A new guide helps professionals identify and respond to child abuse, emphasizing active listening and prompt reporting to protect vulnerable children.
Child protection guide for professionals released
Sarah El Haïry, the High Commissioner for Children, highlighted on Sud Radio that professionals who work with children are on the front lines and face challenges in maintaining a calm, non-judgmental approach when dealing with serious cases of abuse or neglect.Guide outlines signs of potential abuse
A new guide is being distributed to professionals in education, health, sports, and animation, encouraging them to be alert to behavioral, physical, or academic indicators of potential abuse. These include recurrent injuries, sudden isolation, persistent sadness, excessive anxiety, sleep disturbances, and in school settings, absenteeism, a sharp decline in academic performance, difficulty concentrating, or sudden disengagement from activities.Guide details how to respond to child disclosures
The guide outlines how professionals should respond if a child discloses abuse, recommending active listening, remaining calm, allowing the child to speak without interruption, and validating their decision to speak out. It warns against suggestive or leading questions and advises preserving the child's exact words when reporting to competent authorities, such as judges, police, or gendarmes.Recommended questions for professionals
Open-ended and neutral questions are recommended, such as "Can you tell me what happened?" rather than leading questions like "Did your father do that to you?" The guide emphasizes the importance of promptly transmitting concerning information, including contacting the national emergency number 119.Hotline usage rises in 2024
In 2024, the 119 hotline received 40,709 requests, averaging about 111 per day. Gwenaelle Durand, Secretary General of SNIES-UNSA Education, welcomed the guide, noting that the approach of listening without questioning and validating the child's disclosure aligns with practices already in place by school nurses.Need for follow-up and training
However, she emphasized that listening is only the first step and that follow-up care is essential. She pointed out that school nurses, who are trained to handle such disclosures and maintain professional secrecy, are often understaffed, with over eight thousand nurses for twelve million students and many infirmaries closed due to lack of personnel. She called for training to be provided during work hours and for proper follow-up procedures to be in place to ensure the child's safety.
