Child abuse and neglect in Brussels during the COVID-19-lockdown.

Camille Verheyden, Erik Van Dooren, Frank Van Holen, Tim Stroobants, Johan Vanderfaeillie

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: It is likely that the circumstances during the COVID-19-lockdown in Belgium increased the incidence and prevalence of child abuse and neglect (CAN) due to exacerbated risk factors and new COVID-19-related stressors. However, traditional reporters had less contact with children which could lead to undetected cases of CAN. Objective: Gain insight into the number and profile of CAN reports filed to the Brussels Confidential Center of Child Abuse and Neglect (CCCAN) during the COVID-19-lockdown. Participants and setting: A dataset comprising 536 CAN reports from periods before (N = 442) and during the lockdown (N = 94). Methods: Characteristics about the report, reporter, victim and his/her family, perpetrator(s) and the trajectory with the CCCAN were registered. The number and characteristics of reports during the lockdown were compared to those of reports before the lockdown. Results: The number of advisory questions (p =.506, d =.377) and allegations (p =.095, d = 1.206) remained unchanged. During the lockdown, the risk assessment of advisory questions was higher (p =.011, d =.280), they evolved more into social exigency investigations (p <.001, φ =.246) and were referred more often to judicial authorities (p =.010, φ =.163). Allegations were filed more often by the helpline, police and judicial authorities (p <.001, φ =.590) during the lockdown and involved more Dutch-speaking (p =.016, φ =.166) victims. Conclusions: The number of CAN reports remained the same during the lockdown but their profile changed.

Original languageEnglish
Article number105903
Pages (from-to)1-24
Number of pages24
JournalChild Abuse & Neglect
Volume134
Early online date22 Sep 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was partly funded by the Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie (VGC).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd

Copyright:
Copyright 2022 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Child abuse and neglect in Brussels during the COVID-19-lockdown.'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this