CLINICAL ISSUES IN CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

It is the authors' observation that the values and generic skills of social work make it an obvious and competent profession to address the societal and individual problems of child sexual abuse. Yet social workers have often overlooked and minimized the extent and effects of this rampant form of child abuse. This chapter will: examine the reluctance of social workers to become involved in treatment and prevention of this problem; describe the extent and dynamics of child sexual abuse; and recommend educational efforts so that social workers in the future are prepared to intervene more effectively on behalf of sexually abused children. These observations and recommendations are based on the authors' seven years of clinical experiences treating sexually abused children of all ages.