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ABUSE OF THE CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE ACCOMMODATION SYNDROME

NCJ Number
145831
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 1 Issue: 4 Dated: (1992) Pages: 153-164
Author(s)
R C Summit
Date Published
1992
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome (CSAAS) describes a logical pattern and sequence of interaction among the victim of child sexual abuse, the intruder, and the potential caretakers.
Abstract
Five factors -- secrecy, helplessness, entrapment and accommodation, delayed and unconvincing disclosure, and retraction -- describe the process whereby adults refuse to listen and the accommodating child victim does not complain. The CSAAS originated as a summary of diverse clinical consulting experience, defined at the interface with paradoxical forensic reaction. Despite the intent to use CSAAS as a means to address the prejudice faced by child victims of sexual abuse, the syndrome definition has alternatively threatened traditional defense arguments and given prosecutors a weapon with which to prove that inconsistent witnesses may be telling the truth. The author maintains that CSAAS merely addresses the secondary trauma experienced by child victims in the crisis of discovery, where they typically face disbelief and rejection from adults. 7 references