Domestic violence and child participation: contemporary challenges for the 1980 hague child abduction convention

ABSTRACT

This article addresses two contemporary challenges for the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention: (i) domestic violence and (ii) child participation. It also outlines three components of a global socio-legal policy and research initiative undertaken to address these issues and, where relevant, their intersection. The published literature on these topics, including the children’s objections exception, is explored, as are the ways in which these challenges are addressed within some of the 101 Contracting States to the Convention and through the Guide to Good Practice on Article 13(1)(b) of the Convention. Regard is paid to the data provided by the statistical analysis of applications made under the Convention in 2015 by Lowe and Stephens, and the changes which will occur once the Recast of The European Brussels 11a Regulation comes into operation. The likely impact for 1980 Hague Convention abduction proceedings of the UK having left the European Union at 23.00 GMT on 31 January 2020 is contemplated. Other current international initiatives are discussed, including the development of a child-friendly version of the Convention through The International Association of Child Law Researchers. Training is a key to changing attitudes and upskilling family justice professionals to ensure the Convention operates in a fully child-centric way. This will maintain and strengthen the Convention by keeping it ‘fit for purpose’.     

Mixed Methods Study of the Effectiveness of Intensive Family Finding Services with Youth in Congregate Care

Helping youth in congregate care form healthy relationships and achieve stability is an ongoing concern among child welfare stakeholders. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the effectiveness of a family finding intervention with youth with a history of congregate care placement and to explore factors related to the achievement of relational and physical permanency. Results from a logistic regression indicated that for youth previously in congregate care, intensive family finding increased the odds of achieving relational permanency, but not physical permanency. Qualitative analyses identified several themes surrounding successes and challenges to achieving relational and physical permanency.     

运用政协思维 提高协商民主成效

协商是人民政协的重要功能,它要求政协思维方式和思维特点也要与之相适应。但不少地方政协在全局工作安排上、建言献策活动中、会议方式方法上,都不同程度地存在着各种思维误区。为进一步提高协商民主成效,应确立并运用"多元思维与一体要求相统一"、"监督思维与参与合作相一致"、"专业思维与党派特色相结合"的思维方式。     

儿童兵规范的演变:国内武装冲突局势下的儿童保护

冷战结束后,在国内武装冲突中,儿童沦为国家武装部队与武装组织招募的对象。儿童兵的出现在某种程度上使得儿童从武装冲突的受害者转变为施暴者,导致国内武装冲突更加血腥、更难结束。为说服武装冲突各方放弃招募和使用儿童兵、打破"冲突—招募—冲突"的恶性循环,联合国及其相关机构采取了诸多举措,积极致力于倡导和传播儿童兵规范,把武装冲突局势中的儿童保护问题提升至国际与国内的和平与安全议程。从理论层面而言,儿童兵规范兴起与传播的动力和逻辑值得关注。第一,联合国及其相关机构作为规范倡导者,在儿童兵规范的兴起、发展与扩散阶段发挥了重要作用。第二,儿童兵规范的传播对象突破了国家行为体的范畴,日益重视对武装组织等非国家行为体的教化。第三,儿童兵的议题特征也有助于其规范的广泛传播。第四,时代背景也为儿童兵规范的兴起和传播创造了有力的政治条件。     

Urgent issues and prospects at the intersection of culture,memory, and witness interviews: Exploring the challenges for research and practice

The pursuit of justice increasingly relies on productive interactions between witnesses and investigators from diverse cultural backgrounds during investigative interviews. To date, the role of cultural context has largely been ignored by researchers in the field of investigative interviewing, despite repeated requests from practitioners and policymakers for evidence-based guidance for the conduct of interviews with people from different cultures. Through examining cultural differences in human memory and communication and considering specific contextual challenges for investigative interviewing through the lens of culture, this review and associated commentaries highlight the scope for considering culture and human diversity in research on, and the practice of, investigative interviewing with victims, witnesses, and other sources. Across 11 commentaries, contributors highlight the importance of considering the role of culture in different investigative interviewing practices (e.g., rapport building, questioning techniques) and contexts (e.g., gender-based violence, asylum seeking, child abuse), address common areas of cultural mismatch between interviewer–interviewee expectations, and identify critical future routes for research. We call for an increased focus in the investigative interviewing literature on the nature and needs of our global community and encourage constructive and collaborative discussion between researchers and practitioners from around the world to better identify specific challenges and work together towards evidence-based solutions.     

Do Social Relationships Protect Victimized Children Against Internalizing Problems?

We investigated whether social relationships protect children against the effects of victimization on internalizing problems. We used data from the Zurich Project on the Social Development of Children and Youths. Victimization at age 8 years was associated with internalizing problems at age 9 years. Victims who had siblings, warm parents, and a good relationship with the teacher had less severe internalizing problems than those who did not, providing evidence for a protective effect of social relationships. Friendships with classmates were not found to be protective. Furthermore, social relationships did not protect victims more than nonvictims.     

Transferring MSW Education to Practice: A Qualitative Study With Public Child Welfare Employees

This study used a qualitative analysis of survey data collected from public child welfare employees (n = 168) as they completed master's of social work courses in a weekend/hybrid program, to examine their perceptions of ability to apply classroom learning to practice. The program, which combined a focus on direct practice and management, was developed in partnership with the state's public child welfare agency, during a period of systemic change and case practice reform. Findings indicate that students readily transferred knowledge and skills to the workplace, albeit with some challenges. In particular, management courses appeared to provide an important framework in understanding the organizational context of practice.     

Formative Evaluation of an Evidence-Based Intervention to Reduce Long-Term Foster Care: Assessing Readiness for Summative Evaluation

As part of the federal Permanency Innovations Initiative, this local grantee implemented an evidence-based intervention to improve outcomes for children with serious emotional disturbance. The project approach integrates the tenets of implementation science and program evaluation. Formative evaluation used a small sample (n = 76) to assess implementation integrity and statistical association to recommend whether the intervention was ready for summative evaluation (SE). Results showed that most process expectations were met. Statistical findings suggested that the intervention was associated with higher rates of reunification for treatment families as compared to families receiving services-as-usual. Thus, the intervention was recommended for SE.