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Lesson Five:
Cultural Considerations in Mandated Reporting
Contents:
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A definition of diversity
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Considerations regarding cultural background and child abuse
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Hindrances to cross-cultural understanding of child abuse and neglect
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Mandated reporter responsibilities in light of cultural differences
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Objectives: Upon completion of this module, the mandated reporter will be able to…
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Define diversity
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Discuss the role of cultural differences in interpreting and reporting child
abuse and neglect
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Identify his/her role as a mandated reporter in light of cultural differences
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Defining Cultural Diversity
For the purposes of this program, cultural diversity is broadly defined
to include race, ethnicity, class, age, gender, religion, national origin,
sexual orientation, and physical and mental abilities.
Introduction: Why be concerned about cultural diversity?
Those who are most vulnerable to violent crime are often under-served
by victim assistance programs in private agencies, law enforcement
departments, and prosecutors' offices. The reasons for this disparity
are as multi-faceted as the communities and people these programs seek
to support, but there are common themes which run through all conversations
and written material on the subject.
As E.R. Parsons writes in Trauma and its Wake, “Ethnicity is...
central to how the patient or client seeks assistance (help-seeking behavior),
what he or she defines as a ‘problem,’ what he or she understands
as the causes of psychological difficulties, and the unique, subjective
experience of traumatic stress symptoms.”
While some cultural practices may appear to look like child abuse, they are
not, when done properly. Likewise, this same practice, if done improperly or
to excess, could constitute child abuse.
Practices which may be generally acceptable within a particular native
culture may not be acceptable within our culture and would constitute child
abuse, necessitating a child abuse report. Mandated reporters should therefore
familiarize themselves with several dimensions of cultural diversity in order
to better understand the factors that may need to be considered in discussing,
identifying and/or reporting possible child abuse.
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