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Child Sexual Abuse Disclosure and Forensic Practice

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Handbook of Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Across the Lifespan

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Abstract

Arguably the process whereby children come to disclose that they are being or have been sexually abused is the first step in professionals responding to sexual abuse. There is agreement that disclosure is a process rather than an event and that most children do not disclose until adulthood. Disclosure leads to forensic and clinical interest in false reports, suggestibility, and criteria which help adults confirm a child’s disclosure of abuse.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Joshua Center on Child Sexual Abuse, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Jon R. Conte & June Simon

Authors
  1. Jon R. Conte
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  2. June Simon
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma, San Diego, CA, USA

    Robert Geffner

  2. Department of Psychology College of Arts and Sciences, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA

    Jacquelyn W. White

  3. Department of Family and Community Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    L. Kevin Hamberger

  4. Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA

    Alan Rosenbaum

  5. Ethelyn R. Strong School of Social Work, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA, USA

    Viola Vaughan-Eden

  6. Education and Research, Zero Abuse Project, St. Paul, MN, USA

    Victor I. Vieth

Section Editor information

  1. Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Ernestine Briggs

  2. School of Social Work, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

    Javonda Williams

  3. Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Eastern Virginia Medical School/Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, Norfolk, VA, USA

    Michelle Clayton MD, MPH, FAAP

  4. The UP Institute, CEO, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Stacie LeBlanc JD, MEd

  5. Ethelyn R. Strong School of Social Work, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA, USA

    Viola Vaughan-Eden Ph.D

  6. Owner/Principle Consultant & Trainer, Russell Consulting Specialists, LLC, Vancouver, Washington, USA

    Amy Russell

  7. Executive Director, Arthur D. Curtis Children's Justice Center http://www.clark.wa.gov/cjc

    Amy Russell

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Conte, J.R., Simon, J. (2022). Child Sexual Abuse Disclosure and Forensic Practice. In: Geffner, R., White, J.W., Hamberger, L.K., Rosenbaum, A., Vaughan-Eden, V., Vieth, V.I. (eds) Handbook of Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Across the Lifespan. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89999-2_333

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