Beyond the Headlines

COVERING CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

Most stories about child sexual abuse are breaking news: A popular coach is accused of molesting an athlete. Police announce the arrest of a dozen people caught in an online child pornography investigation.

So how do you move beyond reporting the basic facts of one case and tell more illuminating stories? Where can you find context and new story lines that will help your audience understand the risks – and what can be done to protect children?

Thanks to a grant from the Ms. Foundation for Women, the Journalism Center has produced new information to help. Sections include background on child sexual abuse and prevention; the characteristics and mental health treatment of people who offend; policy, law enforcement and prosecution; advice for reporting stories with care; and Q&As with leading experts. Each section features a topic overview, story ideas, sources and resources.

These backgrounders – covering the basics of child sexual abuse and prevention programs – are meant to help build your knowledge of child sexual abuse, which the American Medical Association has called a “silent epidemic.”

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Child sexual abuse (CSA) includes many behaviors under a single theme. The CSA information and prevention service Stop It Now provides this definition:

“All sexual touching between an adult and a child is sexual abuse. Sexual touching between children can also be sexual abuse when there is a significant age difference (often defined as 3 or more years) between the children or if the children are very different developmentally or size-wise."

Abusive physical contact or touching includes:

* Touching a child's genitals or private parts for sexual purposes
* Making a child touch someone else's genitals or play sexual game
* Putting objects or body parts (like fingers, tongue or penis) inside the vagina, in -the mouth or in the anus of a child for sexual purposes

Non-contact sexual abuse includes:

* Showing pornography to a child
* Deliberately exposing an adult's genitals to a child
* Photographing a child in sexual poses
* Encouraging a child to watch or hear sexual acts
* Inappropriately watching a child undress or use the bathroom

Sexually abusive images of children and the Internet. Non-contact abuse also includes the serious and growing problem of people making and downloading sexual images of children on the Internet. To view sexually abusive images of children is to participate in the abuse of a child, and may cause someone to consider sexual interactions with children as acceptable.

Adults who abuse children typically try to build a connection with the child before initiating abuse; experts call the process “grooming.” They may also use emotional coercion or threats. (A later module will explore why people, including juveniles, offend. For information on adult abusers, see “The 'Nice Guy' Molester” by Dan Malone, a Fort Worth Weekly reporter who wrote for the center’s former The Children’s Beat magazine.)

Adults believe that CSA is widespread and possibly preventable. The ACE Study, an ongoing health effects study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Kaiser Permanente, asked more than 17,000 adult Kaiser network members about their “ACEs,” or adverse childhood experiences. Respondents – whom the researchers described as generally well educated and middle class – reported significant rates of CSA: 16 percent of men and 25 percent of women said they had experienced contact child sexual abuse.

In 2000, 49 percent of respondents in a national survey called CSA a “serious problem." The Enough Abuse campaign, funded by the CDC to test prevention strategies and a public awareness campaign in Massachusetts reported similar public attitudes. Further, 83 percent of respondents in their 2003 survey said that CSA is definitely or somewhat preventable, but only 27 percent of respondents felt “very confident” they could identify if a child was being abused.

Children who are sexually abused often experience other types of neglect and abuse. Detection is rare. Impact can be substantial. Researchers find it difficult to estimate how many children experience CSA. Among the challenges in data gathering: Surveys show that only a fraction of cases – 30 percent or fewer – are ever reported to authorities; states use different definitions of CSA; and states may assign CSA cases to their criminal systems, so they may not be counted in child welfare data. There’s rarely medical or physical evidence of the crimes. And no single behavior will suggest that a child has experienced of sexual abuse.

For more on the sources and limitations of CSA data, see this useful explainer from the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.

State child protection authorities substantiated more than 88,000 cases that involved CSA in 2006. About 9 percent of children identified for other maltreatment were also found to be sexually abused.

But in Vermont, for example, where every CSA case is remanded to the child welfare system, there were 342 substantiated CSA incidents in 2007, compared with 153 incidents of physical abuse and 57 incidents of emotional abuse or neglect.

Another source of CSA data is law enforcement – although it’s important to note that the Department of Justice’s National Crime Victimization Survey does not include victims under age 12. In 2001, the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that approximately 225,500 sex crimes against children were reported to police in 18 states. A year earlier, the Bureau published a survey of child sexual assaults reported to law enforcement that found:

• 67 percent of all reported victims of sexual assault were juveniles (under age 18);
• 34 percent of victims were under age 12;
• 1 of every 7 victims was under age 6;
• 40 percent of those who victimized children under age 6 were also juveniles
(under age 18).

Other national data can be broken down by state. The CDC’s Healthy Youth survey reports the percentage of students who have been physically forced to have sexual intercourse. To find state data, choose "violence," then "forced to have sexual intercourse.”

The ACE Study continues to investigate a connection between adverse childhood experiences and health and social outcomes later in life. While many people are resilient, the researchers find that the more ACEs a child has, the greater likelihood that the adult years will be marked by problems such as re-victimization, serious disease and early death.

Overwhelmingly, a child is abused by someone she or he knows. Studies confirm that about half of abusers are acquaintances, and family members account for up to one third of cases. Strangers make up the smallest group of perpetrators, anywhere from 7 percent to 25 percent, depending on the research.* Survey data suggest that girls are much more likely to experience CSA than boys, though advocates warn that CSA may be even more undercounted among boys. Studies referenced by the Crimes Against Children Research Center found that girls were the victimized in at least 78 percent of reported cases.

*Note: The trend holds for victims of all ages: Nearly three-quarters of all sexual assaults are perpetrated by a non-stranger.

The prevention of child sexual abuse is a safety issue. Society protects children through a mix of laws, research-based guidelines and common sense protections – from car seat laws to standard vaccination schedules and childproof gun locks. Child sexual abuse is a safety issue, too, say those who work in the field – a form of violence from which children should be better protected.

Registries are one tool. In recent years, public policy has been strongly focused on keeping children safe by publicly identifying those charged with or convicted of various sexual offenses. While affirming the need to keep dangerous people away from children, CSA advocates point out several weaknesses of a registry centered approach to child protection. Most cases aren’t reported to authorities, so registries will never be comprehensive. Scanning a registry can make a parent feel as though she’s taken action, while active parenting provides the best protection from abuse. And mug shots can send the message that molesters look scary, while abusers rarely do. (Registries will be further examined in another module.)

To engage the public, prevention efforts have to overcome the “yuck factor.” What’s needed, prevention advocates say, is comprehensive community education about the risks of CSA and strategies for protecting children. In surveys cited above, the public identified child sexual abuse as a serious social problem. Prevention workers admit that there is a “yuck factor” that makes it difficult to talk about CSA. But the problem is so widespread that people may be willing to learn. In Massachusetts’ Enough Abuse poll, 69 percent of respondents said they would participate in a prevention training program “to protect my own children” or because “it’s an important issue.”

CSA prevention information is meant to give adults the language and confidence to talk to their children about sex without trying to make them imagine unfathomable dangers. Educators agree that children should not be made responsible for protecting themselves – they are not prepared for that role, just as they’re not prepared to cross the street alone.

The child learns to properly name her body parts and understand boundaries – even if a molester calls abuse a “game.” Further, the child is assured that she can tell her parent anything – that the parent won’t get mad and the child will be believed and protected. That last point is especially important, educators say. If children lack that confidence, the abuser can paint a frightening picture that practically assures her silence.

Little money for CSA prevention. The biggest challenge in CSA prevention, say advocates, is that little money is available for the work. Because child welfare data may seriously undercount the percentage of children experiencing CSA, prevention dollars have to compete with higher profile needs, including the sexual assault of adults.

In 2002, the CDC issued its first grants around CSA prevention. Three-year grants were given to pilot Massachusetts’ Enough Abuse community prevention campaigns and two other projects. Minnesota’s Project Pathfinder received a grant to expand outreach and treatment for adults and juveniles who have abused children or believe they’re at risk of doing so. And in Georgia, Prevent Child Abuse created a public information campaign around CSA prevention.

Jetta Bernier, who led the Massachusetts pilot program, says that part of the challenge in getting funding for CSA prevention is that most federal money goes for scientific research, and it’s difficult to prove that campaigns change behavior and actively thwart abuse. Prevention educators cite anecdotes of children who were protected and potential offenders who got help, and the results of surveys that show people learned the facts, but none of those effects meet the scientific gold standard for impact, Bernier said. “There is some thoughtful, solid work being done” on prevention, she said. “We need support for promising practices.”

Bernier and others are hoping that social spending included in the federal stimulus package will include money for CSA prevention. Bernier’s three year grant from the CDC was extended to five years and the campaign was praised as “trailblazing” by Rodney Hammond, director of the CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention. But no similar grants have been made available. While the three communities engaged in the pilot have continued to work on CSA prevention, Bernier has no funds to widely disseminate the model.

“We showed that there was hope and people in action,” she said. “People need to know there is something they can do.”

Child Abuse Prevention Month Begins Tomorrow

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Child Abuse Prevention Month. As the nation turns its attention to healthy child development and child abuse prevention over the next 30 days, we wanted to highlight four ways each of us can make a difference next month and throughout the year:

a. Educate yourself and others on the issue of child abuse and neglect prevention.

b. Advocate for effective implementation of local healthy child development and child abuse prevention efforts.

c. Donate financially or through the contribution of professional expertise to a local charity that supports children and families.

d. Participate by volunteering for a local charity that supports children and families, or asking their local school boards, community centers, faith-based organizations, youth sports leagues, summer camps and the like to incorporate child abuse prevention and healthy child development into their dialogues and programs.

Watch for more announcements throughout the month!

Thank you, the SACA Team
(Society Against Child Abuse)

Thank you! I am going to copy this and send it to everyone at work.

Your welcome Charm. Thank you for spreading the word.

It was not until the 19th century that children were granted the same legal status as domesticated animals with regard to protection against cruelty and/or neglect. In 1962, the term "battered child syndrome" became part of the medical vocabulary and by 1976 all of the states in the United States had adopted laws mandating the reporting of suspected child abuse.

What is the scope of the child abuse problem?

Child abuse is a worldwide problem affecting children from birth to 18 years of age. The most recent U.S. data dates from 2005, during which 3.3 million reports of abuse and neglect were filed. About 60% of these reports warranted investigation with one-half of these allegations substantiated. These data indicate the incidence of child abuse and neglect to be 12.1 per 1,000 children; 1,460 children (four children/day) died in 2005 as a result of inflicted trauma with more than 77% of these deaths in children less than 4 years of age.

While "reports" of alleged child abuse are not always substantiated during the investigation process, most authorities believe that a large underreporting bias is inherent in the data. There is much more child abuse than gets reported.

What age child is abused?

All ages of children suffer from child abuse and neglect. Research has shown, however, that risk factors exist making it more likely that certain children may be abused. These risk factors include

1. age: 67% of abused children are less than 1 year old; 80% are less than 3 years old;


2. past history of abuse: Repeated abuse has been shown to occur more than 50% of the time; repeatedly abused children have a 10% chance of sustaining a lethal event;


3. children with learning disabilities, speech/language disorders and mental retardation;


4. children with congenital anomalies (malformations) and chronic/recurrent conditions; and


5. adopted and foster children.

Complicating the collection of data is the general underreporting of child abuse. Very young children are incapable of verbally communicating the harm inflicted on them. Other factors such as fear, guilt, or confusion about the abuser's erratic behavior may also hinder younger children from informing on their abuser.

Are girls more often abused than boys?

Yes. Girls are somewhat more likely to be abused. According to statistics published in 1996, about 52% of victims of maltreatment were female and 48% were male. Data obtained in the federally funded 2005 study demonstrate no significant change in these values.

Is the pattern of abuse different for girls and boys?

Studies have shown a consistent pattern regarding the abuse and neglect inflicted on children of different genders. Approximately 75% of sexual abuse is inflicted upon girls. Girls also are more likely to suffer from emotional abuse and neglect. Boys, on the other hand, are more likely to experience physical trauma (other than sexual abuse). When focusing solely on cause of death, studies indicate fathers are more likely to kill their child via physical abuse, while mothers kill by neglect (for example, starvation).

What is known about the perpetrators of child abuse?

Over 75% of inflicted abuse is a result of parental action. Parental risk factors include young or single parents, those who did not graduate from high school, and those who either were abused themselves as children or endured a severely dysfunctional home life. Adults using drugs, abusing alcohol, and those with psychiatric disease (for example, depression, impulse-control disorders) are more likely to abuse children. Females account for 61% of perpetrators.

A common theme when interviewing abusive individuals is an unrealistic expectation of infant or child behaviors. Often they expect developmental-milestone maturity beyond the age of the child (such as toilet training). Commonly, the child is incapable of providing what many parents anticipate to be unconditional love. The normally self-centered nature of childhood behavior clashes with the abusive adult's expectations with disastrous results.

Is there an association between poverty and child abuse?

While children of families in all income levels suffer maltreatment, research suggests that family income is strongly related to incidence rates. Children from families with annual incomes below $15,000 per year are more than 25 times more likely than children from families with annual income above $30,000 to be harmed or endangered by abuse or neglect. Poverty clearly predisposes to child abuse. Currently, social scientists are questioning the previous interpretation of such data. Recently new research is challenging this belief. Some argue that poor families have increased contact with reporting agencies -- social workers, police, etc. Some also argue that affluent families are more often given the "benefit of the doubt" by those who might be more suspicious of poorer means. In addition, wealthier families are felt to have a better access to legal counsel that, realistically or not, provide an "escape hatch" from investigation and prosecution.

Who abuses children?

According to the statistics, the majority of perpetrators of child mistreatment (77%) are parents and another 11% are other relatives of the victim. People who are in other caretaking relationships to the victim (for example, child-care providers, foster parents, and facility staff) account for only 2% of the offenders. About 10% of all perpetrators are classified as non-caretakers or unknown. In many states, child abusers by definition must be in a caretaking role.

An estimated 81% of all offenders are under age 40. Overall, approximately 61% of perpetrators are female, although the gender of the abuser differs by the type of mistreatment. Neglect and medical neglect are most often attributed to female caretakers, while sexual abuse is most often associated with male offenders.

What is child abuse?

A broad definition of child abuse implies purposeful and serious injury inflicted upon a child by a caregiver. Specific countries and ethnic groups have developed sometimes widely divergent definitions. In the United States, each state is responsible for drafting definitions for child abuse and neglect consistent with federal law. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, amended in October 1996, provides the basis from which individual states may structure their legislation.

Four broad categories are generally recognized:

1. neglect (63%);


2. physical abuse (16%);


3. sexual abuse (10%) and;


4. emotional abuse (7%) (2005 national data).

What does the term child neglect include?

Child neglect is the most frequently reported form of child abuse (63% of all cases) and the most lethal.

Neglect is defined as the failure to provide for the shelter, safety, supervision, and nutritional needs of the child. Child neglect may be physical, educational, or emotional. The assessment of child neglect requires the consideration of cultural values and standards of care as well as the recognition that the failure to provide the necessities of life may be related to poverty.

Physical neglect includes the refusal or delay in seeking health care, abandonment, inadequate supervision, expulsion from the home, or refusal to allow a runaway to return home.

Educational neglect includes the allowance of chronic truancy, failure to enroll a child of mandatory school age in school, and failure to attend to a special educational need.

Emotional neglect involves a marked inattention to the child's needs for affection, refusal of or failure to provide needed psychological care, spousal abuse or parental substance abuse in the child's presence, and permission of drug or alcohol use by the child.

What actions are viewed as physical child abuse?

Physical abuse is the second most frequently reported form of child abuse (16% of all cases).

This form of mistreatment is defined as willful (as opposed to accidental) physical injury inflicted upon the child. Physical abuse can be the result of punching, beating, kicking, biting, burning, shaking, or otherwise harming the child's body. The parent or caretaker may not have intended to hurt the child; rather, the injury may have resulted from excessive disciplinary efforts or physical punishment.

There exists a significant controversy regarding physical methods of discipline (for example, spanking) and their relationship to more orthodox forms of physical abuse. A unique form of physical child abuse is Munchausen syndrome by proxy. In this situation, a parent will purposely either invent symptoms and falsify records (for example, fever) resulting in unnecessary tests, hospitalizations, and even surgical procedures. This psychiatric illness of the parent(s) requires a high index of suspicion, and its consideration is part of the investigation of any child with recurrent complaints that are not supported by physical or laboratory findings.

What constitutes emotional child abuse?

Isolated emotional abuse is the least frequently reported form of child abuse (7% of all cases). This form is felt to be markedly underreported since it can be difficult to detect and document.

However, since it is a component of all forms of child abuse, it is the most pervasive of all the previously listed forms of child abuse. There are several categories of emotional abuse and they may occur as unique experiences or together in the same child. They include

1. rejecting (for example, refusing to acknowledge the child's worth and emotional needs),


2. isolation (denying the child social experiences: locking child in the closet is an extreme example),


3. terrorizing (verbal assault with or without weapons),


4. ignoring (refusing to show affection),


5. corrupting (reinforcing destructive, antisocial, or sexually exploitative behaviors),


6. verbal assault (extreme sarcasm, name calling, public humiliation), and


7. over-pressuring (criticism of age-appropriate behaviors/skills as inadequate).

Emotional child abuse is also sometimes termed psychological child abuse, verbal child abuse, or mental injury of a child.

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