Daily Archives: May 10, 2015

“People Who Molest Kids Usually Aren’t Strangers Lurking In The Bushes.”

10 Sunday May 2015

Posted by in child abuse

≈ 5 Comments

In what we are sure must be awful adverts to watch, (we can’t bring ourselves to view them), Mexico has made an effort to highlight the nuances of child abuse in a series of Public Service Announcements (PSA’s).

The adverts were produced by an agency based in Mexico City called DIF Zapopan, and were designed to raise awareness of the fact that in Mexico, 80 percent of child sexual abuse cases “ are perpetrated by a close relative.” A 2003 National Institute of Justice report in the US also found that three out of four adolescents who had been sexually abused were assaulted by someone they knew well.

The National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse also has an interesting piece on these PSA’s written by Liz Dwyer, which we also add below, should you wish to read it.

Heart-Wrenching PSAs Reveal How Child Sexual Abuse Hides in Plain Sight

We raise our kids to worry about “stranger danger”: the child molester hanging out at the park who tries to lure a child with a piece of candy or a tale of a lost puppy. But as “Some Things Are Hard to See,” a campaign of gripping PSAs created for DIF Zapopan, a family development nonprofit, reminds us, when it comes to child sexual abuse, the perpetrator is usually someone that a boy or girl already knows.

The ads, which were designed by Publicis México, a Mexico City–based creative agency, focus on situations that children often find themselves in with close relatives. Instead of starring actual people, the videos shows camouflaged silhouettes of kids and adults, and there is no dialogue. Each clip starts out showing a seemingly innocuous setting—and then morphs into awful situations that might make your skin crawl.

The “ Hard to See Uncle ” clip is set in a bathroom, with a young child who is getting ready to bathe and an inappropriately helpful uncle.

The “ Hard to See Grandpa ” PSA is set in a little girl’s bedroom, where a grandfather inappropriately tucks in his granddaughter.

In the “ Hard to See Mom ” video, a mother and child are in a living room. It’s chilling to see the mom raise her finger, indicating that the kid should be quiet.

Each clip ends with the stat that in Mexico, 80 percent of child sexual abuse cases “ are perpetrated by a close relative. ” Here in the United States, the statistics are horrifyingly similar: A 2003 National Institute of Justice report found that three out of four adolescents who have been sexually abused were assaulted by someone they knew well.

Last fall, one such situation played out in the tabloids after Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson’s mom, June “Mama June” Shannon, allegedly resumed her relationship with her ex-boyfriend, convicted child molester Mark McDaniel. The couple’s alleged reunion led Shannon’s 20-year-old daughter, Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell—who was concerned over what it might mean for her younger siblings—to come forward and publicly share that McDaniel had sexually abused her when she was eight years old.

So while these PSAs are uncomfortable to watch, it’s nothing compared with what child sexual abuse victims such as Cardwell have been through. The videos go on to ask the public to “ help us stop this. ” Given that one in four girls and one in six boys in America will be a victim of sexual assault before age 18, perhaps these ads will help people open their eyes and see the abusive situations in their midst.

Big thank you to the National Child Protection Alliance in Australia, for sharing this item with us.

Dif

Co-Parenting Experts Conclude That Family Courts Should Be Able To Make Shared Parenting Orders

10 Sunday May 2015

Posted by in child welfare

≈ 16 Comments

At the first International Conference on Shared Parenting, which took place last July, leading family and medical experts and practitioners sat down together to discuss ways in which they could bridge the gap between empirical evidence and socio-legal practice in relation to shared parenting.

The conference, which was organized by the International Council on Shared Parenting (ICSP), resulted in a list of six agreed key points and objectives, one of which was that courts should have the ability to make shared parenting orders. As we already have the power in the UK to make orders which amount to shared parenting, which we define as the sharing of rights and responsibilities in relation to a child, the suggestion may seem redundant. However, the implication may be that changing the name of such orders (which we assume would be flexible in relation to what kinds of contact and time would be prescribed), could help to change the current perceived culture surrounding contact. We add the full list of suggestions for you, below:

The conference arrived at the following six major areas of consensus:
1. There is a consensus that neither the discretionary best interests of the child standard nor sole custody or primary residence orders are serving the needs of children and families of divorce. There is a consensus that shared parenting is a viable post-divorce parenting arrangement that is optimal to child development and well-being, including for children of high conflict parents. The amount of shared parenting time necessary to achieve child well being and positive outcomes is a minimum of one-third time with each parent, with additional benefits accruing up to and including equal (50-50) parenting time, including both weekday (routine) and weekend (leisure) time.

2. There is consensus that “shared parenting” be defined as encompassing both shared parental authority (decision-making) and shared parental responsibility for the day-to-day upbringing and welfare of children, between fathers and mothers, in keeping with children’s age and stage of development. Thus “shared parenting” is defined as, “the assumption of shared responsibilities and presumption of shared rights in regard to the parenting of children by fathers and mothers who are living together and apart.”
3. There is a consensus that national family law should at least include the possibility to give shared parenting orders, even if one parent opposes it. There is a consensus that shared parenting is in line with constitutional rights in many countries and with international human rights, namely the right of children to be raised by both of their parents.

4. There is a consensus that the following principles should guide the legal determination of parenting after divorce: (1) shared parenting as an optimal arrangement for the majority of children of divorce, and in their best interests. (2) parental autonomy and self-determination. (3) limitation of judicial discretion in regard to the best interests of children.
5. There is a consensus that the above apply to the majority of children and families, including high conflict families, but not to situations of substantiated family violence and child abuse. There is a consensus that the priority for further research on shared parenting should focus on the intersection of child custody and family violence, including child maltreatment in all its forms, including parental alienation.

6. There is a consensus that an accessible network of family relationship centres that offer family mediation and other relevant support services are critical in the establishment of a legal presumption of shared parenting, and vital to the success of shared parenting arrangements.

So what do you think? Do you agree with all of these suggestions, some of them, or none at all?

Many thanks to Charles Pragnell for sharing this item with us.