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
Sample Solution
Child abuse is an all too common occurrence in many communities and unfortunately it often goes unreported. There are several factors that make it difficult for children to report cases of child abuse, including difficulties speaking up about their experiences, feeling ashamed or embarrassed about what has happened, fear of further victimization or retaliation from the perpetrator (Saby et al., 2019), pressure to protect their abuser out of loyalty (Hanson et al., 2020), and fear of not being believed by adults they tell (Chisholm-Burns & Barnes-Najor, 2017). In addition, some victims may not recognize the behaviors as abusive due to lack of knowledge around what constitutes child abuse or because perpetrators tend to use manipulative techniques such as blaming the child for causing the abuse or minimizing its significance in order to gain control over them (Zilberstein et al., 2018).
Furthermore, even when victims have enough information and awareness to identify their experience as abusive behavior, there can be a sense of helplessness due to feeling like nothing can be done if they do report it. This is particularly true with older children who have internalized messages from previous experiences that no one will listen or help them when faced with these kinds of situations (Jindani et al., 2019). Furthermore, existing social norms within society also contribute towards discouraging reporting since victims may feel judged by others if they come forward thus making them less likely speak openly on this matter.
In conclusion, it is clear that multiple factors contribute towards difficulty experienced by victims when trying to report cases of child abuse. It is important that those working with vulnerable populations are aware of these issues so they can provide effective support which helps address underlying issues related stigma and feelings helplessness while helping create safe places where survivors can feel comfortable discussing their experiences without fear judgement.