A New Understanding of Child Abuse

Whilst I was thinking about doing this post an independent investigation (chaired by Wim Deetman) released its report on abuse within the Dutch Catholic Church. The report estimated that between 10,000 to 20,000 children had been sexually abused between 1945 and the present. The abuse rate was calculated to be twice that of the normal population.

We can describe the reaction to child abuse as belonging to three distinct phases.

1. The phase of systemic abuse and denial. Prior to the 1970′s child abuse was kept quiet. The taboo over discussing sexual matters meant that children did not reveal sexual abuse and if they did, they were often not believed. It was also socially acceptable for adults to physically punish children and bullying was considered character building. As the evidence now clearly shows, children in institutions were systematically physically, sexually and emotionally abused.

2. The phase of awareness and moral panic. Once the reality of child sexual abuse was recognised there was a period of moral panic. This reached its height during the 1980′s and 1990′s with claims of ritual abuse conspiracies, stranger danger and exaggerated claims of repressed memories. During this period the public created a number of myths around the cause and effect of child abuse.

3. The phase of research and moderation. During the 90′s and the first decade of the 21st century researchers from a number of interconnected disciplines sorted fact from myth and a more accurate picture of the typology of abuse began to emerge.

And whilst the news is good, the field is still contested. The many reports into institutional abuse are giving us a better (and more horrific) picture of the extent of abuse during phase 1. However there is still a vicious political battle between proponents of phase 2 and phase 3. As one of the leading researchers David Finkelhor says:

The considerable ignorance about the realities of child victimization can be chalked up to a field that is fragmented, understudied, and subject to political demagoguery.  Introduction Childhood Victimization.