Role and Responsibilities of Practitioners in Child Abuse Cases

This document discusses the role and responsibilities of practitioners in identifying and counseling children facing abuse. It also explores the importance of relationships, taking a child's understanding into account, and ways to support a child. The document emphasizes the need for support in child abuse cases.

Assignment

Answers of questions-
Role and responsibilities of practitioner
The role and responsibilities of practitioner with regards to the abuse children face are as
follows-
 Identifying children facing difficulties- Practitioners need to identify those children
who are facing stress due to abuse inflicted on them (Afifi and et.al., 2016). Abuse can be
of different forms such as physical, emotional, sexual, financial, bullying, self-harm,
neglect and exploitation.
 Counseling them- It is also necessary for the practitioners to counsel the children
effectively. They must be able to relieve them of the stress they are facing due to the
harm or abuse inflicted on them. This will allow them to take the necessary actions.
 Reporting incidents- It is essential that the incidents which are related with child abuse
are reported immediately to the higher authorities so that they can take a stringent action
which is required to deal with such type of cases.
Roles and responsibilities of others
The roles and responsibilities of others are as follows-
 To notice behavioral changes in child- For other people in the society, it is necessary
that they notice the behavioral changes in the child who has faced abuse (Bartlett and
et.al., 2017). This will help them in knowing that the child is facing certain problems.
 To take them to counselor- It is the responsibility of the other people, it is required that
the child is taken to the counselor so that effective counseling can be done. This will help
in reducing their problems and issues.
 To reduce their tension- Other people in the society can reduce the tension of child who
has faced abuse by being interactive and talking to him/her and giving him/her the
required motivation and confidence. This will increase the confidence level of child and
he/she would be able to reduce the tension faced. Thus it is necessary for the people in
society to interact with such a child.
Importance of relationships
There is an importance of establishment of relationships. It is described as follows-
 Self-esteem- The development of relationships with children who have faced child abuse
helps in maintaining their self-esteem. They can feel as if they are being given due
importance within the society. This can lead towards decrease in their isolation.
 Sense of belonging- If the people in society develop relationships with children who
have faced abuse then it can develop a sense of belonging. It can lead towards these
children becoming open and interactive.

 Social skills- The people in society need to interact more with children so that their social
skills can be developed effectively (Beier and et.al., 2016). This can provide these
children an opportunity to interact and learn which can lead towards enhancement of their
social skills and they will also not feel isolated and will not hide their problems.
Taking full account of a child’s understanding
It is very important to take full account of a child’s understanding of the events related to
abuse which happened with him/her. This is due to the following reasons-
 Getting full details- Taking full account of understanding of child helps a lot in getting
to know the full details about the incident (Briere and et.al., 2017). The child should be
able to narrate what actually happened in the incident and how the abuse was actually
inflicted.
 Getting to know child’s perspective- It is necessary that a child’s perspective is
identified so that finer details of the incident can be identified. The child should be able
to narrate the perspective about the incident.
 Providing help to the child- It is also essential to provide child with the required help. If
child has own perspective then it will be easier to provide the required help.
Avoiding certain actions or statements in the court
Actions which can be avoided in the court during the hearings of child abuse cases are as
follows-
 Unnecessary pressure on child- It is important in the court unnecessary pressure is not
put up on the child (Caslini and et.al., 2016). This is so because in such a case the right
answer cannot be expected.
 Asking irrelevant questions- It should be noted that irrelevant questions which have no
link with the child must not be discussed. This is so because it will lead towards wrong
answer being given due to undue pressure.
 Asking child to give unnecessary evidences- It should not be done because it will put
the child under undue pressure and stress. Also, this will lead towards problems and
issues due to the child not being able to give evidences. Thus it should be avoided in
order to have a fair trial.
Supporting the child
It is important to support a child who has faced child abuse. The reasons must be told for
disclosure of information. These reasons can be-
 For counseling- It is important to tell the child the need to narrate the incident and give
full disclosure because only then a counselor can help in counseling the child so that
tension can be reduced.

 For evidences- For a child, it is necessary that full information is disclosed so that proper
evidences can be collected which can be produced in the court.
 For getting justice in court- After getting the required evidences and witnesses and by
disclosing the full information in the court it is possible to get the desired justice in the
court (Dagan and et.al., 2016). Thus this is the reason why full disclosure of information
is quite important from the point of view of the child having faced abuse.
Ways to support a child
There are various ways to support a child so that full information can be disclosed which
is related with the incident. These ways are-
 Reducing the anxiety level- It is important that the anxiety level of child is reduced so
that the right testimony can be given (Debowska and Boduszek, 2017). An anxious child
will not be able to give the right testimony.
 Reducing the fear- It is also necessary that the fear level of the child is reduced so that
the right testimony and full details regarding the incident can be correctly given.
 Building the confidence level- Also, it is important that the confidence level of the child
is built so that the right information can be produced. This will help in providing correct
evidences and information in the court so that justice can be delivered.
Explanation of importance of calm disclosure of information
It is highly important to provide calm disclosure of information. This is so because of the
following reasons-
 For giving correct evidence- By calmly disclosing the information, a child can provide
correct evidence about the incident (Debowska and et.al., 2017). This can help in getting
the due justice.
 For providing correct disclosure- Calm disclosure of information can lead to providing
correct details regarding the incident which has happened with the child. This will help in
providing the right details which can help a lot in getting the due justice.
 For proper counseling- Calm disclosure of information can help in proper counseling of
the child on whom the abuse has been inflicted. This helps the child a lot as it ensures
that proper counseling can be done effectively. This will lead to providing justice to the
child in the court through the due process.
Explanation about the access of support
There are certain cases which are outside the range of a practitioner and counselor. The
support needs to be provided in such cases also. It can be provided in the following manner-

 Remaining calm- It is important to remain calm in such a situation where professional
help cannot be provided to the child (Fortson and et.al., 2016). Being calm in such
situations help a lot.
 No interrogation- It is essential that interrogation is at best avoided. This will enable to
bring the required confidence in the child to speak about the incident freely without any
fear.
 Reassurance to child- It is required that the parents must reassure the child that no harm
would be inflicted on them which is extremely essential in dealing with such cases which
are outside the range of the practitioner and counselor (Child Abuse and Neglect, 2019).
 Safety- When the matter is beyond the range of practitioner and counselor is required on
the part of parents that they assure the child about his/her safety.
Sources of supporting a child
The sources which the parents can use to support a child are-
 Online websites- In online websites, a lot of content is given about how to deal with such
type of situations (Kornin, 2017). Also by using them a lot of information can be gained
by the parents.
 Taking help of experienced people- Parents can take help of experienced people who
deal in this field so as to ensure that proper counseling and guidance is provided to the
child.
 Taking legal help- Legal help can be taken by the parents of the child so that legal
proceedings can be initiated against the person responsible for inflicting abuse. This will
help the parents in getting justice delivered to the child by using the proper channel
designated for this purpose.
Ways to support a child
These ways are-
 Talking to them- When the parents notice that their child is acting quite lonely and
isolated it is important they talk to the child (Lutz and et.al., 2018).
 Identifying their feelings- By talking with their child the parents can easily identify their
feelings which they are having. It can be negative feelings. Thus it becomes important to
identify them so that the necessary action can be taken.
 Expression of feelings- It is important for the parents to tell their child who has faced the
abuse to express the feelings to them. This can help in reduction of tension and stress
faced due to the abuse. In this way the parents can support their child who has faced
abuse. This will bring positivity and thus in this way they would be able to express their
feelings in a better way.
Need of support

A child who has faced abuse needs the support because of the following factors-
 Expression of feelings- A child who has faced abuse needs support because it will
help in expressing the feelings which have been developed after the incident
(Maguire-Jack and Showalter, 2016). Thus these feelings are required to be conveyed.
 Guidance- A child also needs certain guidance because of the trauma faced after
infliction of the abuse. In this way, the guidance can be provided which can be quite
useful in relieving the stress of the incident.
 To reduce isolation- A child may feel very isolated and lonely after an incident of
abuse. Thus it is important for the parents, practitioners, counselors and other
members of the society to support the child so that isolation and loneliness can be
reduced and the details regarding the incident can come out which will help in taking
legal proceedings to get the justice. It is the role and responsibility of these people to
provide support.
Positive coping strategies
The positive coping strategies which can be described to a child for coping with the
problem of abuse are as follows-
 Active-cognitive strategies- These strategies are good for identifying the problem and
deciding the required course of action which needs to be taken. This may include talking
to the adults regarding the problem and seeking their guidance and advice for dealing
with it. Thus a child can be made active by the use of such a strategy and will report to
parents immediately after facing such an abuse.
 Active-behavioral strategies- These strategies bring a change in the behavior of the
child. The role of parents is very important here. This is so because they are the ones who
provide the necessary guidance to the child about the actions which are required to be
taken in order to cope positively with the problems and issues.
Behavior of a child after abuse
A child who has faced abuse may display the following behavioral changes-
 Anxiety- It is the most common sign of a child who has faced abuse. The child may
appear quite anxious and there may be frequent mood changes which can be a cause of
concern for the parents.
 Low confidence- A child who has faced abuse will be quite low on the confidence.
Therefore, it is very easy for the parents to identify such behavioral changes in their child
which they should take quite seriously.
 Isolation and loneliness- The child may appear to be isolated and lonely. It is so because
there may be fear inside the mind regarding the incident. Parents should be very quick to

notice such isolation and loneliness and must take the required action by speaking to the
child to discuss this problem.
Measures which are required to be taken-
 Speaking to the child- It is important for the parents when they notice such a behavior in
their child to speak to him/her. This will help in knowing more about the problems or
issues that the child may be facing due to abuse inflicted.
 Taking the child for counseling- If the counseling of parents is not enough then they
needs to take their child for counseling from an expert practitioner who deals in such
matters. Thus more details can emerge from the incident of abuse as the child may speak
freely in front of the practitioner and therefore this is essential.
Restrictions on key people
The restrictions which may be imposed on key people are as follows-
 Limited interaction- If the parents doubt that a particular person who is maybe the
friend of their child is creating trouble then they can limit the interaction with that person
(Read and et.al., 2018).
 Keeping a vigil- The parents can keep a vigil on the friend circle of their child and must
identify those people whose nature is quite doubtful.
 Monitoring friends- If the parents feel that the abuse is inflicted on the child from one of
the friends itself then they can monitor the friendships kept by the child with the other
children. In this way, they can check whether the other children with whom their child is
interacting are abusive or not. In this way, they can effectively monitor the friends of
their child.
Describing the importance of boundaries
The parents need to teach their children the importance of maintaining boundaries with
the key people they interact with. They can explain the following reasons-
 Privacy- It is important that the parents of children teach them about the need for
maintaining the required privacy. This will ensure that children interact with their friends
freely while also respecting their privacy and stay within the limits and boundaries.
 Respecting the social limits- It is also necessary that the parents of children teach them
the importance of social limits while interacting with their friends. In this way, the
children will learn about the limits which are set in the society for interaction between
opposite genders and respecting these limits. In this way, children will learn proper social
etiquette and will learn to respect their social limits while interacting with their friends.
This can reduce the cases of abuse faced as a child in the society.
Effective use of supervision

Effective use of supervision is required due to the following reasons-
 To find out the people a child interacts with- Supervision is required so as to find out
the people with whom the child has daily interaction with. This will facilitate close
monitoring of a child’s friend circle to identify such people who can potentially inflict
abuse.
 To notice behavioral changes- Supervision is required so that behavioral changes are
quickly noticed within a child (van der Kolk, 2017). This will facilitate taking of required
actions if they are deemed necessary due to sudden behavioral changes which have been
noticed in the child which are causing anxiety and tension.
 To ensure that the child does not become abusive- Supervision is extremely essential
to monitor the behavior of the child. This will ensure that the child has good values and
displays the right behavior towards peers. In this way, parents can ensure that their child
does not become abusive by displaying abusive behavior. So, parents need to be
extremely cautious about the friend circle their child is maintaining and whether the
interaction is being done with the right people or not. This will ensure that right behavior
is followed by their child.
Requirement for additional support
Additional support is required because-
 Conveying feelings- Whenever abuse is inflicted on a child there are negative feelings
which are created in the mind. Thus it is required that additional support is provided so as
to remove these negative feelings which not only cause stress but also create anxiety
within the mind of the child. Also additional support can help the child a lot to come out
of this particular anxiety with ease.
 Reduction of tension- Infliction of abuse as a child can create a lot of tension in the
mind. Thus it is required that additional support can be provided to the child so that the
tension in the mind can be reduced effectively which will reduce the isolation.
 Dealing with the problems and issues- Additional support is of tremendous help for a
child to deal with the various problems and issues which are being faced. This can help
the child to effectively tell a person who is old enough so that these problems and issues
can be dealt with quite effectively.
 Moral boost-up- Moral boost-up is required to be given to a child so that problems and
issues related with abuse can be discussed freely. This will help in finding out the
solution to the problems and issues.
 Guidance- Guidance can be provided to the children so that they can initiate the further
action which is required to be taken in abuse cases. This can be provided only through
additional support through the elders on whom a child can place trust that they will
provide effective guidance to deal effectively with the concerned issue quite effectively.

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Online
Child Abuse and Neglect. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.helpguide.org/articles/abuse/child-abuse-and-neglect.htm>