Gj. Skibinski, INTRAFAMILIAL CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE - INTERVENTION PROGRAMS FOR 1ST TIMEOFFENDERS AND THEIR FAMILIES, Child abuse & neglect, 18(4), 1994, pp. 367-375
Traditional legal and therapeutic interventions in child sexual abuse
cases are often unsuccessful and can be especially counterproductive f
or intrafamilial assaults. Many communities have responded with innova
tive programs. Three strategies that integrate treatment with legal pr
ocedures are described. They include a Pretrial Diversion program in w
hich incarceration time is reduced if the offender attends a treatment
program; a Post-Plea Diversion program that postpones the felony hear
ing pending the successful completion of an offender treatment program
, and a PreLegal Diversion program in which there was no legal interve
ntion if the accused successfully completed treatment. The programs ar
e described and then compared across professional activity variables.
It was found that: (a) Case processing was timely and equitable across
the three programs; (b) victim medical examinations were uncommon; (c
) counseling was the predominant type of service provided; and (d) ser
vices were not routinely provided to families. It appears that the mos
t promising strategy for first offense, intrafamilial assaults, may be
the Pre-Legal Diversion program because it provides die most protecti
on to children through routine medical exams and juvenile court petiti
ons, and it provides the most equitable distribution of services to th
e victims and offenders.