CRISTINA DÂMBOEANU, comparative assessments related to the proportions of different forms of abuse against children

• Main Author: CRISTINA DÂMBOEANU
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Romanian Academy 2008-02-01
• Series: Revista Română de Sociologie
• Subjects: child abuse; maltreatment; comparative analysis
• Online Access: http://www.revistadesociologie.ro/pdf-uri/nr.3-4-2008/Art%203-Damboeanu.pdf

The article presents a comparative analysis of the proportions of the main forms of child abuse in various countries (including Romania). To this end, two distinct approaches were used: 1) the comparison of results of sociological studies on this issue, and 2) the comparison of data included in the reports drafted by the authorities in charge of ensuring the protection of child rights in five countries - the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Romania. It was shown that, irrespective of the approach, comparative analysis is very limited due to the lack of a standardized definition of the notion of abuse against minors which is used in different countries. On the other hand, no standardized methodologies to approach the phenomenon are used. In the absence of a coordinated and centralized institutional assessment, the comparison of data related to the incidence of cases of abuse against children was carried out at trend level. From this point of view, it was emphasized that in Romania, the proportion of the phenomenon of abuse, especially of specific forms of manifestation of the abuse, is relatively more reduced than in countries that are more developed from an economic point of view, such as the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.