Rethinking the Competing Discourses on Uncorroborated Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8401080
AutoresMichael Naughton (0000-0002-9777-2095, University of Bristol, autor de correspondencia)
Año2019
Volumen59
Número2
Páginas461-480
Fecha de publicación2019-02-15
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe British Journal of Criminology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0007-0955 • E-ISSN: 1464-3529
EditorialOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/bjc/azy037
OpenAlexW2892461531
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas21

This article shows that the competing discourses on uncorroborated allegations of child sexual abuse (UACSA) each rests on unreliable epistemic assumptions, meaning that in any given case it is uncertain whether the individual making the accusation is a genuine victim or the perpetrator of a false allegation against an innocent individual. It argues that this presents a fatal challenge to the existing fields of knowledge and practise on either side of the discursive divide in terms of how alleged victims in UACSA cases are conceptualized and measured and how they are acted upon. It concludes with a call for an open-minded approach, which prioritizes the pursuit of truth in investigations to try to ensure that criminal justice system interventions in such an inherently problematic area are just and that they do not cause or compound the forms of harm and injustice currently at play.

Allegation · Child sexual abuse · Criminology · Economic Justice · Epistemology · False accusation · Harm · Injustice · Meaning (existential) · Perversion · Poison control · Political science · Psychoanalysis · Psychotherapist · Sexual abuse · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Child Abuse and Trauma · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Law · Medicine · Philosophy · Psychology · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies · Social Psychology