This ground-breaking book explores the relationship between the media, child abuse and shifting adult-child power relations which, in Western countries, has spawned an ever-expanding range of laws, policies and procedures introduced to address the â¿¿explosion' of interest in the issue of child abuse.

Fred Powell is Professor of Social Policy and Chair of the Institute of Social Science in the 21st Century at University College Cork - National University of Ireland. He is the author of many books and articles and an international authority on civil society. Margaret Scanlon is a postdoctoral researcher at University College Cork - National University of Ireland. She previously was based at the Institute of Education, University of London, and has produced a series of publications on childhood and youth.