Children and families

Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment. Abuse or neglect may involve inflicting harm or failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be maltreated at home; within a family or peer network; in care placements; institutions or community settings; and in the online and digital environment.

Those responsible may be previously unknown or familiar, or in positions of trust. They may be family members. Children may be harmed pre-birth, for instance by domestic abuse of a mother or through parental alcohol and drug use.

Child protection refers to the processes involved in gathering and assessing and planning what action may be necessary where there are concerns that a child may be at risk of harm.  Child protection procedures should be initiated when police, social work, education or health professionals determine that a child may have been abused or may be at risk of significant harm.

The child protection process involves –

• immediate action, if necessary, to prevent significant harm to a child
• inter-agency investigation about the occurrence or probability of abuse or neglect, or of a criminal offence against a child. Investigation must extend to other children affected by the same risks or who are part of the same household as the child who is the subject of a referral
• assessment and action to address the interaction of behaviour, relationships and conditions that may, in combination, cause or accelerate risk
• focus within assessment, planning and action upon listening to each child’s voice and recognising their experience, needs and feelings
• collaboration between agencies and persistent efforts to work in partnership with parents in planning and action to prevent harm or reduce risk of harm
• recognition and support for the strengths, relationships and skills within the child and their world in order to form a plan that reduces risk and builds resilience

Children who are subject to child protection processes may already be known to services and have a child’s plan in place.  Child protection processes should build on existing knowledge, strengths in planning and partnership to reduce the risk of harm and to meet the child’s needs.  The level of risk a child is exposed to can change quickly as circumstances change or new information emerges.

Physical abuse   –  is the causing of physical harm to a child or young person. Physical abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, or scalding, drowning, or suffocating. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer feigns the symptoms of, or deliberately causes, ill health to a child they are looking after.

There may be some variation in family, community, or cultural attitudes to parenting, for example, in relation to reasonable discipline. Cultural sensitivity must not deflect practitioners from a focus on a child’s essential needs for care and protection from harm, or a focus on the need of a family for support to reduce stress and associated risk.

Emotional abuse   –   is persistent emotional ill treatment that has severe and persistent adverse effects on a child’s emotional development. ‘Persistent’ means there is a continuous or intermittent pattern which has caused, or is likely to cause, significant harm. Emotional abuse is present to some extent in all types of ill treatment of a child, but it can also occur independently of other forms of abuse.

It may involve –

• conveying to a child that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate or valued only in so far as they meet the needs of another person
• exploitation or corruption of a child, or imposition of demands inappropriate for their age or stage of development
• repeated silencing, ridiculing or intimidation • demands that so exceed a child’s capability that they may be harmful
• extreme overprotection, such that a child is harmed by prevention of learning, exploration and social development
• seeing or hearing the abuse of another (in accordance with the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018)

Child Sexual abuse (CSA)   –   is an act that involves a child under 16 years of age in any activity for the sexual gratification of another person, whether or not it is claimed that the child either consented or assented. Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening.

For those who may be victims of sexual offences aged 16-17, child protection procedures should be considered. These procedures must be applied when there is concern about the sexual exploitation or trafficking of a child.

The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative or non-penetrative acts. They may include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at or in the production of indecent images, in watching sexual activities, using sexual language towards a child, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.

Child sexual exploitation (CSE)   –   is a form of child sexual abuse. It occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a person under 18 into sexual activity in exchange for something the victim needs or wants, and/or for the financial advantage or increased status of the perpetrator or facilitator.

The victim may have been sexually exploited even if the sexual activity appears consensual. Child sexual exploitation does not always involve physical contact. It can also occur through the use of technology.

Children who are trafficked across borders or within the UK may be at particular risk of sexual abuse.

Criminal exploitation   –   refers to the action of an individual or group using an imbalance of power to coerce, control, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into any criminal activity in exchange for something the victim needs or wants, or for the financial or other advantage of the perpetrator or facilitator. Violence or the threat of violence may feature. The victim may have been criminally exploited, even if the activity appears consensual.

Child criminal exploitation may involve physical contact and may also occur through the use of technology. It may involve gangs and organised criminal networks. Sale of illegal drugs may be a feature. Children and vulnerable adults may be exploited to move and store drugs and money. Coercion, intimidation, violence (including sexual violence) and weapons may be involved.

Child trafficking   –   involves the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt, exchange or transfer of control of a child under the age of 18 years for the purposes of exploitation. Transfer or movement can be within an area and does not have to be across borders. Examples of and reasons for trafficking can include sexual, criminal and financial exploitation, forced labour, removal of organs, illegal adoption, and forced or illegal marriage.

Neglect   –   Neglect consists in persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, which is likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. There can also be single instances of neglectful behaviour that cause significant harm. Neglect can arise in the context of systemic stresses such as poverty and is an indicator of both support and protection needs.

Persistent’ means there is a pattern which may be continuous or intermittent which has caused or is likely to cause significant harm. However, single instances of neglectful behaviour by a person in a position of responsibility can be significantly harmful. Early signs of neglect indicate the need for support to prevent harm.

The GIRFEC set out the essential wellbeing needs of all children. Neglect of any or all of these can impact on healthy development. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment); to protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger; to ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate caregivers); to seek consistent access to appropriate medical care or treatment; to ensure the child receives education; or to respond to a child’s essential emotional needs.

Faltering growth   –   refers to an inability to reach normal weight and growth or development milestones in the absence of medically discernible physical and genetic reasons. This condition requires further assessment and may be associated with chronic neglect.

Malnutrition, lack of nurturing and lack of stimulation can lead to serious long-term effects such as greater susceptibility to serious childhood illnesses and reduction in potential stature. For very young children the impact could quickly become life-threatening. Chronic physical and emotional neglect may also have a significant impact on teenagers.

Female genital mutilation    –   this extreme form of physical, sexual and emotional assault upon girls and women involves partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. Such procedures are usually conducted on children and are a criminal offence in Scotland. FGM can be fatal and is associated with long-term physical and emotional harm.

Forced marriage   –  is a marriage conducted without the full and free consent of both parties and where duress is a factor. Duress can include physical, psychological, financial, sexual, and emotional abuse. Forced marriage is both a child protection and adult protection matter. Child protection processes will be considered up to the age of 18. Forced marriage may be a risk alongside other forms of so called ‘honour-based’ abuse (HBA). HBA includes practices used to control behaviour within families, communities, or other social groups, to protect perceived cultural and religious beliefs and/or ‘honour’.

Domestic abuse is any form of physical, verbal, sexual, psychological or financial abuse which might amount to criminal conduct and which takes place within the context of a relationship. The relationship may be between partners (married, cohabiting, in a civil partnership or otherwise), or ex-partners.

The abuse may be committed in the home or elsewhere, including online. Domestic abuse includes degrading, threatening and humiliating behaviour predominantly by men and predominantly towards women.

The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018  creates a statutory definition of domestic abuse and recognises children and young people as victims. 

It is important to remember that each person’s experience of domestic abuse will be different, it can encompass a wide range of behaviours and it can involve a single incident or a course of conduct. 

Children and young people (under the age of 18 years) are deemed to be victims as a result of seeing, hearing or otherwise experiencing domestic abuse between two people where the child is related to at least one of them whether that be the victim or perpetrator.

Protecting children from domestic abuse | NSPCC Learning

Domestic abuse can affect anyone, regardless of age, disability, gender identity, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. 

Safe and Together

The Safe & Together model has been adopted by North Lanarkshire Council and is an approach designed to improve practice and how services work together with families where there are concerns around domestic abuse. The model provides a framework for partnering with domestic abuse survivors and intervening with domestic abuse perpetrators in order to enhance the safety and well-being of children.

The model is based on three key principles.

1. Keeping children Safe & Together with their non-abusive parent, ensuring safety, healing from trauma, stability, and nurturance.
2. Partnering with the non-abusive parent as a default position ensuring efficient, effective, and child-centred practice.
3. Intervening with the perpetrator to reduce the risk and harm to the child through engagement, accountability, and criminal justice. 

Click on this link for more information on contextual safeguarding.

Risk outside the home

Non -familial harm is defined as risks to the welfare of children that arise within the community or peer group, including sexual and criminal exploitation. A key element of non-familial harm is that in general, harm does not arise from the home environment; parents may not be aware that their child is at risk or may be struggling to protect their child and the family from harm against exploiters. children can be at risk wherever they choose to spend their time, including in schools, in the community or online. Therefore, the location and context the child is in is important.

However, sometimes parental neglect and lack of supervision may contribute to the young person’s exposure to extra-familial harm. Children who experience difficulties or instability at home may be more likely to spend more time outside of home and hence be more vulnerable to non -familial harm.

Non -familial harm can take the form of  –

• child sexual exploitation
• online grooming, sharing of images.
• child criminal exploitation including drug dealing.
• modern slavery and trafficking
• gang activity and youth violence
• Radicalisation

Child Protection procedures should be initiated when there are concerns of significant harm about a child at risk of non familial harm.  Consideration should be given to initiating an IRD, child protection investigation, child protection planning meeting and registration as set out in previous sections.  

North Lanarkshire’s Policies and Procedures can be viewed using the following link:

Children Services: PPP – 1 (pagetiger.com)