Child Abuse and Culture: Working with Diverse Families

by Lisa Aronson Fontes

This expertly written book provides an accessible framework for culturally competent practice with children and families in child maltreatment cases. Numerous workable strategies and concrete examples are presented to help readers address cultural concerns at each stage of the assessment and intervention process. Professionals and students learn new ways of thinking about their own cultural viewpoints as they gain critical skills for maximizing the accuracy of assessments for physical and sexual abuse; overcoming language barriers in parent and child interviews; respecting families' values and beliefs while ensuring children's safety; creating a welcoming agency environment; and more.

Genres: Psychology, Social Work, Nonfiction, Social Justice

239 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Lisa Aronson Fontes, PhD, is on the faculty of the University Without Walls at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She has dedicated two decades to making the social service, mental health, criminal justice, and medical systems more responsive to culturally diverse people. Dr. Fontes has published widely on cultural issues in child maltreatment and violence against women, cross-cultural research, and ethics. She has worked as a family, individual, and group psychotherapist, and has conducted research in Santiago, Chile, and with Puerto Ricans, African Americans, and European Americans in the United States. She also worked for three years with Somali refugees. In 2007 Dr. Fontes was awarded a Fulbright Foundation Fellowship, which she completed in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, she is a frequent conference speaker and workshop facilitator.

Reviews

[Laila Collman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should definitely be required reading for child social workers (as well as teachers, interpreters, medical staff, and other professionals who work with children). There are so many important aspects to consider when we are trying to provide culturally competent, trauma-informed care to a vulnerable population. As noted in the text, “child abuse professionals commonly mistake cultural differences for child abuse or overlook child abuse in families that differ from them culturally.” In other words, our own biases may lead us to over or under-react toward families of different cultural backgrounds than ourselves.

So how can we prevent these issues?

Cultural competency trainings are essential, as is having a diverse, multi-lingual staff. As Fontes concluded, “A monocultural orientation is no longer an option.”

When interviewing, we have to take into account the setting, who is present, our non-verbal cues, eye contact, and body language, as well as the language that the interview is conducted in. Additionally, when choosing an interpreter, an organization “should not focus simply on language competency, [but] should also assess for the interpreter’s knowledge of the cultural issues of the target population and some of the difficulties that might emerge in the interpreted conversation.”

When conducting assessments, we have to remember that, “many immigrant children have been taught to fear people who represent ‘the system.’" With this in mind, we need to take great care to establish rapport and trust with clients. I appreciated Fontes emphasis on preserving dignity for clients, as she urged, "We need to remember the sacredness of this encounter and the difficulty of the material for the client. ‘Sacred’ pertains to the idea of reverence or respect, attitudes we must bring to our every professional interaction, and particularly with those who are from a social group that is stigmatized in our country. If we convey an understanding of the seriousness of our endeavor, and the pain involved, our clients from diverse backgrounds are more likely to trust us. We are more likely to build the kind of working relationship that will allow us to do our best work: keeping children safe while respecting families and their cultures.”

Fontes also provides a crucial insight regarding working with minority populations on the issue of corporal punishment, stating, “members of the dominant group who commit crimes are seen as individuals, whereas members of minority groups who commit crimes are seen as reflecting their entire group. For this reason, many ethnic and religious minority parents consider it highly important that their children be well behaved and represent their family and culture well in public. Unlike many Anglo-American parents, who prefer to present a conflict-free public image, when parents who are members of visible minority groups see their children acting disobediently or disrespectfully in public, they are likely to punish them immediately and in public—placing them at greater risk for reports to child protection authorities.”

And yet, while keeping cultural nuances in mind, it's also important that we don't just dismiss all behavior as simply 'cultural'. “When hearing a justification of a behavior based on culture, it is important to pay attention to who is defining what qualifies as 'cultural', [as] cultures are not homogeneous, and the person who is defining what is 'cultural' may be the one who is benefiting from the behavior. Frequently, questionable behaviors that are explained away as cultural are behaviors that oppress or restrict women and children (e.g., the veil, genital cutting, wife beating, corporal punishment).”

In summary, Fontes presents a multitude of aspects that must be considered by any professional working with children, along with helpful examples of how to work with parents to understand how to better care for their children.

[Sarah Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

the material is very informative and gives perspective. the material is dated more than 20 years. published in 2005. research dates 1980s and 1990s.

[Teresa Loar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Required for my licensing so had to read but was enlightening and informative