Diploma in Child Protection Studies
Child Advocacy Situations
SCENARIO ONE
You are visiting a school as a volunteer counsellor. The school has asked you to attend Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
afternoons each week to talk to children who are having personal or social problems. You are very concerned that a 7
yr old boy is being physically abused - you have observed bruising on his leg and back and his comments show fear of
going home. You think this needs investigating and share your concerns with head teacher on Thursday afternoon. You
phone on Friday and the Head Teacher tells you the situation is being looked at.
On Monday afternoon there is a meeting between the Head Teacher, and the child’s mother. You are not invited to be
present. Later the Deputy Principal tells you that things have been sorted out and asks you to keep out of the situation
in future.
QUESTIONS
Is this a satisfactory state of affairs?
What (if anything) should you be doing now?
What (if any) are the child advocacy issues that need to be addressed?
What can a child advocate do?
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SCENARIO TWO
You work for an organisation providing day care and after school programmes for children 0 - 14. You are currently
undertaking your early childhood training and will qualify in 10 months time.
Your organisation has decided to undertake 2 new initiatives, and wants you to be in charge of setting them up.
These initiatives are; firstly, supervised access, and secondly Keeping Safe Programmes for children to learn about
keeping safe from sexual abuse.
QUESTIONS
What are your immediate responses?
What are the implications for children?
What are the issues you would raise as a child advocate?
What can a child advocate do?
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SCENARIO THREE
You live in a small rural town, with one high school and an outreach Polytechnic.
You are aware that many young people are leaving school with only very basic reading and number skills. Many are
opting for early parenthood; often as young as 16, and are not equipped to give their children the basic skills that they
themselves have never learnt. Many are still wanting to meet their own adolescent needs and are unable to resist peer
pressure to go partying and use drugs. The children are generally not doing as well physically or mentally as they could.
QUESTIONS
List the things that you as a child advocate would like to see changed
How could you go about achieving these changes?
Is there a bigger picture here that might concern a Child Advocate?
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SCENARIO FOUR
You are a member of a group of child-focussed workers who get together every month or two to share experiences and
provide support.
You have just read and discussed the article by Patricia Schnitzer and Bernard Ewigman in the journal ‘Paediatrics’
about research that shows that children living with unrelated adults were 50 times more likely to die of inflicted injuries
than children living with one or two biological parents, and that the majority of known perpetrators are male.
You are aware that there is also other research that shows that children growing up without fathers also face greater
risks in other areas. Your group decides to do something about this situation.
QUESTIONS
Identify the one main thing that you would like to see different.
Identify the main strategies you would consider, and describe the steps you might take to go about achieving these.
(Use bullet points).