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S in University of Edinburgh. Her research explores institutional power and social change by examining the cultural conditions under which clerical scandals emerged in contemporary Irish society. In this chapter, she traces policy and attitudes around the reporting of child sex abuse cases in Ireland, and the role of the media in reporting it.

The way we think about child abuse has greatly evolved throughout the twentieth century. Public consciousness of the issue and understanding of its effects has developed gradually since the 1960s. In recent years, as religious and residential child care institutions have been subject to child abuse scandals, it has been increasingly pertinent for sociologists to understand the social climate in which institutional child abuse has taken place historically and the context in which it eventually emerged. This chapter takes the opportunity to look at the emergence of child abuse through a contemporary lens. It considers the extent to which, at times, the media have filled the gap in knowledge around the issue; shaping and informing public understanding. Child abuse is a modern concept and one which has developed as our understanding of child welfare has evolved. Throughout the early to mid-twentieth century, various forms of child abuse were normalized in homes, schools, and by judiciary. Corporal punishment was considered a necessary tool for raising a healthy and happy child. Instead child abuse was generally associated with neglect and poverty. In his analysis of the discovery of child abuse, Pfohl suggests that while there were a number of important movements such as the society for the Prevention of …