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Re: Child Abuse Statistics Decline
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">As Jones
and Finkelhor (CA&N 2001, 25(2), 1139-1158) point out in their analysis of
declining sexual abuse reports, there is no simple way to resolve this
question. Notwithstanding the historical paucity of Canadian data, the
recently released Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect
(CIS) </SPAN>addresses some of the concerns raised by Ms. Malenfant.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal>Table 8-2(a) describes the number of investigations that were
judged to have been triggered by an intentionally false – i.e. malicious –
report.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The study found that 4% of
the 135,573 investigations estimated to have been conducted in Canada in 1998
were bases on an intentionally false report.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Of the estimated 14,406 sexual abuse
investigations conducted in 1998, 4% as well – involving an estimated 591 child
investigations – were judged to have been based on intentionally false
reports.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal>Table 8-2(b) describes the source of intentionally false
reports.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The three groups of
reporters were equally responsible for 90% of intentionally false reports:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>(1) relatives or neighbours, (2)
anonymous reporters, (3) parents, and (4) professionals. While the table does
not provide a breakdown by form of maltreatment, nor does it identify situations
where there are on-going custody disputes, it shows that less than 25% of false
reports involve a parent or non-custodial parents. Extrapolating from Table
8-2(a) one can guesstimate that at most 150 out of 14,406 sexual abuse
investigations fit the profile described by Ms. Malenfant. (we are conducting a
more precise analysis of these figures and will share them with anyone
interested when they are ready to be released).</P>
<P class=MsoNormal>We are currently completing a first level of comparative
analysis comparing rates of reported maltreatment in Ontario documented in the
1993 Ontario Incidence Study and the Ontario portion of the 1998 CIS.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Our data are consistent with the data
reported by Jones and Finkelhor.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We
did not find, as suggested by Ms. Malenfant, that substantiation rates have
changed significantly in cases of sexual abuse.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We also did not find that there were
more intentionally false reports in 1993 than in 1998.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal>In summary, our findings do not support Ms. Malenfant’s
hypothesis that the decrease in sexual abuse reports is due to a decrease in
intentionally false reports. </P>
<P class=MsoNormal>(Note: The CIS estimates are based on a nationally
representative sample of 7,672 child welfare investigations conducted across
Canada in 1998. <SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">Free copies of the CIS
Final Report can be ordered from </SPAN>1-(800)-267-1291, or 1-(613)-957-2938 or
may be downloaded from: <A
href="http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/nc-cn";>www.hc-sc.gc.ca/nc-cn</A>.)</P>
<ADDRESS class=MsoNormal>Nico Trocmé<BR>Director, Centre of Excellence for Child
Welfare</ADDRESS>
<ADDRESS class=MsoNormal>University of Toronto, Faculty of Social Work<BR>246
Bloor St West,<BR>Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1A1</ADDRESS>
<ADDRESS class=MsoNormal>Tel: 416-978-5718<BR>Fax: 416-946-8846 <BR>e-mail:
<A
href="mailto:nico.trocme@utoronto.ca";>nico.trocme@utoronto.ca</A><BR></ADDRESS></FONT>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A href="mailto:malenfant@powersurfr.com";
title=malenfant@powersurfr.com>Louise</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
href="mailto:CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu";
title=CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu>CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A href="mailto:robert@cyber.bc.ca";
title=robert@cyber.bc.ca>Dr. Robert Haymond</A> ; <A
href="mailto:ncb@qsilver.queensu.ca"; title=ncb@qsilver.queensu.ca>Dr. Nicholas
Bala</A> ; <A href="mailto:dirk.huyer@sickkids.on.ca";
title=dirk.huyer@sickkids.on.ca>dirk.huyer@sickkids.on.ca</A> ; <A
href="mailto:mmckay@attcanada.ca";
title=mmckay@attcanada.ca>mmckay@attcanada.ca</A> ; <A
href="mailto:mclellan.a@parl.gc.ca";
title=mclellan.a@parl.gc.ca>mclellan.a@parl.gc.ca</A> ; <A
href="mailto:Kent.Taylor@just.gov.ab.ca"; title=Kent.Taylor@just.gov.ab.ca>Kent
Taylor</A> ; <A href="mailto:Gallaway.R@parl.gc.ca";
title=Gallaway.R@parl.gc.ca>Roger Gallaway</A> ; <A
href="mailto:david.finkelhor@unh.edu"; title=david.finkelhor@unh.edu>David
Finkelhor</A> ; <A href="mailto:MAS2@CHRISTA.UNH.EDU (Murray Strauss) "
title="MAS2@CHRISTA.UNH.EDU (Murray Strauss) ">MAS2@CHRISTA.UNH.EDU (Murray
Strauss) </A>; <A href="mailto:nico.trocme@utoronto.ca";
title=nico.trocme@utoronto.ca>nico.trocme@utoronto.ca</A> ; <A
href="mailto:rose.marie.tremblay@justice.gc.ca";
title=rose.marie.tremblay@justice.gc.ca>Rose Marie Tremblay</A> ; <A
href="mailto:Darren.Eastcott@police.edmonton.ab.ca";
title=Darren.Eastcott@police.edmonton.ab.ca>Darren Eastcott</A> ; <A
href="mailto:edmonton_beverly-clareview@assembly.ab.ca";
title=edmonton_beverly-clareview@assembly.ab.ca>Julius Yankowsky</A> ; <A
href="mailto:jon.lord@assembly.ab.ca"; title=jon.lord@assembly.ab.ca>jon
Lord</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, November 16, 2001 6:14
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> re: Child Abuse Statistics
Decline</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>Drs. Strauss and Trocme:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>I have been watching this sight for a while, and
reading the comments of some of the best researchers on child abuse in the
world; my intimidation arising from the august names in this group is
partly why I have waited so long to write myself. I am a Canadian
sociologist who has been working in the child abuse field of investigative
reform since 1992. To do this work effectively required that I study
many disciplines, including forensic psychology, medicine, law, etc.. My
own take on the subject of the dramatic declines in the rates of reported and
confirmed child abuse is what prompted Dr. Finkelhor to invite me to share
those views on this list. If you don't mind, I think I will. I
also hope you don't mind that I forwarded the message to discrete experts and
government officials whom I have come to admire, to solicit their thoughts on
the subject.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>The City of Winnipeg witnessed a dramatic ski-hill drop
in its rates of sexual abuse, especially from the years 1991 (the peak) to
1999. In those years the rate dropped by nearly 60%, from the high of
728 in 1991 to 242 in 1999. Physical abuse dropped as well, but not so
dramatically, from 564 to 445 over the same nine years. In the recent
article by Drs. Jones and Finkelhor called "Decline in child sexual abuse
cases" and published by the OJJDP, the rate of decline reaches a high of
approximately 30% in their data, still very high. While I appreciate
that every one of the theories reviewed on this list and in the "Decline"
article can likely account for some of this drop, I take issue with the fact
that when this decline is discussed, no where is it considered a possibility
that at least a portion of it</FONT><FONT face=Tahoma> is a result of a drop
in sexual allegations in divorce, and false allegations in general. I
know this would mean that the research establishment would have to accept that
a great portion of the child abuse allegations made in this last 15 years or
so were false, but based on my experience in Winnipeg, it is my opinion that
you will have to if you want a full understanding of this drop.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>My own research began in 1992, when I noticed that a
prominent local study had reported a figure that demonstrated how easily the
child protection system was labelling people as child abusers. Dr. Eric
Reid and his associates reported that of 1,430 child apprehensions tracked
during the term of the 1989 study, only 17 had reached the trial
process. Manitoba also had the highest rate of provincial fostercare in
Canada at 18 children per thousand, almost double the next highest province of
Saskatchewan at 10 children per thousand. I found this alarming and
worth further inquiry, and noted that the local medical child protection unit
had documented that the ratio of abuse type was 2 sexual for every one
physical abuse allegation, a reversal of the 1:2 national figure for the US
that year. Winnipeg's rate of double sexual abuse in comparison to
physical abuse indicated either a population grossly pathological or a
high rate of false allegations. In 1996, sexual allegations comprised
51% of all cases placed on the child abuse registry. In addition, the
child welfare system admitted in the same year that at least 25% of all
investigations they did arose during divorce. I don't think it was a
coincidence or unrelated to these numbers, that Manitoba government was quite
comfortable establishing a Blue Ribbon Task Force on Satanic Ritual Abuse in
1993, so frequently were those popping up everywhere. We even had
"Satanic Ritual Experts" employed by the child welfare system, and no one
asked how one social worker could find so many of these multiple offender
multiple victim type of cases in a single career. The Task Force
actually operated until 1994 and verified these allegations all over the
province; by the time I got through, however, their final report was buried so
deep in the bowels of government records that I would challenge anyone to ever
find it. I view that as a good thing.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>It took me about two years to find this out and
identify a solid picture of the extent of the problem, and my next step was to
find out how the system was doing this. It's no secret that the primary
causes of false allegations are as follows:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>(1) the child welfare system, that
adopted a working investigative orientation stipulating "all allegations are
true" as "children never lie about abuse". Since every investigation
began with the conclusion that abuse happened, few persons escaped the fate of
a child abuser label. As well, something that approached a status system
gave glorification and added honours to the investigation of sexual
abuse. These factors in conjuction with an obscene imbalance of power
between individual and state, especially in the legal arena, was experienced
as an era of child abuse "hysteria" with particularly sexual overtones.
The second greatest cause of false allegations in Winnipeg was,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>(2) Experts, those medical,
psychology and "play therapy" practitioners who dramatically departed from the
standards of practice established in their disciplines and "validated" nearly
every allegation that came their way as true instances of abuse. While
the public was ignorant of their names, the child welfare system certainly
wasn't, identifying their "favorites" as experts who could be counted on to
substantiate abuse. The next biggest cause of false allegations
was,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>(3) Lawyers, who didn't discriminate between the
rich and poor when it came to providing the same poor quality of
service. For the legal aid client, representation was often provided by
lawyers who took on a great volume of cases at the lower pay rate,
subsequently did nothing to prepare the case for trial, and more often
browbeat their poor clients into "settlements" that grossly disadvantaged
their clients. My favorite was the common line I heard, "sign this
permanent order now, and you can always appeal in a year...", even though
legal aid rarely approves an appeal. The rich were served no better,
because the uglier, dirtier, messier and longer a case continued, the more
wealth and benefit accrued to the lawyer's trust account. It was not
uncommon for these lawyers to recommend the well known "favoured
practitioners" as experts for their clients, and this was especially true of
lawyers who charged more than 200 dollars an hour. The child welfare,
the experts, and the lawyers, were greatly aided in the manufacture of false
allegations by the roled played by,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>(4) Divorcing Mothers, who learned quickly how to
get rid of fathers and the paternal family for good with the power of an
allegation of sexual abuse. With the other three causes geared toward
supporting them, it was easy to launch and maintain an allegation of abuse
throughout court proceedings. Eventually, many of these allegations
could go on for years, even when many had never resulted in criminal charges
while some had not even been reported to the child welfare system.
"Believe the victim" philosophies that bestowed automatic credibility were
extended to "non-abusing parents" and females in general, with the notion that
questioning the alleged victim added to the trauma of abuse, and many
victims refused to come forward "in fear" that they would not believed.
Common features of many of these mothers included a history of conflict with
others and psychiatric treatment throughout their life spans; many cases
that were eventually provided with clinical assessments by skilled
practitioners frequently identified borderline and manic-depressive
disorders. Many of these women were also completely alienated from their
own families as well, ensuring that their victorious elimination of the
paternal family would deprive their children of all extended family kinship
ties. If I live to be a thousand, I will never understand how the child
abuse experts could ever have convinced themselves that this total elimination
was remotely in the best interests of the child. Another notable cause
of false allegations in Winnipeg until 1995 was,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>(5) Women's shelters - they were involved in one
out of three cases I accepted advocacy responsibility for. There methods
consisted primarily of providing an excellent guide to favoured practitioners
of the first three causes, and a well developed selection of ideological
literature and staff that encouraged war-like divorce tactics. Worst of
all, they formed the habit of questioning children outside the presence of
their mothers, using leading methods of questioning that ensured a simple,
facile, undetailed, disclosure from children who exhibited no sad or angry
affect in the telling. The most common was "daddy touched my private parts"
which only exploded into bizarre, unsexual accounts after repeated questioning
from other "investigators" from the regular child abuse system.
Unfortunately, it took several years to acquire this knowledge, learned
primarily from mothers who had stayed at the shelter and were forced to
support the "allegation" on threat of losing their child. Thankfully,
once the facts were known, the government of the day acknowledged that
questioning children about abuse exceeded the mandate of the women's shelters,
and their involvement in false allegations came to an end in
1997.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>Without going into any great detail (some details can
be found at <A
href="http://www.fathersforlife.org/php/toc.htm";>www.fathersforlife.org/php/toc.htm</A>),
I developed multiple methods for making the five causes accountable as
individuals on a regular basis, and let those efforts be known to the local
media. I also examined the functioning of the system by providing
advocacy support to those cases that I considered false (after extensive
investigation), thereby showing the system how to change by bringing these
cases to resolution and out of the courtrooms with their families
intact. This work began in earnest in 1994 until by 1998, I was
whispering to close advisors that I was witnessing a dramatic decline in the
frequency of false allegations, inspite of my high profile in the
community. By 1999, I was glad to admit that I would have to leave the
jurisdiction to find false allegations of child abuse, as the rate of all
sexual abuse allegations had dropped by 60%. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>More ominously, by 1999, I learned the answer to this
question - What happens when you eliminate false allegations? Only the
true ones are left. Not only I, but respected clinical practitioners in
the field were reporting the identification of true allegations at a much more
frequent rate. Though I despise child abuse, particularly where any
adult would believe any child wants their sexual thoughts or advances, I was
not equipped for the dangerous work of revealing true pathology, and this was
not the mandate for my organization or the primary motive for my
work.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>After an extensive case law review of the country, I
identified Edmonton, Alberta as one of the hotspots for allegations in
divorce, and moved here in September of 1999. Interestingly, the police
far usurp the local child welfare system as a cause of false allegations, even
though the former rarely lay charges in divorce related allegations.
They accomplish the task by "leaving files open" and testifying in family
court on a regular basis.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>As Dr. Trocme notes in his discussion with Dr. Strauss,
Canada is woefully inept at gathering statistical data on its child welfare
activities. In spite of this, I maintain that we can learn a great deal
from the analysis of specific jurisdictions such as Winnipeg. I further
suggest the hypothesis that the higher the drop in abuse allegations, the
higher was the rate of false allegations in that jurisdiction. Where
jurisdictions did not experience the dramatic rise in the 80's and the
subsequent drop in the 90's, I suggest this means that the five causes never
succumbed to the excesses of the hysterical age in child abuse
identification. Finally, where jurisdictions experienced the great
climb, and have not experienced a significant drop, I suggest these will be
future locations for Parents Helping Parents to consider moving its operations
to, as the system has not yet recognized the five causes.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>In short, while I don't think that false allegations
are the entire reason for the drop in sexual abuse allegations, it is very
likely a primary one. The good news is that the drops further indicate
advanced and effective investigative methods being adopted by those
authorities responsible for child abuse services. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>Thank you, and I would welcome your views on this
issue. I would also like to ask any one who reads this message to help
me identify some literature on the following related problem. I have
noted a high frequency of cases where children are placed in foster care for
alleged neglect or physical abuse, but eventually "disclose" sexual abuse to
foster parents after a 2 or 3 month stay. I have noted, for example,
that certain foster homes I have encountered make a habit of reporting sexual
disclosures with every child placed in their care time after time.
Frequently, these include alleged observation of "sexualized play" that
includes allegations of sexual interest between siblings in the same foster
home. My problem is that I have not found any good database of articles
that provide studies on foster care in general, or their involvement in the
investigative procees in particular. Can anyone help me
out?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>Louise Malenfant</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>Family Advocate</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>Parents Helping Parents,
Canada</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>
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From: "Nico Trocme" <nico.trocme@utoronto.ca>
To: Child Maltreatment Researchers <CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu>
Cc: "Louise" <malenfant@powersurfr.com>,
"Barb Fallon" <barbara.fallon@utoronto.ca>,
"bruce maclaurin" <bruce.maclaurin@utoronto.ca>,
"Sue Sullivan" <sue@cecw-cepb.ca>, "peter dudding" <peter@cwlc.ca>,
"Shannon Woodward" <shannon@cwlc.ca>
References: <002f01c16ef4$7da18ee0$26cc6c18@powersurfr.com> <00a701c16f7d$7fe67790$19ad6480@fsw.utoronto.ca>
Subject: Re: Child Abuse Statistics Decline
Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2001 11:11:26 -0500
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>paragraph 3 "The three groups of reporters" should
read "Four groups of reporters"</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A href="mailto:nico.trocme@utoronto.ca"; title=nico.trocme@utoronto.ca>Nico
Trocme</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
href="mailto:CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu";
title=CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu>Child Maltreatment
Researchers</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A
href="mailto:malenfant@powersurfr.com";
title=malenfant@powersurfr.com>Louise</A> ; <A
href="mailto:barbara.fallon@utoronto.ca"; title=barbara.fallon@utoronto.ca>Barb
Fallon</A> ; <A href="mailto:bruce.maclaurin@utoronto.ca";
title=bruce.maclaurin@utoronto.ca>bruce maclaurin</A> ; <A
href="mailto:sue@cecw-cepb.ca"; title=sue@cecw-cepb.ca>Sue Sullivan</A> ; <A
href="mailto:peter@cwlc.ca"; title=peter@cwlc.ca>peter dudding</A> ; <A
href="mailto:shannon@cwlc.ca"; title=shannon@cwlc.ca>Shannon Woodward</A> ; <A
href="mailto:nico.trocme@utoronto.ca"; title=nico.trocme@utoronto.ca>Nico
Trocme</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, November 17, 2001 10:35
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Child Abuse Statistics
Decline</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">As Jones
and Finkelhor (CA&N 2001, 25(2), 1139-1158) point out in their analysis of
declining sexual abuse reports, there is no simple way to resolve this
question. Notwithstanding the historical paucity of Canadian data, the
recently released Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect
(CIS) </SPAN>addresses some of the concerns raised by Ms. Malenfant.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal>Table 8-2(a) describes the number of investigations that
were judged to have been triggered by an intentionally false – i.e. malicious
– report.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The study found that 4%
of the 135,573 investigations estimated to have been conducted in Canada in
1998 were bases on an intentionally false report.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Of the estimated 14,406 sexual abuse
investigations conducted in 1998, 4% as well – involving an estimated 591
child investigations – were judged to have been based on intentionally false
reports.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal>Table 8-2(b) describes the source of intentionally false
reports.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The three groups of
reporters were equally responsible for 90% of intentionally false
reports:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>(1) relatives or
neighbours, (2) anonymous reporters, (3) parents, and (4) professionals. While
the table does not provide a breakdown by form of maltreatment, nor does it
identify situations where there are on-going custody disputes, it shows that
less than 25% of false reports involve a parent or non-custodial parents.
Extrapolating from Table 8-2(a) one can guesstimate that at most 150 out of
14,406 sexual abuse investigations fit the profile described by Ms. Malenfant.
(we are conducting a more precise analysis of these figures and will share
them with anyone interested when they are ready to be released).</P>
<P class=MsoNormal>We are currently completing a first level of comparative
analysis comparing rates of reported maltreatment in Ontario documented in the
1993 Ontario Incidence Study and the Ontario portion of the 1998 CIS.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Our data are consistent with the data
reported by Jones and Finkelhor.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>We did not find, as suggested by Ms. Malenfant, that substantiation
rates have changed significantly in cases of sexual abuse.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We also did not find that there were
more intentionally false reports in 1993 than in 1998.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal>In summary, our findings do not support Ms. Malenfant’s
hypothesis that the decrease in sexual abuse reports is due to a decrease in
intentionally false reports. </P>
<P class=MsoNormal>(Note: The CIS estimates are based on a nationally
representative sample of 7,672 child welfare investigations conducted across
Canada in 1998. <SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">Free copies of the
CIS Final Report can be ordered from </SPAN>1-(800)-267-1291, or
1-(613)-957-2938 or may be downloaded from: <A
href="http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/nc-cn";>www.hc-sc.gc.ca/nc-cn</A>.)</P>
<ADDRESS class=MsoNormal>Nico Trocmé<BR>Director, Centre of Excellence for
Child Welfare</ADDRESS>
<ADDRESS class=MsoNormal>University of Toronto, Faculty of Social Work<BR>246
Bloor St West,<BR>Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1A1</ADDRESS>
<ADDRESS class=MsoNormal>Tel: 416-978-5718<BR>Fax:
416-946-8846 <BR>e-mail: <A
href="mailto:nico.trocme@utoronto.ca";>nico.trocme@utoronto.ca</A><BR></ADDRESS></FONT>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A href="mailto:malenfant@powersurfr.com";
title=malenfant@powersurfr.com>Louise</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
href="mailto:CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu";
title=CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu>CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A href="mailto:robert@cyber.bc.ca";
title=robert@cyber.bc.ca>Dr. Robert Haymond</A> ; <A
href="mailto:ncb@qsilver.queensu.ca"; title=ncb@qsilver.queensu.ca>Dr.
Nicholas Bala</A> ; <A href="mailto:dirk.huyer@sickkids.on.ca";
title=dirk.huyer@sickkids.on.ca>dirk.huyer@sickkids.on.ca</A> ; <A
href="mailto:mmckay@attcanada.ca";
title=mmckay@attcanada.ca>mmckay@attcanada.ca</A> ; <A
href="mailto:mclellan.a@parl.gc.ca";
title=mclellan.a@parl.gc.ca>mclellan.a@parl.gc.ca</A> ; <A
href="mailto:Kent.Taylor@just.gov.ab.ca";
title=Kent.Taylor@just.gov.ab.ca>Kent Taylor</A> ; <A
href="mailto:Gallaway.R@parl.gc.ca"; title=Gallaway.R@parl.gc.ca>Roger
Gallaway</A> ; <A href="mailto:david.finkelhor@unh.edu";
title=david.finkelhor@unh.edu>David Finkelhor</A> ; <A
href="mailto:MAS2@CHRISTA.UNH.EDU (Murray Strauss) "
title="MAS2@CHRISTA.UNH.EDU (Murray Strauss) ">MAS2@CHRISTA.UNH.EDU (Murray
Strauss) </A>; <A href="mailto:nico.trocme@utoronto.ca";
title=nico.trocme@utoronto.ca>nico.trocme@utoronto.ca</A> ; <A
href="mailto:rose.marie.tremblay@justice.gc.ca";
title=rose.marie.tremblay@justice.gc.ca>Rose Marie Tremblay</A> ; <A
href="mailto:Darren.Eastcott@police.edmonton.ab.ca";
title=Darren.Eastcott@police.edmonton.ab.ca>Darren Eastcott</A> ; <A
href="mailto:edmonton_beverly-clareview@assembly.ab.ca";
title=edmonton_beverly-clareview@assembly.ab.ca>Julius Yankowsky</A> ; <A
href="mailto:jon.lord@assembly.ab.ca"; title=jon.lord@assembly.ab.ca>jon
Lord</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, November 16, 2001 6:14
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> re: Child Abuse Statistics
Decline</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>Drs. Strauss and Trocme:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>I have been watching this sight for a while, and
reading the comments of some of the best researchers on child abuse in the
world; my intimidation arising from the august names in this group is
partly why I have waited so long to write myself. I am a Canadian
sociologist who has been working in the child abuse field of investigative
reform since 1992. To do this work effectively required that I study
many disciplines, including forensic psychology, medicine, law, etc..
My own take on the subject of the dramatic declines in the rates of reported
and confirmed child abuse is what prompted Dr. Finkelhor to invite me to
share those views on this list. If you don't mind, I think I
will. I also hope you don't mind that I forwarded the message to
discrete experts and government officials whom I have come to admire, to
solicit their thoughts on the subject.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>The City of Winnipeg witnessed a dramatic ski-hill
drop in its rates of sexual abuse, especially from the years 1991 (the peak)
to 1999. In those years the rate dropped by nearly 60%, from the high
of 728 in 1991 to 242 in 1999. Physical abuse dropped as well, but not
so dramatically, from 564 to 445 over the same nine years. In the
recent article by Drs. Jones and Finkelhor called "Decline in child sexual
abuse cases" and published by the OJJDP, the rate of decline reaches a high
of approximately 30% in their data, still very high. While I
appreciate that every one of the theories reviewed on this list and in the
"Decline" article can likely account for some of this drop, I take issue
with the fact that when this decline is discussed, no where is it considered
a possibility that at least a portion of it</FONT><FONT face=Tahoma> is a
result of a drop in sexual allegations in divorce, and false allegations in
general. I know this would mean that the research establishment would
have to accept that a great portion of the child abuse allegations made in
this last 15 years or so were false, but based on my experience in Winnipeg,
it is my opinion that you will have to if you want a full understanding of
this drop.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>My own research began in 1992, when I noticed that a
prominent local study had reported a figure that demonstrated how easily the
child protection system was labelling people as child abusers. Dr.
Eric Reid and his associates reported that of 1,430 child apprehensions
tracked during the term of the 1989 study, only 17 had reached the trial
process. Manitoba also had the highest rate of provincial fostercare
in Canada at 18 children per thousand, almost double the next highest
province of Saskatchewan at 10 children per thousand. I found this
alarming and worth further inquiry, and noted that the local medical child
protection unit had documented that the ratio of abuse type was 2 sexual for
every one physical abuse allegation, a reversal of the 1:2 national figure
for the US that year. Winnipeg's rate of double sexual abuse in
comparison to physical abuse indicated either a population grossly
pathological or a high rate of false allegations. In 1996, sexual
allegations comprised 51% of all cases placed on the child abuse
registry. In addition, the child welfare system admitted in the
same year that at least 25% of all investigations they did arose during
divorce. I don't think it was a coincidence or unrelated to these
numbers, that Manitoba government was quite comfortable establishing a Blue
Ribbon Task Force on Satanic Ritual Abuse in 1993, so frequently were those
popping up everywhere. We even had "Satanic Ritual Experts" employed
by the child welfare system, and no one asked how one social worker could
find so many of these multiple offender multiple victim type of cases in a
single career. The Task Force actually operated until 1994 and
verified these allegations all over the province; by the time I got through,
however, their final report was buried so deep in the bowels of government
records that I would challenge anyone to ever find it. I view that as
a good thing.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>It took me about two years to find this out and
identify a solid picture of the extent of the problem, and my next step was
to find out how the system was doing this. It's no secret that the
primary causes of false allegations are as follows:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>(1) the child welfare system, that
adopted a working investigative orientation stipulating "all allegations are
true" as "children never lie about abuse". Since every investigation
began with the conclusion that abuse happened, few persons escaped the fate
of a child abuser label. As well, something that approached a status
system gave glorification and added honours to the investigation of sexual
abuse. These factors in conjuction with an obscene imbalance of power
between individual and state, especially in the legal arena, was experienced
as an era of child abuse "hysteria" with particularly sexual
overtones. The second greatest cause of false allegations in Winnipeg
was,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>(2) Experts, those medical,
psychology and "play therapy" practitioners who dramatically departed from
the standards of practice established in their disciplines and "validated"
nearly every allegation that came their way as true instances of
abuse. While the public was ignorant of their names, the child welfare
system certainly wasn't, identifying their "favorites" as experts who could
be counted on to substantiate abuse. The next biggest cause of false
allegations was,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>(3) Lawyers, who didn't discriminate between
the rich and poor when it came to providing the same poor quality of
service. For the legal aid client, representation was often provided
by lawyers who took on a great volume of cases at the lower pay rate,
subsequently did nothing to prepare the case for trial, and more often
browbeat their poor clients into "settlements" that grossly disadvantaged
their clients. My favorite was the common line I heard, "sign this
permanent order now, and you can always appeal in a year...", even though
legal aid rarely approves an appeal. The rich were served no better,
because the uglier, dirtier, messier and longer a case continued, the more
wealth and benefit accrued to the lawyer's trust account. It was not
uncommon for these lawyers to recommend the well known "favoured
practitioners" as experts for their clients, and this was especially true of
lawyers who charged more than 200 dollars an hour. The child welfare,
the experts, and the lawyers, were greatly aided in the manufacture of false
allegations by the roled played by,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>(4) Divorcing Mothers, who learned quickly how
to get rid of fathers and the paternal family for good with the power of an
allegation of sexual abuse. With the other three causes geared toward
supporting them, it was easy to launch and maintain an allegation of abuse
throughout court proceedings. Eventually, many of these allegations
could go on for years, even when many had never resulted in criminal charges
while some had not even been reported to the child welfare system.
"Believe the victim" philosophies that bestowed automatic credibility were
extended to "non-abusing parents" and females in general, with the notion
that questioning the alleged victim added to the trauma of abuse, and
many victims refused to come forward "in fear" that they would not
believed. Common features of many of these mothers included a history
of conflict with others and psychiatric treatment throughout their life
spans; many cases that were eventually provided with clinical assessments by
skilled practitioners frequently identified borderline and manic-depressive
disorders. Many of these women were also completely alienated from
their own families as well, ensuring that their victorious elimination of
the paternal family would deprive their children of all extended family
kinship ties. If I live to be a thousand, I will never understand how
the child abuse experts could ever have convinced themselves that this total
elimination was remotely in the best interests of the child. Another
notable cause of false allegations in Winnipeg until 1995 was,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>(5) Women's shelters - they were involved in
one out of three cases I accepted advocacy responsibility for. There
methods consisted primarily of providing an excellent guide to favoured
practitioners of the first three causes, and a well developed selection of
ideological literature and staff that encouraged war-like divorce
tactics. Worst of all, they formed the habit of questioning children
outside the presence of their mothers, using leading methods of questioning
that ensured a simple, facile, undetailed, disclosure from children who
exhibited no sad or angry affect in the telling. The most common was "daddy
touched my private parts" which only exploded into bizarre, unsexual
accounts after repeated questioning from other "investigators" from the
regular child abuse system. Unfortunately, it took several years to
acquire this knowledge, learned primarily from mothers who had stayed at the
shelter and were forced to support the "allegation" on threat of losing
their child. Thankfully, once the facts were known, the government of
the day acknowledged that questioning children about abuse exceeded the
mandate of the women's shelters, and their involvement in false allegations
came to an end in 1997.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>Without going into any great detail (some details can
be found at <A
href="http://www.fathersforlife.org/php/toc.htm";>www.fathersforlife.org/php/toc.htm</A>),
I developed multiple methods for making the five causes accountable as
individuals on a regular basis, and let those efforts be known to the local
media. I also examined the functioning of the system by providing
advocacy support to those cases that I considered false (after extensive
investigation), thereby showing the system how to change by bringing these
cases to resolution and out of the courtrooms with their families
intact. This work began in earnest in 1994 until by 1998, I was
whispering to close advisors that I was witnessing a dramatic decline in the
frequency of false allegations, inspite of my high profile in the
community. By 1999, I was glad to admit that I would have to leave the
jurisdiction to find false allegations of child abuse, as the rate of all
sexual abuse allegations had dropped by 60%. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>More ominously, by 1999, I learned the answer to this
question - What happens when you eliminate false allegations? Only the
true ones are left. Not only I, but respected clinical practitioners
in the field were reporting the identification of true allegations at a much
more frequent rate. Though I despise child abuse, particularly where
any adult would believe any child wants their sexual thoughts or advances, I
was not equipped for the dangerous work of revealing true pathology, and
this was not the mandate for my organization or the primary motive for my
work.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>After an extensive case law review of the country, I
identified Edmonton, Alberta as one of the hotspots for allegations in
divorce, and moved here in September of 1999. Interestingly, the
police far usurp the local child welfare system as a cause of false
allegations, even though the former rarely lay charges in divorce related
allegations. They accomplish the task by "leaving files open" and
testifying in family court on a regular basis.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>As Dr. Trocme notes in his discussion with Dr.
Strauss, Canada is woefully inept at gathering statistical data on its child
welfare activities. In spite of this, I maintain that we can learn a
great deal from the analysis of specific jurisdictions such as
Winnipeg. I further suggest the hypothesis that the higher the drop in
abuse allegations, the higher was the rate of false allegations in that
jurisdiction. Where jurisdictions did not experience the dramatic rise
in the 80's and the subsequent drop in the 90's, I suggest this means that
the five causes never succumbed to the excesses of the hysterical age in
child abuse identification. Finally, where jurisdictions experienced
the great climb, and have not experienced a significant drop, I suggest
these will be future locations for Parents Helping Parents to consider
moving its operations to, as the system has not yet recognized the five
causes.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>In short, while I don't think that false allegations
are the entire reason for the drop in sexual abuse allegations, it is very
likely a primary one. The good news is that the drops further indicate
advanced and effective investigative methods being adopted by those
authorities responsible for child abuse services. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>Thank you, and I would welcome your views on this
issue. I would also like to ask any one who reads this message to help
me identify some literature on the following related problem. I have
noted a high frequency of cases where children are placed in foster care for
alleged neglect or physical abuse, but eventually "disclose" sexual abuse to
foster parents after a 2 or 3 month stay. I have noted, for example,
that certain foster homes I have encountered make a habit of reporting
sexual disclosures with every child placed in their care time after
time. Frequently, these include alleged observation of "sexualized
play" that includes allegations of sexual interest between siblings in the
same foster home. My problem is that I have not found any good
database of articles that provide studies on foster care in general, or
their involvement in the investigative procees in particular. Can
anyone help me out?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>Louise Malenfant</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>Family Advocate</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>Parents Helping Parents,
Canada</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>
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From: "Nico Trocme" <nico.trocme@utoronto.ca>
To: Child Maltreatment Researchers <CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu>
Subject: Fw: False Allegations
Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2001 21:43:39 -0800
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>
> Ms. Malenfant,
>
> The issue of false allegations, especially in the context of parental
> separation is an important one, and sometimes has not received enough
> attention in professional education, training and practice.
>
> And in any research or advocacy in this area there is very difficlut
> question of deciding who is going to do the validating of the allegations,
> which may in part depend on the purpose for which one is doing the
> validation. Child protection workers are not infalliable in this area,
nor
> are the courts, the police or advocates for "falsely accused" parents.
> And in a significant number of cases, it may be impossible to know for
sure
> what happened, especially if the initial investigation was not carried out
> very carefully; in these cases of uncertainty, the question of onus of
> proof and purpose of the inquiry may be vewry important.
>
> I do, however, have considerable concern about using police laying
charges,
> or not, as "the" definitive determinative. Given the criminal rules of
> evidence, the criminal standard of proof, the difficulties in proving
abuse
> without the trauma/legal hurdles for child witnesses, the Charter
excluding
> evidence etc., there may be many reasons why police do not lay charges
even
> though a child has been sexually abused.
>
>
>
> Professor Nicholas Bala
> Faculty of Law
> Queen's University
> Kingston, Ontario
> Canada K7L 3N6
>
> tel. 613-533-6000 ext 7-4275
> fax 613-533-6509
>
> ncb@qsilver.queensu.ca
>