Is Child Sexual Abuse Declining in Canada? An Analysis of Child Welfare Data

Autor/inn/en	Collin-Vezina, Delphine; Helie, Sonia; Trocme, Nico
Titel	Is Child Sexual Abuse Declining in Canada? An Analysis of Child Welfare Data
Quelle	In: Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal, 34 (2010) 11, S.807-812 (6 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0145-2134
DOI	10.1016/j.chiabu.2010.05.004
Schlagwörter	Area Studies; Sexual Abuse; Child Abuse; Incidence; Child Welfare; Foreign Countries; Victims of Crime; Welfare Services; Surveys; Police; Databases; Child Neglect; Behavior Problems; Trend Analysis; Disclosure; Public Agencies; Canada + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Landeskunde; Sexueller Missbrauch; Abuse of children; Abuse; Child; Children; Kindesmissbrauch; Missbrauch; Kind; Kinder; Vorkommen; Kindeswohl; Ausland; Victim; Victims; Crime; Opfer; Verbrechen; Fürsorgeeinrichtung; Survey; Umfrage; Befragung; Datenbank; Kindesvernachlässigung; Trendanalyse; Öffentliche Einrichtung; Kanada
Abstract	Objective: Canadian victimization surveys and police databases suggest that, overall, no decline in sexual crimes in Canada had occurred lately. We aimed at reviewing the existing data from Canadian child protection services to further explore whether a decline in the number of substantiated child sexual abuse (CSA) cases has occurred during the past years. Method: Nation-wide and provincial data from two provinces, Ontario and Quebec, were analyzed, including the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect; the Ontario Incidence Studies of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect; the Quebec Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse, Neglect, Abandonment and Serious Behaviour Problems; the annual reports of Quebec child protection agencies; and the annual province-wide statistics produced by the Quebec Social Health Ministry. Results: Based on Canadian-wide and Ontario data, substantiated CSA cases have decreased. However, all other forms of child maltreatment have increased during that same timeframe, an overall picture that does not parallel United States child maltreatment trends. In contrast, sources of data from the province of Quebec point to a recent increase in the number of CSA cases that are reported to and substantiated by the authorities. Potential explanations for the rise in CSA cases in Quebec include a recent increase in the victims' willingness to bring their accounts to the authorities, and new ways cases are counted by child welfare services. Conclusions: Considering the inconsistent results from Canadian child protection services, and the fact that victimization surveys and police databases do not corroborate a decline in sexual crimes, it seems precipitous to conclude that CSA has been declining in Canada. More Canadian studies on CSA are greatly needed to further test how different factors impact the numbers of CSA cases known to the authorities. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10