![]() Similarly, in New South Wales, homicide of infants aged less than one year was higher than rates among older children and adults, and most child homicides were the result of physical abuse (Nielssen et al., 2009). The Victorian Child Death Review Committee (2008) reported that of all deaths of children known to child protection services between 19, 63% (129 of 204) were infants under 3 years and 33% (68 of 204) of all child deaths were infants under 6 months. Infants' physical fragility and almost total dependence on others to meet their needs means that they are also the group most vulnerable to fatal abuse. In 2007-08, 44.7% of all verified cases of child abuse and neglect and 42% of all children admitted into care involved an infant aged 0-4 years (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2009). The age distribution of children involved in child protection services within Australia indicates that infants are one of the primary client groups of child protection services. ![]() Infants involved in the child protection system Finally, as the most difficult area of practice for protecting infants is out-of-home care, detailed attention will be given to some of the key challenges for protecting and caring for infants removed from their families. The way in which a public health model enriched by a human rights perspective might inform service delivery to protect infants from abuse and neglect is explored. In this paper, we commence by discussing the over-representation of infants in child protection services, the vulnerability of infants and infancy as a foundational developmental stage for later outcomes. A children's rights perspective can help keep the focus on the subjective experience of infants, and their rights to health, happiness, social participation and relief from pain and suffering. The public health model has particular appeal because of its focus on preventative efforts, the underpinning societal recognition in Australia that all new families need some support, and the wish of individual families and the wider society to prevent intergenerational transmission of vulnerability and disadvantage. Infants are a harbinger of hope within their individual families and at a societal level. The particular focus of this Issues paper is child abuse and neglect in infants aged 0-3 years. ![]() This paper addresses many of the issues confronting Australia at present: how to ensure the protection of individual infants (aged 0-3 years), how to respond to infants who have suffered neglect or abuse in ways that alleviate their suffering and heal and protect them from further harm, how to create a society that reduces the risks of infants and children becoming subject to neglect and abuse, and how to deal with the limits and failures of such endeavours. Despite the fantasy of infancy as being a time of nirvana, the first 12 months of life pose the highest risk of death from homicide the most frequent form being fatal abuse by a caregiver (Nielssen, Large, Westmore, & Lackersteen, 2009). The idealisation of infancy in our culture is in part a defence against recognising the intense powerlessness, helplessness and dependency of the human infant (Bradley, 1989). Introduction My mother groan'd, my father wept ![]() Protecting infants from abuse and neglect using a public health model enriched by a human rights perspective.A different approach to protecting infants.Infants involved in the child protection system. ![]()
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