Child sex abuse treatment: some barriers to program operation

A treatment program for sexually abusing families is described, which illustrates the complexities in the families, in the treatment required to assist them, and in the interrelations of agencies with whom they come into contact. The program used a multi-therapist, multi-modality treatment model in conjunction with expert consultants in medicine, psychology, art therapy, law, criminology, and research. The article discusses the formidable barriers to creating a treatment program that stem from the necessity of establishing linkages with other agencies and systems in the society. These barriers include the difficulty other service providers may have in recognizing the problem; the trouble doctors, lawyers, and policemen have in interviewing the young victims; the problems in the criminal justice system with obtaining justice for the victim by arresting and prosecuting the offender while protecting his rights; and the conflict of the schools caught between their responsibility as mandated reporters of abuse and the legal rights of the parent-offender. Questions are raised which may assist others embarked on developing similar programs.