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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 9:33 pm
Time: 9:33 pm
Results for child sexual assault
3 results foundAuthor: Woodley, Alex Title: Breaking the Silence but Keeping Secrets: What Young People Want to Address Sexual Violence Summary: Teen sexual assault and abuse in New Zealand is a significant problem, with nearly one in five New Zealand teens reporting unwanted sexual touching or being made to do sexual things that they did not want to. Statistically, young people aged 15-24 years are at the highest risk of sexual assault in any age group. HELP (Auckland Sexual Abuse HELP Foundation) is a specialist organisation that has been providing sexual abuse support services since 1982. It works with women and children in the Auckland area suffering from the effects of sexual abuse, helping them to regain their lives. Tu Wahine Trust is a Kaupapa Maori organisation providing services to Maori sexual abuse survivors, whanau and families. The research has been commissioned by HELP and the Tu Wahine Trust and is funded by the Lotteries Commission. This report, which is part of an overall research project which aims to identify the needs of young people affected by sexual abuse or assault, aims to investigate the psycho-social service needs of young people who have experienced sexual abuse in order to support improvements to services for sexual abuse victims/survivors. Cultural considerations were particularly important in this project. HELP and Tu Wahine partnered on the research approach, design, and methodology of this project. Whilst HELP focused on identifying the pyscho-social service needs of tauiwi (non-Maori) young people, Tu Wahine focused on the needs of rangatahi Maori (Maori young people). The sister organisations then worked together on the parts of the research process that sought the views of rangatahi Maori who had accessed, or might potentially access, mainstream services. The data collection for this report was undertaken in 2012, and comprised: - A literature review - Interviews with refugee and new migrant stakeholders (including GPs, practice nurses, health workers and youth workers) - Twenty-six focus groups, hui and fono with young people, in which 222 young people participated - Three stakeholder hui (organised by Tu Wahine). - Interviews with 16 service providers and stakeholders Details: Auckland, NZ: Tu Wahine Trust and HELP (Auckland Sexual Abuse HELP Foundation, 2013. 61p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 24, 2014 at: http://helpauckland.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Breaking-The-Silence-FINAL-FINAL.pdf Year: 2013 Country: New Zealand URL: http://helpauckland.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Breaking-The-Silence-FINAL-FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 132162 Keywords: AboriginalsChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual AssaultRapeSexual ViolenceVictim Services |
Author: Fuller, Georgina Title: Non-offending parents as secondary victims of child sexual assault Summary: Informal support systems play an important role in assisting primary victims cope with their experience post-crime. The experience of primary victims can have a vicarious impact on the individuals who comprise these support systems. This research explores the impact of child sexual assault on a sample of 26 non-offending parents, with a particular focus on examining the link between a parent's thoughts and feelings about the assault and their subsequent support of, and assistance to, the primary victim. The results of the qualitative analysis show parents experienced a wide range of negative emotional responses to their child's victimisation, and these reactions may have influenced what support the parent was able to provide. In particular, parents reported feelings of anger, sadness and guilt; they became overprotective and isolated from their children, partners, family, friends and community. The implications of these findings for the treatment and support of parents of victims of child sexual assault are also discussed. Details: Sydney: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2016. 7p. Source: Internet Resource: Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 500: Accessed March 17, 2016 at: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tandi_pdf/tandi500.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tandi_pdf/tandi500.pdf Shelf Number: 138317 Keywords: Child Sexual AbuseChild Sexual AssaultSecondary Victimsv |
Author: International Justice Mission Title: Guatemalan Criminal Justice System Performance Study, 2008-2012: Indicators of Practice, Process and Resolution within Cases of Child Sexual Assault Summary: This study analyzes the performance of Guatemala's criminal justice system (CJS) in cases of sexual assault. The main goal of this study is to contribute to the efforts of the CJS in improving the response of the system to cases of child sexual assault (CSA). This study uses database reports from the Public Ministry's (MP) Information Control System (SICOMP) from 2008 to 2012. These reports included information about complaints filed, accusations, sentences, pre-trial testimonies, victims, and the status of cases at the national level. Moreover, reports from the Judicial System's National Center of Analysis and Documentation (CENADOJ) of terminated processes during the years 2008-2010 were also used. The CENADOJ reports consisted of data pertaining to child sexual abuse crimes in the departments of Quezaltenango, Guatemala, and Alta Verapaz. These departments have the highest rates of child sexual abuse complaints in all of Guatemala. From this data, 182 records were selected and this information provided first-hand accounts of judicial practices. In addition to the quantitative data provided by SICOMP, such as the data collected from the judicial records with a final sentence between 2008 and 2010, 75 officials from the CJS who intervene in CSA cases and 22 officials from social agencies were interviewed. These interviews captured their perspective on the development of the Guatemalan CJS. 60 prosecutors and assistant prosecutors from the MP were also interviewed to capture their experience with procedural outcomes in the cases of sexual crimes committed against children. The methodology also was validated before a panel of experts and criminal law scholars. The majority of their contributions are included in this study's analysis. The data was discussed with MP officials from SICOMP, with whom the numbers and interpretation of data were clarified. Lastly, the report was presented to high-level officials from the MP and the Judicial Branch (OJ). All these activities allowed for a wide validation of, and transparency in this study. One of the main findings of the study was that Guatemala has adapted the internal regulations to international standards (2009), but the main problem lies in the effective implementation of the regulatory framework. However, the system has made significant progress as new best practices for the protection and holistic attention of children begin to be applied in cases of CSA. Despite changes in the law and the introduction of Decree 9-2009, the Law Against Sexual Violence, Exploitation, and Trafficking of Persons, Guatemala continues to have high numbers of complaints of sexual assault. In the last five years, 36,166 cases were reported, making it the seventh mostreported crime within the Public Ministry in 20144. Of these complaints, 44% of victims were minors and the majority, female. Based on the analysis of the sample, nearly 90% of the perpetrators were individuals known to the child. Nationally, the Public Prosecutor's Office reported 9.4% complaints of assault between 2008 and 2012. Of these complaints, only 5.86% ended in a verdict. Of these verdicts (182 cases), 80% resulted in a conviction and 20% ended in an acquittal. The study also found that child victims were required to recount their story to approximately eight different professionals, each from a different criminal justice system institution. The sample showed that the mechanisms to avoid the re-traumatization of minors in the criminal process are under-utilized. Only 1.52% of CSA cases between 2008 and 2012 applied pre-trial testimony procedures. In very few instances were adequate locations used to hear the testimonies of child victims, or screens used at trial to protect the victim from the view of the perpetrator. During the years of this study, training for CJS officials was insufficient and sporadic. Official training procedures lacked both consistency and the capacity to monitor the implementation of training content. The study makes it possible to examine the situation of child victims in cases of sexual assault and to establish a baseline of indicators in the attention, processing and resolution of these cases. The main recommendations of this study are: -Public policy should be designed to strengthen deterrence, in order to prevent minors from becoming victims of sexual crimes. -Policies that adopt mechanisms to provide proper treatment for minors who have been victims of sexual assault crimes should be implemented within the different institutions of the CJS, such as the Public Ministry's Model for Holistic Attention. -CJS institutions should develop reliable systems that permit the interconnection and exchange of information for strategic decision making, in order to avoid sub-records or inconsistent records. -There is an urgent need for the implementation of coordination mechanisms between the Public Ministry - as the directing unit of the investigation- and the National Civil Police, to conduct key investigations in the least amount of time possible. -The CJS should not support the application of alternative conclusions to the criminal process in cases of rape or other crimes of sexual assault against minors. -Inter-institutional coordination should be promoted within the CJS to avoid an excess of testimonies from the child. -Judges, prosecutors and other officials from the CJS should be aware of the traumatic effects of the criminal process and what methods they can use to reduce them. This includes the use of the pre-trial testimony in the case of minor victims of sexual crimes. Proper locations should be sought out to create better conditions for children to give their testimonies, and the recording of these testimonies should consistently apply the attention/care protocols. -The training units from the different institutions of the legal sector should develop and implement a training process on the issues of protection, investigation, sanction and restitution of damages for minors who have been victims of sexual assault crimes. This process should include methodology to evaluate the incorporation of the acquired knowledge when delivering services. Details: Guatemala City, Guatemala: International Justice Mission, 2013. 149p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 19, 2019 at: https://www.ijm.org/documents/studies/Guatemala-Public-Justice-System-Performance-Study.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Guatemala URL: https://www.ijm.org/studies/guatemalan-criminal-justice-system-performance-study-2008-2012 Shelf Number: 156546 Keywords: Child Sexual AssaultChild VictimsGuatemalaSentencesSexual AbuseSexual AssaultSexual CrimesTrafficking of PersonsViolence Against Girls |