Susan Roberts

Child Welfare AND Stigma Principles into Practice

This article draws on an empirical study of stigma and child welfare in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Spain; it shows how stigma continues to be a part of the experience of using and delivering child welfare services, despite the positive determination of policies in all three countries that this should not be so. More optimistically, however, it is also evident that the experience of stigma and exclusion can be reduced, and the article concludes by outlining those factors which would appear to be most significant in combatting stigma.

A Child Sexual Abuse Research Project: A Brief Endnote

There is a dearth of research on sexual abuse perpetrated by educators. Although the problem is receiving increasing attention, little emphasis has been placed on abuse directed at younger schoolchildren and on offenders’ accounts of this form of abuse. Here, we attempt to address this gap in knowledge by exploring the narratives of five convicted, imprisoned male child sexual abusers, each of whom worked with children in educational settings in the United Kingdom. We draw on four themes that emerged from detailed interviews with offenders, namely: the power of reputation, authority and control, the “front of invulnerability,” and disclosure of abuse. We conclude by considering the implications of our work for policy and practice.