Reviews : Behind the Silhouettes: Exploring the Myths of Child Sexual Abuse Olive Travers The Blackstaff Press, 1999; pp154; £10.99, pbk
| DOI | 10.1177/026455050004700218 |
| Published date | 01 June 2000 |
| Date | 01 June 2000 |
| Author | Wing Hong Chui |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
145
REVIEWS
Behind
the
Silhouettes:
Exploring
the
Myths
of
Child
Sexual
Abuse
Olive
Travers
The
Blackstaff Press,
1999;
pp154;
£10.99,
pbk
Behind
the
Silhouettes,
as
the
title
suggests,
sets
out
to
rebut
widely
held
myths
and
assumptions
about
childhood
sexual
abuse.
For
example,
are
boys
as
victims
of
sexual
abuse
less
damaged
than
girls?
Are
all
abusers
the
same?
It
outlines
a
responsible
multi-agency
approach
to
how
social
workers,
probation
officers,
doctors,
police
and
the
press
can
help
to
create
a
safer
world
for
innocent
and
vulnerable
children.
Drawing
on
her
extensive
experience
as
a
psychologist,
the
author
provides
concrete
examples
of
working
with
abusers
and
victims,
which
give
readers
a
deep
insight
into
this
subject
matter.
This
book
is
also
one
of
the
first
attempts
to
discuss
child
sexual
abuse
in
the
Republic
of
Ireland.
The
book
consists
of
twelve
chapters
and
an
appendix,
and
is
organised
along
various
themes.
The
first
three
chapters
deal
with
basics
such
as
the
definition
of
child
sexual
abuse,
different
types
of
contact
and
non-contact,
sexual
abuse
according
to
gender,
and
the
possible
responses
of
the
victims
once
the
abuse
is
publicly
revealed.
Drawing
empirical
evidence
from
research
in
industrialised
countries
such
as
England
and
Wales,
the
United
States
and
Australia,
the
author
successfully
challenges
the
popular
belief
that
boys
are
less
likely
to
be
abused
than
girls.
Chapters
4
to
6
focus
on
various
salient
features
of
child
sexual
offenders
in
abusive
relationships.
Sexual
abuse
is
perpetrated
by
both
males
and
females
though
it
is
over-represented
by
the
male
offenders.
The
book
makes
it
clear
that
knowledge
of
female
sex
offending
is
relatively
limited
and
that
this
topic
requires
proper
attention.
The
remaining
chapters
highlight
what
can
be
done
to
tackle
problems
of
sexual
abuse
in
day-to-day
practice.
First,
the
media
can
be
useful
as
well
as
dangerous
.
to
both
victims
and
perpetrators
when
publicising
their
stories.
While
it
is
vital
to
make
the
public
aware
of
the
traumatic
impact
of
the
abuse,
most
news
reports
tend
to
over-simplify
the
complexities
surrounding
abuse
by
treating
each
case
alike.
Second,
practitioners
in
the
criminal
justice
and
mental
health
settings
are
advised
to
take
a
broader
perspective
on
helping
survivors
to
come
to
terms
with
the
painful
experience.
Encouraging
them
to
share
their
secrets
and
emotions
is
the
first
and
foremost
step
to
empowering
the
victims
to
help
themselves
in
the
process
of
recovery.
Finally,
instead
of
proposing
imprisonment,
Travers
is
in
favour
of
community-based
initiatives
to
address
the
cycle
of
abuse,
and
her
programme
for
the
treatment
of
adult
male
sex
offenders
is
included
as
an
appendix.
The
book
is
written
in
a
jargon-free
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