Sexual abuse of children by people in organisations: what offenders can teach us about protection

Abstract

Several recent high profile abuse cases, including The Little Ted's Nursery case, have brought the abuse of children by workers and volunteers into greater public awareness. The traditional approach to protecting children - screening to keep offenders out - is important, but is not enough.

Potential risk can come from a wide range of individuals, many who contradict our expectations, including female abusers like nursery worker Vanessa George and foster carer Eunice Spry, and those who may not be aware of their own capacity to abuse. At the same time, social networking, text messaging and e-mail have eroded traditional boundaries, and supervising contact between adults and children is no longer as easy as it once was. Creating Safer Organisations brings together practitioners, academics and researchers, who suggest new interviewing approaches and other situational prevention measures to promote a culture of appropriate behaviour, informed by the most up to date research with sexual offenders. This is an accessible resource for those seeking to ensure that they have taken all possible steps to safeguard the children and young people they are responsible for.