Conceptualising Responses to Institutional Abuse of Children
Date
2014
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CURRENT ISSUES IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Abstract
Institutional abuse of children was ‘discovered’ in the 1980s, with concept diffusion in the
1990s. I explain why it emerged as a social problem and what factors triggered a response
by authorities that ‘something must be done’ to address it. Some have argued that the
1980s was a time of a ‘moral panic’ about child sexual abuse, in particular, that fears of
abuse were exaggerated and misdirected. Drawing from 19 major cases in Canada and
Australia and those in other countries, I find that a moral panic analysis is not apt in
understanding responses to institutional abuse. Although concern with sexual and physical
abuse of children was important, additional factors motivated government and church
officials to respond; and in some cases, child abuse was secondary to other identified
wrongs against children. I identify distinctive types of institutional abuse cases, the ‘core’
and the ‘core-plus’ cases, which moved into the public arena for different reasons and in
different ways. Implications are drawn for comparative research and theoretical
developments in the area.
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Keywords
child sexual abuse, Institutional response to child abuse, redress, social problems, moral panic, transitional justice, International Resources, Australia
Citation
Daly, K. Conceptualising Responses to Institutional Abuse of Children. CURRENT ISSUES IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE, 26(1).