“Children in a Terrible State”: Understandings of Trauma and Child Sexual Assault in 1970s and 1980s Australia*

ABSTRACT

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has shown us the multitude of ways that children were vulnerable to sexual violence. This article explores child sexual abuse outside of institutions, and the development of concepts of trauma in Australia in the 1970s and 1980s. From the mid-1970s, there was increased social, medical and legal focus on child abuse. Driven originally by feminists, there was a new interest in the psychological impacts of abuse, including analysis of the grief, despair, fear and anger experienced by survivors. The explosion of interest in child sexual abuse was mainstreamed in the Royal Commission into Human Relationships (1974–1978) and in discussion leading up to the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989). Across the 1980s, public recognition grew concerning the dangers of sexual violence against children, and, in particular, the increased knowledge and interest in intra-familial assaults. This article will chart the dramatic shifts in public consciousness around sexual abuse, particularly around ideas of harm and trauma. It will also suggest that despite a substantial change in cultural views on sexual assault, improvements for child victims were slow to filter through to the criminal justice system.     

International election observation in Guyana 1964–2001

The infusion of election observation in the political landscape of the Caribbean has presented a range of trends and reactions. Some countries, such as Guyana, have had a more entrenched and controversial history with observation than others. Guyana was the first Caribbean country to have had international observers. This paper presents a survey of the case of Guyana between 1964 and 2001. The article outlines all the observed elections in Guyana during this period with reference to issues of logistics, size, duration and the actors involved. It also assesses the outcomes of international observer presence in these elections and explores the implications for Guyana’s efforts to display acquiescence to the norm of holding free and fair elections.     

Einwegkunststoff im Fokus des Gesetzgebers

Natur und Recht - Im Lichte der Richtlinie (EU) 2019/904 über die Verringerung der Auswirkungen bestimmter Kunststoffprodukte auf die Umwelt hat der nationale Gesetzgeber eine neue...     

Ethical Considerations in the Development and Application of Mental and Behavioral Nosologies: Lessons from DSM-5

We are not likely to find a diagnostic system as “unethical,” per se, but rather find that it creates ethical concerns in its formulation and application. There is an increased risk of misuse and misunderstanding of the DSM-5 particularly when applied to forensic assessment because of documented problems with reliability and validity. For example, when field tested, the American Psychiatric Association reported diagnostic category kappa levels as acceptable that were far below the standard level of acceptability. The DSM-5 does not offer sensitivity and specificity levels and thus psychologists must keep this in mind when using or teaching this manual. Also, especially in light of concerns about diagnostic inflation, we recommend that psychologists exercise caution when using the DSM-5 in forensic assessments, including civil and criminal cases. Alternatives to the DSM-5, such as the International Classification of Diseases and the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual are reviewed.