The harrowing true story of the young boy who captured the heart of the nation when he testified in court, to find justice against those responsible for his brother s death.

Terry O Neill was just ten years old when he stood up in court to testify against his brutal foster parents, accused of the manslaughter of his twelve-year-old brother, Dennis.

Terry and his brother had been taken into care and moved through many foster homes until they came to live on the Shropshire farm owned by Reginald and Esther Gough in 1945. There they were to suffer brutal beatings and little care or love they survived as best they could, looking out for each other, until the terrible morning when Terry couldn t wake Dennis.

In a time when the country was united by war and struggle, the case shocked the nation and made headlines around the world. Terry, a small figure in the courtroom, captured the hearts of mothers and families everywhere, and the public outcry against the foster services led to the instigation of the first provisions to protect other vulnerable children from neglect and cruelty."

A gripping chronicle of psychological manipulation and abuse at a "therapeutic" boarding school for troubled teens, and how one young woman fought to heal in the aftermath. At fifteen, Elizabeth Gilpin was an honor student, a state-ranked swimmer and a rising soccer star, but behind closed doors her undiagnosed depression was wreaking havoc on her life. Growing angrier by the day, she began skipping practices and drinking to excess. At a loss, her parents turned to an educational consultant who suggested Elizabeth be enrolled in a behavioral modification program. That recommendation would change her life forever. The nightmare began when she was abducted from her bed in the middle of the night by hired professionals and dropped off deep in the woods of Appalachia. Living with no real shelter was only the beginning of her ordeal: she was strip-searched, force-fed, her name was changed to a number and every moment was a test of physical survival. After three brutal months, Elizabeth was transferred to a boarding school in Southern Virginia that in reality functioned more like a prison. Its curriculum revolved around a perverse form of group therapy where students were psychologically abused and humiliated. Finally, at seventeen, Elizabeth convinced them she was rehabilitated enough to "graduate" and was released. In this eye-opening and unflinching book, Elizabeth recalls the horrors she endured, the friends she lost to suicide and addiction, and-years later-how she was finally able to pick up the pieces of her life and reclaim her identity.

Child sexual abuse by clergy within the Roman Catholic Church has emerged as a social and political discourse over the last three decades. The analysis here specifically focuses on the establishment, conduct, and outcomes of the extensive public inquiries of Australia, although inquiries in other jurisdictions are also discussed. Unlike criminal or civil processes, although they may be inquisitory in nature, public inquiries emerge from a specifically political context and are a tool of governance embedded in a larger context of governmentality. Understanding the broader political and cultural contexts of public inquiries is important, then, in understanding their value and effectiveness as justice processes - especially for victims of CSA by clergy. What is interesting about public inquiry is that it situates victims of CSA by clergy outside of criminal and civil justice processes and recognises a different politicised relationship between victims as citizens, the state, and Catholic institutions where abuse has occurred. At the cutting edge of disciplinary and methodological understandings of the interconnections between the church, state and families, his book explores the dynamics of the emergence and politicisation of victims of CSA by clergy, their expressions of resistance and the legitimisation of their voice in public and political spheres.

The second book from Sunday Times bestselling author Casey Watson.

Two weeks after saying farewell to her first foster child, Casey is asked to look after Sophia, a troubled 12-year-old with a sad past. Sophia s actions are disturbing and provocative and, before long, Casey and her family find themselves in a dark and dangerous situation.

Two years ago Sophia s mother had a terrible accident. Sophia has been in care ever since.

Right away, Casey feels something isn t right. Sophia s a well-developed girl, who looks more like 18 than 12. She only seems to have eyes and ears for men, and treats all women with contempt and disgust. And she has everyone around her jumping through hoops.

Over time, as more details begin to emerge about Sophia s past, it becomes clear that her behaviour is a front for an early life filled with pain and suffering. But although Casey feels she is gradually breaking through to Sophia and getting her to open up about things she has never spoken about before, her violence is threatening the safety of the whole family, forcing Casey to question whether she can really handle this lost and damaged girl.

Both shocking and inspiring, this true story will shed new light on the extreme and sometimes dangerous nature of foster care."

The author of the bestselling Please Daddy No reveals more harrowing experiences of his neglected childhood.

Having survived the terrible abuse at the hands of his stepfather, Stuart has to reach within himself again to live through the degradation of prison. He is released back into the world without any support or counselling from the authorities.

The child abuse and numerous court cases had almost destroyed him, and Stuart became reliant on drugs and alcohol. With his life spiralling out of control, Stuart attempts suicide a number of times. The last try leaving the doctors that resuscitated him incredulous he had survived.

At the point of no-return, Stuart was sent to an hospital in the Scottish highlands to fight the demons that assailed him and rebuild his life. This is the remarkable story of his fight to be his own man.

A shocking expose of the terrible secrets at the heart of the Pitcairn Island community - a tale of systematic child abuse and rape which stretches back over 40 years. Pitcairn Island - home to the descendants of the mutineers of the Bounty - has long been thought of as a tropical paradise. Wild and remote, it is Britain's most isolated outpost and a fantasy destination for many. But in 1999, British police, alerted by unsettling reports of a rape, descended on the island. Their investigation developed into a major enquiry which revealed that Pitcairn was the site of widespread and horrific sexual abuse instigated by the island men on girls as young as twelve. Scarcely a man on the island was untainted by the allegations, and almost none of the women had escaped, though most residents feigned ignorance, even when their own daughters were abused. Abusers included the magistrates and police officers as well as brothers and uncles. Few of the victims were able to leave the island; those who did never went back. Kathy Marks was one of only six journalists permitted to live on the island while she reported on the ensuing trial and witnessed Pitcairn's domestic workings first-hand. In this riveting account she documents a society gone badly astray, leaving lives shattered, codes broken and a paradise truly lost.

A Sunday Times bestseller, Terrified is the first book from well-loved foster carer Angela Hart. It tells the emotionally devastating but ultimately uplifting true story of Vicky, a little girl who arrives on Angela's doorstep unwanted and unloved after suffering years of emotional abuse at the hands of her mother. Desperate never to return home, Vicky is haunted by many demons and waking nightmares. This book tells the moving story of Angela's determination to set Vicky free. 'A no holds barred insight into the reality of looking after someone else's children. A remarkable story from a remarkable woman, it brought back a lot of memories for me.' - Casey Watson, author of A Dark Secret. 'A moving story that testifies to the redemptive power of love. I hope Angela Hart inspires many others to foster.' - Torey Hayden, author of Lost Child.

In the 19th century, a greater understanding of childrens rights was acknowledged, and in the 20th century, child abuse was discovered in 1962 after many years of turning a blind eye. The number of reported cases of child abuse worldwide has since exploded into a public health epidemic with a much higher incidence than better-funded diseases such as juvenile cancer. The evaluation of child abuse and neglect is complex, with many professionals and agencies involved to try and decrease these incidences. This can be one of the reasons why the field has not been able to attract appropriate resources for prevention, treatment, education and research. Child abuse must be looked upon as a major public health problem, and professionals must make the 21st century a century for the child. In this book, the authors have given a short review of the field.

The shocking story of a young girl forced into prostitution by her own father, and her painful journey to escape her horrific childhood and build a new life for herself and her sons.

Maria's dad was a pimp, living in a world of thieves and street-walkers. Her mother, tiring of turning tricks for her husband, walked out, leaving the children in his chaotic, violent and sometimes cruel care. By the age of nine, Maria's father was abusing her and getting a prostitute friend to dress her up in stockings and make-up. By the time she was fourteen he was selling her on the streets of the red light district in Norwich.

Despite everything Maria still loved her swaggering and sometimes charming father and found it hard to sort out her own feelings. At fifteen she ran away to King's Cross with an older lover who turned out to be just another pimp. Furious at losing a nice little earner her father involved the police and both he and the other man were jailed for living off Maria's immoral earnings. Only then could Maria escape her traumatic childhood and follow her dream of becoming a mother.

With so much information available today in the area of child abuse, figuring out where to begin quickly becomes overwhelming. But The Spectrum of Child Abuse stands out from the current literature in its comprehensiveness and balance. Dr Oates presents a detailed, thoroughly referenced overview of the entire field, rather than focusing exclusively on one particular professional viewpoint or facet of the problem.
The chapters encompass physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. For each of these areas, the text offers a clear historical perspective in addition to pertinent data on incidence and epidemiology, contributing factors, assessment, treatment and prevention. Moreover, a wealth of case studies underscores the importance and meaning of various intervention strategies.
Clearly, child abuse is an area that demands attention. We need to find ways to care for the children themselves, and we need to be able to identify the long-term consequences for both family and society if we are to intervene effectively. Even with progress to date, the work remaining to be done is formidable. With The Spectrum of Child Abuse, clinicians and caregivers at every level have an easily accessible, straightforward discussion that will serve as the foundation for a new generation of investigations.

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Stuart just wanted his father to love him, but he was made to believe he was too naughty to be loved. Finally David Howarth was sent to prison for abusing Stuart's young sisters. Nobody knew the truth about Stuart's abuse until one fateful day when his father tried it again and Stuart fought back in the only way he knew how.

Stuart Howarth spent the first thirty years of his life in mental and physical hell. After years of emotional torment and despair, at the age of 32 Stuart felt an overwhelming urge to see his father (who he now knows was actually his stepfather), then living in Wales. Seeking reconciliation, Stuart was only to be met by the same old abusive man. The rage, pain and confusion boiled over in Stuart and he fought back, killing his stepfather.

When Stuart's story came to light in the courtroom, it was so terrible that he received the minimum possible sentence for his crime and only served thirteen months in Strangeways prison in Manchester. But while in prison, the cruel system compounded the crimes of his evil abuser, and he suffered at the hands of the prison guards. What happened to him during those months led to him suing the Home Office and Strangeways on his release and winning his case.

This is the story of a sweet-natured boy who grew into a brave young man and refused to allow himself to be a victim any longer.

This book addresses a broad array of issues and topics related to child maltreatment and seeks to honor the sacred trust that former UN Secretary-General Annan speaks of by shedding light on how best to serve children and families confronting various forms of victimisation. Topics span from how decisions are made by child protection professionals to the tools needed to effectively advocate for system reform at the community and state levels. Section One, Practice Consideration, contains four chapters written by leading frontline professionals who explore decision making among child protection professionals, how medical and nonmedical team members ideally interact and share their expertise in the context of a team, and finally how advanced training in Child Abuse Pediatrics is now being provided to physicians who make an additional 3-year commitment beyond residency to become board certified in this relatively new specialty. Section 2, Providing Care, consists of four chapters that examine human trafficking, the emergence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children and adolescents who have experienced child maltreatment, and takes on an international flare and explores the trends in child maltreatment in the setting of multiple births in Japan. Section 3, Prevention and Advocacy, ends the book with five chapters that seek to go upstream and which work toward systematic efforts to prevent child maltreatment. Using a quality improvement methodology, a hospital-based abusive head trauma program is implemented and evaluated in granular detail, concluding with lessons learned at the front line, where all programs either rise or fall. Next, the growing awareness of childhood adversity and the role that these early negative experiences can play in the health and wellbeing of children as they grow and develop is explored from a public health perspective. The book concludes with a call to action for effective advocacy at the community and state levels to reform the systems we have institutionalised to manage the problem of child maltreatment.

Child abuse and neglect (CAN) continues to be a serious public health problem in the United States, affecting approximately 19% of victims and costing approximately $124 billion to society. When a child is removed from their parent's custody due to parental abuse or neglect, the child is sometimes placed in temporary custody through dependency court. Difficult and emotionally laden legal decisions occur within dependency court, including determining whether (and where) a child should be temporarily placed or whether a child should be returned to the parent's custody. Over 6 million children experienced some type of child maltreatment in 2013, with 144,000 receiving foster care services (Child Maltreatment, 2013). Legal decision-makers, including judges, case workers, and social workers have the important task of determining what placement is in the best interest of the child. What factors shape decisions in child custodial cases? Chapter One of this book reviews empirical evidence suggesting that the race of the child and parent plays a role in shaping child custodial decisions. Chapter Two presents a feminist, social constructionist theoretical conceptualisation, entitled relational trust theory, that describes the effects of gendered power dynamics on the perception of the other partner as trustworthy in adult-survivor couple interactions; and expounds on the findings of a longitudinal grounded theory study that identified clinical processes of Socio-Emotional Relationship Therapy (SERT) that helped adult-survivor couples transform their gendered power disparities and engage in relationally safe ways that supported a trusting emotional culture. Chapter Three provides a description of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), a rationale for its use with parents and children who have experienced CAN, and an overview of PCIT's evidence base for both intervening with and preventing future CAN.

John Peel first brought Judy's moving childhood story to light on Home Truths . Abducted by her psychotic spiritualist father and kept like a dog in the backyard, she went on to suffer at the brutal hands of nuns in a Manchester orphanage, before living wild on the streets. An incredible, heart-wrenching story of a child who refused to give up.

After a childhood lived in terror, in 1994 Judy was presented with an Unsung Heroes Award for her charity work with street children in South Africa. Her moving story came to light after Judy was interviewed by John Peel on BBC s Home Truths . Street Kid is the inspirational and heartwrenching story of her early years.

At age two, in postwar Manchester, Judy was snatched from her mother and sisters by her psychotic father a spiritualist preacher. He kept her in his backyard, leaving her to scavenge from bins to beat off starvation. At four, she was sent to an inhumanely strict catholic orphanage, before being put back in her father s cruel care. For the next three years she was treated as a virtual slave.

After being taken by her father to South Africa, Judy ran away to join the circus where she found her first taste of freedom and friendship before her father tracked her down. Weeks later Judy was alone again and living on the streets, too terrified to turn to her circus friends. For 9 months 12-year-old Judy made her home in a shed behind a bottle store before collapsing in a shop doorway from near-starvation.

Finally, aged 17, Judy managed to pay her way back to England to find her mother and sisters. But her return to Manchester cruelly shattered any dreams of a happy reunion.

Determined that her childhood experiences should in some way give meaning to her life, Judy has worked tirelessly to help children in need back in South Africa in the very place she had been treated to such abuse herself. She has opened 7 centres to date."

Media reports of the sexual abuse of youth athletes by their coaches have raised questions about how athletic organisations protect against such abuse. Research shows that the power dynamic between coaches and athletes aiming for high performance makes those athletes uniquely vulnerable to abuse. Although states are primarily responsible for addressing abuse, federal laws may apply, such as those that prohibit sex discrimination, including sexual abuse, in federally-funded education programs, require reports of campus crimes, and set minimum standards for state child abuse reporting laws. This book examines the role of federal agencies in preventing and responding to sexual abuse of youth athletes; and steps selected athletic programs aimed at high performance take to prevent and respond to such abuse.

Each day, the safety and well-being of some children is threatened by child abuse and neglect. Intervening effectively in the lives of these children and their families is not the sole responsibility of any single agency or professional group, but rather is a shared community concern. In the area of neglect, both the field and the community increasingly recognize the impact of many factors such as poverty, unemployment, and housing, as well as individual and family characteristics. This book delves deeper into the root causes, symptoms, and consequences of neglect, as well as the interdisciplinary ways to prevent both its occurrence and recurrence. This book also reviews definitions and strategies for assessing neglect, presents lessons learned about prevention and intervention, and suggests sources of training and informational support. Strategies for addressing neglect, beginning with prevention, are included.

Acclaimed as a milestone resource by the Journal of Child and Family Studies, Treatment of Child Abuse has been updated and expanded with ten completely new chapters. The second edition adds the expertise of co-editors Rochelle F. Hanson, Ph.D., and John Sargent, M.D., along with chapters from many new contributors. The second edition is organized by various modes of therapy, different settings for therapies, and the individualized needs of victims correlating to types of abuse and neglect. The contributors describe evidence-based and evidence-supported treatments for traumatized children and adolescents, information on research and theory underlying the interventions, and explanations of treatment protocols. The contributors focus particular attention on special populations and cultural differences. Entire sections focus on medical care and legal interventions necessary for abused youth. New and expanded material includes information on: bullying; Sanctuary Model of trauma-informed care; long-term medical management; appropriate use of psycho pharmacology; and importance of self-care for professionals. Treatment of Child Abuse is an important resource for mental health professionals, family physicians, pediatricians, emergency department physicians, physician assistants, and nurses, as well as child advocate professionals, social workers, and lawyers.

All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Territories have child abuse and neglect reporting laws that mandate certain professionals and institutions to report suspected maltreatment to a child protective services (CPS) agency. Most states recognise four major types of maltreatment: neglect, physical abuse, psychological maltreatment, and sexual abuse. Although any of the forms of child maltreatment may be found separately, they can occur in combination. This book provides data collected on child maltreatment from 2013; and discusses statutes identifying persons who are required to report suspected child maltreatment to an appropriate agency, such as child protective services, a law enforcement agency, or a State's toll-free child abuse reporting hotline.

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."

Current statistics on child abuse, neglect, poverty, and hunger shock the conscience-doubly so as societal structures set up to assist families are failing them. More than ever, the responsibility of the helping professions extends from aiding individuals and families to securing social justice for the larger community. With this duty in clear sight, the contributors to Child and Family Advocacy assert that advocacy is neither a dying art nor a lost cause but a vital platform for improving children's lives beyond the scope of clinical practice. This uniquely practical reference builds an ethical foundation that defines advocacy as a professional competency and identifies skills that clinicians and researchers can use in advocating at the local, state and federal levels. Models of the advocacy process coupled with first-person narratives demonstrate how professionals across disciplines can lobby for change. Among the topics discussed: Promoting children's mental health: collaboration and public understanding. Health reform as a bridge to health equity. Preventing child maltreatment: early intervention and public education Changing juvenile justice practice and policy. A multi-level framework for local policy development and implementation. When evidence and values collide: preventing sexually transmitted infections. Lessons from the legislative history of federal special education law. Child and Family Advocacy is an essential resource for researchers, professionals and graduate students in clinical child and school psychology, family studies, public health, developmental psychology, social work and social policy.

Humor, a topic that engaged Sigmund Freud both early and late in his career, is richly intertwined with character, with creativity, and with the theory and practice of psychoanalytic therapy. Yet, until very recently, analysts ignored Freud's lead and relegated humor to the periphery of their concerns. Humor and Psyche not only remedies previous neglect of the role of humor in the psychoanalytic situation but opens to a broad and balanced consideration of the role of humor in psychological life. Section I provides historical and theoretical perspectives on the concept of humor. Contributors review Freudian and post-Freudian theories of humor, address the inseparability of humor and play, adumbrate a postmodernist perspective on humor, and focus on the unique cognitive and affective properties of humor. In Section II contributors turn to the relationship of humor to various aspects of the therapeutic process, including the relationship of humor to transference interpretation, the enlivening effects of humor on the therapeutic process, and the multiple meanings of humorous exchanges between therapists and patients. Section III concludes the volume with three fascinating essays on the relationship of humor to character and creativity. They focus, respectively, on the role of humor in the 25-year correspondence of Freud and Sandor Ferenczi, on the interweaving of D. W. Winnicott's comic spirit and theoretical innovations, and on the relationship between humor and creativity in the music of the American composer Charles Ives. Taken together, the contributors reestablish the importance of humor as a topic of psychotherapeutic relevance more than 70 years after Freud's final essay on the topic. Delightfully readable from beginning to end, Humor and Psyche edifies as it entertains.

In the much-anticipated follow-up to Sunday Times bestseller Trapped, foster carer Rosie Lewis tells the heartbreaking true story of 13-year-old Zadie. When the young teenage girl runs away from home and is discovered hiding on the city streets by the police, it is clear that all is not as it should be. Taught to believe that Westerners should not be trusted, when Zadie is initially delivered into the experienced hands of foster carer Rosie she is polite and well-behaved, but understandably suspicious of the family around her. Through Rosie's support and understanding, gradually Zadie begins to settle into her new surroundings, but loyalty to her relatives, and fear of bringing shame on those around her, prevents her from confessing the horrifying truth about her troubled past. When the shocking truth finally emerges, Rosie and her family can hardly believe that Zadie had managed to keep the shocking secrets to herself for so long.

A multi-professional approach to safeguarding children, which accompanies the Department of Health's new training courses. * Focuses on the methods of identifying children at risk and details what happens at each stage of the social work process* Presents a fully multi-disciplinary approach as to how professional groups and services should co-operate to safeguard children* Part of the prestigious NSPCC Wiley Series in Safeguarding Children* Accompanies the training courses run by the DoH and NSPCC for professionals working with children

The sexual abuse and exploitation of children rob the victims of their childhood, irrevocably interfering with their emotional and psychological development. Ensuring that all children come of age without being disturbed by sexual trauma or exploitation is more than a criminal justice issue, it is a societal issue. Despite efforts to date, the threat of child sexual exploitation remains very real, whether it takes place in the home, on the street, over the Internet or in a foreign land. Because the sexual abuse and exploitation of children strikes at the very foundation of our society, it will take our entire society to combat this affront to the public welfare. This authors of this book examine the nature of the child exploitation problem and the significant efforts being undertaken by federal, state and local agencies to address this epidemic.

There is universal agreement that 'something must be done' about child abuse, that the legal and policy frameworks established for the protection of children are inadequate. Time and again this is brought home by cases that reveal major failures in the investigation and prosecution of child abuse suspects. There is much less clarity about what qualifies as child abuse and what should be done about it. Failings in the law are often invoked by politicians and the media at times of crisis, when a societal response is demanded. The presence of new legislation on the statute book or the creation of rules and protocols which professionals must follow is one socially acceptable sign that the problem has been recognized and that an effective response has been implemented. Are these ad hoc responses helpful? If not, what should be done to address the current weaknesses in the protection of children?
This book looks across legal and geographical boundaries to consider the law and policy on child abuse. It examines the whole process of child protection, from complaint investigation to prosecution, and analyzes the legal disciplines of criminal, family, tort and evidence law as they bear on child abuse cases. Material is drawn from over 75 jurisdictions, including major empirical research in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Throughout the book's focus is on achieving a coherent program for reforming the law and practices responsible for child protection. Its contribution to policy debates was recognized by the Judges of the 2008 Inner Temple Book Prize who, in awarding it the prize for outstanding legal scholarship, heralded it as a 'masterly book on a hugely important subject', one that will 'make an outstanding contribution to the formation and understanding of legal policy'.