Introduction (Hong Jing)

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file:///C:/Users/40098/Downloads/CultissuesCMJPCH.pdf
lack of a cultural perspective in defining child abuse can promote the professional’s own cultural values
and world view as the guiding force in making decisions. Conversely, when definitions of child abuse are
totally guided by that cultural group’s norms, the outcome may result in children receiving a lesser
standard of care and protection.
. Korbin identified the following three aspects that may be useful in developing culturally responsive
definitions of child maltreatment:14 • Acknowledgement of cultural differences in child rearing
practices. • Recognition that deviations from the culturally appropriate child-rearing practices of any
specific cultural group are considered by that cultural group to be abusive. • Knowledge of the
circumstances that exist where societal harm undermines children’s well-being beyond the control of
the parent (e.g. poverty).
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https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/cultural/can/
How does culture affect the reactions for what constitutes abuse?
Culture shapes the way individuals experience childhood and how they raise their
children. Behaviors that are considered abusive in one culture, such as corporal
punishment or harsh verbal discipline, may be considered acceptable in another.

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file:///C:/Users/40098/Downloads/1006402.pdf

Modernity, colonialism and anthropological research contributed to shaping culture into something
exotic, sometimes alien to a default white European norm. We prefer to think about culture as
something that happens in our daily lives, as social practice (Thompson 1968). Understanding culture as
social practice means bringing into consideration language and speech (as in the professionals’
discourses from the project), but also politics and religion

Across the different focus groups, culture broadly was described as: norms; ways of living, being and
seeing; traditions; mentality; how we form networks and kinships; “codes of understanding”, accepted
power relations, and “visions of the world”.

You have to be sensitive to culture but you can’t work differently with different cultures … and it doesn’t
matter where you’re from – if you’re from Africa or Lithuania … so you might work differently with
families around what is acceptable there and what is acceptable here but you still focus on the child.
(statutory sector social worker, CAN, England/Wales).

What makes the difference in “cultural difference”? In this section we explore how differences were
articulated around parenting in relation to child maltreatment and gender relations with references to
domestic violence. A perception that minoritised families had different approaches to parenting was
evident across the focus groups in Slovenia, Portugal and Germany, with some variation in England and
Wales. The perceived differences orbited around the acceptance of the use of violence as punishment
and discipline. Values and principles towards parenting were questioned as to whether they were in line
with universal children’s rights or “our” norms in the particular country. These perceptions were linked
to family structures, both in terms of who holds legitimised power and infuence and the cultural
signifcance of the family. For many this was connected to fathers having an uncontested position at the
top of a hierarchal pyramid of power.

Such framings could infuence how participants interpreted their experiences when they encountered
cultural groups that did not adhere to national legal frameworks, or even rejected them outright.

4.1 Violence as normal The view that violence was normal in some social groups was especially evident
in the domestic violence focus groups: a trope repeated across countries and professional groupings was
that women from different cultural and political contexts could be desensitised to, or ignorant about,
violence and abuse. This argument drew on a notion of habituation, subtly different to the ways in which
abuse can become normalised within gender relations, which has been long a focus in domestic violence
research. Because they’ve been raised in this way since a very young age, and it’s completely normal
that they’re restricted in all they can do. (police offcer, DV, Slovenia) They are socialised differently from
us; so, they accept very well, and women accept very well the violence. (police, DV, Portugal) One
version of this was to position minoritised women and children as less knowledgeable: that they did not
know that they were being abused or alternatively that abuse was wrong.

Chinese cultural Perspective (Wei Zee):

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https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_interest/child_law/resources/child_law_practiceonline/
child_law_practice/vol-34/february-2015/child-maltreatment-in-south-korea--an-overview1/

Confucian Tradition
Scholars agree that the reason for delayed social awareness of child abuse in Korea is rooted in
traditional Confucian teachings, the source of core values and standards of the Chosun dynasty
(1392-1910 A.D.).5 Under Confucian tradition, children are considered possessions of parents,
and parents are granted almost inviolable authority to raise and discipline their
children.6 Corporal punishment has generally been accepted as a form of discipline rooted in
parental love.7

Government & Families 

Additionally, child-rearing practices were traditionally considered private family business
beyond the control of the state, so government intervention was rare.8 Professor Kim Sang-yong
explains that the reluctance of the government could be attributed to the following saying: “Law
cannot jump over the family fence.”9 Although the National Child Protection Agency (NCPA) is
the central organization that oversees all 50 local child protection agencies (CPA) in 17 regions,
it is not a government institution.10 Until recently, child protection agencies lacked the formal,
independent power to separate an abused child from his or her parent, and often struggled with
parents who refused to follow their orders.11 

Abuse Awareness Prompts a Movement

CPAs also avoided challenging parental authority or rights. For example, in a 2013 case, child
abuse was reported to the local CPA, but the CPA employees neither separated the child from the
parent nor filed an accusation against the parent.12 The child victim died. This incident,
followed by several others, received wide media coverage and raised public awareness about
child abuse. 

These incidents triggered a movement among activists, lawyers, social workers, and politicians
to create new legislation addressing the holes in the current child protection system for abused
and neglected children. This new law was enacted in January 2014 and implemented in
September 2014. 

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6561447/

We will write about China Cultural factors

Cultural factors

In Chinese traditional culture, parents have absolute authority over their

children and children’s disobedience is strictly forbidden. Under the
influence of some typical Chinese traditional phrases, such as ‘Spare the
rod and spoil the child’, parents tend to beat their children at will.

Influenced by the utilitarian atmosphere, many parents keep up with the

Joneses by setting unreasonable expectations and demands for their
children, and physically punish their children if they fail to meet these
expectations.

Some parents’ expectations for their children are too high. They feel
disappointed if children failed to achieve, which causes physical
abuse. (Community health worker, female, aged 28)

The traditional preference for sons in China leads to maltreatment of

girls, including physical abuse and neglect.

People living in remote or mountainous areas prefer boys to girls. In these

families, giving birth to girls is contrary to their expectation, which might
resulting in neglect or abuse. (Doctor in children’s hospital, male, aged 35)

Cultural factors are very important in understanding child abuse. In

Chinese tradition, the experience of deliberately inflicted pain is
regarded as character-building.17 Chinese people seem to be less critical
of the use of physical force by parents to accomplish desired ends.18 The
traditional value of filial piety (Xiao) gives parents absolute authority
over their children. This is why children’s disobedience toward parents
is the most common reason for physical punishment.19 Additionally,
under the one-child policy launched in 1979, parents tend to attach
higher value and put greater expectations on children, and punish them
once the expectations fail to be met.20 Although in 2013 China announced
the decision to relax the one-child policy and encourage families to have
two children if one parent was an only child, tension between the child
and parents caused by high expectations is still a risk factor of
disciplinary punishment.

In China, conventional wisdom that sons are preferable to daughters is

embedded within patrilineal family structures.21 Although the inherent
son preference is on decline, sons are still desired more frequently than
daughters.22 Deep-rooted Confucian values play a part.23 In addition, with
rapid economic development in China, the pace of live and stress on
parents has increased, which negatively affect parenting practices.9 The
respondents have also recognised the children who are left behind when
their parents go to work in cities. This is consistent with many studies
exploring the influence of rural to urban labour migration. 24 With the
processes of modernisation and urbanisation, many children are left
behind and should be given special attention.

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https://writingbros.com/essay-examples/influence-of-confucianism-on-parenting-solution-to-child-
abuse/
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0190740920305570

Western Modern Era Cultural Perspective (Hong An)

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
347772669_Effectiveness_of_laws_and_policies_governing_permissive_parenting_in_pursuit_of_the_
reduction_of_severe_child_abuse_in_Germany

Laws and policies governing permissive parenting in Germany including provisional withdrawal of
parental custody coupled with children taken preventively into custody (Inobhutnahme) by the
German Youth Welfare Offices (Jugendamt) seem to uncover cases of severe child abuse in
Germany from the dark into the light field but may not actually have a significant effect on controlling
and decreasing such cases. In the year 2000, the German government enforced a series of
prohibitive laws in Germany’s civil and social codes to preventively protect children from violence.

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file:///C:/Users/40098/Downloads/CultissuesCMJPCH.pdf

The way parents resolved disputes was strikingly different between the two cultures. The Gujarati
children were encouraged to tell teachers and parents and to discuss disputes rather than fight back and
stand up for themselves as the English children did. A more recent study from the UK found that the
mental health advantage of Indian children persists even after controlling for family characteristics.20
Such practices encouraged in the Gujarati children are to be celebrated, valued and perhaps taken up by
other cultures

Conclusion (Jia Fu) :

Summarize the definition of phylosophy & intercultural perspective in the topic of child abuse

Summarize key point from Chinese perspective

Summarize key ponit from Western modern era perspective

Recommendation or suggestion to prevent child abuse

file:///C:/Users/40098/Downloads/1006402.pdf

One clear example here was discussed in terms of the tensions between different cultural approaches to
parenting, and offcial national frameworks for child protection. The dilemma was in acknowledging that
physical violence towards children may form part of cultural norms and practices

Reflections:

Culture was an ambiguous term in the theoretical discussions in the CEINAV project and remained as
such when exploring our data. Culturalising the situation of the persons concerned can, on the one
hand, lead to stereotyping and justifcation of discriminatory views. On the other hand it can help the
persons concerned explain themselves, their beliefs and needs as well as the understanding of
professionals to fnd the appropriate intervention for the individual situation. The tensions and
interrelations were strikingly present in the discussions on culture in our research. They obviously call
for permanent refections. The complexity and dilemmas which in particular the focus groups revealed
led us to conclude that the professional trope of “cultural competence” is insuffcient in the effort to
ensure that all women and children who experience abuse have equal access to support and protection.
The insights from the focus groups, alongside interviews with survivors, form the foundation for the
ethical framework for intervention developed out of the CEINAV project (see chapter 16).

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file:///C:/Users/40098/Downloads/CultissuesCMJPCH.pdf

Action at an individual level: a culturally competent individual:

• Acknowledges the importance of cultural understanding to achieve effective communication;
• Advocates with and/or on behalf of children/families from diverse communities;
• Recognises and respects that communities are their own cultural experts;
• Appreciates that many people from culturally diverse backgrounds need to involve family and
community in discussions about health-related issues;
• Feels comfortable about involving an interpreter when there is a language barrier;
• Shares their experiences with other health professionals while respecting confidentiality;
• Has undergone a process of self-reflection to understand the impact of personal cultural identity on
his or her practice and
• Undertakes continuing professional development to develop the necessary skill set to foster culturally
competent practice.
Action at the professional level: a culturally competent profession:
• Builds cultural competency into both generic and specialist training and in professional development;
• Develops cultural competency standards to guide the work of health professionals;
• Ensures that generic skills rather than stereotypes are promoted, so that professionals understand
that people are influenced by their cultural context
and circumstances but are not defined by them;
• Promotes generic and specialist skills in cross-cultural training; and
• Encourages and supports integration of cultural competencies into health professional practice.
Action at the organisational level: a culturally competent health organisation:
• Recognises that its client base is diverse and includes people from a range of cultural and linguistic
backgrounds based on a rich diversity of heritage
and culture and differing degrees of acculturation;
• Acknowledges from the highest levels all the way through the organisation that cultural competency
and diversity management are integral to core
business;
• Recognises that cultural competence is as much about changing itself as about influencing culturally
diverse clients;
• Forms partnerships with community groups, other health organisations, ethno-specific agencies and
other sectors to make its policies and processes
more culturally competent;
• Moves away from a ‘quick fix’ approach and allows time and resources for sustained change;
• Recognises the benefits of diversity and dialogue across cultures and aims for a workforce that reflects
the cultural makeup of the population it serves;
• Encourages exchange between culturally diverse background communities and health professionals to
ensure communities receive what they need
and want;
• Puts in place ongoing professional development for interpreters and
• Creates an evidence base drawn from culturally competent research.
Action at the systemic level: a culturally competent health system:
• Acknowledges cultural competency as integral to core business;
• Recognises that families move around the health system and that the whole system should support
cultural competency and aspire to a seamless
approach;
• Resources the capacity and policy infrastructure to foster culturally competent practice;
• Defines and disseminates information on core cultural competencies across the system;
• Facilitates consistent and culturally competent research and data collection across jurisdictions to
improve knowledge and monitoring;
• Provides for increased utilisation of language services to support culturally competent practice and
• Identifies a skill set for culturally competent practice and supports health organisations and individuals
to value and achieve culturally competent
practice.

Others :

Can refer to this as the way how to write a report but on child abuse instead of child development.
https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/families-of-virtue-confucian-and-western-views-on-childhood-
development/