The effectiveness and impact of the child protection and criminal justice systems in cases of intrafamilial child sexual abuse
| Date | 14 March 2016 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JCRPP-06-2015-0023 |
| Pages | 54-66 |
| Published date | 14 March 2016 |
| Author | Anna Gekoski,Miranda A.H Horvath,Julia C Davidson |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology |
The effectiveness and impact of the child
protection and criminal justice systems in
cases of intrafamilial child sexual abuse
Anna Gekoski, Miranda A.H. Horvath and Julia C. Davidson
Anna Gekoskiand Miranda A.H.
Horvath both are based at
Forensic Psychological
Services, Middlesex University,
The Burroughs, London, UK.
Julia C. Davidson is based at
the Centre for Abuse and
Trauma Studies, Middlesex
University, The Burroughs,
London, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings from a study commissioned bythe Office of
the Children’s Commissioner (OCC) in England, concerning intrafamilial child sexual abuse (IFCSA)/incest.
Specifically, it aims to explore the evidence about child protection and criminal justice responses to victims of
IFCSA in the UK and where the gaps in these approaches lie.
Design/methodology/approach –A Rapid EvidenceAssessment (REA) was used, the function of whichis
to: searchthe literature as comprehensively as possiblewithin given time constraints;collate descriptiveoutlines
of the available evidence on a topic and critically appraise it; sift out studies of poor quality; and provide an
overview of the evidence. Over 57,000 documentswere scanned, and 296 ultimatelysystematically analysed.
Findings –It was found that children may be re-victimised by various aspects of “the system”and
professionals within it, including social workers, police officers, and lawyers.
Research limitations/implications –A REA is not a full systematic review, differing in the scope and depth
of the searches and depending almost exclusively on electronic databases, not accompanied by searching
journals by hand.
Originality/value –The findings of this research provide the evidence-base for a new two-year inquiry into
the subject of IFCSA by the OCC.
Keywords Criminaljustice, Child protection, Child sexual abuse, Incest, Intrafamilial, Secondary victimisation
Paper type Literature review
Introduction
(Stoltenborgh et al., 2011, p. 79). Furthermore, although the media might have us believe
otherwise (Greer, 2007), the vast majority of CSA is committed by someone known to the child
(Radford et al., 2011). Yet the sexual abuse of children within a family environment –referred to
as intrafamilial child sexual abuse (IFCSA) or incest –may often go unreported, particularly in
comparison to CSA by strangers, also known as extrafamilial child sexual abuse (EFCSA)
(Jensen et al., 2005).
However, even when IFCSA is reported, there are then frequently further problems, as the harm
caused by the primary abuse may be exacerbated by negative experiences and interactions with
the child protection system (CPS) and criminal justice system (CJS) (e.g. Plotnikoff and Woolfson,
2009). This may give rise to feelings of secondary victimisation, which “occurs when victims of
crime feel they have been subjected to inadequate, insensitive or inappropriate treatment,
attitudes, behaviour, responses and/or practices by criminal justice and social agencies, which
compound their original trauma”(Gekoski et al., 2013, p. 307).
Received 23 June 2015
Revised 2 September 2015
Accepted 24 October 2015
The authors are grateful to the
Office of the Children’s
Commissioner for England, who
funded the Rapid Evidence
Assessment (REA) on which this
paper is based. The authors would
also like to thank colleagues Julie
Grove-Hills and Clare Choak for
their hard work on the REA,
and Antonia Bifulco and Julie
Grove-Hills for their work on
previous research on police
practice with victims of child sexual
abuse, which this work draws on.
PAGE54
j
JOURNAL OF CRIMINOLOGICAL RESEARCH, POLICY AND PRACTICE
j
VOL. 2 NO. 1 2016, pp.54-66, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2056-3841 DOI 10.1108/JCRPP-06-2015-0023
To continue reading
Request your trial