Compassion or Rights: The Case of Child Abuse

In: New political science: a journal of politics & culture, Heft 36-37, S. 69-87

Abstract

In the 19th century, reform efforts to eliminate cruelty to children focused on physical abuse; today, the primary referent is sexual abuse. Here, it is argued that the bureaucratization & institutionalization of compassion for sufferers of child abuse, the national legislature's failure to grant particular human rights to children, & the approval of subsequent legislation that made child abuse reporting mandatory among professionals represent political & ideological conflicts between conservatism & liberalism that commenced during the 1960s. Continuing conflict has led to a conservative backlash against liberalism & to a discrediting of compassion. Nevertheless, federal legislation legalized public compassion toward children. It is argued that the selective emphasis on sexual abuse, & its construction as a social problem, have failed to address the social & racial components of child maltreatment. Thus, public compassion remains sentimental & private. 91 References. J. W. Parker