Child Abuse: A Global View

SCHWARTZ-KENNEY, Beth M., Michelle McCAULEY and Michelle A. EPSTEIN, eds., CHILD ABUSE: A Global View. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2000, 296 pp., $49.95 hardcover. Research on family processes around the world is quite immense. However, few of these studies examine the issue of child abuse, even though anecdotal evidence and existing data from governmental and non-governmental (NGOs) agencies indicate that child harassment and sexual exploitation and the use of child labor is widespread around the world. Indeed, in the case of the developing world where the problem may be more acute and hidden under the rubric of culture and poverty, scholarly research on the topic is quite limited. Moreover, in the developing world, what constitutes child abuse can vary from one society to another as well as in time and space. Indeed, demographic researchers have long suggested that in many high-fertility countries around the world, children are beneficial to parents from an early age, as they are a major source of cheap labor. The extent to which these normative practices impact or lead to abuse is as yet unclear. It is in light of the above observations that the scholarly community and child care advocates would welcome a book devoted entirely to the topic of child abuse in different cultural settings. This edited volume by Schwartz-Kenney, McCauley and Epstein provide insights into the prevalence of various types of child abuse as well as the available treatment strategies in sixteen countries from all over the world. For each country, the authors) provide comparable data on the history, dimension and prevalence of various types of child abuse (e.g., maltreatment, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect). For example, in the case of Canada, the author indicates that the government has established child victim support programs to help prepare children for court cases. In England, the author points to the existence of two main ideological orientations that have influenced child abuse intervention programs: the belief that physical abuse arises from factors like stress, poverty and immaturity of parents, and the perception that child abuse is the result of male power and dominance. According to the chapter on India, the country's constitution has a provision that deals with issues affecting children. Unfortunately, these provisions are rarely enforced. According to the author on Ireland, treatment programs for sex offenders are scandalously underdeveloped. In the case of Israel, we are told that the belief that the Jewish family is pro-children has made it difficult for many people to accept the existence of the problem. Thus, the author calls for mandatory training about child maltreatment in professional studies such as medicine, social work and law. Japan does not have a cohesive, integrated system of child protection we are told. …