Project Summary
Develop a model or map of the future potential impact of climate change on child abuse and neglect; and as far as evidence allows, populate it to assess possible future risk level.
Project Description
The NSPCC’s aim is to prevent child abuse. It would like to understand the increased risks to children as a result of climate change, looking particularly at the next 10 years or so in the UK; and to use this to consider how best the NSPCC can incorporate climate change into work plans across the organization (particularly strategy, policy work and services offered to children and families). This project is a follow-up to a previous Pro Bono project, which delivered an extensive review of the relevant literature.
The work is expected to involve:
- Using the output of the previous project, together with NSPCC’s own information and meetings/workshops with NSPCC staff, to gain an understanding of the known or suspected linkages between the climate crisis and risks of child and adolescent abuse, neglect and exploitation, from within or outside families (including also the impact of climate change on key risk drivers and mitigants, such as parental stressors and services’ ability to effectively safeguard children and adolescents);
- Producing a model bringing this evidence together – potentially in the form of an influence or causal loop diagram, system dynamics model, or other mapping or mathematical model showing impact over time. The extent to which the model can be quantified, or populated, will depend on the nature and extent of evidence;
- Providing an explanatory report (including documentation if need be) of any model or map/diagram produced.
The ideal outcome is a model showing the possible connections between climate change in the UK and:
- The increased risks of contextual harm, e.g. sexual and criminal exploitation;
- The increased risks of child abuse within familial and community settings, i.e. sexual, physical, emotional abuse and neglect;
- The impact on the ability of services to effectively safeguard children;
- The impact on factors known to increase the risk of child abuse (e.g. poverty, financial insecurity, parental ill health).
The work will probably be iterative, with an initial relatively simple high-level model/diagram; followed by more detailed modelling where this would be valuable, if there is sufficient volunteer time.
Skills needed include: elicitation of expert views (experience of facilitating online workshops will be particularly helpful); model-building (causal loop/influence diagramming and system dynamics capability are likely to be useful, but other approaches may also work well). Prior knowledge of risk factors around child and adolescent abuse/neglect and criminal exploitation would be extremely useful, but is not required. Knowledge of climate change research may also be helpful.
This project is particularly suited to a number of volunteers working together so if you are interested but only have some of the required skills, please get in touch.
Location: Remote working.
Commitment: Time commitment to be determined by volunteer when completing detailed project proposal with NSPCC.
Desired project start date: As soon as possible.
Desired project completion date: End April, if possible.
The NSPCC is the UK's leading children’s charity. They’ve been looking out for children for over 130 years. From campaigns to services - they strive to make a difference in everything they do.
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