Protection against violence, abuse and neglect in early childhood: a literature review

This literature review is intended to pose important questions based on the findings of academic research in ECVAN. It is not intended to represent a systematic study of the entire field, but rather to highlight some of the tensions, dilemmas and opportunities that are apparent within it. The present review comprises an overview of the academic literature for ECVAN. This is populated predominantly by studies examining the issues arising in industrialised or post-industrialised settings, and frequently in northern hemisphere contexts. Nevertheless, it is also apparent that the last 20 years has seen the emergence of a body of material which interrogates phenomena relating to ECVAN in a wider range of global settings, particularly those countries with low GDP. The present review reflects both this imbalance and indicates the recent shift to consider a wider range of national settings. Furthermore, research findings which report initiatives from high-GDP settings reveal a defining set of principles which can be applied, with contextual mediation, in other (less advantaged) settings. The review thus highlights important features of national and international initiatives which are rooted in findings from systematic research, as reported in the academic literature.