Kränkung and Erkrankung: Sexual Trauma before 1895.

A tropology of moral injury and corruption long framed the plight of the sex crime victim. Nineteenth-century psychiatric acknowledgment of adverse sexual experience reflected general trends in etiological thought, especially on 'epileptic' and hysteric seizures, but on the whole remained descriptive, guarded and limited. Various experiential threats to the modern sexual self beyond assault and rape were granted etiological significance, however: illegitimate motherhood, masturbatory guilt, sexual enlightenment, 'homosexual seduction' and chance encounters leading to fetishistic fixation. These minor early appeals to medical psychology help us appreciate the multiple nuances of 'sexual trauma' advanced in Breuer and Freud's Studies on Hysteria (1895) and Freud's subsequent work.

The Roman Catholic Church: A Centuries Old History of Awareness of Clerical Child Sexual Abuse (from the First to the 19th Century).

Debates in international forums and in mainstream media on the role, responsibility, liability, and response of ecclesiastical authorities of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) toward clerical child sexual abuse (cCSA) fail to take into account the historical roots and awareness of the problem. Reports also fail to mention the historic organizational laws RCC developed over centuries. In contrast, RCC documents evidence that the Catholic Church not only carried century's old history of cCSA, but also repeatedly condemned cCSA by successive papal authorities, organizational laws, and institutional management mechanisms. During the first millennium, however, church laws remained confined to the bookshelves and were not converted into appropriate management policies and infrastructural models. This was largely due to the absence of a central administrative organizational structure, which developed later in the 12th century, following the Second Council of Lateran (1139) when the Papacy asserted its authority to establish administrative control over the organizational church. It was only then that management policies started to be framed and institutional structures enacted to deal more appropriately with cCSA from the 14th to 20th centuries. Despite this, RCC developed a culture of secrecy using clandestine organizational management models and institutional laws prescribed in 1568, 1622, 1741, 1866, 1922, and 1962 which aimed to manage cCSA. The current study traces reported cCSA as far back as the first century and critically examines the organizational laws, and institutional policies developed by RCC to address clerical sexual misconduct up to the end of the 19th century.

Augusta Rasmussen - psychiatrist, pioneer and the scientific truths of the time. / Augusta Rasmussen ­ psykiater, pioner og tidens vitenskapelige sannheter.

In 1934, senior registrar Augusta Rasmussen (1895­1979) published a study of 77 cases involving sexual offences. She found that the women involved had suffered no mental injury from the abuse. In 1947, she published a study of the intelligence level of 310 Norwegian women who had formed relationships with German soldiers during the occupation. She found that nearly all of them were more or less retarded. Her conclusions, however, were not scientifically valid. Here we present Rasmussen's biography, academic background and scientific activity.

From Freud to Feminism: Gendered Constructions of Blame Across Theories of Child Sexual Abuse.

Most theories of child sexual abuse are, to some degree, gendered, with nonoffending mothers bearing the burden of blame, ideologically and legally, for the transgressions of predominantly male offenders. This article explores the social construction of blame for child sexual abuse via critical analyses of evolving theoretical perspectives on maternal culpability for the inception and maintenance of abuse dynamics. Drawing on selected conceptual and research knowledge that supports and refutes anecdotal claims, this synthesis of the literature culminates in the proposal of an evidence-informed, feminist-grounded, multitheoretical child sexual abuse framework that disrupts dominant mother-blaming discourse and guides socially just and ethically responsive policy, practice, and research.

The "Good Old Days" of Courtroom Questioning: Changes in the Format of Child Cross-Examination Questions Over 60 Years.

Recent decades have seen an explosion of research into children's eyewitness capabilities and resulted in legal reform to render the adversarial trial process more child friendly. Many, however, have been left with the feeling that the most intimidating legal process for child complainants-cross-examination-has not changed meaningfully despite its potential to distort children's evidence. To test this possibility, we compared the cross-examination questioning of Australian child sexual abuse complainants in the 1950s to that used in contemporary cases. We found that the format of cross-examination questions has remained largely consistent over time, with leading questions still making up the bulk of the questions asked. The changes that we did observe, however, are concerning. Cross-examination questions posed to contemporary child complainants were less likely to be open-ended and more likely to be complex, relative to those asked in the 1950s. Crucially, contemporary complainants were asked 3 times as many cross-examination questions as they were 60 years ago. These changes are likely to have detrimental effects on child complainants and their evidence and could reduce the ability of jurors to reach just outcomes in these cases.

Remaking collective knowledge: An analysis of the complex and multiple effects of inquiries into historical institutional child abuse.

This article provides an overview and critical analysis of inquiries into historical institutional child abuse and examines their multiple functions and complex effects. The article takes a broadly international view but focuses primarily on Australia, the UK and Ireland, jurisdictions in which there have been major national inquiries. Drawing on sociological and other social science literature, it begins by considering the forms, functions, and purposes of inquiries. An overview of emergent concerns with institutional abuse in the 1980s and 1990s is then provided, followed by an examination of the response of many governments since that time in establishing inquiries. Key findings and recommendations are considered. The final sections of the article explore the evaluation of inquiries, both during their operation and in their aftermath. Policy change and legislative reform are discussed but the focus is on aspects often underplayed or overlooked, including an inquiry's credibility, its role in processes of knowledge production, and the part it plays in producing social and cultural shifts. In the context of growing numbers of inquiries across Western democracies, including the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, it is argued that grasping the complexity of the inquiry mechanism, with its inherent tensions and its multiple effects, is crucial to evaluating inquiry outcomes.

A historical comparison of Australian lawyers' strategies for cross-examining child sexual abuse complainants.

Many child sexual abuse complainants find the adversarial trial process so distressing that they say they would never report abuse again. Their concerns stem largely from cross-examination, in which the lawyer acting for the accused attempts to discredit their evidence. We examined whether-and if so, how-Australian defense lawyers' approaches to cross-examining child sexual abuse complainants have changed meaningfully over the past 60 years. To do this, we systematically evaluated cases that were prosecuted in the 1950s, comparing them to a matched set of cases from the turn of the twenty-first century. Despite the intervening law reforms designed to improve complainants' experience in court, we found that, relative to their historical counterparts, contemporary child complainants of sexual abuse are actually subjected to far lengthier cross-examinations involving a much broader range of strategies and associated tactics. These findings have important implications for future legal practice and reform, and for the way in which these are evaluated.

Por los abismos de la infancia / Through the abyss of childhood

Constantemente los medios de comunicación nos informan sobre el maltrato al que son sometidos los niños en todo el mundo, maltrato que se expresa en variadísimas y crueles formas y contra el cual parecen impotentes las leyes que pretenden acabarlo. Un breve recorrido por la historia nos muestra que esta crueldad puesta sobre los infantes ha existido siempre, que forma parte de una agresividad estructural humana que encuentra en los niños un blanco fácil para su descarga.

The media constantly informs us about the mistreatment to which children are subjected throughout the world, abuse that is expressed in very varied and cruel ways and against which the laws that aim to end it seem impotent. A brief tour through history shows us that this cruelty placed on infants has always existed, that it is part of a structural human aggression that finds in children an easy target for unloading

Trastornos mentales en hombres y mujeres expuestos a abuso sexual en la infancia / Mental disorders in men and women who suffered sexual abuse or other types of violence

El abuso sexual es una forma de violencia que afecta a personas de diferentes países, estratos sociales, culturas y religiones. El presente estudio se propuso analizar los antecedentes de abuso sexual infantil en adultos que consultaron en el Servicio Ambulatorio de la Cátedra de Psiquiatría y que presentaron distintos tipos de trastornos mentales. Es un estudio trasversal, descriptivo, muestreo no probabilístico. Se realizó la revisión de 254 fichas clínicas de pacientes en psicoterapia entre 2010 y 2012 y se seleccionaron 44 víctimas de abuso sexual infantil (ASI).; Los diagnósticos de trastornos mentales fueron realizados en base a la clasificación DSM. El 95,4% de los pacientes (n=42) era del sexo femenino,; 31,8% (n=14) tenía entre 19 y 15 años de edad, 38,6% (n=17) entre 26 a 35 años y ;72,7% (n=32) era de estado civil soltero. Además del ASI, el 29,5% (13) recibió violencia de pareja, de otros parientes y fuera del hogar, 25% (11) de padres, otros familiares y fuera del hogar,; 25% (11) pareja, otros familiares, fuera del hogar, 4,5% (2) padres, pareja, otros familiares y fuera del hogar, 15,9% (7) fuera del hogar. El 36,4% (16) tenía trastornos del estado de ánimo, 18,2% (8) de ansiedad, 15,9% (7) de personalidad, 4,5% (2) psicóticos, 13,6% (6) dos o más trastornos, y 6,8% (3) patología dual. Es una población de mujeres jóvenes, solteras, víctimas de abuso sexual y padecieron fundamentalmente trastornos del estado de ánimo, de ansiedad y de personalidad.

Sexual abuse affects people from different social classes, independently of their cultureand religion, in all countries. This study aimed to analyze the sexual abuse suffered byadults who attended the outpatient service of the Department of Psychiatry of the Facultyof Medical Sciences. It is a cross-sectional descriptive study with non-probability sampling.It analyzed 254 clinical records of patients who attended the service for psychotherapybetween 2010 and 2012 and 44 victims of child sexual abuse (CSA) were selected. Thediagnoses of the mental disorders were made using the DSM classification. The 95.4%(42) was women, 31.8% (14) was between 19 and 25 years old, 38.6% (17) between 26and 35 and 72.7% (32) was single Apart from CSA, 29.5% (13) received violence frompartners, relatives and outside of the home, 25% (11) from their parents, relatives andoutside of the home, 4.5% (2) from parents, partners, relatives and outside of the home.

Child sexual abuse and the media: a literature review.

The media play an important role in practice, policy, and public perception of child sexual abuse, in part by the way in which news stories are framed. Child sexual abuse media coverage over the past 50 years can be divided into five time periods based on the types of stories that garnered news coverage and the ways in which public policy was changed. This systematic literature review of research on child sexual abuse media coverage across disciplines and geographic boundaries examines 16 studies published in the English language from 1995 to 2012. A seminal work is identified, citation network analysis is applied, and a framework model is developed.

[The infantile sexual seduction: revolution and aftermath of Freud's theory]. / La seducción sexual infantil: revolución y repercusiones de la teoría de Freud.

There is no question about the negative effects of child sexual abuse. Freud's seduction theory asserts that psychoneuroses in adults are caused by reactivation of forgotten recollections of gross sexual abuse (involving the genitals) that had taken place prior to the age of 8 to 10 years. His contribution consisted in the discovery of specific events, prior to puberty, which were indispensable to the formation of psychoneuroses. If an adult patient recalled an infantile sexual experience, Freud assumed the interference of a pervert: a child was sexually innocent unless it had been traumatized. But Freud's technique of clinical exploration had not attained adequate reliability and was not immune to prejudices. Freud himself dropped his mechanical, static theory that presupposed a single type of accidentally occurring trauma prior to puberty, allowing him to develop his new drive and fantasy theory.

La seducción sexual infantil: revolución y repercusiones de la teoría de Freud / The infantile sexual seduction: revolution and aftermath of Freud's theory

There is no question about the negative effects of child sexual abuse. Freud's seduction theory asserts that psychoneuroses in adults are caused by reactivation of forgotten recollections of gross sexual abuse (involving the genitals) that had taken place prior to the age of 8 to 10 years. His contribution consisted in the discovery of specific events, prior to puberty, which were indispensable to the formation of psychoneuroses. If an adult patient recalled an infantile sexual experience, Freud assumed the interference of a pervert: a child was sexually innocent unless it had been traumatized. But Freud's technique of clinical exploration had not attained adequate reliability and was not immune to prejudices. Freud himself dropped his mechanical, static theory that presupposed a single type of accidentally occurring trauma prior to puberty, allowing him to develop his new drive and fantasy theory.

[Violence in residential care: a retrospective study from a psychotraumatological perspective]. / Gewalt in Wiener Heimen zwischen 1945 und 1990--eine retrospektive Studie aus psychotraumatologischer Perspektive.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Commissioned by the victims-organisation 'Weißer Ring', we conducted 130 interviews (34% female, 66% male, medium age of 53.6 years) during a period of 12 months (March 2011-March 2012). All of them reported that they had been traumatised children in residential care (1946-1975: 70%, 1976-1990: 25%). The interviews primarily aimed at providing expert estimates of the consequences of individual traumas in order to establish a valid basis for compensation. The later evaluation of the interviews allows insight in to forms and quantity of subjective experiences of trauma and of their consequences for later life; although-due to the sampling procedures-no reliable generalisations about the entire system of Social Pedagogy of the City of Vienna are possible. All 130 one-hour long, clinical-biographic interviews were conducted by the same expert (who has qualifications in general and in adolescent psychiatry). RESULTS: 98.5% report experiences of psychic, 96.2% of bodily and 46.9% of sexual violence. 45.5% also report some positive experiences (independent of the form of experienced violence). There are significantly more reports about the frequency of physical violence during 1946-1975, however not about other forms of violence than from the later years. Problems in later life emerge more frequently after experiences of sexual violence, such as instable career trajectories, instable partnerships, psychopathological symptoms and severe turbulences in one's life history. The experiences of physical violence correlate significantly higher with instable career trajectories and (not significantly) with criminal tendencies. The frequency of later psychiatric care is related to the length of time spent in residential care (but not significantly).

[The "Cleveland Crisis" 1987: medicalization and scandalization of child protection]. / Die "Cleveland Crisis" 1987: Medikalisierung und Skandalisierung des Kinderschutzes.

In 1987, in Cleveland County, United Kingdom, the pediatricians Marietta Higgs and Geoffrey Wyatt diagnosed 121 cases of child sexual abuse by using a hitherto little known diagnostic method. In large parts, this diagnosis proved wrong. This caused an ideological and political motivated media scandal, which framed British child care institutions as well as the relation of the public towards these institutions in the long-term. Historically, the intensity of this scandal can be traced to changes in the understanding of child care within the British system of child care. Using the method of historical discourse analysis, this paper will depict ideological structures of argumentation and locate them in ongoing processes of sociocultural change.