Kevin Lalor

Child Sexual Abuse,Links to Later Sexual Exploitation:High Risk Sexual Behavior and Prevention Treatment Programs

This paper reviews the literature on the nature and incidence of child sexual abuse, explores the link between child sexual abuse and later sexual exploitation, and reviews the literature on prevention strategies and effective interventions in child sexual abuse services. Our understanding of the international epidemiology of child sexual abuse is considerably greater than it was just 10 years ago, and studies from around the world are examined. Childhood sexual abuse can involve a wide number of psychological sequelae, including low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. Numerous studies have noted that child sexual abuse victims are vulnerable to later sexual revictimization, as well as the link between child sexual abuse and later engagement in high-risk sexual behaviour. Survivors of child sexual abuse are more likely to have multiple sex partners, become pregnant as teenagers, and experience sexual assault as adults. Various models which attempt to account for this inter-relationship are presented; most invoke mediating variables such as low self-esteem, drug/alcohol use, PTSD and distorted sexual development. Prevention strategies for child sexual abuse are examined including media campaigns, school-based prevention programmes, and therapy with abusers. The results of a number of meta-analyses are examined. However, researchers have identified significant methodological limitations in the extant research literature that impede the making of recommendations for implementing existing therapeutic programmes unreservedly.

The victimization of juvenile prostitutes in Ethiopia.

This article quantifies the victimization experienced by 30 juvenile prostitutes in Addis Ababa. Of these, 73 percent had been raped at least once and 93 percent had been beaten in the course of their work. Only 50 percent used contraception, resulting in a pregnancy rate of 37 percent. Findings indicate that prostitution is a lifestyle highly conducive to victimization, fostered by conditions of extreme deprivation. Policy and practice implications are discussed.

Determinants of Sexual Behaviour

A sample of 247 college students were surveyed regarding their experiences of consensual sexual experiences below age 16; experiences of ‘boyfriend/girlfriend’ relationships; experiences of lifetime sexual activity and sexual orientation. By age 16, 12 per cent of respondents have had intercourse. Males are one and half to two times more likely than females to report sexual experiences below age 16. Those with urban origins are significantly more likely to report having had sexual experiences before age 16 than those with rural origins. The period 18–20 is characterised by short term dating, leading to much longer lasting relationships in the 21+ age category. For 18–20 year olds, 50.5 per cent report having had sexual intercourse (57 per cent of males and 47.7 per cent of females). Respondents from Dublin city or county are more likely to report having had sexual intercourse than those from a rural/farm background (64 percent and 39 per cent respectively). A surprising trend was the apparently chaste nature of boyfriend/girlfriend relationships in the 18–20 age group. This study examined only sexual experiences. Further research is required to examine the relationship contexts of various sexual experiences.

Child Sexual Abuse in Ireland: an Historical and Anthropological Note

Child sexual abuse in Ireland has entered the public domain only in the last twenty years. This process was accelerated by a number of high profile cases which became public in the mid 1990s. Prior to the recent past, few references to child sexual abuse in Ireland exist. The first written evidence is found in the Penitentials of the early Christian period. Penance is specified for those that “misuse” children. Mention of adult child sexual relations is also found in the Brehon law texts. Historians, sociologists and anthropologists of childhood suggest that patterns of child rearing vary across time and place, depending on socio-economic, educational, religious and industrial conditions. Such variety in the conceptions of childhood and the personal variation in child guardians suggests that child abuse should not be considered impossible or absent at any point in time and place. Even where little evidence is initially apparent, we must be sensitised to the revelations and exposures of recent years, which have clearly shown that the sexual abuse of children is more widespread than had previously been imagined.

Parental attitudes to myopia: a key agent of change for myopia control?

With the increasing prevalence in myopia there is growing interest in active myopia prevention. This study aims to increase our understanding of parental attitudes to myopia development and control, as a means to inform future health planning and policy. It evaluates, for the first time, the attitude of parents to myopia and its associated risks, as well as assessing the exposure of Irish children to environmental factors that may influence their risk profile for myopia development.

Booklet of Selected Theses from the MA in Criminology, MA in Law, MA in Child, Family and Community Studies, and the International Masters in Early Childhood Education, 2010-2012

This research project considers a frequently ignored dimension of adolescent sexual abuse, the parents and families of the adolescent perpetrator. This study focuses on eliciting professionals’ views of the impact on the family when an adolescent member has sexually abused. The context for the study is outlined with an account of the prevalence of and explanations for adolescent sexual abuse. The study proceeds to look at legislation and the impact on labelling. Areas relating to the family on the impact of disclosure, parental reactions and the process of engagement are explored. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five professionals working within the child welfare and criminal justice system who worked with young people who had sexually abused and their families. The purpose of the study was to explore with professionals their perceived perception of the impact having an adolescent sexual abusing member has on families, from their contact with family members. The findings and analysis suggest, from the professionals’ perspective, that families are faced with many issues when confronted with the discovery that their child has sexually abused. These include emotional upheaval, risk management and issues regarding engaging with services. If the aim of therapeutic intervention with sexually abusing youth is to reduce the risk of further abuse and to help the young person develop a healthy lifestyle, this study contends, from the professionals’ perspective, that family involvement is essential. The researcher concludes this study by making recommendations. Full text of this thesis is at: http://arrow.dit.ie/aaschssldis/34/ Tracey Carroll MA in Criminology

Booklet of Selected Theses from the MA in Criminology, MA in Law, and MA in Child, Family and Community Studies 2007- 2009.

Reductionistic definitions characterise many of the representations of women in our society. From superficial depictions of women as sex objects to the elevation of motherhood as a paragon of womanhood, women navigate myriad roles available to them exclusively because of their gender. Female offenders are potentially more vulnerable to such limitations of representation due to their relative invisibility. Society is largely unacquainted with the realities of circumstance for such women, who are therefore reliant upon media outlets to inform the public. The operation of this process in Ireland has not been the subject of extensive research, and the current study attempts to address this. Through a content analysis of the output of four newspapers over a one-month period, the representation of female offenders in Irish newspapers was found to be similarly reliant on familiar narratives. Female offenders were consistently represented in terms of their gender; the themes which emerged were broadly compatible with the various aspects of femininity as it is socially constructed and understood. Full thesis text at: http://arrow.dit.ie/aaschssldis/1/

Our Views Anybody Listening: Researching the Views and Needs of Young People in Co. Kildare

This report by Dr. Kevin Lalor & Dr. Katie Baird of the Centre for Social and Educational Research, Dublin Institute of Technology describes the results of a survey of 988 adolescents in Co. Kildare, carried out between December 2004 and February 2005. The sample was drawn from First Year, Third Year and Sixth Year students in 25 of the 29 secondary schools in the County and participants at the three CTC/Youthreach Centres in Co. Kildare. The research was commissioned by Kildare Youth Services and the aim was to give young people a voice in the provision of services; specifically, to explore and identify what young people have to say about community facilities, leisure activities, worries and concerns and sources of support.