NCJ Number
57111
Date Published
1978
Length
33 pages
Annotation
AN OVERVIEW OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE--ITS NATURE, EXTENT, DYNAMICS, EFFECTS, PREVENTION, TREATMENT--IS PRESENTED IN A BOOKLET DIRECTED TO PROFESSIONALS AND LAY PERSONS CONCERNED WITH THE PROBLEM.
Abstract
SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN ENCOMPASSES MANY BEHAVIORS AND INVOLVES VARYING DEGREES OF VIOLENCE AND EMOTIONAL TRAUMA. THERE ARE NO STATISTICS ON THE INCIDENCE OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE, BUT IT HAS BEEN ESTIMATED THAT BETWEEN 60,000 AND 100,000 CASES OCCUR ANNUALLY. MOST ESTIMATES EXCLUDE THE VICTIMS OF PORNOGRAPHIC EXPLOITATION AND CHILD PROSTITUTION, AND THERE IS REASON TO BELIEVE THAT CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IS UNDERREPORTED. USUALLY THE SEXUALLY ABUSED CHILD KNOWS THE ABUSER. RAPE AND SADISM DO OCCUR, BUT VIOLENCE IN CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IS THE EXCEPTION RATHER THAN THE RULE. THE DYNAMICS OF ABUSE DEPEND ON THE CHILD'S RELATIONSHIP TO THE ABUSER. CERTAIN TRAITS (E.G., SOCIAL ISOLATION, FEARS OF FAMILY DISINTEGRATION) ARE COMMONLY FOUND IN INCESTUOUS FAMILIES. THERE HAS BEEN LITTLE RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE, BUT SEVERAL VARIABLES--THE CHILD'S AGE AND DEVELOPMENTAL STATUS, THE VICTIM-PERPETRATOR RELATIONSHIP, THE AMOUNT OF FORCE OR VIOLENCE INVOLVED, THE DEGREE OF SHAME OR GUILT EVOKED IN THE CHILD, AND PARTICULARLY THE REACTIONS OF PARENTS, PROFESSIONALS, AND THE COMMUNITY--SEEM TO BE CRITICAL DETERMINANTS OF THE CHILD VICTIM'S REACTION TO ABUSE. THERE ARE SIGNS OF A TREND AWAY FROM PUNISHMENT AND TOWARD THERAPY IN CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE INTERVENTION. THE SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIF., JUVENILE PROBATION DEPARTMENT'S FAMILY COUNSELING PROGRAM HAS PROVED PARTICULARLY EFFECTIVE. IF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IS TO BE PREVENTED, PROFESSIONALS MUST BECOME SENSITIVE TO THE PROBLEM, PARENTS AND CHILDREN MUST BE EDUCATED, AND SOCIETAL ATTITUDES MUST BE CHANGED. A BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SUMMARY DESCRIPTIONS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE PROGRAMS ARE PROVIDED. (LKM)