Huddersfield takes lead at 9th BASPCAN International Congress
Wed, 29 Apr 2015 17:02:00 BST
Dr Bernard Gallagher chaired the Scientific Committee for the 2015 British Association for the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Congress in Edinburgh
THE University of Huddersfield featured prominently at the International Congress for the British Association for the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (BASPCAN), which took place in Edinburgh and was an overwhelming success.
The Scientific Committee for the 9th BASPCAN International Congress was chaired by the University’s Dr Bernard Gallagher (pictured left), a Reader in Social Work and Applied Social Sciences, who has specialised in child protection since 1987 and is a former Associate Editor of the peer-reviewed journal Child Abuse Review.
The Congress exceeded all previous in terms of both the number of papers presented – approximately 400 – and the number of delegates in attendance – well over 700, a quarter of whom were international.
Highlights of the event included a performance by the University’s drama students, under the direction of Huddersfield’s Professor Franc Chamberlain. The performance included excerpts from the autobiography, Hackney Child, written by care leaver Jenny Molloy (pictured right). This dramatisation was made possible through funding agreed by the University’s Professor John Playle, Dean of the School of Human and Health Sciences.
Dr Gallagher said he was especially pleased with the keynote presenters he and his colleagues had been able to assemble. Among these was Baroness Brenda Hale (pictured right), Deputy President of the Supreme Court, who spoke about the meaning of ‘unacceptable risk’ when the state is considering compulsory interventions in the lives of families.
Other keynote speakers included:
Professor Sir Michael Rutter of King’s College London, who discussed his research on the development of children who been adopted after having lived in institutions in China, Greece or Romania;
Dr James A. Mercy, Special Advisor for Global Activities, Division of Violence Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA, who showed how Violence Against Children Surveys (VACS) could be used as a ‘critical tool’ in responding to child maltreatment, including that in low income countries;
Simon Bailey, Chief Constable of Norfolk Police and National Policing Lead on Child Protection Abuse Investigation for Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), who discussed the recent response by police and other agencies to unprecedented concerns over child sexual abuse and other forms of maltreatment.
Sue Berelowitz, Deputy Children’s Commissioner for England, who described the extensive work that she and her colleagues had undertaken around child sexual exploitation, and the innovative responses they had subsequently developed.
The BASPCAN Founder’s Lecture, ‘the keynote of keynotes’, was presented by the University of Huddersfield’s Professor in Applied Childhood Studies, Nigel Parton (pictured right). Professor Parton drew upon his own research to examine changes in child protection policy, in the four nations of the UK, over the last 25 years.
Other University of Huddersfield colleagues taking part in the Congress were:
Ruth Neville (Head of Division, Social Work), who gave a workshop on the teaching initiatives she had developed with author Jenny Molloy to ensure the ‘voices’ of marginalised service users are incorporated in social work education.
Sarah Lloyd (PhD student), who discussed her research on social workers’ understanding of ‘agency’ and ‘blame’ relating to sexually-exploited children.
- Julia Langley (PhD student), who outlined her study on young mothers narratives regarding relationship abuse.
Dr Gallagher said chairing the scientific committee for such a large and prestigious conference had been an extremely challenging task, but he was pleased to have been involved in such an extensive dissemination of knowledge and good practice in relation to child protection.
“I am confident that the success of the event has strengthened the reputation of the University of Huddersfield in terms of child protection, but also social work and research more generally” said Dr Gallagher. “I also believe the further profile and contacts this Congress has given me will benefit my own research on child protection in the future.”
► Pictured opposite are the University’s drama students in rehearsals (left to right) Rachael Elders, Professor Franc Chamberlain, Caroline Ingham, Tom Rose, Mathew Vickers and Natasha Kay Senior.
