The authors of this article argue that a new paradigm for child protection services needs to be developed to incorporate the wide variety of forms and levels of physical, psychological, and sexual violence towards children. In February 2011, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child adopted a general comment acknowledging the rights of children around the world to be protected from all forms of violence, and for nations to institute a child rights-based approach to child caregiving and protection. The authors discuss the central position that psychological maltreatment plays in all forms of child abuse and neglect, and how this component of maltreatment has often been overlooked by those developing child protection policies and programs. The authors also discuss the shift by experts in the fields of human development, child protection, and human rights towards a child protection approach based on the rights of the child and their development as fully unique individuals. References