Ethics and Issues of Secondary Prevention Efforts in Child Sexual Abuse. (July 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: McCartan, Kieran F.; Merdian, Hannah L.; Perkins, Derek E.; Kettleborough, Danielle
• Is Part Of: International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology. Volume 62:Number 9(2018)
• Page Start: 2548
• Page End: 2566
• Publication Date: 2018-07
• Subjects: child sexual abuse -- prevention -- public health approach -- treatment -- ethics; Criminals -- Rehabilitation -- Periodicals; Criminal psychology -- Periodicals; Violent offenders -- Periodicals; Sex offenders -- Periodicals; Criminology -- Periodicals; 364.3
• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X17723951
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0306-624X

Abstract

This article discusses the ethical, practical, and moral issues surrounding secondary prevention efforts of child sexual abuse from a professional and practice-based perspective. Transcripts of a semistructured consultation event with n = 15 international experts on the secondary prevention of child sexual abuse were analysed using thematic qualitative analysis. The research identified four main critical areas linked to secondary prevention efforts, including, the psychology of self-reporting and disclosure; the interaction with and within existing legal, social, and professional frameworks; the scale and type of an appropriate response; and potential hurdles (i.e., within media, public, politics). The article outlines these areas, highlighting participant perspectives on risk-enhancing and mitigating factors for each domain.