Representing and intervening in child abuse law, statistics, community

McCallum, David (2008) Representing and intervening in child abuse law, statistics, community. Communication, Politics & Culture, 41 (1). pp. 63-77. ISSN 1836-0645

Abstract

Child protection in Australia is reportedly in a state of crisis. The media regularly provides commentary on escalating rates of child abuse, deaths of clients in child protection services and the massive Federal Government intervention into Northern Territory Indigenous communities, all of which point to a child welfare system in crisis. In Victoria, legislative changes to child protection have introduced new procedures for managing the state’s child protection services. Among its objectives, the legislation seeks to promote stable long-term care for children through timely and more efficient family interventions. This paper places these events in the historical context of recurring shifts in how the problem of child abuse is calculated and acted upon. It draws particular attention to the evolution of new forms of power deployed in relation to children, families and communities, which delimit the scope of law while promoting individual responsibility for the underlying arrangements affecting child maltreatment.

Item type Article
URI https://vuir.vu.edu.au/id/eprint/1401
Official URL http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=3...
Subjects Historical > RFCD Classification > 370000 Studies in Human Society
Historical > FOR Classification > 1605 Policy and Administration
Historical > FOR Classification > 1608 Sociology
Historical > Faculty/School/Research Centre/Department > School of Social Sciences and Psychology
Keywords ResPubID15372, child abuse, child protection, Australian Indigenous communities, legislation, Australia
Download/View statistics View download statistics for this item

Search Google Scholar

Repository staff login