Professional Issues Related to Allegations and Assessment of Child Sexual Abuse in the Context of Family Court Litigation

This article focuses on the challenge of dealing with allegations of child sexual abuse in the context of the Family Court of Australia. Of all cases that come before the Court, those involving such allegations are relatively uncommon. they tend to be the most difficult cases, however, and are more likely to require a trial and the involvement of qualified practitioners. The review establishes that parental separation is a special circumstance in which sexual abuse may be more likely to occur, and many allegations of sexual abuse are found to be true. There is evidence, however, that a proportion of allegations made by people other than the child concerned may be false. Whether these false allegations are well intentioned and genuinely believed, or maliciously motivated has been a contentious issue. Issues considered include the mishandling of cases, the failure by professionals to consider equally plausible alternative hypotheses than the sexual abuse of a child, confirmation bias, and the profound repercussions of allegations for all members of the family. It is concluded that all allegations of child sexual abuse must be evaluated in a thorough and sensitive manner to separate the few false allegations from the many that are true.     

Possible explanations for child sexual abuse allegations in divorce

Based on a clinical sample of 136 cases, four classes of child sexual abuse cases in divorce are proposed: divorce precipitated by discovery of sexual abuse; long-standing sexual victimization revealed after marital breakup; sexual abuse precipitated by marital dissolution; and false allegations made during or after divorce. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.     

The assessment of custody and access disputes in cases of sexual abuse allegations

Sexual abuse allegations directed at one parent can arise in the context of custody and access disputes. The role of the clinician, when such allegations occur, is to provide an assessment of the total situation, taking the allegations into account. To assess the probability that sexual abuse has occurred involves a thorough assessment of the accuser, the accused, the accusation, the child, and different family subsystems. Particular attention should be paid to interviewing the young child with detailed focus on the interviewing process, how the interviews are reported and what conclusions may be drawn from them. Following a thorough assessment, the clinician may reach one of three conclusions: that the sexual abuse has probably occurred, has probably not occurred, or is unsure. A strong caution is given against becoming entangled in an endless process of trying to find out whether the allegations are true or false. Whatever conclusions are reached are but one factor in the recommendation regarding custody and/or access. Ultimately the recommendation will be made according to the best interests of the child, taking into account the child's relationships and attachments, as well as the sexual abuse allegations.     

A conceptual model for judging the truthfulness of a young child's allegation of sexual abuse

Because of the increased number of allegations of sexual abuse made by young children and the often severe legal penalties given to adult perpetrators, there is reason for concern about false or mistaken accusations. This paper develops a conceptual model for judging the truthfulness of such allegations by a young child.     

False sexual-abuse allegations by children and adolescents: contextual factors and clinical subtypes.

The authors review the empirical literature concerning the frequency of false allegations of sexual abuse as well as the case report literature that describes individual episodes of false allegations in detail. The authors then construct a clinical typology that is derived from the literature and their own clinical experience with similar cases. The specific subtypes of the typology are: (1) False allegation in the context of a custody dispute, (2) false allegations resulting from psychological disturbance on the part of the accuser, (3) false allegation as a conscious manipulation by the child or adolescent and, (4) false allegations based on iatrogenic factors. Clinical examples of each subtype are presented. The case material presented and reviewed indicates the importance of attending to the contextual factors surrounding the allegation and pursuing a detailed comprehensive evaluation that is as free of bias as possible.     

Filial dependency and recantation of child sexual abuse allegations

OBJECTIVE: Controversy abounds regarding the process by which child sexual abuse victims disclose their experiences, particularly the extent to which and the reasons why some children, once having disclosed abuse, later recant their allegations. This study examined the prevalence and predictors of recantation among 2- to 17-year-old child sexual abuse victims. METHOD: Case files (n = 257) were randomly selected from all substantiated cases resulting in a dependency court filing in a large urban county between 1999 and 2000. Recantation (i.e., denial of abuse postdisclosure) was scored across formal and informal interviews. Cases were also coded for characteristics of the child, family, and abuse. RESULTS: A 23.1% recantation rate was observed. Multivariate analyses supported a filial dependency model of recantation, whereby abuse victims who were more vulnerable to familial adult influences (i.e., younger children, those abused by a parent figure and who lacked support from the nonoffending caregiver) were more likely to recant. An alternative hypothesis, that recantations resulted from potential inclusion of cases involving false allegations, was not supported. CONCLUSION: Results provide new insight into the process by which children reveal interpersonal trauma and have implications for debates concerning the credibility of child sexual abuse allegations and treatment in dependency samples.     

Understanding Children's Medium for Disclosing Sexual Abuse: A Tool for Overcoming Potential Misconceptions in the Courtroom

Complainants in child sexual assault trials are often questioned by the defence about disclosure of the alleged abuse. The defence will often ask the child how they disclosed the alleged sexual abuse, including to whom the initial disclosure was made. Such questions are legitimate and directed towards testing the complainant's allegations. Sometimes, such questions are used to impeach the complainant's credibility. It is not uncommon in such instances for the defence to suggest that certain modes of disclosure are more consistent with having been sexually victimized and that a complainant who has disclosed otherwise is more likely to have fabricated the allegations of abuse. This article reviews the findings of empirical research on whom victims of child sexual abuse most commonly disclose their abuse to and by what means such disclosure is commonly made. This understanding is important to challenge misconceived views about how victims disclose child sexual abuse.     

Clarifying erroneous child sexual abuse allegations

A review of several hundred court cases involving child sexual abuse allegations has shown that both children and adults make false reports. Various kinds of false reports are defined, described, and grouped according to type: misunderstandings, misreporting, distortion through illness, distortion by design, professional error, misrepresentation, and a grouping of less common instances.     

Allegations of child sexual abuse in child custody disputes: a therapeutic assessment model

Guidelines are set forth for judges and others who must make decisions in custody disputes that include allegations of child sexual abuse. The focus is on the protection of the child and the model highlights the role of mental health professionals, prescribing separate therapists for child and parent where possible. Allegations of sexual abuse are seen as an indicator of emotional risk for the child, even in cases where the allegations are untrue.     

Interview criteria for assessing allegations of sexual abuse in children and adults

Freud's dilemma with regard to whether or not he should believe his patients' allegations of sexual abuse in childhood is well known. A century later, psychoanalysts are still dealing with this important issue. In this article, I describe the criteria I have developed in recent years, criteria that have been useful for me when attempting to determine whether my child and adult patients' allegations of sex abuse are more likely to be true or more likely to be false. Although these differentiating criteria were developed in the context of forensic evaluations, they should prove useful in clinical settings as well.     

False allegations of satanic abuse: Case studies from the witch panic in Rättvik 1670–71

The creation of false memories, psychiatric symptoms and false allegations of satanic child abuse during an outbreak of witch hysteria in Sweden in the seventeenth century are described and related to contemporary issues in child testimonies. Case studies of 28 children and 14 adults are presented. The mechanisms underlying the spread of these allegations, as well as the reactions and influence of the adult world on the children's testimonies, are discussed.     

Assessing Alleged Child Sexual Abusers in Noncriminal Contexts: Proposed Guidelines for Practice

Assessing child sexual abuse allegations is a challenging task for any child protection or mental health professional given that the secretive nature of sexual abuse is often associated with limited medical evidence and a lack of independent corroborative information. In addition to the scant evidence available to help decide the case, there are controversies surrounding the legal standard of proof and immense pressure to act quickly to ensure the safety of the children who are allegedly abused. Unfortunately, there is currently a lack of literature pertaining to the assessment of alleged child sexual abusers. This article examines the standard of proof and legal conundrum pertaining to alleged child sexual abuse cases. More importantly, it proposes guidelines for mental health professionals conducting an assessment of such persons. Assessments, if conducted effectively, can assist the court and child protection services in managing the risk of future inappropriate sexual behaviors.     

Specificity and sensitivity of sexually anatomically correct dolls in substantiating abuse: a pilot study

Sexually anatomically correct dolls are often used to verify or refute allegations of sexual abuse in young children. As a test of their effectiveness in facilitating decisions about the abuse status of young children, the authors conducted blind interviews with six abused subjects, five nonclinic controls and four psychiatric controls. The child psychiatrist interviewer followed a standardized protocol and was able to correctly categorize 33% of the abused and 67% of the nonabused children. Proper classification was 53% for the sample using this protocol. The authors' preliminary conclusion is that, without other information available to the interviewer, sexually anatomically correct dolls are a poor source of information to decide the abuse status of a young child. The authors recommend that professionals should be cautious when basing decisions on a single instrument, such as sexually anatomically correct dolls. Mental health professionals are encouraged to maintain quality standards in evaluation of children by conducting a comprehensive examination in child sexual abuse cases.     

Sexual problems associated with dementia: Part 1. Problems and their consequences

Sexual problems associated with dementia fall into four groups: problems involving an established partner, problems involving a new partner, problems occurring independent of a sexual partner (sexual acting out, inappropriate sexual talk, false sexual allegations) and sexual abuse. The whole area has received little attention despite the major consequences for patients, partners and carers.     

Allegations of Sexual Abuse in the Family Court of Australia: Implications of Re W (Sex Abuse: Standard of Proof) [2004] FLC 93–192

In 2004 the Full Court of the Family Court of Australia heard an appeal in the matter of Re W (Sex Abuse: Standard of Proof) [2004] FLC 93–192. This decision has substantially changed the standard of proof expected of judges and Federal Court magistrates before they can find that a child may be exposed to an ‘unacceptable risk of sexual abuse’. This also has consequences for decisions about the time child(ren) should spend with a parent who is the alleged perpetrator of the abuse. The article examines the basis of the Full Court's decision and a number of other decisions in matters involving child sexual abuse allegations.     

Criteria and methodology for assessing credibility of sexual abuse allegation

This paper will consider three types of interview that are held with sexually abused children. After discussing common problems in technique, it will suggest a methodology designed to help determine a child's credibility and assist in forming and demonstrating a reliable expert opinion for court purposes. Next, it will describe three types of data crucial in investigating allegations of sexual abuse, and will suggest clinical criteria useful in distinguishing true from false allegations. Finally, it will examine the validity of these criteria, comparing them to those of other workers in the field.     

The federal Model Child Care Standards Act of 1985: step in the right direction or hollow gesture?

Child care quality has resurfaced as an important policy issue, buttressed by demographic data, increased knowledge about the current status of child care programs, and recent allegations of sexual abuse in child care settings. This article evaluates the likely effectiveness of the Reagan administration's major response--the 1985 Model Child Care Standards Act--in assuring that children receive quality care in their early years.     

Treatment of adolescent psychoses with olanzapine: A preliminary report

Background: The empirical and theoretical literature on children's autobiographical statements about child sexual abuse and other forms of maltreatment should be of potential importance to all professionals who regularly interview children as part of their professional duties. Aims: To present an introduction to this field. Methods: Narrative review. Results: Preschool children appear to be capable of providing reliable testimony on highly salient personal experiences such as sexual abuse, though a substantial proportion of children may choose not to. However, suggestive interviewing practises, particularly when used with younger children, may elicit false allegations. There is little evidence to suggest that experiences from the preverbal period of life can later be meaningfully reconstructed by means of statements or clinical signs. Conclusions: Use of children as witnesses and informants requires special considerations, knowledge and skills.     

A practical approach to sexual abuse allegations: Netherlands Expert Committee for Equivocal Sexual Abuse Allegations

Equivocal sexual abuse allegations are those in which the details of the alleged offence(s) are uncertain. The circumstances are ambiguous, there is limited evidence, and it is unclear how police investigations should proceed. This article discusses the challenges such allegations pose for police, prosecution, judges and mental health experts, and advocates for the use of multidisciplinary expert opinion during the investigation. The practical application of this approach by the Netherlands Expert Committee for Equivocal Sexual Abuse Allegations (LEBZ) is described, which has assessed over 900 cases since its inception in 1999. The LEBZ approach represents a significant innovation in police and criminal justice responses to equivocal allegations of sexual assault, which warrants consideration in other jurisdictions.Key words: expert testimony, investigative psychology, multidisciplinary approach, sexual abuse allegations