Child neglect in 2011: Northern Ireland
Child neglect in is a major issue in the UK, with
studies suggesting 10% of children - around 51,000 in Northern
Ireland alone - are at risk.
As part of our
'Take your action for children' neglect campaign we've
published our first annual review of Child Neglect in partnership
with the University of Stirling, and are now launching a summary of
recommendations for the Northern Ireland Executive.
Our Young Campaigners on child neglect
We gave our review to a group of Young Campaigners and asked
them to interpret it in their own words and images. This is
their film.
What does the report reveal?
- No one knows exactly how many children are
neglected
- People are worried about child neglect, but don't
always feel able to report it
- Over a half of social workers (51%), and a third of police
officers (36%) say they feel powerless to
help
- There are not enough services to help
neglected children, and cuts are making this worse
What do we want the Northern Ireland Executive to do?
Our campaigning activity has four main aims:
- Help all Executive departments get better at working
together to tackle neglect
- Show how information on neglect is used to provide the
best possible services to families, as soon as
possible
- Increase the levels of support given to all
professionals working to tackle neglect
- Provide up-to-date information on the current scale of
child neglect across Northern Ireland
What can you do to help?
The Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) who represent you
can make a difference by speaking to the Health, Social Services
and Public Safety Minister Edwin Poots about our report and
recommendations.
Thank you for taking action for children - together we can make
a difference.
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