Analysis of Indicators and Characteristics of Sexually Abused Children in the Child Protection Centre of Zagreb

1

• Analysis of Indicators and Characteristics of
  Sexually Abused Children in the Child Protection
  Centre of Zagreb
• Bruna Profaca,Ph.D.
• REGIONAL CONFERENCE
• Stopping Sexual Violence against Children -
  ratifying and implementing the Council of Europe
  Convention on the Protection of Children against
  Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse
• Zagreb, 2011

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Analysis of data about sexually abused children

• For the period from 2003 to 2010
• Analysis of data (250 variables) about children
  included in the assessment
• Aim is observing and evaluating what was done,
  and analysing the aeitology, mediator variables
  and abuse incidence
• Following ethical principles of research with
  children and about children protection of
  privacy, harmlessness, authenticity,
  confidentiality, community welfare

3

• Besides the children referred for suspicion of
  sexual abuse (about 7 per year), exposure to
  sexual abuse was confirmed also in children
  included in the assessment for other reasons
  behaviour disorders, domestic violence, neglect,
  physical abuse and so on.

4
Assessment of children referred for suspicion of
sexual abuse
The assessment in the Centre
Confirmed the suspicion 46,1
Found no signs of sexual abuse 37,6
Found that suspicion was insufficiently substantiated, but could not be excluded (unconfirmed suspicion) 16,3
5

• Of all children treated in the Centre,
• annually 7.5 to 12
• are sexually abused.

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Number of confirmed sexually abused children in
the Centre by year
Year
2003 7.5
2004 9.6
2005 7.9
2006 6.7
2007 12.0
2008 9.5
2009 8.9
2010 10.5
7
Age of children with confirmed suspicion of
sexual abuse
Age
0 -6 13.1
7-10 19.8
11-14 29.5
15 -18 37.6
8

• Among the children with confirmed suspicion of
  sexual abuse
• 80 were girls
• and 20 were boys.
• 41 of children were from Zagreb, and 59 were
  from other parts of Croatia.

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Characteristics of children exposed to sexual
abuse
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Family factors

• Most children live with both parents (47), while
  29.3 live with their mother and 4.5 live with
  their father
• 10.5 of them live in Childrens home
• Other children live with other family members or
  with foster parents

11
Other traumatic events

• Previous traumatic event which was not family
  violence 21
• Previous experience of abuse 20.4
• Losses
• maternal death - 3.7
• paternal death 6
• death of a sibling 1.8
• death of other close person 12.6

12
Importance of previous experience and family
circumstances

• Related to strategies of coping with the trauma
  of sexual abuse
• Family circumstances are connected with the
  support the child receives in coping with the
  sexual abuse and the stress accompanying the
  abuse

13
Sexually abused children referred to the Centre by
Social welfare centres 36.1
Parents 22.6
Police 13.2
Physician 10.8
School 3.8
Childrens home/institution 4.9
Kindergarten 0.9
Other 7.4
14

• The abuser is a person known to the child in
  91.6 of cases

person the child knows 27,8
father 17,7
member of the extended family 13,9
neighbour 13,9
peer 11,0
person unknown to the child 8,4
close family member 6,4
mother 0,9
15
Treatment of sexually abused children

• The majority of children were included in the
  psychological (48) and psychiatric (35)
  treatment.
• The minority of them (4) were also included in
  the social educators or rehabilitators
  treatment.

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Psychosocial characteristics of sexually abused
children
17
Intellectual status
Under average functioning 19.3
Average functioning 57.9
Above average functioning 22.8

• Intellectual backwardness was found in 10.9 of
  children

18
School achievement
Excellent 28.7
Great 39.8
Satisfactory 24.7
Sufficient 2.5
Fail 3.9

• 12 of children attended school programmes in
  regular schools adjusted for children with
  special needs while 2.7 of children attended
  schools for children with special needs.

19
Personality traits and emotional experiencing

• Moderate sociability 70
• Introversion 22
• Extraversion 8
• Emotional instability 31
• Dificulties in socialising 15
• Anxiety symptomatology 56
• Depression symptomatology 47

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Traumatic reactions were confirmed in 66.4 of
sexually abused children

• Sexual preoccupation and distress 40,5
• Posttraumatic stress (recurrent images and
  thoughts, resistance to reminders of the trauma,
  general arousal) 36.6
• Anxious reactions 34.5
• Depressive reactions 15.5
• Dissociation 11.9
• Reactions of anger 3.6
• TSCC Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children
  (Briere)