Current status of child sexual abuse in Chattanooga, TN as reflected in treatment and legal systems: a view from the experts

Child sexual abuse, a horrific and damaging crime against the most vulnerable of human beings, is decried by major religions and cultures around the world. And yet, it is flourishing today in various forms within every major society. Empirical research has been conducted in the areas of treatment and legal issues for victims of child sexual abuse. This research indicates a dichotomy of advocates in treatment systems and skeptics in legal systems that could conflict with each other in providing treatment and justice to abuse victims. This study offers a view of the status of child sexual abuse in one community, in order to examine problems in these treatment and legal systems. Structured interviews were conducted with a case investigator, therapists for child and adult abuse survivors, prosecutors in both juvenile and criminal courts, and judges in criminal and circuit courts with prosecutorial and/or defense attorney backgrounds. The combined accounts of these experienced professionals paint a picture of the achievements and challenges of one community in its attempt to deal with the crime of child sexual abuse. Inasmuch as their experiences are shared by many other professionals in other communities, this picture can begin to provide answers to the question of how to eliminate the crime of child sexual abuse in every community.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Author dc:creator

• Joy, Julie F.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Metzger, Richard
• Ourth, Lynn; Welsh, Talia
• College of Arts and Sciences

• Child sexual abuse--Law and legislation--United States--Tennessee
• Child sexual abuse--Psychological aspects

Licence

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

English, eng

Identifier

LB2369.2 .J69 2006

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-2093