Confronting Cruelty - Historical Perspectives on Child Protection in Australia (Paperback)

There is widespread concern in society about the problems of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect of children, but little understanding of the way in which what we call "child abuse" has been defined and treated over time. This analysis investigates the history of the detection and treatment of child abuse in Australia through the lens of the Victorian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, now the Children's Protection Society (CPS), from 1896 to the end of the 20th century.