Ethics in Child Protection: A Nurses' Perspective

About 3 in 4 children or 300 million children aged 2–4 years regularly suffer physical punishment and/or psychological violence at the hands of parents and caregivers WHO(2020) estimate that up to 1 billion children aged 2–17 years, have experienced violence or neglect in the past one year. Consequences of child maltreatment can be devastating :  Physically, psychologically, socially, economically and spiritually  At individual, society, and multigenerational levels  Preventing child maltreatment requires a multi-sectoral approach.  Effective prevention approaches include: o Supporting parents o Teaching positive parenting skills o Enhancing laws to prohibit violent punishment. o Ongoing care of children. Nurses, as part of the health care system and institutions of care, are constantly faced with ethical dilemmas as they prevent, rescue, manage, and rehabilitate children who are at risk of or have experienced abuse and/or neglect.  Balancing ethical principles such as autonomy, beneficence and justice become very challenging.