Deflection, denial and disbelief: social and political discourses about child sexual abuse and their influence on institutional responses: a rapid evidence assessment

Authors:
LOVETT Jo, COY Maddy, KELLY Liz
Publisher:
London Metropolitan University, Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit
Publication year:
2018
Pagination:
161
Place of publication:
London

This review, carried out on behalf of the at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, explores the literature on social and political discourses concerning child sexual abuse in England and Wales from the 1940s to 2017 and the ways these discourses influenced institutional responses to child sexual abuse. The review interprets 'discourse’ broadly to include language, terminology and definitions, and also how child sexual abuse comes to be understood. The review identified five key institutional arenas where debates have occurred in relation to child sexual abuse: law; government and policy; clinical and health disciplines; social work; and the media area. A total of 31 dominant discourses and six counter discourses between the 1940s and 2017 were identified. The dominant discourses are categorised as discourses of: deflection (from perpetrators and institutions), denial (of harm and extent) and disbelief. The counter discourses comprised discourses of power and belief. A conceptual framework and model is created to aid understanding of the key discources identified. The review also sets out some of the key findings regarding the influence of discourses about child sexual abuse on institutional responses. These include that the policy outcome of seeing perpetrators as ‘a few bad apples’ led to a focus on risk, recruitment and criminal records screening as the safeguarding response, rather than examining how internal cultures might have been implicated; and that a variety of discourses of belief have emerged since the 1980s which have made it easier for victims and survivors to speak about their experiences, although some barriers remain. (Edited publisher abstract)

Subject terms:
policy, child sexual abuse, institutional abuse, child protection, literature reviews, politics, attitudes, organisations, public sector, survivors, mass media, safeguarding children;
Content type:
research review
Location(s):
England, Wales
Link:
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