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The ISPCAN International Handbook of Child Abuse and Neglect

  • 1st Edition - October 1, 2026
  • Latest edition
  • Editors: Kevin Lalor, John Fluke, Shanta R. Dube, Carmit Katz
  • Language: English

The ISPCAN International Handbook of Child Abuse and Neglect offers a comprehensive examination of global knowledge on child maltreatment. In partnership with the Intern… Read more

Description

The ISPCAN International Handbook of Child Abuse and Neglect offers a comprehensive examination of global knowledge on child maltreatment. In partnership with the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN), this handbook is designed for a diverse audience, including academics, researchers, policymakers, and health and social care professionals. It aims to cultivate a shared language and enhance understanding of the complexities surrounding child abuse and neglect, beginning with a global overview that explores the contextual and environmental factors influencing child maltreatment that is followed by discussions on various forms of abuse and supported by global case studies.

Latter sections focus on the latest intervention and prevention strategies, critically evaluating their effectiveness across different settings. Concluding with insights into future directions, the book emphasizes emerging trends, innovative approaches, and the continual need for comprehensive research and policy development in this crucial field.

Key features

  • Provides an in-depth examination of child maltreatment, including surveillance, risks, and consequences from a worldwide perspective
  • Features detailed case studies from various regions, illuminating unique challenges and responses to different forms of child abuse
  • Explores effective intervention and prevention methods, critically assessing their applicability in diverse contexts
  • Highlights emerging trends and innovative approaches in child maltreatment research and policy, emphasizing the need for ongoing developments in the field

Readership

Academics, researchers, medical practitioners, advanced students of disciplines related to child abuse and neglect & child protection, including pediatrics, social work, psychology, social workers

Table of contents

1. Global perspectives: Introduction to the ISPCAN International Handbook of Child Abuse and Neglect
Part 1: Global Perspectives: Surveillance, Risks and Consequences of Child Maltreatment

2. Keeping the promise: Investment in child protection and well-being as a key accelerator for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

3. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child - current challenges and priorities

4. Enhancing Surveillance to Obtain Valid and Reliable Global Estimates of Childhood Abuse & Neglect

5. International Surveillance and Evaluation of Childhood Abuse & Neglect: Perspectives from the World Health Organization (WHO)

6. Violence Against Children Surveys: Lessons Learned and Future Directions

7. Understanding risk and protective factors for child abuse and neglect

8. Mental and physical consequences of child maltreatment

Part 2: Contextual and Environmental Factors

9. Climate change and violence against children

10. The global shift from corporal punishment to positive discipline of children

11. Harmful cultural practices (FGM; child marriage): Progress and future challenges

12. Child maltreatment in religious contexts: Epidemiology, risks, consequences, and prevention

13. Safeguarding in sports against child abuse and neglect

Part 3: Understanding Different Forms of Abuse

14. Understanding Child Neglect: Current Insights and Future Directions

15. Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse of Boys: A Global Perspective

16. Labor and sex trafficking of children and adolescents

17. Responding to the challenges of online CSA and exploitation in low- and middle-income countries

18. Child maltreatment fatalities and lessons from CDRs

19. Childhood emotional abuse - an overdue public health priority

Part 4: Regional Spotlight and Groups at enhanced Risk

20. European responses to violence against children

21. Driving Change in Far-East Asia Child Protection Systems through Collaboration

22. Child abuse in the Gulf States

23. Implementing community-wide parenting support: A case example from South Africa

24. Violence against street children

25. At the margins of care: Systemic failures and violence against LGBTQ+ youth in the child protection system in three European countries

26. Building a global commitment to children in conflict and crisis: A historical trajectory of child protection in humanitarian action

27. Child maltreatment among children with disabilities

28. Schools and teachers as drivers of VAC in Africa

29. The abuse of children in residential alternative care

Part 5: Intervention and Prevention Strategies

30. Evidence-based treatment for children and adolescents who have experienced child maltreatment

31. Collaborative approaches to responding to child abuse: The CAC and Barnahus models

32. Decision Making and Assessment in Systems of Protection

33. Medical assessment of child maltreatment: Methods and considerations

34. Professional Training in Our Field: Key Challenges and Best Practices

35. Innovating Child Maltreatment Prevention: Challenges Ahead

Part 6: Future Directions/Innovative Approaches and Perspectives in Addressing Child Maltreatment

36. Protecting Children in the Digital Age: Project Case Studies

37. Multi-System Data to Monitor and Prevent Online Childhood Sexual Exploitation and Abuse: Insights from Childlight Research

38. Your story matters: The Impact of Lived Experience on Service Policy, Design, and Delivery

39. Ethical aspects of research on child abuse

Product details

  • Edition: 1
  • Latest edition
  • Published: October 1, 2026
  • Language: English

About the editors

KL

Kevin Lalor

KEVIN LALOR, PhD, is a psychology lecturer and has held numerous Head of Department and Head of School roles in TU Dublin, and its predecessor, Dublin Institute of Technology.

His research is primarily focused on child abuse and neglect since doctoral studies on the victimization of street children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in the early 1990s. He has published a number of reviews on aspects of child abuse in sub-Saharan Africa and in Europe.

He is a member of the editorial boards of Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal and Children, Youth and Environments. He is a former editor of the Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies and is a member of the Research Ethics Committee of the National Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in the UK. He is the current President of ISPCAN (International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect).

Affiliations and expertise
Technological University Dublin, Ireland

JF

John Fluke

Dr. Fluke is Professor with Tenure at the Kempe Center with joint appointments in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School Of Medicine and the Department of Epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health. His research involves assessing and analyzing decision making in human services delivery systems. Recognized for his work in the areas of administrative data analysis, assessment, workload, and outcome measurement, he also works in the area Child Maltreatment epidemiology including work on data programs in several countries and the U.S. As a researcher in child welfare and children’s mental health, he concentrates on the application of data and research to guide policy and practice. Privileged to work with collaborators and mentees around the world, he has conducted research and evaluation at all levels of government, in the non-governmental sector, and with foundations, in the U.S. and internationally and published widely.

Affiliations and expertise
University of Colorado School of Medicine, USA

SD

Shanta R. Dube

Dr. Shanta R. Dube is a Professor (with tenure) and Director of the Master of Public Health Program, Department of Public Health, Levine College of Health Sciences, Wingate University. She is a behavioral and social epidemiologist spending her 25-year career on the epidemiology of ACEs and pathways to resiliency, with a focus on adult trauma survivors. Her research contributions from the CDC-Kaiser ACE Study gained national and international recognition across various sectors and led to the CDC award for scientific excellence. In 2007, she joined the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health to lead a national surveillance program, which included the first reports on e-cigarette use. Shanta’s current focus is focused on ACEs advocacy. She is actively engaged in developing and evaluating programs for substance use disorders, such as the opioid epidemic, using an ACEs science and trauma-informed framework. She is also actively researching the use of digital health applications for promoting health and well-being in populations.

Affiliations and expertise
Professor (with tenure) and Director of the Master of Public Health Program, Department of Public Health, Levine College of Health Sciences, Wingate University, USA

CK

Carmit Katz

Carmit Katz is a Full Professor of Social Work at the Hebrew University and the Deputy CEO at Haruv Institute. Katz is committed to policy change and works both in the national and international arenas in order to promote the rights of all children to a life without violence. Katz is the founder and director of The Israeli Independent Public Inquiry into Child Abuse. Katz is also the founder and director of the International Group of Scholars Protecting Children from Maltreatment During the COVID-19 Pandemic, with ISPCAN support and collaboration. Katz is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Child Maltreatment and Associate Editor in Child Abuse and Neglect.
Affiliations and expertise
Full Professor of Social Work, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel