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Child abuse fatalities and the media: lessons from a case study
Author(s) -
Goddard Chris,
Liddell Max
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
child abuse review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1099-0852
pISSN - 0952-9136
DOI - 10.1002/car.226
Subject(s) - newspaper , tragedy (event) , de facto , butcher , child protection , criminology , welfare , health professionals , psychology , medicine , law , psychiatry , sociology , political science , health care
The role of the media in influencing child protection policy is explored by examination of the death of one child, Daniel Valerio, in Victoria, Australia. Daniel, 2 years old, died at the hands of his mother's de facto barely five months after he (Paul Aiton) moved in with Daniel's mother, Cheryl Butcher.[The Australian term ‘de facto’ is the equivalent of the English word ‘cohabitee’.] A series of reports to protective services highlighting multiple and severe bruising to Daniel were made; Daniel's postmortem revealed 104 bruises on his body. Although 21 professionals were involved in the case, tragedy was not averted; in fact, it was an electrician rather than trained professionals who recognized the obvious abuse. A series of inquiries into the case ensued; these were not immediately reported by the media, but press attention to the case intensified gradually. This led to a successful though paradoxical campaign by one newspaper, the Melbourne Herald Sun , to introduce the mandatory reporting of child abuse by health and welfare professionals. The paradox is that those people who needed to know of the case to protect Daniel knew about it before his death. This article analyses the campaign, highlights the factors which led to its success and provides succinct advice to professionals on the use of the media. Copyright © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.