THE EFFECT OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR ON VICTIMS OF CRIME

Gillian Waters 07019416

DR HARRIET PIERPOINT

TOPIC: The effect of criminal behaviour on victims of crime

RESEARCH QUESTION: Does Sexual Abuse affect the Psychological Views of a Child Victim?

INTRODUCTION

It is a fact that getting involved in a crime, or worse, becoming a victim in a crime, is a very traumatic and unforgettable experience. Children and young people get more affected whenever they experience something unpleasant at early life. This somehow opens the possibility for them not to grow up as normal and happy individuals.

From a research report entitled “The support needs of young victims of crime”, they found out that being victims of crime/crimes, children and young people experience these effects:

Children and young people suffer from both immediate and longer-term effects of crime, bullying and sexual abuse; The additional vulnerability of children and young people, when compared to adults, may aggravate the negative effects of crime; Victimization is associated with adverse effects on both psychological and physical health; Victims may think about their experiences at night or when they are trying to sleep; Victimization can affect adolescent development; Children and young people who experience crime are more likely to exhibit criminal behaviour later in life; Schooling is often affected by criminal victimization and bullying; young people may have time off school, or may stay inside during breaks; However,

victimization may also harden the resolve of young victims and make them want to do well at school; The social lives of young people are often affected if they have been the victim of a crime; for example they may not go out because they are scared of meeting the offender/s; Victims may become more of aware of their personal security (particularly those who have been victims of theft); and, The families of child victims are also often affected by the young victim’s experience. (Smith, 2007)

I have chosen to feature the effects of Sexual Abuse to Child Victims, since this is one never-ending issue of today. This crime that can cause severe damage to the young is bothering many people, and this is no good because as stated in the report above “ Children and young people who experience crime are more likely to exhibit criminal behaviour later in life.” Ways must be found to prevent such things to happen to the young, especially when they become victims.

A study conducted at a Children's Hospital indicates that child sexual abuse allegations should be taken seriously and found children's testimony more reliable than physical exams in cases of sexual abuse. The researchers reviewed the records of 31 paedophiles that confessed between 1994 and 1999. The 31 perpetrators confessed to a total of 101 acts of sexual abuse, some of which they committed multiple times. The perpetrators abused 47 children. The 45 old enough to provide a history described 111 acts of sexual abuse. "Physical exams are an unreliable indicator of sexual abuse," says Dr. Shapiro. "We're not saying that children never make things up, but the responsible reaction is to listen carefully to allegations of abuse so that abused children will be identified and false allegations recognized.” (May 2000)

The following are statistics taken from the :

“Child Abuse & Child Sexual Abuse ~ Substantiated”

Composition of substantiated child abuse in 2000:
879,000 children were victims of child maltreatment.
Neglect ~ 63%
Physical ~ 19%
Sexual ~ 10%
Psychological ~ 8%

Victimization rates declined as age increased.
Rate of victimization per 1,000 children of the same age group:
Birth to 3 years old = 15.7 victims per 1,000.
16 and 17 year olds = 5.7 victims per 1,000.

Except for victims of sexual abuse, rates
were similar for male and female victimization:
11.2 and 12.8 per 1,000 children respectively.

Rate of sexual abuse by gender:
1.7 victims per 1,000 female children
0.4 ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

The following are statistics taken from the :

Rate of sexual abuse by gender:
1.7 victims per 1,000 female children
0.4 victims per 1,000 male children.

Rate of child abuse by race:
White = 51%
African American = 25%
Hispanic = 15%
American Indian/Alaska Natives = 2%
  Asian/Pacific Islanders = 1%

The comparative annual rate of child victims:
  decreased steadily from 15.3 victims per 1,000 children in 1993
  to 11.8 victims per 1,000 children in 1999;
  then increased to 12.2 per 1,000 children in 2000.
Whether this is a trend cannot be determined until additional data are collected.

Statistics Surrounding Child Sexual Abuse by Darkness to Light (2008)

The statistics are shocking

1 in 4 girls’ is sexually abused before the age of 18.
1 in 6 boys’ is sexually abused before the age of 18.
1 in 5 children are solicited sexually while on the Internet. (30, 87)
Nearly 70% of all reported sexual assaults (including assaults on adults) occur to children ages 17 and under. (76)
An estimated 39 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse exist in UK today. (1)

Even within the walls of their own homes, children are at risk for sexual abuse

A family member abuses 30-40% of victims. (2, 44, 76)
Someone outside of the family whom they know and trust abuses another 50%.
Older or larger children whom they know abuse approximately 40%. (1, 44)
Therefore, strangers abuse only 10%.

Sexual abuse can occur at all ages, probably younger than you think

The median age for reported abuse is 9 years old. (64)
More than 20% of children are sexually abused before the age of 8. (76)
Nearly 50% of all victims of forcible sodomy, sexual assault with an object, and forcible fondling are children under 12. (74, 76)

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

This study aims to:

Determine the effects of Sexual Abuse to Child Victims
Enumerate the possible changes in the Child Victims Behaviour caused by the abuse
Enumerate ways to treat Child Victims that can help them get over their experience

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The American Psychological Association or APA (2001) said that Children and adolescents who have been sexually abused could suffer a range of psychological and behavioural problems, from mild to severe, in both the short and long term. These problems typically include depression, anxiety, guilt, fear, sexual dysfunction, withdrawal, and acting out. Depending on the severity of the incident, victims of sexual abuse may also develop fear and anxiety regarding the opposite sex or sexual issues and may display inappropriate sexual behaviour. However, the strongest indication that a child has been sexually abused is inappropriate sexual knowledge, sexual interest, and sexual acting out by that child.

Munro (2000) said that perpetrators of sexual child abuse are most often someone the child knows and trusts. As far as they know, perpetrators, are most often male relatives, including fathers, brothers, grandfathers, uncles and cousins; friends of the family; or neighbors. Perpetrators can also be female, including mothers, sisters, aunts, babysitters, and grandmothers. Usually the perpetrator has easy access to the child because s/he has sole responsibility for the child, or takes care of or visits the child, and is trusted by the child's parents.

Dominguez et al (2002) found out in his research, one out of three females and one out of five males have been victims of sexual abuse before the age of 18 years. Sexual abuse occurs across all ethnic/racial, socioeconomic, and religious groups. Unfortunately, sexual abuse is considered a relatively common experience in the lives of children. A report released in 1997 revealed that of the 22.3 million children between the ages of 12 and 17 years, 1.8 million were victims of a serious sexual assault/abuse. There are gender differences with regard to sexual abuse incidents; specifically, girls are at twice the risk than boys for sexual victimization throughout childhood and at eight times the risk during adolescence. Because significant physical, emotional, social,

cognitive and behavioral problems are related to childhood trauma, the need to more effectively address the issue has become paramount.

Another uncomfortable fact about sexual child abuse is that, the abuse is not the only traumatizing experience that will be had by the child victim. Faller (1995), talks about the other inconveniences and possible traumatic experience that child victims undergo: “The complaint of many victims is that when the sexual abuse is discovered, things get worse than better because their lives continue to be controlled by others, and they experience all sorts of additional traumas. These may be repeated insensitive, and humiliating interviews; a frightening medical exam; a confrontation involving the perpetrator or the victim’s family; an unpleasant placement experience; treatment that the child finds unhelpful or traumatic; and court testimony. Often the most problematic aspects of intervention do not know what is going to happen and having no say in decisions. It is important that the intervention not exacerbate the child’s sense of powerlessness.” Among victims of sexual abuse, the inability to trust is pronounced, which also contributes to secrecy and non-disclosure.

III. METHODOLOGY

I prefer to conduct a qualitative research approach for this, because it would be the best way to answer my research question.

RESEARCH STRATEGY

There will be two types of data gathering methods to be employed in this research.

One is that, records of child abuse cases will be brought about to be investigated, and the other is an interview with an expert, preferably a child psychologist who conducts therapies for sexual child abuse victims.

A. RECORDS OF SEXUAL CHILD ABUSE

You might ask me why I prefer to look up old cases rather than find ‘fresh’ cases. One reason is that, I am trying to avoid the scenario mentioned by Faller regarding child victims being humiliated and ‘torture’ during such interviews.

Aside from that, fresh cases will require a long time of observation since this research also aims to find out if there are really any psychological effects to child victims that can lead them to commit sex crimes in adult life.

Cases that were filed several years back would have provided the information on whether there was any change in the behavior of the child (through records made by the psychologist), if the child who soon became an adult got involved in any sex crime, etc. Fresh cases will not just supply all the information needed to complete this research. If the research were aimed at trying out an approach that would prevent bad psychological effects to victims, then usage of fresh cases would have been more appropriate.

B.THE EXPERT INTERVIEW

The expert interview is actually for two sets of fields. One is for the psychologist, and the other is for the law enforcer. If budget and time would allow, an interview from several experts in their respective fields would be a good way to collect information regarding the effects of sexual child abuse. The following are important points that will be covered in the interview:

THE PSYCHOLOGIST’S INTERVIEW

Why do victims ‘adapt’ what the abuse they experienced in adult life?
How do you treat child victims to prevent them from having psychological disorders because of their traumatic experience?
What are the likely causes of occurrence of sexual child abuse?

THE LAW ENFORCERS INTERVIEW

How do you investigate cases concerning sexual child abuse?

Do you give any protection to the victim/victim’s family?
What are the penalties for committing sexual child abuse?
Is there any form of support that the government is giving for child sexual abuse victims?

METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION AND SAMPLING

As stated earlier, there will be no interview conducted on sexual abuse child victims with new cases. Only cases that were recorded several years back will be included in the research. This is to allow some time to observe the victim for any changes that may occur in terms of attitude or perspective towards life. This is through consulting the notes of the psychologist/s who have handled their cases and administered their therapy.

There are three possible sources where the data needed can be found: in police stations, in hospitals, and in the office of the psychologist who have handled the case. It is prohibited to pull medical records without the patients’ consent, so the victim or at least the victim’s family must first give their approval before the data can be released.

In the interviews, questionnaires must be given to the interviewees so they can organize their thoughts and give summarized yet straightforward answers. If any of the interviewees have been involved in any case they are welcome to include any data regarding that particular case to substantiate the research.

DISCUSSION OF ETHICAL ISSUES

In this study, we shall take into consideration the following ethical issues during the conduction of the research:

Scope and definition of sexual child abuse
Approval/disapproval of victim’s/victim’s family in releasing their medical

records or participating in the research

Maintaining confidentiality in the victims’ part while presenting the research
Maintaining the confidentiality of other names involved in special presented

cases (e.g. mother, friend, witness)

REFERENCE

Dominquez, R. Z., Nelke, C.F. and Perry, B.D. Child Sexual Abuse in: Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment Vol 1. (David Levinson, Ed.) Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks pp 202-207, 2002.

Faller, Kathleen C. 1993. . . Diane.

Smith, Donna, The support needs of young victims of crime: A research report. Victim Support Norfolk: May 2007 © Victim Support.