Reviews : Female Sexual Abuse of Children: The Ultimate Taboo Michelle Elliot Longman, 1993; pp 272; £16.95 pbk
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059304000312 |
| Date | 01 October 1993 |
| Published date | 01 October 1993 |
| Author | David Balsamo |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
156
rather
than
addressing
the
violence
of
’ordinary’
men
against
others.
I
believe
that
all
of
us,
when
we
have
our
fundamental
beliefs
about
gender
challenged,
owe
it
to
ourselves
to
listen
carefully
and
to
suspend
any
immediate
disbelief.
However,
the
type
of
challenge
in
this
book
will
test
the
patience
of
the
most
liberal
or
tolerant
of
people.
If
you
do
not
have
to
pay
for
it,
this
book is
essential
reading.
It
reveals
how
too
many
psychiatrists
with
a
narrow
biological
view
of
the
world
operate
on
a
body
of
knowledge
about
human
interaction
which
is
a
jumble
of
’common
sense’,
threads
of
truth
and
uncomfortable
stereotyping.
It
could
also
serve
as
warning
to
women
whose
’deviance’
far
more
often
delivers
them
into
the
hands
of
doctors
rather
than
jailers.
Vic
Hayman
Probation
Officer,
Lancashire
Female
Sexual
Abuse
of
Children:
The
Ultimate
Taboo
Michelle
Elliot
Longman,
1993;
pp
272;
£16.95
pbk
Michelle
Elliot
is
the
founder
of
KIDSCAPE,
the
children’s
protection
charity,
as
well
as
being
an
experienced
child
psychologist;
it
is
therefore
fitting
that
she has
edited
a
volume
which
deals
with
this
neglected
and
controversial
area.
The
book
is
divided
into
two
main
sections
which
deal
with
the
experiences
of
survivors
of
female
sexual
abuse
and
with
the
response
of
professionals.
A
third
section
examines
resources
together
with
a
concise
literature
review.
The
sexual
abuse
of
children
by
women
is
an
area
which
has
only
received
cursory
discussion
in
the
literature.
The
topic
therefore
suffers
from
theoretical
under-development.
This
book
acts
as
a
corrective
to
past
neglect
of
the
subject.
Furthermore,
the
point
is
clearly
identified
that
it
is
no
longer
sufficient
to
regard
all
women
who
sexually
abuse
children
as
adjuncts
to
male
offending,
or
merely
themselves
the
subjects
of
coercion.
In
terms’of
more
general
theorisation,
particularly
in
relation
to
issues
of
causation,
the
volume
is
stronger
on
psychological
and
psycho-sexual
conceptualisation
than
on
the
socio-political
or
socio-cultural
dimensions
of
the
phenomenon.
This
may
in
part
reflect
the
background
of
the
majority
of
contributors,
but
also
the
key
problematic
which
this
volume
also
highlights
as a
central
theme.
Namely
that
90 %
of
perpetrators
of
sexual
abuse
are
male.
This
provides
the
obvious
statistical
backbone
to
feminist
and
feminist-inspired
theories
which
seek
to
understand
sexual
abuse
in
relation
to
the
position
of
women
in
a
patriarchal
society
characterised
by
structured
gender
inequality.
The
existence
of
a
percentage
of
women
who
are
themselves
sexual
abusers
may
entail
that
some
revision
has
to
be
made
to
theories
which
explain
sexual
abuse
in
terms
of
specifically
male
power.
The
contributors
to
this
volume
in
no
way
wish
to
distance
themselves
from
theories
which
link
sexual
exploitation
to
male
power
as
a
structurally
articulated
phenomenon.
Statistical
evidence,
even
allowing
for
under-reporting
by
victims
of
female
sexual
abuse,
cannot
allow
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