Child Sexual Abuse The Criminal Justice System

The changes to the Criminal Code and the Canada Evidence Act on January 1, 1988, created new child sexual abuse offenses and expanded the opportunities for courts to receive children's testimony in cases of child sexual abuse. This has major implications for professionals working with sexually abused children, particularly social workers who will find themselves increasingly participating in investigative activities and may be required to give evidence at criminal trials. This handbook outlines the criminal justice process and its principles; explains the law on child sexual abuse; discusses the need for the adaptation of investigative methods when a child sexual abuse case becomes a criminal justice matter; explains changes in the rules of evidence relating to child witnesses; and suggests roles child protection workers may assume under the new law.

Sexual crime is a topic of massive public concern. Yet the debate over its causes and the appropriate responses of the criminal justice system is often fuelled by ignorance and prejudice, with little understanding of the reality of sexual crime. Acts of Abuse explores the response of the criminal justice system to this important issue. Its author, Adam Sampson, examines the existing research about the causes of rape and child abuse, the number of offences being committed, and the policy of the courts. He then examines in detail the responses of the probation service and the prison system to the increased number of offenders with which they are being required to deal. Written by a prominent critic of the British penal system, this is the first comprehensive survey of the phenomenon of sexual crime in the British penal context. It will appeal to students and all those with an interest in issues relating to crime and justice.

Public policy responses to child sexual abuse are dominated by interventions designed to take effect only after offenders have already begun offending, and after children have already been sexually abused. Comparatively little attention has been given to alternative prevention strategies – particularly to those aimed at preventing sexual abuse before it might otherwise occur. Considerable knowledge has been accumulated on the characteristics, modus operandi and persistence of offenders, the characteristics, circumstances and outcomes for victims, and the physical and social settings in which sexual abuse occurs, but little work has been done to systematically apply this knowledge to prevention. This book aims to fulfill this objective through integrating clinical and criminological concepts and knowledge to inform a more comprehensive and effective public policy approach to preventing child sexual abuse. Empirical and theoretical knowledge concerning child sexual abuse is integrated with broader developments in evidence-based crime and child maltreatment prevention, leading to new ideas about understanding and preventing child sexual abuse. This book will be essential reading for anybody with interests in this field.

Child Victims explores the range and extent of crimes committed against children, and assesses their impact. The testimony of over two hundred children gives voice, for the first time, to their experiences, their views, and their needs. It examines how children attain the status of 'victims' in the criminal justice system. Drawing on their recent research findings, the authors examine each stage of the legal process that a child encounters, from the initial reporting of the offence, through police investigation, to the trial itself. They contrast the specialist response to victims of child sexual abuse with the experiences of children who are victims of other crimes, thrust into an adult system which takes little account of their needs. Child Victims concludes by examining the role of support services and agencies dealing with child victims, and makes a number of key recommendations for future policy.

Children who come into conflict with the law are more likely to have experienced violence or adversity than their non-offending peers. Exacerbating the deleterious effects of this childhood trauma, children’s contact with the criminal justice system poses undue risks of physical, sexual, and psychological violence. This book examines the specific forms of violence that children experience through their contact with the criminal justice system. Comprising contributions from leading scholars and practitioners in children’s rights and youth justice, this book profiles evidence-based prevention strategies and case studies from around the world. It illustrates the diversity of contexts in which various forms of violence against children unfold and advances knowledge about both the nature and extent of violence against children in criminal justice settings, and the specific situational factors that contribute to, or inhibit, the successful implementation of violence prevention strategies. It demonstrates that specialised child justice systems, in which children’s rights are upheld, are crucial in preventing the violence inherent to conventional criminal justice regimes. Written in a clear and accessible style, this book will be of interest to students and researchers engaged in studies of criminology and criminal justice, youth justice, victimology, crime prevention, and children’s rights.

This book explores the subjects of child sex abuse, flaws in the justice system, cultural support for vigilantism, prison violence, and the socio-legal philosophy of punishment. Child sex abuse leaves a scar that lasts a lifetime. Can any legal punishment balance the scales of justice? Can sex offenders ever repay their debt to society, or more importantly, to the victim? For some victims of this traumatic abuse, the debt remains unpaid, and it accrues interest. Vigilantes seek to avenge child victims by hunting down sex offenders in the community. Sometimes prisoners in correctional facilities conspire with rogue correctional officers to mete out their own form of “convict justice” on people who hurt children. While their motives and methods differ, these outraged citizens seek retribution through violence because they are disgusted with a justice system they believe shows extraordinary leniency toward child sex abusers. Whether this violence occurs in the community or in jail cells across the country, the message these vigilantes broadcast is the same: if the government won’t seek retribution, they will. The story is told through a series of case studies based on interviews with real-life vigilantes, most of whom are serving life sentences for their crimes. For the first time, vigilantes have been given a chance to tell their own stories. Patrick Drum, Steven Sandison, Joseph Druce, Jeremy Moody, Jon Watson, James Fairbanks, and others have shared their personal insights to help us get inside the vigilante mind. For some readers, these accounts will humanize people considered to be simply murderers. For others, it will demystify the popular portrayals of vigilantes in our society.

Annotation "This book describes physical and behavioral indicators of abuse, theoretical explanations of child abuse, the characteristics of abusers, and responses to child abuse by the criminal justice system."--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved.