Investigating and Reporting Child Sexual Abuse: Review and Recommendations for Clinical Practice

Two problems that are frequently referred to in the child sexual abuse literature are the underreporting among professionals who work with children and the high frequency of unsubstantiated reports, some of which are based on false accusations. The present paper highlights the problems, and offers recommendations regarding the investigation and reporting of child sexual abuse in clinical settings. It is expected that information provided in this review may lead to better research methodologies, a greater involvement by psychologists in the legal substantiation of sexual abuse, and an increase in the number of reliable reports submitted by psychologists. 1991 Australian Psychological Society