Grooming child victims into sexual abuse: a psychometric analysis of survivors’ experiences

This study sought to examine the psychometric properties of the Grooming subscale of the Computer Assisted Maltreatment Inventory (CAMI) in a sample of adult survivors of child sexual abuse. There are currently no other research measures that examine grooming events as experienced by survivors, which underscores the importance of a reliable and valid way of gathering this information. Participants (n?=?295) were adult survivors of child sexual abuse who completed this anonymous study online. The sample was collected through the use of adult survivor of child sexual abuse websites, trauma blogs, and survivor group pages on Facebook. Exploratory Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and Cronbach’s Alpha were used to ascertain the reliability and validity of this subscale. These analyses suggest that the Grooming subscale of the CAMI is a reliable and valid measure. This measure is an important addition to the body of research instruments that measure adult survivor of child sexual abuse experiences, particularly since this is the only instrument that examines grooming from this perspective.     

Representation and participation in child care proceedings: what about the voice of the parents?

In Ireland, the Constitution guarantees very strong rights to parents and the family, and there has been a long and unfortunate history of failures to adequately protect children at risk. As a result, there has been much discussion in recent years about the need to improve legal mechanisms designed to protect the rights of children. By comparison, little attention has been given to establishing whether the theoretically strong rights of parents translate into strongly protected rights in practice. This paper presents new empirical evidence on the manner in which child care proceedings in Ireland balance the rights and interests of children and parents, including the rates at which orders are granted, the frequency of and conditions in which legal representation is provided, and the extent to which parents are able to actively participate in proceedings. A number of systemic issues are identified that restrict the capacity of the system to emphasise parental rights and hear the voice of parents to the extent that would be expected when looking at the legal provisions in isolation.     

Does childhood sexual abuse set in motion a cycle of violence against women?: what we know and what we need to learn

This article reviews evidence for the deleterious effects of childhood sexual abuse on female development in both the acute and long-term phases. Taken in aggregate, there is evidence to suggest a persistent cycle of violence perpetrated against women that begins in childhood in the form of sexual abuse, reemerges later in adolescence and early adulthood in the form of physical assault or sexual revictimization, and ultimately places the next generation at considerable risk for victimization. The differential effect of the characteristics of sexual abuse and the wide variation in the onset and developmental course of symptoms are underscored. The need for adequate models elucidating mechanisms behind this continued cycle of violence is discussed.     

Is sexual victimization gender specific?: the prevalence of forced sexual activity among men and women in denmark, and self-reported well-being among survivors

The present study investigates the prevalence of sexual victimization and correlations between sexual victimization and indicators of poor health in two representative samples of men and women in Denmark. Specifically, the authors explore the prevalence of self-reported victimization among adolescents (N = 5,829) and adults (N = 3,932) and analyze differences in self-reported health outcomes between male and female victims and corresponding controls. Gender differences are found in the reported prevalence of sexual victimization. Significantly more females than males reported forced sexual experiences in both samples. Associations between sexual victimization and poor health outcomes are found for both genders. Comparable patterns of association for men and women are found on a number of variables, particularly those pertaining to risk behavior.     

Lawmaking and sentencing in rape and child sexual abuse cases in Poland – dead end or rational criminal policy?

Criminal Law Forum - Sexual offences have assumed crucial importance in Polish criminal policy in recent years. Several statutes have been enacted with a view to implementing a more appropriate...     

The relation between interviewers’ personal characteristics and investigative interview performance in a child sexual abuse context

Despite important progress in knowledge about interview ‘best practice’ with child victims, few studies had yet evaluated the impact of interviewers’ personal characteristics on adherence to these ‘best practice’. This study was designed to determine whether interviewers’ personal characteristics are associated with adherence to a structured interview protocol (National Institute of Child and Human Development), the use of open-ended questions and the amount of details provided in children’s responses during investigative interviews with alleged victims of child sexual abuse. 114 interviews were scored from 13 police investigators after they followed a one-week training program. Results showed that experience, emotional intelligence, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and Neuroticism were related with adherence to the protocol and ratio of open-ended questions. Cognitive abilities were related to the amount of details obtained from the child. Generalized estimating equations were used to compare relative contribution of each variable. These findings raise questions about how investigative interviewers are selected and trained.     

What were they thinking? An exploration of child sexual offenders’ beliefs using a lexical decision task

Abstract

Cognitive distortions have been afforded a key role in the offending behaviour of child sexual offenders. While the mechanisms underlying cognitive distortions are not fully understood, they are generally thought to reflect entrenched beliefs that distinguish child sexual offenders from other individuals. We investigated this hypothesis using a robust experimental technique called the lexical decision task. Child sexual offenders, offender controls, and non-offender controls completed a lexical decision task in which they responded to words that completed sentences in either an offence-supportive or nonoffence-supportive manner. Contrary to predictions, child sexual offenders did not respond faster to words that were consistent with offence-supportive beliefs, relative to controls. However, they did show accelerated recognition for word stems supporting external locus of control beliefs. These results highlight the need to use cognitive experimental methods to study child sexual offenders’ beliefs, and the importance of investigating potential alternative drivers of cognitive distortions.     

Rape Co-occurrence: Do Additional Crimes Affect Victim Reporting and Police Clearance of Rape?

Despite the increased research attention given to rape and violence against women, little is known about rape co-occurrence, or rape incidents that involve another crime. Although previous research has found certain incident characteristics increase the likelihood that a victim reports her rape to police and that the offender is arrested and prosecuted, the relationship between co-occurrence and these responses is unknown. Given this gap in the literature, the main goal of the present research is to provide an initial understanding of rape co-occurrence and its effect on victim reporting and police clearance. To explore these issues, this study uses two national data sources that collect the requisite incident-level information: the National Crime Victimization Survey and the Uniform Crime Reporting Program’s National Incident-Based Reporting System. Few rapes are found to co-occur with other crimes. When rapes do occur with other crimes, though, they are more likely than solo-occurring rapes to involve weapons, strangers, additional injury to the victim, and multiple offenders. Rapes that co-occur also are more likely to be reported to police and cleared by police than rapes that occur with no other crimes.

Unusual infant death: dog attack or postmortem mutilation after child abuse?

An unusual form of fatal child abuse is reported in which investigations by the police and the medical examiner were able to distinguish blunt force head trauma followed by postmortem dismemberment from a fatal dog attack. A discussion of the approaches used to ascertain the correct diagnosis is presented, as well as an overview of dog attacks on humans.     

Rape investigation and prosecution: Stuck in the mud?

Abstract

This paper evaluates the Stern Review of rape in the context of public responses to rape, in England and Wales. The piece is based on an anti-rape feminist approach and so weighs a woman-centred approach to rape responses against the mainstream justice model. Overall, the argument made is that nothing much is really changing in public responses to rape. The work outlines problems with the Stern contention that the conviction rates for rape need to be calculated differently, and takes issue with the claim that the “policies are right”. Stern's call for greater support for women who have been raped is welcomed, but the effectiveness of the review process itself is questioned. These discussions illustrate the process of attrition as it is variously understood by feminists and by Baroness Stern. It is suggested that reviews themselves may be little more than a dampener, brought in when claims for change create a need to be seen to be doing something. A preferred alternative might be some form of ongoing body, reviewing and challenging practice and policy; however, it is recognised that this could be difficult to achieve amid the current spending cuts. The paper then turns to evaluate trends in support for survivors and notes that the more “professional” models of the Sexual Assault Referral Centre and the Independent Sexual Violence Advisers have held sway for some time. However, under the new coalition, government funding is also being directed towards women-only Rape Crisis centres, and this move is warmly welcomed here. The work concludes that much does indeed remain the same, despite positive signs in terms of respect for this survivor-centred model.     

Who made the disclosure? Recorded discussions between children and caretakers suspecting child abuse

Within investigations of suspected child abuse, the child's account is often at the core of the judicial process. When analysing the child's account, it is therefore important to consider how parents may have discussed the suspected abuse prior to the official investigation. However, no studies up to the present time have investigated discussions in real cases where parents suspect that their children have been abused. We analysed a sample (N = 19) of recorded conversations between parents and their children, delivered to the police as evidence for alleged physical or sexual abuse. Analyses of the questions used and the information provided in the discussions showed that the parent's strategies when questioning their children were extremely leading and that in the majority of the cases, all new information was provided by the parents. In spite of this, the parents deemed the recorded conversations as records of the children's accounts. While the sample was small and likely to be unrepresentative of child abuse suspicions in general, the findings have important practical implications. The results indicate that when planning an interview in a case where the alleged abuse relies on what a child allegedly has told a parent, particular caution should be taken when referring to these conversations.