Some interesting and useful research funded by the Children’s
Commissioner for England has been published this week.
‘It takes a lot to build trust’ Recognition and Telling:
Developing earlier routes to help for children and young people (http://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/content/publications/content_733)
reports on work undertaken by researchers at the University of East Anglia and
Anglia Ruskin University.
The central message of the research is that children and
young people facing abuse and neglect “… most often come to the attention of
services through their behaviour and demeanour rather than through explicitly
disclosing abuse.”
The researchers conclude:
“Of central importance is the fact that young people’s past
experiences of professionals, as well as their experiences within the family and
in the community, will influence how comfortable they feel about talking and
their willingness to trust and talk to practitioners.”
That shouldn’t surprise anybody. It is commonsense. Sadly it is
commonsense which is often forgotten. These researchers should be congratulated
for reasserting an important message.
Some research I was involved in a few years ago came to some similar conclusions.
