Institutional Oppression That Silences Child Protection Reform
Date
2021
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International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice
Abstract
From its inception, child protection policy has been infused with domination, and
over the long arc of history has been accompanied by the spread of institutional
oppression. A case study of Australian child protection policy and practice illustrates
how Iris Marion Young’s (1992) fve faces of oppression ((a) exploitation, (b) marginalization, (c) cultural imperialism, (d) powerlessness, and (e) violence) have pervaded the child protection system across time. Further, a secondary analysis of data
from the Capacity Building Projects (2008–13) shows how oppression silences families, carers, community workers, and government child protection workers. Informal
care networks, restorative justice, and responsive regulation enable silenced voices
to be heard but remain at the fringes of child protection practice. Their potential will
be reached only with a whole-of-child-protection regulatory reft in which open networks of dialogue are prioritized over networks of oppressive control.
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Keywords
research, International Resources, Australia, child protection, policy, Marginalization, Informal networks, Restorative justice
Citation
Braithwaite, V. (2021). Institutional Oppression That Silences Child Protection Reform. International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice, 1-24.