Challenging the Kerb Crawler Rehabilitation Programme

During recent years in North America and Europe many feminists have become increasingly critical of responses to street prostitution that concentrate solely on punishing women who sell sex while ignoring their male clients. In order to address this gender imbalance some feminists have advocated the enforcement and/or strengthening of kerb crawling legislation and other schemes that target men who pay for sex. During 1998–9 one initiative, which aimed to target men who pay for sex in the UK, the Kerb Crawler Rehabilitation Programme (KCRP), was piloted in Leeds, West Yorkshire. Although the KCRP received considerable media coverage there has been relatively little critical debate among feminists about this approach to working with clients of sex workers. This article draws attention to some of the opposition to the Leeds KCRP.     

A media campaign prevention program for child sexual abuse: community members' perspectives

This study examines the face validity and feasibility of materials included in a multimedia child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention campaign. A quantitative survey method assessed participants' comfort level, knowledge gain, and likelihood of behavioral change in response to the media campaign. Furthermore, a focus group method explored participants' attitudes and opinions regarding the campaign and the unique effects of ethnic or cultural norms on participants' acceptance of the media materials. Six groups, established based on participant ethnicity (i.e., three Caucasian groups, two African American groups, one Hispanic group), met at two sites in the Charleston, South Carolina, area. Quantitative data suggest that participants reported increased CSA knowledge and low levels of discomfort or anxiety related to exposure to the materials. Focus group results suggest that study participants, regardless of ethnic background, agreed that the media campaign can have a positive impact on public knowledge of CSA. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Applying the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) to studies of mental health provision for juvenile offenders: a research note

The degree of reporting transparency in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) is an important factor when the validity of any results is being considered. The use of the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guidelines has improved the reporting standards of RCTs in many healthcare journals, but these guidelines have yet to be adopted universally. In this study, we applied the CONSORT Statement to RCTs identified from a systematic review of mental health provisions for juvenile offenders. We assessed the number of CONSORT items reported in each trial and investigated the extent of endorsement by journal editors. The findings showed that some items were fully endorsed (e.g., the aim of the study) whereas other items, such as sample size estimations, were not presented in any of the trials. A minority of journals supported the use of the CONSORT Statement in their journals’ instructions for authors. The overall reporting standard for this sample of trials was, therefore, mixed. Comparisons with trials conducted in other disciplines are discussed, and suggestions for improving reporting standards are presented.

Administering child protection: a feminist analysis of the conceptual practices of organizational power

Abstract: This article explores textually-mediated administrative technology such as that being implemented by Ontario's Ministry of Community and Social Services to organize more effective control over the delivery of contracted services to children and families under child welfare legislation. A case study of the development and testing of a related technology, case-weighting, initiated by the Metro Toronto Children's Aid Society, offers the opportunity for an in-depth analysis of “conceptual practices” for exercising organizational power. It is argued that the use of conceptual practices, made practicable by improvements in computer facilities, represents a major development in managerial method which restructures organizational meanings, outcomes, and relations among participants in human service organizations. Feminist scholarship contributes both a critical stance on the approach being taken to child protection services and appropriate methodology for the analysis. Sommaire: Le présent article explore les technologies administratives fondées sur des textes, comme celles mises en oeuvre actuellement par le ministère des Services communautaires et sociaux de l'Ontario, afin de resserrer les contrôles sur la prestation de services contractuels aux enfants et aux familles, en vertu des lois sur l'assistance à l'enfance. Une étude de cas concernant la mise au point et la validation d'une technique connexe, la pondération des cas, lancée par la Société d'aide à l'enfance du Grand Toronto, permet de faire une analyse approfondie des “pratiques conceptuelles” qui permettent d'exercer le pouvoir organisationnel. L'article soutienl que l'utilisation des pratiques conceptuelles, rendue possible par le progrès de l'informatique, a grandement changé les méthodes de gestion, qui restructurent les significations, résultats et rapports organisationnels entre les participants au sein des organismes de services. Des études féministes apportent à la fois une perspective critique en ce qui concerne l'approche adoptée envers les services de protection à l'enfance et une méthodologie appropriée à leur analyse.