NCJ Number
178850
Journal
Northwestern University Law Review Volume: 92 Issue: 4 Dated: Summer 1998 Pages: 1415-1458
Date Published
1998
Length
44 pages
Annotation
This paper provides a suggested framework for examining child molesters' denials of their abusive behavior and then uses the example of child abuse claims during custody battles to illustrate how these denials work in actual cases.
Abstract
The authors argue that a common feature of child molesters' denials in these contexts is an attempt to neutralize the voices of victims, so much so that the victims themselves may participate in the deconstruction of their own stories of abuse. Although attempts to counteract adverse witnesses are common to denial of many kinds, child victims of sexual violence are particularly easy targets for this kind of erasure due to aspects of cultural belief systems. After establishing an overall framework for analyzing denial, the paper considers the nexus of public versions of child abuse stories that can impact legal decision making. The example of abuse claims in the context of child custody disputes is used to analyze the way legal translations of child abuse stories work. The authors suggest that although the legal system can at times help obscure abuse that has actually occurred, at other times it can help to puncture false denials and reveal the truth. The paper concludes with a brief application of the model to the facts of the highly publicized case of Woody Allen, who began a sexual relationship with his lover's teenage daughter from a prior marriage and was subsequently accused of sexually abusing his own adopted daughter. 161 footnotes