Preventing emotional abuse of children: The role of parenting support (2024)

This webinar, produced in partnership with the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN), previously aired in 2023 as part of National Child Protection Week. It explores emotional abuse in childhood and the role of parenting support in reducing and preventing child maltreatment.

 

In the webinar, Associate Professor Divna Haslam and Associate Professor Alina Morawska sat down with the then Deputy CEO of NAPCAN, Rani Kumar, to discuss findings from the Australian Child Maltreatment Study. The study found that approximately 35% of young people aged 16-24 years had previously experienced emotional abuse, with the rate 1.5 times higher among girls than boys.

 

Emotional abuse contributes to a range of physical, social and psychological problems, and despite its high prevalence, this form of abuse is poorly understood compared to other forms of child maltreatment and is often overlooked in practice settings.

 

Emotional abuse occurs at the hands of parents and primary caregivers and can overlap with other unhelpful forms of parenting. This makes the family environment key for the prevention of emotional abuse in childhood. Parenting programs have been shown to reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors associated with child maltreatment.

 

This webinar will help you:

 

• understand the nature, prevalence and impact of emotional abuse in childhood
• identify the family-related risk and protective factors associated with early adversity and child maltreatment
• consider the role of parenting support in preventing and reducing emotional abuse in childhood
• start conversations about emotional abuse with parents and children and assess the impact the abuse is having.

 

This webinar will interest practitioners working in child and family services, child protection, family law, parenting and relationship services, health and education.

 

As this is a re-broadcast there will be no live Q&A. Learn more or register here.