‘If parents are punished for asking their children to feed goats’: Supervisory neglect in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Summary In the United States and the United Kingdom supervisory neglect of children is premised on a construction of childhood which characterises children as essentially vulnerable and in need of constant care and protection by parents. This Western conception has been transmitted to the countries of the sub-Sahara via the Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, the socio-economic and cultural context of African countries differs significantly from those of the United Kingdom and the United States. The incorporation of a Western hegemonic idea of childhood into the national laws of African countries creates fundamental contradictions in the application of criteria for adjudging the adequacy of parental supervision in the sub-Sahara. Drawing on secondary data, this article explores these contradictions and proposes alternative considerations in the conceptualisation and assessment of supervisory neglect. Finding The combined effects on households in the sub-Sahara of economic conditions, ascribed gender roles and the reciprocal duties held by children to assist their families, contest established indicators and thresholds for supervisory neglect. The concept of societal neglect together with the application of the Haddon Matrix provides a more apposite framework for reducing the risk of significant harm to children. Application All African countries, excepting Somalia, have introduced the Convention on the Rights of the Child through domestic legislation. The findings of this study are pertinent to policy-makers and social workers in the sub-Sahara. They also invite Western scholars to critically engage with dominant notions of supervisory neglect and re-appraise its applicability in cross-national contexts.

Decision-Making on Child Neglect: Ghanaian Social Workers’ Views and Experiences

“…The workers indicated that they could observe from the child's physical development as well as consider their clothing to identify whether she or he has been neglected. This is possible because child neglect could be in the form of nutritional neglect (Laird, 2016;Choi & Thomas, 2015) which could cause developmental delays in children. Moreover, some parents' inability to provide proper clothing for their children could be an indication of neglectful behaviour.…”

“…Neglect may go undetected for a long time if action is not taken (Maguire & Naughton, 2016;Mennen et al, 2010), and this is more so in Ghana where child welfare and protection systems are not effective enough to provide timely intervention for neglected children or children at risk of being neglected. Most cases of neglect in Ghana are overlooked by the society due to the lack of a strong child welfare system and poor economic conditions (Laird, 2016). The situation is compounded in Ghana due to the prevalence of poverty and socio-economic disadvantages.…”

Gender Inequity Associated with Increased Child Physical Abuse and Neglect: a Cross-Country Analysis of Population-Based Surveys and Country-Level Statistics

“…Severe physical discipline and supervisory neglect are also limited by issues related to caregivers’ reports (i.e., recall bias, social desirability bias) and measurement problems (e.g., validity and reliability of one-item measures, short period of recall, including anyone in the household as a perpetrator). In addition, these measures may be culturally inappropriate for countries with different economic conditions, and concern over assessments that may be ethno-centric to Western post-industrial countries has been raised (Laird 2016). …”

‘Even though I Am Blind, I Am Still Human!’: the Neglect of Adolescents with Disabilities’ Human Rights in Conflict-Affected Contexts

“…In addition, the concept of neglect is shaped by poverty and culture (Coope and Theobald 2006;Roche 2013;Tang 2008;Seth and Raman 2014). In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, families are not necessarily neglecting their children when they do not seek timely healthcare or provide adequate nutrition (Laird 2016a) or when they insist their children forgo schooling in favour of animal herding (Laird 2016b).…”