Re: Decline in Quebec incidence rate of CSA - Search for

[A Hollows <aholl@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Two points in relation to this correspondence. The 
first is to query the link between sexual abuse and 
income level on the basis that such a link represents 
social work/cps activity in relation to income groups 
within a population , rather than incidence. Jean La 
Fontaine's study of ritual abuse in the UK suggested 
that this was even more exaggerated where more extreme 
forms of sexual abuse were involved.

The second point relates to Nico Trocme's point about 
backlash etc. There are anecdotal suggestions in the 
UK that social worker dissatisfaction with judicial 
responses to child sexual abuse (hostile court 
settings, cross examinations etc) are such that they 
may effctively be operating an informal diversion 
scheme amd therefore not defining a case as sexual 
abuse- since any formal processing/definition in the 
early stages of a case would lead to a joint 
police/social worker invsetigation which could 
ultimately lead to prosecution. This runs alongside 
arguments about 'de-criminalising' child protection. 
The reluctance to define a case as sexual abuse may 
therefore follow from a value base of supporting the 
child's best interests, or defending the birth family. 
. To get at this, however, it would be important to 
look at social workers' attitudes and to explore in 
some depth how they respond to referrals of sexual 
abuse.

Anne Hollows
Principal Lecturer in Social Work
University of East London