NCJ Number
99272
Date Published
1984
Length
0 pages
Annotation
By interviewing victims, offenders, health care specialists, legal professionals, social workers, and psychologists, this four-part audio documentary series examines the issue of child sexual abuse.
Abstract
The first program -- Family Portrait -- explores the problem of father-daughter incest by interviewing a mother, father, and daughter who are confronting the problems that developed because of a 9-year incestuous relationship between the father and daughter. In talking about their painful experiences, it is disclosed that the father came from a family that had four generations of child abuse. In the second program -- Dispelling the Myth -- psychologist and social workers discuss how and when children are likely to encounter abuse inside and outside the home. In interviewing victims and offenders, it is revealed that the most common type of incestuous relationship is between a child and an adult known by both the child and the child's family. In the third program -- The Secret Revealed -child protection workers and legal specialists examine the plight of young victims when the problem is reported or discovered. In first person accounts, including the reading of an emotional poem, children speak of their experiences and feelings toward people and organizations that offer help. The final program -- Breaking the Silence -- analyzes the larger forces within the family and in society that contribute to the phenomenon of child abuse. Excerpts from a performance by Minnesota's Illusion Theater which tours the country educating children about abuse, and a visit to a children's self-defense class are highlighted. Its central theme is that the lack of adequate sexual and abuse prevention education contributes to incidents of sexual abuse because children are not prepared to confront the assailant when they sense an adult is touching them in a 'bad' way.