[Child protection measures in other countries]

The goal of measures for the protection of children is to help parents to behave toward their children in physically and psychologically nonviolent ways. In this article, a distinction is made between organisations devoted to field work and those devoted to public education. Examples are given from the Netherlands, England, the United States, and the Federal Republic of Germany. The care of families at risk is often in the hands of persons having already friendly contacts with the family. This type of lay helpers receive special training, and it seems that they gain more easily access to the parents than public agencies. In several countries there are interdisciplinary therapeutic centres where children, youth, or entire families find temporary acceptance. Therapy of this type aims primarily at providing an experience of nonviolent human interaction. In public education, the accent is on information of the public. A predominant aim is a change of attitude toward violent parents, in the sense of help being more important than punishment. In most instances, there is also a need to better make known the helping organizations. Finally, some postulates for primary prevention of cruelty to children are summarized, and reference is made to the "Fourth World Movement".