Global Approaches to Child Maltreatment Prevention

The webinar covers what constitutes informal social control of child maltreatment (ISC_CM) and what we know about it cross-culturally. Based on research in Korea, China, Russia, Spain, Nepal, Vietnam, Ghana, and Tunisia the course introduces the conditions under which ISC_CM is associated with better outcomes for children and the conditions under which it is not. A particular focus is given to conditions in which ISC_CM is normative in Ghana and how that fact changes the potential for child protection. The course suggests an alternative to the current model, in which protection cases are triaged differently, with “minor” cases of maltreatment reverted to designated accountable community leaders who coordinate and supervise protection of the child with the tools of informal social control and informal social support. The alternate approach would require extensive community education and relationship building with communities and between communities and the child protection system.

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