The Center for Social Welfare of Pozega, in cooperation with the CZSS Valpovo, Gradiška, Našice, Pakrac and Slavonski Brod, organized a two-day education about the child protection in high-conflict divorces, entitled “Child at the Center (of a Conflict): Science, Theory, Clinical Practice” led by Prof. Gordane Buljan Flander, PhD, Director of the Zagreb Child and Youth Protection Center in Požega on February 12 and 13, 2020.
The aim of the training was for the participants to exchange experiences and try to harmonize the practice in order to better child protection in the center of family conflict. The education is primarily intended for social workers and psychologists of the social welfare center who faced with this problem in their day-to-day work, as well as for the associate psychologists of primary schools and kindergartens with whom the social welfare center works closely.
“Regarding high-conflict divorces and the position of children in high-conflict divorces, unfortunately, this is a topic that we do not have enough education for, we do not have a uniform practice, we do not recognize an abused child and we do not protect these children as a profession. Such a child can not be protected only by a psychologist in social care, or by a psychologist or psychiatrist in health, unless we have the cooperation of the judiciary. In such situations, we leave the case to the passage of time, and time in these situations is the enemy of the child. If a child who is 3 or 4 years old is living in a highly conflictual divorce, he or she lives in a war zone for half of their life and these are issues that should be rushed, these are situations where social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health professionals should recognize that the child suffers, and it is the system that should force parents not to abuse their children.” – said Prof. Gordana Buljan Flander, PhD, at the workshop.
