What We Learned About Preventing
A Child Sexual Abuse
Crisis
Drawing by Anna, age four
Beyond Denial
Child sexual abuse is an issue we ignore to our peril. Countless
thousands of children will be robbed of their youth if we continue to turn
a blind eye to this massive injustice because of our discomfort, sense
of helplessness, or fear of getting involved. This part of the book has
been designed to support communities and individuals in moving beyond denial
into constructive action. It offers practical information on ways to prepare
for and reduce the possibility of a crisis as through advance planning
and strengthening community responses to child sexual abuse.
Dealing with a multi-victim crisis at the same time as trying
to enhance a disjointed and inadequate service system is extremely difficult.
If there's any message to communicate, it is this: Don't wait for a
major crisis to start doing something about the problem of child sexual
abuse.
Develop a crisis plan now. Strengthen your community response
now. Improve service delivery now. Beef up your prevention programs now.
Taking the initiative to do this today will put you in a much better position
to face a crisis down the road. This will require learning how to work
together better as community members and service providers and how as to
make the best use of your resources through adjusting priorities and systems
today, so you'll be more accustomed to doing so if a crisis ever arises.
A better functioning system should also help to avert more serious crises
in the future.
Even if your community never faces a crisis such as ours, this effort
will enable your community services to more effectively meet the real needs
of current sexual abuse victims and reduce the pain and suffering of many
children and families. It will help you to manage whatever level of crisis
you do have -- the individual cases, known or still undetected the number
of which, if even the most conservative estimates are accurate, is probably
substantial.
Don't let territorialism and competition for resources stop you from
trying to unite your efforts in common cause. "We couldn't afford turf
wars" says Prescott Mayor, Sandra Lawn. "In a multi-victim crisis, the
stakes were much too high." Don't let anything stop you from working to
break down the barriers to collaboration and coordination. The stakes are
much too high.
As the native Canadians say, "It takes a whole
village to
raise a child." We really believe that.
The whole community
had a part to play in ensuring that the children
are raised in
a safe, healthy and nuturing environment.
And the whole
community has a role to play in stopping sexual
abuse.
Sandra Lawn, mayor of Prescott
Another reason for stressing the importance of enhancing collaboration
and coordination between community services is that in an era of shrinking
public expenditures, the funds available to fight child sexual abuse are
finite. The Prescott MVMO case was a huge resource commitment for the Ontario
government. The total bill for all components of the response to the Prescott
crisis the special joint investigation, the prosecution, and the prevention
and treatment project - ran into the millions of dollars.
Will the same level of funding be available to other communities
confronting similar situations in the future? Geoff McMullen, current chair
of the Children's Services Advisory Group, is doubtful. "I just don't think
the dollars are there. Typically, ministries and goverruments have been
able to bankroll cases to diffuse some of the issues. But I don't think
any government these days is going to find hundreds of thousands of dollars
on a short-term basis. So, communities facing these crises are going to
be forced to do a lot of regrouping and reprioritizing with their existing
resources. The other reality is that even if you do get this type of funding,
it doesn't last forever."
According to school principal and Advisory Committee member, Robin Reil,
the money provided by the provincial government to treat the child victims
of the Prescott case was welcome but it wasn't enough. "It's not even touching
base in this area in terms of students in school who have been abused."
The cost of investigation and remediation is extremely high. "On a case
by case basis you can detect and punish and do something for the victim,"
says Rob Richards, Program Supervisor, Ministry of Community and Social
Services, "but unless we find better ways to prevent child sexual abuse,
the front door is still open for many other children to be victimized."
People in social services need to think through
key issues
without a crisis staring them down. You need
to have
protocols and ways of working together in
place beforehand.
You should have a plan, just like you do when
you plan for
natural disasters.
Phil Ogden, Executive Director, Beechgrove
Children's Centre
Will there ever be enough resources to help all the children who are
abused? Phil Ogden, Director of Beechgrove, calls this a "major quandary
for communities, government and society as a whole." In his view, trying
to solve a social problem with a clinical response is almost never successful.
"You always run out of resources trying to do that. That's why prevention
and education are so important."
Preparing For A Multi-Victim Crisis
To be adequately prepared for an MVMO crisis, agencies responsible
for child protection need a comprehensive, effective documentation system,
which can alert staff to the possibility of a complex investigation. Communities
need crisis response plans as well.
Components of an Advance Crisis Plan
* a designated crisis response team at the management level of
the child welfare agency and between relevant community agencies
* distinct roles and communication lines within and between agencies
* a "mission statement" which identifies the protection and best interests
of children as the prime "driving forces" or "rallying points" of any investigation,
intervention and treatment of alleged abuse
* an interagency investigative protocol for handling a crisis which
is available, accessible, up-to-date, and for which all staff have received
training. The protocol should be set within a philosophical framework which
defines the mission, goals and objectives of the involved organizations,
as well as defining an ongoing review process. The protocol should also
consider the roles, not only of the investigative team, but other resources
which should be involved in an investigation including: medical/psychological;
educational; victim/witness and treatment
* an interagency protocol governing communications and media
relations, and a pre-planned media strategy
* a possible site where an interagency team could locate
* an ongoing training program on child sexual abuse for service
providers
* regular training of front-line staff in child sexual
abuse, eg. how to understand and recognize the dynamics of abuse; identify
potentially abusive situations; review facts in order to make a differential
diagnosis; assess risk to the alleged victim as well as to other children
who may be affected; interview child victims; and make appropriate referrals
for assessment and treatment
* ongoing educational opportunities to assist staff in understanding
various legal mandates and to receive up-to-date information
* training in media relations for key personnel
* adequate resources to meet the treatment and support needs of
child victims, non-offending families and foster caregivers, adult survivors
and perpetrators
* an inventory of specialized services available within and outside
the community to direct you to resources where help is avaflable.1
There is a requirement under this ministry
that police and
children's aid societies have joint protocols
for the reporting
and investigating of child abuse. We need
to take that a step
further. There needs to be an emergency measures
policy
and procedure in place for cases where there
are multiple
victims and perpetrators involved.
Bonnie McIsaac, program supervisor, Ministry
of Community
and Social Services
Reducing The Chance Of A Crisis Through Improved Collaboration
As an urgent social problem shared by all of us, child sexual
abuse quires the efforts of all sectors of society to combat it. A comprehensive
and coordinated response involves a multitude of community institutions,
service systems, agencies and professional disciplines. Some of these,
such as the educational system, are broad-based and deal with a wide range
of children, others are more specialized and deal primarily with children
who are experiencing difficulties, such as the juvenile justice system.
Each of these organizations and systems have differing philosophies,
objectives, mandates, funding bases and accountabilities, as well as rules
and procedures. At best these differences can be complementary, allowing
children, families and the community to receive assistance from those who
are best equipped to deliver it. At worst, the differences can create conflict
and competition, resulting in an inadequate and insensitive response. The
outcome is poorly-served children.
The ideal response to child sexual abuse cases entails close collaboration
between such systems as the criminal justice system (responsible for the
criminal investigation of the abuse and the arrest of the perpetrators),
the child welfare system (responsible for the protection of children),
the legal system (responsible for the prosecution of cases and/or the custody
of the child victim), the medical system (responsible for gathering corroborative
evidence of the assault and treating the physical effects of the abuse),
the school system (responsible for access to, and ongoing monitoring of
the child's learning) and the mental health system (responsible for providing
treatment services to victims, perpetrators, non-offending family members
and caregivers).
However, collaboration is impeded by the fact that professionals from
different disciplines may view sexual abuse quite differently, for example
as a crime, a mental illness or a family dysfunction. "Because the problem
of child sexual abuse falls within the domain of multiple professions,
the roles of each professional group are not easily distinguishable. As
a result, professionals can experience confusion as to their respective
responsibilities in responding to and preventing child sexual abuse."2
Professionals may tend to respond to cases of sexual abuse in an isolated
way within their own restricted professional network. For example one study
of 790 professionals from social work, psychology, law, medicine, education
and law enforcement found that 40% of mental health, 47% of educational,
38% of medical and 45% of social service professionals consulted with no
one about child sexual abuse cases, indicating a low level of interagency
cooperation and communication. 3
Therefore the response received by children and families involved in
sexual abuse cases often depends on who they see first and how they are
perceived to fit within a category of service, not on the basis of their
individual needs. Each system relates to the child in a narrow way. For
example, the police may see the sexually-abused child solely as provider
of evidence for criminal prosecution, the child protection authorities
have done their job if the child is safe, the Crown Attorney may only be
concerned with the child's ability to be a good witness, the teacher is
preoccupied with the child's ability to learn, and therapists are concerned
primarily with the child's emotional and psychological well-being.
No single profession can handle a problem
so deeply
embedded in our societal values as child sexual
abuse.
Ann Cohn
The challenge is to create among all these players a complementary,
coordinated and collaborative response that more sensitively meets the
needs of sexually abused children. As demands for services increase in
an era of shrinking public spending the issue of coordination becomes even
more urgent from the point of view of using limited resources efficiently.
Coordination of services and active collaboration contribute to a more
efficient service delivery system. This approach can reduce duplication
and gaps in services, reduce competition for resources and minimize
poor judgement which results from a lack of information or poor communication.
Unfortunately, voluntary efforts to coordinate disparate systems with
different objectives and accountabilities can go only so far. Children
First, a report commissioned by the Ontario government to articulate
a vision of children's services for the 1990s, points out: "Voluntary collaboration,
while certainly worthwhile, will not necessarily succeed in the long term
because it depends on the interests of those involved in continuing a cooperative
relationship. Coordination efforts that attempt to bridge service systems
have historically run into obstacles of protected turfs, conflicting values
and confused accountabihties." 4
Coordination and collaboration must go all the way up the line, beginning
with individual cases, teams, agencies and systems, and be supported by
govemment policy and funding frameworks. The Children First report
called for a "clear and unequivocal government commitment to a children's
agenda", a "single children's authority in the provincial govenunent that
integrates responsibility for all major legislation, strategic planning,
policy and program development, and funding of services for children."
At the local level, it advocates "children's authorities that are accountable
to their communities and to the provincial goverrunent for planning and
managing a children's system." 5
For example, several years ago there was a move in Ontario by the Premier's
Council on Health and Social Justice towards a provincial children's strategy
and the creation of a secretariat to create linkages between ministries.
Unfortunately, that initiative fell by the wayside. Today there is no provincial
body coordinating children's policy in Ontario.
Few other issues in recent decades have so
dramatically
crossed traditional boundries of responsibility
between
professionals in the criminal justice, health
care, education,
social services and church sectors or have
required those
working in institutions, the voluntry sector
and community-
based organizations to work so closely together.
Interdisciplinary Project on Domestic Violence
Helpful Definitions
Collaboration: Independently-run organizations working in association
with others through informal links to achieve common goals, often
through personal contacts between individuals
Coordination: Changing relationships between organizations or
parts of organizations to harmonize goals and plans: this implies giving
up some ability to act unilaterally
lntegration: The merger or amalgamation of functions, which could
consohdate management, planning, administration or services
Interdisciplinary approach: An approach in which service
providers from two or more disciplines work together on the same
cases or situations. 6
A Comprehensive Coordinated Community Response
Guiding Principles
* Reports of sexual abuse made by children must be taken seriously
and must be thoroughly investigated.
* Child sexual abuse is a criminal act which must be investigated, and
which has child protection implications that must be addressed.
* The focus of intervention must be the protection and support
of the child: - services appropriate to the situation, the age and the
level of development of the child;
- removal of the offender, not the child, from the home in situations
of intrafamilial abuse where there is support for the child; and
- support to families to meet the immediate and ongoing needs of child
victims.
* An effective response for children and their families requires cooperation
and coordination among service providers operating within their mandates
and using a multidisciplinary approach.
* The sharing of information is necessary to make good decisions and
must be done in such a way as to protect privacy and ensure confidentiality.
* Treatment and support services for the victim, family and offender
are cornponents of an effective community response.
* Training of professionals, volunteers and community members in child
sexual abuse issues enhances the capacity of the community to respond in
an effective way
* Communities bear the responsibility for protecting children from sexual
abuse. The ultimate solution is to be found in prevention and early detection
of abuse situations. 7
The failure of any one professional to act
appropriately
may mean the difference between stopping the
abuse
and allowing it to continue.....
Linda Graham and Marilyn Harris-Hart
[v] Check-list
[v] Investigate suspected cases to ensure that children are safe and
protected
[v] Investigate suspected cases to determine whether the Criminal Code
has been violated
[v] Ensure that children are in appropriate care
[v] Ensure that alleged sexual offenders are fairly prosecuted and those
found guilty are held accountable
[v] Provide children and families with crisis intervention services
(emergency shelter, financial assistance, crisis counselling)
[v] Provide child victims with appropriate medical services
[v] Provide child victims and their families with appropriate mental
health services and support
[v] Provide child victims and their families with court preparation
services
[v] Provide caregivers of sexually-abused children with needed counselling
and support
[v] Provide training and support to people (professionals and volunteers)
who work with sexually abused children
[v] Prevent child sexual abuse through educational programs aimed at
children, parents, professionals and community members
[v] Provide therapy and support for adult survivors of child sexual
abuse
[v] Provide treatment for perpetrators and supervise their reintegration
process
Basic Premises to Treatment
* Victims of child sexual abuse must never be blamed or held
accountable. Victims need support and time for healing.
* The social context that has allowed children to be sexually abused
for generations only encourages the perpetuation and exploitation of power.
This perspective must be understood by healers, counsellors and therapists.
Helping strategies must be constructed upon a theoretical base that encourages
victims to be partners in their treatment.
* All victims of child sexual abuse, regardless of age, have the right
to receive a full range of treatment services. This will require the support
and expansion of existing services and the development of new services.
Treatment and support should be available throughout any court process
and for as long as the victims feel the need for help.
* All treatment planning and interventions should be developed and funded
with the interests of children being paramount. The safety and healing
of child victims must be continuing priorities. Where possible, the children
should be allowed to remain in the familiar surroundings of their own homes.
* Adolescent and adult survivors are an important group who need support
and healing services from the therapeutic community.
The tendency to blame the victim... has interfered
with the
psychological understanding and diagnosis
of a post
traumatic syndrome.
Judith Lewis Herman
* The sexual abuse of children is a criminal act for which the offenders
must be held accountable. However, treatment services for offenders must
be developed and expanded. Many offenders were abused as children and,
through their own victimization, were led into a lifestyle that included
paedophilia. Many offenders are still adolescents themselves. While offenders
must be held accountable, society has a special obligation to treat offenders
whom it failed to protect in childhood. 8
Collaboration and Coordination: Benefits and Barriers
Collaboration and coordination can:
* reduce system-induced trauma, for example, by minimizing the
need for repeated victim interviews
* create better methods of preventing and detecting abuse resulting,
for example, in higher reporting rates and earlier intervention
* enhance morale and minimize burnout for workers in an emotionally
draining service area
* provide more protection, support and empowerment for victims
by achieving higher conviction rates for offenders,
* ensure individualized, comprehensive and responsive case management
Collaboration and coordination are hindered by:
* territoriahsm and competitiveness between agencies
* undue concern about confidentiality of information
* no shared philisophical / theoretical understanding of child sexual
abuse
* inadequate resources
* historical boundaries between the helping disciplines and resulting
isolation and lack of understanding and trust between professionals; ambiguity
of roles
* conflicting professional regulations
* lack of training in child sexual abuse
* government policy, funding and administrative structures that create
a disjointed and fragmented human service system
* lack of management support and supportive policies and procedures
* difficulties in re-organizing agency procedures to accommodate new
ways of working
* adding new interrelationships may be seen as an added burden of work
and stress to overworked professionals
* poor communications.
We all shared and learned from each other.
We all expanded
our own particular view of the work that we
were doing. We
did a lot of talking about what would work
and why based
on our experience.
Louise Ward, social worker, Family Focus
How Do You Know When You Need to Improve Collaboration?
To determine whether there is room for improvement in your agency's response
to child sexual abuse, try reflecting on these questions:
How are we doing on our own?
Are the lives of the children, youth and families we are serving improving?
If not, why not?
Have we reassessed our mission lately in light of the overlapping needs
of our clients?
Are services to clients well integrated within our own agency?
Do staff working with the same clients communicate frequently?
Do staff and clients work together to set personal and family goals?
Does our agency measure the impact of its services on the lives of the
clients we serve?
Are our services organized in response to client needs or are we constrained
by the limitations of funding or administrative rules?
How well are we connected with other agencies offering services which
our clients need/ use?
Do our line staff have effective working relationships with their counterparts
in other agencies?
When our clients are referred elsewhere for service, are we kept informed
of their progress and changing needs?
Do we need to change?
How effective will we be in ten years if the needs of our client population
continue to increase and we continue to do "business as usual'?
What resource limitations do we face in bringing more comprehensive
services to our clients?
How might closer relationships with other agencies help us improve outcomes
for the families we serve?
How ready are we to engage in interagency partnerships?
Do the agencies serving children and families in our community have
a common vision of what we am trying to accomplish?
What is the history of cooperation and collaboration in our community?
What lessons can we learn from past experience (or lack of it)?
Do we have close working relationships with the directors of other agencies
that deliver services to the same clients? What do we know about other
agencies' current needs and priorities that might encourage them to discuss
common problems and potential solutions on behalf of our clients?
Who are the leaders from outside the direct service community who are
interested in the well-being of the community and who might take a leadership
role in a collaborative effort?
What are we willing to pay in terms of tangible resources and loss of
unilatteral control to formulate common goals with other agencies and to
better serve our shared clients?
A couple of things happen when you start working
together.
You learn to trust each other professionally
and part of that
is seeing each other's work, seeing interaction
with the
children and each other's skills.
Bridget Revell, therapist, Treatment Team
Signs to watch out for
* Problems are ill-defined or there is disagreement
on the goals or roles of key parties
* There is overlap or gaps in service delivery systems
* Referrals are not made appropriately or there is confusion about
who does what
* Adversarial relationships between players
* A sense of frustration or lack of movement in cases
* Mistrust and anger between professionals resulting in a jockeying
for position with clients
* Nobody seems to have the whole picture
* Lack of direction or planning in cases
* Crisis-oriented or reactionary responses
Tips for Successful Interagency Partnerships
Involve all key players
Commitment to change must be broad-based and include all players. Participants
should include not only those with the power to negotiate change, but also
representatives of children and families whose lives will be affected by
the results.
Choose a realistic strategy
Each interagency effort must find its own best way to proceed. No two
initiatives will progress in exactly the same way. You need to choose a
strategy that will reflect the priorities of service providers, the public,
key policy makers, the availability of adequate resources and local needs.
Establish a shared vision
Collaborative efforts must create a shared vision of better outcomes
for clients. It will be far easier to agree on common goals if participants
work to understand the issues, priorities, and perspectives that partners
bring to the table and show a willingness to incorporate as many of these
as possible.
I am suggesting still other kinds of meetings,
in which all
agencies and organizations... get together
to define
priorities and set up procedures for the protection
of
abused children and others within incest families.
Emphasis will vary from agency to agency,
but by
clarifying our philosophies and approaches
we can
develop a more effective community-wide team
approach
to the problem.
Sandra Butler
Agree to disagree in the process
Establish a communications process that gives you permission to disagree
and uses conflict and its resolution as a means of moving forward.
Make promises you can keep
Setting attainable short-term objectives is necessary to create momentum
and a sense of accomplishment. Setting sufficiently ambitious long-term
goals will ensure that momentum is maintained.
Keep in mind the larger goals
Try not to get so bogged down in the difficulty of day-to-day operations
and disagreements that you lose sight of the forest for the trees. In a
system-level collaborative effort, a leader from outside the direct service
community committed to the goals of the initiative and able to attract
the attention of key players may be helpful.
Build ownership at all levels
The commitment to change must extend throughout the organizational
structure of each agency. Include staff representatives and keep all staff
informed. In-service and cross-agency training is essential to give staff
information and skills needed to meet new expectations.
lnstitutionalize change
If changes in programming, referral arrangements, co-location
agreements, and other initiatives are to endure, both service delivery
and system level efforts will need facilities, staff, and a continuing
source of financial support. Agencies must incorporate collaborative objectives
in their own institutional mandates and budgets and earmark the permanent
flow of adequate resources to keep joint efforts up and running.
Mechanisms For Collaboration And Coordination
Case Management
* intra-agency teams
* interagency teams
* informal linkages between professionals
Service systems coordination
* general and specialized interagency coordinating committees
for information-sharing joint planning, monitoring, and coordination of
programs and services
* interagency protocols for service delivery
Training
* multidisciplinary training
Community
* community-wide programs and initiatives
Some people think we were only able to do
the things we
were able to do in Prescott because we had
the money. A
lot of what we did -- just in terms of informal
chats and
information-sharing and net-working over lunch
or coffee
-- can be done without funds. Have lunch meetings
between
service providers in your area. There are
so many little
things that could be done to facilitate working
relationships.
Maureen Mc Dougall, social worker, Family
and Children's Services
The Advantages of Team Work
Together: The Strength of a Common Purpose. Shared vision
and purpose collects and focuses energy. A team can draw upon the experiences,
talents, knowledge, skills, and contacts of all its members. They share
in a common struggle and adventure that promotes endurance and gives meaning
and purpose to their actions. Members of a team combine and share their
spiritual and emotional strength. The example of one individual or segment
of a team spurs others on to do their best. Even peer pressure can have
positive influence in enhancing individual and team performance. Committed
team members develop strong relationships built on loyalty and trust.
Each: Commitment to Team Motivates Each to Excel and Grow. The
sense of shared vision and personal loyalty prompts each individual to
go the extra mile - not only to continue beyond where he or she would norxnally
give up, but to make excellence a consistent value. Within the envirorunent
of a supportive team, the individual feels safe to explore new ideas, test
new skills, and try out new modes of self-expression. Individuals who have
been members of teams involved in extremely difficult undertakings often
discover within themselves more strength and ability than they ever knew
they had. T'he group benefits from their effort and they, as individuals,
have tapped a deep reservoir of strength and confidence that they will
carry with them for the rest of their lives.
Accomplishes: A Team is Organized for Action. A well-organized
team is an efficient vehicle for advancing an agreed upon purpose through
the achievement of definite objectives. It avoids the waste of duplication
of effort or misappropriation of resources. It organizes and divides labour
so as to take full advantage of individual strengths and abilities. The
shared goals of the team are measured and assessed by feedback systems
that help to keep everyone moving in the same direction. A committed
team develops a learning curve of experience. In the process of creating
projects and meeting challenges, a team develops effective policies and
standard operating procedures that enable it to handle reoccurring situations
with maximum efficiency and ease.
More: The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts. A committed
team has, as well as efficiency and planned action, the indefinable power
of synergistic action. As a team develops its own rhythm and harmony, it
moves beyond mere rational thought into a realm of intuitive group action.
Things happen which never could have been planned or predicted. The dynamic
force released when divergent energies become focused around common objectives
is truly awesome in its power to generate ideas, attract opportunities,
and execute action. 9
The dynamic force released when divergent
energies become
focused around common objectives is truly
awesome in it's
power to generate ideas, attract opportunities,
and execute action
Lawrence Boldt
General Strategies for Preventing Child Sexual Abuse
* Classroom-based instruction in personal safety geared to children's
developmental levels and cognitive abilities.
* Education promoting healthy sexuality.
* Parent-focused materials, workshops, and meetings to inforin them
about child sexual abuse and their role in preventing the sexual exploitation
of children.
* Education for professionals who work with children and coordination
between professionals, pohcy-makers, and researchers.
* Community and society-based efforts to support children and families
and reduce aspects of the social system that condone or promote abusive
behaviours.
* Public awareness efforts emphasizing that the prevention of child
sexual abuse is everyone's responsibility.
Be aware that there is some controversy around different approaches
to prevention programs aimed at children. Get as much information as possible
and choose approaches which fit with your goals and philosophy. Here are
some of the lessons learned from evaluations of prevention programs:
* Children are not protected solely by learning concepts. They also
need to learn and practise skills. Role-plays are an important way to do
this.
* Prevention programs can be successful without introducing potentially
anxiety-producing information about perpetrators and abuse.
* Evaluation should be an integral part of every program.
* Primary prevention does not work for all children. Those with low
self esteem benefit the least and need programming to raise self-esteem.
Increasing self-esteem should be the central focus of programs.
* Prevention efforts need to take account of variables such as children's
ages, and cultural and social class backgrounds. Others who need special
approaches include disabled and developmentally-delayed children and adolescents
and children who have already suffered abuse.
* Educating parents will reinforce school-based learning, increase the
detection of abused children by parents, improve the reactions of parents
to disclosures, and discourage potential abusers. Educating parents is
important because they often feel they lack the knowledge, vocabulary and
practice to speak about sexual matters.
* Although women are more likely to become involved in prevention programs,
it is vital that men are also involved in and educated by these efforts.
* Prevention efforts need to target professionals who have contact with
children (teachers, physicians, mental health professionals and police).
* The absence of explicit information on sexuality in some children's
programs can have several undesired consequences: it can limit children's
understanding of what sexual abuse really is; it fails to provide children
with words and phrases to talk about sexual activity, and this in turn
may inhibit them from trying to describe to an adult what happened to them;
the avoidance of explicit sexual content may be giving children the covert
message that adults still don't want to hear about it.
* The emphasis on how to avoid the coercive forms of sexuality may leave
children with the impression that sex is primarily negative. Programs often
try to leaven their approach by talking about positive touch, but almost
never do they discuss what might be positive sexuality.
* One serious problem with many standard prevention programs aimed at
children is that they place the onus on kids to stop abuse when they do
not have the power to do so.
* There is a dear need to develop programs aimed at current and potential
abusers, especially adolescent males.
It is clear that the successful prevention
programs define
what they are doing not merely in terms of
developing an
educational program, but in terms community
organization.
They have thought through political and organizational
issues,
and, although their ultimate goal may be the
education of
children, much of their initial effort is
directed to the community.
David Finkelhor
Messages About Healthy Sexuality
In the Care for Kids program, the most common messages about sexuality
and sexual abuse have been reworked into what many believe are more developmentally
appropriate messages for young children. These messages have been very
carefully worded so as to be simple, to avoid the major problems with past
messages, and to approximate, as closely as possible, more generic early
childhood messages so that children can receive repeated reinforcement
of these. Books, songs, crafts and home activity sheets are used to deliver
the following Care for Kids
messages.
"Our bodies are good and special, deserving of care and respect
(including our genitals). "
The added bracket is for the benefit of many adults who have learned
to exclude those parts from the original statement.
"Boys and girls have many parts that are the same, and a few parts
that are different. All body parts have names and can be talked
about respectfully."
In our society many families use nicknames for the genitals. Sometimes
sex educators have been judgemental about other people's words and have
insisted that children use the "proper" word for the genitals. Our insistence
that nicknames are wrong and dictionary words are right can create confusion
for a young child who may be punished for using the "right" words when
his / her caregivers are uncomfortable with that language. Rather than
involve children in this adult quarrel about labels, we have found it more
useful to simply acknowledge the fact that different families use different
names and "at school" we use the words penis, vulva and vagina, because
those are the words found in our books.
"Private parts are usually talked about in certain times, places
and situations. "
Private is an abstract concept, so little children are unable to grasp
its meaning in an adult sense. They can, however, use "private" as a category
and learn to list specific body parts, or places as "private" versus "public".
By talking about the genitals and age appropriate sexual matters to children
in a respectful, private manner, we stop teaching by exclusion that all
these things are "secret". Perpetrators of sexual abuse count on us to
teach children not to talk about "sex".
"Babies need a lot of help and deserve to be cared for and nurtured.Children,
as they grow, can do more for themselves, but still need anddeserve help
with some things."
It is known that perpetrators of sexual abuse lack the capacity to nurture
others. Although some abusers are "good with kids", it is selfishness which
motivates their "caring" behaviour, rather than concern for children. If
we are going to stop future child abuse from occurring we must start fostering
the development of genuine nurturing behaviours in both male and female
children.
"Girls and women do not always have to be nice and helpful Boys
and men do not always have to be tough, and able to handle everything."
Perpetrators of sexual abuse can use strong stereotyped messages to
con children into silence.
"Adults and older children have no business 'playing' with a child's
private parts. Sometimes adults need to help children with washing or wiping
the private parts, but that's not the same as playing with them'"
This message repeated by trusted adults can be very powerful. It is
important for all adults who care for the child to deliver this message
in the first person: "I have no business..." as well as in the third person:
"They or he has no business..."
"Adults and older children do not need help with their private
parts."
This message is intended to address sexual abuse situations where an
adult invites a child to touch the adult's genitals, but the child's private
parts are not touched.
"Everyone has all kinds of feelings, and they are all OK When
you don't know what you are feeling or have more than one feeling at the
same time, we call that 'mixed up'."
T'his message acknowledges that feelings are sometimes hard to express.
This message also serves to tell children that we recognize that people
aren't always "happy".
"When we are mixed up about anything (including touching, secrets,
feelings or private parts) we can ask adults for help."
Asking adults for help is something that most children do daily. This
phrasing fits more easily into a child's life experience than does "telling"
or "tattling on a grown up".
"Three or four adults, at home or at school, that I can ask for
help are: _______/_______/_______/."
These people must be specifically named and readily available. Listing
"community helpers" such as police officer, doctors, etc. is not very helpful
because young children have limited access to these individuals.
"Sometimes we like to be touched and sometimes we don't. It's
OK to say no to any kind of touching."
This message is delivered in a tone that gives children permission to
say no, but does not burden children with the responsibility that they
"should" or "must" say "NO".
"We don't touch a person who says 'no touching' or looks unhappy
about being touched."
Repeated daily exposure to, and experience with this message teaches
children to "read" unspoken or subtle body language and to respect other
people's boundaries.
"Sometimes we like to keep a secret, and sometimes we don't."
This message gives permission to enquire about secrets, or not keep
them. This is very different from the expectation that children can discriminate
between "good" versus "bad" secrets and the types that they "should" versus
"should not" keep.
"Touching is never a secret."
This rule is taken from Jan Hindman's work. This is the message that
we are trying to teach children with the last three messages, but the concept
is too abstract to be very useful with young children.
Produced by the Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Health Unit
What You Can Do
Educate Yourself as a Parent
* Explore and clarify how your attitudes, values and beliefs about
sexuality affect the way you respond to your child's questions and prevention
programs
* Inform yourself about normal and developmentally appropriate sexual
behaviour in children and young adults
* Learn ways to educate your children about child sexual abuse
* Find out about the signs and symptoms associated with abuse and how
and where to report suspected abuse
One of the things we know is that in order
to treat kids, you
have to treat the system around them. You
strengthen the
supports first because they are the people
that are there 24
hours-a-day. If that falls apart it really
doesn't matter what
you do in a therapy session.
Henry De Souza, social worker, Brockville
Psychiatric Hospital
Support a Child Who Discloses Abuse
Positive responses to victims when they disclose can lessen feelings
of self blame, isolation or anger and may help to reduce a child's trauma.
To be most supportive when a child discloses sexual abuse, take the steps
outlined below and don't try to carry out an investigation yourself.
Listen Openly and Calmly
Take the child to a quiet place. Allow the child to tell you what happened
in his or her own words, without pressing for details. Accept what the
child is telling you, even if it is difficult to believe. As you listen,
put aside your own feelings of anger, pain or fear, however intense they
may be. Don't overreact. You will need to be emotionally available and
give the child your full attention.
Reassure the Child
Talking about what happened is likely to cause the child some degree
of anxiety. Your supportive reaction will help the child cope with feelings
of guilt or confusion. It is important for anybody hearing a disclosure
to ease a child's fears by giving these important messages:
- Thank you for trusting me with this information.
- You are not to blame for the abuse.
- No one has the right to abuse children.
- I will try to help you.
- I need to get help to deal with this problem.
Write Down the Facts
Record the child's name, address and telephone number as well as date
and place of your conversation. As much as possible, details of the disclosure
should be recorded using the child's actual words. If the child has named
someone, write down the identity of that person as the child has described
him or her. Write down as much as you can, but proceed to make a report
even if you don't have all the information.
Why do we use the term survivor? "The term
victim
accurately denotes aspects of sexually abused
children's
experience and what was done to them. It is
not an
accurate term for what survivors achieve for
themselves."
Women's Research Centre
Report the Abuse Immediately
Child welfare legislation across Canada states that it is every citizen's
obligation to report suspected child abuse and neglect. These provisions
are binding on health care and social services personnel, teachers, the
police and the general public. In most jurisdictions, an individual having
knowledge of child abuse or having reasonable grounds to suspect a child
is in need of protection is directed to report to the local child protection
agency. Suspected cases may also be reported to the police. The duty to
report abuse overrides any claims of privilege of confidentiality with
the exception of the solicitor-client privilege in some provinces. Failure
to report may result in the laying of charges.
Support an Adult Who Discloses Abuse
- Believe the survivor
- Join with the survivor in validating the suffering
- Educate yourself about sexual abuse and the healing process
- Don't sympathize with the abuser
- Validate the survivor's feelings
- Express your compassion
- Respect the time and space it takes to heal
- Encourage the survivor to get support
- Get help ff the survivor is suicidal
- Resist seeing the survivor as a victim 10
Get Involved in Improving Your Community's Response
School Administrators
- Create multidisciplinary task forces to provide supportive
services to child victims and their families and work on prevention efforts
- Promote the concept of the school as a family support system
- Define clear policies for reporting cases of suspected abuse and support
staff in identifying and reporting suspected cases
- Support classroom-based instruction in child sexual abuse and sexuality
education
- Provide in-service training about child sexual abuse to all school
personnel
- Modify the school environment by eliminating sexist stereotypes, promoting
egalitarian behaviour and modelling non-violent ways of resolving conflicts
Community Leaders
- Assess what your community is doing to enhance public and professional
awareness of child sexual abuse
- Assess what resources exist for victims, offenders and families
- Assess what your community is doing to prevent child sexual abuse,
perhaps by sponsoring a task force
- Sponsor multidisciplinary committees to provide and coordinate identification,
prosecution and treatment services among professionals
- Advocate for public awareness programs to increase public sensitivity
to child sexual abuse
- Make children's needs a political and social priority
Community-wide communication at all levels
is the greatest
opponent of child sexual abuse. When parents,
professionals,
volunteers, social agencies, and children
of all ages interact,
awareness levels and protective capabilities
will increase.
Linda Graham and Marilyn Harris-Hart
Media
The media can help reduce child sexual abuse by providing information
to:
* Children - to help them recognize abuse and tell them where
they can get help
* Parents - to help them recognize abuse and assist victims
* Professionals - to inform them of their reporting responsibilities
* Perpetrators - to help them confront their rationalizations
for offending and inform them where they can get help
Community Group Members
- Lobby for federal, provincial and local programs for children
and families
- Advocate for healthy sexuality and personal safety programs in the
schools 11
The Big Picture: Priority Areas for Change
The following broad areas in need of change were identified as priority
themes underpinning all the recommendations aimed at eliminating child
sexual abuse in
Reaching for Solutions.
· Improve the coordination of current goverrunent and nongovernmental
systems to improve service delivery at the community level.
· Establish national and provincial strategies focused on providing
coordinated, sensitive services at the local level.
- Reduce turf barriers and competition between systems in order to improve
planning, services and the use of resources.
- Change the way children are socialized with regard to gender roles,
power relationships and attitudes toward sexuality.
- Allocate more resources for front-fine services such as investigation,
prosecution, healing and treatment and public education.
· Increase multidisciplinary education and training for front-line
staff and supervisors.
· Continue to reform the criminal justice system to better use
its power for the benefit and protection of children.
- Improve prevention through public education and the treatment of offenders.
- Establish a responsibility centre within the federal government to
maintain a continuing focus on chfldren's issues and to provide a vehicle
for planning and coordination within the federal government, with the provinces
and with voluntary and professional groups. 12
Attitudinal change is necessary for the ultimate
prevention
of sexual abuse... There is a need for change
in societal
attitudes toward women and children. Fundamental
change
in power relationships in families and in
society from a
patriarchal to an egalitarian structure is
ultimately
necessary to prevent exploitation and victimization.
Linda Graham and Marilyn Harris-Hart
NOTES
1. Taken from Dealing With Multi-Victim,
Multi-Offender Child Abuse Cases, Final Report of a Two-Day Consultation,
1992. Institute for the Prevention of Child Abuse. This document in turn
was partly based on the work of Rocci Pagnello, Pam Gummer and Jennifer
Blishen.
2. Sandy Wurtele and Cindy Miller-Perrin, Preventing
Child Sexual Abuse: Sharing the Responsibility, (Lincoln: University
of Nebraska Press, 1992) p. 138.
3. Wurtele and NEller-Perrin, Preventing Child
Sexual Abuse, p. 170.
4. Advisory Committee on Children's Issues, Children
First (Toronto: Ministry of Community and Social Services, 1990), p.
115.
5. Advisory Committee, Children First, p.
115.
6. Advisory Committee, Children First, P.
108.
7. Department of Health and Welfare, Child Sexual
Abuse: Strengthening Community Response - Guidelines for Community
Workers (Ottawa: Department of Supply and Services, 1989), pp 24-25.
8. Rix Rogers, Reaching for Solutions. 7he Report
of the Special Advisor to the Minister of National Health and Welfare onChild
Sexual Abuse in Canada (Ottawa: Department of Supply and Services Canada,
1990), p.81.
9. Taken from Zen and the Art of Making a Living
by
Laurence Boldt (New York: Arkana, 1991), p.310.
10. These were drawn from The Courage to Heal:
A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse by Ellen Bass and
Laura Davis (New York: Harper and Row, 1988), p. 316. For more information
on healing from child sexual abuse, please refer to this book and to Part
6, Readings and Resources on Child Sexual Abuse.
11. Wurtele and Miller-Perrin, Preventing Child
Sexual Abuse, P. 211.
12. Rogers, Reaching for Solutions, pp.
15-16.
QUOTES
Page 138 - Sandy Wurtele and Cindy Miller-Perrin, Preventing Child
Sexual Abuse: Sharing the Responsibility, (Lincoln: University
of Nebraska Press, 1992) p. 144.
Page 139 - 7he Mountain and Beyon& Resources for a Collaborative
Approach to Domestic Violence,
Report 2,
Research Findings, 1988, p.4.
Page 140 - Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs: 7he Existing
Network of Consultations, Conferences and Meetings; Research, Studies
and Resource Materials (Ottawa: National Clearinghouse on Family Violence,
1988), P. 6.
Page 141 - Trauma and Recovery (New York-- Basic Books, 1992),
p. 116.
Page 144 - Conspiracy of Silence: The Trauma of Incest (Volcano,
California: Volcano Press, 1985), pp. 196-197.
Page 146 - Zen and the Art of Making a Living (New York. Arkana,
1991), p.310.
Page 147 - Child Sexual Abuse: New Theory and Research (New
York: Free Press, 1984), P. 245.
Page 151 - Recollecting our Lives: Women's Experience of Childhood
Sexual Abuse (Vancouver: Press Gan& 1989), p. 22.
Page 152 - Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs, pp. 4-5.
Page 153 - Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs, p. 5.
Resources .........
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