Child Sexual Abuse Case Study
Sarah has been behaving in a sexually precocious manner with her brother and is constantly talking about genitals. Sarah's teacher has reported that she acts out sexual behaviours with the dolls in class and has on two occasions masturbated during reading times.What issues would I attempt to address first and why?I would want to find out about the masturbation and the sexual acts with the dolls.Formal assessment I would undertake.'We must therefore be cautious in using defining terms which a child may carry throughout childhood and beyond' (Bannister, 1990: pg.118)In the beginning I would like to just observe Sarah in her play, see what she talks about when she is playing with the dolls and just observe her body language, the way she uses the dolls whether it is very graphic and detailed with what is going on.Sarah uses the dolls to act out these sexual acts, so the dolls would not be too confronting for her and with being able to watch what she is doing would help me to get a better understanding of what may be happening.'For endeavouring to discern whether abuse has taken place, one must test in both realms of personal and projected play- that is in physical
At this stage I would most probably notify Docs about the abuse, and advise them that I think there is abuse, and the perpetrator is the father. This type of questioning doesn't make assumptions about what may have happened to the child. Use non-leading, open questions and comments when responding to a child who is disclosing or talking about abuse. Play represents the attempts of a child to organize their world and experiences and it may be one of the few times that they feel in control. The mother and her boyfriend can keep her safe because the perpetrator is not living with them. This is where Sarah has learnt this behaviour it is a form of modelling. She was feeling scared but didn't want to say anything because the man said to the little girl, her mummy would die if she told anybody. Children are the best source of information about themselves. I would have to set aside my belief that there is sexual abuse, or if it had been disclosed to me in the session by the child. I would continue watching Sarah play with the dolls, and if she allowed me to play. 'In the aftermath of child sexual abuse disclosure the mother will experience a whole range of feelings similar to those expressed by the abuse child. I believe that the abuse started then, perhaps because the mother was getting on with her life while her ex-husband had nobody. I would want to find out from her teacher as well, what kind of stories were being read at the time when Sarah would begin to masturbate, as the stories may have triggered something off for her.
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Acceptance Essays
