Based around the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child and the findings of the UN secretary general's Study on Violence Against Children (2007), this book discusses the risk factors for the raising of violent children from a children's rights perspective.
Because it relies heavily on research findings to inform discussion, the book is most useful as a reference tool. Much of the debate is weighed down by the extent of the international research quoted: there are 37 pages of references. Consequently, a summary or a clear recommendations section would have been invaluable.
Discussions around the risk factors for violence in children can leave many of us feeling uneasy, but the authors' decision to frame it in a children's rights context is refreshing. At a time when UK services are leaning towards more targeted services for young people, the authors caution that such programmes "may be necessary only in extreme circumstances". They go on to recommend proactive universal approaches to children's and youth programmes for three main reasons: that it is impossible to predict what difficulties children may face in their development; that universal services avoid the potential for stigmatisation of the family; and that they do not require prior risk identification.
This book helps demonstrate that early intervention work, along with work informed by real participation from children themselves, is crucial. I believe this is a challenge which we should all rise to.
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