New Child Sex-Abuse Recommendations

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Current child sex-abuse policy is not doing enough to protect children, according to a University of Oregon psychologist in Eugene. Nearly 90 percent of sexual abuse cases are never reported to authorities.

Lead author Jennifer Freyd writes that sexual abuse cases are not reported and dealt with for a variety of reasons. She says, "Most [child sex abuse] is committed by family members and individuals close to the child, which increases the likelihood of delayed disclosure, unsupportive reactions by caregivers and lack of intervention, and possible memory failure."

Freyd says problems with how sex abuse is studied and treated may account for the numerous cases of abuse going unreported. "Scientific research on CSA is distributed across numerous disciplines, resulting in fragmented knowledge that is often infused with unstated value judgments," says Freyd. "Consequently, policymakers have difficulty utilizing available scientific knowledge, and gaps in the knowledge base are not well articulated." She proposes several recommendations that may allow for greater efficiency and standardization in the way child sex abuse is handled in the United States:

Stepping up research aimed at determining the prevalence of child sex abuse and identifying its causes, consequences, prevention and treatment.
Expansion of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, a federally funded coalition of 54 centers providing community-based treatment to children and their families, to address the enormous public health consequences of child trauma.
Creation of an Institute of Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence within the National Institutes of Health.

Freyd says following these recommendations would allow for several improvements in the child welfare systems of the United States. First, more emphasis of child sex-abuse education for medical and mental health doctors. Secondly, more information about child sex abuse would go out to the public, the media and professionals working with victims. Additionally, there would be greater visibility of child sex abuse research.

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SOURCE: Science, 2005:308;501