NCJ Number
202770
Date Published
May 2003
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This paper identifies the restraints that keep sexual-abuse victims and their families silent about the abuse and their attendant emotional suffering and advocates appropriate disclosure and healing procedures.
Abstract
Because of the shame and embarrassment associated with child sexual abuse, as well as fears about the unpredictable and potentially damaging consequences of exposure of the abuse to persons and agencies outside the family, there is a strong inclination for the primary victim and other family members as secondary victims to suffer in silence without assistance or a constructive resolution of what has happened to the family and its individual members. This paper proposes a strategy for dealing with child sexual abuse that would promote a speedier and healthier outcome for all concerned. First, child protection agencies and other agencies responsible for the care of children, as well as the general public, should be encouraged to take seriously any child's complaint about sexual abuse. Second, the person accused of the abuse should not be told of the disclosure and the allegation before the official police investigation has begun. This is especially important if the abuser of the child is an authority figure, such as a church official or a school teacher. Third, the child should be seen as soon as possible by an appropriately trained psychologist or counselor. Fourth, immediately after charges have been made against the alleged abuser, he should be removed from the child's immediate world until all investigations have been completed. Fifth, counseling should be available for the parents separately from the child. Finally, no attempt should be made to hide or lie about the accusations. Any such attempt will undermine the positive effects of the counseling for the child and the parents. 5 references