Braithwaite, V.2021-04-202021-04-202021Braithwaite, V. (2021). Institutional Oppression That Silences Child Protection Reform. International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice, 1-24.https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c05f8595cfd7901fc57139d/t/6078421ad1b2c069e0031fb1/1618493980996/Braithwaite-2021-International_Journal_on_Child_Maltreatment__Research%2C_Policy_and_Practice.pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11212/5048From 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.enresearchInternational ResourcesAustraliachild protectionpolicyMarginalizationInformal networksRestorative justiceArticle