Coping with Sexual Abuse

Romeo, Tameka; Otgaar, Henry; Landström, Sara

doi:10.7454/proust.v1i1.11

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…While there is currently a discussion surrounding the prevalence of false denials in child sexual abuse investigations (London et al., 2020; Lyon et al., 2020), there is agreement that children often delay disclosure, and might initially deny that any abuse took place before coming forward (Eisen et al., 2021; London et al., 2020). When they eventually talk about the abuse, these victim's memory statements serve as important pieces of evidence in court and can influence decisions surrounding culpability (Romeo et al., 2018). This is especially relevant in child sexual abuse cases because there is often a lack of physical evidence (e.g., injuries) related to the offense so that testimonies of victims and perpetrators are frequently the only pieces of evidence available (Johnson et al., 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulating denial increases false memory rates for abuse unrelated information

Bücken

Mangiulli

Otgaar

2022

Behavioral Sci & The Law

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Victims of abuse might deny their traumatic experiences.We studied mnemonic effects of simulating false denial of a child sexual abuse narrative. Participants (N = 127) read and empathized with the main character of this narrative.Next, half were instructed to falsely deny abuse-related information while others responded honestly in an interview. One week later, participants received misinformation for the narrative and interview. In a final source memory task, participants' memory for the narrative and interview was tested. Participants who falsely denied abuse-related information endorsed more abuse-unrelated misinformation about the event than honest participants. Abuse-related false memory rates did not statistically differ between the groups, and false denials were not related to omission errors about (1) the interview and (2) narrative. Hence, victim's memory for abuse-related information related to their experience might not be affected by a false denial, and inconsistencies surrounding the abuse-unrelated information are more likely to take place.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulating denial increases false memory rates for abuse unrelated information

Bücken

Mangiulli

Otgaar

2022

Behavioral Sci & The Law

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“…Disclosing the assault to friends and to family is often the first step victims take post-assault [32], some victims, although shown as a minority, reported the assault to the police or people in charge (e.g., university counsellor), and some victims wanted to handle the situation themselves, hence, confront the assailant [1]. Yet, the majority of victims usually decided to do nothing [1,19,32,33] (see also [34]). Therefore, we provided these potential reactions and left a possibility for students to add other reactions.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

#StudentsToo. prevalence of sexual assault reports among students of three European universities and their actions post-assault

et al. 2023

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Objective Previous research has indicated high rates of sexual assault (SA) among US students (> 25%). Yet this type of investigation has been less frequent at European universities. Methods We conducted an investigation at three universities, two Dutch universities (N = 95 and N = 305) and one university in Belgium (N = 307). Students were asked to estimate the prevalence of SA, and to report about their personal experience. We defined SA as any situation in which students were inappropriately touched, forced to a sexual act without their consent, or were (sexually) verbally intimidated. Results 56% of students (Location 1: n = 54/95; Location 2: n = 172/305; Location 3: n = 172/307) across all three samples reported experiencing SA. The disclosed assaults were mostly unwanted sexual contact (i.e., groping) by male strangers aged 18–35 years. One-third of the sample reported to have done nothing post-assault, and among those who took actions, the majority disclosed the assault to friends, but rarely to family members. Also, 3–5% of students (Location 1: n = 3; Location 2: n = 11; Location 3: n = 11) (falsely) denied the assault. Seeking justice and needing support were important motivators of action, whereas psychological factors (i.e., memory distrust) were antagonists of this. Finally, besides psychological factors, fear of interpersonal consequences (e.g., being labelled as a “drama queen”) was a strong influence to either deny or try to forget the assault. Conclusion SA appears to be frequent among European students and further investigation including other European universities is warranted.

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“…However, we also have to keep in mind that ground truth is not always known in real cases, and that these denial rates likely include both true and false denials. If real cases of abuse remain undetected or get dismissed in court, detrimental consequences may ensue for the victims, and they might be placed back into dangerous situations, such as living in the care of their abuser (Romeo et al, 2018).…”

Section: Methodological Issues In Estimating the Prevalence Of False ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Nothing happened’: Legal implications of false denials among abused children

et al. 2022

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People lie on a frequent basis. However, when a victim of maltreatment lies by denying the abuse, lies can become forensically relevant. We have reviewed the relevant literature on the prevalence and memory consequences of such false denials. The way forensic interviewers proceed in the face of denying children will be shaped by their beliefs about the frequency with which truly abused children deny abuse. We discuss that estimates of the prevalence of false denials among abused children vary but that such false denials do happen. When falsely denying children eventually come forward with their experiences, a second issue lingers: how valid are maltreated children's statements after a false denial? We review the literature indicating that false denials can negatively affect memory for the investigative interview during which the lie was told. Yet, memory for the denied experience itself seems to be mostly preserved, and some research even found potential protective effects of false denials. We conclude that denials should always be handled with care in the court room, since the ground truth usually is not known, but that statements should not be dismissed based solely on previous denials.

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Coping with Sexual Abuse

Cited by 7 publications

References 37 publications

Simulating denial increases false memory rates for abuse unrelated information

Simulating denial increases false memory rates for abuse unrelated information

#StudentsToo. prevalence of sexual assault reports among students of three European universities and their actions post-assault

‘Nothing happened’: Legal implications of false denials among abused children

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