Who is worthy of help? Constructing the stereotype of the “ideal victim” of child sexual abuse

The stereotype of the “ideal victim” often determines who is considered deserving of victim status, especially in sexual violence cases. In this Chapter, we explore how is the so-called “ideal victim” stereotype constructed and what are the elements necessary for the perception of “ideal victimhood.” We use empirical data from an unmoderated anonymous Estonian online forum that hosts various topic threads from children and young people, including posts about personally experienced sexual violence (N=28) and replies to these posts (N=361). The data was analyzed by combining a discursive psychological approach with qualitative thematic analysis. Results reveal and illustrate how the stereotype is constructed from various elements and characteristics of social scripts, perceived gender roles, and misconceptions about sexuality. We unveil how these social constructions affect responses and attitudes towards sexual abuse victims to provide input for designing prevention efforts that support disclosure and help-seeking.

Freedom of Expression in The Movie Spotlight as a Medium to Convey the Voices of Sexual Abuse Victims to the Public

Spotlight (2015, directed by Tom McCarthy) is a docudrama which told the story of the investigation of sexual assault of young boys in Catholic Church in Boston, United States of America. A group of four journalists from The Boston Globe, called Spotlight, specialized in investigation overlooked, forgotten cases, and one of the cases is the sexual assault cases that happened inside the Catholic Church. Although their journey to seek the truth has many challenges and problems, they helped a lot of abuse victims to have courage and speak up over the tragedy that happened to them. Spotlight's realistic expression on the narration was shown through the character's dialog, which contributed to the plot of the movie itself. The meaning of "Freedom of Expression" depicted in the movie Spotlight was to symbolize the struggle of the characters, which includes the journalists and the victims, to fight for their rights. Through this movie, McCarthy wanted to help more people who were victims to speak up about their traumatic abuse. Spotlight not only could be a technique of mental healing for victims, but also a media of advocacy for people to know, to inform and to communicate the negative aspects of victim blaming. Keywords: Freedom of expression, docudrama, sexual abuse, victim blaming, advocacy

Vil Du?! incorporation of a serious game in therapy for sexually abused children and adolescents

Background Talking about experiences of sexual abuse in therapy is difficult for children and adolescents, amongst others due to a lack of vocabulary to describe the situation, avoidance, or feelings of shame, fear, and self-blame. The serious game Vil Du?! was developed to help children open up about sexual experiences. Vil Du?! is a non-verbal communication game, which resembles a dress-up game, in which children can show the therapist what happened to them. The current study examined how and for which therapy components Vil Du?! was used by therapists. Methods We used a mixed-methods triangulation design. Therapists filled out online surveys about the use of Vil Du?! with 23 clients (Mage = 11.38 years, SD = 3.96; 61 % female). We also conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 therapists. The data were analyzed in SPSS (quantitative) and Nvivo (qualitative) following the stepwise guidelines of Zhang and Wildemuth. Results Merged qualitative and quantitative data revealed that therapists acknowledged the usefulness of Vil Du?! mostly for the therapy components trauma narration and processing, and psycho-education about sexuality. In addition, Vil Du?! might be most useful for clients who have difficulty with disclosing sexual abuse experiences, due to limited verbal abilities or feelings of guilt, shame, avoidance, and tension. Conclusions Recommendations from this study were incorporated in a user manual as a first step toward more systematic and broad implementation of Vil Du?! in the treatment of young sexual abuse victims. A next step is to test whether implementing Vil Du?! in therapy is effective in reducing the negative mental health consequences of sexual abuse for children and adolescents.

Who is worthy of help? Constructing the stereotype of the “ideal victim” of child sexual abuse

<div><div><div><p>The stereotype of the “ideal victim” often determines who is considered deserving of victim status, especially in sexual violence cases. In this Chapter, we explore how is the so-called “ideal victim” stereotype constructed and what are the elements necessary for the perception of “ideal victimhood.” We use empirical data from an unmoderated anonymous Estonian online forum that hosts various topic threads from children and young people, including posts about personally experienced sexual violence (N=28) and replies to these posts (N=361). The data was analyzed by combining a discursive psychological approach with qualitative thematic analysis. Results reveal and illustrate how the stereotype is constructed from various elements and characteristics of social scripts, perceived gender roles, and misconceptions about sexuality. We unveil how these social constructions affect responses and attitudes towards sexual abuse victims to provide input for designing prevention efforts that support disclosure and help-seeking.</p><p><br></p><div><div><div><p>This Chapter will soon appear in the book Child Sexual Abuse and the Media (publisher: NOMOS).</p></div></div></div></div></div></div>

Who is worthy of help? Constructing the stereotype of the “ideal victim” of child sexual abuse

<div><div><div><p>The stereotype of the “ideal victim” often determines who is considered deserving of victim status, especially in sexual violence cases. In this Chapter, we explore how is the so-called “ideal victim” stereotype constructed and what are the elements necessary for the perception of “ideal victimhood.” We use empirical data from an unmoderated anonymous Estonian online forum that hosts various topic threads from children and young people, including posts about personally experienced sexual violence (N=28) and replies to these posts (N=361). The data was analyzed by combining a discursive psychological approach with qualitative thematic analysis. Results reveal and illustrate how the stereotype is constructed from various elements and characteristics of social scripts, perceived gender roles, and misconceptions about sexuality. We unveil how these social constructions affect responses and attitudes towards sexual abuse victims to provide input for designing prevention efforts that support disclosure and help-seeking.</p><p><br></p><div><div><div><p>This Chapter will soon appear in the book Child Sexual Abuse and the Media (publisher: NOMOS).</p></div></div></div></div></div></div>

Operational policing and child abuse: examining the impact of feminism, exploring the application of intersectionality

Purpose This paper aims to examine operational policing practice and child abuse. The paper acknowledges the influence second-wave feminism has had on police practice in terms of recognising and addressing this crime type. However, child abuse is mostly considered within the context of a single incident, with those children who suffer repeat and poly-victimisation being overlooked. As a consequence, the application of intersectionality as a theoretical framework to underpin practice is considered. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts a case study approach. By doing so, an examination of operational policing practice with regard to child abuse takes place. Findings Feminism, as a theoretical framework, for informing practice has its limitations, in particular with regard to operational policing practice. This is illustrated through the crime type of child abuse. With the onset of work by scholars such as Finkelhor, the importance of recognising and dealing with those who suffer from repeat and multiple forms of victimisation has become apparent. As a consequence, the policing of repeat and poly-victimisation of child sexual abuse victims needs to be enhanced. Intersectionality is considered as being a theoretical framework that can inform police practice in this area of work. Practical implications The implications for practice are, namely, intersectionality has an important role to play in informing an understanding of child abuse. Intersectionality is an appropriate framework for the police to use to enhance their response to child abuse as the cornerstone of both Intersectionality and police practice is to redress unjust treatment. A targeted and consistent approach by police, education, health and community services to prevent child abuse informed by intersectionality. Building on the success of a number of police-led initiatives designed to address child abuse. Originality/value Much that is written about child abuse is typically done so through the lens of social work. This piece provides a timely reminder of the importance of policing in the prevention, disruption and reduction of this crime type. Further to this, the paper takes a novel approach by applying intersectionality not only as a means of understanding and addressing child abuse but as a means of informing police practice in dealing with the crime.