Challenging Child Protection: Rethinking Core Principles and Practice in Safeguarding Children

Challenging Child Protection offers a ground-breaking new perspective which will illuminate and improve the professional understanding and practice of social workers and child protection workers.

Taking a fresh look at the principles underlying child protection, this book provides a thought-provoking analysis of the evidence base which underpins professional understanding and intervention. It outlines the ways in which agencies have worked to prevent child abuse and neglect and traces key changes in UK policy, as well as situating these amid wider trends in Europe. With contributions from a wide variety of disciplines, including philosophy and anthropology, this is a uniquely diverse collection of academic perspectives.

This book challenges our conceptions of child protection and encourages readers to think critically about why children are harmed by adults, how society views child abuse and how this informs practice.

Brigid Daniel is Professor of Social Work at the University of Stirling. She is the co-author of a number of books on child care and protection and has a particular interest in factors that help children to cope with adversity. She was a member of the multi-disciplinary team that carried out a national ministerial review of child protection practice in Scotland.