Contemporary Childhoods: Child Abuse, Welfare and Social Issues

This report, titled "Contemporary Childhoods," delves into the critical issue of child abuse in Australia, analyzing the impact of social policies on children's lives, particularly within indigenous communities. It highlights the alarming rise in child safeguard notifications and substantiations, with a focus on emotional abuse and neglect as primary forms of maltreatment. The report examines the correlation between child exploitation, economic disparity, and domestic violence, emphasizing the need for enhanced child welfare services and parental support. It references several articles that explore the interconnections between child abuse, mental health, and the effects of witnessing domestic violence. The report also investigates suicide prevention programs within indigenous communities and the evolution of child protection policies in Australia and New Zealand. The report underscores the multifaceted nature of child abuse and the importance of comprehensive social interventions to protect vulnerable children and families.

Running head: CONTEMPORARY CHILDHOODS
CONTEMPORARY CHILDHOODS
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While speaking about social policies it is important to note its significance in the lives
of the children as well as their families whereby, children can have profound reliance on
these welfare services for their current as well as future welfare. The impact caused by the
Australian social policies and guidelines on the lives of children is persistent, further
encompassing both the besieged provision, for instance the interventions, aid and services in
childhood along with the regulations and guidelines directed at their parents as well as the
caregivers (Shlonsky, Arabena and Mildon 2016). While developing a discourse on social
problems of cotemporary children an article has revealed the rate of child safeguard
notifications, observations as well as substantiations for child exploitation or maltreatment
have witnessed an elevated rise by over 10% for the children belonging to non-Indigenous
communities and over 15% for the aboriginal children (Bent, Dissanayake and Barbaro
2015). In fact the scenario for the indigenous children related to child welfare has taken a
worse appearance in the past few decades. These cases of child exploitation have been
followed by a record of methodical and obligatory confiscation of children belonging to
Indigenous families and communities.
During the period of 1920-1970, it has been estimated that several children of
Indigenous families were forcibly removed from their communities that further caused in
intergenerational personal as well as community influence with severe as well as far-reaching
effects (Bowes and Grace 2014). However, while observing child maltreatment in Australia it
has been witnessed that because of the elevating rate of child misuse, children belonging to
both the communities have been receiving certain forms of child safeguard. Further
anticipation has been made that reveal the possibilities of more cases of child exploitation and
misuse which may have been in the process of observation. In the opinion of the Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare the majority section of children who have been detached from
their parents or families have generally caused because of extreme level of emotional

CONTEMPORARY CHILDHOODS
exploitation and abuse (Shlonsky, Arabena and Mildon 2016). The article further explores the
act of emotional or mental maltreatment includes exposure towards the cruel act of domestic
violence against children and neglect that had further led to the incompetence to accomplish
essential demands and desires of the children of these communities. Such actions are thus
regarded as the primary forms of substantiated and validated forms of child ill treatment other
than any vindictive forms of acts related to physical or mental abuse. It is further to recognize
that emotional abuse as well as child neglect has been projected as fundamental forms of
maltreatment for around seven out of ten surveyed children of the past couple of years. All
these types of abuse and exploitation often trigger the issue of domestic violence, child abuse
along with posing severe threats to the mental health conditions of children (Shlonsky,
Arabena and Mildon 2016). However, the act of child exploitation can be further related to
factors related to economic dearth, specifically enduring rate of poverty and aboriginal or the
Torres Islander families whereby they tend to be significantly in a crucial situation in
comparison to the white Australian children in terms of economic level. Certain studies have
revealedthe improved outcomes related to domestic violence for the vulnerably affected
children can be achieved by further intensifying the means, resources as well as level of
competence of parents despite of concentrating on more established services that are
purposed for the welfare of children. The importance of the enhancement of child welfare
services by the Australian Health and Services have been taken into consideration that would
further have effective implications for handling the identified issues in order to curb the
issues of child exploitation(Shlonsky, Arabena and Mildon 2016). One of the primary
objectives of this protection service is to demonstrating behavioural impact of parents on
their children thereby increasing the level of threats of child loss with the persistent malicious
and cruel behaviour of parents.

CONTEMPORARY CHILDHOODS
(Anderson, Elliott and Zurynski 2013)
Mills, R., Scott, J., Alati, R., O’Callaghan, M., Najman, J.M. and Strathearn, L., 2013.
Child maltreatment and adolescent mental health problems in a large birth
cohort. Child abuse & neglect, 37(5), pp.292-302.
The article explicitly discusses the ways to review the interconnection among the rate
of childhood exploitation, abuse along with distressful loss and psychiatric disorder
tendencies among the children who have been experiencing severe confinement in their
adulthood. The article appears to be a well-established work as it reviews the four types of
interpersonal potentially distressing experiences.

CONTEMPORARY CHILDHOODS
O’Brien, K.L., Cohen, L., Pooley, J.A. and Taylor, M.F., 2013. Lifting the domestic
violence cloak of silence: Resilient Australian women’s reflected memories of their
childhood experiences of witnessing domestic violence. Journal of Family
Violence, 28(1), pp.95-108.
The aim of the paper is to review the severe impact of witnessing persistent rate of
domestic violence on the enduring emotional as well as social condition of children. It
focuses on the recollections of six females who have witnessed the vindictive acts of child
exploitation. It concludes by providing strategies to develop secured places and encouraging
association external to the exploited nuclear family.
Ridani, R., Shand, F.L., Christensen, H., McKay, K., Tighe, J., Burns, J. and Hunter,
E., 2015. Suicide prevention in Australian Aboriginal communities: a review of past and
present programs. Suicide and life-threatening behavior, 45(1), pp.111-140.
The article discusses an investigation of suicide deterrence programs of the
indigenous communities which have been conducted in order to cast light ascertaining
projects as well as strategies. It reviewed the way majority of the prevention programs have
concentrated on the community as a whole and further delivered through several workshops,
traditional activities regardless of all the risks and challenges.
Fernandez, E. and Atwool, N., 2013. Child protection and out of home care: Policy,
practice, and research connections Australia and New Zealand. Psychosocial
Intervention, 22(3), pp.175-184.
The article has explicitly provided a framework of the initial development of welfare
and protection in Australia and New Zealand as a background of the role of child protection

CONTEMPORARY CHILDHOODS
methods and regulations along with the existing child safeguard profile in both the nations.
The article further evaluated the fundamental issues that have become the central point of
policy regulation to encourage child welfare and further strengthen the families of the
victims.

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References
Anderson, M., Elliott, E.J. and Zurynski, Y.A., 2013. Australian families living with rare
disease: experiences of diagnosis, health services use and needs for psychosocial
support. Orphanet journal of rare diseases, 8(1), p.22.
Bent, C.A., Dissanayake, C. and Barbaro, J., 2015. Mapping the diagnosis of autism spectrum
disorders in children aged under 7 years in Australia, 2010–2012. The Medical Journal of
Australia, 202(6), pp.317-320.
Bowes, J. and Grace, R., 2014. Review of early childhood parenting, education and health
intervention programs for Indigenous children and families in Australia.
Fernandez, E. and Atwool, N., 2013. Child protection and out of home care: Policy, practice,
and research connections Australia and New Zealand. Psychosocial Intervention, 22(3),
pp.175-184.
Mills, R., Scott, J., Alati, R., O’Callaghan, M., Najman, J.M. and Strathearn, L., 2013. Child
maltreatment and adolescent mental health problems in a large birth cohort. Child abuse &
neglect, 37(5), pp.292-302.
O’Brien, K.L., Cohen, L., Pooley, J.A. and Taylor, M.F., 2013. Lifting the domestic violence
cloak of silence: Resilient Australian women’s reflected memories of their childhood
experiences of witnessing domestic violence. Journal of Family Violence, 28(1), pp.95-108.
Ridani, R., Shand, F.L., Christensen, H., McKay, K., Tighe, J., Burns, J. and Hunter, E.,
2015. Suicide prevention in Australian Aboriginal communities: a review of past and present
programs. Suicide and life-threatening behavior, 45(1), pp.111-140.

CONTEMPORARY CHILDHOODS
Shlonsky, A., Arabena, K. and Mildon, R, 2016. Emotional abuse of children is a growing
problem in Australia.Available from https://theconversation.com/emotional-abuse-of-
children-is-a-growing-problem-in-australia-59235Accessed on 2 June 2016.

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Appendix
The article intended to cast light on the increasing rate of mental abuse that has been
posing more threats on the children in Australia. The article has provide well-observed
studies on the rate of children belonging to both indigenous and non-indigenous communities
have been detached and abduct from domain of their own families or communities.
Furthermore, the article has reviewed how the children of aboriginal or native communities of
the country have been experiencing vulnerable acts of exploitation because of low socio
economic status and living in vulnerable living conditions in relation to the children
belonging to Australian white families.