Breach of duty: A new paradigm for the abuse of children and adolescents in care

Analysis of the issue of abuse in care reveals that common structures and processes for response to allegations operate within a paradigm of minimalist child protection and that this paradigm is inadequate to the effective management of the problem. The paper will argue that a shift of paradigm is required. Concepts of individual pathology and deficiency, conflicts of interest in reporting and investigation and tolerance for all but seriously inadequate care for children must be replaced. A paradigm of duty of care would result in policy and procedure which embraced agencies' moral and legal duties towards children and assessed allegations or harm from this holistic perspective.