How Inequality Fuels Child Abuse

We struggle to understand and talk about the link between poverty and child abuse. On the one hand, we know that not every poor family abuses and neglects their children, and we don’t want to stigmatize families for their poverty. On the other hand, there is a growing body of literature on the cascading effects of poverty in the lives of families. Paul Bywaters, professor of social work at the University of Huddersfield, joins us today to discuss the relationship between poverty, inequality, and child abuse. How do we come alongside and stand with families in poverty who are struggling with child abuse and neglect? How do we examine our own policies and procedures to ensure that we’re being genuinely helpful and not just adding to families’ burdens? And how do we move beyond just talking about individual poverty to the growing disparity in means that is reinforcing structural inequality with implications for generations to come? Please take a listen. Topics in this episode:Origin story (00:09)The relationship between poverty and abuse and neglect (4:08)Poverty affects every aspect of your life (8:34)Impact on adult poverty (11:48)The effect of disparity (14:19)Standing alongside families (19:16)Policy solutions (25:08)What’s next in research (36:55)For more information (40:20)Links:Paul Bywaters, Ph.D., professor of social work, School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield The Relationship Between Poverty and Child Abuse and Neglect: New Evidence, by Paul Bywaters and Guy Skinner with Aimee Cooper, Eilis Kennedy, and Afra Malik, University of Huddersfield, March 2022 Michal Krumer-Nevo, Ph.D., YouTube video: FAQ on Poverty and Poverty Aware Practice Maslow’s hierarchy of needs L. Anthony Loman, Ph.D. Gary Siegel, Ph.D. For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.Support the showDid you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.