Society is highly sensitized with cases of child abuse due to the helplessness in which children are. Faced with this reality, the State has agents to protect the infant and discern who has to take care of him. Coming from different professional fields, these mediators define what is wrong in the field of foster care and establish what to do about it. If this process results from the work carried out by certain people, then their action has to be carefully studied. However, the explanations in cases of child abuse focus on the circumstances of the crime and those affected, with little attention being paid to the activity of those responsible for classifying people in the roles of victim and abuser.

In this context, Ideology and child abuse offers a historical-comparative approach to study the work of Children's Services from a different angle than usual. Thus, the comparison and analysis of the procedures of other historical moments makes it possible to review the theoretical aspects and opens a way to anticipate the effects of the current system and take measures to correct it. This will make it possible to improve the important function of protecting the children entrusted to these Services and thus achieve a better society.