Reports Of Sexual Abuse Research Articles

Unfounded Sexual Assault: Women's Experiences of Not Being Believed by the Police.

One in four women will experience sexual assault in their lifetime. Although less than 5% of sexual assaults are reported to law enforcement, one in five cases reported to police are deemed baseless (by police) and therefore coded as “unfounded.” Police officers are in a unique position to act as gatekeepers for justice in sexual assault cases, given their responsibility to investigate sexual assault reports. However, high rates of unfounded sexual assaults reveal that dismissing sexual violence has become common practice amongst the police. Much of the research on unfounded sexual assault is based on police perceptions of the sexual assault, as indicated in police reports. Women’s perspectives about their experiences with police are not represented in research. This qualitative study explored women’s experiences when their sexual assault report was disbelieved by the police. Data collection included open-ended and semi-structured interviews with 23 sexual assault survivors. Interviews covered four areas including the sexual assault, the experience with the police, the experience of not being believed, and the impact on their health and well-being. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and entered into NVIVO for analysis. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s analytic method, resulting in the identification of four themes, including, (a) vulnerability, (b) drug and alcohol use during the assault, (c) police insensitivity, and (d) police process. The women in this study who experienced a sexual assault and reported the assault to police were hopeful that police would help them and justice would be served. Instead, these women were faced with insensitivity, blaming questions, lack of investigation, and lack of follow-up from the police, all of which contributed to not being believed by the institutions designed to protect them. The findings from this research demonstrate that police officers must gain a deeper understanding of trauma and sensitive communication with survivors of sexual assault.

Pattern of pediatric trauma during covid-19 pandemic lockdown in Multan.

Objectives: To determine the pattern of pediatric trauma during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Multan. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Departments of Pediatric Emergency Two Major Hospitals of Multan. Period: 15th March 2020 till 30th April 2020. Material & Methods: A total of 231 patients were included in the study. Data on age, sex, mechanism and pattern of injury, severity of injury, body area involved and rural/urban housing was collected on a predesigned performa. Descriptive statistics were run using SPSS version 20. Results: Out of 231 patients, 168 (72.7%) were male with the mean age of 6.01 years± 3.02. Most of the injuries noted were fall (64.9%) followed by burn (12.98%), hit by some heavy object (11.72%) and stab (7.8%). Road side accidents were the least (2.6%) common. There was no report of sexual abuse in children during this pandemic lockdown in Multan. Life threatening injuries were reported in 8.66% and 90% of the injuries were non-life or limb threatening. Regarding body area involved, head injuries remained the most common (37.23%) followed by limb injuries (35.50%) and the abdomen was the least common body area involved. Conclusion: It is concluded that during pandemic lock down most of the pediatric trauma is not severe and is still avoidable by increase public awareness programs regarding home safety and resource allocation.

Mental health disorders as cooccuring and predictive factors of psychotic disorders in sexually abused children

BackgroundLittle is known about the factors associated with psychosis in sexually abused children. Many factors have been associated with both sexual abuse and psychosis, and some mental health disorders have been identified as implied in the relationship between childhood trauma and psychosis. ObjectivesThis study aims to identify factors cooccurring with psychotic disorders in sexually abused youth and to determine which predict the development of psychosis in this population. Participants and settingChildren with a corroborated report of sexual abuse (n = 882) at a Child Protection Agency (CPA) between 2000 and 2010 and whose health data could be retrieved from public health databases were selected for this study. MethodsA prospective matched-cohort design was used, with administrative databases from a CPA and a public health system. Logistic regressions were performed to determine which mental health diagnoses were associated with, and which predicted, psychotic disorders. ResultsLogistic regressions revealed that personality disorders were significantly associated with psychotic disorders whereas substance misuse disorders and intellectual disability significantly predicted psychotic disorders. ConclusionsPsychotic disorders and personality disorders appear concomitantly in sexually abused youth. Having received a substance misuse disorder diagnosis increases the risk of developing a psychotic disorder in sexually abused youth. Health professionals should be aware of those risk factors to help reduce the severity of youth sexual abuse consequences and, ultimately, prevent psychosis.

Differentiated health problems according to gender among adolescents reporting sexual or physical assault

Background and objectivesGender studies previously enlightened our research. Gender differences among traumatized adolescents remain understudied. We hypothesized that comparing health problems between adolescents reporting physical assault and adolescents reporting sexual assault could show a gender difference and could help to identify risks. MethodsIn our 1993 cross-sectional epidemiological representative survey of adolescents in France – 14 278 enrolled in the school system, and 3005 who had left school – we selected the 5893 adolescents in the 16–20 age span, and extracted the sub-sample of 1324 who reported sexual or physical assaults (23%). The symptoms noted were not necessarily a consequence of the assault, but they clearly captured health states in these groups. ResultsThe rate of sexual assault reports by adolescents who left the school system (9.4%) was higher than in the other group (4.2%, p < 0.001). The symptoms selected for the comparisons sexual / physical were chosen because they were significantly more frequent (p < 0.001) among adolescents reporting assault compared to non-assaulted adolescents. For each gender and each type of assault, these symptoms were explored using logistic regressions, adjusting age and schooling status (being inside or outside the school system): among boys, health problems seem more salient when the assault report was sexual rather than physical (e.g. suicide attempts: OR = 3.9, 95%CI = [1.9–8.0]); in contrast, among girls, the two groups seem equally affected. ConclusionThis gender study highlights the risk of suicide among assaulted adolescents. Sexually assaulted boys require care, including suicide prevention, even though they seem to cope effectively with physical assault.

Home visiting: A lifeline for families during the COVID-19 pandemic

Home visiting: A lifeline for families during the COVID-19 pandemic

Temporal Stability of Self-Reported Trauma Exposure on the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5.

The Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5) is a comprehensive screening instrument used to detect exposure to a range of potentially traumatic events. Despite its widespread use, research assessing the psychometric properties of scores on the LEC-5-and trauma exposure more broadly-is scarce. Using a large sample of undergraduate students (N = 1,013), we sought to evaluate the reliability of trauma exposure reporting on the LEC-5 across 8- (N = 379) and 12-week (N = 343) intervals. Reliability estimates were examined for trauma exposure type (e.g., experiencing, witnessing), traumatic event type (e.g., sexual assault), and index trauma (i.e., "worst event") reporting. Reliability was more stable for events that were directly experienced, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) = .62-64, than events that were witnessed, ICCs = .47-.52, or learned about, ICCs = .48-.53. Test-retest agreement was fair to good for reports of sexual assault, physical assault, transportation accidents, natural disasters, and other sexual experiences, κs = .49-.72, but only when individuals directly experienced these events. By contrast, across both assessment intervals, the agreement was attenuated, all κs < .40, for events that individuals witnessed or learned about regardless of event type. For index events, only sexual assault and sudden accidental or violent deaths were consistently reported with a fair or better agreement, κs = .42-.64. These findings suggest that reliable trauma reporting varies largely based on the nature of the traumatic event, yielding important implications for the assessment of DSM-5 Criterion A and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Agency notification and retrospective self-reports of childhood maltreatment in a 30-Year cohort: Estimating population prevalence from different data sources

BackgroundThere is little known about how two sources of child maltreatment reports correspond, specifically for emotional, physical, sexual abuse and emotional or physical neglect. ObjectiveTo compare agency and self-reports of child maltreatment and determine whether they are predicted by similar early life course adverse experiences. Participants Data are taken from a long running birth cohort study (Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy - MUSP). Mothers (N=7223) were recruited in 1981-83 and their children were followed-up 30 years later (2010-14). In 2000 data from the relevant child protection agency were accessed and linked to the survey data. Setting Consecutive women giving birth to a live singleton baby at a major obstetrical service in Brisbane, Australia were recruited and both mother and child were repeatedly follow-up over a 30 year period. Methods Birth cohort study with data linkage of child protection agency records and self-report survey data (using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire - CTQ) of childhood maltreatment experiences. We compare reports of emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect using agency and self-reports (Cramer's V and kappa). ResultsMost children who are notified cases of maltreatment subsequently self-report they experienced little or no maltreatment in childhood. Most children who report experiencing severe maltreatment have not previously been notified to the protection agency. Teenage mothers have children who are notified 2.89 (1.52, 5.52) times, self-report 2.01 (1.31, 3.09) times and both notified and self-report 3.61 (2.26, 6.10) times more than their older comparison mothers. ConclusionsDifferent methods of assessing maltreatment identify different subsets of those children who have experienced maltreatment.

Sensory information in children’s statements of sexual abuse

The credibility of children’s statements of sexual abuse is a controversial issue in forensic psychiatry and psychology. Neurobiological and clinical laboratory studies show that real memories contain more information regarding sensory details than false memories. The goal of the present field study was to evaluate whether sensory information was present in children’s statements of sexual abuse, and whether this information was more often present in credible statements compared with non-credible statements. Sensory details were extracted from a sample of 96 statements of sexual abuse from children; 62 statements were considered credible and 34 statements were considered non-credible. This study showed that sensory information was present in 79% of children’s reports of child sexual abuse. Sensory information was significantly more often present in statements considered credible compared with non-credible statements (85.5%, P < 0.001), but there were large variations in the sense involved. Logistic regression analysis showed that the presence of at least one sensory detail may be a good predictor of credibility (odds ratio, OR = 23.484, P < 0.05). It seems appropriate to include sensory details when assessing the credibility of children’s statements of child sexual abuse, but it has not yet been demonstrated that use of such details significantly improves the validity of credibility assessments.

Mental health Profiles of Sexually Abused Youth: Comorbidity, Resilience and Complex Trauma

Objectives: The current study’s objectives were to 1) determine if sexually abused youth in child protective agencies (CPA) were given more psychiatric diagnoses and exhibited more comorbidity than youth from the general population, 2) examine the comorbidity profiles of sexually abused youth over 10 years of medical consultations and hospitalizations. Method: Diagnoses of 882 youth with a substantiated sexual abuse report between 2001 and 2010 at a participating CPA were compared to those of 882 matched controls (n = 1764). Results: Results of generalized linear mixed models showed that sexually abused youth presented higher rates of all diagnostic categories and were up to four times more likely to present comorbid diagnoses. Latent class analyses among abused youth revealed four different comorbidity profiles; two more severe groups named complex trauma (11%) and dissociation (14%); and two less severe groups named depression (10%) and low or no comorbidity/resilience (65%). Youth with more cumulative maltreatment and greater number of years of data following CSA report were more at risk of presenting a comorbidity profile, while females were more likely to present a depression profile. Profiles of youth in the highest comorbidity class were similar to what is defined as complex trauma or complex post-traumatic stress disorder. Implications: Sexually abused youth's varied profiles warrant varied interventions. Integrated trauma informed interventions are needed to address the cumulative maltreatment experienced and the psychiatric comorbidity some youth exhibit.

Institutional commitment to combating sexual violence: The practices and policies of U.S. universities.

By presenting institution-level variables of 118 universities across 50 states and the District of Columbia, we provide a descriptive overview of the types of programs and sexual assault-related data. Specifically, we examine correlations between policies and practices related to sexual assault prevention and reports of rape. As expected, we found that universities with policies pertaining to affirmative consent, alcohol, and inclusive definitions of assault, combined with practices like mandatory training and transparency with campus climate survey findings, also have higher reports of sexual assault.

Racial/ethnic and gender disparities in substantiation of child physical and sexual abuse: Influences of caregiver and child characteristics

In the U.S., Black and Latinx children are significantly more likely to be referred to child protectives services for physical and sexual abuse compared with White and non-Latinx children. There are data indicating child physical abuse substantiation disparities for these cases, as well. The present study tested for disparate responses to minority children with reports of child physical and sexual abuse and examined how child and caregiver characteristics influence whether a case is substantiated. National level data from 3,440,182 unique cases were used from the 2016 National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (all U.S. cases of reported maltreatment). Child race was influential on substantiation decisions, with White and non-Latinx children being significantly more likely to have their cases substantiated than all other racial and ethnic groups; this effect was more pronounced for physical abuse than sexual abuse. Additionally, a unique subset of child and caregiver characteristics influenced child physical and sexual abuse outcomes; these factors differed somewhat between racial groups. Differentiated patterns of risk by type of abuse indicate the importance of separating out types of maltreatment in research aiming to better understand what contributes to child abuse case substantiation. Trainings and prevention efforts such as implicit bias awareness interventions for caseworkers and professionals who work with children are potentially warranted.

Legitimising a Feminist Agenda: The #metoo petitions in Sweden 2017–2018

Abstract During 2017 and 2018, the #metoo hashtag united a global movement against sexual abuse and harassment. In Sweden, a large portion of the attention was given to the voices of working women, who organised and wrote petitions that were published in news media. Previous research has found that media reports of sexual abuse often focus on singular stories, rather than describing the underlying structural problems, and that the problem is often framed as an individual rather than structural problem. This article accounts for a qualitative content analysis of the first 28 published #metoo petitions in Sweden, with the goal of understanding how these framed the issue. In contrast to previous research, this study shows how the petitions established a coherent feminist explanatory framework that placed the problems on a structural level by focusing on work environments and framing demands in terms of general and perfectly reasonable human rights.

‘They Were Going to the Beach, Acting like Tourists, Drinking, Chasing Girls’: A Mixed-Methods Study on Community Perceptions of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN Peacekeepers in Haiti

The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) has been marred by reports of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) perpetrated against local women/girls. However, there is very limited empirical evidence on the community’s perceptions regarding these sexual interactions. Through a mixed-methods approach, this article examines community experiences and perceptions of SEA, with three prominent themes arising: peacekeepers as tourists, peacekeepers as sexual exploiters and abusers, and peacekeepers as ideal partners. Uruguayan (n = 107, 28.1 per cent) and Brazilian personnel (n = 83, 21.8 per cent) were most commonly named in SEA narratives. We explore how these perceptions of MINUSTAH peacekeepers undermine the purpose and legitimacy of UN peace support operations, and propose strategies to prevent and address peacekeeper-perpetrated SEA.

Comparing Reports of Child Sexual and Physical Abuse Using Child Welfare Agency Data in Two Jurisdictions with Different Mandatory Reporting Laws

Empirical analysis has found that mandatory reporting legislation has positive effects on case identification of child sexual abuse both initially and over the long term. However, there is little analysis of the initial and ongoing impact on child protection systems of the rate of reports that are made if a reporting duty for child sexual abuse is introduced, especially when compared with rates of reports for other kinds of child maltreatment. This research analysed government administrative data at the unique child level over a seven-year period to examine trends in reports of child sexual abuse, compared with child physical abuse, in two Australian states having different socio-legal dimensions. Data mining generated descriptive statistics and rates per 100,000 children involved in reports per annum, and time trend sequences in the seven-year period. The first state, Western Australia, introduced the legislative reporting duty in the middle of the seven-year period, and only for sexual abuse. The second state, Victoria, had possessed mandatory reporting duties for both sexual and physical abuse for over a decade. Our analysis identified substantial intra-state increases in the reporting of child sexual abuse attributable to the introduction of a new legislative reporting duty, and heightened public awareness resulting from major social events. Victoria experienced nearly three times as many reports of physical abuse as Western Australia. The relative burden on the child protection system was most clearly different in Victoria, where reports of physical abuse were relatively stable and two and a half times higher than for sexual abuse. Rates of children in reports, even at their single year peak, indicate sustainable levels of reporting for child welfare agencies. Substantial proportions of reports were made by both legislatively mandated reporters, and non-mandated community members, suggesting that government agencies would benefit from engaging with communities and professions to enhance a desirable reporting practice.

On maladministration in higher education: towards a multi-level theoretical framework for understanding its emergence and persistence in an era of neoliberal, managerial and corporatist reforms

ABSTRACT Academic researchers tend not to study dysfunctional, disturbing or malfeasant administrative and organizational behaviors in the higher education (HE) sector; yet, a variety troubling things regularly take place in HE. This article offers some ‘conceptual spadework’ to open up the muted discussion about this disquieting aspect of the sector. We defined these troubling acts and behaviors as maladministration, and describe the types of maladministration that occur in contemporary HE. Then, based on a narrative theoretical review of prominent scholarship in the organizational and leadership studies literatures, we outline a multi-level theoretical framework to help investigate and understand why maladministration emerges and persists in HE. The framework addresses the nature (personality traits, motives, values) of administrators who commit troubling acts, the predispositions of organizational members and the organizational cultures they constitute, and the broader institutional environment of globalized neoliberal, managerial and corporatist reforms that create the pressures, conditions and opportunities for maladministration. We illustrate this framework with an empirical case study of a high-profile failure of leadership in responding to reports of sexual abuse at a university in the USA, and conclude with implications of the framework for research and practice in HE.

Buying Secrecy: Non-Disclosure Agreements, Arbitration, and Professional Ethics in the #MeToo Era

We’ve heard the horrific reports of sexual assault on children, women, and men, in the context of the workplace, Hollywood, sports, and even sacred places. Now. But often these incidents took place many years ago, and we are just learning why and how. Secret settlements. Deals reached in private to buy secrecy in exchange for the release and dismissal of claims. Oftentimes through private and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes such negotiation, mediation, or arbitration. In most cases, the parties were represented by lawyers, loyal advocates, who are also officers of the court; third-party neutrals serving as mediators or arbitrators administered the dispute resolution process. While the immediate cases were privately resolved, the accused harasser/predator remained at large. This paper examines the role, use, and possible misuse or complicity of lawyers, neutrals, and ADR in the process of procuring and enforcing “secret settlements” in cases that effectively shielded predators, harassment, and other misconduct and left similarly situated non-parties at risk. This Article examines the existing rules, structures, and rationales for confidentiality and private dispute resolution, alongside the ethical considerations for lawyers, neutrals, and the ADR process in reaching and enforcing “secret settlements.” The paper explores the legal and ethical considerations for the professionals involved in situations where a secret settlement or provision for non-disclosure leaves similarly situated non-parties at risk. The Article counsels that lawyers, neutrals, and ADR consider the impact on others and protection of vulnerable persons from potential harm as professional ethics obligations in the advocacy and representation of parties to private settlements in order to ensure integrity of people, process, and substantive outcomes.

Relationship between Child Sexual Abuse, Psychiatric Disorders and Infectious Diseases: A Matched-Cohort Study

ABSTRACT Child sexual abuse (CSA) has been strongly associated with a range of psychological and physical problems in childhood and adulthood, such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and infectious diseases. Despite the strength of these associations, no studies to date have investigated psychobiological processes that might underlie the relationship between CSA and physical health problems occurring during childhood, such as infectious diseases. The goal of the current study is to evaluate PTSD as a potential mediator between CSA and the occurrence of infectious diseases among children and adolescents. Furthermore, we postulate that PTSD plays a specific role as an indicator of chronic stress during childhood, in comparison to other mental disorders, such as anxious and non-anxious disorders (e.g., depression). Via a prospective matched-cohort design, administrative data were used to document PTSD, anxious and non-anxious disorders, and infectious diseases. The sample size was 882 persons with a substantiated report of sexual abuse and 882 matched controls. Negative binomial regressions revealed that CSA is associated with a greater number of anxious diseases diagnoses that, in turn, predict more infectious diseases diagnoses. These findings highlight the importance of preventing and intervening among sexually abused youth with anxious disorder symptoms to limit negative outcomes on physical health.

A comparison between self-report and interviewer-rated retrospective reports of childhood abuse among individuals with first-episode psychosis and population-based controls

The typical reliance on self-report questionnaires in retrospective case-control studies of childhood abuse and psychotic disorders has been criticised, due to the potential for recall bias associated with, amongst other factors, cognitive impairments and detachment from reality, among individuals with psychosis. One way to establish if any substantial bias may exist is to examine whether the concordance of reports of childhood abuse established from retrospective self-report methods versus more comprehensive interviewer-rated assessments differ between individuals with psychosis and controls. Data from the Childhood Adversity and Psychosis (CAPsy) study were used to examine the accuracy, strength of agreement, and convergent validity of two distinct retrospective measures of childhood abuse: a self-report questionnaire (the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire; CTQ) and a comprehensive interview (the Childhood Experiences of Care and Abuse schedule; CECA). In a sample of 234 cases with first-episode psychosis and 293 controls, we found no strong evidence that the validity of the two measures differed between cases and controls. For reports of sexual and emotional abuse, we found fair levels of agreement between CECA and CTQ ratings in both groups (kappa coefficients 0.43–0.53), moderate to high sensitivity and specificity, and reasonably high convergent validity (tetrachoric correlations of 0.78–0.80). For physical abuse, convergent validity was slightly lower in cases compared with controls. Both measures can be used in future studies to retrospectively assess associations between childhood abuse and psychotic phenomena, but time-permitting, the CECA is preferable as it provides additional important contextual details of abuse exposure.

Unpacking childhood experiences of abuse: Can clinicians identify their patients’ History of Abuse?

ABSTRACT Emotional, physical and sexual abuse, have been consistently linked to mental health problems in adults. Previous research found that mental health providers rarely ask their patients about their childhood experiences of abuse. No study to date has examined the convergence of clinicians’ and patients’ reports of childhood abuse. The current study applied a multi-method, multi-informant approach to explore the concordance between patients’ reports of childhood experiences of abuse and clinicians’ identification of their patients’ history of abuse. Assessment of an independent interviewer was included. A convenience sample of clinicians (N = 80) and their patients (N = 170) in mental health clinics in care-as-usual settings participated in the study. To assess the history of abuse clinicians and patients completed the Clinical Data Form, patients additionally completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Independent interviewer completed the Familial Experiences Interview. Findings show that across all informants, exposure to emotional abuse was most prevalent, followed by physical abuse and least prevalent was sexual abuse. Additionally, clinicians reported lower prevalence of physical and sexual abuse among their patients as compared with the patient and independent interviewer’s reports. Moderate to strong correlations were observed between clinicians, patients and independent interviewer reports of emotional, physical and sexual childhood abuse. Moreover, the severity of the patient’s history of abuse was related to greater accuracy in clinicians’ reports. Clinicians are advised to collect explicit information regarding childhood abuse through interviews or valid measures. Clinicians should pay special attention when assessing patients with moderate severity of childhood abuse since they are frequently under-identified.

Lessons from the Holocaust for perinatal care today.

Lessons from the Holocaust for perinatal care today.