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Up to 85% of child abuse remains undetected.

koza

The report calls for a major strategy by government to prevent child abuse, including:

•

To increase the responsibilities of those working with children

•

To teach school children as young as five, in compulsory lessons, about healthy and safe relationships

•

To teach them to talk to an appropriate adult if they are worried about abuse

•

Training teachers to recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse and act accordingly

•

To support children from the moment they disclose abuse. And to have a child psychologist or appropriate intermediary in evidence interviews with the child

•

To make sure all police forces record child sexual abuse-related crimes

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34904705

Is more sex education from a younger age part of the solution? Is there more places like TSR could be doing?

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 1

Howard

Original post by koza

The report calls for a major strategy by government to prevent child abuse, including:

•

To increase the responsibilities of those working with children

•

To teach school children as young as five, in compulsory lessons, about healthy and safe relationships

•

To teach them to talk to an appropriate adult if they are worried about abuse

•

Training teachers to recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse and act accordingly

•

To support children from the moment they disclose abuse. And to have a child psychologist or appropriate intermediary in evidence interviews with the child

•

To make sure all police forces record child sexual abuse-related crimes

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34904705

If they are undetected how can they be quantified?

Reply 2

Zerforax

Original post by Howard

If they are undetected how can they be quantified?

Probably why it's qualified by "up to".

I doubt anyone thinks that the actual number of child abuse is the same as that number which is reported.

Reply 3

llys

I think children above the age of 8 or so should be allowed to choose to live with a different family member (grandparents etc) or even put themselves into care, if the evidence is not be good enough for a conviction of the abuser. That way at least the child has a (relatively simple) way of escape. Evidence of abuse is usually difficult to obtain, especially if it is 'just' neglect or psychological abuse.

Reply 4

llys

Original post by Howard

If they are undetected how can they be quantified?

I think it is probably an estimate based on Childline calls or something.

Reply 5

Howard

Original post by Zerforax

Probably why it's qualified by "up to".

I doubt anyone thinks that the actual number of child abuse is the same as that number which is reported.

So, we detect 100 child abuse cases in Luton for instance. How do we arrive at the idea that this represents just 15% of actual cases and that there could be ""up to" 667 cases in Luton? If the cases aren't being reported 85% is an arbitrary guess.

Reply 6

koza

Original post by Howard

If they are undetected how can they be quantified?

Data on the proportion of child sexual abuse which occurs within the family is not recorded consistently by police forces. Where the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator is recorded rigorously, approximately two thirds of cases of child sexual abuse are within the family.

The scale of child sexual abuse can be measured by its prevalence rate – the proportion of adults in the population who were sexually abused as a child, and by its incidence – the number of new cases of child sexual abuse occurring over a specified time period. A recent study of child maltreatment found that 11.3% of young adults aged 18 – 24 had experienced contact sexual abuse during childhood3.

According to census data, there are approximately 11.5 million children and young people living in England. Based on the rate of 11.3% of young adults aged 18-24 reporting that they were a victim of contact sexual abuse at some point during childhood, it can be extrapolated that approximately 1.3 million children currently living in England will have been a victim of contact sexual abuse by the time they turn 18.Data gathered for this Inquiry relates to the two year period 1 April 2012 – 31 March 2014. It is therefore necessary to estimate the likely incidence of child sexual abuse over this particular period, in order to compare it with the actual number of cases which have come to the attention of the relevant authorities during the same period of time.

A statistical model (Multiple Systems Estimation) can be used to estimate the number of unknown victims of child sexual abuse. This approach has previously been used to obtain a ‘dark figure’ for the prevalence of modern slavery4. Much like modern slavery, victims of child sexual abuse may not report to authorities. Collating a list of potential victims from multiple sources can present only a partial picture of the likely incidence, and there is a ‘dark figure’ of victims who have not come to the attention of any agencies. The model can be used to estimate the number of these unidentified victims. It is important to note that this is an estimation for the incidence of child sexual abuse over the period from April 2012 to March 2014.

The model estimates that over the two year period April 2012 – March 2014, there were 400,000 – 450,000 victims of child sexual abuse in England. This represents all forms of child sexual abuse, not only sexual abuse which occurs within the family. It must also be stressed that this confidence interval depends on a number of assumptions, which, while sensible, cannot be completely confirmed from the data, and so it may be that its accuracy is optimistic. Over the same time period, approximately 50,000 victims of child sexual abuse were known to statutory agencies.

http://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/Protecting%20children%20from%20harm%20-%20executive%20summary_0.pdf

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 7

TheCaseLawyer

According to the NSPCC, in Britain, 5 percent of children in the UK have been sexually abused but most studies put it at much higher at around 10 percent.

Reply 8

AntiFarLeft

The worst and often state supported child abuse are very young children being given transgender treatment like puberty blocking pills

5 year old boy likes to dress up as girl

Sent to a therapist who says they have gender dysmorphia and then their progressive parents start giving them body transforming medication

Its not a kid getting their ears pierced or a tattoo there are going to be a hell of a lot of law suits in the future

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 9

tamil fever

I think there should be more focus in schools about this so children can open up about it whether it be emotional or physical abuse.And they should be given proper care.To be honest the reason why child abuse may be undetected is that the child is too scared to open up or does not see what is wrong with what they are going through.Or the care giver could have emotionally blackmailed them.I really think there should be more emphasis on this in schools because it will greatly affect them when they are older.Yes evidence may be insufficient but I think they should speak to a child psychologist and why would a child lie about abuse.