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What can surveillance data and risk factor research contribute to a public health approach to preventing child sexual abuse?
Author(s) -
Broadley Karen
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
australian journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1839-4655
pISSN - 0157-6321
DOI - 10.1002/ajs4.46
Subject(s) - ethnic group , child sexual abuse , project commissioning , public health , context (archaeology) , sexual abuse , intervention (counseling) , population , publishing , psychology , identification (biology) , poison control , medicine , suicide prevention , criminology , psychiatry , environmental health , political science , nursing , geography , law , botany , archaeology , biology
The aim of this article was to consider how population‐level surveillance data and risk factor research might be applied to a public health approach to preventing child sexual abuse. The focus is on the collection of data in relation to ethnicity. By drawing from the four principles approach to ethical decision making developed by Beauchamp and Childress, the expected benefits of data collection are weighed against possible harms to individuals and communities. It concludes that the identification of high‐risk groups can inform prioritisation of resources, and the development of context‐specific and culturally sensitive child sexual abuse prevention and intervention programmes. However, it is crucial to explain why child sexual abuse is more prevalent in some ethnic communities than others. Explanations about causes can reduce the potential for stigmatisation and marginalisation of individuals and communities, as well as challenge widely held myths about biological determinism and inability to change.