Ethnographic Research as a Resource for Child Protection
- Gabriele Carmelo Rosato
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
On October 22, 2025, I was honoured to speak at the seminar “Child Abuse and Maltreatment: Terms, Skills, and Responsibilities to Prevent and Heal”, held in the stunning Salone dei Cinquecento at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. The seminar was part of the award ceremony for the third edition of the Baldry-Luberti Prize, and brought together institutions, anti-violence centres, researchers, educators, and social work professionals.
My talk was scheduled in a significant position within the programme: immediately after the presentation of Italy’s Third National Survey on the Maltreatment of Children and Adolescents, and before a series of more practice-based contributions. This allowed me to offer a bridging reflection: How can qualitative research—especially ethnography—add depth and voice to statistical data? And can it even help shape future quantitative and interdisciplinary inquiries?
Understanding Trauma through Culture: Ethnography as Method and Care
Ethnography is a research method grounded in listening and participant observation. It is a way to connect with others, not merely to collect data, but to grasp meaning, stories, and context. In my talk, I explored the reasons behind my anthropological focus on trauma and abuse, the ethical and methodological challenges, and how this work might be of value to those in the child protection field.
At the heart of my proposal is this idea: some dimensions of trauma are cultural. And if trauma has cultural dimensions, then it can also be approached using cultural tools. Ethnography, through narrative listening, sensitivity to language and context, and awareness of meaning-making, can become a tool for prevention, training, and even care.
To the professionals who work every day to protect and support children and adolescents affected by trauma, I communicated that anthropological research can be a resource. Not only for studying trauma, but to inform how we listen, how we show up, and how we co-create safer spaces.
The slides can be downloaded here.
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