The Truth is Longer than a Lie: Children's Experiences of Abuse and Professional Interventions
| Date | 01 August 2007 |
| Published date | 01 August 2007 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/17466660200700020 |
| Pages | 70-72 |
| Author | Richard Ingram |
networks of family support services with local,
smaller, community-based initiatives, including estate
co-operatives and faith-based groups. We are advised
about the central government agenda and localised
training and grants available for family support work
(p145) but without a detailed strategy that takes into
consideration local organisations (about which the
local authorities may be unaware), their collaboration
and competition for grant funding. It would be
fascinating to explore the potential educative key role
that the NSPCC could take in the UK with smaller
NGO and community groups by helping them to co-
ordinate safer early intervention and appropriate
referral systems for protection services – much in the
same way as they have developed the educative
materials on safeguarding for international NGOs.
Synthesising services at early, specialist and crisis
levels requires us to develop language, respect and
trust in each other – not only between the statutory
and voluntary sectors but also between those of us in
the voluntary sector.
Reviewed by: Helen Woolley
Consultant in Social Work and Placement Officer at
Teesside University, UK
Email: h.woolley@tees.ac.uk
Book reviews
70 Journal of Children’s Services
Volume 2 Issue 2 August 2007
© Pavilion Journals (Brighton) Ltd
The Truth is Longer than a Lie: Children’s Experiences of Abuse and
Professional Interventions
Neerosh Mudaly and Chris Goddard
London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2006
188 pages, £18.99 (paperback)
ISBN: 1 84310 317 6
This excellent book places the voices of child victims
of abuse at the centre of an exploration of their
experiences. That this should be seen to be a unique
approach to the subject is both sobering and exciting.
At the book’s core is the quest to listen to young
victims of abuse and to add depth and evidence to
existing theoretical and practical constructs
concerning child abuse and its associated
professional interventions.
The authors give a clear sense of the contextual
background to the book. They note that high profile
child abuse cases, such as that of Victoria Climbié in
the UK, have raised key questions about
communication, procedural irregularities and
inconsistent recording in child protection work. They
suggest that a neglected aspect of the knowledge
base relating to child abuse concerns the views of the
children themselves. They cite the ‘textual abuse’
(Goddard & Saunders, 2000) within the discussion of
abuse in the media, which reduces children to
passive bystanders. As they note, ‘child abuse is not
only committed by adults but defined by them’ (p25).
The authors acknowledge the ethical and practical
difficulties of seeking the views of child abuse victims
for the purposes of research. They present a clear and
useful guide to researchers in this area and note the
potential difficulties and dangers of re-examining the
experiences of victims. In my view, the wealth of direct
quotations from children throughout the book reflects
a sensitive and considered approach to the research.
It was very interesting to note that the key themes
emerging from the young people consulted chimed
with existing understandings about child abuse. For
instance, the book considers the parallels between
the experiences of child abuse victims and that of
hostages. The juxtaposition of theoretical constructs
of child protection and political terrorism highlights
themes such as the use of force, fear, lack of control
and an absence of ‘time limits’. However, the authors
note that the two perspectives diverge when one
considers that hostage-taking is public and child
abuse private, with the relationship between the child
and the abuser often familial and/or more complex.
This book succeeds in providing a strong argument
and evidence base for seeking the views of children in
relation to our understanding of and professional
responses to child abuse. It also suggests that to do
this meaningfully will require the concept of
childhood to be re-examined and defined at political,
legislative and societal levels. It is noted that within
developmental models there is a sense of childhood
as a transitory phase on the path to the destination of
adulthood. Cogent links are made between this
notion and the degree to which the worth of
children’s views are neglected or minimised.
The book will be of interest to social workers, child
protection workers, academics, students and anyone
working with abused children. From my perspective as a
Lecturer in Social Work, I found the approach and
subject matter resonated with the wider movement
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