A Shoestring Operation for Sexually Abused Children

The title of this paper refers to how resources were gathered to provide a therapy group for latency aged children who had been sexually abused. In one way it is a sad commentary on how society treats children who have been victimized; on the other hand, this account shows how volunteers with a will can harness the energies of social agencies to help provide a needed service that was not yet established. The history of social work is replete with accounts of generous individuals who stepped forward to do the necessary. Social work, like nursing, had its origins in volunteerism.¹ Even today lacunae in public welfare are filled by volunteers, and while not all efforts become institutionalized the trend toward innovation and compassion is still strong in contemporary society (Newsweek, “A 51 Gun Salute to Everyday heroes” pp 62-79 July 6 1987).

Within the profession, there are always fields of service that are on the cutting edge of human needs—witness industrial social work, divorce mediation, services to lesbian/gay clients, AlDs victims, etc. Often these special programs, or the recognition of special populations within an agency's service area are first made by employed professionals within the agency. If the innovative professional has success, the program or method is gradually extended to other agencies and finally adopted by the government. While the connection between individual innovation and public policy is too complex to be described here, it is sufficient to say that the current American program of AFDC had its origins from the experience of juvenile court judges who were faced with the prospect of removing dependent children from their widowed mother. The common sense of these officials and other child advocates saw the wisdom of preserving the family at state expense (Trattner, 1974, pp 185-186).

Whether the situation is that of orphaned or abused children, the process is slow that defines the fact into a social problem. Sometimes, without much fanfare or rhetoric, an individual professional or a volunteer will attempt a remedy either with spontaneous effort or a small scale program. These small efforts can emerge despite the bureauracy that controls the bulk of public welfare; sometimes the new remedy becomes part of received wisdom and public policy. Whether it is continued or not the program has responded to human need in a changing world. Social work in industry, among refugees, displaced homemakers, gay people are some of the instances in which small scale operations came before “public” help.

The problem of sexually abused children has been around a long time; any kind of sexual activity with a child is harmful (Conte 1981, pp 601-602.). An unknown number of child victims grow up without psychological help that could prevent painful memories as an adult. It was to prevent this emotional scaring that the “shoestring operation” was launched.