Henry Kempe, a Denver pediatrician who coined the term the battered child, founded the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) in 1977. Initially conceived by an international group of 18 professionals meeting at the Bellagio Conference and Study Center (Italy) in 1975, the association was formally established following the First International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect in Geneva in 1976.
ISPCAN’s initial objectives included establishing an international professional journal and holding biannual international congresses. These vehicles were designed to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and to build relationships among the growing number of professionals addressing this problem worldwide.
Today, ISPCAN has over 1,800 individual members working in over 180 countries. Although initially supported through the volunteer efforts of its members, ISPCAN now operates under the direction of a professional staff based in the United States.
ISPCAN’s annual revenue of some $2 million comes from membership fees, royalties, conference and training fees, and philanthropic donations. Although its services have expanded, ISPCAN’s core mission remains unchanged—to support those working to protect children from all forms of maltreatment (e.g., from physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect; from child prostitution and child labor; from becoming children of war).
ISPCAN’s most visible product is its well-known and influential monthly journal, Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal, which publishes high-quality research from a variety of disciplines and relates this research to practice reforms. More recently, ISPCAN has added a quarterly newsletter (The Link) and biannual reports on the scope and public policy response to child abuse worldwide (World Perspective on Child Abuse) to its publication portfolio. ISPCAN also maintains an active listserv to improve member-to-member direct communication.
Since 1976, ISPCAN has convened 16 international congresses, rotating venues around the world to ensure accessibility to the greatest cross-section of individuals and organizations. ISPCAN also sponsors regional conferences, expanding educational opportunities for those working in African, Arab, Asian, South American, and Eastern European countries.
Beginning in 2000, ISPCAN increased its developing country training program to include an explicit emphasis on local capacity building. ISPCAN’s International Training Project, in partnership with local professionals, supports multiyear training projects in 12 developing countries to improve knowledge and foster interdisciplinary professional networks.
ISPCAN’s unique identity and strength has rested on its commitment to establishing a multidisciplinary and multicultural understanding of child abuse. Publications and training efforts are grounded in empirical research and in promoting those practices that have been rigorously tested and evaluated. Its increased influence in the field is reflected not only in its expanding membership base but also in its collaborative efforts with over a dozen national professional societies and major international associations including the United Nations, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization.
Bibliography:
- Cohn Donnelly, A. (Ed.). (2002). An international movement to end child abuse: The story of ISPCAN. Chicago: The International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.
- International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect: https://www.ispcan.org/
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