ABSTRACT
In 1874, at age 10, Mary Ellen Wilson stood in a New York court room, dressed in ragged clothing, undernourished and bruised, testifying to a history of abuse and neglect. Her case was brought to court by Henry Bergh, a leader of the animal humane movement in the United States and founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). His action must be seen in the context of the absence of a formal child protection system at a time when prevailing statutes still called for neglected, poor, and vagrant children to be indentured with a master or placed in an almshouse. The case attracted extensive media coverage, resulting in intense public indignation and catalyzing promulgation and enforcement of legal approaches to child protection. It became an impetus for the children’s rights movement in the US (Watkins, 1990, pp. 501, 503).
