ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the British management of child protection services into the context of child protection issues and management in other countries. It considers the extent to which child protection services, in Britain and in other countries, address race, ethnicity and culture. A good place to begin is with the classic work on cross-cultural perspectives on child abuse and neglect by the anthropologist, Jill Korbin. Mandatory reporting requires professionals to report suspicions concerning child abuse to agencies that are in a position to intervene to protect the child. A consideration of the diversity of child protection arrangements in Europe would be incomplete without reference to the confidential doctor service that applies in several countries, notably in Belgium and the Netherlands. Issues of race, ethnicity and culture are both cross-national and within-country issues. The emphasis so far has been on cross-national differences. But there are many issues raised by child protection concerns when addressing different cultures within the same society.
