CHILD SEX ABUSE PUBLICATIONS
PUBLICATIONS
In Peer-on-peer Child Sexual Abuse, States Differ on Who’s a Peer
The phrase “peer on peer child sexual abuse” is well known. It implies an exploitative sexual relationship of one minor by another. But who is a “peer”? From the Latin word par the term infers equality. A dictionary definition of the word “peer” as a noun is “a person of the same age, the same social position, or having the same abilities as other people in a group,” or “one that is of equal standing with another.” thodox Judaism, and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
By Daniel Pollack & Lori Kornblum | July 2020
Organizations in every field and across the United States have policies that permit widespread, institutional child sex abuse. While it occurs under a diverse range of conditions, the phenomenon of covering up child sex abuse has a set of consistent characteristics: the protection of adult offenders through internal processes, the prioritization of the organization’s reputation at all costs, and the ignorance of red flags and conditions that endanger children. This chapter highlights five religious organizations with practices contributing to cultures that cover-up ongoing child sex abuse—the Roman Catholic Church, Southern Baptist Convention, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
By Marci Hamilton | February 2020
You are a teacher, a child care worker, a program administrator, or any other person who has contact with children. One day, you observe a child engaged in highly abnormal sexual play…. You know from experience working with children that this is unusual. Perhaps a child hints that they may have been physically or sexually abused. What should you do?
By Daniel Pollack & Lori S. Kornblum | July 2019
“By analyzing the allegations of child sexual abuse, Miragoli et al. (2017) illustrated that children with PTSD symptoms, compared with children without PTSD symptoms, were less able to provide grammatically cohesive and consistent narratives. In particular, PTSD predicted the use of subordinating conjunctions among the clauses and the orientation level (who, what, when and where) to provide a general sense of the traumatic event.” “in children with PTSD profile, the marked attention of self and the scarcity of other linguistic devices (conjunctions, cognitive and insight words) contributed to give less coherence to their traumatic narratives” These “findings could contribute to the understanding of childhood trauma and autobiographical memory functioning and underscore the importance of considering the role of PTSD in legal testimony of children who have been sexually abused. “
US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health | February 19, 2019
Past trauma may haunt your future health
A rocky childhood. A violent assault. A car accident. If these are in your past, they could be affecting your present health. These are all examples of traumatic events — which, in psychological terms, are incidents that make you believe you are in danger of being seriously injured or losing your life, says Andrea Roberts, a research scientist with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Research shows that these events can trigger emotional and even physical reactions that can make you more prone to a number of different health conditions, including heart attack, stroke, obesity, diabetes, and cancer.
Harvard Women’s Health Watch | February, 2019
Sexting, Schools, and Law Enforcement: Where Does Child Protective Services Fit In?
Daniel Pollack | December 2018
Gymnastics. Soccer. Swimming. Skating. Whatever the sport, even the nicest parents can lose their cool when they’re rooting for their own child. To remind parents that good sportsmanship really is more important than winning, youth sport leagues have developed codes of conduct for parents. These usually mention things like not arguing or getting physical with the officials, coaches, or other parents; not cursing; and not heaping blame on anyone if your child’s team loses. These rules of conduct are usually so obvious that they hardly need to be spelled out. Other rules for parents of children involved in competitive sports are not so obvious.
Great article by Dan Pollack, with a feature on the Game Over Commission to Protect Youth Athletes.
Children, Sports, and Sexual Predators: Ten Commandments for Parents to Follow
Daniel Pollack | December 2018
Sexting. You won’t find the word in any 20th century dictionary. A combination of “sex” and “texting,” sexting is the exchange of explicit pictures via cell phone. Sometimes the photographs are shared voluntarily. Often, an element of coercion is present. In either case, once the photographs are sent, they can subsequently be used to embarrass, intimidate, or bully.
Children and the Law, Textbook
Marci Hamilton & Martin Gardner (Carolina Academic Press) | Fall 2017
Professor Marci Hamilton joins Professor Martin Gardner in this new edition of Children and the Law, which has been comprehensively updated. Hamilton is one of the leading legal academics in the United States on issues involving child sex abuse in many contexts. She brings her expertise to this new edition with cutting-edge materials on the epidemic of child sex abuse in institutions and the family and the legal developments that have followed. This edition continues to focus on the foundation of children’s rights in Supreme Court cases, and to be an accessible and readable textbook for undergraduate, law, and graduate students.
The barriers to a national inquiry into child sexual abuse in the United States
The International Journal, Child Abuse & Neglect, 74, 107-110 (2017) • Professor Marci A. Hamilton | October 9, 2017
There is an often-overlooked but critical factor at the center of institutional child sexual abuse that must be acknowledged and addressed: adults tend to place the interest of institutions and other adults above the protection of children. As the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has shown, this phenomenon is evident across institutional settings and any institutional reform aimed at improving child safety must therefore guard against this tendency if it is to be effective in protecting children. In the United States there are also other barriers to dealing with child sexual abuse in institutional contexts. State gov- ernment responses to the challenges of child sexual abuse have varied. However, the federal governmsent has been silent on the problem of religious institutional sexual abuse. This com- mentary considers how the politics of religious liberty in the United States inhibits action by protecting institutions that cover up child sexual abuse.
The International Journal, Child Abuse & Neglect • Volume 74, Pages 1–114
Edited by Katie Wright, Shurlee Swain, Kathleen McPhillips | December 2017
This collection contains the following articles related to child abuse and neglect: The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse; Remaking collective knowledge: An analysis of the complex and multiple effects of inquiries into historical institutional child abuse; Toward a more comprehensive analysis of the role of organizational culture in child sexual abuse in institutional contexts; The impacts of institutional child sexual abuse: A rapid review of the evidence; The characteristics of reports to the police of child sexual abuse and the likelihood of cases proceeding to prosecution after delays in reporting; Judges’ delivery of ground rules to child witnesses in Australian courts; Children and young people’s views on institutional safety: It’s not just because we’re little; Optimising implementation of reforms to better prevent and respond to child sexual abuse in institutions: Insights from public health, regulatory theory, and Australia’s Royal Commission; The impact of Australia’s Royal Commission on child- and youth-serving organizations; The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and the Roman Catholic Church; The barriers to a national inquiry into child sexual abuse in the United States; Getting evidence into action to tackle institutional child abuse.
Nick Joyner | April 16, 2016
“Can you imagine being a child in the Catholic church and having a priest pay attention to you?,” commented Dr. Steven J. Berkowitz, halfway through his talk about sex abuse and childhood trauma at the 2016 Levin Family Dean’s Forum. A yearly celebration of liberal arts in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Forum this past Wednesday discussed “How Hollywood is Spotlighting Social Change,” and brought together a panel of social scientists and a writer and actor who worked on this year’s Best Picture–winning Spotlight.
Kamala London, et al.
Although it is widely acknowledged that the sexual assault of children is a major societal concern, it is not known how many children in the United States are victims of sexual abuse (Ceci & Friedman, 2000). There are two major reasons for this lack of data. First, current estimates of the incidence of child sexual abuse (CSA) do not reflect the number of unreported cases or the number of cases reported to agencies other than Child Protective Services (e.g., sheriff’s offices or professionals such as mental health diversion programs). Second, the diagnosis of CSA is often difficult because definitive medical or physical evidence is lacking or inconclusive in the vast majority of cases . . .
BMC Public Health • Published March 27, 2014 • Volume 14, Issue ; Pages 282 •Spröber N1, Schneider T, Rassenhofer M, Seitz A, Liebhardt H, König L, Fegert JM
“The disclosure of widespread sexual abuse committed by professional educators and clergymen in institutions in Germany ignited a national political debate, in which special attention was paid to church-run institutions. We wanted to find out whether the nature of the abuse and its effect on victims differed depending on whether the abuse had been experienced in religiously affiliated versus secular institutions.”
We Failed Our Children For Too Long: The Case for SOL Reform
The Advocate • Marci Hamilton | Fall 2017
Once upon a time there was a wall of ignorance and secrecy constructed around child sex abuse. The twenty- rst century is the rst century in which we have successfully broken through that wall only to discover a horrifying sight: millions of adults who were sexually abused as children have been living in the darkness of shame, intimidation, and humiliation. Sure, we had heard of “incest” and “sex abuse” but they were sporadic, individual accounts and the media declined to cover the issue for fear of o ending readers. The result: there was no pattern in front of us . . . .
God vs. the Gavel: The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty
Cambridge University Press • Professor Marci A. Hamilton | 2014
Clergy sex abuse, polygamy, children dying from faith healing, companies that refuse to do business with same-sex couples, and residential neighborhoods forced to host homeless shelters – what do all of these have in common? They are all examples of religious believers harming others and demanding religious liberty regardless of the harm. This book unmasks those responsible, explains how this new set of rights is not derived from the First Amendment and argues for a return to common-sense religious liberty. In straightforward, readable prose, God vs. the Gavel: The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty sets the record straight about the United States’ move toward extreme religious liberty. More than half of this thoroughly revised second edition is new content, featuring a new introduction and epilogue and contemporary stories. All Americans need to read this Pulitzer-nominated, before they or their friends and family are harmed by religious believers exercising their newfound rights.
Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children
Cambridge University Press (2008; paperback with new preface, 2012) • Professor Marci A. Hamilton
Recent events such as the clergy abuse scandal in the Catholic Church have brought the once-taboo subject of childhood sexual abuse to the forefront. But despite increasing awareness of the problem, the United States has not succeeded in establishing effective means of deterring and preventing it, leaving the children of today and tomorrow vulnerable. Hamilton proposes a comprehensive yet simple solution: eliminate the arbitrary statutes of limitation for childhood sexual abuse so that survivors past and present can get into court. Removing this merely procedural barrier permits the millions of survivors to make public the identities of their perpetrators and to receive justice and much-deserved compensation. Standing in the way, however, are formidable opponents such as the insurance industry and the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. In Justice Denied, Hamilton predicts a coming civil rights movement for children and explains why it is in the interest of all Americans to allow victims of childhood sexual abuse this chance to seek justice when they are ready.
The Lasting Damage of Child Abuse
The Huffington Post • Scott Mendelson, M.D. | NOVEMBER 28, 2016
Abused children may grow up to be adults prone to depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and other disorders. They are more prone to suicide. However, in recent years we have learned that abuse does more than wound self-esteem and break the spirit. It can damage the very substance of the brain . . .
Rabbis With a Conscience Make History
Verdict • Marci A. Hamilton | APRIL 28, 2016
So far in the 21 century, U.S. religious leaders are best known for negative positions like their demands for a “free exercise right” to discriminate against LGBTQ individuals, a 1st Amendment right to discriminate against their own ministers, a right of secular employers to deprive women . . .
The 12 Punch the Catholic Bishops Have Delivered to Clergy Sex Abuse Victims
Verdict • Marci A. Hamilton & Steven Berkowitz | MARCH 29, 2016
Spotlight is a motion picture with a purpose: to deliver the truth of how every adult that could have halted the sex abuse by Catholic priests in the Boston Archdiocese did not. Children were betrayed by priests, bishops, parents, lawyers, journalists, and the buddy culture of men in power.
Why the Victims of Bill Cosby Are My Heroes
Verdict • Marci A. Hamilton | OCTOBER 15, 2015
Dozens of women have now come forth in the public square to point a finger at Bill Cosby for drugging and raping them. Their stories are consistent, consistent, consistent, and but for the statutes of limitations (SOLs), he would be facing jail in a series of states.
Poll of New York State Voters in Target State Senate Districts!
September 2013
This poll of New Yorkers, conducted by FrederickPolls, contains wide-ranging information about voter opinions regarding lawsuit access for victims of child abuse. In addition to access to justice for victims, the poll breaks down perceived voter impact of various types of reform.
Telling Interviewers About Sexual Abuse: Predictors of Child Disclosure at Forensic Interviews
Vol. 14 Child Maltreatment Number 1 • Tonya Lippert, Theodore P. Cross, Lisa Jones and Wendy Walsh | FEBRUARY 2009
This study aims to identify characteristics that predict full disclosure by victims of sexual abuse during a forensic interview. Data came from agency files for 987 cases of sexual abuse between December 2001 and December 2003 from Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) and comparison communities within four U.S. states. Cases of children fully disclosing abuse when interviewed were compared to cases of children believed to be victims who gave no or partial disclosures. The likelihood of disclosure increased when victims were girls, a primary caregiver was supportive, and a child’s disclosure instigated the investigation. The likelihood of disclosure was higher for children who were older at abuse onset and at forensic interview (each age variable having an independent effect). Communities differed on disclosure rate, with no difference associated with having a CAC. Findings suggest factors deserving consideration prior to a forensic interview, including organizational and community factors affecting disclosure rates.
Pathways to Poly-Victimization
Vol. 14 Child Maltreatment, Number 4 • David Finkelhor, Richard Ormrod, Heather Turner, Melissa Holt | NOVEMBER, 2009
Some children, whom we have labeled poly-victims, experience very high levels of victimizations of different types. This article finds support for a conceptual model suggesting that there may be four distinct pathways to becoming such a polyvictim: (a) residing in a dangerous community, (b) living in a dangerous family, (c) having a chaotic, multiproblem family environment, or (d) having emotional problems that increase risk behavior, engender antagonism, and compromise the capacity to protect oneself. It uses three waves of the Developmental Victimization Survey, a nationally representative sample of children aged 2–17 years. All four hypothesized pathways showed significant independent association with polyvictim onset. For the younger children, the symptom score representing emotional problems was the only significant predictor. For the older children, the other three pathway variables were significant predictors—dangerous communities, dangerous families, and problem families—but not symptom score. Poly-victimization onset was also disproportionately likely to occur in the year prior to children’s 7th and 15th birthday, corresponding roughly to the entry into elementary school and high school. The identification of such pathways and the ages of high onset should help practitioners design programs for preventing vulnerable children from becoming poly-victims.
Exploring the disclosure of child sexual abuse with alleged victims and their parents
31 Child Abuse & Neglect 111–123 • Irit Hershkowitz, Omer Lanes, Michael E. Lamb | February 20, 2007
Objective: The goal of the present studywas to examine howchildren disclosed sexual abuse by alleged perpetrators who were not family members.
Methodology: Thirty alleged victims of sexual abuse and their parents were interviewed. The children were interviewed using the NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol by six experienced youth investigators. The same principles were followed when the parents were asked to describe in detail what had happened since the abusive incidents. The statements made by the children and parents were then content analyzed. Major characteristics of the children’s and parents’ reported behaviors were identified by two independent raters.
Findings: More than half (53%) of the children delayed disclosure for between 1 week and 2 years, fewer than half first disclosed to their parents, and over 40% did not disclose spontaneously but did so only after they were prompted; 50% of the children reported feeling afraid or ashamed of their parents’ responses, and their parents indeed tended to blame the children or act angrily. The disclosure process varied depending on the children’s ages, the severity and frequency of abuse, the parents’ expected reactions, the suspects’ identities, and the strategies they had used to foster secrecy.
Conclusions: The children’s willingness to disclose abuse to their parents promptly and spontaneously decreased when they expected negative reactions, especially when the abuse was more serious. A strong correlation between predicted and actual parental reactions suggested that the children anticipated their parents’ likely reactions very well.
Grooming and Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Contexts
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Sydney, Australia • Professor Patrick O’Leary, Emma Koh, and Andrew Dare | MARCH 10, 2017
Recent efforts to clarify definitions of grooming in research reflect an increased awareness of the diverse range of settings in which grooming may occur, as well as the diverse range of targets and purposes of grooming techniques…
Lessons Learned from my Advocacy & the “Plywood” Model
Kol v’Oz Global Summit on Child Sexual Abuse at the United Jewish Association (UJA) in New York, NY • Christopher Anderson | FEBRUARY 11, 2017
‘Like Walking Through a Hailstorm’: Discrimination against LGBT Youth in US Schools
Human Rights Watch | DECEMBER 22, 2016
Outside the home, schools are the primary vehicles for educating, socializing, and providing services to young people in the US. Schools can be difficult environments for students, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, but they are often especially unwelcoming for LGBT youth.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence • Scott D. Easton, PhD, ACSW, LMSW; Danielle M. Leone-Sheehan, MSN, RN; and Patrick J. O’Leary, PhD| DECEMBER 22, 2016
Clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse (CPSA) during childhood represents a tragic betrayal of trust that inflicts damage on the survivor, the family, and the parish community. Survivors often report CPSA has a disturbing impact on their self-identity.
Link between child abuse and alcoholism.
SOL Reform • Joseph Nowinski, Ph.D. | NOVEMBER 28, 2016
A study reported in June 2013 edition of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research provides valuable insight into the relationship of childhood abuse and later alcohol abuse.
The Rules Against Scandal and What They Mean for the First Amendment’s Religion Clauses
Maryland Law Review • Marci A. Hamilton | NOVEMBER 28, 2016
Theorizing about religious liberty and the Constitution tends to operate in a sphere divorced from fact. Cases are couched in the following terms: A sincere religious believer is pitted against an impersonal, domineering, and/or insensitive government.
Cardozo Law Review • Marci A. Hamilton| NOVEMBER 28, 2016
The catastrophe of childhood sexual abuse by clergy in the U.S. was caused by multiple social forces that came together to put children at risk. The phenomenon is nondenominational, with cases involving the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Jehovah’s Witness