Medico-Legal Issues in Detecting and Proving the Sexual Abuse of Children

1989 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
George F. Indest
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Physical Examination ◽  
Medical Records ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Medical Examination ◽  
Medical Evidence ◽  
Medical Report ◽  
Sex Abuse ◽  
Sexual Molestation ◽  
Child Sex Abuse

In this article the author reviews the scope and magnitude of the problem currently faced by medical and investigative personnel in detecting and proving the sexual molestation of children. The legal effects of poor medical records are discussed in detail. Various medical and legal issues that may present pitfalls for the unwary examining physician are identified and discussed. The admissibility of various portions of the medical examination and medical report as evidence in courts of law is reviewed as well as newly emerging forensic tests and techniques for collecting medical evidence. The author provides a comprehensive and detailed summary of steps to be followed in the physical examination of a child sex abuse victim, emphasizing the importance of a strict, thorough procedure for protecting the interests of the patient, the physician and society.

scholarly journals Legal Irresponsibility and Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Penny Crofts
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Catholic Education ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Royal Commission ◽  
Sex Abuse ◽  
Institutional Responses ◽  
Child Sex Abuse

The current Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has demonstrated serious long-term failures to prevent and adequately respond to child sexual abuse by institutions. Rather than regarding the law as a system of responsibility, this article argues that it can be read instead as organising irresponsibility, drawing upon Scott Veitch’s ideas in Law and Irresponsibility. His key argument is that legal institutions operate as much to deflect responsibility for harms suffered as to acknowledge them. This article focuses on the ways in which the criminal justice system is complicit in organising irresponsibility for systemic failures through an analysis of the Royal Commission Case Study No 6: The responses of a primary school and the Toowoomba Catholic Education Office to the Conduct of Gerald Byrnes. Through concrete examples, this article analyses the ways in which criminal law organises irresponsibility through the individuation of responsibility and the emphasis upon subjective culpability. These practices ensure irresponsibility for actors for systemic failures.

Child Sex Abuse and Recovered Memories of Abuse: Looking Back, Looking Ahead

2019 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 367-380
Author(s):  
Susan P. Robbins
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Recovered Memories ◽  
Sex Abuse ◽  
The Past ◽  
Child Sex Abuse ◽  
History Of ◽  
Looking Back ◽  
Over Time

Sexual abuse of children has garnered a substantial amount of empirical research, state and federal legislation, and media coverage in the past several decades. This article briefly examines the history of child maltreatment and child sexual abuse (CSA) and societal responses to it. A review of selected articles on CSA that were published since the inception of Families in Society reveals how our knowledge of and ideas about sexual abuse, the perpetrators, responses to abuse allegations, and the Freudian concept of repression have changed over time. The phenomenon of repressed and recovered memories of abuse is also discussed, including the articles that were published in the journal. Despite continued disagreement in the field between researchers and clinicians, a summary is provided detailing points of consensus related to CSA and recovered memories.

The Legal System and Child Sex Abuse—Ross Cheit's The Witch‐Hunt Narrative: Politics, Psychology, and the Sexual Abuse of Children

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (01) ◽  
pp. 267-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Grant Bowman
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Sex Abuse ◽  
Narrative Politics ◽  
Child Sex Abuse ◽  
The Witch ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Witch Hunt

The prosecution of child sex abuse in cases involving very young children presents difficult problems for the justice system. Ross Cheit's book The Witch‐Hunt Narrative: Politics, Psychology, and the Sexual Abuse of Children (2014) addresses these problems in the context of the 1980s cases involving daycare centers. While the conventional conclusion drawn from these cases is that young children are not credible witnesses, Cheit's examination of the trial records in these cases reveals credible evidence of abuse in many, as well as evidence of injustice attributable to untrained and/or overenthusiastic interviewers. Cheit's examination of this litigation provides an opportunity to evaluate the legal system's treatment of child witnesses in sex abuse cases, as well as to discuss the appropriate use of social scientific evidence in litigation, the impact of mass media accounts on public policy, and the respective merits of criminal versus civil lawsuits in child sex abuse cases.

Sexual abuse in childhood and subsequent illicit drug abuse in adolescence and early adulthood

1998 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 123-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy Browne ◽  
Shay Keating ◽  
John J O'Connor
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Drug Abuse ◽  
Alcohol Abuse ◽  
Age Of Onset ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Sex Abuse ◽  
Number Of Children ◽  
Opiate Abuse ◽  
Child Sex Abuse ◽  
History Of

AbstractObjectives: This study examines the frequency of childhood sexual abuse and physical abuse in a cohort of opiate addicted patients and looks at clinical correlates in those abused.Method: Fifty-two consecutive patients attending an out patient drug treatment programme were interviewed using a semi-structured technique. Demographic details, details of schooling, marital status and number of children were recorded. The duration of drug abuse, age of onset of opiate abuse, early life experiences of both child sex abuse and childhood violence and a family history of alcohol abuse were also investigated.Results: 21.2% of patients gave a history of sex abuse, with 23.1% of patients having a history of exposure to violence as a child. Those exposed to sex abuse had an earlier age of onset of opiate injection. A correlation between parental alcohol abuse and sex abuse and violence was noted.Conclusions: A history of child sex abuse was associated with earlier onset of opiate abuse in this group of patients. The relatively frequent incidence of abuse and violence in those with opiate abuse must be born in mind when providing treatment. The addressing of issues relating only to addiction leaves earlier traumas continuing to exert an influence on the patient.

scholarly journals Factors associated with child sexual abuse in Tanzania: a qualitative study

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mangi J. Ezekiel ◽  
Felix Kisanga ◽  
Idda H. Mosha ◽  
Amani Anaeli ◽  
Switbert R. Kamazima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Sex Abuse ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Children And Parents ◽  
Interview Guide ◽  
Key Informant ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Child Sex Abuse ◽  
Different Levels

Background: Child sexual abuse (CSA) is one of the most pervasive occurrences which are reported all over the world. It often goes unnoticed and undocumented due to surrounding taboos; its sensitivity in nature and affects the less powerful population. Anecdote information is available on the nature and extent of sexual abuse among children in Tanzania. The aim of this study was to explore factors, forms, context of abuse and perpetrators of child sex abuse in selected regions of Tanzania.Methods: Key informant interviews were conducted among adults including parents of the victims to explore factors associated with sexual abuse of children under 10 years old in Tanzania. The interview guide centred on factors for child sexual abuse, the type of perpetrators and the context into which these abuses take place.Results: There were incidences of child sexual abuse in Tanzania and the major forms were anal and vaginal penetration, and the most affected were girls. The abuses were rarely reported due to shame and embarrassment faced by the affected children and parents. The causes of child sexual abuse were poverty, ambitions and moral degradation, myths and beliefs, urbanization, foreign culture and poor parental care. Incidents of CSA were reported to occur in perpetrators’ homes and in semi-finished housing structures, madrassa and recreational venues where children can freely access entertainment by watching movies. These acts were committed by people in position of power, close relationship and trusted by the children. Contexts where child sexual abuses occur included overcrowded living spaces and social activities that go on late into the night.Conclusion: We recommend for strengthened interventions at different levels within the society to address the root causes and different contexts in which child sex abuse occurs. Increased awareness of the root causes should go hand in hand with measures to encourage parents and survivors to report incidents to relevant authorities timely as they occur.

scholarly journals Usability and Effectiveness of the Finnish Investigative Instrument of Child Sexual Abuse

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Tadei ◽  
pekka santtila ◽  
Jan Antfolk
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Probability Estimation ◽  
Sex Abuse ◽  
Empirical Information ◽  
Proper Training ◽  
Level Information ◽  
Child Sex Abuse

The Finnish Investigative Instrument of Child Sexual Abuse (FICSA) is a computerized tool that uses Bayesian statistics to estimate the probability that a reported child sex abuse (CSA) is true or false based on population level information regarding the correlates of CSA. FICSA can be used to assist decision-making in investigations of CSA. We compared forensic experts’ and students’ ability to use FICSA and whether its use affected the estimates of the probability of CSA in mock-scenarios. The use of FICSA was compared to only having access to the empirical information about CSA risk and protective factors, which FICSA is based on, and to unassisted decision-making. The 54 participants analyzed two scenarios of possible CSA and estimated the probability of the CSA allegation being true. The results show that participants using FICSA were prone to make technical mistakes that affect the correctness of the probability estimation. The performance of experts and students was equivalent in all the conditions, but in the group using FICSA, where experts tended to deviate from the probability provided by FICSA more than students. Having only access to empirical information did not improve estimates compared to unassisted decision-making. Both students and experts tended to adjust the estimates provided by FICSA downwards, that is, to decrease the probability of abuse. We conclude that FICSA can assist investigators to correctly integrate evidence and calculate probabilities but that proper training is required.

The moral duty to reduce the risk of child sexual abuse

Human Affairs ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-198
Author(s):  
Sergei Levin
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Moral Duty ◽  
Individual Risk ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Sex Abuse ◽  
Moral Duties ◽  
Child Sex Abuse ◽  
The Individual

Abstract Child sexual abuse and paedophilia are ethically loaded public health issues. This paper looks at whether there are any specific moral duties related to paedophilia. I argue that the moral duty not to commit child sex abuse is universal and that the duty to reduce the individual risk of child sex abuse is specific to paedophiles. A paedophile is a person who is sexually attracted to children. Some paedophiles commit child sex abuse offences, but others are able to refrain from doing so and have the rational capacity to take adequate preventive measures. The risk of committing child sex abuse and the ability to reduce that risk are a moral duty pertaining specifically to paedophiles. I further argue that society has a moral duty to help paedophiles to fulfil that duty. Unfortunately, societies rarely provide such opportunities and hence fail in their moral duty towards paedophiles and children.

Are Children at Risk for Sexual Abuse by Homosexuals?

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-44
Author(s):  
Carole Jenny ◽  
Thomas A. Roesler ◽  
Kimberly L. Poyer
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Medical Records ◽  
Chart Review ◽  
Close Relative ◽  
Confidence Limits ◽  
Children At Risk ◽  
Sexual Molestation ◽  
General Community ◽  
Heterosexual Partner

Objective. To determine if recognizably homosexual adults are frequently accused of the sexual molestation of children. Design. Chart review of medical records of children evaluated for sexual abuse. Setting. Child sexual abuse clinic at a regional children's hospital. Patients. Patients were 352 children (276 girls and 76 boys) referred to a subspecialty clinic for the evaluation of suspected child sexual abuse. Mean age was 6.1 years (range, 7 months to 17 years). Data collected. Charts were reviewed to determine the relationships of the children to the alleged offender, the sex of the offender, and whether or not the alleged offender was reported to be gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Results. Abuse was ruled out in 35 cases. Seventy-four children were allegedly abused by other children and teenagers less than 18 years old. In 9 cases, an offender could not be identified. In the remaining 269 cases, two offenders were identified as being gay or lesbian. In 82% of cases (222/269), the alleged offender was a heterosexual partner of a close relative of the child. Using the data from our study, the 95% confidence limits, of the risk children would identify recognizably homosexual adults as the potential abuser, are from 0% to 3.1%. These limits are within current estimates of the prevalence of homosexuality in the general community. Conclusions. The children in the group studied were unlikely to have been molested by identifiably gay or lesbian people.

scholarly journals A Comparative Study on Child Abuse and the Absence of Legal Protections for Male Child Sex Abuse Victims in Major South East Asian countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Raza Ansari ◽  
◽  
Alexandra Jane Davis ◽  
Nishan-E-Hyder Soomro ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Abuse ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Male Child ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Sex Abuse ◽  
Child Sex Abuse ◽  
Media Reports

The focal point of this paper is in highlighting the grim picture in dominant Asian countries China, India, and Pakistan where no practical application of the law is found to protect against the sexual abuse of children, particularly underage boys. An analysis regarding the conditions of sexual abuse in the aforementioned countries is carried out using the scarce reports issued by national governments, which will be supplemented with information from prominent NGOs and media reports. Thereafter, certain gaps in the justice system and law enforcement are identified. Simultaneously, the Western perspective is studied to ascertain how this issue is being addressed in Western societies and to what extent this heinous crime has impacted the lives of individuals. Finally, there is deliberation as to what the East could learn from Western practices for curbing the often-hidden menace of male child sex abuse. Keywords: Child abuse, Child sex abuse, Comparative study, Eastern practice, Gaps in justice system, Law enforcement, Male child abuse, Media reports

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document