The problems of child abuse and how to help solve them

The statistics

Each year in Australia there are more than 100 000 notifications to child welfare authorities of children who are at risk of abuse or neglect. That’s close to 300 per day and while the figure should be treated with some caution because definitions and recording policies vary slightly from state to state, Australia clearly can’t afford to ignore this widespread and serious problem.

The impact

We now have substantial evidence about the short and long-term impacts of child abuse and these include brain damage, chronic low self-esteem, problems forming relationships, learning disorders and aggressive behaviour. The youngest children are the most vulnerable, with the size of a baby making them more susceptible to fractures and bruising.

The impact of child abuse and neglect on schooling is profound. Abused children are likely to present schools with disciplinary challenges. They require considerable resources in terms of counselling and other special programs, and often leave school without formal qualifications. They’re far more likely than those who had nurturing childhoods to require psychiatric treatment or hospitalisation.

The risk of future delinquency, adult criminality and arrest for violent crime also increases for people abused and neglected as children. For every thousand neglected children in New South Wales, an estimated 25 per cent face charges in the Children’s Court. On average they have four or five years of involvement in crime, committing 11 or 12 break-and-enters a month during those years. They generate a huge community burden both as a consequence of their crimes and the cost of dealing with them through the justice system (about $55,000 a year per offender).

So the impact of child abuse and neglect on both individuals and the whole community is very significant. Addressing child abuse and neglect however is not just a job for specialists – it’s our collective responsibility.

How can we prevent child abuse and neglect?

The keys to preventing child abuse and neglect are to recognise that all families face some stress and to intervene as early as possible to support vulnerable families. It’s easy to think that child abuse and neglect is just a problem for ‘certain’ families. The reality is that parenting today is complex, challenging and a steep learning curve for many. A third of new parents for example, has never held a baby before; many families are far away from the support of their extended families and old friends; most parents are in the labour force - often working long hours; and 20 per cent are lone-parent families. Many families are also coping with domestic violence, poverty, alcohol or drug addiction, mental illness or a childhood history of abuse. All of these add to the stresses facing parents – by intervening early in the life of a child, hopefully these (and other stresses) will not become overwhelming.

The importance of the first three year’s of life

Apart from the intuitive wisdom of intervening early to prevent child abuse and neglect we now have solid evidence from a range of disciplines on the importance of the first three years of a child’s life. We now know that a human brain is only a quarter of its eventual size at birth and that much brain development occurs during the first years of life. We also know that how a brain develops hinges on a complex interplay between the genes we’re born with and the experiences we have.

Many researchers believe that early experiences have a decisive impact on the architecture of the brain – they directly affect the way the brain is wired – and on the nature and extent of adult capacities. It was previously thought that brain development was linear, with our capacity to learn and change growing steadily as an infant progresses towards adulthood. We now know that there are prime times for acquiring different kinds of knowledge and skills and that the first years of life are crucial. Studies of preschool children have shown that vital pathways in the brain are enhanced by the right kind of stimulation at the age of one or two.

Our new thinking on brain development is complemented by our knowledge that a positive parent-child relationship in infancy is a prerequisite for healthy emotional, cognitive and psychological development. Good relationships between a parent and child in the first three years of life provide the foundation for a resilient life. If a family is experiencing difficulties that impact on the parent-child relationship a child’s ability to thrive socially, psychologically and intellectually will be impeded.

Whilst the arrival of a new baby can be a time of great stress for families it also provides a window of opportunity, a time of hope where parents want the best possible future for their child and themselves. It is the most opportune time to begin working with vulnerable families to prevent the escalation of the stresses they face and thereby limiting the likelihood of abuse and neglect.

How do early intervention programs work?

Governments and community organisations are now focussing on early intervention programs as the most effective way of addressing child abuse and neglect. Extensive international research shows that getting in early to support vulnerable families during the critical first three years of a child’s life is the key to developing child and family resilience. This same research also shows that it is cost-effective – for the child, family and community.

The Benevolent Society, Australia’s oldest non-profit, has a long history of working with vulnerable families. Our early intervention programs have been operating for over fourteen years and are well known and respected throughout Australia. We like to start working with at-risk families as early as possible in the life of a new baby, or even during pregnancy. Our programs involve multidisciplinary teams and trained volunteers working with around 500 families each year to positively change the lives of young children and their families.

Our work is based on extensive international research which shows that what works is a commitment to:

• Work with families in their home – not in clinics or offices
• Support families for the long term – real change takes time
• Address family needs holistically (this might include post natal depression, drug and alcohol issues, parents’ own history of abuse, domestic violence, mental illness, social isolation, inability to access community resources, child or parent disability, cultural issues, multiple birth, child abuse and neglect, particularly emotional abuse and attachment disorders)
• Connect families to supports in their local community.

Our approach recognises that a range of programs are required to meet the needs of families, so our early intervention programs include:

• Intensive support for the most distressed families.
• Highly trained volunteer home visitors for families with additional stress around the birth of a new baby, due to social isolation, disability, multiple birth or difficulty using services because of a non-English speaking background.
• Short-term interventions with families and training and consultation to other professionals.

By visiting families at home, early intervention workers can offer counselling, information on child development and practical household advice. They can link families to community resources such as childcare, playgroups, early childhood nurses and community health services. They strengthen the relationships between children and parents, help with general parenting skills and nurture the children’s healthy development, including through play and art therapy. By visiting at home, workers and volunteers can more readily understand the family’s needs. They gain insight into families’ lifestyles, values and their inner worlds. They can reach families who would not otherwise engage with services.

Early intervention works

Measuring the outcomes of early intervention programs is challenging but qualitative and quantitative evaluation provides clear evidence that our approach is having a positive impact on the crucial parent-child attachment. This attachment is seen as pivotal in preventing child abuse and neglect. Evidence from clients, families and staff as well as the use of a number of professional tools to track progress over time, confirms that The Benevolent Society’s early intervention programs are making a difference. And the earlier the intervention takes place, the more effective the outcome.

Although some parents who experienced abuse or other trauma in childhood become abusive parents themselves, this is far from inevitable. With the right support and understanding provided early on in the life of their child, parents can work through these painful feelings. The past does not have to be repeated.

Not only does early intervention work, it’s cost effective. A study by the Rand Institute found that early intervention programs are cost-effective for governments (and hence the community) in the long term, compared with the costs of law enforcement, the justice system and prisons which are a consequence of child abuse and neglect. The savings are greatest when programs are targeted to vulnerable families, with the estimates being that for every dollar spent intervening to support these families with young children at risk, seven dollars are saved later on.

Child abuse, social capital and our collective responsibility

Our collective horror about child abuse is understandable – it’s a crime against the most vulnerable in our community and its negative impacts on the long-term wellbeing of children are horrifying. But just as our horror might be collective, so too should be our response to preventing abuse and neglect.

Social capital is a term used to describe the shared values, resources and connections that make a community a good place to live. To the extent that people know and trust each other, feel safe, understand what services are available and feel happy about the neighbourhood, they are rich in social capital. All families face stresses – we now know that how we support families to manage these stresses and help them connect with others in the community has a major impact on the wellbeing of the whole family.

Research with families of small children has found that mothers who enjoy a wide network of friendships and other connections have an easier time than those who are socially isolated. That is they are rich in social capital. They have access to friendship and affection, advice, information about parenting and child development and practical help such as informal child care. Further, a wide social network greatly increases a parent’s ability to provide small children with a stimulating and enjoyable home environment.

Statistical surveys show that child abuse is more prevalent in neighbourhoods where residents are suspicious of their neighbours, have no firm friends and would prefer to live somewhere else. In these neighbourhoods the stocks of social capital are low. A study by Professor Tony Vinson for the Australian Institute of Criminology showed that in the "hot-spot" clusters where child abuse was most prevalent, 41% of residents rated the neighbourhood as a poor or very poor place to bring up children. More than 84% of local residents wanted to leave the area to live somewhere else.

We now know that supporting families early in the life of their child is crucial for the healthy emotional, cognitive and psychological development of their child. It’s also crucial in preventing child abuse and neglect. That support needs to involve us taking collective responsibility for developing caring local neighbourhoods and communities. Building local social connections and informal support is fundamental to preventing child abuse and neglect and to building resilience in children and vulnerable families.

The prevention of child abuse and neglect is not just a job for the specialists - safety and happiness in early childhood depend on communities as well as on individual families. The Benevolent Society’s early intervention programs link people in their communities so they have better access to services, friendly advice and information. The most important connections for vulnerable families are with people – neighbours and the local community offering friendship, love and support. Supportive communities, rich in social capital, complemented by a range of early intervention programs, are the most effective ways of preventing child abuse and neglect.