At the Time of Disclosure: A Manual for Front-line Community Workers Dealing With Sexual Abuse Disclosures in Aboriginal Communities

• NCJ Number: 176884
• Author(s): J Bopp; M Bopp
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 132 pages
• Corporate Author: Aboriginal Corrections Policy Unit
• Sale Source: Canada Solicitor General; Aboriginal Corrections Policy Unit
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

This manual is intended to assist front-line community workers in aboriginal communities and other areas of Canada in addressing issues that arise at the time of a disclosure of sexual abuse.

Abstract

The manual is intended for use by mental health professionals, drug treatment counselors, educators, health workers, social service staff, recreational volunteers and staff, youth workers, clergy and lay clergy, and police officers. The manual also aims to serve as a reference for individual workers or multidisciplinary teams of agency staff and community volunteers who form an abuse response group. The manual explains the context of sexual abuse in aboriginal communities and why many current approaches to deal with the problem are ineffective. It also introduces community-based approaches to dealing with abuse and provides examples of successful models. In addition, it provides guidelines for facilitating disclosures of abuse and investigating allegations, outlines the issues and needs of all those affected by the abuse, and offers suggestions and guidelines for planning the healing and restoration of balance that needs to occur after a disclosure of abuse. Footnotes and 32 references