Mothers Who Fail to Protect Their Children from Sexual Abuse: Addressing the Problem of Denial
Abstract
In Part I, I discuss the psychological phenomenon of denial and how it
prevents mothers from intervening to protect their children from intrafamily
sexual abuse. In Part II, I examine an emerging trend in courts and legislatures
to impose criminal liability upon parents who condone child abuse by their
partners. I analyze how these statutory and common law regimes apply to
mothers in denial.
In Part III, I suggest how the law should deal with mothers in denial. I
argue that mothers who are genuinely in denial about the abuse of their
children should not be criminally prosecuted in all instances. Rather, they
should be offered the choice of participating in psychiatric treatment programs
in lieu of prosecution. This approach, I argue, is the most beneficial for the
child and the mother.
Description
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Article
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Keywords
denial, mothers, child sexual abuse, courts, criminal liability
Citation
Adams, C. (2015). Mothers Who Fail to Protect Their Children from Sexual Abuse: Addressing the Problem of Denial. Yale Law & Policy Review, 12(2), 519-539.