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.     

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.     

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.     

“Sex,Lies and Videotapes”: Gathering and Assessing Evidence of Child Abuse in Family Law Cases

Determining the veracity of allegations of child abuse raised in post-separation parenting disputes is difficult, because family courts in Australia do not have their own investigatory power or capacity. They rely on evidence brought before them from State/Territory child protection authorities, police, and other experts who may have interviewed and assessed the child/family. This article describes the gap between Commonwealth and State/Territory responsibilities and mechanisms, and data from a recent evaluation of an innovative program designed to bridge this jurisdictional gap: the Family Court of Australia's “Magellan” case-management model. The views of judges and other key stakeholders from the Family Court and intersecting agencies are presented about the evidence that is put forward in family law disputes in which child sexual abuse or serious physical abuse is alleged. It is important to ensure children's best interests are served, even when it is difficult to adduce evidence and distil truth.     

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.     

Insight into mental illness and child maltreatment risk among mothers with major psychiatric disorders

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the relationship between insight into mental illness and current child maltreatment risk among mothers who had a major psychiatric disorder and who had lost custody of a child because of abuse, neglect, or having placed the child at risk of harm. Specifically, a measure of insight was examined in relation to systematically observed parenting behaviors known to be correlated with past child maltreatment and in relation to a comprehensive clinical determination of risk. METHODS: Forty-four mothers who had a major psychiatric disorder were independently rated for their insight into their illness, the quality of mother-child interaction, and the overall clinical risk of maltreatment. RESULTS: Better insight into mental illness was associated with more sensitive mothering behavior and with lower assessed clinical risk of maltreatment. The association remained when mothers with current psychotic symptoms were excluded from the analyses. Better insight did not appear to be associated with past psychotic symptoms, maternal psychiatric diagnosis, or the mother's level of education. CONCLUSIONS: Insight into mental illness may function as a protective factor that influences the risk of child maltreatment in mothers with mental illness. Measures of insight could be usefully incorporated into comprehensive parenting assessments for mothers with psychiatric disorders.     

Family Court Judges' Decisions Regarding Post-Separation Care Arrangements for Young Children

Whether young children should be in shared care following their parents' separation is a contentious issue, but the impact of this controversy on judicial decision making is unknown. This study examined 110 care arrangement Decisions made in relation to children aged younger than four years as determined by the New Zealand Family Court. Also of interest, was the reasoning used as reflected in judges' written Decisions. Although shared care orders were rarely made, overnight contact with the non-resident parent was ordered in the majority of cases. Overnight contact with the non-resident parent was more likely to be ordered if the young child had older siblings. Other factors examined, including the child's age, gender, domestic violence, parent mental health problems and parent substance abuse, were not associated with care arrangements. Qualitative analysis of judges' written Decisions suggested that judges made care arrangements using a case-by-case approach rather than a formulaic approach. Relevant considerations included Care of Children Act 2004 principles, psychological report recommendations, previous and/or current care arrangements, and factors associated with parental separation which can affect child development such as loss of an already established attachment relationship, parental conflict and diminished parenting quality, safety concerns and care arrangements of siblings.     

Maternal filicide in Japan: analyses of 96 cases and future directions for prevention]

OBJECTIVE: Maternal filicide is not an isolated phenomenon. When a mother kills her child, she may be affected by many factors and confronted with different problems based on the child's developmental stage. In this study in Japan, a judicial sample of 96 adult women, convicted in their first trial for the murder or attempted murder of their children, was divided into four groups of mothers according to the age of the victim (25 women killed neonates, 22 women infants, 27 women preschool children, and 22 women schoolchildren and/or teenagers) in order to identify the factors that have a major impact on filicide in each group. METHODS: The socio-demographic, clinical, forensic, circumstantial, and offense characteristics, and legal disposition of 96 cases drawn from judicial records were compared among the four groups using the Kruskal-Wallis test; comparison of two groups was conducted using the Mann-Whitney test. RESULTS: Neonaticide cases were distinguished from the other three groups by marked differences: a significantly higher rate of unmarried mothers, financial difficulties, absence of mental illness, and admission of not wanting an illegitimate child. In the other groups, mental disorders were frequent; in particular, post-partum depression was the primary cause of infanticide. For the two groups of cases involving a child older than one year, filicidal mothers were more affected by circumstantial factors such as health problems of the child or severe marital discord. These problems may then have caused a reactive mental disorder among these mothers. The risk of fatal abuse or neglect was higher for handicapped preschool children. Filicide-suicide was most frequently seen among school-aged children and/or teenagers who had serious behavioral problems, and these children often had a mental disorder. CONCLUSIONS: The classification of maternal filicide by age of the child demonstrated that there are specific issues for each group. Based on these findings, future directions for prevention include: appropriate sex education for youths to avoid unwanted pregnancy; organization of specialized mental health services for mothers with post-partum mental disorder; careful psychiatric risk assessment of mentally ill mothers; and development of diversified social support measures for child-bearing parents, especially those with identifiable financial or social difficulties.     

Paternal filicide in Québec

In this retrospective study, relevant demographic, social, and clinical variables were examined in 77 cases of paternal filicide. Between 1991 and 2001, all consecutive coroners' files on domestic homicide in Québec, Canada, were reviewed, and 77 child victims of 60 male parent perpetrators were identified. The results support data indicating that more fathers commit filicide than do mothers. A history of family abuse was characteristic of a substantial number of cases, and most of the cases involved violent means of homicide. Filicide was frequently (60%) followed by the suicide of the perpetrator and more so (86%) in cases involving multiple sibling victims. The abuse of drugs and alcohol was rare. At the time of the offense, most of the perpetrators were suffering from a psychiatric illness, usually depressive disorder. Nearly one-third were in a psychotic state. The proportion of fatal abuse cases was comparatively low. Many of the perpetrators had had contact with health professionals prior to the offense, although none had received treatment for a psychiatric illness.     

Adverse Family Experiences,Child Mental Health,and Educational Outcomes for a National Sample of Students

Exposure to adversity in childhood, including domestic violence, parental mental illness, loss, and poverty, is a known risk factor for long-term physical and mental health problems. This secondary data analysis uses the National Survey of Children’s Health 2011/12 to examine the association between exposure to family adversity and academic outcomes, as mediated by child mental health. The analytic sample included 65,680 children between the ages of six and 17, representative of the US child population. Family adversity, as mediated by child mental health status, was negatively associated with school engagement and positively associated with being retained in grade and being on an Individualized Education Program. Male gender, family economic hardship, living in an unsafe neighborhood, and poor caregiver mental health were additional risk factors. Results suggest the need for improved mental health screening for students who exhibit internalizing and externalizing symptoms.     

False allegations of sexual abuse by children and adolescents

The frequency of false allegations of sexual abuse by children and adolescents is of significant legal and clinical importance. The rate of false allegations of sexual abuse is examined in a large sample of Child Protective Services (CPS) cases. The criteria used by CPS workers in judging the validity of allegations are considered, and the relationship between substantiation rates and attitudes about the trustworthiness of child reports of abuse is explored. Many professionals in the field of child sexual abuse are more skeptical of child and adolescent claims of sexual abuse than available research suggests is warranted.     

Therapeutic management of sexual abuse allegations in custody and visitation disputes

Our experience is that in many cases, trying to assess the "truthfulness" or "falseness" of sexual abuse allegations that occur in the midst of custody and access disputes may not be possible. Instead therapeutic management of such cases is advocated. A case is presented in which sexual abuse was suspected because the recanting child displayed sexualized symptoms. Following a thorough assessment, which indicated that the child was abused, but could not confirm who the offender was, both the child and the mother were seen in psychotherapy on a regular basis. The father used counselling to achieve rights for visitations. The building of a therapeutic relationship allowed us to experiment with the situation to where we felt we could identify the potential offender who had to be kept away from the child. In addition, the therapeutic relationship enables this family to come to us to resolve their disputes rather than use the judicial system.     

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.     

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     

Mental health, behaviour problems and incidence of child abuse at the age of 16 years

Of the 1,575 pregnant women registered at the public Antenatal Health Care Service in the city of Link?ping, Sweden during 1983, an index group of 78 women was identified that met specific well-defined psychosocial risk criteria related to drug addiction, mental insufficiency, and particular social circumstances of possible relevance to problems of pregnancy and early child development. A further 78 pregnant women who did not meet the inclusion criteria were used as a reference group. The present study is a 16-year follow-up in which 43 (57%) of the original index children and 63 (82%) of the original reference children were examined on indices of mental health, and the presence of child abuse. Their mental health was assessed with the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) completed by the mothers and the Youth Self-Report (YSR) completed by the adolescents. The incidence of child abuse and Social Welfare interventions was obtained from Social Welfare records. The index children, especially the boys, displayed significantly poorer mental health as assessed by both CBCL (p<0.05) and YSR (p<0.02). Being an index child increased the odds ratio 16-27 times for different Social Welfare interventions, and child abuse had been investigated in 27% of the index children compared to 1% of the reference children.     

Timing of mental illness onset and motherhood

The timing of mental illness onset in relationship to birth of children was explored as a possible indicator of the extent to which mothers experienced difficulties in parenting and functioning. Analyses employed data from a longitudinal study of urban-based, primarily minority mothers with mental illness (N = 379) who had parenting responsibility for their minor children. We found that women who were parents first and experienced mental illness onset after the birth of all their children showed the most positive trajectories over the study course. Mothers whose mental illness onset occurred before the birth of any of their children also showed improvements in functioning and symptomatology over time. In contrast, mothers whose mental illness onset had occurred in temporal proximity to the birth of a child showed little improvement. They also were younger, on average, at first birth, and had the largest number of children. Thus, timing of mental illness onset and childbirth may be predictive of longer-term maternal functioning and therefore may be useful in clinical assessment and treatment.     

Involvement in the child welfare system among mothers with serious mental illness

OBJECTIVE: This study sought to determine the association between maternal schizophrenia and major affective disorders (serious mental illness) and child custody arrangements in a sample of Medicaid-eligible mothers. METHODS: Medicaid eligibility and claims data were merged with data from the child welfare system in Philadelphia for 1995 to 2000. The sample comprised 4,827 female residents of Philadelphia between the ages of 15 and 45 as of 1996, who were initially eligible for Medicaid through Aid to Families With Dependent Children between 1995 and 1996 and who had at least one family member younger than 18 years at the beginning of the study period. Logistic regression was used to determine association between maternal mental illness and involvement in the child welfare system. RESULTS: Among the 4,827 mothers, 7.2 percent had a serious mental illness and 4.4 percent had other psychiatric diagnoses. More than 14 percent of mothers with serious mental illness received child welfare services, compared with 10.8 percent of those with other psychiatric diagnoses, and 4.2 percent of those without a diagnosis. After the analyses adjusted for a past inpatient episode, race or ethnicity, and age, mothers with serious mental illness were almost three times as likely to have had involvement in the child welfare system or to have children who had an out-of-home placement. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest the urgent need for increased planning and coordination between the child welfare and mental health systems, including provision of parenting support as part of mental health treatment for mothers.     

Children of mothers who are at psycho-social risk. Mental health,behaviour problems and incidence of child abuse at age 8 years

Of the 1575 pregnant women registered at the public Antenatal Health Care Service in the city of Linköping, Sweden, during 1983, an index-group of 78 women were identified who met specific well-defined psychosocial risk-criteria related to drug addiction, mental insufficiency, and particular social circumstances of possible relevance to problems of pregnancy and early child development. Seventy-eight pregnant women who did not meet the inclusion criteria were used as a reference group. The present study was an 8-year follow up in which 47 of the original index children and 57 of the original reference children were examined on indices of mental health, and the presence of child abuse. Their mental health was assessed on the basis of a Symptom and Behaviour Interview (SBI) with the mother and a Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) completed by the mothers and the teachers. The incidence of child abuse was obtained from Social Welfare records. The index children displayed significantly poorer mental health as assessed by the SBI and the CBCL, had a more negative self-image, and child abuse had been investigated in 30°10 of the index families compared to 1 % in the reference families. The study suggests, based on the suboptimal development of the risk children, that screening for early psychosocial risk factors should be done routinely and be combined with early interventions.     

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.