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St. Clare's and St. Louise's child sexual abuse assessment units: an analysis of their origin, function and work practices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2014

Imelda Ryan  and
Carol Fitzpatrick
Imelda Ryan
Affiliation:
Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, Dublin 12
Carol Fitzpatrick
Affiliation:
The Children's Hospital, Temple Street, Dublin 1
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Abstract

St. Clare's Unit, in the Children's Hospital, Temple Street, and St. Louise's Unit, in Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, were set up by the Department of Health in Dublin in 1987 to carry out child sexual abuse assessments. Each unit is staffed by multidisciplinary teams and works closely with Community Care teams, the Gardaí, and treatment agencies. Assessment involves gathering information from referrers, the parents and the child at interview, and from physical examination. The information obtained is interpreted in context, and conclusions are based on the composite picture.

Analysis of the first two years' work shows that sexual abuse was confirmed in approximately half the cases seen, the abuser being known to the child and within the child's family or community network in the majority of cases.

As more professionals become trained in child sexual abuse assessment it is envisaged that more cases will be managed at local level, with perhaps more complex cases being referred to the units. This will enable unit staff to further develop a role in consultation, education, training and research.

Keywords

Child sexual abuseassessment.
Type
Practice Reviews
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 8 , Issue 1 , March 1991 , pp. 68 - 71
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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