History of child sexual abuse as a social problem
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please discuss this issue on the talk page or replace this tag with a more specific message. This article has been tagged since December 2005. |
Child sexual abuse has gained a great deal of public attention in the past few decades. Various factors in the recent years have generated such a public hysteria regarding sexual abuse that it has become one of the most high-profile crimes, especially in America. Since the 1970s the sexual abuse of children and child molestation has transformed into a highly publicized and culturally intolerable crime. While sexual abuse has been prevalent throughout history, it has only become the object of such public attention in recent times.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] General sexual abuse
Although virtually every society restricts sexual activity between adults and children, the legal definition of child abuse in the West has its roots in the Middle Ages. At the end of the Middle Ages general consent for a young girl to engage in sex with an adult was about ten to twelve years of age. Christianity heavily influenced formal views on sex and the age of consent during this time. For Christians, sexual activity was strictly limited to reproductive purposes. Any sexual activity outside of limited reproductive purposes was considered deviant. At this point, those engaging in intercourse were considered married.
The Reformation brought with it the establishment of formal marriages and extramarital sex was considered taboo. Young women that were sexually abused were considered the perpetrators of adultery and only very young girls were viewed as victims. This first concept of an official and legal age of consent occurred in England under the rule of Edward I in 1275. This idea spread throughout Europe and later to the American colonies.
The first published work dedicated specifically to child sexual abuse appeared in France in 1857: Medical-Legal Studies of Sexual Assault (Etude Médico-Légale sur les Attentats aux Mœurs), by Auguste Ambroise Tardieu, the noted French pathologist and pioneer of forensic medicine (Masson, 1984, pp. 15-25).
During the French Revolution, the legal marriage age was increased to eighteen to twenty one years in most countries, but many laws concerning sexual relations outside of marriage were repealed, leaving many youth unprotected. Prior to the 19th century, children were considered to be small adults. In the early 19th century, adolescence became a time of preparation for adulthood, and child roles became evident. Rigid standards for sexuality also developed and there was a greater emphasis on purity. In the 19th century there was a movement away from punishing immoral sexual acts and towards protecting certain groups. Cultures formed distinct opinions of the nature of sexual abuse.
[edit] The rise of public concern
Child sexual abuse became a public issue in the 1970s and 1980s. Prior to this point in time sexual abuse remained rather secretive and socially unspeakable. Child sexual abuse only came an issue after laws that protected cruelty to children were established. In the late 1800s the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was formed and by 1900 there were 161 similar groups. This legal action was in response to a high profile case in 1874 known as the Mary Ellen case, which involved the abuse of a small child.
In 1900 children were given equal status as domesticated animals under the law. Studies on child molestation were nonexistent until the 1920s and the first national estimate of the number of child sexual abuse cases was published in 1948. By 1968 forty four states had enacted mandatory laws that required physicians to report cases of suspicious child abuse. Legal action began to become more prevalent in the 1970s with the enactment of the Child Abuse and Treatment Act in 1974 in conjunction with the creation of the National Center for Child Abuse and Neglect. Since the creation of the Child Abuse and Treatment Act, reported child abuse cases have increased dramatically. Finally, the National Abuse Coalition was created in 1979 to create pressure in congress to create more sexual abuse laws. In 1986, Congress passed the Child Abuse Victims' Rights Act, giving children a civil claim in sexual abuse cases. The number of laws created in the 1980s and 1990s began to create greater prosecution and detection of Child Sexual Abusers. During the 1970s a large transition began in the legislature related to Child Sexual Abuse. Megan's Law which was enacted in 2004 gives the public access to knowledge of sexual predators nationwide.
[edit] Issues provoking public concern
[edit] Feminism
The 1970s and 1980s brought with it a movement of liberation from sexual repression. Feminists sparked this movement in their efforts to gain public concern for the misogynistic nature of society and the sexual repression that women felt for centuries. In an attempt to blur gender role divisions and create equality, feminists also laid out a platform for a new view of child sexuality. Feminists challenged the view of children being the seducers, thereby reinterpreting child-adult sexual encounters. Feminists also publicized findings that disputed the common myth of "stranger danger". Feminists groups publicized statistics revealing that family members and acquaintances were the primary child predators. Finally, feminists protested rape and pornography in an attempt to change traditional patriarchal values. Feminists asserted that pornography led to the exploitation of women and children and furthered inequality and abuse.
[edit] Children's rights movement
There have been two different children's rights movements in the United States. The first was led by the Progressives at the end of the nineteenth century and continued until the early twentieth century. Progressives such as John Dewey and Jane Adams promoted the establishment of better protection of children’s rights. This applied most directly with the exploitation of children for labor in hazardous environments such as factories and meat-packing plants. The most prominent movement for children's rights, however came in the 1960s. Sparked by the feminist movement, the children's rights movement created a new definition of a child’s place within the family. The children's rights movement spurred much of the legislation against child sexual abuse and created a public sympathy toward the plight of children. The movement redefined the role of childhood to be a time of innocence and made the role of a child a more respected role within the family. Because of this new acknowledgement and appreciation for the role of childhood, sexual abuse towards children became a more of a social taboo. Child sexual abuse became a crime against the beloved member of the new American household.
[edit] Media
The growth of sexual abuse as a social problem can be directly linked to the increase in media attention to the problem. News coverage focuses more on child sexual abuse that almost any other topic, ranking with murder. Studies show that over 70% of all murder cases are reported in the news. This is significantly higher all other crimes, with the exception of child sexual abuse. Child sexual abuse is closest to murder, with 47% of all cases being covered in the media. The fact that such a great deal of child molestation cases are reported, lies in the sensationalist spirit of the news. Newspapers and televised news programs focus attention on the most sensationalist topics that will arouse the most public interest. In light of this fact, it becomes evident that the news draws upon the public concern for child sexual abuse and sensationalizes it, creating public hysteria about the issue.
[edit] Pornography
Pornography has become more prevalent in the age of computers and access to the internet. Some feminists sought to make the public aware of what they believed to be dangers associated with pornography. According to some, pornography has been linked to sexual arousal, aggression, desensitization, pedophilia, ephebophilia, and sexual abuse. Pornography often desensitizes viewers to sexual acts and arouses them, and in the case of child pornography this is via the sexual exploitation of children. Before the advent of the internet child pornography was extremely difficult to obtain because production and distribution was nearly impossible in most civilized nations. Pedophiles rely on child pornography for not only self stimulation, but also for a sense of acceptance and legitimacy, the feeling that they are not alone in their habits. The internet (especially usenet) has made it possible for any form of data, including child pornography, to be freely distributed throughout the world with little or no restriction. This has created great public concern over the accessibility of pornography on the internet.
[edit] Psychiatrists and Therapists
In recent decades there has been a heightened public reliance on the opinions of psychiatrists and therapists. The public looks to psychiatric professionals for assistance in coping with the difficulties of daily life and interpersonal relationships. An increase in public awareness of psychological concerns has shifted the focus in cases of sexual abuse in the direction of rehabilitation of offenders and therapy for the abused.
[edit] Child sexual abuse today
Since the creation of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974, there has been a growth in the number of child abuse cases that have been reported in the United States. Reported child abuse cases have increased dramatically and in 2000, 10.1 percent of these cases were of sexual abuse. Many factors have attributed to the rise of reports and the increased enforcement of this law. Some include: better-trained law enforcement, new DNA and crime solving technology, and the lessening of the social stigma associated with abuse. Many different countries have different ways of dealing with sexual predators, and the United States has only begun to shift its focus from punishment to rehabilitation.
[edit] Child sexual abuse in literature, stage and screen
Many works of fiction and non-fiction illustrate the history of child abuse, particularly in the 20th century. These works are listed in the articles pedophilia and child sexual abuse in fiction, pedophilia and child sexual abuse in films, pedophilia and child sexual abuse in the theatre and pedophilia and child sexual abuse in songs.
[edit] Effects of public response to sexual abuse
[edit] Sex offenders
Megan's Law was enacted on May 17, 1996. It mandates that a county be notified of child offenders residing there and residents have access to that information. It requires all convicted child offenders to register with the local police department. Public notification of sexual crimes do not list the degree of the crime, but simply label the criminal as a "sexual predator".After leaving jail, employment and readjustment to society becomes a serious problem considering the heightened public concern over the issue.
[edit] The abused
Child sexual abuse victims often suffer the effects of sensationalism in the media. Children often face the trauma of reliving their sexual encounters and are faced with the trauma of lawsuits and legal proceedings. In certain cases children suffer the media attention that is placed on them after a highly publicized incident, such as reporters that wish to interview the abused children. In cases such as the Elizabeth Smart case in 2003, in which a young girl was kidnapped and then found, the media made constant efforts to publicize the event and interview the child involved. Legal proceedings can also be traumatic in certain incidents, when children are forced to testify in the face of brutal lawyers that may attack them. Many problems have occurred with the witnesses that have led to false accusations. For example, in the McMartin preschool trial the charges of abuse snow-balled up to seven defendants being accused by 350 kids. After seven years, all the defendants were acquitted. Many children are asked to recant their stories too many times and instead of open ended questions, police officers and prosecutors tend to use leading questions. Also, research about the use of anatomical figures has also shown to cause leading of the witness to occur. This establishes certain flaws that exist in the legal aspects of sexual abuse.
[edit] References
- Baldwin, Norma and Nelson, Sarah. "Comprehensive Neighborhood Mapping: Developing a Powerful Tool for Child Protection". Child Sexual Abuse, 13. 415-425. 2004
- Clark, C. S. (1993). "Child sexual abuse: does the nation face an epidemic--or a wave of hysteria?" The CQ researcher, 3, 27.
- Cheit, Ross E.: "What Hysteria? A systematic survey of newspaper coverage of accused child molesters". Journal of Child Abuse & Neglect twenty seven (2003) 607–623A. Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions, Brown University, Campus Box 1977 Providence, RI 02912, USA Received 25 June 2001; received in revised form 2 October 2002; accepted 5 October 2002
- Filteau, Jerry (2004). "Laws Changed with Evolving Child Sex Abuse Awareness". Catholic News Service.
- Guggenheim, Martin: What's Wrong woth Children's Rights Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England 2005
- Killias, Martin (2000 Dec). "The Emergence of a New Taboo: The Desexualisation of Youth in Western Societies since 1800". European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research: eight, four, pg, 459-477.
- Lowe, Walter, Jr.; Pavkov, Thomas W.; Casanova, Gisele M.; Wetchler, Do American Ethnic Cultures Differ in Their Definitions of Child Sexual Abuse? Joseph I Affiliation Marriage & Therapy Program, Dept Child Development & Family Studies, Purdue U, West Lafayette, IN.
- Masson, Jeffrey (1984) "The Assault on the Truth: Freud's Suppression of the Seduction Theory." New York: HarperCollins.
- Nemeth, Robert: "Need unified effort against child abuse"; February 15, 2004, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Inc.
- Vachss, Andrew. (1994 April 16) "Age of Innocence", London Observer.
