Introduction
Child sexual abuse refers to the any form of maltreatment which involves sexual contact with a minor. Under the United States of America federal and state laws, a child lacks the capacity to consent to any sexual activity (Butler, 2013, p.34). A redefined view of child sexual assault broadens the definition to include non-physical contact. The non-physical contacts include sending obscene texts messages and phone calls, sex trafficking, masturbation in presence of a minor, and production and sharing of pornographic materials with minors. Child sexual abuse occurs in a variety of settings including school, home, or in places where child labor is prevalent. The UNICEF classifies child marriage as one of the worst forms of child sexual abuse and exploitation. This paper will endeavor to discuss child sexual abuse as perceived by existing federal criminal law and widespread literature.
Background of child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse has existed since the beginning of mankind. Children have been subjected to abuse by their parents, relatives, caregivers, and the society. The English common law treated children as chattels belonging to their father similar to the treatment of women as a property of their husbands (Scheb & Scheb, 1996, P. 67). The common law was exported to America by the colonialists and lasted until late 18th centuries. Child abuse captured the federal government attention in 1962 when the American Medical Association published an article in its monthly journal describing the symptoms and diagnosis of child abuse. All American states developed mandatory reporting laws that placed a requirement on all medical professionals to report all cases of child abuse to the states’ children protection agencies. The mandatory laws were complimented by a federal law, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974 which provided for funding of child protective programs and the provision of shelter to child abuse victims.
At present, the United States reports over three million cases of child abuse in all the states. Half of these cases involve sexual assault on children. Statistics indicate that between 4 to 5 children die every day as a result of sexual assault or neglect by parents. The number of sexually assaulted children is higher given the difficulty faced in ensuring that all such cases are reported (Spohn, 1995, P. 67). A report published by the U.S department of Health and Human services Children Bureau in 2010 reported that 9% of all child abuse cases involve sexual assault. The long term effects of child sexual abuse were laid out in the report as low self-esteem, biased view of sex, and a worthless feeling. Further, a sexually abused child become suicidal, mistrustful of adults and becomes withdrawn. When a person engages in a sexual activity with a child, he is liable for a crime and the child is psychologically and physically affected for the rest of their lives.
The Legal Regime on Child Sexual Abuse
The application of federal laws in child sexual abuse cases are limited in cases where both the victim and the perpetrator are from the same state. Many child abuse cases are handled by the state and prosecuted under the state courts using state laws. If a sexual abuse on a child occurs in federal areas, the offense is prosecuted under federal laws. Federal areas include Indian territories, military facilities, and all government owned and controlled areas (Tabak & Klettke, 2013, P. 34). Under the federal criminal law, offenders found guilty are punished with hefty fines and long imprisonment sentences. They face harsh punishments when the sexual assault resulted in physical injuries, death, kidnapping, and when the offender used violence.
In the United States of America, child sexual abuse is a categorized as a crime, as form of child maltreatment under the Child Abuse Prevention and Protection Act of 1974 amended in 2010 (Tavara, 2012, P. 90). It is also a crime in all the states even though the state laws vary but they contain some similar features. In the case of Kansas v. Hendricks, the court held that a sexual offender’s freedom of movement can be restricted even after the release from prison since he poses a danger to the safety of children. The case reiterated the need to publish child sexual abuse offenders’ details to the public as required by the Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act. In a similar effort, in the case of Stogner v. California, (2003) the United States federal Supreme Court ruled that a California law which placed statute limitation to sexual offense against children was unconstitutional and hence null and void.
The ability to consent
Traditionally, the age of consent concept applied when the female was younger than the male. However, in 2015, the age of consent became applicable to all genders in equal measure. The laws in the previous regime were designed to punish older people for their abhorrent sexual conduct with young girls and let teenagers off the hook (Webber & Moors, 2012, P. 67). The public was against punishment for teenage offenders and hence the law was changed to eliminate penalties if the offender and the victim were close in age. This kind of protection was tagged Romeo and Juliet laws because the statute was used as an affirmative defense against the prosecution of teenage offenders.
Sexual contacts between adults does not amount to a crime unless there is absent of consent by one of the partners. However, minors lack the capacity to consent under criminal law. The term, child refers to anyone who has not attained the age of majority, a legal requirement for consent. The age limit varies across many states in the United States of America. In some states, a child is anyone below the age of 16 while in others; the age is 18 years or even 19 years.
Punishment for child sexual abuse
The punishment for child sexual abuse generally depends on the nature of the offense committed by the perpetrator. Penalties for this transgression include; fines, registration of the offender details, parole, imprisonment, and probation restrictions. Recently, there has been a rise in civil suits against sex offenders and remedies emanating from such proceedings include injunctions, loss of parental rights, custody, damages, and forced commitment (Webber & Moors, 2012, P.89). Many states have increased punishments and introduced long imprisonment terms for the offenders in a bid to curb the rising number of child sexual abuse cases. In Colorado, the state legislature is debating on law that proposes death penalties for repeat offenders convicted of sexual assault of children. Many children rights activists have argued that the law needs to punish offenders who use intra-families abuse to silence their victims.
The United States federal court ruled out any attempt to punish offences against children with death penalty in the case of Kennedy v Louisiana, (2008) where a bench of majority ruled that death penalty was irrational for an offense of child sexual assault and should only be used if the offense caused death of the victim. In this case, the offender defiled his 8 year old step daughter causing multiple injuries which required a surgery. In the United States of America, 44 states prohibit use of death penalty for sexual crimes while 5 states allow death penalty for offenses of child defilement.
Proof of child sexual abuse
In many cases of sexual abuse on children, a child might be the only witness and the victim’s testimony may be the only available oral evidence before a court. The underlying question is whether the child testimony is credible to warrant conviction of the accused person. A number of psychologists have fronted the argument that many children do not lie about sexual encounters and hence their testimonies are trustworthy. The person reporting child abuse may not know the truth of the child testimony and hence should make the report to the authorities for the court to determine the authenticity of the child allegations. Child sexual abuse cases are difficult to prove because they demand more objective evidence and further corroboration through medical reports.
Summary of Literature
The study of child sexual abuse as an academic discipline gained much interest in 1979s with many psychologists and social workers conducting research and studies on child sexual abuse. Elizabeth Young-Bruehl (2010) argues that despite the growing number of child protection agencies and advocates, they played a negative role in grouping children into ‘no-abused’ and ‘abused’ which narrows down children rights and stalls the progress in eliminating sexual abuse of children.
Annon Butler, 2013 argues that reporting of child sexual abuse remains a challenge in handling child abuse cases. The challenge is complicated by the presence of intra-familial issues which include cultural tolerance of sexual assault on women and religious beliefs. Loyalty to parents and families may hinder disclosure of abuse as there are many children who do not want to get their parents to trouble and hence protect them by concealing the abuse. Furthermore, out of love for their parents and siblings, they may also fail to report.
Children face more difficulties in revealing their abuse to outsiders when the abuser is their confidant. The situation leaves a child with no option of where to find help and resorts to silence for fear of reprimand. The fear of not being believed or their allegations not being acted upon makes many of them attempt or even commit suicide. Informing the authorities is frightening since children don’t know how they will be treated. There is a need to sensitize the community on how to detect child sexual assault symptoms and to react on child assault reports.
Conclusion
Sexual abuse on children is prevalent in the U.S.A and is on the rise. With the era of digital technology, many children are falling prey on predictors on the social media and end up getting sexually abused. The government of the United States should tighten its criminal laws and introduce harsh penalties for offenses against children. For instance, death penalty should be made mandatory on cases where a sexual assault incident on a child occasions death. Life imprisonments should be the general penalty for sexual assault on child as it involves either manipulation or the use of force similar to forces applied in robbery with violence. Also, Social workers and other community stakeholders should be involved in developing strategies to curb the rising incident of sexual assaults on children. The harm inflicted on a child through sexual assault lasts for lifetime and hence the government should take all measures to eliminate the barbaric vice.
References
Butler, A. (2013). Child sexual assault: Risk factors for girls. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37(9), 643-652. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.06.009
Tabak, S., & Klettke, B. (2013). Mock jury attitudes towards credibility, age, and guilt in a fictional child sexual assault scenario. Australian Journal Of Psychology, 66(1), 47-55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12035
Tavara, L. (2012). Analysis of Sexual Assault and Gender Violence Programs in Latin America. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, 119, S250. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0020-7292(12)60390-7
Scheb, J., & Scheb, J. (1996). American criminal law. Minneapolis: West Pub. Co.
Spohn, C. (1995). A Comparison of Sexual Assault Cases with Child and Adult Victims. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 3(4), 59-78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/j070v03n04_04
Webber, R., & Moors, R. (2012). Engaging in cyberspace: seeking help for sexual assault. Child & Family Social Work, 20(1), 40-49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12052
