Commentary About Cheit’s Witch-Hunt Narrative

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 940-947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erna Olafson
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Multidisciplinary Teams ◽  
Child Victims ◽  
Child Advocacy ◽  
Treatment Protocols ◽  
The Witch ◽  
Witch Hunt

Ross Cheit’s lengthy study is strongest when he describes in detail the findings of his 13 years of research into the original records of the key “witch hunt” cases of the 1980s to set the record straight, when possible, about what really happened. However, because this was partial history that focused primarily on the interplay between academic psychology and the media in a limited number of cases, a commentary about the broader historical and institutional context may lead to a more optimistic conclusion than Cheit seems to reach. Since this latest discovery of child sexual abuse (and its partial suppression with the rapid and predictable construction of the witch-hunt narrative), professionals across a range of disciplines continue to refine statistical science to document the prevalence and impact of child sexual abuse. They continue to enhance our understanding about children’s memory and suggestibility. They have steadily refined methods to elicit full and accurate information from alleged child victims, created child advocacy centers with multidisciplinary teams to handle cases skillfully, and have developed evidence-based assessment tools and treatment protocols for substantiated victims. This solid and continuing academic output, coupled with nationwide institutionalization of the childhood trauma and maltreatment fields in organizations such as the National Child Advocacy Center, the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network make this rediscovery of child sexual abuse different from the many other discoveries and suppressions that preceded it.

A Response to Articles and Commentaries on The Witch-Hunt Narrative

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1002-1023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross E. Cheit
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Medical Evidence ◽  
Ritual Abuse ◽  
Overwhelming Evidence ◽  
The Witch ◽  
Children's Testimony ◽  
Witch Hunt ◽  
Sufficient Space

The articles and comments in this issue bear out the enduring impact of The Witchhunt Narrative. There is not sufficient space to acknowledge or respond to most of this feedback. This response corrects an error that was identified by one commenter and it responds to questions raised by another commenter about my analysis of the “Concerned Scientists” brief. This response also documents how Wood, Nathan, and others have misapplied the term ritual abuse, misstated the facts of many cases, and promoted “mythical numbers” that significantly exaggerate the number of false convictions. These critics are wrong about the only three cases they discuss in detail. The McMartin Preschool case began with credible evidence of child sexual abuse that continues to be distorted by critics. The Keller case began with even stronger medical evidence that is not diminished by the dubious and incomplete “retraction” of the Emeregency Room doctor. The Fuster case involved overwhelming evidence of abuse, medical and testimonial, that continues to be distored or overlooked by critics. Those who promote the witchhunt narrative rely on selective use of evidence to reach an apparently predetermined result. That is politics and advocacy, not scholarship. This dismissive approach to children’s testimony has caused documented harm to children.

Is There Consensus About Children’s Memory and Suggestibility?

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 926-939 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gail S. Goodman ◽  
Olivia Jones ◽  
Cynthia McLeod
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Laboratory Studies ◽  
Scientific Enterprise ◽  
Scholarly Book ◽  
Children's Memory ◽  
Scientific Laboratory ◽  
The Witch ◽  
Witch Hunt

The modern scientific study of children’s eyewitness memory was initially motivated, in important part, by the sensational preschool investigations and prosecutions of the 1980s and 1990s (e.g., the McMartin case, the Kelly Michaels case, the Country Walk case). These cases form the centerpiece of Professor Cheit’s scholarly book, The Witch-Hunt Narrative. In recent years, researchers have made great strides in helping the legal system tackle some of the complex issues involved in child sexual abuse investigations. While commenting on Professor Cheit’s book, we review areas of consensus regarding child forensic interviewing, areas of disconnect between scientific laboratory studies and needs of the legal system, and the potential effects of bias on the scientific enterprise relevant to Professor Cheit’s treatise. Although we find that there is consensus in the field regarding a set of general principles, there is often room for disagreement in evaluating a particular case, and there is still much to be learned about how best to interview children when allegations of sexual abuse arise.

The Witch-Hunt Narrative

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 956-966 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther H. Gillies
Keyword(s):  
Social Issue ◽  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Social Worker ◽  
Los Angeles County ◽  
The Witch ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Witch Hunt ◽  
Insight Into

Responding to Ross E. Cheit’s Witch-Hunt Narrative, this article is a commentary chronicling the emergence of child sexual abuse as a social issue in Los Angeles County in the 1980s. Based on the responses to child sexual abuse in Los Angeles County as experienced by one social worker during the McMartin years, it discusses the impact of the McMartin case on the identification and intervention in child sexual abuse cases and tracks the evolution and changes that took place in the 1980s and 1990s in Southern California. It offers some insight into a rationale for the denial of child sexual abuse which continues to this day.

Wrongful Acquittals of Sexual Abuse

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 805-825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas D. Lyon ◽  
Stacia N. Stolzenberg ◽  
Kelly McWilliams
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Numerical Information ◽  
The Witch ◽  
Witch Hunt

Ross Cheit’s book The Witch-Hunt Narrative highlights the difficulties of prosecuting child sexual abuse. Drawing examples from a single case, Alex A., we examine the ways in which false acquittals of sexual abuse are likely to occur. First, prosecutors tend to question children in ways that undermine their productivity and credibility. Second, prosecutors have difficulty in explaining to juries the dynamics of sexual abuse and disclosure, making children’s acquiescence to abuse and their failure to disclose when abuse first occurs incredible. Third, attorneys undermine children’s credibility by pushing them to provide difficult to estimate temporal and numerical information. A post-script to the Alex A. case illustrates the costs of wrongful acquittals.

Right to Protection against Sexual Abuse and Exploitation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asha Bajpai
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Sexual Exploitation ◽  
Commercial Sexual Exploitation ◽  
Child Victims ◽  
Sexual Offences ◽  
Minor Children ◽  
Marriage Laws ◽  
Education Act ◽  
International Instruments

Child sexual abuse and exploitation covers the sexual maltreatment of both children and young people. Part A deals with child sexual abuse (CSA) in India, its magnitude, and child sexual abuse in institutions. It deals with the national legal regime relating to CSA including the constitutional provisions, Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO). Law reform relating to some provisions in POCSO, child marriage laws, Right to Education Act and, and child victims and witnesses is recommended. Part B deals with commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of minor children in the context of organized exploitation for commercial gain. The Indian laws dealing with commercial sexual exploitation and pornography are included. Important judgements and international instruments dealing with child sexual abuse and exploitation and the important role played by NGOs and government in dealing with cases of CSA and exploitation are included.

Jurors’ Gender and Their Fear of False Child Sexual Abuse Accusations Are Related to Their Belief in Child Victims’ Allegations

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Tayler M. Jones ◽  
Bette L. Bottoms ◽  
Kajal Sachdev ◽  
Jonathan Aniciete ◽  
Karis Gorak
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Victims

scholarly journals Child Advocacy Center Based Group Treatment for Child Sexual Abuse

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 304-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace S. Hubel ◽  
Christopher Campbell ◽  
Tiffany West ◽  
Samantha Friedenberg ◽  
Alayna Schreier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Group Treatment ◽  
Child Advocacy ◽  
Child Advocacy Center

A Narrative on The Witch-Hunt Narrative

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 875-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederic G. Reamer
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Criminal Prosecution ◽  
Moral Issues ◽  
Whistle Blowing ◽  
Institutional Review ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Witch ◽  
Sexual Abuse Victims ◽  
Witch Hunt

Ross Cheit’s The Witch-Hunt Narrative raises a number of complex moral issues. Cheit’s principal purpose is to challenge the belief that our society has overreacted to claims about the sexual abuse of children. Both directly and indirectly, Cheit’s in-depth analysis broaches moral concerns pertaining to the integrity of child abuse allegations, investigations, civil litigation, and criminal prosecution, with an emphasis on the mixed motives of the parties involved in key cases. This article provides an overview of ethical questions pertaining to gathering information from very vulnerable individuals, informed consent, institutional review, protection of research participants, the use of deception and coercion, confidentiality and privacy, reporting research results, and conflicts of interest. In addition, the author discusses the phenomenon of whistle-blowing as it pertains to professionals’ ethical judgments about disclosure of wrongdoing and misconduct. The author outlines key ethics-related concepts, applies relevant moral theory, and explores the implications of the moral issues raised by The Witch-Hunt Narrative for child sexual abuse victims, perpetrators, child welfare and law enforcement professionals, scholars and researchers, and the public at large.

scholarly journals Adaptation of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for cases of child sexual abuse with complex trauma: A clinical case illustration

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-221
Author(s):  
Martine Hébert ◽  
Isabelle V. Daignault ◽  
Claudia Blanchard-Dallaire
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy ◽  
Clinical Case ◽  
Complex Trauma ◽  
Behavioural Therapy ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Child Victims ◽  
Cognitive Behavioural ◽  
Personalized Approach

Child sexual abuse is an important public health issue given its magnitude and the multiple associated consequences. The diversity of profiles in child victims of sexual abuse calls for a more personalized approach to treatment. Indeed, recent studies suggest that children display a variety of symptoms and that a subgroup of sexually abused children may present a profile of complex trauma. This article first presents a review of the scientific literature that positions Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT; Cohen et al., 2017) amongst the best practices to address trauma-related symptoms following child sexual abuse; whether it is co-occurring with other forms of violence or not. Various adaptations of TF-CBT therapy are proposed by the authors (Cohen et al., 2012) to treat children facing complex trauma. These adaptations are summarized and illustrated with the presentation of a clinical case involving two siblings from the same family.

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