Samenvatting

The idea of democracy has been and continues to be, an important inspiration for social work practice and research. However, democracy is not free from moral tension. For example, in cases of child maltreatment and neglect, fundamental rights may conflict; the human right to form a family and the child's right to grow up and develop safely. This tension can lead to moral reluctance, described as hesitance to act, while expected to know that one should do the morally right thing.