Forensic Interviewing of Children

Determining whether a child has been sexually abused can be a challenging and complex process. Child sexual abuse is not an encounter that causes specific, unambiguous symptoms or behavioral problems common to every child victim. Other factors that may make a valid determination difficult include the limited vocabulary of young children, the absence of definitive…

Prevalence of Sexual Abuse of Children Despite widespread agreement that sexual abuse of children is a serious problem, disagreement exists about its prevalence. The true scope of child sexual abuse is difficult to measure because of inaccuracies inherent in the methodology of empirical research. For example, incidence figures from child protection agencies include only cases…

When children disclose sexual abuse it is common for them to undergo a forensic interview, often at a child advocacy center with a professional who has received specialized training in interviewing children. A forensic interview is a structured conversation that is designed to obtain information from the child about an event the child has experienced….

The prevalence of child sexual abuse is marked by disagreement of whether national statistics accurately reflect its incidence rates. Some experts argue that studies underestimate the true extent because all cases of sexual abuse are not reported to authorities. Other experts argue that studies overestimate the incidence rates of child sexual abuse because they include…

A widely reported finding in mental health journals and other media sources is that allegations of child sexual abuse are increasing. Due to their nature, these allegations require investigation in order to distinguish bona fide accusations from those that are false. In many cases definitive physical evidence does not exist and other means of establishing…