Suchergebnisse

This article investigates policy in the Philippines relating to the protection of children, which, despite policy efforts in this space, and growing evidence of child maltreatment and its impact, remains unexamined by the literature. It examines constructions of childhoods utilising a critical policy analysis of national policy documents concerning children's welfare and protection. Analysis finds conflicting representations of children's agency, defining children as 'becomings', but also as rights holders and social actors, viewing children as both embedded in, and reliant on, family, consequently detailing important insights into Filipino policy‐making and society.

AbstractTo gain a better understanding of the dimensions, characteristics and phenomenon of child maltreatment and its policy responses in the Philippines, this article provides a systematic review of the peer reviewed literature. This review provides a summary and analysis of the core child maltreatment issues in the Philippines and examines child protection policy responses. It takes a systematic approach, identifying 31 peer reviewed articles from a diverse range of scholarship that met its criteria, and subjected to a quality appraisal tool. Its findings provide important details about child maltreatment and child protection arrangements in the Philippines. It recommends further research into policy and programmatic approaches to child maltreatment, a greater focus on the social, cultural and structural influences on child maltreatment, and investigation into child maltreatment, particularly child sexual abuse, in contexts outside of the home, such as in institutions.

AbstractIn recent decades, poverty has increasingly been marginalised in Australian policy discourse. One strategy used by social justice advocates to revitalise a poverty policy agenda has been the annual Anti‐Poverty Week campaign, which aims to stimulate community debate around policy innovations to relieve poverty. This paper analyses the Commonwealth parliamentary debates around Anti‐Poverty Week for 10 years from 2012 to 2021. We analyse and compare how politicians from three political parties – the Liberal and National Party Coalition, the Australian Labor Party and The Australian Greens – identified the key statistics for and groups in poverty, their sources of evidence, the consequences of poverty for those affected, the causes of poverty including whether or not disadvantage was linked to wider structural inequities, and the framing of poverty and potential policy solutions. Some conclusions are drawn from these findings about potential strategies for reinvigorating the poverty debate.

Social work is observing an increasing awareness of geographical inequity in knowledge creation and dissemination, an interest in research by scholars from the global South, and debates about the extent to which the multiple contexts of social work are recognised. This article extends understandings of these research dynamics through reviewing recent articles authored in the global South and published in the 10 largest social work journals, subjecting them to analysis across institutional affiliation, author order and research type. Findings highlight an absence of knowledge from the global South, identifying major gaps in social work theorising, research and knowledge.

AbstractInfluenced by a harm reduction philosophy, the then Victorian Labor Government announced the establishment of the state's first medically supervised injecting room (MSIR) in North Richmond in late 2017. But, public and political opinion remains sharply divided as to the merits of the MSIR. One influence on policy development appears to be media commentary on the MSIR and the wider illicit drugs policy debate. This paper compares the official editorials of the two daily Melbourne newspapers, the Herald Sun and The Age regarding the MSIR, from November 2017 until November 2022. Based on 33 articles (Herald Sun, N = 28; The Age, N = 5), our findings identify philosophical differences between the two newspapers as reflected in their sources of information, language and highlighted issues. The Age was mostly supportive of both the introduction of the North Richmond MSIR and proposals for a second site. The Herald Sun's position was more ambiguous, ranging from qualified support for the North Richmond MSIR to strong opposition to further sites.

This article reports on a study that provides insights into the challenges faced by practitioners in the Northern Territory (NT) who support families in enhancing child safety and well-being, particularly for children at risk of or exposed to domestic or family violence. Despite increased funding for programs aimed at improving children's safety and well-being, reports and substantiations of child maltreatment in the NT continue to escalate. Interviews with twelve participants from various organizations involved in child protection services, family support services, and residential care shed light on the existing gaps in support services, including limited resources for families escaping domestic violence and inadequate assistance for children transitioning from out-of-home care. The findings emphasize the need for early intervention services targeted at families displaying risk factors for child maltreatment. Additionally, community consultation is crucial for the design and implementation of support programs that align with the unique needs of communities, including the necessity of maintaining connections to community, culture, and family to address concerns related to meeting basic needs. The study calls for a comprehensive approach that integrates community input, cultural safety, and tailored support programs to bridge these gaps and facilitate lasting positive changes. By addressing these challenges, there is a potential to mitigate child maltreatment and improve the well-being of children and families in the NT, contributing to the overall welfare of the community.

Prior to the election of the Labor Government in May 2022, consecutive Australian Liberal–National Coalition Governments argued that local community leaders and organisations endorsed the introduction of the restrictive cashless debit card (CDC) in multiple trial sites. As a result, the CDC policy was presented as a meritorious example of a co-designed policy model based on collaboration with local communities. This article explores this assertion by examining the views presented by local community groups via written and oral submissions to six parliamentary inquiries into the CDC from 2015 to 2020. Our findings suggest major divisions across community groups within the CDC locations. In four of the six inquiries, most community group submissions opposed the introduction or expansion of the CDC. However, these views received cursory recognition in the inquiry reports, with little influence on policy. This article concludes that the CDC policy is more accurately conceptualised as a centralised policy imposed by the government on local communities without considering local views.

AbstractChildren's participation is essential to achieve good outcomes for children involved in child protection systems. Despite this, research has consistently found children report low levels of participation, are poorly consulted and feel inadequately involved in decisions about their lives. To explore how practitioners understand children's participation, 18 in‐depth interviews were conducted with statutory child protection practitioners in Australia. The interviews explored the ways child protection practitioners understand children's participation. Our findings show practitioners conceptualize children as rights holders and believe it is essential to hear directly from children about their needs and wishes to keep them safe. Practitioners identified the importance of transparent processes and decisions. Different understanding of participation emerged, with some participants talking about children as their central focus but not discussing meaningful participation of the child. It appeared that children's participation relied largely on the views and skills of individual workers, as well as their ability to incorporate meaningful participation in limited time and in complex practice environments where children's safety is a primary concern. Systemic changes to address time barriers, training practitioners to understand and implement participatory practice, and seeking children's input into service design, will support consistent and meaningful participation.