Regulating Bodies: Children and Sexual Violence

Abstract

The interdisciplinary silences on sexual violence and the omission of children and youth from social science research speak volumes of the power of the child as a flexible, cultural signifier. In this article, I argue that dominant frameworks of children and childhood make child sexual assault a discursive impossibility for most young people. The epistemic violence of silencing matters, and it is these erasures that are fundamental to understanding violence and power. I argue it is paramount for feminist researchers to call attention to the undermining qualities of Institutional Review Boards that act as gatekeepers of representation and voice.

“You Feel Like You Did Something So Wrong”: Women's Experiences of a Loved One's Child Sexual Abuse Material Offending

“…CSAM was a foundational concern for feminists in the 1970s and 1980s within broader conflicts over the role of male power and gender inequality in child sexual abuse and pornography (e.g., MacKinnon, 1985;Rush, 1980). While some feminist scholars continue to be actively engaged with the problem of child sexual abuse (Campbell, 2023;Nelson, 2016), recognition of children as victims of sexual violence within feminist frameworks has considerably diminished over the last three decades (Hlavka, 2019;Whittier, 2009Whittier, , 2015. Hanson (2019) is a notable exception to this trend, situating the proliferation of CSAM within the rise of "cyber-libertarianism" as the legitimizing ideology of the technology sector.…”

The perspective of victims/survivors on media coverage of child sexual abuse

“…Research shows that negative reactions when children disclose sexual abuse are not rare (Hershkowitz et al, 2007;Hlavka, 2019). When child ren do disclose, others' reactions are critical determinants of whether the child gets help, treatment, and support (Reitsema & Grietens, 2016) or child's endeavors to seek help are impeded (Ahrens, 2006) and the victim is silenced.…”

Who is worthy of help? Constructing the stereotype of the “ideal victim” of child sexual abuse

“…Research shows negative reactions when children disclose sexual abuse are not rare (Hershkowitz et al 2007;Hlavka, 2019). When children do disclose, others' reactions are critical determinants of whether the child gets help, treatment, and support (Reitsema & Grietens, 2016) or child's endeavors to seek help are impeded (Ahrens, 2006), and the victim is silenced.…”