1. “Should children be believed when they disclose sexual abuse?”
Katrina Belliveau

2. Background Information
Sexual abuse is often a “hidden crime” (often goes unreported)
1 in 10 abuse investigations in Canada involves suspected sexual abuse of children
Child often the only witness to the crime
Person accused is often a family member or someone close to the child

3. Impact of allegations Families torn apart by false allegations
Children (re-)victimized by having to testify against an accuser
Wrongful convictions

4. Controversy
Some say that any disclosure of sexual abuse by a child should be treated as valid
Others contend that children rarely disclose sexual abuse on their own and any disclosure should be treated as “highly suspect”

5. Supporting Views Children can be resistant to suggestion
Children lack the sexual experience needed to make up stories of abuse
Disclosure of sexual abuse of any kind should be taken seriously, no matter what circumstance leads to the disclosure

6. Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome (CSAAS)
Summit (1983):
5 component model for how children disclose sexual abuse in stages:
1)secrecy
2)helplessness
3)entrapment and accomodation
4)delayed, conflicted and unconvincing disclosures
5)retraction of disclosure
-Disclosure can have a dramatic start or be a slow gradual process
(as cited in London et al.)
Talk about problems with this model

7. Research
Sauzier (1989):
Longitudinal study on 156 (documented) sexually abused children:
-looked at both effects and types of disclosure from children

8. Findings 56% voluntary disclosures
More likely to disclose to a parent (except in cases where parent was perpetrator)
Accidental disclosure (involuntary disclosure) puts less stress on children than voluntary disclosure

9. Research Greenstock & Pipe (1999)
Peer support decreases suggestibility in children
48 children 5-10 years of age
School dental visit/invasive procedure
Interviewed 4 days later
Children interviewed alone, with an informed peer, and an uninformed peer (no dental visit)
Younger children (5-7) were less likely to be misled by incorrect information when interviewed in the presence of a peer (informed or uninformed), even when the peer contributed nothing to the conversation
Evidence that even highly suggestible children (preschool age) can resist suggestion in some cases

10. Reasons For False disclosure
Custody battles
Parent/authority figure can influence the child
Suggestive/leading questions can lead to implanted memories/false allegations
Children often make up stories (fantasy vs. reality) especially younger ones

11. Research for suggestibility
Poole & Lindsay (2001)
3-8-year olds
Participation in science experiments
Parents read them a story (experienced/non-experienced events
follow up interview by researchers:
despite age reported the non-experienced events when given open-ended questions
Importance of exposure to misinformation from authority figures

12. Suggestibility
Saywitz, Goodman, Nicholas, and Moan (1991):
Questioned 5-7 year old girls about details of a medical exam
Regular medical examination/genital examination
Open-ended, direct, and misleading questions about the touching from examinations and to demonstrate using dolls
Immediate testing and three month delay
-children questioned immediately after and three months later
Results showed
As cited in Bruck et al. (1998).

13. Suggestibility
Results indicated that in immediate recall and after a 3 month delay:
-Children make errors in omission (leave out events) and commission (falsely claim to have experienced an event)

14. Interview Techniques Bruck et al. (1998): Biases
Stereotype Inducement (e.g. “did the bad man do that?”)
Atmosphere of the interview (pressure on the child; lack of a neutral environment)
Use of anatomically correct dolls (these are also highly debated)
Repeated questioning
Context of disclosure

15. Voluntary disclosure “suspect”
Research suggests that children rarely disclose sexual abuse
Paine & Hansen (2001):
Adult self-report data from an archival study revealed:
-50% of participants who experienced attempted sexual activity or non-contact sexual experiences did not disclose
-54% of children subjected to intercourse did
not disclose
-inverse relationship between disclosure and severity of abuse

16. Research Sorenson & Snow (1991) Adult self-report data
Nearly 75% of abuse victims initially deny abuse
75% did not disclose within one year of abuse
18% waited more than 5 years to disclose
7-10% recant confession due to pressure

17. Age differences Ceci & Bruck (1993) Meta-analysis:
88% of the studies (14/16)
Preschoolers are the most suggestible
Even older children can be vulnerable to suggestive interviewing techniques
Older children do not reach “adult level” of resistance to suggestion until early adolescence

18. Credibility of children
Bruck et al. (1998):
Need for:
-Unbiased neutral interviews
-Limit the number of interviews
-Avoid leading questions
-Avoid bribes, threats
-TRAINING

19. Important to consider:
Context in which the child discloses
Corroborating evidence of any kind
Need to increase the responsiveness of adults to children

20. Limitations to Research
Retrospective research: data from adults in most cases
Longitudinal research is dated
False denials: self-report data only
Children being looked at may have made false allegations of abuse

21. Conclusions
Children need to be treated as a “special population” when it comes to sexual abuse allegations
Need to increase community awareness
Training for people who work with children
More longitudinal research is needed

22. The legal system
How do they handle this issue in the legal system in Canada?
Children treated as a “special population”
Children can be accompanied by a “support person” in court
Awareness that children’s testimony is vulnerable to suggestibility and influence from adults
Can no longer be cross-examined by the accused
It is the law to report suspected sexual abuse of children

23. Graduate Programs in Canada & USA
Dr. Barry Trute or Dr. Diane Hiebert-Murphy
University of Manitoba
Sandy K. Wurtele, Associate Professor, Ph.D., University of Alabama, Clinical interests: Child sexual abuse and pediatric psychology. Therapy orientation: Behavioral.
Janis Wolak (Crimes against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire, US)

24. Discussion Questions:
“What would you do if a child disclosed to you that they were being sexually abused?”
“What factors would you consider in deciding on a course of action?”

25. References
Bruck, M., Ceci, S. J., & Hembrooke, H. (1998). Reliability and credibility of young children’s reports: From research to policy and practice. American Psychologist, 53 (2),
Bruck, M., Ceci, S. J., & Hembrooke, H. (2002). The nature of children’s true and false narratives. Developmental Review, 22 (3),
Goodman, G.S., Taub, E. P. (1992). Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 57(2).
Greenstock & Pipe (1999). Are two heads better than one? Peer support and children’s eyewitness reports. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 11 (6),
London, K., Bruck, M., Ceci, S. J., & Shuman, D. W. (2005). Disclosure of child sexual abuse: What does the research tell us about the ways that children tell? Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 11 (1),
Paine, M. L., & Hansen, D. J. (2002). Factors influencing children to self-disclose sexual abuse. Clinical Psychology Review, 22,
Poole, D. A. & Lindsay, D. S. (2001). Children’s eyewitness reports after exposure to misinformation from parents. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 7 (1),
Sauzier, M. (1989). Disclosure of child sexual abuse: For better or for worse. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 12 (2),