Failures in Child Protection: A Case Study

A case example is used to illustrate how powerful a child abuser may become; where a complex hostage-type relationship develops between family members and is then extended to include the child protection worker. One consequence of this is the increased risk of re-abuse of the children. To establish this relationship the abuser uses a number of techniques such as violence, intimidation, isolation and unpredictability. In the case presented, the three children were subjected to ongoing severe abuse, although the child protection agency had known the family for 10 years. The children often denied and hid the abuse, and the child protection workers were left largely unsupported by other professionals and often appeared to comply with the wishes of the abusing parents.