Sexual abuse of children

Larry B. Silver

pp. 99-113

in: William E. Fann, Robert H. Williams, Robert R. Williams, Robert C. Williams, Comstock (eds), Phenomenology and treatment of psychiatric emergencies, Berlin, Springer, 1984

Abstract

Almost all societies have cultural taboos against incest and other forms of sexual contact with children, and the problem of child sexual abuse has apparently always existed. The universal revulsion felt toward acts of child sexual abuse and the strong emotional reaction of most people toward the adult who sexually abuses a child are rarely coupled with an understanding of the problem, its causes, or its effect. This poverty of knowledge is common to professionals as well as lay people.