Victims Of Child Abuse Research Articles

Reproductive Abuse in the Context of Clergy Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church

In a significant number of cases, clerical sex offenders impregnate their victims and force them into hiding, abortion, or adoption. This phenomenon is referred to in this paper as reproductive abuse. Clearly, most victims of reproductive abuse are adults, but even among minor victims of clerical child abuse, between 1 and 10 percent may have experienced reproductive abuse. On the basis of pertinent studies, this paper explores archival material on several dozen allegations of reproductive abuse in the context of clergy sexual abuse of minors in the US Catholic Church. Besides some tentative estimates of the general frequency of the phenomenon, this paper offers a distinction of three different types of reproductive abuse and an analysis of the interplay of clericalist and secular misogyny, which appears to be largely responsible for the silencing of victims as well as for the impunity of perpetrators and leads to the invisibility of this phenomenon, despite the high importance attributed to reproductive issues in the Catholic context.

Epidemiology of Child Maltreatment during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia.

Child maltreatment, especially during health crises, is a major public health issue transcending cultural, social, and racial contexts. We assessed the sociodemographic and related risk factors associated with the types and rates of child maltreatment. We also assessed the economic, social, and environmental characteristics of child maltreatment victims and their perpetrators, as they were reported to the Saudi National Family Safety Program (NFSP), with consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact. A secondary data analysis of a retrospective review was conducted to compare types and rates before and during the COVID-19 outbreak, utilizing descriptive and multivariate analyses on anonymized data from the NFSP. According to a predetermined list of relevant risk factors for child maltreatment outlined by the NFSP, these anonymized data were obtained and analyzed with no exclusion criteria (n = 1304). The findings showed that a child’s age correlated significantly and positively with their odds of being physically maltreated; as a child’s age increased by one year, on average, their corresponding predicted odds of being physically maltreatment tended to rise by a factor equal to 7.6% (p < 0.001). Neglected children, compared to those who had not been previously neglected, were predicted to be almost twice (2.23 times more) as likely to be victims of physical maltreatment on average (p < 0.001). Children were notably more likely to experience sexual abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic than those exposed to abuse during the period before (1.69 times). The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with significantly lower odds of physical child maltreatment (47.7% less). This study found no statistically significant effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s odds of being emotionally maltreated (p = 0.169). These findings support the existence of specific risk factors for child maltreatment for both child victims and perpetrators. They also attest to the significant differences between different types of maltreatment. A systematic, proactive system is needed to screen and document child maltreatment with a higher degree of integration with community reporting systems.

The role of age-specific trauma history and depression of caregivers in the intergenerational transmission of child abuse victimization: Linear and quadratic latent growth curve models

Research on intergenerational transmission of victimization found that caregiver’s maltreatment history and psychological symptoms were associated with a higher risk of offspring victimization. Due to the dearth of research on the effects of age-specific caregiver victimization on the cycle of maltreatment, this study specifically examines the effects of caregiver childhood and adulthood victimization on their subsequent perpetration of abuse on their own children. Data from 1354 male and female children (White, Black, Hispanic, Multiracial) and their caregivers involved in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect were analyzed to examine growth trajectories of child abuse from official reports filed between ages 2–4 through 10–12 in the United States. Findings revealed that physical and emotional abuse exhibited the quadratic trajectories, while sexual abuse exhibited the linear trajectory. Caregivers experiencing adulthood physical abuse more likely demonstrated the instantaneous decreasing but accelerating trend of physical and emotional abuse on their children. Caregivers experiencing adulthood sexual abuse demonstrated the higher initial level of emotional abuse at child’s age 4. Depressed caregivers were more likely to demonstrate the higher initial level and quadratic trajectory of emotional abuse.

Evaluation of Juvenile and Adolescent Sexual Abuse Victims: A Retrospective Study

Objective:This study aimed to evaluate the sociodemographic characteristics and the mental, anogenital, and physical examination findings of child and adolescent sexual abuse victims and to discuss them in the light of the literature.Materials and Methods:This study included a total of 134 children and adolescent cases between the ages of 0 and 18 who were victims of sexual abuse, from among the reports prepared in the Forensic Medicine Clinic of Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal Training and Research Hospital between 2015 and 2019.Results:This study included 134 cases: 113 (84.3%) were female and 21 (15.7%) were male. The mean age was 13 ± 3.4 years (min: 3, max: 17). The average age of the defendants was 25.6 ± 13 years (min: 12, max: 75), and all the defendants were male. The defendants were strangers in 60 cases (4.8%). Sexual abuse mostly occurred as vaginal penetration in 46 cases (34.3%). Sixty–nine (51.5%) cases were exposed to abuse more than once. Depression due to sexual abuse developed in 14 (10.4%) of the cases.Conclusion:Considering that many child abuse victims have normal examination findings, it should not be forgotten that the interview and psychiatric examination with the child are as valuable as the genital examination.

Understanding Factors That Hinder Child Abuse Cases from Being Reported to Officials in Households with Alcoholic Parents: Case Study of Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe

Background: This article discusses reasons why child abuse victims and witness may not disclose child maltreatment. Methods: For primary data collection of this article, a sample of church pastors, community members and social workers from Mashonaland West in Zimbabwe were interviewed. Primary data from a qualitative research methodology was used to explore why child abuse victims and witnesses do not always report child abuse when they come across it. Aim: The purpose for this article is to promote awareness of what hinders people from reporting child abuse so that childcare professionals and families can work together in removing barriers that hinders the revelation of horrid secret such as child abuse. Results: Inefficient systems for reporting child abuse can hinder victims and witness from disclosing child abuse cases. Conclusion: To prevent and reduce child abuse, there is a need to have effective procedures of protecting and encouraging child abuse victims and witnesses to disclose suspected child abuse cases.

Revictimization and the Specificity Hypothesis- Do Different Subtypes of Interpersonal Violence Predict each Other?

Background: Revictimization refers to the finding that victims of child abuse have an increased risk of experiencing violence as adolescents and adults. To date, revictimization has been well documented for sexual violence. Recent findings show that the same phenomenon occurs for physical and emotional types of violence and indicate specificity in the relationship. In particular, childhood sexual abuse predicts sexual violence in adulthood and childhood physical abuse predicts future physical victimization. Although emotional violence is among the most harmful types of maltreatment, emotional revictimization has not yet been systematically documented. The aim of this study was to investigate how the three different types of childhood abuse (sexual, physical, and emotional) were related to the three different types of adult victimization (sexual, physical, and emotional).

Child Maltreatment in Lebanon: Prevalence, Screening and Upgrade of ESCAPE

Child maltreatment is a violation of human rights and includes all forms of abuse against children under 18 years of age. It is the second cause of death in children after accidental trauma and remains an active problem worldwide. In Lebanon, little work is being done nationwide to provide and explain the available screening and reporting tools for child maltreatment. In this study, we assess the diagnostic accuracy of the ESCAPE instrument and its modified version (including one additional question “<i>Did parents/caregivers take adequate measures?</i>”) in screening child maltreatment in emergency departments, and calculate the prevalence of child abuse in Lebanon. The present diagnostic accuracy study is performed over 16 months using a convenience sampling on children under the age of 18 who presented to Lebanese emergency departments. Confirmation of maltreatment by the child protection team was considered as the cornerstone to diagnosis. Screening performance characteristics of ESCAPE and ESCAPE-modified were calculated using GPower v3.1 and SPSS v22 soft wares. 411 children with the mean age of 5.7 years were screened (38% girls). 47 children were suspected victims of child abuse (11.4%). 13 children (3.2%) were confirmed victims of child maltreatment. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of this test, with 95% confidence intervals, were 100% (82.7 – 100), 91.5% (88.4 – 93.9), 27.7% (16.5 – 41.5), and 100% (99.3 – 100) respectively. The additional question added to ESCAPE did not alter the diagnostic performance of the test but was superior in terms of positive predictive value without losing in terms of negative predictive value. In this study, ESCAPE was proven to be an appropriate screening instrument for identifying children at high risk of child abuse, with excellent accuracy. The additional question of “<i>Did parents/caregivers take adequate measures?</i>” represents a simpler tool with a higher positive predictive value, to be used after a positive ESCAPE screening to help confirm or reject the diagnosis of child maltreatment in case of doubt.

Reducing Secondary Traumatic Stress and Fueling Knowledge of Child Maltreatment Among Health Care Providers.

Child maltreatment is widespread, and its victims are frequently treated by trauma providers. However, providers across disciplines report feeling ill-equipped to identify and treat victims of child maltreatment and also report high levels of burnout and secondary traumatic stress. This study aims to evaluate an intervention to improve health care provider knowledge, recognition, and reporting of child maltreatment and promote provider resilience as they care for victims of child maltreatment. This is a single-group pre/posttest study design conducted from April to October 2019 of an educational intervention addressing child maltreatment knowledge, recognition, and self-care strategies for providers. Baseline and 6-month post-event questionnaires evaluated child maltreatment recognition and reporting, and the Professional Quality of Life instrument was used to measure compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. Statistical analyses were conducted to evaluate the impact of the intervention on participants' self-reported knowledge, compassion, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. A total of 164 health care providers participated in the study; the majority were nurses (69.5%). There was a 51.2% response rate for the 6-month post-event questionnaire (n = 84). Health care providers' knowledge of child maltreatment recognition and reporting significantly improved from pre-event (Mdn = 24.0) to post-event (Mdn = 27.0), z =-6.4, p < .001, and significantly decreased in secondary traumatic stress pre-event (Mdn = 20.0) to post-event (Mdn = 17.5), z =-2.11, p = .035. No changes were noted in compassion satisfaction or burnout. Educational activities can improve provider knowledge and recognition of child maltreatment and facilitate secondary traumatic stress reduction.

Intervention by Separation and Reunification of Victims of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy

This study aims to analyze the impact of the intervention method by separating and reunifications children as victims of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy against their parents as perpetrators of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. The subjects of this study were 9 expert figures with different backgrounds and several previous research journals as references. This research uses interpretative analysis by using an unstructured interview method and journal review for secondary data. After the data is collected completely and thoroughly, both from primary and secondary data collection, the data can be grouped or adjusted according to the type of data obtained from interviews with research subjects and previous research based on the journals. The results showed that the separation intervention is still one of the intervention methods used for victims of child abuse. However, this intervention can also cause deep psychological wounds in children due to being separated from their parents, where the trauma from the separation will greatly affect the psychological development of children in terms of their trust in others. Apart from that, reunification is still very possible, but the possibility of repeated acts of violence is also quite high. Continued and prolonged counseling is needed to minimize these negative impacts however, this follow-up step is still difficult to do, especially in Indonesia due to the lack of human resources from related institutions or agencies.

Research on Laws and Systems Related to the Prevention of Child Abuse: Focusing on the Comparison of Laws and Institutions within Various Cultures

아동학대는 피해아동이 성인으로 성장한 후에도 부정적인 영향을 지속적으로 미친다는 점에서 반드시 예방되어야 할 사회적 문제이다. 그러나 우리나라의 아동학대 발생건수와 피해아동의 사망자 수는 지속적으로 증가추세에 있고 아동학대에 관한 법과 제도는 적극적이지 못한 측면이 있다. 이에 본 연구에서는 다양한 문화 안에서 법과 제도 사례로서 아동보호 및 학대예방의 역사가 비교적 오래된 미국이나 영국, 일본, 독일 스웨덴 등의 사례를 분석하고 아시아 국가들의 가해자에 대한 처벌내용을 검토하여 우리나라 아동학대 예방 정책에 참고할 수 있는 내용을 제안하였다. 아동학대 예방을 위한 법률개정에 반영할 수 있는 내용은 미국의 사례처럼 아동학대사건의 폭력 및 학대 범위를 세분화하여 공권력이 개입할 수 있는 방안을 구체화할 것, 독일의 사례처럼 위험성 평가를 통해 아동의 사전보호조치, 경찰의 물리력 적용 등에 관한 세부사항들의 제도화, 가해자 처벌에 관한 양형기준을 마련, 모든 성인의 아동학대 신고의무자화 등으로 요약할 수 있다.Child abuse is a social problem that must be prevented in that it continues to have a negative effect even after the victim grows up to be an adult. However, although the number of child abuse cases and the number of deaths of victims of child abuse in Korea continues to increase, laws and systems on child abuse are not active. Therefore, this study analyzed the cases of the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Sweden which have a relatively long history of child protection. Also the contents of punishment for perpetrators of abuse prevention within Asian various cultures suggested references to improve Korea s child abuse prevention policy. What can be reflected in the revision of the law to prevent child abuse can be summarized as in the United States to refine the scope of violence and abuse in child abuse cases, institutionalize details of child protection measures as in Germany, police physical force, establishment of sentencing standards for punishment of perpetrators, and obligate all adults child abuse reports.

Evaluation of Juvenile and Adolescent Sexual Abuse Victims: A Retrospective Study.

This study aimed to evaluate the sociodemographic characteristics and the mental, anogenital, and physical examination findings of child and adolescent sexual abuse victims and to discuss them in the light of the literature. This study included a total of 134 children and adolescent cases between the ages of 0 and 18 who were victims of sexual abuse, from among the reports prepared in the Forensic Medicine Clinic of Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal Training and Research Hospital between 2015 and 2019. This study included 134 cases: 113 (84.3%) were female and 21 (15.7%) were male. The mean age was 13 ± 3.4 years (min: 3, max: 17). The average age of the defendants was 25.6 ± 13 years (min: 12, max: 75), and all the defendants were male. The defendants were strangers in 60 cases (4.8%). Sexual abuse mostly occurred as vaginal penetration in 46 cases (34.3%). Sixty-nine (51.5%) cases were exposed to abuse more than once. Depression due to sexual abuse developed in 14 (10.4%) of the cases. Considering that many child abuse victims have normal examination findings, it should not be forgotten that the interview and psychiatric examination with the child are as valuable as the genital examination.

Nonverbal Emotions While Disclosing Child Abuse: The Role of Interviewer Support.

Statements by alleged victims are important when child abuse is prosecuted; triers-of-fact often attend to nonverbal emotional expressions when evaluating those statements. This study examined the associations among interviewer supportiveness, children's nonverbal emotions, and informativeness during 100 forensic interviews with alleged victims of child abuse. Raters coded the silent videotapes for children's nonverbal emotional expressions while other raters coded the transcripts for interviewer support, children's verbal emotions, and informativeness. Results showed that children's nonverbal signals were more common than and preceded the verbal signs. Interviewer support was associated with children's expressivity. When children expressed more nonverbal emotions, they were more responsive during the pre-substantive phases and more informative about the abuse. Nonverbal emotions partially mediated the association between support and informativeness. The findings underline the value of nonverbal emotional expression during forensic interviews and demonstrate how the interviewers' supportive demeanor can facilitate children's emotional displays and increase informativeness.

Study on Victims of Child Abuse: A Study Conducted in Two Teaching Hospitals in Sri Lanka

<strong><em>Introduction: </em></strong>Child abuse is a global public health problem and proper intervention strategies need a greater understanding of risk factors that can contribute to it. This study was conducted in order to identify the undetected contributory factors that lead to child abuse cases. <em> </em> <strong><em>Methodology: </em></strong>All children (less than 18 years of age) who were brought for medico legal examination with alleged abuse to two reputed teaching hospitals during a period of 1 and ½ years were included. Required details were obtained through an interviewer administered questionnaire after obtaining the consent. <em> </em> <strong><em>Results: </em></strong>Out of the 186 children, more than 80% presented following sexual abuse and the majority (n=173) were females. Further, n=118 (75%) of the victims of child sexual abuse were between the age group of 13 to 15 years. Moreover, 75% of the victims of sexual abuse were from low income families. Parents of 100% of the victims of physical abuse and 60% of the victims of sexual abuse had educational qualifications below ordinary level. 82% of the victims of physical abuse were having dysfunctional family background, specially use of ethanol by parents (65%). Parental separation was the form of family dysfunction that was associated with sexual abuse. <em> </em> <strong><em>Conclusion: </em></strong>Poor income, poor parental education and dysfunctional family background could be identified as predisposing factors for child abuse. However, the association of these factors vary with different types of child abuse, thus preventive strategies should be planned accordingly.

Risk of Personality disorders among childhood maltreatment victims: A nation-wide population-based study in Taiwan

BackgroundTo date, numerous cohort studies and meta-analyses have shown that childhood maltreatment is associated with a wide range of adverse physiological and psychological symptoms. Although childhood maltreatment has been linked to an increased risk of personality disorders, the direction and magnitude of the association remain uncertain. Therefore, this cohort study aimed to evaluate whether children who have suffered childhood maltreatment have a higher incidence of subsequent personality disorders, using a nationwide database in Taiwan. MethodsWe conducted a large retrospective cohort study using data drawn from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database between 2000 and 2015. A total of 10,345 children who experienced childhood maltreatment were identified using International Classification of Disease codes. They were then compared with 41,380 children who never experienced childhood maltreatment in terms of the prevalence rates of personality disorders. ResultsChildhood maltreatment was associated with an increased risk of personality disorders (considering the control as reference: adjusted hazard ratio, 2.12; 95% confidence interval, 1.90–2.36; p < 0.001). The Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed a significantly higher 15-year cumulative incidence of personality disorders among childhood maltreatment victims than among controls (log-rank test, p < 0.001). ConclusionsThe present population-based study showed a positive association between prior childhood maltreatment and subsequent personality disorders in the general Taiwanese population. In order to reduce the risk of personality disorders, interventions should be implemented, identifying and supporting economically disadvantaged families and vulnerable children as early as possible.

Home / Archives / Vol. 8 No. 2 (2021): Jurnal Tranformasi Global (JTG) / Articles Pandemi dan Pemenuhan Hak Anak: Studi Kasus Peran Unicef di Yaman pada Masa Covid-19

Covid-19 has become a pandemic that has rapidly spread throughout the world. Less than 3 months since it was discovered in China in December 2019, the Covid-19 pandemic has crippled the world economy and caused the delivery of humanitarian aid to Yemen to be hampered due to the Covid-19 outbreak. In addition, there are still wars that cause damage to health facilities. The war, the Covid-19 epidemic and Cholera disease are adding to the devastating effects on growing children in Yemen. UNICEF, as an IGO that focuses on children, reports that in 2020 there were around 34 incidents that made these children victims of child abuse and attacks on educational facilities. This research describes the role of UNICEF in Yemen from 2019 to 2020 in fulfilling children’s rights due to 3 disasters, namely Covid-19, conflict and cholera that occurred in Yemen. This research uses the theory of the role of international organizations as aid providers which is manifested in the form of Humanitarian Assistance. This type of research is a descriptive study that uses data collection techniques in the form of literature studies from 2019 to 2020 sourced from reports from The UNICEF, the WHO website, the UN website, and various verified mass media. UNICEF's role in the form of Humanitarian Assistance is manifested in 5 programs: education, child protection, nutrition, health and sanitation. Keywords: UNICEF, Yemen, Humanitarian Assistance, Covid-19 Pandemic, Children's Rights.

Play Therapy Bagi Anak Korban Child Abuse Psikis

The occurrence of violence against children is due to trivial problems, in this violence mostly occurs in children, even the impact of violence on children is very dangerous, because many children will be depressed, have prolonged trauma, are sensitive, tend to be quiet, rebellious, and more dangerous. Again, children will commit suicide because they are no longer strong with violence. In dealing with these problems, children really need therapy, so that children can return to being like other children, although in realizing it again becomes a child's personality in general it is very difficult. This act of child abuse is very detrimental to the future of the child, because it is clear, the future of the child will be bad, of course the child will not develop well, in the concept of child abuse will use the research method to be carried out namely descriptive research methods, in this study aims to describe every event or incident objectively, from here the violence in child abuse will be well structured, from the results of the analysis a data will be carried out, whose function is so that problems in child abuse research can get the right solution with the help of play therapy for child victims of child abuse abuse . In play therapy, children can get the best direction, even though they can't fully recover like other children, it's just that play therapy can alleviate every problem in child abuse victims.

Child maltreatment and emergency department visits: a longitudinal birth cohort study from infancy to early adulthood

BackgroundChild maltreatment (CM) is a serious global public health issue, with documented impacts on health. ObjectiveTo examine the association between different levels of CM concern, and Emergency Department (ED) visits from infancy to early adulthood. Participants and settingIndividuals born in Adelaide, South Australia from January 1986 to June 2017 (N = 443,754). MethodsUsing linked administrative data, we examined frequency and adjusted rate ratios for all-cause and cause specific ED visits among individuals with varying levels of CM concern. ResultsCumulative mean ED visits to age 14.5 years were higher for individuals with any CM concern, ranging from 10.2 to 14.8, compared with 6.4 in persons with no recorded CM concern. Adjusted rate ratios for ED visits varied from 1.26 (95% CI: 1.23–1.30) to 1.54 (1.48–1.60) in children (birth to 12 years), 1.98 (CI: 1.92–2.04) to 4.34 (CI: 4.09–4.60) in adolescence and 2.22 (CI: 2.14–3.48) to 3.48 (3.27–3.72) in young adults, increasing with severity of maltreatment concerns. ED visits coded as self-harm or poisoning, injuries, substance use or mental illness were particularly high, with incidence rate ratios mostly 3 to 15 times for mental health/substance related visits and 1.5 to 3.2 for other accidents or injury for individuals with any CM concern versus none. ConclusionsThe high rate ratios for ED visits in children with CM concern, especially for self-harm, substance use and mental health during adolescence and adulthood highlights the enduring mental health needs of victims of child maltreatment, providing further impetus for prevention.

Child abuse associates with increased recruitment of perineuronal nets in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex: a possible implication of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells

Child abuse (CA) is a strong predictor of psychopathologies and suicide, altering normal trajectories of brain development in areas closely linked to emotional responses such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Yet, the cellular underpinnings of these enduring effects are unclear. Childhood and adolescence are marked by the protracted formation of perineuronal nets (PNNs), which orchestrate the closure of developmental windows of cortical plasticity by regulating the functional integration of parvalbumin interneurons into neuronal circuits. Using well-characterized post-mortem brain samples, we show that a history of CA is specifically associated with increased densities and morphological complexity of WFL-labeled PNNs in the ventromedial PFC (BA11/12), possibly suggesting increased recruitment and maturation of PNNs. Through single-nucleus sequencing and fluorescent in situ hybridization, we found that the expression of canonical components of PNNs is enriched in oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs), and that they are upregulated in CA victims. These correlational findings suggest that early-life adversity may lead to persistent patterns of maladaptive behaviors by reducing the neuroplasticity of cortical circuits through the enhancement of developmental OPC-mediated PNN formation.

Childhood abuse and its association with adults’ mental health problems: a cross-sectional study among men and women in the Yangon Region of Myanmar

ObjectivesTo estimate the prevalence of emotional, physical and sexual childhood abuse, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and to examine the association between childhood abuse and adult mental health...

What Works in School-Based Programs for Child Abuse Prevention? The Perspectives of Young Child Abuse Survivors

Previous research has shown that youth consider school-based child abuse prevention programs as one of the most important strategies for preventing child abuse and neglect. This study asked young child abuse survivors how school-based child abuse prevention programs should be shaped and what program components they perceive as essential. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 Dutch young adults that were a victim of child abuse or neglect. A literature review that resulted in 12 potential program components was used to guide the interviews. All young adults agreed that school-based child abuse prevention programs are important and have positive effects on children’s awareness of child abuse. Teaching children that they are never to blame for child abuse occurrences was considered one of the most important components of school-based programs, next to teaching children how to escape from threatening situations and to find help, increasing children’s social–emotional skills, promoting child abuse related knowledge, recognizing risky situations, and increasing children’s self-esteem. Further, the participants found it important to provide children with aftercare when a school program has ended. Overall, young child abuse survivors have a strong view on what should be addressed in school-based child abuse prevention programs to effectively prevent child abuse.