Ethics and Issues of Secondary Prevention Efforts in Child Sexual Abuse

McCartan, Kieran; Merdian, Hannah L.; Perkins, Derek E.; Kettleborough, Danielle

Abstract

© 2017, The Author(s). This article discusses the ethical, practical, and moral issues surrounding secondary prevention efforts of child sexual abuse from a professional and practice-based perspective. Transcripts of a semistructured consultation event with n = 15 international experts on the secondary prevention of child sexual abuse were analysed using thematic qualitative analysis. The research identified four main critical areas linked to secondary prevention efforts, including, the psychology of self-reporting and disclosure; the interaction with and within existing legal, social, and professional frameworks; the scale and type of an appropriate response; and potential hurdles (i.e., within media, public, politics). The article outlines these areas, highlighting participant perspectives on risk-enhancing and mitigating factors for each domain.

Citation

McCartan, K., Merdian, H. L., Perkins, D. E., & Kettleborough, D. (2018). Ethics and Issues of Secondary Prevention Efforts in Child Sexual Abuse. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62(9), 2548-2566. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X17723951

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 3, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Aug 23, 2017
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: Aug 7, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 7, 2017
• Journal: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
• Print ISSN: 0306-624X
• Electronic ISSN: 1552-6933
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 62
• Issue: 9
• Pages: 2548-2566
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X17723951
• Keywords: ethics, secondary prevention, child sexual abuse
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/865115
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X17723951
• Additional Information: Additional Information : © 2018. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications