Case Study “Good touch/Bad touch”

        Case Study: Reflecting on her childhood and the abuse she experienced for eight years, Monica describes how she first became aware of her abuse and that what she was experiencing was wrong. As is so often the case with child abuse, victims may not be aware that they are being abused, as they may not understand what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior, along with the fact those who are committing the abuse are the ones they rely on the most for support and care. In Monica’s case, she was 8 years old when her elementary class participated in a child abuse prevention program called “Speak Up Be Safe.” To this point, Monica recalled that nothing seemed strange about her childhood—however, after she had watched the video and participated in the program, she began to realize that something at home was not right. Monica’s mother was a nurse and worked long and awkward hours, meaning that her father was her primary caregiver. Each night after eating and going to bed, Monica’s father would come into her room and touch her. After this realization, she knew she needed to tell an adult she trusted. The next day, Monica went to speak to her soccer coach. She cannot recall exactly what she told her coach, but she remembers that she explained about the inappropriate behavior. Her coach told her that she would talk to her parents. Monica does not know what the coach said to her parents, but she said “nothing changed—I imagine my dad talked his way out of it; he talked his way out of many things in his life. He was very manipulative.” Monica said that she spoke to a trusted adult, but the abuse did not stop. She remembers feeling very vulnerable. The abuse continued for a couple more years before she decided to disclose to her mother what was happening. Her mother called the police, and Monica had to sit through a forensic interview. Her dad was taken into custody, and her mother asked him to leave, but it was not long before he was back home. The police never followed through on the investigation, and soon after returning home, her dad moved them out of state. It was at this point that she recalls that her father had also become verbally and physically abusive toward her mother and one of her brothers. Monica’s abuse by her father continued for a couple more years. She disclosed a third time to her mother, but her mother was now not working nor was she mentally or physically strong enough to leave her father. After a sleep over, it came out that her father had molested one of Monica’s friends. Monica’s friend immediately told her parents and the school who called child protective services (CPS). They opened up an investigation—but her father immediately moved them to another state. At this point, Monica said she felt so confused and scared. She kept thinking that when she was 18, she could move out of her house and be free from that monster. A few weeks after settling into her new school, Monica was called to the office. When she got there, a lady was waiting to speak to her. The lady was from CPS. CPS had tracked her down after they had moved so abruptly. Her dad was arrested and eventually sentenced to 12 years in prison with lifetime probation, which Monica had requested. Her dad served his time, but once he was released, he tracked her down and began to harass her. He was arrested for harassment and breaking the terms of his probation and resentenced to 10 years in prison. Despite the fact that she confided in people, and her abuse continued, Monica feels strongly that the child abuse program she participated in as a child was greatly beneficial. She feels that more of these programs need to be implemented in schools, and she says that “sometimes schools are the only place where kids feel safe outside their homes, and if they can identify that something is wrong and is not right, they may be able to get help at a young age. Questions: 1. Discuss what makes it difficult for children to report cases of child abuse. 2. In a case like Monica’s, list and discuss what multiservice programs you would recommend 3. Discuss the challenges in identifying cases of child abuse and what you think could be done to improve mandated reporting. Source: Takahashi, Y, James, C. (2019). Victimology & Victim Assistance- Advocacy, Intervention, and Restoration. Link to eBook preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=jT58DwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false