Child Abuse Policy

Child Abuse Policy and Practice;

A Comparison of the United States and Japan

Jill McMahon

4/22/2010

Child Abuse Policy and Practice; A Comparison of the United States and Japan

Abstract Child abuse is a present problem in every town, city, and country around the world. Child abuse crosses all races, religions and creeds. This intent of this paper is to compare and contrast child abuse law in the United States and Japan. Both the United States and Japan currently have child abuse policies and statues. The first federal laws in each country will be focused on. The Child Abuse and Prevention Act was the first federal law to address child abuse, while the Child Abuse Prevention Law was the first of its kind in Japan. Research was obtained from journal articles, periodicals, and websites. This paper will also discuss the cultural and societal influences that are contained in each country 's child abuse policies. Lastly, this paper will draw some conclusions about how cultural attitudes influence practice with children and families.

Child Abuse Policy and Practice in the United States
History
The history of child abuse law in the United States did not begin to formulate until the 1960s. Although child abuse was surely occurring before that time, a conversation and discourse did not begin until radiologist C. Henry Kempe brought this topic to the forefront. In 1962, C.Henry Kempe conducted a survey of eighty-eight hospitals in which he identified 302 children who had been "battered." (Myers 2008) The survey was the first of its kind to define the "battered child syndrome". (Myers 2008) The survey geographically catalogued physically abused children, many of whom suffered multiple injuries. While earlier discoveries of the child abuse phenomenon had not taken hold with the general public, Kempe’s report began a strong national effort to find ways to protect children. (Myers 2008) Specifically, it led to the creation of child abuse reporting

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