About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

35 Int'l Soc. Work 5 (1992)

handle is hein.journals/intsocwk35 and id is 1 raw text is: Editorial One article in this edition of International Social Work addresses the grave and increasingly highlighted problem of intra-familial abuse in one part of the world. That this problem is of international concern is evident from the attention it is given in professional circles and the popular press. It is virtually impossible to scan a newspaper, read a professional journal, attend a conference or mark a set of student papers and not be confronted with the grim reality of a seemingly endless series of cases involving abuse, both physical and sexual, being inflicted on children, women and the elderly. Each case is of course of concern in itself; but of equal concern is the growing evidence that this abuse is widespread across class, cultural and national lines, and that abuse of various kinds has been prevalent for years in many institutions set up and long thought to be safe havens for children removed from environments considered detrimental to their development. One of the troubling questions for social workers is whether this phenomenon is on the increase or whether we are simply more aware of it, and more able to identify it, as we gain more experience and sensitivity. I say troublesome because, as a former Child Welfare practitioner, I frequently ask myself if this problem was so prevalent where were we, why did we not recognize more of these cases? Whether the prevalence is greater now than in an earlier day is a moot point. Clearly there was much abuse taking place that went unrecognized. This we know from the myriad of young, and not so young, adults who are now coming forward with horrendous tales of what happened to them in their own homes, in substitute care homes and in institutions; the very institutions to which we sent children out of a conviction that they were safe within them. Terrible as these situations are, we know that one of the troubling repercussions of child abuse is that many people who were themselves abused as children become the absusers of the next generation. This type of contagion effect makes the problem a social health issue that requires large system analyses and solutions, as well as the micro interventions which address the hurt, scarring and restricted maturation that comes with this type of assault. International Social Work (SAGE, London, Newbury Park and New Delhi), Vol. 35 (1992), 5-6.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most