Understanding Of Child Sexual Abuse Research Articles

"We Try to Fix Things Quietly, and We Do Not Take Revenge": Christian Arab Teachers' Experiences Coping with Child Sexual Abuse Among Their Pupils in Israel.

Teachers are at the frontlines of the fight to identify and cope with child sexual abuse (CSA) among their pupils. Their methods of coping with CSA cases, both personally and professionally, are strongly influenced by their socio-cultural contexts and religious beliefs. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the experiences of Christian Arab teachers in Israel coping with the CSA of their pupils. Twelve Christian Arab elementary school teachers in Israel were recruited for the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and a qualitative thematic analysis was employed based on a descriptive phenomenological-psychological approach. Two key themes emerged from the analysis: (a) The teachers' intense emotional reactions regarding the CSA of their students and the empowerment some found in handling such difficult situations, and (b) The teachers' Christian beliefs and identity strongly affected their understanding of CSA and their approach to intervention. The findings indicated the dialectical position of the teachers' religio-cultural context, particularly the duality of the Christian value of forgiveness, a powerful resource for their coping, yet with adverse implications for children's vulnerability. This unique risk should inform training teachers regarding CSA matters. Teachers must also have systems that support them and allow them to reflectively examine their coping styles.

Investigation of fathers' metaphors regarding child sexual abuse in Turkey: A metaphor study

Background and purposeThis study was designed to determine the perceptions of fathers about child sexual abuse in Turkey using metaphors to facilitate understanding of child sexual abuse. MethodsThe study was conducted as a qualitative study based on metaphor analysis. The data were collected from 164 Turkish fathers in Turkey between August 2022 and September 2022 using a descriptive information form for fathers and a semi-structured interview form exploring fathers' perceptions of child sexual abuse. The semi-structured interview form included metaphor statements like “Child sexual abuse is like....... because .......”, and “Child sexual abuse reminds me of the color....... because .......”. The data were analyzed using the content analysis technique. The study was reported based on Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR). ResultsAccording to the results, 77.4% of the fathers had knowledge about protecting their children from sexual abuse, 40.9% got this information from the internet, and only 11.1% educated their children about sexual abuse. Seventy three percent of the fathers were afraid of confusing their children while educating them. The fathers involved in the study used 20 metaphors related to “child sexual abuse” and “the color evoked by child sexual abuse”. The metaphors created by the fathers were analyzed under six categories: “emotions, feeling inadequate, punishment method, abuser, child concept, and uncertainty”. ConclusionBased on the results of the study, fathers had common feelings and emphasize the same concepts about child sexual abuse. Practice implicationsMetaphors provide a unique approach to identifying fathers' conceptual images of child sexual abuse.

Understanding Child Sexual Abuse in the Religious Contexts in Indonesia through a Lived Experience

Child sexual abuse in Indonesia occurs in various settings, including home, school, or work (in places where child labor is common). The National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Perlindungan Anak) stated that52% of cases of violence against children from 2020 to mid-2021 were sexual violence (Suminar, 2021).The increasing number of child abuse cases encourages parents to send their children to religion-based schools that, they think, offer safer environments. Based on the data collected by KOMNAS Perempuan, 19% of sexual violence occurred in Islamic boarding schools or Islamic-based education and 3% in Christian-based education. KPAI also noted that 88% of perpetrators of sexual violence in schools were teachers, mostly religion teachers (13.3%) and physical education teachers (40%), the rest being computer, arts, social studies, Indonesian, or other teachers, while 22% were principals. The objective of the study is to unravel the experience in a religious setting. The finding narrated that the effects of child sexual abuse could include depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, complex post-traumatic stress disorder, and physical injury to the child, among other problems. In addition, there was no support from the school community for the victim of child abuse.

Exploring parental understanding of child sexual abuse and prevention as a measure for HIV prevention in Rwampara district

Exploring parental understanding of child sexual abuse and prevention as a measure for HIV prevention in Rwampara district

Exploring parental understanding of child sexual abuse and prevention as a measure for HIV prevention in Rwampara district.

BackgroundWorldwide, more than 95 million children are sexually abused each year with children in sub-Saharan Africa experiencing sexual assault at higher rates than those in more developed areas. In Uganda, 20% of young people indicated that their sexual debut was non-consensual. The risk for transmission of HIV to children through Child Sexual Abuse is high because of greater mucosal tissue damage and the often repetitive nature of abuse. This contributes significantly to the burden of HIV in Uganda. Despite these risks, studies have shown gaps in active parental involvement in child sexual abuse prevention despite their being the primary protectors of children. Against this background we sought to explore parental understanding of childhood sexual abuse and prevention as a measure for HIV prevention in Rwampara District, South Western Uganda.MethodsA phenomenological study was carried out in four health centers that serve the communities of Rwampara district. A total of 25 (n = 25) parents or guardians of children aged 9–14 years were purposively selected to participate in the study. The participants were subjected to in-depth semi-structured interviews which were recorded, transcribed, and translated for thematic analysis.ResultsParents’ understanding of child sexual abuse was limited to penetrative sex between a man and a child. Three of the parents interviewed reported to have had children who had been sexually abused while one of the parents had been abused when she was young. The children reported to have been abused were female and were between 3-14years. We also identified gaps in the sensitization of parents regarding home-based prevention of child sexual abuse and psychological support for the victims of abuse.ConclusionOur study shows that child sexual abuse exists in rural western Uganda. There remains a significant gap in the awareness of parents regarding the extent of sexual abuse, signs of sexual abuse, case handling, and psychological support for victims of sexual abuse. This significantly affects the capacity of parents as the primary protectors of children to identify and protect the children against the multiple forms of child sexual abuse.

The problematization of child sexual abuse in policy and law: The Indonesian example

BackgroundIndonesia has a strong national child protection policy. Yet significant limitations exist in laws, policy implementation, and coordination of services, especially regarding child sexual abuse. This is related to a lack of knowledge about child sexual abuse in Indonesia and associated taboos that constrain policy development. ObjectiveTo understand how child sexual abuse problems have been represented in national child protection policy. Method‘What's the problem represented to be’ (Bacchi, 2009) is an analytic approach that uses discourse analysis. This method was employed to examine how child sexual abuse problems in Indonesia are constructed and represented in six government documents (two laws and four national policies). ResultsThree overarching problem representations of child sexual abuse were identified: (1) children are a vulnerable, at risk, and disempowered group; (2) service access is limited and services are not coordinated; and (3) there is a lack of agreement and clarity across laws and policy in child protection. For example, inconsistencies of policy and laws regarding the minimum age for marriage can result in gender discrimination and limit a child's access to justice, protection, and services. ConclusionPolicy discourses play a crucial role in the construction and representation of child sexual abuse problems in Indonesia. Current inconsistencies constrain the implementation of effective intervention and prevention programs. Further work on policy harmony is needed as well as improving community understanding of child sexual abuse.

CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN INDIA

Today, every child in this world has to undergo a hard phase in his/her life. The hard phase could be in the form of physical or mental harassment. These cruel acts, done by some grown-up men and women will have a huge impact on the future generation. One such act is Child Sexual Abuse (CSA). Its prevalence is perceptible all over the world. This research article gives exclusive importance to CSA in India. A general understanding of CSA in the public eye is coitus. However, the reality is touching or speaking with the intention of abusing the child either physically or emotionally itself is a CSA. The statistics and case studies referred to in this article have their source from the leading national and international newspapers. The post-traumatic phase or the consequences of CSA has been dealt with in detail. This article can also serve as an eye-opener by making the readers aware of the rules and regulations available at the state, national, and international level for the welfare of children. The present article also throws light on the prevention of CSA and tailored guidelines for handling victims of CSA. This article could also be used by future researchers in exploring the various factors behind CSA and policymakers, in understanding the status quo and strengthening the system accordingly. It can also serve as an eye-opener for the common public to understand the nuances involved in protecting a child against sexual advancements.

Changing the paradigm: Using strategic communications to promote recognition of child sexual abuse as a preventable public health problem

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is common, severe, and substantively contributes to the global burden of disease through its impact on physical, mental, and behavioral health problems. While CSA is preventable through non-justice system response efforts, the vast majority of resources support criminal justice efforts to identify, prosecute, punish and monitor offenders after CSA has already occurred. Policy makers have not supported CSA prevention efforts in part because the public does not view CSA as a preventable public health problem. Here, we describe a program of research to be conducted to bridge the gaps between expert and public opinion about CSA as a preventable public health problem. We propose such research use a three-step approach to alter the way experts communicate about CSA to increase audiences’ understanding of CSA as preventable. The three steps are: 1) identify consensus expert and public perspectives about CSA and the differences between these perspectives; 2) develop and test communication strategies to align public with expert perspectives; and 3) broadly disseminate validated communication strategies. Through this approach, we seek to develop and disseminate an informed communications strategy that effectively and accurately translates the science of CSA prevention to the public and the media.

Preparing for attack and recovering from battle: Understanding child sexual abuse survivors' experiences of dental treatment.

The aim of this paper was to explore child sexually abused survivors' experiences of dental treatment in order to obtain a deeper understanding of them as dental patients. Data were drawn from qualitative semi-structured interviews with 16 adult informants recruited from four different Centres against Sexual Abuse in Norway. Data analysis was developed according to the principles of grounded theory suggested by Charmaz. A conceptual framework was generated, and a core concept was constructed from the informants' reports of their experiences of dental treatment: Preparing for attack and recovering from battle based on four main categories: (a) Expecting danger, (b) Battling anxiety, (c) Reliving abuse and (d) Struggling with the aftermath. The analyses increase the understanding of how child sexual abuse survivors prepare before-battle during-and recover after dental treatment. This study revealed child sexual abuse survivors' experiences of extensive anxiety, triggered by sensory stimuli such as sensations, movement, muscles, touch, sight, sound, smell and taste, associated with dental procedures per se, but also sensory stimuli similar to previous traumatic experiences. The findings suggest that child sexual abuse survivors' dental anxiety is primarily trauma-driven and possibly being one of the long-term effects of child sexual abuse. This may be an important contribution to the understanding of CSA survivors and should affect the approach of clinicians treating dental patients with such a history.

Child Sexual Abuse and the Complexities of Gender, Power, and Sexuality.

This article contributes to the still limited analysis of gender and sexuality in the exploration of HIV infection in the Caribbean. In Trinidad and Tobago, child sexual abuse was identified as a prevalent behavior. This motivated a gendered exploration of the sociocultural factors underlying child sexual abuse and the link with HIV. Using a qualitative action research methodology, researchers sought to understand the patterns of behavior, sociocultural and gendered meanings, and significance of child sexual abuse; to sensitize stakeholders to these issues; and to develop multidisciplinary community-based interventions and policies. This article reports on the analysis of data collected from the interventions carried out as part of the action research methodology, as well as a range of national and community-specific action research activities including ethnographic case studies, national stakeholders meetings, and a study of service providers. It provides a nuanced understanding of the meanings, underlying assumptions, perceptions, and taboos associated with child sexual abuse in Trinidad and Tobago, as well as new ways of understanding child sexual abuse in the Caribbean. Findings showed that the social and gender context for child sexual abuse involves several interconnecting factors located within a framework of gender ideologies and expressions, sexual expectations and behaviors, and social norms based on patriarchal values. These findings would be of significance for the prevention of child sexual abuse and the associated HIV risk in Trinidad and Tobago, and the management of victims and perpetrators of child sexual abuse.

Understanding Child Sexual Abuse: Findings from an Ethnographic Research Among the Mothers in Delhi National Capital Region (India)

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a widespread problem against children in India. Data suggest that every hour four children are being sexually abused in the country. In this context, the current qualitative research intends to explore the awareness, beliefs, and perceptions about the CSA among the mothers from the lower economic sections of the society. Using in-depth interviews, 30 females aged 18–54 years were interviewed from five marginalized communities in Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), India. The sampling was purposive and convenient, and the data collected were thematically analyzed using the interpretive paradigm. The findings reveal that awareness about CSA is quite high among the research participants. However, the testimonies of the participants reflect limited and narrowed understanding of CSA as most of the participants believed that only penetrative sexual assaults such as rape or sodomy qualified as sexual abuse, thereby underestimating the other non-penetrative sexual abuses such as verbal abuses, voyeurism, contact abuses such as fondling, sharing pornographic materials, or internet-based sexual abuse. The data further reveal that the participants were quite aware of the potential threat of CSA; however, they were uninformed of the preventive measures to prevent and stop the CSA. The results reveal the dire need for intervention in the form of education and awareness for the mothers using suitable Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials to accomplish CSA prevention.

Characteristics of children who have been sexually abused, incidents of abuse and perpetrators; a study from of a tertiary care clinic sample in central Sri Lanka

Background: Child sexual abuse (CSA) has been a neglected topic in Sri Lanka (SL) despite its devastating effects on the victims and families. Though there is some growing concern, ignorance and stigma continue to prevail. While a few local studies have looked at CSA in selected groups, our understanding of CSA in SL still remains obscure. Objectives: To describe the characteristics of a clinic sample of sexually abused children, the perpetrators and incidents of abuse. Method: All children who had been victims of sexual abuse, presenting to the child and adolescent psychiatry clinic of a tertiary care centre in the Central Province of SL, from its inception in 1984 to 2016, were included in the study. Data were extracted from clinic records. Results: No CSA was reported before 2001 and 84 cases were identified since then, of whom 81% were females and 19% were males. The alleged perpetrator was known to the child in 94% of the incidents. Only 12.5% had presented within one week of abuse. About one third (30.4%) were abused more than once. The victims were unsupervised in 71.4% of cases while the family structure was disturbed in 22.6%. About a quarter (26.2%) were adolescent females having sexual contact with their boyfriends. Conclusions: Records of CSA were available only after 2001, though the clinic has been functioning for 32 years. This raises concerns about possible non reporting of CSA to authorities and possible deficiencies in record keeping. The findings from this study were comparable with those from other parts of the country as well as international findings.

Parents as protectors: A qualitative study of parents' views on child sexual abuse prevention.

Although parents are essential to child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention efforts, their views on prevention and protection are not always represented in the research literature. In this qualitative study of 24 Australian parents, beliefs about CSA, its risk factors, prevention methods, and parents' role in CSA protection, and parents' approaches to protection of their own children, are examined. Findings were condensed into five themes: (a) parents' understanding of child sexual abuse, grooming and risk; (b) parent-led CSA education; (c) parents' beliefs about CSA education; (d) children recognizing and resisting CSA; and (e) parent responsibility for protection. Findings suggest that parents have a good knowledge of CSA and its risks. However, they do not provide their children with the comprehensive prevention messages recommended by prevention campaigns and many concentrate on abduction dangers. This gap between knowledge and parental communication with children could be due to parents' beliefs that there may be harms associated with education of children about CSA (e.g., such as inciting new fears and worries or reducing trust in others) and that the method may not be effective in protecting children from CSA. This study adds to the existing literature by presenting information that could be useful in designing programs to include parents in CSA protection and by approaching CSA research with parents as the key agents in the protection of children.

A Review of Child Sexual Abuse: Impact, Risk, and Resilience in the Context of Culture

ABSTRACTChild sexual abuse is a problem with both a national and worldwide prevalence. In this review, the authors note that while empirical research has clearly shown the negative impact of child sexual abuse on social, psychological, and sexual functioning later in life, it has also been reported that some individuals remain asymptomatic despite a history of experiencing child sexual abuse. This implies that negative outcomes later in life are not inevitable and illustrates the critical need to elucidate how resilience may moderate the negative impacts of child sexual abuse. In addition to emphasising the role of resilience, this review also underscores the important role that cultural context plays in understanding child sexual abuse, as there are known risk factors and protective factors specific to different cultures. Similarly, one’s culture may also influence whether abuse is reported and addressed, and the topic is given special attention in this paper because it is not widely discussed within the existing literature. The impact of child sexual abuse on mental health, sexual health, and social functioning is also discussed.

Child Sexual Abuse: Ethics and Evidence

Child Sexual Abuse: Ethics and Evidence

Sexual Abuse as the Core Transgression of Childhood Innocence: Unintended Consequences for Care Leavers

ABSTRACTThe decision of the Gillard government to establish a royal commission in 2012 was acclaimed by care leavers. However, they were soon disillusioned: it was not the royal commission for which they had long struggled. Its terms of reference were too broad, encompassing a range of institutions never before the subject of official inquiries, yet also too narrowly focused on sexual abuse. Care leavers who suffered other forms of abuse were excluded. This paper argues that, while care leaver advocacy contributed to the decision to establish a royal commission, the agenda was a product of other pressures fuelled by state-based inquiries about cover-ups of sexual abuse of children, particularly by clergy. Sexual abuse could no longer be regarded as a sin to be handled in-house by institutions but a crime for which the state carried superordinate responsibility. The government had to intervene to address society’s “ultimate collective shame”. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has made a massive contribution to our understanding of child sexual abuse and to reforms in child protection policy and practice. But its mandate created unintended consequences, and questions remain about the unmet needs of care leavers who suffered other forms of abuse.

MULTIMEIDA DESIGN PRINCIPLES IN DEVELOPING MULTIMEDIA LEARNING APPLICATION (MMLA) TO INCREASE CHILDREN AWARENESS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

This paper is focusing on multimedia design principles as a design strategy in designing and developing a multimedia learning application with purpose to increase children’s awareness of potential sexual abuse situations. Currently, children’s knowledge and awareness about danger and self-protection is still lacking and they are not totally aware of prohibited adult’s touches over their body. In such situation, they need to be educated and made aware of. In such situation, with the advantages of current multimedia technologies, learning can be supported by effective multimedia application. Accordingly, this study develops a learning application by adapting an instructional design model for design and development by Alessi and Trollip. Then, alpha and beta testing has been conducted with the help of an expert. It was found that the advantages of multimedia technology can facilitate children in better understanding of child sexual abuse and improve their awareness of the issues.

Understanding Child Sexual Abuse by Catholic Priests from a Situational Perspective

Most sexual offense research focuses on offender motivation and individual risk factors rather than the criminal events themselves. This article provides an analysis of data from two studies on child sexual abuse by Catholic priests to help understand the opportunities clergy had or created to abuse youth. Findings show that situational factors played a role in victim choice among a heterogeneous group of abusers. Priests abused more male than female victims and had significantly greater access to male youth historically. When access to female youth increased in the 1990s, abuse of females as a percentage of victims also increased. The article concludes with a discussion about how ecological information can be used to craft intervention policies to prevent sexual offenses.

Child Sexual Abuse Myths: Attitudes, Beliefs, and Individual Differences

Child sexual abuse myths comprise incorrect beliefs regarding sexual abuse, victims, and perpetrators. Relations among myth acceptance, responses to disclosure, legal decisions, and victims' subsequent psychological and health outcomes underscore the importance of understanding child sexual abuse myths. Despite accurate knowledge regarding child sexual abuse among many professional and other individuals, child sexual abuse myths persist. A Google search produced 119 child sexual abuse myths, some with overlapping themes. Coders grouped myths into four categories: (a) minimizations or exaggerations of the extent of harm child sexual abuse poses, (b) denials of the extent of child sexual abuse, (c) diffusions of perpetrator blame, and (d) perpetrator stereotypes. This review provides available data regarding the prevalence for these myths, empirical research that refutes or confirms myth categories, and considerations of cultural contexts and implications.

How Child Victims Respond to Perpetrators of Sexual Abuse

This article reviews the findings of psychological research on how sexually victimised children “typically” respond to the offender and compares the findings of this research to generally held adult expectations of child victim's behaviour. This analysis reveals that adult expectations of child victims' responses are often inconsistent with the findings of relevant empirical research. This suggests that many adults, despite a greater societal awareness and understanding of child sexual abuse generally, may still continue to be poorly informed about the behaviour of sexually abused children and the underlying dynamics of such abuse. Consequently, in a forensic context, decision-makers in child sexual assault cases may unfairly rely on misconceived beliefs about how child victims respond to sexual abuse in evaluating such cases.