NCJ Number
178851
Journal
Northwestern University Law Review Volume: 92 Issue: 4 Dated: Summer 1998 Pages: 1459-1480
Date Published
1998
Length
22 pages
Annotation
People tend to perceive and understand the world around them in ways that are consistent with their basic cultural beliefs and expectations; this essay compares the general cultural willingness (patriarchal cultures) to believe claims of childhood sexual abuse in four settings.
Abstract
As a theoretical basis for examining claims of childhood sexual abuse in the four settings, the author advises that claims of childhood sexual abuse are unlikely to be believed when the claims contradict patriarchal narratives and call into question patriarchal privileges. Conversely, people presume that claims of childhood abuse are accurate when they are consistent with patriarchal narratives and do not threaten patriarchal privilege. This hypothesis is applied to the four settings. In one hypothetical case, an adult woman claims that her father sexually abused her during her childhood and confronts him, sometimes suing him for money damages. In a second case, a wife in the process of divorcing her husband accuses him of sexually abusing one or more of their children. The author explains why people tend to disbelieve the allegations of child sexual abuse in these cases because of patriarchal cultural beliefs. In a third setting a heterosexual parent, during a divorce, claims custody or argues for severe restrictions on visitation by a homosexual parent on the ground that the gay or lesbian parent has abused or is likely to abuse the child. In the fourth setting, a lesbian reports having been sexually abused as a child in a setting that does not involve a suit against her father or other confrontation with him. The author explains why allegations of abuse are likely to be believed in the latter two cases, based on patriarchal cultural beliefs. 91 footnotes