Book excerpt: Protecting children from abuse and neglect is a serious and complex area of social work practice and understanding the critical skills of communicating with and listening to children′s voices, and those of their advocates and survivors, is essential. In this new edition of a highly-regarded book, the authors offer a strengthened children′s rights perspective and explore four main categories of child abuse - emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and physical abuse. The book also considers legal safeguards and protective processes to increase the creativity and confidence of those undertaking such work. Locating knowledge and skills within a series of case examples from real life practice and serious case reviews, this book is an indispensable resource for students, professionals and others concerned with protecting children. This second edition has been comprehensively revised and updated to include current research evidence and a focus on the neglected protection needs of sexually exploited young people, children in custody, disabled children, young carers and unaccompanied child migrants.