By Anne M. Nurse

Most people get information about child sexual abuse from media coverage, social movements, or conversations with family and friends. Confronting Child Sexual Abuse describes how these forces shape our views of victims and offenders, while also providing an in-depth look at prevention efforts and current research. Sociologist Anne Nurse has synthesized studies spanning the fields of psychology, sociology, communications, criminology, and political science to produce this nuanced, accessible, and up-to-date account. Topics include the prevalence of abuse, the impact of abuse on victims and families, offender characteristics, abuse in institutions, and the efficacy of treatments. Written for people who care for kids, for students considering careers in criminal justice or human services, and for anyone seeking information about this devastating issue, Nurse’s book offers new public policy ideas as well as practical suggestions on how to engage in prevention work. Interactive links to studies, videos, and podcasts connect readers to further resources.

Ann Arbor, MI: Lever Press, 2020. 319p.

By Jenny DiPlacidi

This book demonstrates that incest was representative of a range of interests crucial to writers of the Gothic, often women or homosexual men who adopted a critical stance in relation to the heteronormative patriarchal world. In repositioning the Gothic, representations of incest are revealed as synonymous with the Gothic as a whole. The book argues that extending the traditional endpoint of the Gothic makes it possible to understand the full range of familial, legal, marital, sexual and class implications associated with the genre's deployment of incest. Gothic authors deploy the generic convention of incest to reveal as inadequate heteronormative ideologies of sexuality and desire in the patriarchal social structure that render its laws and requirements arbitrary. The book examines the various familial ties and incestuous relationships in the Gothic to show how they depict and disrupt contemporary definitions of gender, family and desire. Many of the methodologies adopted in Gothic scholarship and analyses of incest reveal ongoing continuities between their assumptions and those of the very ideologies Gothic authors strove to disrupt through their use of the incest trope. Methodologies such as Freudian psychoanalysis, as Botting argues, can be positioned as a product of Gothic monster-making, showing the effect of Gothic conventions on psychoanalytic theories that are still in wide use today.

Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2018. 314p.

By Jyoti Puri

In Sexual States Jyoti Puri uses the example of the efforts to decriminalize homosexuality in India to show how the regulation of sexuality is fundamentally tied to the creation and enduring existence of the state. Between 2001 and 2013 activists attempted to rewrite section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which outlaws homosexual behavior. Having interviewed activists and NGO workers throughout five metropolitan centers, investigated crime statistics at the National Crime Records Bureau, visited various state institutions, and met with the police, Puri found that section 377 is but one element of the large and complex systems of laws, practices, policies, and discourses that regulate Indian sexuality. Intended to mitigate sexuality's threat to the social order, this regulation works to preserve the views of the state as inevitable, legitimate, and indispensable. By highlighting the various means through which the regulation of sexuality constitutes India's heterogeneous and fragmented.

Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 233p;.

By Philip M Stinson, Zachary J. Calogeras, Natalie L. DiChiro, and Ryan K. Hunter

This report was prepared at the request of the California Research Bureau. The data are from a larger study on police crime in the United States. Police crimes are those crimes committed by sworn law enforcement officers given the general powers of arrest at the time the offense was committed and/or at the time when the officer was arrested. These crimes can occur while the officer is on- or off-duty and include offenses committed by state, county, municipal, tribal, or special law enforcement agencies. Police crimes damage the occupational integrity of police officers, the organizational legitimacy of the employing law enforcement agency, and the overall authority and legitimacy of the law enforcement community. According to Stinson’s (2009) typology of police crime, nearly all crime committed by sworn law enforcement officers is alcohol-related, drug-related, sex-related, violence-related, and/or profit-motivated. This report focuses on the sex-related police crime arrests of sworn law enforcement officers in the State of California during the years 2005-2011.

Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University, 2015. 25p.

By Debra Allnock with Lisa Bunting, Avril Price, Natalie Morgan-Klein, Jane Ellis, Lorraine Radford and Anne Stafford

Worldwide it has been estimated that 160 million girls and 73 million boys under 18 years of age have experienced forced sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual violence involving physical contact (Pinheiro, 2006, p12). In the UK the true prevalence of sexual violence against children and young people is not known, but a recent review published in The Lancet estimated that between 5 and 10 per cent of girls and 5 per cent of boys have experienced penetrative sexual abuse and up to three times this number have been exposed to other forms of sexual violence (Gilbert et al, 2008). …This research, generously funded by the Private Equity Foundation and the Children’s Charity, aimed to address a gap in our knowledge by mapping the availability of therapeutic services to support children and young people who have experienced sexual abuse across the United Kingdom.

London: NSPCC, 2009. 171p.

By Anita Franklin, Louise Bradley and Geraldine Brady

This report sets out the findings from a study commissioned by the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (CSA Centre),as part of a suite of work to expand the evidence base on how best to assess the effectiveness of services responding to child sexual abuse (CSA). Research has shown that children and young people who are in care or leaving care, and those who have learning difficulties, are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse. Establishing what works in terms of interventions for these groups is a research priority for the CSA Centre; accordingly, Coventry University was commissioned to undertake interviews with a sample of 10 young people with learning difficulties, and a further 10 young people with experience of being in care, who had accessed CSA support services. The sample of young people was identified and recruited by CSA services across England and Wales. Those who were in or had left care included those in foster care, kinship care, supported accommodation and residential care. The young people identified by CSA services as having learning difficulties included some with autism, Asperger’s or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); others who needed significant support at school; and some who had learning needs associated with their trauma.

Ilford, UK: Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, 2019. 40p.

By Diana Parkinson and Rosaline Sullivan

This report forms part of a suite of work undertaken by the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (CSA Centre) to expand the evidence base on how best to assess the effectiveness of services responding to child sexual abuse (CSA). It sets out the findings from an online survey of service providers, which was sent out to more than 300 contacts in the sector and shared through social media. The survey questionnaire was completed by 50 organisations across England and Wales that: ‣ provided specific support to children/ young people at risk of CSA or who had experienced/were experiencing CSA, or ‣ specifically targeted CSA, including child sexual exploitation (CSE), perhaps alongside wider services. While these were a self-selected group and cannot be regarded as representative of organisations working in the field of CSA, the information they provided has widened our knowledge of the services that are delivered, the children and young people who are being reached, the aspects of service delivery that providers consider to be most effective, and the challenges they face.

Ilford, UK: Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, 2019. 40p.

By Di McNeish, Liz Kelly and Sara Scott

This report sets out the findings from a knowledge review commissioned by the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (the CSA Centre), as part of a suite of work to expand the evidence base on how best to assess the effectiveness of services responding to child sexual abuse (CSA). The review was undertaken by DMSS Research in partnership with the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit, London Metropolitan University, between July and December 2018. It involved four phases: ‣ a rapid review of the literature, to highlight what published evidence does and does not tell us about service provision, and to establish what evaluations had already been conducted in this field ‣ ‘key informant’ interviews with 13 individuals identified for their practice and research experience and expertise ‣ three focus groups bringing together practitioners, policymakers and commissioners ‣ site visits to 12 CSA services across England and Wales, which incorporated interviews with managers and staff (either individually or in groups) and with 12 young people who had used the services. Drawing on this work, the report outlines the current landscape of service provision, identifies core elements of effective practice in the field, and outlines the implications for the feasibility of multi-service evaluation

Ilford, UK: Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, 2019. 40p.

By David Finkelhor; Kimberly J. Mitchell and Janis Wolak

In its fiscal year 1999 Appropriations Bill, the U.S. Congress directed the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to undertake the first national survey on the risks faced by children on the Internet, focusing on unwanted sexual solicitations and pornography; in fulfilling this mandate, this report examines the problem and provides a base-line understanding of the risks in order to help policymakers, law enforcement, and families better understand the risks and respond effectively. The survey found that a large fraction of youth were encountering offensive experiences on the Internet, and the offenses and offenders were even more diverse than previously thought. Although most sexual solicitations failed, their quantity was alarming. The primary vulnerable population is teenagers…. social scientists should cooperate with Internet technologists to explore various social and technological strategies for reducing offensive and illegal behavior on the Internet. Further, laws are needed to help ensure offensive acts that are illegal in other contexts will also be illegal on the Internet

Alexandria, VA: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 2020. 63p.

By Michael Skidmore, Beth Aitkenhead and Rick Muir

The internet has enabled the production and consumption of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) on an industrial scale. It has also created new opportunities for adults to sexually abuse and exploit children. The volume of online child sexual abuse offences is now so great that it has simply overwhelmed the ability of law enforcement agencies, internationally, to respond. However, there is nothing pre-determined about this situation. Public policy can make a difference. This report looks at what can be done to help “turn the tide” on online Child Sexual Abuse (CSA). It does this by first describing the scale and nature of online CSA, second, assessing the ability of the police and law enforcement to investigate these crimes, third, by examining the service provided to victims of online CSA and, finally by looking at what more can be done to prevent online CSA in the first place.

London: The Police Foundation UK, 2022. 95p.

By Kairika Karsna and Rabiya Majeed-Ariss

This report brings together evidence collected from the case files of children and young people aged 0–17 attending Saint Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) in Greater Manchester for a forensic medical examination following disclosure or suspicion of sexual abuse. The data relates to all 986 forensic medical examinations of under-18s living in the Greater Manchester area who accessed the service between April 2012 and March 2015

Barkingside, UK: Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA Centre), 2019. 44p.

By The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

The Truth Project enables victims and survivors to share their experiences with a member of the Inquiry in a safe environment. This report shares 50 anonymised accounts of child sexual abuse which were shared with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse by survivors participating in the Truth Project. The experiences describe sexual abuse perpetrated by adults from a variety of backgrounds. The Inquiry’s Truth Project has heard from over 1,000 victims and survivors, and is helping the Inquiry to understand more about the circumstances in which the sexual abuse of children can occur.

London: Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, 2018. 96p

By The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

This report considers some of the accounts of victims and survivors taking part in the Truth Project, one of three strands of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse to investigate whether public bodies and other non-state institutions have taken their responsibility to protect children from sexual abuse in England and Wales seriously. It looks at participants’ experiences of child sexual abuse, as well as its short and longer-term impacts including on socio-economic outcomes and intimate relationships. The report also draws together statistical data from 249 Truth Project sessions that took place between June 2016 and June 2017, to provide a profile of participants attending, including their ethnicity, age, and disability status. Sections cover: participants’ experiences of child sexual abuse, Perpetrators and institutions; Disclosure, identification of child sexual abuse; Impacts of child sexual abuse and coping strategies; and experiences of statutory and voluntary support services such as counselling, psychological therapies and formalised peer support services. It also presents participant proposals for preventing and responding to child sexual abuse. These included the need to support children in making a disclosure and to provide children in care with support and stability in care placements

London: Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, 2017. 154p.

By The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse in Collaboration with the Centre for Abuse and Trauma Studies, Middlesex University

This report presents a new typology of child sexual abuse (CSA) offending, which has been developed through research led by the Centre for Abuse and Trauma Studies (CATS) at Middlesex University and the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (the CSA Centre) over the last 18 months. The research aimed to develop a typology of CSA offending by focusing on the context of offending and drawing out types that reflect different patterns of offending, rather than by focusing on the characteristics of the perpetrator or the victim. The typology therefore seeks to present a fuller representation of CSA offending, including online and contact abuse, enabling us to view CSA in a new light and making it possible to identify connections between different types of offending that might otherwise be missed.

Ilford, UK: Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, 2020. 32p.

By Ethel Quayle

Child pornography, particularly that available via the Internet, has become a cause of huge social concern in recent years. This book examines the reality behind the often hysterical media coverage of the topic. Drawing on extensive new research findings, it examines how child pornography is used on the Internet and the social context in which such use occurs, and develops a model of offending behaviour to better help understand and deal with the processes of offending. Detailed case studies and offenders' own accounts are used to illustrate the processes involved in offending and treatment.The authors argue that we need to refine our ideas of offending, and that while severe deterrents need to be associated with possession of child pornography, a better understanding is needed of the links between possession and committing a contact offence. Only by improving our understanding of this complex and very controversial topic can we hope to deal effectively with offenders and with their child victims

Hove, East Sussex, UK: Brunner-Routledge, 2003. 248p.

By R. Barri Flowers

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, we are confronted with a number of serious social issues that have carried over from the past century. One of these relates to the growing phenomenon of runaway prostitution involved children and the implications. Each year in the United States, as many as 2 million children leave home for whereabouts unknown by the parents or caretakers. Tens of thousands of other children are pushed out of the house or abandoned by parents or guardians. These caretakers may be aware of where these youths are located, but do not want to find them and bring them back home. This only exacerbates the problem of homeless street kids who must not only search for survival but also search for love in all the wrong places. However, not all runaways leave home due to intolerable conditions or family dysfunction. Some find they prefer to be on their own for various reasons including independence, sex, problems at school, rebellion, drug addiction, and adventure. Rarely do they find a better life away from home. The correlation between running away from home and harsh street life such as exposure to prostitution, substance abuse, AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, violence, criminality, and victimization has been well documented, as have findings that many children who run away from home were victims of child sexual abuse, neglect, family violence, broken homes, impoverishment, mental illness, and other familial and personal conflicts. Given the convergence of past, present, and future abuses and traumas the runaway is typically exposed to, it is obvious that most are caught up in a horrible cycle for which there seems no escape. Of course, there is a way out, but only if we as a society come to better understand how and why children leave home in the first place, and how their needs can most effectively be addressed and acted upon.

Westport, CT: Praeger, 2001. 232p.

By Hannah Ford

Until recently, the topic of female sexual offenders remained under-researched, and many incorrect assumptions and beliefs still surround the subject. This book is organised in to five parts around eleven chapters. It provides a comprehensive overview of the latest research in this often overlooked area and discusses both adult female offenders and adolescents/younger children who commit sexual offences against children. After an in-depth evaluation of research literature, the author then considers a range of treatment approaches and directions for future research.

Chichester, UK: Wiley, 2004. 206p.

By Nancy Whittier

The Politics of Child Sexual Abuse is the first study of activism against child sexual abuse, tracing its emergence in feminist anti-rape efforts, its development into mainstream self-help, and its entry into mass media and public policy. Nancy Whittier deftly charts the development of the movement's "therapeutic politics," demonstrating that activists viewed tactics for changing emotions and one's sense of self as necessary for widespread social change and combined them with efforts to change institutions and the state. Though activism originated with feminists, the movement grew and spread to include the goals of non-feminist survivors, opponents, therapists, law enforcement, and elected officials. In the process, the movement both succeeded beyond its wildest dreams and saw its agenda transformed in ways that were sometimes unrecognizable. A moving account, The Politics of Child Sexual Abuse draws powerful lessons about the transformative potential of therapeutic politics, their connection to institutions, and the processes of incomplete social change that characterize American politics today

Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2009. 273p.

By Suzanne Ost

Child pornography and sexual grooming provide case study exemplars of problems that society and law have sought to tackle to avoid both actual and potential harm to children. Yet despite the considerable legal, political and societal concern that these critical phenomena attract, they have not, thus far, been subjected to detailed socio-legal and theoretical scrutiny. How do society and law construct the harms of child pornography and grooming? What impact do constructions of the child have upon legal and societal responses to these phenomena? What has been the impetus behind the expanding criminalisation of behaviour in these areas? Suzanne Ost addresses these and other important questions, exploring the critical tensions within legal and social discourses which must be tackled to discourage moral panic reactions towards child pornography and grooming, and advocating a new, more rational approach towards combating these forms of exploitation.

New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009. 289p.

Edited by Jérôme Ballet , Augendra Bhukuth

This edited volume examines child exploitation in the Global South. It introduces several case studies and interviews articulated around two features: exploitation within the family and exploitation in relation to social contexts. The research shows that both of the features are linked and, generally, they are not separate. It makes several important arguments which challenge the most common view on how children are perceived and exploited in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Additionally, it explores the social representation of exploited children as well as their general well-being.

Cham, SWIT: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019. 221p.