Child Abuse in the Deep South: Geographical Modifiers of Abuse Characteristics
176
Child Abuse in the Deep South: Geographical Modifiers of Abuse Characteristics
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| ISBN-13: | 9780817303631 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | University of Alabama Press |
| Publication date: | 03/15/2016 |
| Series: | Institution for Social Science Research Monographs , #2 |
| Pages: | 176 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.60(d) |
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Child Abuse in the Deep South
Geographical Modifiers of Abuse Characteristics
By Lee W. Badger, Nicholas A. Green, L. Ralph Jones, Julia A. Hartman
The University of Alabama Press
Copyright © 1988 The University of Alabama PressAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8173-0363-1
CHAPTER 1
The Problem of Definitions
A major handicap to the value of all research findings has been the lack of consistent and nonoverlapping definitions of child abuse. Mental health professionals are therapeutically oriented and focus on families; medical professionals are physically oriented and focus on the injuries to the victim; legal authorities are oriented toward conviction and focus on the perpetrator; and the general public is anxiously oriented toward its own welfare and safety. In "The Battered-Child Syndrome," Kempe et al. (1962), for example, described a clinical condition with diagnosable medical and physical symptoms. Shortly thereafter, Fontana, Donovan, and Wong (1963) described the "maltreatment syndrome," which included children without obvious physical signs of battering but with evidence of emotional and nutritional deprivation, neglect, and abuse. Gil's (1970) definition, based on his large-scale study of child abuse incidence, was broader and more socially oriented, ultimately including abuse not only by caretakers but also by institutions and society at large. Policies that sanctioned or failed to overcome deficits in the circumstances of children were thus implicated. Elmer (1966) asserted that the chronicity of abuse was also an important variable in definition, and she proposed that social class and ethnicity be entered into the clinical definition of child abuse. A most useful definition of a physically abused child, provided by Kempe and Helfer in 1972, was "any child who receives nonaccidental physical injury (or injuries) as a result of acts (or omissions) on the part of his parents or guardians" (p. xi). Obvious difficulties still remain nonetheless: for example, how does one prove "nonaccidental," and what about injury inflicted by an adult other than a parent or guardian?
The result of these variations in definition is that abuse is, in fact, defined by those instances in which victimization becomes publicly known and labeled by an official or professional. Gelles (1975) called this the social construction of abuse, in which certain judges or gatekeepers apply the labels of "abuse" and "abuser" to particular individuals and families. Korbin (1981) noted also that child-rearing practices vary between cultures: what is acceptable behavior in one group may be totally unacceptable behavior in another.
In sexual abuse, this problem has even greater implications, especially for the value of research findings as a means to tailor treatment to the specific underlying pathology. Over the last ten years, different terms have been used for the same type of sexual offense, and concepts have been intermixed and overgeneralized to include every type of reported event under the general term "sexual abuse." At this juncture, epidemiological research of child sexual abuse cannot measure the degree of change in the rates of incidence and prevalence because definitions have changed from one period to another. It is important that legal authorities, legislators, medical and social service professionals, researchers, and the public standardize the definitions of child sexual abuse for the benefit of all.
Most state laws and agencies today include the following components in their definitions of child sexual abuse: (1) sexual contacts or interactions of any sort between a child and an adult (or significantly older person) whether the sexual contact was instigated by the adult or the child (some definitions make reference to a minimum age differential between perpetrator and child, so that it is conceivable that an older child could be charged with "sexual abuse" of a younger child; the inference, of course, is that the older child is in a position of power or control over the victim); (2) the use or exploitation of a child for the sexual stimulation of an adult or another person; (3) a "child" is defined as anyone under a legal age of consent, which in most states is sixteen to eighteen years of age. Any child or adolescent under the designated age of consent is by definition "unable to give informed consent" for any sexual act or behavior. It is interesting that many states set the age of consent for child sexual abuse statutes at an older age than that established for marriage.
Sexual abuse, as mentioned above, is a catchall term that includes a number of categories referred to in the literature and incorporated within legal definitions but that often have different meanings attached. For example, the term sexual misuse has been defined by some states and agencies to include sexual stimulation inappropriate for the age and development of the child, including acts such as allowing a child to see pornographic films. Other writers have used it synonymously with sexual exploitation and with sexual abuse generally.
Sexual molestation, a vague, ill-defined term that is often used synonymously with "taking indecent liberties," implies a range of physical contacts from kissing and seductive touching to masturbation. Usually, however, it does not involve sexual intercourse or sodomy. Sexual molestation has been given more explicit legal definition in some court jurisdictions to delineate a degree of sexual abuse less than rape, and it is sometimes used as an alternative charge when a conviction on an incest charge does not appear possible. In other contexts, sexual molestation is used as a term descriptive of a type of incestuous activity.
Rape is often defined to include sodomy and oral-genital sexual contacts, although there are some localities that restrict their definition to the older concept of vaginal penetration only. Digital penetration is included within some definitions of rape, and homosexual activities with children have, therefore, been included under this definition. Rape of children, whether it be forcible or statutory, is frequently labeled "sexual assault" in public records. This practice seriously limits the distinction of those factors relevant to seductive rape from those pertaining to aggressive rape. It has been suggested that the use of the term "sexual assault" be restricted to imply some degree of violence or threat of violence, to contrast with the term "sexual seduction," involving intercourse, which has an entirely different set of dynamics and effects.
Incestuous sexual abuse indicates sexual violation of the cultural taboos of family roles and, in the past, was defined as overt sexual intercourse occurring between "blood relations." This definition has changed, in most jurisdictions, to include sexual molestation of any sort among any members of a family group who are not permitted by their society to marry. Therefore, incest includes sexual molestation by stepfathers and stepsiblings, an appropriate inclusion when current morality and sexual practices are considered. The most common form of incest occurs between siblings and stepsiblings or cousins but, because of the minimal age differential in most instances, is not included under the definition of sexual abuse. The most commonly reported incidents involve father-daughter and stepfather-stepdaughter incest. Incestuous sexual abuse does not usually involve violent assault, and it sometimes offers gratification for the victim, often without significant anxiety or physical suffering; it tends to be recurrent and progressive with a chronic course.
Pedophilia was originally defined as an erotic preference for immature sexual gratification with a prepubertal child (Mohr, Turner, and Jerry, 1964). Many child abuse laws have broadened the usage to include offenses with adolescent victims. The term pedophilia has, at times in the past, erroneously been used as a synonym for child sexual abuse, but only about 20 percent of child sexual abuse has technically fallen within the current definition of pedophilia. Because they are attracted to more immature levels of sexuality, most fixated pedophiliacs do not commit forcible rape and are usually charged with "sexual molestation" as defined above. Some pedophiliacs molest their own children and fall under a special class of "incestuous pedophilia," although most pedophiliacs are not incestuous. Another subgroup is homosexual pedophilia known as pederasty.
Exhibitionism, or indecent exposure, is the most frequently documented sex crime against children. Offenders are primarily male, and most exhibitionists make no attempt to touch a child but are content to elicit an effective response of alarm from a victim. Cases that have been included under the definitions of exhibitionism range from drunks urinating in public, to classical benign exhibitionism, to solicitations, to those rare instances that are preludes to seduction. Exhibitionism's broad scope renders it one of the most frequent contaminators of statistical data on perpetrators of sexual abuse. Because not all recorded incidents of exhibition, as loosely defined, constitute true sexual abuse, a need is clearly indicated for refinement of this category.
Sexual exploitation, as defined by Alabama law and elsewhere, includes "allowing, permitting, or encouraging a child to engage in prostitution" and "allowing, permitting, encouraging or engaging in the obscene or pornographic photography, filming, or depicting of a child for commercial purposes."
Whereas legal authorities have attempted to categorize abusive sexual behaviors in terms of degree of violence and associated inherent dangers, epidemiological researchers have been inclined to categorize sexual abuse in a manner that emphasizes demographic data and the relationship of the perpetrator to the child, the most common dichotomy being "familial" (or "intrafamilial" or "incestuous") and "extrafamilial" (or "nonfamilial") sexual abuse. Another distinction is made between recurrent (or chronic) abuse and single event (or acute) abuse. For example, most incestuous abuse tends to be chronic, and most extrafamilial sexual abuse is a single event.
Refinements of these definitions of sexual abuse should consider effects upon the victim and the implicit differences in the etiology, management, and treatment of the various forms that abuse takes. A clinical orientation to a classification of child sexual abuse should take into account the psychological impact upon the child, including the acute and chronic consequences, as well as the adult sequelae of sexual abuse. It is generally accepted that single events of sexual abuse have milder and fewer long-term effects upon the child than recurrent sexual abuse. Sexual abuse has more deleterious and complex long-term effects when the sexual experience is invasive of the child's development (in terms of the victim's age, phases of development, and inherent relationship to the perpetrator) and when the abuse is more symptomatic of family pathology. For example, the predominant consequences of parent-child incest result from the cumulative effects of disrupted psychosexual development of the child, disturbances in family role-imaging, and in the failure to define the boundaries of relationships and the limits of acceptable sexual behavior necessary for learning to control sexual impulses. Confusion of erotic love with parental affection occurs, as does undermining of trust and self-image of both the child and the spouse.
Short-term effects of incestuous sexual abuse include regression to infantile habits and behaviors, eating and sleep disorders, enuresis, and conduct disorders, especially dysinhibition of sexual impulses and the seeking of affection through sexual contact. Later sequels include runaway behavior, promiscuity, prostitution, pornographic exploitation, substance abuse, and other forms of antisocial behavior. There is some indication that older children suffer more serious long-term effects than younger children (Finkelhor, 1979). There is a predisposition to guilt, demoralization, and depression; suicide gestures and self-mutilation are also believed to have a high incidence among this group. As adults, victims of incest are more prone to having difficulties in forming intimate trusting relationships, often fail to marry, and have a higher incidence of sexual dysfunctions. Finally, there is the increased likelihood that the childhood victims of parent incest will become the next generation of perpetrators.
Parent-child incest usually occurs in the context of a disturbed family setting, which has other effects upon the child in addition to those that are specific for sexual abuse. The general theme of disturbances within the family dynamics includes a closed-family system with an alien view of the outside world and the misrepresentation of moral standards, a paradoxical lack of limits within the context of overcontrol by the dominant perpetrator, blurring of role boundaries, the lack of nurturing relationships, and marital discord. Child pornography and prostitution are related in that both are frequent sequels to chronic incestuous sexual abuse. Bagley (1984) reported that 30 percent of the girls in the study sample who later became prostitutes had their first sexual experience with a family member or someone in a position of trust. Sixty-three percent of a sample of young female prostitutes and 77 percent of male prostitutes were found to be fully sexually experienced by the age of thirteen. Further findings suggested that the decision to enter into prostitution was not voluntary but reflected the coercion of poverty and homelessness associated with attempts on the part of juveniles to escape abusive situations at home. More than two-thirds of these youngsters had a history of running away from home prior to engaging in prostitution (Bagley, 1984).
Another important factor affecting the impact upon the child, or the degree of victim-registered abuse, is the response and the interpretation of the event by significant adults in the child's life. A calm, objective, supportive parent offering timely and appropriate responses can turn a potentially anxious or guilt-laden event into a relatively innocuous experience that results in none of the anticipated "abusive" effects.
The following proposed classification takes into account the etiology of abuse as well as the effects of sexual abuse on the victim and the important differences in management and treatment.
1. Sexual assault: This category includes forcible rape, battered injuries to genital area, and sexual molestation that involves physical contact and some form of violence or threat of violence.
2. Sexual seduction: This category includes the enticement of the child to willingly participate in a progression of sexual behavior through the use of deceptive inducements, bribes, ego enhancements, or subtle coercion without threat of violent force, coupled with implicit sanctioning of the behavior by a familiar authority figure:
a. Familial seduction, or incest
b. Extrafamilial seduction, or pedophilia.
3. Sexual exposure: This category includes nontactile sexual experiences, including exhibitionism, solicitations, and obscenities.
4. Sexual exploitation: This category includes commercial exploitation, including prostitution and pornography.
The problems of inconsistency in definition in the literature and other historical reports and documents preclude a scientific comparison of the incidence of sexual abuse in the past time periods with today. Therefore, no definitive conclusion can be made as to whether sexual abuse is on the rise or on the decline (Franklin, 1984). Thus we are left only to speculate at this point. But perhaps we should be mindful of the warning of Margaret Mead (1968) that the incidence of incest in a society may be a more valid measure of the disruption of the sociocultural system than the usual indexes of suicide, homocide, and crime.
CHAPTER 2Physical Child Abuse
Throughout history, the role assigned to children has reflected prevailing social and moral values. Until the widespread reforms of the nineteenth century, many types of abuse to children (according to today's definition) were not only generally accepted but were formally sanctioned — by religious bodies, by common law and written statute, or simply by community tradition. During early Roman times, children were the chattel of their father and dependent upon his decision as to whether they should live or die. Infanticide was commonly practiced, even after its formal opposition by the Roman Catholic church in the fourth century. During the Protestant Reformation, religious doctrine emphasized the importance of a parent's responsibility to rid children of their innate wickedness, making whippings both common and acceptable. During the eighteenth century, these beliefs were challenged by the writings of philosophers such as Rousseau and Locke, who emphasized that children were innately innocent and susceptible to social corruption. It therefore evolved upon society to assume responsibility for those children whose moral and ethical education was not properly supervised by their parents. Community interest was not focused on the child, however, but on the protection of the society's overall economic welfare and moral values. In the United States, for example, townships established formal mechanisms for the surveillance of all families, especially if they were poor, and for the necessary removal of children whose moral upbringing was questioned.
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Excerpted from Child Abuse in the Deep South by Lee W. Badger, Nicholas A. Green, L. Ralph Jones, Julia A. Hartman. Copyright © 1988 The University of Alabama Press. Excerpted by permission of The University of Alabama Press.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Tables,Figures,
Preface,
PART ONE: Historical Perspectives and Current Understandings,
1. The Problem of Definitions,
2. Physical Child Abuse,
3. Sexual Child Abuse,
PART TWO: Child Abuse in Alabama: An Epidemiological Investigation,
4. The Context and Methodology of the Study,
5. Social and Cultural Modifiers of Reporter and Caseworker Determinations,
6. The Sources of Reports,
7. Results of the Study: The State,
8. The Ecological Context of Physical Abuse,
9. The Ecological Context of Sexual Abuse,
Epilogue,
Appendixes,
References,
Index,