New Book Challenges Misinformation About Child Sexual Abuse

[CHILIDOLL@xxxxxxx]

It has been my experience that abusers are receiving custody of the very 
children they are found to be abusing.
I have high regard for the work of the Leadership Council.
Renee Beeker
NAFCJ.org
Unitedforjustice.org

New Book Challenges Misinformation About Child Sexual Abuse

Bala Cynwyd, PA - National surveys show that the majority of rape
victims in the U.S. are children or adolescents. Yet, sexual abuse
remains the most under-reported form of childhood maltreatment, most
child molesters are never prosecuted, and few children receive
treatment for either their physical or psychological injuries.

A new book, Misinformation Concerning Child Sexual Abuse and Adult
Survivors, is an invaluable resource for professionals and laypeople
who want to understand how manipulation and misinformation can impede
recognition and protection of current victims and place additional
children at risk for abuse.

Misinformation Concerning Child Sexual Abuse and Adult Survivors
examines:

* Manipulation of the public media by those who seek to deny and
distort the extent and harm of child abuse.

* Academic strategies of those seeking to alter how professionals 
view sex between adults and children, including three separate expert
examinations of Rind, Tromovitch, and Bauserman's controversial 1998
study. The study's conclusion that child sex abuse "does not cause
intense harm on a pervasive basis" was the highest-level endorsement
yet of the no-harm rationalization for child sexual abuse. As such,
the study has been used in defense of pedophiles -- including a 
priest who molested young boys.

* A cautionary case study which reveals how public and academic
resources were misused to convince the public that a convicted child
molester was an innocent man.

* Aggressive litigation strategies such as blaming the victim, the
"false memory" defense, and misrepresenting scientific knowledge 
about the long-term impact of childhood sexual abuse.

* Practice guidelines for addressing memories of trauma in clinical
practice

Co-editor Dr. Paul Fink, a past president of the American Psychiatric
Association and current president of the Leadership Council, notes
that the book can help people understand the dynamics underlying the
current priest abuse scandal. Dr. Fink notes: "The victims of
pedophilic priests number in the thousands, yet most have suffered in
silence until now. Why? Because those in positions of authority have
tended to protect the abuser and have blamed and bullied victims when
they come forward to report abuse."

David Clohessy, director of the Survivor Network of those Abused by
Priests (SNAP) agrees. "This much needed book taps the core of the
real problem in the Church and ultimately society as a whole. The
story is less about pedophiles and more about the hierarchy that
covers up and denies the truth thus enabling the crime to go on."

The Leadership Council for Mental Health, Justice, and the Media, is 
a nonprofit multidisciplinary organization whose membership includes
many of the nation's most prominent mental health leaders. The 
Council is headed by Paul Fink, MD, a past president of the American
Psychiatric Association. Members of the Council are dedicated to the
health, safety and well-being of children and other vulnerable
populations. More information can be found on their website at:
www.leadershipcouncil.org

The book is available from Haworth Press
http://www.haworthpressinc.com/store/product.asp?sku=4685