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Obfuscating Child Sexual Abuse II: Listening to Survivors

NCJ Number
168027
Journal
Child Abuse Review Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: (May 1997) Pages: 118-127
Author(s)
J Taylor-Browne
Date Published
1997
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This analysis of child sexual abuse concludes that the expertise and knowledge of those who have survived abuse need to be acknowledged and used so that society will not continue to fail to recognize child sexual abuse as a significant social problem in the United Kingdom.
Abstract
Sexually abused have a very limited choice of actions they can take to end or avoid abuse. Therefore, they are failing to be noticed or counted. In addition, both judicial proceedings and media coverage excuse perpetrators for their behaviors. Moreover, society relies excessively on experts to define both the problem and the solutions and does not encourage greater or even equal involvement of survivors' organizations or users of services. All these factors combine to sustain public perceptions and the prevailing definition of the problem. 28 references (Author abstract modified)