Evidence Review of Societal Attitudes of Children

Author: Elsley, S.

Dr Elsley has provided the Inquiry with a Report which describes societal attitudes towards children from 1900 to 2014. In particular, the Report:

1. Describes if and how attitudes towards children have changed over time.
2. Considers the nature of those changes.
3. Considers relevant issues such as the age and development stage of children, the splitting up of families/separation of siblings and understanding amongst professionals of changing attitudes towards children.

Dr Elsley’s Report considers a wide range of publications (such as academic publications, other formal reports and inquiries and other published accounts or evidence) in describing if, and how, attitudes towards children have changed over time. It also seeks to discover what evidence is available of children’s experiences of residential care and whether this has been previously analysed. The Report builds on work previously carried out by Dr Elsley for the Historical Abuse Systemic Review, published by the Scottish Government in 2007.