-based interventions that use a secure therapeutic alliance as a catalyst for change. Essential topics include managing crises, treating severe affect dysregulation and dissociation, and therapist self-care. The companion website offers downloadable reflection questions for clinicians and extensive listings of professional and self-help resources. A new preface in the paperback and e-book editions addresses key scientific advances. See also Drs. Courtois and Ford's edited volumes, Treating Complex Traumatic Stress Disorders in Adults, Second Edition, and Treating Complex Traumatic Stress Disorders in Children and Adolescents, which present research on the nature of complex trauma and review evidence-based treatment models. Winner (Second Place)--American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award, Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing Category

In her new book, Cathy Glass, the no.1 bestselling author of Damaged, tells the story of the Alice, a young and vulnerable girl who is desperate to return home to her mother.

Alice, aged four, is snatched by her mother the day she is due to arrive at Cathy's house. Drug-dependent and mentally ill, but desperate to keep hold of her daughter, Alice's mother snatches her from her parents' house and disappears.

Cathy spends three anxious days worrying about her whereabouts before Alice is found safe, but traumatised. Alice is like a little doll, so young and vulnerable, and she immediately finds her place in the heart of Cathy's family. She talks openly about her mummy, who she dearly loves, and how happy she was living with her maternal grandparents before she was put into care. Alice has clearly been very well looked after and Cathy can't understand why she couldn't stay with her grandparents.

It emerges that Alice's grandparents are considered too old (they are in their early sixties) and that the plan is that Alice will stay with Cathy for a month before moving to live with her father and his new wife. The grandparents are distraught Alice has never known her father, and her grandparents claim he is a violent drug dealer.

Desperate to help Alice find the happy home she deserves, Cathy's parenting skills are tested in many new ways. Finally questions are asked about Alice's father suitability, and his true colours begin to emerge."