‘Child neglect is now a major issue’ in the UK says charity

October 13, 2009 by Shawn Douglas
Filed under: News

Action for Children

Child neglect of some form is seen by nearly 1 in 10 professionals who work with children according to a survey commissioned by UK charity Action for Children.

Nearly 2000 professionals who work with children voiced their opinions this summer in a survey conducted by U.K. charity Action for Children. After the results were tallied, it was found that over 10 percent of them had seen some form of child neglect while performing their duties. Additionally, nearly a fifth of respondents said they had never received appropriate training for combating the problem.

“Neglect is a growing problem and one we must fix,” said Clare Tickell, chief executive of Action for Children.

“Front-line staff are key to identifying early signs of neglect and giving children and families long-term stable support to tackle the causes. Yet many professionals are telling us they lack sufficient training and information to appropriately deal with suspected neglect.”

The report went on to explain that child neglect is more difficult to recognize because “it is often a symptom of other long-term and complex problems in a family” and not typically brought on by an easily identifiable one-time event.

While nearly a third of the professionals surveyed said they felt more pressure now than five years ago to report suspected child neglect cases, others expressed the need to be able to report cases earlier or the need for clearer government guidelines regarding the issue. Many cited the Baby P case as a major reason for this.

Action for Children has recently launched an initiative to raise £17 million to aid neglected children. The initiative is being lead by television host Davina McCall.

“Most people are unaware of neglect and that it’s happening on our own doorsteps,” said McCall. “We all see neglected children without even knowing it and currently the issue is being overlooked to the detriment of children in the U.K.”