Children’s Rights In and Through Education: Learning to Live Together The Right to be Safe The Role of Educators in Prevention and Intervention

The Right to be Safe The Right to be Safe The Right to Survive The Right to be Safe The Right to Belong The Right to Develop

 Teachers hold a critical role in protecting Children’s right to safety.  Thus important that educators know of: –Incidence and Prevalence of Abuse –Types of Child Abuse –Possible indicators of abuse –The issues involved in reporting and disclosure of abuse Teachers and Child Abuse?

Child maltreatment and learning Traumatized children suffer from deep, long-lasting pain from:  Grief and loss  Abandonment  Abuse and neglect  Exposure to violence  Persistent anxiety  Fear or terror of the future  Physical pain & injuries  Psychological manipulation  School can be an unpleasant experience Trauma impacts on learning:  Hyper-arousal / hyper-vigilance  Dissociation  Reduced cognitive capacity  Reduced capacity for listening/  Understanding/ expressing  Conflict with others  Learning is harder  Attachment at/to school is harder  School can be an unpleasant experience (Doweny, 2007)

The Scope of the Problem  Incidence and Prevalence of child abuse – world wide

Incidence and Prevalence of Abuse in Israel  Between Incidence, Prevalence and Reporting Child Abuse  Eisikovits and Lev-Wiesel

The Processes of Disclosure  Disclosure Dilemmas

General Indicators  Three common indicators: –Physical signs –Behavioral/Psychological signs –Disclosure

What you can do when children disclose forms of abuse When a child begins to tell…  Believe  Be calm  Be affirming  Prepare the child for what will happen next  Be supportive  Report the abuse

Impediments to child abuse disclosure Often, children don’t disclose abuse because of:  Affection towards abuser  Told and understands it is normal and ‘the way to be in the world’  Desire to please  Past negative experience with disclosure  Fear of:  Remembering  Losing love  Shame and guilt  Being blamed  Further harm  Hurting the abuser

Intervention and Treatment for Child Abuse  Multi-disciplinary Perspectives

Action – What can we do?  Increase awareness –Raise the issue in your classrooms  Community outreach to families  Be mindful of risk factors and possible signs  Be informed of reporting procedures  Report

Seeing Child Abuse As:  Violation of Children’s Rights  Affecting –The Children themselves –Local Communities –Global Communities

The Affects of Child Abuse on Professionals  “Toxic Knowledge”  Improvisational Professional Identity

Activities

Discussion/Workshops

Theoretical Material Required Readings: Melton, G. (2005). Mandated reporting: A policy without reason. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, Recommended Readings: 1. Alaggia, R. (2004). Many ways of telling: Expanding conceptualizations of child sexual abuse disclosure. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28 (11), Ainsworth, F. (2002). Mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect: Does it really make a difference. Child and Family Social Work, 7, Ashton,V. (2004). The effect of personal characteristics on reporting child maltreatment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28, Ben-Arieh, A., & Haj-Yahia, M. M. (2006). The "geography" of child maltreatment in Israel: Findings from a national data set of cases reported to the social services. Child Abuse and Neglect, 30, Hershkowitz, I., Horowitz, D., & Lamb, M. E. (2005). Trends in children’s disclosure of abuse in Israel: A national study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 1203– Ibaneza, E., Borrego, J., Pembertona, J., & Terao, S. (2006). Cultural factors in decision-making about child physical abuse: Identifying reporter characteristics influencing reporting tendencies. Child Abuse & Neglect, 30, 1365– Kenny, M. (2001). Child abuse reporting: Teachers’ perceived deterrents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 25 (1), 81– Kim, S., Gostin, L., & Cole, T. (2012). Child Abuse Reporting: Rethinking Child Protection. Journal of the American Medical Association, 308 (1), London, K., Bruck, M., Ceci, S. J., & Shuman, D. W. (2005). Disclosure of child sexual abuse: What does the research tell us about the ways that children tell? Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 11 (1), Terao, S., Borrego, J., & Urquiza, A. (2001). A Reporting and Response Model for Culture and Child Maltreatment. Child Maltreatment, 6 (2), Webster, S.W., O’Toole, R., O’Toole, A.W., & Lucal, B. (2005). Overreporting and underreporting of child abuse: Teachers’ use of professional discretion. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29 (11), 1281–1296.he