Lack of research on child abuse

THERE is a dearth of child protection-focused research on the factors that cause and perpetuate child abuse, such as homelessness, addiction, parental mental illness and domestic violence, a Trinity College Dublin audit of research on child protection has found.

Published by the Children Acts Advisory Board, the study reveals, in general, there was a shortage of “good quality and robust research” in relation to all statutory child protection practices.

The study, led by Dr Helen Buckley, highlights the fact that although the most frequently reported type of concern is child neglect, only 3% of research materials focused on this.