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Kieran O'Hagan is an established writer and former Reader in the School of Social Work at The Queen's University, Belfast. He worked for over twenty years in the social services in Britain. He has also lectured and worked in Australia, India and the USA. He has published many books and articles on a wide range of subjects in welfare and in training, including child abuse, crisis intervention, social work competence and the abuse of women in family and child care.
The ultimate tragedy in Family and Childcare work
February 2012.
Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher once referred to child sexual abuse as the last great taboo in how we treat children. She was not to know, nor was anybody else for that matter, of something worse that would befall an increasing number of children: they are killed, often brutally, while being ‘cared for’ by a reputedly ‘loving parent’, who is estranged from, and/or in conflict with the other parent. The parent who has killed the child then attempts to take his or her own life, usually succeeding. Sometimes, the remaining parent is left with nothing other than a chilling letter or recorded phone message, in which their suicidal partner makes it abundantly clear that he or she has wilfully and determinedly murdered their children. The motivating factors may include: (a) good intentions….strange as it may seem, they may believe they are doing the right thing in killing their child(ren); (b) mental illness, such as a psychotic flare-up; (c) rage and jealously (of the partner successfully starting a new relationship); (d) revenge (for all the suffering and despair they believe their partner has inflicted on them, by for example, having an affair with someone else; or by walking out, or (e) the prospect of a partner gaining custody of the child(ren) after a particularly fractious and messy separation. Whatever the motivation, the remaining partner (if there is one) is forever burdened with a crippling sense of bitterness and guilt.
Of all the books on child protection which I’ve written (see Publications CV), this subject is by far the most challenging. It inevitably draws you into a world of unimaginable suffering and loss endured by so many good, kind and loving people. My work and interest in the subject took root a very long time ago, but the seemingly inexorable rise in the number of such cases during the past decade, and the limited amount of research and literature that could enlighten childcare professionals on the challenges and risks involved, has led me to write about it. I hope to have a text on the subject completed within the next year. As always, I will strive to make it relevant, informative and helpful, to public and professionals alike.
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