Managing Child Sexual Abuse Cases

by Brian Corby

Overview

Social workers involved in child sexual abuse work have key powers and duties in civil law to protect children. All too often, they bear the brunt of criticism when the system fails. Written for professionals, Managing Child Sexual Abuse Cases examines the complex nature of such cases, and explores the problems encountered by local authority social workers who are required to intervene in families to protect children.

Using material from forty case studies, Brian Corby analyzes the context in which child sexual abuse is managed, and the intervention practices of social workers (and other professionals) within this context. From this, he draws out what policies and practices are effective, and why. He studies the historical background to child protection, and the curious ambivalence of society's attitude to cases of child sexual abuse. While emphasizing the difficulties of providing an adequate intervention system, he argues for greater co-operation between agencies, and recommends greater focus on the provision of more resources for treatment of children and families rather than concentrating on detection, investigation and prosecution of offenders.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781853025938
Publisher:	Kingsley, Jessica Publishers
Publication date:	07/01/1998
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.22(w) x 9.17(h) x 0.39(d)

About the Author

The late Brian Corby was a senior lecturer in Applied Social Sciences at the University of Liverpool. He specialized in child protection studies and has been the author of two previous books on the subject.

Table of Contents

Introduction. 1. History and Ideas. 2. Developing a Response to Child Sexual Abuse. 3. Aims and Methodology. 4. Setting the Scene. 5. The Cases. 6. Investigating Child Sexual Abuse. 7. Protecting Children and Helping Families - The Child Protection Conference. 8. Ongoing Work with Families in the Six-Month Period following the Conference. 9. Two Years On from the Initial Conference. 10. Social Work Practice and Child Sexual Abuse. 11. Managing Child Sexual Abuse: Policy Issues. Appendix 1: The Forty Case Studies, by Category. Appendix 2: View from the Parents. References. Index.

Editorial Reviews

Child sexual abuse continues to be one of the most challenging areas of work facing those employed in child care. This book provides a clear account of research undertaken between 1989 and 1993 into social work intervention in 40 cases of child sexual abuse. These high priority cases, which all reached the case conference stage, were drawn from three local authorities in north-west England. The study included interviews with social workers and other professionals, analysis of case records and observation of child protection case conferences. Corby' s writing is, as usual, extremely lucid and easy to read. The accessibility of this book will make it attractive to practitioners, managers, students and academics in social work and related professions. The range of references is extensive and the reader can use this study as an up-to-date sourcebook on child sexual abuse. A central strength of this book is the contextualisation of this research and other studies in the post Cleveland era. The Cleveland inquiry emerges from these pages as the definitive backdrop against which child sexual abuse work has been practised in the 1990s.

Child and Family Social Work.

Managing Child Sexual Abuse Cases is easy to read, flowing consistently over eleven chapters. Corby makes use of subtitles to assist the reader and the material is both logical and relevant. Corby tracks through history the various attitudes and reactions to child sexual abuse, before discussing how current thinking has impacted on current practice... Overall Corby offers the reader interesting opinions on how societal opinion informs our practice. His proposals for improving intervention do much to enhance the ongoing debate on how social workers can improve practice which will benefit the families in the long-term, as well as offer protection in the immediate-term for the children.

Child Care in Practice

Corby's conclusions make disturbing reading. He agrees that if a criterion for 'success' is the prevention of further abuse, then this was largely unsuccessful. However, he is unequivocal in his criticism of the lack of support and therapeutic input offered to children and families following the initial investigation. He also points to the multiple difficulties experienced by the families and reveals that little practical or emotional support was offered. This book should sit on the shelves of managers and social workers. Many children and families who struggle with allegations of sexual abuse need support. Management of allegations is not enough.

Professional Social Work