Browsing by Author "Baker, Heather"

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    Approaching the language and processes for addressing and evaluating allegations of child sexual abuse in South Africa
    (2004) Baker, Heather; Tredoux, Colin
    The two studies conducted focus on the processes for addressing allegations of child sexual abuse (CSA) in South Africa. A comprehensive literature review revealed some of the pitfalls in South African systems for dealing with CSA allegations including a lack of guidelines for assessing allegations and insufficient research in the area. In the first study, mental health and legal/forensic professionals completed a questionnaire designed by the researcher to investigate the criteria they would use to establish the veracity of an allegation of sexual abuse. An indication of the degree of relevance of certain criteria (e.g. 'medical evidence of abuse') to assessment was established based on these results. In general, the responses of the two groups correlated but there were seven criteria on which they differed. Many of the participants also provided specific criteria in response to qualitative questions asking if there were any criteria they believe indicate that an allegation is definitely true or definitely false, indicating a belief that there are certain factors that conclusively point to sexual abuse and other factors that unambiguously indicate that an allegation is fictitious.