Social policy- policy analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Social policy- policy analysis - Essay Example It does this by critically analyzing various laws which were enacted and periodically amended to ensure that there are no cases of child abuse in the country. The paper also goes ahead to evaluate how effective these legislations were and the extent to which they safeguarded children. According to the latest statistics from the police department, there were a total of 21,493 reported cases of child sexual abuse offences in 2011/12. In England alone, the figures for child rapes were estimated at 4,991 during the same period (Owen, 2007). However, the total number of rape cases and rape attempts in Scotland stood at 505 during the same period. Based on this statistics, Scotland seems to be having the highest number of sexual offenses as compared to other regions such as Wales, Northern Ireland and England. This might be attributed to inefficient policy implementations and inability of the parents, guardians and child care givers to create adequate time to provide children with the necessary protection. Its sexual offenses rates are 3.3 cases out of every 1,000 children under the age of 16. In Northern Ireland, it stands at 2.5 persons per every 1,000 children under the age of 18. Moreover, in Wales and England, only 1.6 cases are recorded for every 1,000 children u nder the age of 16 (Jeff, 2003). The above analysis clearly indicates that child abuse is still a major issue of concern in the UK. Although the statistics is about sexual abuses, a lot of cases have been witnessed in which several children have been physically abused and neglected by their parents and care givers. It is for this reason that such children have been offered safeguarding services such as child line, frank line, guidance and counseling by different bodies and agencies in the nation (Turton, 2008). It is only through the provision of safeguard services that the