ISPCAN Announces Result of Councilor Elections

Voting for Executive Councilors to the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) has concluded and we are appreciative to all the candidates in the election and would like to thank them for their participation in this process.

We are pleased to announce the results of the 2012 general election of Executive Councilors. The following candidates were elected to serve a six-year term for the years 2012 – 2018:

Jenny Gray is currently ISPCAN’s President Elect and an active member of the Working Group on Child Maltreatment Data Collection; she has chaired ISPCAN’s External Relations Committee and edited the LINK newsletter and the 2010 edition of World Perspectives on Child Abuse. She is a New Zealand-trained social worker with considerable experience working in the CAN field in multi-disciplinary settings since 1979. A child protection policy advisor to the English government, Jenny develops policy, commissions child protection research, and has a particular interest in child protection systems.

Desmond Runyan is a Professor of Pediatrics and Executive Director of the Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect at the University of Colorado. He has worked on ending child abuse since the 1970s. Des directed a state medical program assisting in investigations for 11 years. His research has included sexual and physical abuse, abusive head trauma and neglect. Des has published over 130 papers and led ISPCAN in the development of internationally valid tools to assess child abuse and is an ISPCAN Councilor.

Joan van Niekerk is a social worker and has worked as a specialist in the child protection field for 25 years. She has developed and implemented programmes for therapeutic work with abused and traumatized children and their families and provided child protection training in South Africa and internationally, particularly in Africa. She has contributed to development to law and policy for the care and protection of children in post-apartheid South Africa and is Chair of ISPCAN’s Congress and Conference Committee.

Tufail Muhammad is a pediatrician and teacher with more than 22 years experience in CAN. He is Chairman of the Child Rights and Abuse Committee, Pakistan Pediatric Association and Chair of ISPCAN’s Membership Committee. He has written 30 research papers, presented 60 papers at conferences, and conducted community-based research studies. Tufail has twice received the Meritorious Services Award from the Pakistan President and Prime Minister to recognize his child protection leadership.

Yanghee Lee is a professor and has been a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) since 2003, serving as its Chair from 2007-2011 and currently serving as its Vice-Chair. She holds joint appointments in three departments at Sungkyunkwan University and has published numerous articles and books on children’s rights, child maltreatment and developmental disabilities. She has served as guest co-editor for three issues of Child Abuse and Neglect: the International Journal.

Toshihiko Yanagawa graduated from the Wakayama Medical University (WMU) with majors in Child Neurology and Child Public Health; he is a pediatrician and professor at the School of Health and Nursing at WMU. He studied the child abuse and neglect prevention system at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London in 1998. Toshihiko is on the Council of the Japanese Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect and Chair of its International Activity Committee.

Rajeev Seth received his medical education at AIIMS and did his residency and post-doctoral training at UCSF and CHLA. He is the Chairperson of the India Child Abuse, Neglect and Child Labour group and President-Elect of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics. His academic awards include Fellowship of IAP, Oak Foundation Award, and Best Paper at PEDICON. He has several scientific publications and chapters on social pediatrics, child rights and protection in various textbooks.

This impressive group of professionals and child advocates includes individuals who have worked regionally, nationally and globally for decades to bring awareness, prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect. These well-respected individuals are committed to making the world a safer and better place for children to grow and thrive.

ISPCAN looks forward to the exciting contributions these new Executive Council members will bring to the organization and to ISPCAN’s mission of preventing child abuse and neglect.

Irene Intebi, President Henry Plum, Legal Advisor/ Parliamentarian